THE OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE PHILIPPINE HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS
LOS BANOS, LAGUNA IV-A
The Makiling Collective, comprised of chosen Senior High School Students and Junior High School Students
after performance. Photo from PHSA Archives.
Makiling Kolektib pays
Bicol a visit
Leila Maligalig
The Makiling Kolektib joined
audition masters in hold-
ing the Annual Nationwide
Search for Young Artist
Scholars (ANSYAS), August
22-28, in Bacacay, Albay.
Made up of 22 students from
grades 9, 11, and 12, the del-
egation facilitated workshops
in their respective art fields at
Bacacay East Central School
before the audition proper.
Said students, with the guid-
ART SCHOLARS FACILITATE
WORKSHOP IN ZAMBALES
Ma-I Entico onstage, performs in Zambales, Sept. 17.
Students of the Philippine
High School for the Arts
(PHSA) conducted a three-
day arts workshop in Zam-
bales last September 14-17.
PHSA scholars majoring in Vi-
sual Arts and Creative Writ-
ing visited San Agustin and
conducted an outreach pro-
gram for the students of San
Miguel National High School.
For the first day of the workshop
on Sept. 14, the Creative Writing
variations
ance of Mr. Victor Emmanuel
Flor, also performed an hour-
long show for the vice mayor of
the town, students of Bacacay,
and other audience members.
A guided tour around the mu-
nicipalities of Tiwi, Tabaco, and
Legazpi was also conducted
as the group’s final activity.
The Makiling Kolektib consist-
ed of Visual Arts majors Payb
Biglete, Aum Dueñas, Salve
Lila sayajon
majors taught the work-
shop participants zine mak-
ing, which included stitch-
ing the booklets they made.
The Visual Arts started painting a
mural with the other participants.
The following day, the Visu-
al Arts continued with their
mural while Ma-I Entico, a
grade 11 Creative Writing
major, taught comic writing.
On the third day, Mark Cosico,
a Visual Arts teacher in PHSA,
JUNE 2017 - MARCH 2018
VOL. XL NO. 1
Dañgalan, Asia Entico, Wika
Nadera, Bertha Santos, Elaine
Olaer, Tristan Guinid, and Pre-
ciosa Guevara; Theater Arts
majors Chrystelle Atienza and
Chelsea Catli; Music majors
Marlee Pabico, Janna Peña,
Angel Esteban, and Yvette
Parcon; Dance majors Chil-
es Maraña, Rexter Nagaño,
Ivan Boloron, and Princess
Balido; and Creative Writing
majors Ma-I Entico, Bian-
ca Rabe, and Leila Maligalig.
opened his exhibit, “Alsa-balu-
tan,” in Don Salubayba gallery.
While the exhibit was opening, the
zines of the previous workshop
and the mural were showcased.
The fourth-year Creative Writ-
ing majors performed Spoken
Word Poetry, Entico shared a
horror story, and the Visual Arts
performed their shadow play.
The group rested on Sept.
17, then traveled back to Los
Baños on Sept. 18 at 3 am.
ALUMNI, SENIOR HIGH
UNITE IN IBARANG KOLAB
Philippine High School for the
Arts (PHSA) alumni paid their
alma matter a visit for an inter-
action with selected senior high
school students of the Special
Program for the Arts (SPA) from
Rizal and Laguna through Iba-
rang Kolab, September 27-30 at
the National Arts Center (NAC).
Said students participated in
the workshops headed by
alumni. An educational tour
around the Cultural Center of
the Philippines (CCP), Kaloob
MILLENNIALS AND THE
MISCONCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY
The disaster movie:
the greatest parody
PHILIPPINE SPORTS
MOMENTS OF 2017
SPM JOINS YICFFF 2017
Danielle castillo
Sanghiyas Pangkat Mananayaw. Photo from PHSA Archives.`
Sanghiyas Pangkat Mananayaw
(SPM), the folk dance group of
the Philippine High School for
the Arts, flew to Yilan, Taiwan to
represent the Philippines in Yilan
International Children’s Folklore
and Folkgames Festival (YICFFF)
2017 last July 31 to August 15.
YICFFF aims to expose chil-
dren to cultures from around
the world. The event showcased
dance, music, games, cuisines,
and customs from different coun-
tries such as Hungary, Russia,
and China.
Leila Maligalig
Dance and Music Ministry,
and St. Scholastica College
was also conducted to help
participants in career pathing.
Furthermore, Theater, Bal-
let, Visual Arts, and Folk
Dance workshops were also
held for Los Baños Nation-
al High School students.
The program was held as a
project of the Ibarang Alum-
ni Association for PHSA’s
40th anniversary celebration.
7
15
Opinion
26
FEATUREs
sports
SPM performed “Malantana
Taoh”, a Bla’an dance, “Tinikling”
which originated from Leyte, and
“Banga Salidsid”, a dance from
Kalinga. They were also able to
present Filipino cuisine, prepar-
ing Filipino favorites like sinigang,
adobo, and pastillas.
“In terms of exposure, the festi-
val helped us because we en-
countered people from different
countries and because of this, we
have higher chances being invit-
ed to festivals by the countries we
were with,” says Mars Quejada, a
grade 9 member of SPM.
 2 NEWS
PROJECT HANDS DEVELOPS
PLANS, PRODUCTS FOR PHSA
Daniel ben
Project HANDS with Batch Reyesiano. Photo from PHSA Archives.
The fellows of the Hopes
and Dreams (HANDs) proj-
ect, alongside Grade 8 stu-
dents of the Philippine High
School for the Arts (PHSA),
made prototypes for plans
and products for the disaster
preparedness of the school.
HANDs is a project of the
Japan Foundation Asia Cen-
ter. It’s a bi-annual youth
exchange program where
the fellows tour around dif-
ferent countries to learn
about disaster and envi-
ronmental issues, aiming to
promote the formation of a
network of young leaders,
Pamati bridges indigenous
communities and the Ibarang
Photo from PHSA Archives
Students of the Phil-
ippine High School for the
Arts (PHSA), in partnership
with PHSA alumna, Grace
Nono, participated in work-
shops conducted by sever-
al Filipino indigenous com-
munities through a program
called Pamati on July 7.
Literally meaning
“to listen”, Pamati featured
“
I enjoyed the week-
long event as it gave
us interaction and ex-
change of knowledge.
It also widened my view
of disasters and disas-
ter preparedness in an
interactive and inter-
esting way. We were
able to associate art
and awareness to cre-
ate ideas by and for the
students of Makiling.
- Ezra Estrañero, grade 8
student
a portion where participants
consisting of people from
T’boli, B’laan, Ifugao, and
Aeta indigenous groups and
overseas Filipinos tracing
their roots shared their expe-
riences.
Pamati aims to show-
case the culture of the com-
munities and hold workshops
across Luzon, including
along with collaborative ef-
forts to create solutions to
environmental problems.
PHSA was the ven-
ue of the HANDs proj-
ect for the Philippine tour.
Some of the prototypes
aimed to make a way to im-
prove information dissemi-
nation to students on reg-
ular days and in times of
disaster; others tackled the
problems that might arise
in a disaster; while sever-
al were activities that pro-
moted disaster awareness.
HAVEN MOSQUITO
PHSA, where four workshops
were held for the Ibarang
on the last day – namely,
kulintang ensemble, herbal
healing, and two folk dance
workshops.
Participants from
communities also displayed
and sold handcrafted prod-
ucts.
Photo from Leila Maligalig
fire extinguisher causes phsa
school bus to halt
Leila Maligalig
A PHSA bus
bound for UP Diliman
was forced to pull over
at C5 due to a fire ex-
tinguisher unexpectedly
leaking, 10:30 pm, Sep-
tember 1.
Old age and lack
of maintenance caused
the said fire extinguish-
er to open up, concludes
the rescue team who in-
vestigated the site.
LOS BAÑOS
JE SCARE
Leila Maligalig
The sequent deaths of
two children caused by
the supposed Japanese
Encephalitis (JE) epi-
demic in Los Baños, La-
guna has indeed caused
a commotion within the
town and its neighboring
localities. The two – a girl
of nine and a boy of six
– who went to the same
school were said to have
shown symptoms of the
disease before passing
away on June 18 and 22,
respectively.
Upon the separate
deaths, awareness for JE
rapidly spread. Vaccines
for the particular disease
have run out in the area
and will only be available
on August of this year,
says a staff member at
the Research Institute for
Tropical Medicine (RITM).
However, after inves-
tigating, the Department
of Health (DOH) released
a statement declaring
“Tulog ako noon,
tapos may narinig akong
sumigaw...pag tingin ko
sa likod, umuusok na,”
says Aaron Garcia, pas-
senger.
All 14 students
on board were shuttled
to UP Diliman on a dif-
ferent vehicle.
No injuries were
reported in the incident.
the JE epidemic specula-
tion false. DOH also stat-
ed that no record of the
said disease was found in
different hospitals in Los
Baños and nearby areas.
Fatal Illness
JE is a disease trans-
mitted by the Aedes ae-
gypti mosquito. It causes
an inflammation of the
brain which may lead to
comatose and death. Re-
sembling a few of those
of the dengue virus (a
disease also spread by
mosquitos), its symptoms
include fever, headache,
vomiting and body pains.
The first JE case was re-
corded in Japan on 1871.
Prevention is better than
the cure
Though the Los Baños
cases were refuted of be-
ing JE, we must all still
take preventive measures
to ensure that there will
be no future victims.
 NEWS 3

IBARANGS Leila Maligalig

DOMINATE NEOFILIPINO STAGE

Photo from CCP Choreographers Series

C o m p o s i n g mo s t o f c he, N o vy Ber e be r , Chr is- La chica , Alisson Se gua r - “ Othe r Ma t t e r s ” in t e n d s g it ’ … Pin a k it a n a m a n n i An -

t h e p r o d uc ti o n team an d
da nc e c o m p an y memb ers ,
st u den ts an d a l um n i o f the
P h ilipp i n e H i g h S cho o l fo r
t h e A r ts ( PH S A ) c l ai med
t h e s tag e o f N e o Fi l i p i n o :
O t h e r M a tte r s , hel d l as t
O c t o b e r 7 an d 8 at the
T a ngh al an g A ur e l i o T o l en -
t ino, C ul tur al Ce n ter o f the
P h ilipp i n e s ( CC P) .
D i r e c te d b y Den i s a
R e y es , the s ho w featu red
fiv e co n te m p o r a r y d an c e
p iec e s cho r e o g r ap hed b y
P HSA al um n us J K A n i c o -
ti n e C rame, Ma . Ele na
Lan i o g, an d Er ne st Ma n-
d ap .
Bes i d es Anicoche ,
23 o ther Ib arangs we r e in-
c l u d ed i n the pr oduction—
P ro d u c ti o n Ma na ge r Jojo
Maman gu n ; S ta ge Ma na g-
er J ai ro I b arrie ntos; pe r -
fo rmers T o n j ie Ma nga o,
Mi c hael Qu e, Dingdong
S el ga, A el A b raha m, Aisha
P o l es ti c o , Mar k Roble s,
A l exa T o rte, Ja m Cha ve z ,
H o n ey J u n ti l l a , Da n We s-
l ey , C l y d e E n ri que z , Ji-a nn
r a , Adr ie nne Ve r ga r a , Me i-
la Rome r o, Al Ga r cia , a nd
Ja nine Ar isola —thr e e of
which a r e cur r e nt Gr a de
1 2 Da nce Ma jor s—na me ly,
Micha e la Ca r r e on, Aa r on
Ga r cia , a nd Chile s Ma r a ña
a nd Ha dr ia n Va yda l, ga r de
1 2 The a te r Ar ts Ma jor .
Ne oF ilipino is the
thir d pa r t of the a nnu-
a l CCP Chor e ogr a phe r s’
Se r ie s a nd a ims to se r ve
a s a pla tfor m for F ilipino
chor e ogr a phe r s in sta ging
the ir e xpe r ime nta l cr a fts.
to use da n c e a s a m e d iu m
for pr ot e s t o n a v a r ie t y o f
conte m p o r a r y is s u e s .
“T in a la k a y n i Cr a -
me sa k a n iy a n g ‘ S w a n
La k e b y t h e L a k e s id e ’
a ng polit ik a n g s a y a w
sa p a g - d e c o n s t r u c t n iy a
sa Swan L a k e n a is a n g
sik a t na c la s s ic a l b a lle t …
B inigyan n a m a n n g p a g -
pupuga y a n g a la a la n g
mga ba y a n in g S AF 44 n i
La niog s a k a n iy a n g ‘ In
White , In Pe a c e : S a y a w
ng Mga An g h e l s a L a n -
ic o c h e a n g la h a t n g m g a
p r o b le m a n g k in a k a h a r a p
n g b a n s a s a k a n iy a n g
’ 15 m in u t e s o f y o u r t im e ’
g a m it a n g m g a t o t o o n g t a o
b ila n g m g a k w e n t is t a n g
s a r ili n ila n g m g a k w e n t o …
Pin a k it a n i M a n d a p a n g d i
m a t a p o s - t a p o s n a u s a p in …
s a L G B T Q ++ s a ‘ Ze b r a ’ . At
s a ‘ Fu g u e ’ n a m a n n i B e r -
e b e r t in a la k a y a n g p o lit ik a
n g k a t a w a n … [ it o ’ y ] is a n g
magandang movement
s t u d y , ” e x p la in s Al G a r c ia
o n t h e s p e c if ic t h e m e s o f
t h e f e a t u r e d p ie c e s .

The University of the

Philippines Journalism Club
(UPJC) went to the Philippine
Ibarangs
Journalism club holds High School for the Arts (PHSA)
to conduct their 2017 Commu- participate in
risk-disaster
nity Journalism Workshop for
workshop for Variations the staff of PHSA’s school pa-
per, Variations, on August 13.
Lila Sayajon
The workshop was management seminar
led by former UPJC president,
Meeko Camba, an alumna of Nelvie Daliva
PHSA, who majored in Voice.
A seminar titled, a natural calamity.
The Variations staff
“Handa Ako! Sa Pana-
were divided and assigned to
hon ng Sakuna, Kail- After the lec-
different workshops such as fea-
angang Maging Han- ture, students partic-
ture writing and editorial writing.
da!” was held at the ipated in an activity
Bulwagang Sarimanok testing their knowl-
After the work-
and was conducted by edge on calamities,
shops, an awarding ceremo-
Allied Arts teacher, what their responses
ny for participants took place.
Liwliwa Malabed, last are when a natural
The workshop also served
July 25. disaster comes their
as preparation to the Varia-
way, what things to
tions staff for the 2017 Divi-
The objective of bring, who they would
sion Secondary Schools Press
the event was to pre- consult when this
Conference at the Governor
pare the Ibarang com- happens and what
Felicisimo T. San Luis Inte-
UPJC holds workshop for Variations, PHSA, August 13. Photo from Darren
munity on what to do they think would be
grated National High School in
Rivera and how to react be- the over-all result of
Santa Cruz, Laguna which took
fore, during and after the disaster.
place last September 20-22.
 4 NEWS
Ibarangs hold Mutya’t and Crizza Urmaneta
(Folk Dance) bagged
“
Lakan and Freshmen Night “ [ A n g ] M u t y a ’t
the main titles. First
Runner Ups were
Moana Gabriel (Visual Lakan at Fresh-

2017
man Night…
Arts) and Rex Ducusin
Events Mutya’t (Ballet). Second Run-
Sidney lampayan Lakan and Freshmen ner Ups were Rech- [ay] isang ma-
Night were held at elle Balasoto (Theater
the Tanghalang Maria Arts) and Miggy Delos ligayang araw
Makling last June 29,
2017 to introduce the
Santos (Music Instru-
ment, Violin).
for the new
newest batch of Iba- students to in-
rangs to the rest of
the community.
Batch
also featuyred
Cozara
their troduce them-
talents in their re- selves,”
The new stu- spective art fields
dents, formally known during the Freshman
as Batch Francisco Night with the guid-
ance of Batch Romu-
-grade 9
Coching - Jose Maria
Zaragoza (Cozara), lo - de Leon (Modelo), student
were contestants of the seniors.
the pageant, Mutya’t
Lakan, where Justine
Photo from PHSA Archives. Colar (Theater Arts)

Pasinaya opens
name. During this part of the
program, participants get to PHSA vis its Mindoro
watch films, tour exhibits, and
enjoy performances by the
for a s ec ond tim e
doors for 14th Ballet Philippines, Philippine
Ballet Theater, Philippine Mad-
rigal Singers, Philippine Phil-
HAVEN MOSQUITO

year Leila Maligalig

As a part of the cel-
ebration of the National Arts
Month, the Cultural Center of
the Philippines (CCP) hosted
its 14th Pasinaya Open House
Festival, an annual arts festival
featuring esteemed artists last
February 3 and 4, 2018.
This year’s festival
was called “Pusuan ang Sin-
ing” and consists of a two-part
program, Palihan at Palabas.
Palihan is the work-
shop component of the pro-
gram, where participants do-
nate Php50 to attend different
30-minute workshops facilitat-
ed by professionals in various
art disciplines.
Palabas is composed
of performances, hence its
harmonic Orchestra, Ramon
Obusan Folkloric Group, Tan-
ghalang Pilipino, UST Sym-
phony Orchestra, and about
300 other guest performers
and artists.
CCP also partnered
with 14 museums, including
Casa Manila, Met Museum,
Museum of Contemporary Art
and Design, Museo Pambata,
National Museum, Bahay Tsi-
noy, and the NCCA Gallery to
further spread the spirit of the
Arts Month.
Philippine High School
for the Arts (PHSA) sent some
of its senior high school stu-
dents, to Roxas, Oriental Min-
doro, for its Annual Search
for Young Arts Scholars (AN-
SYAS), November 2017.
Roxas City Mayor
Volet Dimapilis greeted the
students with a performance
by the pupils of San Roque
Elementary School, then pre-
pared a meal to celebrate
their arrival.
The PHSA students
conducted workshops and
performances to promote the
school, then went to Claren-
don Montessori to facilitate
ANSYAS auditions.
At the end of the day,
the students went to Kamayan
Penthouse and enjoyed the
beaches of Mindoro.
The group sent to
Mindoro was made up of
grade 11 students and grade
12 dance majors.

Wikasaysayan:
Writer attends, Maura yap &
Ballet majors
perform undergrad
leila maligalig
conducts talk
BIANCA RABE

Musika Ibarang sings prayer for Wikasaysayan, Bulwagang Lakanbako, August

31. Photo form PHSA Archives.
Roy Kagalingan, Filipino writer, re-
turns to the Philippine High School
for the Arts for the school’s celebra-
tion of Buwan ng Wika through a
program called “Wikasaysayan” at
Bulwagang Lakanbako, August 31.
After the opening message by Di-
rector IV Dr. Vim Nadera, a talk
transpired. This was conducted by
Kagalingan, under the theme “Filipi-
no: WIkang Mapagbago”.
“Nabigyang linaw ako kung gaano
natin kamahal ang sarili nating wika,
kung gaano kalaki ang inilaan natin
upang pagyamanin ang wikang Fil-
ipino,” says James Lanante, grade
11 student, “na sa kasalukuyan ay
hindi natin na makikita masyado
dahil sa colonial mentality ng mga
Pilipino.”
The program also consisted of per-
formances by each art major and a
Best in Filipiniana contest.
Kagalingan also attended last year’s
Wikasaysayan along with other fel-
low writers.
Grade 9 ballet majors performs for ballet undergrad recital at National Arts Center, September 3. Photo from PHSA
Archives.
Grade 9 students
of the Maquiling Ballet,
Philippine High School for
the Arts’ resident ballet
company, showcased their
original choreography
through an undergraduate
recital, September 3 at the
Tanghalang Maria Makil-
ing.
Alongside the re-
citalists, the rest of Ma-
quiling Ballet performed
tap dance and a series
of contemporary dances
from their repertoire class.
“Para sa akin, so-
brang nakakakaba kasi
hindi ko alam kun anong
magiging reaction ng mga
tao…pero at the same time,
ang sarap sa feeling na
choreography mo [ang]
sayaw mo,” shares Re-
anne Nicole Tangalin, re-
citalist.
The company annu-
ally stages an undergrad-
uate to show the progress
of students in both danc-
 NEWS 5
PHSA students
Freshman advances to sweep top
RSPC 2017
Bianca rabe

Leila Maligalig
places in
& Daniel Ben municipal contest
Along with Sayajon,

“
Buwan Lila Say-

“
staff members of Variations, The visual arts
ajon, grade 7 creative the official school publica- students from the Phil-
writing student at the tion of PHSA, also compet- ippine High School for
Philippine High School
I feel nervous ed in other categories of the Arts swept the top
for the Arts (PHSA), four places in the “Los “ I t ’s a p l e a -
because it’s my
the contest, where Margaret
ranked third in the Fea- Baños Guhit ng Ka-
Louise Mil and Danielle Al-
s u r e , a c t u a l l y,
tures (English) Catego-
first time to join exandra Castillo won sixth hapon, Pamana ng Ba-
ry at the Division Sec- place in News (English) gong Henerasyon” com- nung nana-
ondary Schools Press [the] Press Con- and seventh place in Sports petition, organized by
lo ako. Naka-
ference, and I’ll
Conference (DSSPC). (English), respectively. the municipal govern-
ment. ka-proud at
The said com- be alone. Sayajon was one of ang saya na
petition was held at the representatives of La- The results were
the Gov. Felicismo T. guna in Region 4-A’s Re- announced to the stu- nanalo ka; ang
San Luis Memorial Na- dents last Febuary 8.
tional High School, - Sayajon gional Secondary Schools
Mary Anne Caharop, a effort mo na
Press Conference (RSSPC)
September 20-22. in Batangas last November. grade 8 student; Sherry nagawa mo,
Kagalingan, a grade 9
student; Luce Melegri-
worth it siya,”
to, another grade 8 stu-

Vietnam Visit: dent; and Denise Nativi-

dad, a freshman; placed
first, second, third, and
fourth respectively.
- Caharop

the Makiling Dance Project

flies to Vietnam
Leila Maligalig
DSL restages
“Bantayog”
Maura yap

Photo from PHSA Archives.

November 25 A series of shows were feeling [when performing

marked yet another also performed in the
school year-highlight for dance festival, which
PHSA as the Makiling featured other countries
Dance Project (MDP), such as Singapore, Bru-
together with its Artis- nei, Sri Langka, among
tic Director, Al Garcia, others.
and Program Coordina-
tor, Jeng Halili, brought Their reper-
a taste of the Philippines toire consisted of the
to the World Dance Cul- folk dances Jota Quiri-
ture Expo in Ho Chi Minh, no, Banga, Kumakaret,
Vietnam. and Ipag/Pamansak, as
well as Tinire, an origi-
The said festival nal contemporary piece
was started by a Korean by Al Garcia, which was
organization in 2006 and inspired by the different
this year’s is the third functions of the Cordille-
one hosted. ran Tinire cloth.
Not only did the “Sanay na kami
group get to explore the mag-perform kaya sig-
streets of Ho Chi Minh. uro pareho lang siya ng
locally], pero nangyari
siya in a different coun-
try,” shares MDP mem-
ber Rexter Nagano about
his experience abroad.
“Pero mas na-learn ko
‘yung kultura nila, yung
manners nila,” he adds.
The MDP mem-
bers who participated
in the event were se-
nior high school dance
majors, namely Ren-ar
Padole, Gillianne Bear-
neza, Teresa de Chavez,
Princess Balido, Sophia Dulaang Sipat Law-
Maunahan, Rexter Naga- in restages “Bantayog” for “Bantayog” is the the-
no, Aaron Garcia, Chiles their performance at the Tan- sis of the former Grade 10
Maraña, Michaela Carre- ghalang Huseng Batute, Cul- students of the School Year
on, and Zahreen Sadia. tural Center of the Philippines 2016-2017 containing short
(CCP) Sept. 8, 3pm in lieu of plays and devices that com-
Pista Rizalina – an event fea- ments on past and present po-
turing a set of plays about litical issues in the Philippines.
Martial Law.
 6 opinion
SILENT NO MORE
illustration by
Luce MelGRItO
On September 21,
2017, Variations, the official
school publication of the Phil-
ippine High School for the Arts
(PHSA), joined in the spirit of
National Protest Day by issu-
ing a statement on one of the
school’s recent critiques.
It’s no secret that for-
mer First Lady Imelda Marcos
was a big supporter of the
country’s arts and culture. become hot topics of debate,
CAGED AR TIS TS
The Philippine High
School for the Arts (PHSA)
has been under the pressure
of the Philippine government to
produce more artists, leaving
the institution to literally trap its
students in a six-year, loop-
hole-less scholarship contract
to make sure the budget allot-
ted for each student doesn’t get
“wasted”.
An artist’s freedom is
necessary for their growth. If
PHSA limits the student-artists
from widening their horizons to
other exposures, then there is-
certainly no need for the schol-
arship revision; no need to en-
close them for two extra years
without the option to leave any-
time before graduating Grade
10. If staying longer in PHSA
would only mean learning how
to keep a flame from blazing
brighter; how to take back the
love for art, wouldn’t the school
still fail at producing world-
class artists and go against the
government’s commands?
It is indeed ironic
how the pressure bestowed
upon PHSA comes from the
same government that could
not even support its local art-
ists, that these artists practice
their craft outside the country
where there is more promise
of a successful career. A step
that the Philippine government
Through her late
husband Ferdinand Marcos’
presidency (and consequent
dictatorship), she was able
to push through with projects
to help further the country’s
artistic and cultural heritage.
Most notable is the construc-
tion and opening of the Cul-
tural Center of the Philippines,
designed by National Artist
Leandro Locsin.
can take, besides caging PH-
SA’s students in the arts track
through the contract is to pro-
vide for and make sure that
the country’s artists—its culture
bearers—have its assistance
and once in a while prioritize
culture and the arts.
The quality of educa-
tion PHSA offers must also be
looked into. Should a student
back out from the scholarship
contract due to the terribly ten-
tative Senior High School (SHS)
curricula, for example, then a
different action must be done
to encourage—and not force—
students to stay. Teachers may
undergo training to make sure
they would and could teach,
this time, ironed-out curricula.
We must also consid-
er the fact that PHSA isn’t the
only venue for young artists to
thrive. “[While] dancing outside
[PHSA]…I was exposed to more
teachers, dance techniques,
and opportunities which made
me a better dancer in terms of
being physically and mentally
stable,” says Dania Galicia, a
Grade 10 graduate from PHSA
and now a Grade 11 student at
San Beda College, Alabang.
One can and must
never be forced to do what
In 1977, through
Presidential Decree no. 1287,
PHSA, with the fullest support
of Imelda, opened its doors to
the young arts scholars of the
Philippines.
Now, exactly 40 years
later, the country is redis-
covering truths behind a re-
vised past. Martial Law and
the Marcos Dictatorship have
contradicts to what he actually
wants to do, as students who
have forgotten ardor for the arts
must not be obligated to con-
tinue a path they may regret or
even loathe.
and anything the Marcoses
touched was dissected under
the watchful eyes of the pub-
lic.
This, of course, in-
cluded our school. Our school
which has, to the time of the
writing of this article, not yet
released a statement.
Thus, the PHSA has
been under-fire for our silence
from the issue. Even going as
Upon the implemen-
tation of the conditions of the
revised document comes the
caging of student-artists. This
revision of the scholarship
contract does not prevent the
spilling of milk, which was what
far as being called the school
an “Imelda-stronghold.”
This silence is where
we based our participation on
in the National Day of Protest.
Given that our school’s
budget is from the government
(which has shown itself to be
pro-Marcos), we understand
the trickiness of the school
administration’s positions. The
priority of the school is the
students that inhabit it. Re-
leasing a statement, regard-
less of stance, may greatly af-
fect the funding of the school
and the safety of the students.
However, as the
school paper - composed by
students - we have been giv-
en a platform to amplify the
voice of the student popula-
tion, detached from the admin;
a realization that came nearly
a whole-year since the issue
of Ferdinand Marcos’ burial in
the Heroes’ Cemetery.
Thus, realizing our
position, we released our for-
mal apology. There are certain
situations our school should
have engaged in the dialogue
of.
We must stop cover-
ing our ears, pretending not
to hear the pulsating beat of
a history resurfaced. To be
silent is to ignore the op-
pressed and to surrender the
fight to the oppressor.
PHSA was going for.
After all, a budget al-
lotment of P300,000 per school
year does not buy a student’s
freedom to leave upon their will.
 opinion 7

MOBILE ACTIVISM
On the school’s post-
poning of the suspension of
classes in lieu of the National
Day of Protest.
The school postponed
the suspension of classes to
September 22 instead of the
declared September 21.
Students may not have
been physically involved in the
rallies against tyranny, but the
voice of revolt will never cease
to be heard until it is abolished.
Through voicing our
opinions on social media on
MisconceptionS of Beauty
Social media has ev-
idently become an outlet for
our opinions, emotions, and
frustrations, hence all sorts
of ideologies and concepts
come to the minds of millen-
nials who are regular users
of social media. One of the
things that we might pick up
is the misconception of beau-
ty and how those of high so-
cial status are the only ones
who can possess or attain it.
the National Day of Protest, we,
the students, have added to the
In social media, beau-
spirit of the revolution. Our bod-
ty is depicted through photos
ies were not present, but our
portraying lavish lifestyles of
spirit sang with our fellow coun-
women and men in luxuri-
trymen.
ous clothing, posts of celeb-
We would continue to
rities and other iconic peo-
fight for freedom and justice un-
ple garnering attention and
til we secure liberty for our pos-
approval through millions of
terity.
likes, faves, and retweets.
We are not overnight
revolutionaries, and there will
We therefore tend to
be other days. But we will never
think that we need to camou-
stop raging against the dying of
flage in this expensive world
the light!
these people have established,
Millennials
and the
so slay and people want [to
be] that kind of person be-
cause kasabay ng trend…Sa
mature audience, if they tend
to be a Kim K online, they
can control it. Sa younger, I
feel like madadala nila yung
values even outside [social]
media,” the follower adds.
In a problematic so-
ciety like ours, this issue in-
deed causes a huge problem
in the sense that it hinders
a great number of millenni-
als from self-development
and self-acceptance. The
psychological effects of the
matter overweigh belonging
to the said expensive world.
Yet, to stop a weed
from growing means pulling
it from its very roots. That
said, we must trace back to
the stimulants that may have
encouraged millennials to
Another could be mil-
lennials idolizing wrong influ-
ences. Indeed, it is hard to re-
sist succumbing to trends and
thoughts of prominent voices
in social media, but it is import-
ant for one to know that find-
ing an own voice is much bet-
ter than simply attempting to
sound like a well-known one.
People in general
must also free from thinking
that expensive equals beauty.
In clothing, for instance, not
all that is expensive is beau-
tiful the same way all that is
beautiful is not expensive.
One could purchase the most
expensive piece of clothing
and still not feel beautiful in it.
We must also keep in
mind that looks are not all that
there is to beauty – a com-
mon statement that is easi-
er said than understood and
practiced. We must appre-

“
when the unseen truth is we hend that the kind of beauty
don’t. The growing trend to worth upholding is the kind
Founder vs. funder follow the footsteps of these
wealthy people just to be “in”,
Yet, to stop
that is not about looking good
24/7 but rather being good
“beautiful”, and accepted to oneself, most especially to
Must the school and its students recognize their
allegiance to the founders of the school or to the funders of the
in society is truly ludicrous.
a weed from others. In the Bible, Adam and
Eve themselves were bare
institution? Kim Kardashian-West,
famous for her supposed growing and as naked as any man
and woman could get when
Every student, faculty, and staff are constantly reminded
that the school was a product of the Marcoses. But does this
good looks and social status,
has 102 million followers on means pulling the Lord declared them as
His most beautiful creations.
entail that every student that walks through “Imelda’s Seven
Hills” is a product of the Marcoses as well?
Instagram and 54.5 million on
Twitter, which are two wide- it from its very Indeed, it is not wrong

Although the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA)

ly-used social media sites.
“She’s [been] a really popular
may be the brain child of Imelda Marcos herself, one must not icon ever since Keeping Up
forget where she got (and continue to get) the funding for the with the Kardashians (a reality
institution -- the taxpayers of the Philippines.
TV show featuring her family)
started…She’s an influential
And as a student of the PHSA, as a scholar of the arts, I
person in social media,” says
believe that this is where our true loyalty must lie.
a follower, who also looks
up to Kardashian “when you
It is the taxpayers of the Philippines who pay for our
tuition, our food, our lodging, our studying materials, our monthly want to look good,” also add-
stipend -- everything that is a part of the scholarship we were ing that the icon influenced
awarded, all of it is paid for by our countrymen. her taste in clothing. How-
ever, “She’s too rich…[and]
This is not a hard argument to make. swipes her card anytime. Ma-
hilig siya sa material things.
Is it the Marcoses who feed us? Is it the Marcoses who She tends to show that she
teach us? Is it the Marcoses who separate themselves from their has lots of lands. She buys a
families to undergo six years of intensive arts training? lot of stuff to show that she
has power and she has the
No. Our food budget is part of the funding from the state;
money to afford what 80%
our teachers work day and night to help us become the best
of the world can’t,” the fol-
students we can be; and it is us, the arts scholars of the nation,
lower confessed. “Sa pana-
who tire day in and day out, submitting papers and plates, in the
hon ngayon nakikita mo na
name of honing our individual crafts.
people try to adjust to what
others think is cool…You got-
We cannot choose the past our school was founded
ta be a Kim K because she’s
upon, but we can choose the future we’ll lead it into.
roots. to relish luxury, however liv-
ing for it and sacrificing more
than sensible and groveling
to a higher social status just
adapt to this misconception.
to attain it for online pop-
An example could be that ad-
ularity is a different matter.
olescents grow up in social
Again, material things and
media instead of their homes.
wealth must never measure
Based on statistics from
one’s value as a person –
eMarket, millennials spend an
online and particularly offline.
average of 7.5 hours a day
on the internet. That leaves us
In the end, it all
only 16.5 hours left to attend
comes down to how we must
to our basic needs and con-
put to heart and mind that the
nect with existent, non-virtu-
internet’s standards of beau-
al people around us, such as
ty aren’t the only ones that
our families. With that surfeit
exist and that we certainly
amount of time squandered on
do not have to cramp our-
social media, it is not surpris-
selves within these margins
ing how fellow users raise us
just to be “beautiful”. The
into the people we’ll become
real world is much wider than
and are becoming instead of
any social media account in
our parents and kin. Hence,
any case, full of people who
parents must be of more guid-
are all kinds of beautiful.
ance to their children, cen-
soring and monitoring what
they take in from the internet.

Editor In Chief | Maura Aurel Yap Associate Editor | Bianca Ysabel Rabe News Editor | Leila Francesca Maligalig
Features Editor | Margaret Louise Mil Sports Editor | Danielle Alexandra Castillo Science and Health Editor | Daniel Ben
Photography Editor | Lei Angeli Ortega Layout Artist | Amara Mikaela Averion Writers | Therese Malapad • Haven Mosquito •
Maria Sophia Beatriz Reyes • Ianna Oliveros • Buwan Lila Sayajon • Mary Nelvie Daliva • Sidney Lampayan
Illustrators | Mary Anne Caharop • Luce Melegrito • Kristen Sison • Isagani Pinzon • Mary Agatha Visperas
Photographer | Vien Husana Adviser | Jon Darren Rivera
 8 opinion
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
F I L I P I N O
How do you show
pride of country in a world
where the internet blurs the
lines between borders and cul-
tures? With the state of rapid
globalization, what happens
when culture becomes a cur-
rency?
First of all, to suggest
that culture could be used as
currency implies an exchange
of goods. This begs the ques-
tion of what those goods are.
The most obvious answer
would be a glimpse into other
cultures. Literally, a culture ex-
change. This breeds patriotism
and creates a world where cit-
izens are aware of their con-
nection with their country and
fellow countrymen. However,
this also enforces a sense of
otherness with other cultures –
In this millenium, the
freedom of the press is but
a talk over coffee. It is often
subjugated by the politics or
finances, but never princi-
ple. Moreover, to be hushed
when you know to yourself
and to the facts that it is the
utter truth, the urgency to
be heard is a must. Espe-
cially when it is the officials
themselves who decided to
silence you down.
The Campus Jour-
nalism Act of 1991 indi-
cates that student publi-
cations are “independently
published”, therefore the
contents are decided by
the students who justify the
publication’s staff. As long
as there are no laws vio-
lated, such as libel, provid-
ing that it complies with the
rules of fairness and ethical
journalism.
Yes, it is only ap-
plicable for collegiate pub-
lications for their editorial
board to resolve and face
the consequences af-
ter. And as for secondary
school newspapers, the
advisers are there to direct
and monitor what the staff
is planning to do. When it
is the mentors who decide
to deprive the people of the
truth, the editorial board
deciding for the publica-
tion’s fate is no longer the
sole violation of the 1991
the dichotomy of us and them.
This is not inherently
bad. It ensures having a na-
tion of people who are willing
to work for a common goal
for the nation’s common good.
This breeds nationalism. But
what about the people, most
importantly, the youth who are
not in tune with the sun in their
skins? What about the children
who learned to speak a col-
onizer’s language before the
language of their mothers?
This creates citizens
spouting “support local” while
patronizing colonial powers. In
spite of this, we must under-
stand that it’s not the children’s
fault. It’s the society. More spe-
cifically, it’s the Philippines’
blatant colonial mentality
Sh
d wn
which values English-speaking
tongues and lighter skins. What
happens when these children
search for a piece of their cul-
ture to find their place in? What
happens when they can’t find
it? Think “baybayin aesthet-
ic quotes” or Instagram posts
with people donning traditional
Ifugao clothes.
First and foremost,
there is nothing bad about
learning baybayin or wearing
traditional Ifugao clothing. It
becomes “bad” when it’s tak-
en out of context. Baybayin
was drained out of mainstream
usage in the country by centu-
ries-worth of colonization. Jose
Rizal said in El Filibusterismo
that “language is the thought
of a people”. We managed to
keep our tongues intact and, in
O t
spite of the centuries, managed
to rediscover and relearn one
of our ancient alphabets.
The current trend of
cultural and historical edu-
cation brought in people who
can help keep our culture on
the forefront of every Filipino’s
lives. In this case, the word
trend is being used to suggest
a general change. But trend
can also mean something that
is popular for a short while.
Learning and spreading infor-
mation about who we were
as a people ensures that this
isn’t short-lived. However, the
method in doing so must be
thought about carefully.
Using baybayin as an
“aesthetic” defeats the purpose
of re-education by reducing it
into a buzz move used to gen-
erate likes and shares on so-
cial media. One can argue that
this aestheticizing of one of our
pre-colonial alphabets can be
counted as spreading aware-
ness, but why should we in-
fluence others when we aren’t
fully aware of its cultural and
historical importance first?
Same goes with don-
ning Ifugao clothes to post on
Instagram or Facebook. Again,
it’s not about what you do, it’s
about what else you do. Is the
post directing attention to the
plight of the country’s indige-
nous groups? Or is the post
supposed to prove your “Fili-
pino-ness”? There are more
proper ways to show off your
Filipino pride and capitalizing
on cultural appropriation is not
one of it.
And while we’re on it,
yes, you can commit cultural
appropriation even though it’s
part of your country’s culture.
It’s still disrespectful and does
not give you a pass simply
because you are Filipino. Re-
member that the Philippines is
very diverse and is home to
many groups and subcultures
– some of which you may not
be a part of.
So, what happens
when culture is used on the
internet to gain buzz? We get
countrymen who feel com-
pelled that they must defend
their “Filipino-ness”.
act, but also a violation of
journalistic ethics.
The True, the Good,
and the Beautiful. The man-
date which our school was
built upon. It values the truth
above anything. And to dis-
credit your decree to your-
self is to scorch your own
tongue. In the act, Rule IV,
Section 4, letters i-j, states
that the aims and purpos-
es of student publications
is not just a requirement
for an English subject, but
of all things, is to advocate
consciousness among the
students and to inform them
of their rights and responsi-
bilities.
And the previous
staffs were not as subdued
as us, given the fact that
they we are as vocal as they
were. Taking down state-
ments to taking down ac-
tual happenings that should
be shown in the paper, why
did the urge to monitor us
appear all of a sudden? Is
it for the illusion that they
care for our welfare?
For what it is worth,
we value principles above
anything. And to be taught
of violating the moralities
and ethics that they them-
selves taught you, is drink-
ing more coffee than you
can.

That ASEAN Situation
“Habang sumasayaw kami
‘don, dinadaan-daanan lang
kami ng mga presidente—
hindi man lang kami pinan-
sin,” a Sanghiyas Pangkat
Mananayaw (SPM) member
shares about the group’s ex-
perience in the 2017 Associ-
ation of South East Asian Na-
tions Summit hosted by the
The Philippines
has been an indepen-
dent nation for many
decades, however the
centuries worth of co-
lonial oppression is
still ever present in the
country’s culture. The
proof is in your living
room, breathing in the
media that presents it-
self on your television
screen.
The recently
aired “Bagani” has re-
ceived harsh criticism
on the internet. Neti-
zens are calling the
show out on its bla-
tant colonial mentali-
ty with the casting of
opinion
Philippines.
SPM is the official group of
folk dance majors in the Phil-
ippine High School for the
Arts (PHSA) and consists of
junior high school students. It
was indeed very “exciting”—
as SPM members said—for
such young dancers to get the
SINIGANG
for thought
Liza Soberano and En-
rique Gil. The criticism
stems from the fact
that these actors pos-
sess Eurocentric fea-
tures in a fantaserye
set in the pre-colonial
era.
The criticisms
aren’t meant to attack
their “Filipino-ness”
or their acting skills.
They’re tackling the
connotations of allow-
chance to perform alongside
other known dance compa-
nies such as the Salinggawi,
Sanlahi, Kaloob, and Ramon
Obusan dance troupes, and
for world leaders, might I add.
But what was supposedly the
source of such excitement
later became the source of
exhaustion and failed expec-
ing these non-Filipino
looking Filipinos take
these roles. Here is a
television show about
our country, set in a
time before our land
was ravished by the
colonizers. Casting ac-
tors who look like the
colonizers completely
defeats the purpose of
having a show set in a
time before them. It’s
cultural erasure and
completely disrespect-
tations.
One of the biggest complaints
heard from some members
was the fact that instead of
the anticipated theater stage,
they had to perform on grass
right in front of the Cultur-
al Center of the Philippines
(CCP) building, where the
event was held. To top off the
performance venue, stage
lights weren’t provided to
complete the ambience—the
noontime sun took care of
that. “Hindi naman sa hindi
masaya,” another member
reasoned, “pero magulo…Hin-
di plantsado yung mga hum-
ahawak ng event…at sobrang
init.”
The dancers had to wake up
at 3 AM to prepare for their
performance at 6 AM. What
they weren’t told, however,
was that it may take time be-
fore the arrival of the guests,
and so they had to repeat their
repertoire countless of times
without any idea of when the
guests will reach the venue.
One time, they recalled, no
one arrived until three hours
after they started performing,
and even then, they had to
dance until 12 PM. Because
of the heat and fatigue—and
the single basket of water
provided for all 21 of them—a
dancer even collapsed.
Another factor which trig-
gered the group’s frustra-
tion was the fact that other
non-native dances were pre-
sented inside the theater. It is
not wrong to showcase the
Filipinos’ talent in western art
ful to the history of
our nation.
Media like liter-
ature, music, movies,
etc. are reflections of
present society. They
are time capsules of
an era. What we see
on our tv and movie
screens represent the
culture that we val-
ue. You can say that
showbiz will be show-
biz, but until when is
9
forms, which foreign guests
may have enjoyed, and the
Bayanihan folk dance troupe
did perform indoors, but it is
disheartening all the same
how our vibrant culture was
presented in a literal vibrant
performance space, where
supposed viewers would just
pass by the performers.
“Wala kaming magagawa,” a
member said, also emphasiz-
ing how Philippine folk dance
seems more of a showcase
and less of a traditional prac-
tice, losing its spirit and pur-
pose to ornamentation. Even
though this is so, it is still
important to keep in mind—
and hope that others do
too—that the arts should not
be thought of as “lower” pro-
fessions. The situation is in-
deed not new, for we see not
just dance, but also music,
literature, etc. used as back-
ground effects to set the café
or bistro mood, for example.
It is through these instances
that we see the eagerness of
artists to share, inspire, and
bear cultural identities de-
spite the kind of treatment
given in return. “It’s called Art
Politics,” the member added,
“Kailangan mong i-alay ‘yong
sarili mo alang-alang sa per-
formance.”
Despite the treatment giv-
en to them for three straight
days, SPM members were
still proud to have brought
home a compensation fee to
be used in purchasing pro-
duction supplies for their fu-
ture shows. “At sunblock,” a
member kidded.
that going to be a val-
id excuse? It’s time to
start looking at “show-
biz will be showbiz”
not as an excuse but
as a reason.
We weren’t tall;
our race didn’t have
sharp noses or skin
greasing up over three
layers of dark foun-
dation. Our ancestors
were short, had flat
noses and dark skin
that glowed gold under
the tropical sun. This
is beauty, not only be-
cause it is the truth,
but because it is us.
 10
The Sound of
President Rodrigo
Duterte issued Proclamation No.
216 and asked for five more
months to handle the conflict
in Marawi last May 23, 2017.
This would give more
power in strengthening the
stronghold of the Joint Task
Force of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) and Phil-
ippine National Police (PNP).
This would also provide more
openings to evacuate civilians
still trapped in the city. How-
ever, this would mean anoth-
er painstaking wait after being
displaced from their homes.
The debate also came
about on how President Duterte
had no basis on extending the
proclamation due to the limita-
tions of imposing Martial Law
for a year. Concerns arise that a
Margaret mil
T h e s p r ea d of K o-
r ea n p op c u l t u r e, d ub b ed
the “ H a l l y u W ave ” b y t h e
C hin es e , has reac h ed
ev en t h e s t u d en t s of t h e
P hilippi ne High Sc h ool
f o r th e A r t s ( PHSA ) on
top o f M ou nt M ak ilin g.
The t ea c h er s h av e n ot ed
tha t it h as s w ep t t h e s t u-
den ts ’ a t t en t i on a way from
sc ho o l w o r k , a ffe c t in g t h e
p er f or m a n c e of s ome.
A s s c h o l ar s , P HSA
stude n t s h ave t o meet
c er ta i n grade req uire-
men ts . I f a s t u d en t wis h es
to r em ai n i n t h e s c h ool,
the y n eed t o d o t heir b es t
in c ons i s t ent l y pe rformin g
w e ll. F o r s om e t eac h ers ,
K - P op a n d K -D r a mas are
hin der i ng s om e s t ud en t s
f r om d oi n g ex ac t l y s o.
“ I ’ve no t i ced t h at
so me s t u d en t s ’ p erfor-
ma n ces d r o p ped b ec aus e
o f wat c h i ng K-Dramas ,”
sa id S i r D a r r en R iv era, an
Opinion
Silence
humanitarian crisis would erupt
in the city due to the residents
still trapped in the battle zone,
desperate for food and the fear
of execution from the militants.
But despite the concerns, the
martial law has made benefits
towards the AFP in capturing
the parents of the Maute lead-
ers, Farhana Romato Maute
and Cayamora Maute, and the
other militants of the groups.
The extra months would also
give more time to draw out
Isnilon Hapilon the leader of the
Abu Sayaff. Sources say that
they tracked him down inside
a Mosque after being acknowl-
edged to have left the city.
Hopefully, the martial
law extension would help the
military’s stronghold in clear-
ing out the remaining terrorists
and regain control of Marawi
K- C U L T U R E
INVASION
En glis h t eac h er in PHS A.
Howev er, the ma in
root of t h is problem is
n ot K -P op or K- Dra ma s.
Th e p rob lem needs to be
look ed at lik e a weed: in
ord er t o effec t ively get rid
of it , en s ure t ha t no roots
are left b eh in d.
Firs t ly, it must be
ac k n owled ged tha t this
k in d of p h enomenon is
n ot un iq ue on l y to Korea n
p op c ult ure.
“We ca n’t just
gen eraliz e t h at only Ko-
rean d ramas a re crea t-
in g effec t s b eca use there
are s ome wh o pref er the
ot h ers lik e J-Pop,” Ronia
M os as o, a Sc ience tea ch-
er at P HSA , s aid. S he a lso
c it ed t h e Taiwa nese dra -
ma Met eor Ga rden a s a n
ex amp le.
M aura Ya p, a f a n
of Jap an ’s anime, sa id
Leila Maligalig
City to prevent the spread of
Maute terror and crime rate. It
would also accelerate the re-
habilitation process of the city
to end the hardship of the civil-
ians and give back their home.
Amidst protests
against the Marcos burial, it
is truly surprising how writ-
er Angelo Suarez lashed out
on the Philippine High School
for the Arts’ (PHSA) “fail-
ure” to release a statement
against the burial of dictator
Ferdinand Marcos at LNMB
through Facebook without
knowledge of the students’
actions towards the said issue.
“High schools have
been speaking up against
the Marcos regime & Duter-
te’s hand in the whitewash.
But I can also hear the si-
tha t she used to f inish
two a nimes in a month,
24 a nd 12 episodes.
“S o f a r, I’ve been
prioritizing work but it’s
def initely interf ered,” Ya p
f urther sta ted.
Moving on, this
problem rega rding K- Pop
a nd K- Dra ma s ma y just
stem f rom the inca pa bility
of a f ew students to dis-
tribute their time between
studying a nd wa tching
K- Dra ma s or listening to
K- Pop.
“I rea lized tha t it
semi- a f f ected my study-
ing ha bits beca use in-
stea d of rea ding or f ree-
writing, I’d wa tch dra ma s,
then I a lwa ys f elt the
need to bring my la ptop
to wa tch K- Dra ma s, a nd
then tha t’s when I rea lized
tha t it wa sn’t tha t hea lthy
a nymore,” Bia nca Ra be
sa id, a gra de 9 Crea tive
lence from that other Imelda
stronghold— the Philippine
High School for the Arts—all
the way from Makiling,” stat-
ed Suarez on December 5.
This Facebook status update,
however, has no proper basis.
First, there were Iba-
rang (the collective term for
students of PHSA) who par-
ticipated in movements against
the Marcos burial. “Di ako na-
kapunta sa rally sa Libingan
[ng mga Bayani] dahil nan-
dito ako [sa campus] nung
time na yun, pero... hindi ako
umupo lang... Sinamantala ko
yung pagkakataon para sabi-
hin yung saloobin ko, yung
stand ko. Dinaan ko sa so-
cial media yung hinanakit,”
Aaron Garcia, a Grade 11
student at PHSA states.
On the other hand,
Jude Macasinag, also from the
11th Grade, went to a rally in
Luneta Park and made himself
one with the Marcos adversar-
ies. Several alumni were also
spotted in the same gathering.
We must also look
upon the fact that PHSA has
long severed its ties with the
Marcoses. Indeed, the insti-
tution was established by the
dictator’s first lady, however
after founding it, it was not the
Marcoses who kept the school
going, but the Filipino taxpay-
ers. Hence, Suarez’ descrip-
Writing St u dent .
T her e a r e a f ew
wa ys to g et r i d of t hi s
problem . O ne i s t o g i ve
students i nf or m a t i ve a nd
a ttention-g r a bbi ng s em i -
na rs on how t o m a na g e
time.
Anot her i s t o ha ve
a coupl e of peopl e, per -
ha ps the hou s e pa r ent s
a nd g u i da nc e c ou nc i l -
lor, moni t or t he s t u dent s ’
night a c t i vi t i es , s i nc e t ha t
is when t hey g ener a l l y
ha ve f ree t i m e.
T hi r d, m a y be t he
a dults c a n u s e K-D r a m a s
a nd K-P op a s a n i nc en-
tive. Bec a u s e t he s t u dent s
don’t cons t a nt l y ha ve w i -
f i, their a c c es s i s l i m i t ed
to the c ont ent t hey per -
sona lly ha ve a nd w ha t
their f el l ow s t u dent s ha ve.
The tea c her s c ou l d pos s i -
bly f ind a w a y t o u s e t hi s
f a ct to t hei r a dva nt a g e.
tion of PHSA as an “Imelda
stronghold” is purely inappro-
priate and wrong. The founder
of an institutionto which one
belongs to does not define
the individual’s stand. Further-
more, PHSA’s Director IV, Dr.
Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Na-
dera Jr. spoke up to the post,
saying “We’re only looking for
the right time. The staging of
‘Bantayog’ [a Theatre Arts re-
cital] is one of our moves.”
And indeed, Bantayog
was a way for the Ibarang to
say, “Never again.” The pro-
duction staged the terrors amd
anomalies during the time of
Martial Law in the country. It
also featured devises concep-
tualized by Theatre Arts majors
themselves. These devises
told stories of severalpeople
who were alive during Mar-
cos’ dictatorship. “Yung de-
vises... we felt that we were
actually there [during Martial
Law],” Grade seven theatre
artist Natalie Maligalig said.
In times like the dic-
tator’s burial, the Ibarang does
not endure silence. If attending
rallies, high school students
scrounging up enough brav-
ery to protest, and creating
art destined to crticize such a
sickening event do not fit Su-
arez’ definition of “speaking
up”, then I’d like to believe
nothing seems to do so, except
his dodgy Facebook posts.
I t w ou l d a l s o be
w i s e t o g et t he pa r ent s
a nd g u a r di a ns i nvol ved
a nd ha ve t hem keep a n
ey e on t he s t u dent s du r i ng
t he s t u dent s ’ hom e l ea ve
du r i ng w eekends .
H ow ever i t needs
t o be em pha s i z ed t ha t
t o t r u l y s ol ve t he pr ob-
l em , i t m u s t be a t t a c ked
a t t he r oot s . A l t hou g h a
c u r e m a y be f ou nd f or
t he s t u dent s ’ a ddi c t i on t o
Kor ea n pop c u l t u r e, t hey
m a y j u s t l a t c h t hei r a t t en-
t i on on t o a not her t r end.
A t t he end of t he
da y , t he s c hool j u s t ha s
a c a s e of poor t i m e m a n-
a g em ent on i t s ha nds .
Shou l d t he r i g ht s t eps
be t a ken— w i t h a hu g e
a m ou nt of ent hu s i a s m
a nd det er m i na t i on f r om
a l l pa r t i es — t hen i t m a y be
a bl e t o f i na l l y s a y g ood-
by e t o t hi s pr obl em .

filipino:
a fading language?
How important is the
Filipino language? While it is
celebrated every August, is it
really established in our daily
lives?
The Filipino language,
due to extensive contact with
outsiders in the past, has
developed a unique vocabulary
utilizing words from its own
Austronesian roots as well as other
foreign languages. According
to linguistic expert Jose Villa
Panganiban, “of the 30,000 root
words in the Tagalog language,
there are 5,000 from Spanish,
3,200 from Malay, 1,500 from
both Min Nan and Yueh Chinese
dialects, 1,500 from English, 300
from Sanskrit, 200 from Arabic,
and a few hundred altogether
from Mexican, Persian, Japanese,
and other languages.”
GETTING PLACES:
the Philippine’s transportation
With the recent
drama between Grab and
Uber, and the Department
of Transportation (DOTr)
and Land Transportation
Franchising and Regu-
latory Board (LTFRB), a
surge of concern have
brought more Filipinos
to look into the not-so-
pleasant transportation
system of the Philippines.
One can say that
both parties are at fault
with Grab and Uber not
having complied with the
government’s require-
ments ASAP and the LT-
FRB losing the Trans-
port Network Companies’
(TNCs) accreditation pa-
pers, but the root cause
of all of this conflict is the
general consensus that the
Philippine transport sys-
tem is inherently terrible.
Perhaps the sys-
tem is a bit disorganised,
maybe even unpleas-
ant, but to claim that the
country’s transportation
system is abominable can
be insulting to the hun-
dreds of thousands of Fil-
ipino workers whose jobs
Opinion
Today, millenials speak
in a mixture of Filipino and
English. This is more commonly
known as “conyo” or “taglish”.
Filipino terminologies of words
are lost on them and instead
replaced with loanwords with
Filipino equivalents.
Instead of using the
word “kwaderno”, people say
“notbuk”. Instead of “pook-
sapot”, people use “websayt”.
The Filipino language is slowly
fading from our modern lives.
“As languages
disappear, cultures die. The
world becomes inherently a less
interesting place, but we also
sacrifice raw knowledge and
the intellectual achievements
of millennia,” says Ken Hale, a
linguist of the Massachusetts
system
are to make sure the Fil-
ipino people safely get to
where they need to be.
As the thrilling
saga of the TNCs and
government agencies
continues, the average
Filipino carries on their
daily commute. Although
ride-hailing services are
definitely more convenient,
not everyone has access
to these services. Most
Filipinos will continue to
traverse onwards on the
country’s main modes of
transportation: bus, jeep,
and tricycle. Therefore, if
the government decides
to fix the transportation
system, improving upon
already existing modes
of transport would be the
more practical solution.
The main problem
the Philippines’ transport
system needs to address
is its organisation. Log-
ging the many bus and
jeepney routes unto an
easily accessible database
can help decrease stress
and anxiety, especially
with first time commut-
ers. The website and app
sakay.ph has done this for
c
Sophia Reyes
Institute of Technology. What
about the future generations of
Filipinos? Will they ever come
to learn the language we know
today?
In chapter 7 of El
Filibusterismo, Jose Rizal wrote,
“...as long as a nation keeps its
language, it keeps a pledge of
liberty, just as a man is free so
long as he can think for himself.
Language is a nation’s way of
thinking.”
While the mastery of
the English language is needed
for globalization, language is still
an important part of culture. The
love for our country and roots
can be shown simply through the
utilization of the Filipino language,
and cherishing it for centuries to
come.
Maura Yap
Metro Manila. It can pro-
vide recommended routes
complete with directions
and fare price. The web-
site and app has received
much thanks and approval
from the online community
of Filipino youth. To create
a nationwide version of the
app would definitely be a
very extensive task, how-
ever, if the country is able
to produce it, commuters
will have easy access to
a comprehensive guide
that will definitely be very
beneficial in the long term.
Perhaps the system
is a bit disorganised,
maybe even unpleas-
ant, but to claim that
the country’s trans-
portation system is
abominable can be in-
sulting...
This optimistic look in
the future of Philippine
transport can be the
destination. Now all we
need to do is get there.
11
Xander Ford:
new face and phase
Danielle castillo
Marlou Arizala can’t come to the phone right now. Why?
‘Cause he’s “dead”. He has made his new phase and face,
shunning his old self and is now known by his new name, Xan-
der Ford. The former Hasht5 member was mercilessly bullied for
looks and confidence when he was still known as Marlou. When
Ford made his public reveal on Rated K, he was met with loud
cheers which was something new---this was because of his
transformation.
Influenced by social media, we have the tendency to
have this standard of beauty or look and people always say
that Marlou is very far from that standard. We tend to appreciate
people who only look good. Sometimes, even money is in the
standard. With this, Marlou being builled with all these factors, it
drove him to changing himself.
The New and “Improved”
Ford now has his skin lighter and clearer, nose sharper,
and jawline more defined. These were factors that most people
appreciate. In a society like ours, especially in our own coun-
try, we appreciate or even praise the Western physical appear-
ance. We hinder ourselves in appreciating our own physical
appearances and go with the western standard. Being driven to
transforming, Ford changed his appearance, name, and even
changed his lifestyle.
“Binago ko lang sa pangalan, sa pagkatao, sa panlabas
ko para mabago din ang tingin sa ‘kin ng ibang tao,” Ford said
regarding his change. He went through surgery for people to
view him differently. Indeed, this is one of the most problematic
issues in our society. Some come to a point where they change
themselves to please people and to be appreciated. Everything
about him has been picked on. A lot of it included painful words
and insults
“Who you na sila sa akin ngayon!”
It may also be that Ford’s change is an act of revenge.
When he made his public reveal, a lot of people started changing
their view of him---obviously, this was his goal. While some still
think that he is “ugly”, he was able to please his former haters.
Of course, Ford also wanted to change for himself but
this started because of the people’s opinions. Also, he wanted to
follow the footsteps of the movie stars he idolized but while he
had their enthusiasm, he was said to have “non swoon-worthy”
looks. Sometimes we think: How radically would we change the
way we look to get ahead in life? Even today, looks define a
person’s value.
Becoming Xander Ford
He also shared to Sanchez that he no longer missed
Marlou. “Kinalimutan ko na yung mga nakaraan kasi ito na yung
bago na mamahalin nila (I’ve forgotten my past because this is
who people will love).” Being bashed online before his transfor-
mation, people motivated him to undergo cosmetic surgery and
several other physical enhancements because of cyberbullying.
Until now, cyber-bullying remains one the biggest fac-
tors in terms of a person’s self-esteem. The 140-word limit may
be small but it can affect a person much that he may keep these
in mind and use it as motivation to change---to be accepted.
A person’s appearance should never judge his worth. We must
keep in mind that we are created differently and we should ac-
cept others as we accept ourselves.
12
Respect for Respeto
Respeto is a culmination
of a generation of a nation’s whis-
pered frustration pounded into
fierce piercing beat and poetry.
The film’s departments
for set, location, costume, and
makeup outdid themselves when
they created the realistic aesthetic
the movie wanted to portray. They
captured the ambiance of night-
time Manila streets amidst the War
on Drugs, as well as the hard-
ships of those caught between it.
The cast, including
alumna Kate Alejandrino and a
cameo from Director IV Vim Na-
dera, built the world of the mov-
ie. Through the eyes of Hendrix,
played by rapper Abra, the audi-
ence was shown the other side of
the drug war. Although the movie
does not explicitly choose a side,
it provides commentary on the
unjust treatment of those in pov-
erty and humanises the victims.
SI Janus Silang:
a story about monsters,
or life itself?
A book series that
changes our perspective on
Filipino ancient myths and
monsters. How much more
enchanting would it be if
you turned this into a play?
Tanghalang Ateneo
(TA) performed an adapted
version of “Si Janus Silang
at ang Labanang Mananang-
gal-Mambabarang”, the sec-
ond book in Edgar Samar’s
Si Janus Silang series in the
Ateneo De Manila Universi-
ty’s Black Box Theater, one
of the two plays to be per-
formed for TA’s 39th sea-
son, “Performing Change.”
A Philippine High
School for the Arts alum-
na, Delphine Buencamino,
is part of the play’s artis-
tic team as the director for
the movement and dance.
Going back to the
theme “Performing Change”,
Si Janus Silang fits per-
fectly in TA’s new sea-
son, for a lot of reasons.
The story altered a lot of
things written in Philippine
mythology and made an in-
teresting take on our culture,
for example, the well-known
Malakas and Maganda turned
out to be the creations of the
“Tiyanak,” the horrible mon-
ster who was Janus’s (the
main character) mortal ene-
my, and Malakas was the first
features
MAURA YAP
Respeto’s official Cinemalaya movie poster.
Starring Abra, Dido Dela Paz, Loonie, Chai
Fonacier, Sylvester, Nor Domingo, Kate
Alejandrino, Brian Arda, and Thea Ystaroza.
LILA SAYAJON
manananggal, while Magan-
da the first mambabarang.
The story is also very
timely, as it involves young
people below eighteen be-
ing killed, something that is
recurrent in the Philippines.
On a lighter note, Ed-
gar Samar skillfully took Filipi-
no folktales and turned it into
something different and very
thought-provoking. The story
blends present with past per-
fectly and it confronts our be-
liefs, making the plot effective.
The characters are also very real.
The concept of Janus
trying to find his paraluman
(the force that will help him
find Tala, the Tiyanak’s twin
sister) is already hitting very
close to home for people his
age, because the adolescent
stage is almost always the
time when people undergo
the process of self-discovery.
Si Janus Silang does
not only address general
problems that we experience
now, but personal ones, too,
and that is one of the reasons
this series is something ex-
traordinary that you don’t see
in your bookshelves every day.
Si Janus Silang as a
play is equally as enchanting
as it is as a book, and even
though the acting at some
SENIOR Should
I Stay?
HIGH
Undoubtedly a sociopo-
litical film, Respeto doesn’t try to
hide the grim and bitter realities that
plague the poor and oppressed. Should
The film’s portrayal of Martial Law
through the eyes of Doc played
by Dido dela Paz, demonstrated a
SCHOOL I Go?
truth in an often forgotten and re-
vised part of the country’s history.
55% S
By comparing and contrasting
Hendrix’s Philippines to Doc’s
Philippines, one gets a sense
T A Y I N G
that the movie is challenging the
Duterte administration’s prom-
17%
ised change. Reinforced with the
usage of the Fliptop and Balag-
tasan mediums, the film is saying L E A V I N G
that the form may change, but
the ideas and content may not.
28%
As Jose Rizal once said, “I en-
ter the future remembering the
U N D E C I D E D
past.” To the characters in the
film, Respeto does exactly that.
“Of course! I want to stay not because of the
many opportunities that PHSA has to offer
us – I heard that the school has great plans
for Senior High and that they’re making their
education system better and more prepared,
from what I know. I’m excited to see what
PHSA has to offer, because they promised a
lot of things, and I am expecting them to not
break it.”
– Bea Zafe, Grade 10
parts was a little awkward,
but nevertheless, the perfor- “I’m going to stay because mainly, I’m looking
mance hooked the audience for the Musical Theater in the Bay campus. I
from the beginning til the end.
The play was perfect for the entered Makiling only having musical theater
Black Box Theater, with the as my background, so marrying my previous
actors performing only inch- acting classes with musical theater is pretty
es away from the audience.
exciting.”
It made the play very per-
sonal and in reach, and the – Ainah Remonte, Grade 10
effect of the small space is
very different from the nor-
mal theater stage. Because
of this small space, it gives
almost the same haunting “I won’t stay. I’m very thankful for all the op-
effect as it does in the books. portunities I gained from Makiling but four
years is enough. It’s honestly suffocating and
In the end of the
play, Janus successful-
I’d like to be able to grow somewhere else.”
ly finds his paraluman, and – Maura Yap , Grade 10
goes back in time to the
day when his father dies,
and the performance ends.
Soon, he will have to face
the Tiyanak, as we all “Modelo Sanghiyas, my batchmates [they’re
must do in our own way keeping me from leaving] ...and gusto ko tal-
in real life, and confront it, aga maging alumnus ng school.”
and as Edgar Samar said:
– Giegee Forcadela, Folk Dance major
“Nagsusulat ako para kapag
nagbalik ang Tiyanak mula
sa nagdaan at tinanong
tayo kung, ‘naaalala mo ba
ako?’, ay maging napakali- “[To] help my fam with finances through the
naw ng sagot ko (at sana, scholarship and stipend, but I’d like to leave
natin): hindi ako nakalil- because of the lack of nurturing in the class-
imot, hindi ako makalilimot.”
(I write so that when the Ti-
room... I have this thing that guilt trip myself if
yanak returns and asks us, I think I’m being a burden to my fam finan-
“do you remember me?’, my cially.”
(and hopefully our) answer – Andie Jaro, Visual Arts major
will be very clear: I have not
forgotten, I will not forget.)

A CHAT WITH
Makiling Fairy
Margaret mil
Cleofe Cabauatan has
been with the Philippine High
School for the Arts since its ear-
ly days. During the decades she
has spent as the school’s Regis-
trar, she has become known for
her ability to recall every student,
and has even been dubbed the
Makiling receives
Model Protocol for Mental Illness
“Is it just the student
and the adolescent factor, or
is it something with the teach-
ers?” asks Dr. Belle Nubla
– Gestuvo, main speaker of
the 7th Round Table Discus-
sion on School Mental Health
(RTD), Sept. 28, Bulwagang
Lakanbako.
Guidance councilors
from the University of Santo
Tomas and University of the
Philippines, as well as psy-
chiatrists from the Philippine
General Hospital, and mem-
bers of the Psychological As-
sociation of the Philippines
comprised the audience, as
well as representatives of
the school administration,
PANAC, and the Supreme
Student Council. Together,
they were oriented with the
risks and precautions of men-
tal health among adolescents.
features
Makiling fairy.
Q: What are some fond or im-
portant memories you have in
Makiling?
A: Of course, being accepted as
an employee of the Philippine
Top 3 Causes of
Mortality among
Adolescents
“[This] is my first time
getting invited to a school,”
Gestuvo added, “[this] is a
great leap for educators.”
According to Dr.
Lourdes Ignacio, a local psy-
chiatrist, said that one out
of three Filipinos has mental
health problems – this rep-
resents an average of 3,000
reported cases of mental ill-
ness for every 100,000 Filipi-
nos – and with the country’s
population hitting the 110 mil-
lion mark, people who have
mental health problems could
reach around 28.4 million.
Gestuvo continues,
“They are emotionally over-
whelmed. It is a temporary
relief – self-harm, supposed-
High School for the Arts. I never
thought I would be accepted be-
cause I was only informed by my
cousin that there is a need for an
employee in the Philippine High
School for the Arts.
So I tried and the late
director was very impressed with
my interview. The only apprehen-
sion that she had was that she
thought I was not healthy enough
to work at the Philippine High
School for the Arts because I was
very thin. Sabi niya sa akin “Kaya
mo bang magtrabaho dito? Ang
payat payat mo.”
But I could tell she was
impressed because the first thing
that she gave me (a sort of exam)
was to take a dictation of a mem-
orandum to the CCP president.
She dictated the memorandum,
[…]and then she made me tran-
scribe because I told her I know
stenography (one word is rep-
resented only by one stroke).
Then I gave it to her complete,
the complete memorandum tran-
scribing from the symbols that I
made.
And then she told me
“Come back tomorrow because
there are many works to do,”
’cause that time it was only the
second year of the school and
that summer vacation all the
teachers were having workshops
about making curriculum frame-
works, syllabus, and self-learning
kits for the students. There was
no computer then. We had to use
the typewriter in encoding […]
and there are many teachers. We
were two then who helped each
other in completing that GE cur-
riculum framework for submis-
sion to the board of trustees for
presentation. That’s my first job
at PHSA, and then later on it be-
came so complicated until I knew
all the procedures of the Philip-
BIANCA RABE
ly, is the easiest way of plea-
sure to them [suicidals] – and
once they realize their faults,
they feel guilty and ashamed.
The triggers will come and the
cycle repeats.”
“And our goal is to
pull them out of [this] cycle.”
‘Children do not
disclose’
“A past suicide at-
tempt is perhaps, the best
indicator that a patient is at
increased risk of suicide. Es-
pecially within the first three
months since the attempt.”
Gestuvo further explains, “And
children do not disclose.”
From the third grade
until college, it is said that
children spend more time in
school rather than at home –
particularly in the case of the
pine High School for the Arts.
Q: What do you love about Makil-
ing?
A: Of course, the environment
– no pollution, good scenery.
Lumabas ka lang diyan, ma-re-
relax ka na looking at the green
trees, listening [to the] birds and
the crickets. Alam mo iba’t iba rin
ang tunog ng mga crickets […]
Hindi ko alam kung ano ang lan-
guage nila pero iba-iba ang chirp
ng mga crickets. And many years
ago, there were so many butter-
flies in Makiling, lalo na doon sa
dorm. When you wake up early
in the morning, may mga nak-
adapong malalaking butterflies
sa wall. Nakakalungkot na wala
na kasi nag-fogging para sa
mga pests, sa mga termites, mga
ants. Naapektuhan din ang mga
butterflies and grasshoppers […]
May tanim ako diyan sa likod. I
never knew that it is a host plant
for butterflies. Sabi ko sa mga
students “Panoorin niyo lang,
’wag niyong pakikialman kasi bi-
hira nang magkaroon ng parupa-
ro dito sa Makiling.”
Q: What can you say about being
called the Makiling fairy?
A: I do not know why I was
called the Makiling fairy. Maybe
because, that time the school
had a chance to have an inter-
net connection, to be identified
easily I made it as my own e-mail
address, makiling_fairy@yahoo.
com. Maybe that’s the cause for
calling me a Makiling fairy – from
my first email address.
Q: How has Makiling helped you
grow as a person?
A: Of course I developed to be
a more passionate employee.
Before I worked, ito yung turo
sa akin ng tatay ko: bilang isang
Philippine High School for the
Arts (PHSA), “The teachers
are the first line of defense,”
she gilts. And according to
Young Minds/Cello, 80% of
teachers wanted practical ad-
vice on how to help their stu-
dents.
There are three clas-
sifications of self-harm – first
is the ‘Superficial’ damage to
the person, with less than 11
episodes of self-injury. Then
the ‘High’ bracket, which is
divided into two categories:
‘Battery’, wherein self-harm
wreathes light tissue damage,
and ‘High Severity’, where
self-injury becomes chronic,
and becomes a part of their
routines already with greater
than 11 self-injury episodes.
“There is no such
thing as ‘stereotyped cutters.’”
She states. “Don’t judge them.
Instead [of judging them], you
need to work with them.” And
should a student inform that
they self-harm, Gestuvo ad-
vices that they trust you, and
that everything is confidential
between the student and the
teacher.
13
13
empleyado ng gobyerno hindi
ka lang naka-focus sa kung ano
yung ginagawa mo. Dapat alam
mo rin yung trabaho ng nasa
harapan mo, alam mo yung tra-
baho ng nasa likuran mo, nasa
kaliwa mo, nasa kanan mo. Just
in case na absent sila, hindi naka-
tiwangwang yung opisina. Kahit
wala siya mayroon kang isasag-
ot na may kinalaman sa trabaho
niya.
So I practiced that. Hindi lang
yung tungkol sa registrar’s office
ang alam ko, […] naiintindihan ko
kung ano yung pag-aalay ng bud-
get, kung ano yung procedure
ng accounting. Nagbasa ako ng
government accounting and au-
diting manual para naiintindihan
ko kung ano yung proseso ng
opisina nila […] Nagbasa rin ako
ng Executive Order 292, yung
Civil Service Code. Nagbasa ako
ng mga case digest.
Q: Is there anything you want to
say to the Ibarang community?
A: Like yung sinabi ko hindi lang
naman ikaw yung nag-interview
sa akin. 35th anniversary ng
school: mayroon isang batang
nag-interview rin sa akin. Sabi
niya “Ano gusto mo para sa mga
estudyante ng Philippine High
School for the Arts?”
A: I want you to be passionate
artists, [that] you grow old and
develop to be useful individuals
fully equipped pagdating niyo sa
college [in] your arts.
Q: What are your plans after
Makiling?
A: Have a vacation – a grand va-
cation – because my work has
been so stressful all these years.
Student Crisis Team
Gestuvo introduces a
new protocol on self-harm to
PHSA, which is inspired from
the Cornell Research Program
on Self-Injury and Recovery.
This program indi-
cates a School Crisis Team,
composed of trained point
people – be it guidance
councilors, teachers, nurs-
es – “middle people” who
will communicate with some-
one who is suffering from
self-harming.
They will be trained
to identify self-injury then as-
sessing it, determining under
which circumstances should
parents be contacted, man-
aging activities, and identify-
ing external referral sources.
“We are ready,” said Mr. Ron-
aldo Abuan, PHSA Director III,
when asked if the school is
willing and prepared to pur-
sue the protocol.
“It’s not just abuse we
have to report, it is neglect as
well,” Dr. Nubla-Gestuvo con-
cludes the session.
 14 features
Revolution “Gobyerno”
Radio
From eerie silence, rev-
BIANCA RABE

Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round

the Old Oak Tree
Who says
there’s only a sin-
The Social Event
against issues. The par-
ticipants split to three
SIDNEY LAMPAYAN &
IANNA OLIVEROS

planned to “rip down

olutions become a void filled with
bombastic visuals raised in the air
and the vox populi louder than
any radio transmission. Howev-
er, Filipino revolutions wasn’t just
marching and shouting – our
revolutions were complemented
with a folk song, jingles, a hymn,
and jubilation would be expressed
through dance. As Freddie Aguilar
quotes from a foreign correspon-
dent, “I have never seen a revolu-
tion like this. People are dancing
and singing. You see tis in the
movies, in fiction – this is real.”
Here are five of the tunes
that shall forever be intertwined
with Philippine history – be it the
strums of the guitar or the lin-
gering melody of the mass, rev-
olutions have found their outlets
gle way to voice
Tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the old your opinions?
oak tree.
It’s been three long years That was one of
Do you still want me? the speculations raised
during “Gobyerno”,
Tony Orlando’s song an interactive perfor-
was originally anticipated to have mance held in Bul-
been the homecoming song for wagang Sarimanok,
the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” October 11, 2017.
Aquino, after spending three years
in self-imposed exile in the United Gobyerno was
States of America. However, he hosted by the Sipat
was assassinated upon arrival at Lawin Ensemble, a with hands-on activities.
the then Manila International Air- group of performers
port, before the opening parts of who use such perfor-
the song had even begun. mances to find an al-
ternative in protesting
The “simple yellow rib-
bon” became the symbol of the
1986 EDSA People Power Rev-
olution – the power of yellow
society from its roots
groups were made to and build a better one”.
discuss issues such as
waste management, ex- They also shared
trajudicial killings, and in the end that they
colonial mentality and will continue host-
find ways to solve them, ing such plays with
in an entertaining way the same mission.
as well. Gobyerno in ret-
rospect, was a good way If they manage to
to raise awareness of shed light on many prob-
social issues and solv- lems that should be ad-
ing them, especially to dressed and teach how
the youth of the world, to find ways to fix them,
then little by little, their
goal might be accom-
During the per- plished well in the future.
formance, Sipat Lawin
Ensemble said that they

in these songs which became a
loving, tender tribute to the people,
but also the loudest resolute call to
action.
AURELIO SEDISYOSO
decorated Manila’s streets in the
form of ribbons, pins, armbands,
confetti, and more.

Marangal na Dalit ng
Katagalugan
Mabuhay, Mabuhay yaong Ka-
layaan, Kalayaan
At pasulungin ang puri’t kabana-
lan
Kastila’y mailing ng Katagalugan
At ngayo’y ipagwagi ang kahu-
sayan
Known as the very first
National Anthem, “Marangal na
Dalit ng Katagalugan” was com-
missioned by Andres Bonifacio
in 1896 to celebrate the founding
of the Katipunan. The musician
who composed the anthem was
Julio Nakpil – who would later
become the second husband of
Bonifacio’s widow, Gregoria de
Jesus – reconstructed the original
score from memory after it was
destroyed during the 1945 Battle
of Manila.
The anthem, however,
would later be reworked and in-
corporated in the orchestral piece,
“Salve, Filipinas,” as Nakpil’s trib-
ute to Dr. Jose Rizal in 1903.
Jocelynang Baliwag
Pinananaligan niring aking dibdib
Na sa paglalayag sa dagat ng sakit
‘Di mo babayaang malunod sa
hapis
Sa pagcabagabag co’y icaw ang
sasagip.
The most popular song
during the revolt against the Span-
iards, “Jocelynang Baliwag” was
labelled as the Kundiman of the
Revolution. Composed in Baliwag,
Bulacan, it was a patriotic song
disguised as a hymn of courtship.
Its lyrics were dedicated to Jose-
fa “Pepita” Tionson y Lara, a fine
maiden form Baliwag. Ironically,
women would sing the kundiman
to warn the Katipunan men that
Spanish soldiers were approach-
ing.
Bayan Ko
Aking adhika, makita kang sakdal
laya.
After Corazon C. Aqui-
no took her oath of office as the
President of the Philippines after
the four-day-struggle of the EDSA
People Power, the people erupted
in cheers and burst into song: the
unofficial song of the revolution,
“Bayan Ko.”
Written by Jose Cora-
zon de Jesus, and music set by
Constancio de Guzman in the
1920s, the official definitive ver-
sion known to the Filipinos was
recorded by Freddie Aguilar in
1979, seven years before the rev-
olution.
After the Marcoses fled
Malacañang, civilians stormed the
Palace. One person recalls, in the
piano dining hall of the Palace,
someone directly began to play
Bayan Ko.
‘Di Nyo Ba Naririnig
Di nyo ba naririnig
Tinig ng bayan na galit
Himig ito ng Pilipinong
Di muli palulupig
Recently, “End Tyranny”
rallies were held during the Na-
tional Day of Protest, and the lo-
calized version of Les Miserables’
“Do You Hear the People Sing”
went viral.
Translated by Vincent De
Jesus with additional lyrics for the
refrain by Rody Vera and Joey
Saracho, the translated version’s
message was not too far from the
original, which was composed by
Claude-Michel Schönberg.
sa ENTABLADO
IANNA OLIVEROS
Aurelio Sedisyoso is a rock sarswela written by audience’s seats – the bleachers and decorated
Nicanor Tiongson and directed by Chris Milla- monoblock chairs – were placed on the stage of
do. The show took place on Septemper 1 to 17, the Little Theater and the ‘stage’ the actors used (a
2017 in Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (yes, they complex of steel posts and wooden platfoms) was
really chose that setting) also known as the Little placed where the people should be sitting. With the
Theater, in the Cultural Center of the Philippines. many nooks and crannies behind seats and on them
plus the effect the structures gave (it looks fitting
The sarswela is about playwright and actor with the gang/guerilla/illegal rendez-vous theme,
Aurelio Tolentino and his life rebelling against the and with the proper lighting the platforms could also
corrupt Estados Unidos government. As people look like walkways of houses), that kind of stage-
around him (friends, family, colleagues) are killed, to-audience-seats arrangement was a good idea.
joining, or betraying the resistance KKK for every-
thing the enemy promises, Aurelio is eventually left Lastly, the concept and delivery of the overall
as the only one who refuses to believe that there performance was good. The acting, the declama-
is threat left and there is finally peace and unity. tions and the creative way of presenting events
(example: the actors used brisk, mechanical move-
The music used for the whole show played ments and a black and white lighting to resemble
an extremely important role in settling the mood a silent black and white movie to retell Macario
for each scene. The basic set of instruments Sakay’s death) was a good component of the play.
used for rock music – drums, guitars, key- The only problem I found was the end of the show,
boards – was accompanied at times by a violin, which did not reflect the issue that the problem
adding a solemn, dramatic effect to the scene it present in the whole story is still affecting people
was used in, and the composers or songwriters and still one of economy’s problems up to now.
were creative with the kinds of music used; there
were love songs, rap battles, harana, and at one Otherwise, that was – as said above –
point a lively song that could be used for tango. the only query I had with the whole show.
The sarswela was well-structured, worth
Second, the crew was extremely creative with watching, and definitely recommended.
the set and the materials. I later found out that the
 features 15

THE DISASTER MOVIE

THE GREATEST PARODY DANIELLE CASTILLO
We have seen meme-worthy snip-
pets of the so called “worst modern cult” mov-
ie called “The Room”. Directed, produced,
written, and played the main star of the movie,
Tommy Wiseau gets a movie parody/ adap-
tion based on his movie from James Franco.
The adaption is called “The Disas-
ter Artist” and is produced by James Franco
which also has his brother, Dave Franco to
act as Greg Sestero. Franco assembled the
best recreation with such detailed explora-
tion into Wiseau and Sestero’s untold story.
With this, the fans are waiting for this tribute
to Wiseau who dreamed so big and failed
so spectacularly that he actually triumphed.
The Room was produced in 2003
and was described as “one of the worst
films ever made”. This film also gained a
cult film status. The movie’s plot was also
known for being “so overdramatic and
simply stupid” With all the critics bash-
ing the film, how did “The Room” become
a movie so bad that it became so good?
dence. Tommy and Greg’s acting career
motivated them to create “The Room.”
We didn’t really expect to receive an
adaption of The Room from the Franco broth-
ers. “James did direct the movie in character.
There were scenes where [he was] playing
Tommy directing a movie as Tommy direct-
ing a movie as Tommy,” Seth Rogen, one of
the producers said. James is a go-big-or-go-
home experimentalist who always appreciat-
ed effort---sometimes even more than results.
“The Disaster Artist” holds nothing but love.
James Franco did not only cre-
ate the adaption to be a comedic film but
it made the audience more eager to delve
into Wiseau’s train wreck than ever be-
fore. It adopts the structure of an inspira-
tional underdog story. Of course, Wiseau’s
dreams are boundless and his confidence
never-ending. Even though he is known to
have the worst movie, he refused to give up.

The Disaster Artist is actually also “I really respected that he came

based from a book that has the same title
and is written by Greg Sestero, Wiseau’s
friend. In the trailer, Greg (Dave Franco) is
a struggling actor from San Francisco. He
begins to bond with Tommy (James Fran-
co) who he envies because of his confi-
out to Hollywood like so many mil-
lions of people have done, and he got
this movie made,” Franco said regard-
ing Wiseau. He also believes that Wiseau
is a kindred spirit. “I am Tommy Wiseau.
So much. In ways I don’t want to admit.” Screenshot from the trailer of The Disaster Artist

Seen Zines?
HAVEN MOSQUITO
I’m sure you’ve seen
a mini book, eight-pages long
and filled with poems or short
stories (anything actually) or
probably saw a piece against
the Marcoses. Yup, if you have
one in your bag right now, be
zines are self-published. No need
for publishers, who will edit the
work, not allowing freedom of
speech – which sometimes is
a good thing in the world of art.
With self-publishing, art-
proud, you’re carrying a zine
ists are not limited to G-rated top-
– a new word to the world that
ics. They allow themselves to use
Microsoft Word still marks red.
the word ‘dick’ than ‘the male or-
ganelle’, or use words that’ll help
Zines are said to be
them express their feelings more –
‘revolutionary’, it being cheap
which is not necessarily bad. Cen-
and small. But the difference is
sorship for them is but a thought.
“Zine making is like
a freer genre of publication.
Censorship hinders the idea
of free and self-publishing,”
says Leila Maligalig, a Grade
9 Creative Writing student,
who themselves, make zines.
There is now an estab-
lished zine community, where
they host events where “zin-
esters” are able to sell and trade
their own works. Some of these
are WiSik which is held in Los
Baños, Better Living Through
Xerography (BLTX), which is
now a tradition that has been
running for almost five years.
Zines are a way for
artists to speak out for them-
selves without people limiting
them, and people buying the
zines and being persuaded by
it. Now, why cage artists when
they can and will use alterna-
tive ways to enhance their art?

FILIPINO CINEMA SCENE

DANIELLE CASTILLO

Filipino Indie movies

have been one of the
best highlights of the
year, earning more atten-
tion not only locally but
internationally as well.
However, most cinemas
tend to show mainstream
movies due to competi-
tion with international
films. This results to re-
moving most local indie
movies and replacing
them with popular films
instead. If you missed
screenings of movies
such as “Ang Larawan”
or “Birdshot,” these
cinemas feature indie:
CINE LOKAL,
Selected SM Branches (SM Ma-
nila, SM Mall of Asia, SM Me-
gamall)
Ticket price starts at: 120
This cinema is ac-
cessible if you are a mall-go-
er. It was started by the Film
Development Council of the
Philippines and SM Cinema to
support local films (they show
classic movies as well). You
can purchase tickets at the SM
Ticket Booths and watch famous
local or foreign indie movies.
CINEMA CENTENARIO,
Quezon City
Ticket price starts at: 200
This movie house is
known to be a tribute to the cel-
ebration of 100 years of Philip-
pine cinema, building a home
for quality Filipino-made films.
They are usually open past
midnight and sometimes fea-
ture and organize workshops,
lectures and activities pre-
pared by Filipino moviemakers.
CINEMA ’76 Film Society,
San Juan City
Ticket price starts at: 100
or sometimes, it’s free.
The cinema’s name
was inspired by the year 1976
which is considered the last
Golden Year of Philippine Cin-
ema. Cinema ’76 can accom-
modate up to 60 people. What’s
different about this movie house
is that it doesn’t have the usual
theatre seats. Instead, they have
couches with throw pillows
for a cozy movie experience.
You can also bring food and
drinks inside. They also host
master classes with directors.
BLACK MARIA CINEMA,
Mandaluyong City
Ticket price starts at: 200
Known to be the
“micro cinema at the heart
of Mandaluyong,” this mov-
ie house was opened Oc-
tober 2017. It was named
after the first motion pic-
ture production studio in
the world. It has a 2k Digital
Cinema Projection, 7.1 Dol-
by Digital Surround Sound
and a 20 feet Silver-white
screen – all these to have
the best movie experience.
Although, it only hous-
es 40 people, the theatre’s
equipment is promising.
 16 features

(Senior)
Dekada Darlings
Meet the people who’ve served the school for
more than a decade -- our Dekada Darlings

High Art

30 YEARS(JUNE)

23 YEARS(JUNE)
As final outputs after their six-year stay in the Philippine
High School for the Arts (PHSA), Batch Felizaro pre-
sented the following showcases before moving up as the
school’s first-ever Senior High School graduates.

Pagsulang: an exhibit and book launch

Gerry Joedy
Through interviews, photographs, and items of and from Leonardo occena
the Manobo-Lapaknon community in Butuan City, Agusan del
Norte, Creative Writing Major Noreen Domingo encouraged dis-
course about the condition of indigenous peoples within PHSA.

32 YEARS(JUNE)
12 YEARS(JUNE)

The exhibit was opened to the public on March 14.

Hulma

The collection of choreographies of the Makiling Dance

Project presented a spectrum of issues through dance. It fea-
tured Aaron Garcia’s Dakel Saday: The Unpublished Philippine

Marc
Folk Dances of the Tasaday, Vol. 1; Michaella Carreon’s Agos, a
dance adaptation of Eugine Evasco’s Anina ng mga Alon; Rexter
Nagaño’s Fylákisi: greek word for imprisonment; Chiles Maraña’s
christine
Isang Gabi. Sa Lawa., a deconstruction of the classic story of cosico narvasa
Swan Lake; and Zahreen Sadia’s Nawong: Faces of a Human.
The dances were presented March 11 and 12 at the National Arts
Center (NAC) grounds and theater.
Y E A R S

Y E A R S

Music Recitals

The NAC theater was moved by Alain de Asis and Angel

Esteban’s back to back violin and viola graduation recitals on
March 6, followed by Marlee Pabico and Yvette Parcon’s guitar
and voice graduation recital on March 7. The series was conclud-

Maricon
ed by Janna Peña’s piano graduation recital on March 13.
ronaldo
22 YEARS(JUNE) 1 0

18 YEARS(JULY) 1 0

Theater Arts Recitals abuan amada

Chrystelle Atienza facilitated a seven-session workshop
which aims to use theater games as a tool for teaching. Its cul-
minating activity was held on February 17, Tondo, Manila. Chel-
sea Catli and Uzziel Delamide performed Tony Perez’s Gabun:
Usap-usapan sa Loob ng Simbahan, February 27 and 28 at the
Sto. Domingo Church. Haydrian Vaydal devised a performance
which attempts to define the generation of Post-Millennials. Vay-
dal’s piece, Generation Z, was shown on March 1 at Bulwagang
Sarimanok, PHSA. Joan Cabuñag, meanwhile, held workshops
on her devised notation system that can be used by Theater Arts
students, March 14 and 15.
Rodrigo corazon
Detritus Ashore Estepa Lapitan
29 YEARS(JUNE)

28 YEARS(MAY)

The Senior High Visual Arts exhibit featured works by

Payb Biglete, Salve Dagnalan, Aum Dueñas, Asia Entico, and Jude
Macasinag. Through the exhibit, they aim to articulate the social
and cultural realities which sprung from their extensive research
and artistic immersions. It was opened to the public from March
5 to 12 at the H.R.F. Gallery, Vargas Studios, PHSA.

Victor Adel
flor Revilla

PHSA @ 50:
ANG GINTO SA MAKILING
The word gold holds
three different meanings in
Macario D. Pineda’s novel “Ang
Ginto Sa Makiling”:
(1) literal gold, one of
the most expensive minerals
that will be passed on the way
to Paradise or Utopia or Shan-
grila;
(2) the gold referring to Urduja,
Lapulapu, Lakandula, Rizal and
other “essence of the race”;
(3) the gold that is education
that will rescue the new gener-
ation of youth.
Pineda had no idea
that 30 years after he wrote
the novel in 1947, the Philip-
pine High School for the Arts
This is Makiling
Duran
The Duran is some-
what the lobby of the dorm
area. It is a small cottage in
between Dorm B and Dorm C,
with two rooms, one the SSG
room and the other the House-
parents’ Office. This is where
a lot of Ibarangs stay when
they want to socialize or hang
out. In front of the Duran, de-
pending on where you look,
you can see the ballet studio,
the road going to the café, and
where the roads to Vargas and
the School Area meet.
Hardean
The Hardean, or the
Hardin ni Dean, is one of the
favorite spots of the Ibarang
and a common meeting place.
It is in front of the Stairway to
Heaven and between Dorm A
and Dorm B. The shade provid-
ed by the tree makes it perfect
to stay under and the stone
features
Dr. Victor Emmanuel Carmelo Nadera Jr.,
(PHSA) would be founded on
Mt. Makiling where young Filipi-
nos would offer their skills and
talents for the motherland.
The PHSA alumni,
scholars of the nation for the
arts, are the fruits of Makiling’s
golden education. In fact, PHSA
@ 40 is preparation for the next
ten years.
In the next ten years,
we will all work together to
reach the peak of Makiling by
fulfilling our dreams for PHSA.
We will do this with the
help of our various programs
and projects needed to further
leverage the PHSA initiative
since its founding in 1977.
table and seats are comfort-
able enough. The plants sur-
rounding the Hardean are also
refreshing and calming to look
at. The story behind the Hard-
ean’s name is that it is in tribute
to one of the former directors
who passed away.
Acacia
Having one of the Phil-
ippines most famous trees’
name, Acacia serves as a
comfortable classroom for ev-
ery Filipino class of the levels
7 to 10. It sits on an uneven or
slanting ground of the moun-
tain which goes up or down
depending on how you look at
it. Beside the structure is a tiny
bridge where students cross
to get to its entrance and like-
wise to Yakal (Bio Lab). In that
area, one can find service/sig-
nal/data (which is really hard
to find here in PHSA) and be-
cause of that, it is quite a pop-
ular spot for Ibarangs to go to.
Director IV
Gold is a prominent
motif in retellings of Maria
Makiling’s legend. She is known
to give ginger that turns to gold
to people with kind hearts. In
turn, gold becomes ginger for
those who have crooked aspi-
rations.
Because of this, we
aim to excel in every sense and
emotion of both students and
graduates to three goals: (1)
magaling, (2) matino, (3) ma-
talino!
Starting now, let us all prepare
for Makiling’s true gold.
Let us celebrate the coming of
2027 – the PHSA’s Golden An-
niversary!
Nelvie Daliva,
Sidney Lampayan,
Ianna Oliveros,
Sophie Reyes &
Lila Sayajon
NAC
The National Arts Cen-
ter, or NAC for short, is the offi-
cial home of PHSA which con-
tinues to evolve as a training
venue for artistically inclined
students. It pursues to explore
learning approaches, focusing
especially on the arts. This is
the location where several oc-
casions are normally held by
the school. NAC holds a huge
part of the long lasting history
and legacy of PHSA. Speaking
of physicalities, it has a vast
area surrounding it with the
abundant blessings of Maria
Makiling. One can truly appre-
ciate nature with the hovering
mountains in the far distance
which are sometimes cov-
ered by the mist. However, at
night time, everything seems to
come out of a magical movie
where fireflies fly around as the
man on the moon and the stars
stare at them from up above.
#IbarangKaKung MAURA YAP
Keep a group of people separate from others and they’re
bound to create their own culture. Kept in the warm embrace of
Mt. Makiling, the Ibarang community undoubtedly has its own sets
of beliefs and traditions. Step off the mountain and meet a fellow
Ibarang and you’re sure to share that special Makiling connection.
#IbarangKaKung:
You’ve left an offering
sa bato.
Perhaps the most famous belief
of them all is the guidance of
Maria Makiling. If you’re wish-
ing for some good luck on an
exam or recital, leave two iden-
tical objects (e.g. two skyflakes,
two 1-peso coins) on the rock
behind the ballet studio. The be-
lief is that one of the items is an
offering to God and the other is
for Maria Makiling.
#IbarangKaKung:
You’ve stepped on a
snail.
Mt. Makiling is home to many
creatures. One of the most
abundant are the snails that
come out after the sun sets.
When you’re not paying close
enough attention to where
you’re stepping – SPLACK! A
poor unsuspecting snail would
meet its end under your shoe.
#IbarangKaKung:
You know how many
steps it takes to get
from Duran to the
school area.
Every Ibarang who has ever
gone through Ma’am Macon’s
science class knows this. A
class project every freshman
undergoes. You wake up early,
meet your groupmates in Du-
ran, and walk down together,
quietly counting every step you
take. The answer? We’re sure
you already know.
Blood
line
Batch Tolentino, also
known as Batch 1979, is the
very first batch of the one of the
only arts schools in the Philip-
pines, Philippine High School
for the Arts (PHSA).
Many talented and
award-winning artists have
hailed from this batch, such as
Ms. Rowena Arrieta, a pianist
who became the first Filipino to
gain the Tchaikovsky laureate
after the International José Itur-
bi Piano Competition. She was
also the first Filipino scholar in
the Moscow Conservatory of
Music.
17
#IbarangKaKung:
You have a special
connection with your
“bloodline”
Unlike other schools, the grade
7 – grade 10 bond is stronger in
Makiling. Freshmen step on this
mountain and begin dorming,
perhaps for the first time in their
lives. Away from family, the first
few months in Makiling are a
culture shock. This is where the
grade 10 students step in to act
as the freshmen’s guide to the
mountain, beginning with teach-
ing the freshmen the school
hymn. When those freshmen
are grade 10 students, they in
turn will teach the new fresh-
men. It’s a cycle that connects
generations of Ibarang.
#IbarangKaKung:
You know who
Ate Twinkle is.
Turn all the lights off and Mt.
Makiling turns into a very
creepy place at night. Perfect
for telling horror stories! Be it
ladies on the bridge or faces
on the mirror, every genera-
tion of Ibarang have their own
set of supernatural encounters
and stories. But Ate Twinkle has
haunted the dorm areas time
and time again. Ate Twinkle’s
story changes from one gener-
ation to the next, but one thing
is for certain: if your doors un-
expectedly slam shut, you might
be expecting a visit.
Nelvie Daliva,
Sidney Lampayan, Ianna
Oliveros, Sophie Reyes &
Lila Sayajon
Others that are equally
skilled include Atty. Floyd Doug-
las Nicholas Pichay, a Carlos
Palanca Awards winner; Raul
Mimay, an animation director;
and Grace Nono, who achieved
The Outstanding Women in
the Nation’s Service (TOWNS)
award, and later received many
Awit and Katha Awards as well.
40 years later, and
now PHSA’s youngest batch is
the bloodline of Batch Tolenti-
no. Will the blood of the gen-
erations make the new ones
determined to be just as good
as their predecessors?
 18
18
El Nido, Palawan –
Lila sayajon
Don’t know where to go for the summer vacation, and want to find somewhere relatively quiet and
remote? Then El Nido may just be the thing for you.
El Nido is located in the
island of Palawan, a well-known
place for all of the tourists who
visit the Philippines. It is actually
quite accessible if you’re in Ma-
nila, since there is now a direct
flight from Manila to El Nido, with
the only problem being that the
ticket price is quite expensive. Of
course, if you’re traveling on a
budget, there is a cheaper way
to reach this small town. There
are direct flights in Davao, Cebu,
Manila, Iloilo, Clark (in Angeles,
Pampanga) to Puerto Princesa
City, the capital of the island of
Palawan. From Puerto, you can
ride a bus or a van heading to
El Nido, which takes around five
to seven hours. If you aren’t in
a hurry, you could stay in Puer-
to for a while, since it also has
many tourist attractions, for ex-
ample, the Underground River.
If your trip to El Nido is
totally unplanned and you’re a
spontaneous traveler, don’t wor-
ry. There are a couple immediate
hotels and inns near the terminal
once you arrive from Puerto. If
those hotels aren’t your taste,
there’s a thousand more down
the street. Well, maybe that’s
stretching the truth quite a bit,
but it’s true that El Nido is full -
no, choked - with hotels just to
fit every tourist’s taste. That’s be-
cause El Nido has been a huge
attraction for years now, and so
going around this town is fairly
easy, even for a newbie traveler.
There are a whole lot of things
to do in El Nido - you could stay
there for a month and still not
be able to see all of the beau-
tiful places and do all the fun
activities, and taste the delicious
food. El Nido is not just choked
with hotels, it’s also choked with
restaurants. Because what’s
a good vacation without good
food?
One of the most famous
restaurants is Altrove, a quaint
little place in the middle of the
town. It focuses on Italian food,
traveloguesfeatures
the One for You
and it’s quite well-known for
its delicious pizzas. The prices
are quite reasonable, and the
vibe is nice, set by golden-col-
ored lamps and candles. If pizza
doesn’t tickle your taste buds,
you can always just walk down
the street and pick a restaurant
that seems interesting.
Another fun activity, be-
sides eating, is island hopping!
I think that’s what all tourists in
El Nido do right away. Because,
well, even if you went to El Nido
just to island hop, it’s still going to
be worth it. There are four island
hopping trips you can choose
from, although the islands you
can visit in each tour varies, de-
pending on what booking office/
hotel you’re buying it from. But
I can guarantee each and every
one of the four trips are equally
awesome.
But food and islands
aren’t the only sights to see in
El Nido. There are many plac-
es in town where you can rent
a motorcycle if you don’t have
a vehicle; rent one and drive
around! There are more beau-
tiful places outside of town, like
Nacpan Beach, a thirty-minute
ride from the town, and abso-
lutely worth the dust and rocky
roads you’ll experience on the
way! The water is clear, and the
beach stretches for 23 kilome-
ters! If swimming isn’t your thing,
a walk down the soft sands of
Nacpan is still equally magical.
Another interesting
beach is Maremegmeg Beach
(which technically means cold
in Cuyonon), or more commonly
known as Las Cabanas Beach,
which is seven kilometers (or
five to ten minutes) away from
the town. Although the beach is
way smaller than Nacpan, the
sea is still fantastic and clear. It
is perfect for snorkeling - and
if you want to spot a sea turtle
without going island hopping,
there have been a lot of sightings
on this beach! You can also go
kayaking (either around the area
or you can kayak two kilometers
to Papaya Beach. It’s a small
beach and it’s very quiet, perfect
for camping), or you can sim-
ply relax and chill in one of the
restaurants along the beach and
enjoy the spectacular sunset.
If you haven’t had
enough of Las Cabanas, you can
stay there for a couple of nights!
There are a couple of hotels in
the area, and I strongly recom-
mend the Birdhouse.
The Birdhouse is situat-
ed on top of a hill at the edge
of the beach, and it is quite ex-
traordinary; it’s a glamping ho-
tel (glamorous camping), which
means you sleep in a big, fash-
ionable tent called a “nest”. The
facilities are convenient, the food
is good, and most importantly,
the view is amazing! You get to
see a whole stretch of the sea,
plus you can even see a small
part of the town. This place is
perfect for watching sunsets,
stars, and, if it isn’t already obvi-
ous, birds.
During the construction
of the hotel, the owners made
sure to avoid cutting most of
the trees and plants, so the hotel
would look like it was just a part
of the hill. In result, a guest may
see the occasional bird or hear
the constant singing. If that isn’t
enough, you can ask the staff for
binoculars and go bird watching.
This place is perfect to experi-
ence alone, with a friend, or with
your kids.
There’s ziplines, canopy
walking, scuba diving, and you
can even climb the limestone
cliffs that surround El Nido. I
don’t think I can fit all the sights
to see and activities to do in one
article, so I suggest you just go
and discover the rest yourself!
THE MODERN AND
THE TRADITIONAL:
Exploring Japan
Japan, the “land of the
rising sun” really leaves quite
an impression to a first-time vis-
itor of the country. Even arriving
at the Narita airport, taking the
bus and the train was already
an experience of Japan’s orga-
nized advanced transportation
system. The country amazed
me with their architecture,
culture, food, and tradition.
Tokyo was my first
and favorite destination as I was
in awe of the modernization,
building architectures, and va-
riety of people walking around
the busy city. The Ameyayoko-
cho street market that swarmed
with food places which gave me
my first taste of yakiniku which
is meat you get to grill and the
original Japanese ramen. I also
got to see the Tokyo Skytree
which is known to be the tall-
est freestanding broadcasting
tower in the world, it was a
breathtaking view since I saw it
at night. After a fresh breakfast
from Pronto cafe before stroll-
ing around Ueno park a des-
ignated area in Japan famous
for viewing cherry blossoms.
Which eventually lead to ex-
periencing the rush hour at the
well-known Shibuya crossing.
My favorite places
at the Tokyo visit though has
to be Omotesando Hills and
Takeshitadori. Omotesando
Hills is a high end shopping
street of malls with high-tech
architecture. Takeshitadori is
a street full of stores that are
popular as it is full of clothes
and anime merchandise, and
there I saw varieties of Harajuku
street fashion. Eventually end-
ing my Tokyo visit was an ar-
cade at Akihabara, a big electric
town of consumer electronics.
While taking a bullet
train to Kyoto, the city gave
off a completely different at-
mosphere. Unlike the busy city
life in Tokyo, Kyoto had a lot
of temples and it seemed to
lean more to the peaceful and
THERESE MALAPAD
traditional past of the country.
One my favorite tra-
ditional locations was when I
went to the Fushimi Inari Taisha
(Fox Shrine) which I have seen
in the movie Memoirs of a Gei-
sha, also known for the thou-
sand of vermillion Torii gates
and the white fox which is a
messenger of Inari Okami god.
There at the greatest world her-
itage in Kyoto, Kiyomizudera
Temple I overlooked the view
of the city while having to ex-
perience lighting incense sticks,
and getting wishing cards.
Having my first bit-
ter taste of matcha tea at the
temple made me look forward
to visiting the Nishiki market,
a place of vibrant energy and
original Japanese flavors in soy
donuts, dumplings and tempura.
Kyoto has kept the tra-
ditional in their brew but puts an
exotic and modern twist in their
flavors much like the desserts I
ate like tiramisu, black sesame
ice cream, and matcha ice cream.
Gion street, a famous
entertainment and geisha quar-
ter where geishas are seen
rushing from school to the
performance area. My last fa-
vorite spot in Kyoto was Toei
Studios, also known as Kyoto
Studio Park, the park featured
re-enactments of various tra-
ditional buildings and towns of
the Edo Period that are usually
used as a backdrop for filming
historical movies and television
dramas. I got to watch re-en-
actments and performances of
people of the Edo period but
my favorite performances are
the samurai swordfight and the
ninja show, mostly a theatrical
exaggeration of an anime show.
It was great to ex-
perience a modern depic-
tion of Japan’s past, their
tradition still applies to the
modern society despite the
economic advancement.

19
The Chinese Experience
Margaret mil
Every time my parents
and I have an upcoming trip, the
only preparation I participate in
is packing. On some occasions,
when I’ve run out of stories to
read or videos to watch, I’ll re-
search about the place we’re go-
ing to, and I’ll check how hot or
cold it will be when we go.
When my dad told me
we were going to Beijing, China,
my first question was “Why?”
Having already been to Japan
and Korea, I was expecting
China to not be that different. I
said this to my parents and they
laughed at me.
Perhaps some greater
force heard me, and decided it
would be fun to mess around.
At least, that’s what I believed
during my first night in Beijing.
It had been cold enough
for me to slightly shiver in my
jacket and leggings. We had tak-
Present
in Paris’
Past
One does not simply visit Paris.
Paris is the kind of
city that takes more than be-
ing there to see. The act of
walking in the streets isn’t just
about being Present, but also
about the Past. The city oozes
history and you breathe it in.
LES CATACOMBES DE PARIS
One of the not too pop-
ular tourist destinations — and
definitely not for the faint of heart
travelogues
features
en a cab to our hotel, Beijing 161
Hotel. It was located in a hotung
area, which is made up of a lot of
alleys.
We wandered around
the area, lost, and stopping only
to buy food from a convenience
store we’d come across. As we
walked along a large road –
which branched off in alleyways
and streets – I noticed that once
in a while, a person or two in a
reflective vest would pass by in
a tricycle carrying cleaning sup-
plies and tools. I pointed this out
to my parents, and we agreed
that they must be street cleaners.
Eventually, after being
helped by a kind Western man,
we found our hotel. To our dis-
may, however, the receptionist
told us that our reservation had
been cancelled, and that they
had no rooms available. As my
dad and the receptionist talked,
— is Les Catacombes de Paris
(The Catacombs of Paris) locat-
ed within the bones that hold the
city up with a small network of
tunnels that carry the remains
of more than six million people.
The way into the tun-
nels is through a long circu-
lar winding staircase. With
each step, the air around you
seemed to only get colder and
colder. It’s the perfect ambiance
to start with to prepare you for
halls of neatly arranged walls
my mom and I sat on the steps
by the entrance. I sat there won-
dering if I was being punished
for all the nights I had stayed up
late, while my mom mentioned
that she saw a public restroom a
bit further down the road.
We left a few minutes
later to see if any of the hotels
nearby had any available rooms.
They were all booked, so we re-
turned to Beijing 161. Fortunate-
ly, the receptionist took pity upon
us and told us he would give us
a room. But, it’s currently being
fixed, he had said. We told him
that we didn’t mind, and half an
hour later, my parents and I were
passed out in our beds.
For our first day, we
headed to the Great Wall. This
was, in my opinion, the highlight
of our trip.
After a breakfast of
street food, we went to the train
MAURA YAP
of skulls. Navigating through
the narrow corridors was like
tempting a scene from a hor-
ror movie. As if the skeletons
would come alive and drag
you into their pile of bones.
The oldest of the tun-
nels — closed to the public for
safety reasons — are almost
twice as old as our homeland,
the Philippines. Walking along
the path is a history lesson in
itself. Tombstones and markers
illustrate France’s lustrous past
showing soldiers and lords who
died in wars and revolutions.
It was so easy to
get lost in the halls and
history of the place. Christian holy book allowed the
CATHEDRAL DE NOTRE DAME
In the heart of Par-
is along the River Seine is the
Cathedral de Notre Dame (Ca-
thedral of Notre Dame), a must-
see destination for every tourist.
Looking at the cathe-
dral from the outside, fans of
the Disney musical The Hunch-
back of Notre Dame would
surely be disappointed at how
smaller the cathedral actually
is. But once you come closer,
the disappointment fades into
station. I was shocked to see
that there were guards at every
entrance, some standing as still
as statues. We also had to go
through a scanner and have our
bags checked. It took some time,
since the guards also insisted on
checking our water bottles.
It was all I could think
about as we were on a taxi on
the way to the Great Wall. As I
read a brochure while walking,
later when we got off the taxi, I
learned that there was more to
the Great Wall than having a long
stroll through it. To get there, one
had to ride a cable car, and to
get down you could choose be-
tween the cable car or riding a
toboggan.
When we were in the
cable car on the way up, some-
thing managed to catch my
eye despite my mom’s terrified
screams. Since the cable car
was somewhat close to ground,
I saw that there was a pathway
of sorts leading up to the Great
Wall. I pointed this out to my
parents, and my dad and I won-
dered how old it was, or if it was
new.
Once I was actually on
the Great Wall, however, I quick-
ly realized that I wouldn’t be able
to calmly walk through it. It was
rather steep in some parts, and
going up and down the stairs
was a scary experience.
My parents and I came
across a tower whose stairs
were intact enough to be able
to go to its rooftop. The view
it provided was beautiful – you
sheer awe at the exquisite detail
and craftsmanship the workers
had to have to carve the en-
trance. The shocking detail in
the faces of the saints carved
along the cathedral’s facade
really does seem like they’re
watching your every move.
Entering the church
is stepping back in time. Ev-
eryone chattering in line was
silenced by the holy expanse
of the cathedral’s architecture.
The pillars hold the
prayers of millions of people
from across the decades. The
stained glass mosaic on the win-
dows depicting scenes from the
sunlight to filter in like a rainbow.
One wonders how
many people across histo-
ry have swarmed to the ca-
thedral looking for sanctuary.
LOUVRE
A visit to Par-
is is not complete with-
out a visit to the Louvre.
The gigantic pal-
ace-turned-museum houses
the biggest collections of art.
It’s only understandable that
19
19
could see how the Wall was
sprawled over the mountain like
a snake, and how the buildings
in the town nearby turned into
pinpricks.
We rode the toboggan
on the way down the Wall. We
had to go one by one, and it was
exciting to speed up the sled and
feel the wind race past me. It was
also scary because I had a con-
stant worry that I’d hit the person
in front of me, or that the person
behind me would crash into me.
When we got back to
our hotel, it was already time
for dinner. We ate at a fast food
place nearby. I don’t know if it
was because I was hungry, or
because the food was genuinely
good, but suddenly Chinese food
didn’t seem too bad anymore to
me.
For dessert and follow
up snacks, we visited a night
market called Wangfujing Street.
The dozens of stalls there easily
catered to both the sweet-tooths
and the adventurous. The food
ranged from fried insects on
sticks to fruit cakes. My parents
tried a scorpion on a stick, while I
sticked to caramelized strawber-
ries and chestnuts. I had been
too traumatized by the sight of
spiders, centipedes and scorpi-
ons wiggling on their sticks be-
fore they got cooked.
We went back to the
hotel soon after, stomachs full
and too tired to even mind the
fact that we had no access to
wi-fi. I fell asleep as soon as my
head was on my pillow.
the art capital of the world
would have a collection only
they themselves can rival.
People only drop-
ping in on the Louvre should,
of course, head straight to the
Mona Lisa. Fall in line with ev-
ery other tourist wanting to see
a glimpse of her smile, then
leave with bragging rights of
having seen one of Leonar-
do da Vinci’s masterpieces.
But to those who
want to breathe in and digest
the art and culture displayed
in the museum, the best way
would be to join a guided
tour and get special insights
from the museum’s dedicated
and well-trained tour guides.
Before one enters the
museum, one must remember
that it was a palace first. The
walls and floors are as price-
less and full of history as ev-
erything else on display. This
palace was where decades
of nobles lived and died. How
many romances have these
windows seen? How many se-
crets have the ceilings heard?
All it takes is to lis-
ten closely. To be beyond
there — present and past.
 20 features
The Filipino Heart “Coco” shows the vitality of one’s
family as not only the people we
are related to, but family as home.
an amazing soundtrack. Michael
Giacchino is the man behind the
original music used in the film.
The things we must fulfill and fol- The same man who composed
low. scores for notable movies like
BIANCA RABE It’s not only the tamales the Star Trek franchise, Doctor
that the Filipinos can relate to in Strange, Ratatouille, and many
the movie, but the love for family more. With the lyrics written by
above everything too. head screenplay writer Mollina,
Disney-Pixar’s most recent animated films, “Coco”, is more Dia de los Muertos
the musician says it was a ‘fun
than a wonderful journey into the bright and colorful Mexican tradition The titular character
The Filipina behind ‘Coco’ ride’ incorporating the Spanish
of celebrating the day of the departed – it is marigold petals that con- in “Coco,” is not its protago-
Gini Cruz Santos as- touch to the songs, especially
nect the world of the living to the world of the dead, a mariachi in every nist. Coco is the 80-year-old
sured that the movie would be since most of the songs were bi-
turn, and the axiomatic conflict between your heart or to continue your great-grandmother of Miguel,
close to the Filipino heart. lingual.
family’s legacy. Directed by Lee Unkrich – the person who brought the 12-year-old whose love for
Santos, the Filipina Pixar “We wanted people to under-
us Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3 – alongside screenwriter Adrian music (and his hero, Ernesto de
supervising animator, is one of stand it but not be afraid to use
Mollina take us with Miguel and his enchanted celebration of Dia de los la Cruz) was indestructible, and
the people who put the “bahay Spanish words when needed.
Muertos. would be soon defied when his
kubo” inside Nemo’s aquarium And because a lot of it you un-
family would detest Miguel’s am-
and brought us Princess Mer- derstand the context of the song
bition of becoming a musician
ida from the movie Brave. Born — it’s a guy singing a love song
because of their absurd ban on
in Pasay City and a University of — you don’t have to understand
music. Miguel’s quest will not be
Santo Tomas alumna, she admits every word, it’s the feeling of the
the only thing that shall strum
that one of the biggest challenges song.” Giacchino said.
your heartstrings, but Coco’s
for her in making the film was an- Local OPM artist Iñigo
backstory and how both wound
imating the skeletons because of Pascual sung the official Phil-
together to bring you the perfect
the kids who might be frightened. ippine version of Coco’s main
song to bring you to tears.
theme, Remember Me, which
Dia de los Muertos is
“Kids might be afraid to is composed by Kristen Ander-
the Mexican equivalent of the All
see them (skeletons) at first but son-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the
Souls Day or Undas in the Philip-
we’re hoping that they would re- husband-wife tandem behind the
pines. Similarly, it is supposed to
late to see Miguel, being another Oscar-winning “Frozen”, hap-
be spent with family, both breath-
kid, interacting with skeletons and pens to be Filipino as well.
ing and the departed, where
hopefully be like ‘Hey it’s okay “I am honored to sing
each are serenaded with music,
with Miguel, it should be okay (for this song because it is about fam-
offered their beloved food, and
us).’” She said in a roundtable in- ily and remembering the people
when marigold petals shine to
terview with journalists. we love,” the 20-year-old singer
guide the departed from the land
“The Mexican culture, said.
of the dead to their homes in the
they kind of share our dynamic There is more than fa-
land of the living.
a little bit as family. For me, I was miliar words, food, and family that

excited because I felt like all our this movie offers that Filipinos will
‘Family first, remember?’
research in the dynamic of our hold close to their hearts. But at
“It wasn’t about skele-
acting and just kind of a how the the end of the day, though it is
tons and laughing at death,” Lee
Mexican family relates to each from a different place and culture,
Poster from the official movie. said in an interview. “It was about
other feels Filipino.” “Coco” allows people to recog-
this obligation to remember our
nize how we are all a lot more
loved ones and to pass their sto-
‘Remember Me’ similar than we are different.
ries along.” Apart from the vibrant
With the movie, comes
celebration of Dia de los Muertos,

visuals and Zimmer’s music. The plot followed the Transformers A lot of people say the film

DUNKIRK:
Zimmer uses the Shep-
three inter-connected perspec-
tives which covered different
the last knight
and the
is way too experimental, like Rich-
ard Brody, an American film critic

A MOVIE ON
ard tone for auditory illusions but overlapping time frames. who writes for The New Yorker.
where the sound of a ticking The land covers a time period last height He said: “Bay’s highest inspirations
clock helped creates fearsome of one week, the sea with one are those of a virtually experimen-

COMMUNITY and fierce visuals. He refused day, and in the air with one hour. Lila SayajoN tal filmmaker of pure sensation; the
to rely on words to narrate but There was a wave of rush of sensation is also a temp-
In the beginning of tation for experimental filmmakers

HEROISM
danielle castillo
Award-winning direc-
tor Christopher Nolan released
a new film that has grossed
over $274 million world-
wide. “Dunkirk” is believed
to be one of his best films
aside “The Dark Knight Ris-
es” and “Saving Private Ryan”.
The war movie delved
into the historical event where
almost 400,000 men retreat-
ed in the seaside town of
Dunkirk, waiting for a mira-
cle. Like it said in the post-
ers – when they couldn’t get
home, home came for them.
Written, co-produced
and directed by Nolan, this
movie is unrelenting and con-
sidered an existential mas-
terpiece supported by one of
the greatest soundtrack pro-
ducers, Hanz Zimmer. Nolan
wrote the script in three per-
spectives – land, sea and air
– with little dialogue to empha-
size and create suspense using
Poster from the ofiicial movie.
instead, used action to pro-
duce unrelenting and intense
scenes. With an ensemble cast
starring Fionn Whitehead, Cil-
lian Murphy, Harry Styles and
Tom Hardy, the group show-
cased great talent that made the
audience fidget in their seats.
the movie, there is an introduc-
tory text which said that after
the invasion of France by Nazi
Germany, soldiers moved the
shores of Dunkirk in 1940. The
allied perimeter shrinks and the
German forces close in. They
have surrounded the English-
men. With this, the soldiers are
in need of a miracle, awaiting
evacuation in what they seem
a hopeless situation. England
– home – is within sight.
What strikes the audi-
ence is the inverse roles of the
soldiers and their homeland. It
gave emphasis on community
heroism which highlights indi-
vidual acts of courage. Also, the
roles are switched: it is not the
soldiers saving their home, but
the home saving their soldiers.
It is simply saying that anyone
can be a hero. This movie not
only showed the importance
of heroism but emphasized
an ideal where the characters
embody bravery and kindness.
Dunkirk, to sum it
all up, serves as an emotion-
ally satisfying extravaganza.
excitement when the latest mov-
ie in the Transformers series was
released on the 21st of June.
Transformers: The Last
Knight is the fifth movie in the series
directed by Michael Bay, an Ameri-
can filmmaker who also produced
Pearl Harbor and Armageddon.
Like the other Transformers mov-
ies, it received negative comments
from critics. It’s the ninth high-
est-grossing film of the year, but
still the lowest of the franchise. The
movie stars Mark Wahlberg, who
first starred in the previous film,
Transformers: Age of Extinction.
The movie has very stun-
ning visuals, as expected from Mi-
chael Bay, who never holds back
when it comes to 3D composi-
tion. He is considered one of the
best 3D filmmakers working. Most
critics, although giving a negative
outlook on most of Bay’s films,
always mention his skill in visuals.
Though the story line is a little
too extended, a lot of reviews,
after acknowledging the film’s
flaws, mention how they like the
main idea of the plot, especial-
ly the intro where the story in-
tertwines with King Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table.
who often don’t keep their own
images onscreen for too long.”
Brody refers to how the best
moments in the movie go by too
fast, and “are held too briefly.”
Another review, made
by Peter Sciretta, the producer of
the movie The Primary Instinct:
“The humor in this film is some-
how more jarring than past install-
ments of the franchise, and the film
itself is an experiment in excess.”
“As with most Bay mov-
ies, it’s the action and silly mo-
ments that are the most enjoyable.
A highlight in “The Last Knight” is
a Transformer doubling as [An-
thony Hopkins’ character’s] butler
named Cogman who tries des-
perately to be dignified, though
he can’t help beving overcome by
violent outbursts. Some enjoyable
Cogman scenes: When he ran-
domly attacks Yeager, when he
has road rage in the middle of a
car chase, and when our heroes
are in a submarine (yes, there are
submarines in this movie) and
Cogman catches fish for Yea-
ger and Wembley and we watch
as the machine beats the hell out
of the fish before serving them.”
 features 21
Maki-LINK at MAKILINC: Ibarangs and Guest Artists
connect during 2018 MAKILINC MARGARET MIL

Alex Flett Aishwarya Manivannan Joey Ayala Ching Ching Wong Ony Carcamo Inshallah Montero

The arrival of Febru-
ary signals the start of National
Arts Month in the Philippines.
The nationwide celebrations
consist of festivals, shows and
workshops. For the students
of the Philippine High School
for the Arts (PHSA), this month
marks the return of the Makil-
ing Intercultural Arts Festival
(MAKILINC).
MAKILINC was first
brought about by the school’s
director, Dr. Vim Nadera, in
2013. Since then, it has served
as a gathering wherein invit-
ing artists both local and for-
eign are invited as speakers to
not only teach but also to – as
the name suggests – maki-link
with the students, teachers and
each other.
Opening ceremonies
The opening of
MAKILINC was commemorated
twice at different venues.
The first opening cer-
emony was held at the Bul-
wagang Sarimanok on the
PHSA campus on February 18.
There were performances by
the guest artists and students.
The ceremony concluded with
dinner.
The second ceremo-
ny was held the next day at
the Los Banos Municipal Hall
Building. PHSA invited students
from Los Banos’ elementary
schools to watch.
There were welcoming
remarks from Baby Sumangin,
a counsellor of Los Baños.
After an introduction
from Nadera, the guest artists
elaborated about their art fields
and performed, to the delight
of the kids in the audience.
There were also performances
from students of every major at
PHSA.
The workshops
The students were as-
signed to workshops by major.
The workshops lasted for three
days, and were conducted in
various places within the PHSA
campus.
On the first day, the
students were taught the ba-
sics – they were handed the
threads of the art that they were
learning, so to speak.
Joey Ayala led the
workshop for Song Writing. The
Music majors were split into
groups and tasked to write a
song. They also played various
music exercises and enjoyed a
visit from singer-songwriter Ebe
Dancel.
Ayala is known for
writing and performing songs
regarding nature and man’s
place in it, and for his style
that combines the sounds of
Filipino ethnic instruments with
modern pop music. So far, he
has released fourteen albums,
and has been recognized and
won many awards for his mu-
sic.
The Visual Artists, on
the other hand, studied Con-
ceptual Art under Alex Flett, an
artist from Scotland.
“On the first day we
painted a branch. Then on the
second day we tied ropes to
the branch and on the final day
we gathered trash and put it on
the branch.” says Avril Cobra-
na, Visual Arts student.
On Flett himself, Co-
brana describes him as like-
able and knowledgeable, mak-
ing great sweeping and circular
motions with his hands.
“He’s an artist that
makes things…like something
worthless, he makes it some-
thing useful.” Cobrana adds.
”Like, [he] lets the public know
about things. I learned how to
let the public know about [for
example] plastic pollution by
turning it into something artsy.”
Third, Ony Carcamo
taught the Theater Arts students
about Ventriloquism.
Carcamo has been
described as “the best and
busiest working ventriloquist” in
the Philippines. In 2004, he was
noted by the National Commis-
sion and Culture for the Arts for
his talent and contribution to
the dying art of ventriloquism.
The students learned
how to speak the alphabet
without moving their mouth and
about the substitute sounds for
certain letters. They also made
puppets.
Next, the Folk Dancers
unearthed the art of Silambam
with the aid of Aishwarya
Manivannan. Silambam origi-
nates from India, and is a form
of martial arts whose move-
ments take inspiration from an-
imals.
The dancers learned
about the types of sticks and
rotations. Jon Ferrer, Grade 9
student, said that Manivannan
explained that studying Sil-
ambam was similar to study-
ing a language: from letters to
words to phrases to sentences
and then to essays.
“From maliit, palaki,”
says Ferrer. “Kaya sobrang
galing niyang magturo para sa
akin kasi sobrang arranged ng
mga bagay.”
“I liked everything.” he
adds. “As in, hindi ako na-
bore.”
Meanwhile, the Bal-
let majors were supervised by
Ching Ching Wong for Dance –
particularly, modern dance.
Ching Ching Wong was
born in Manila, Philippines and
raised in the United States of
America. She has been recent-
ly recognized by the national
publication DANCE magazine
as the 25 to Watch. She was
awarded The Princess Grace
Award in Dance in 2015. This
is the most prestigious recog-
nition for dance performance in
the United States. She is also
a certified classical pilates in-
structor.
Last, Inshallah Montero
instructed Film Making with the
Creative Writing students.
She not only showed
the basics of the technical as-
pects of Film, but she also gave
the students tips that she said
“she learned from experience”
and not from her teachers.
For their output, she split the
students into groups and had
them each film a dance video.
Montero is a Creative
Writing alumna from batch Lo-
pez-Jaena – Guerrero.
By the end of the third
day, every workshop of stu-
dents was expected to have
produced a final output. They
linked what they had learned
in their Arts classes with what
they learned in the workshops
and weaved together what they
could to produce tapestries.
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony
was held at DL Umali Hall in the
University of Los Banos cam-
pus on February 23.
After a message from
the executive director of the
National Commission for Cul-
ture and the Arts, Hon. Rico S.
Pableo Jr., the students treated
the audience to performanc-
es which served as their final
outputs for the workshops and
a video by the official school
publication Variations that
summed up the week’s events.
The program com-
menced with student repre-
sentatives from each workshop
presenting their impressions of
the week.
Indeed, MAKILINC is
an opportunity for the students
to link old and new threads
to create their own. To sum
it up, through the workshops
they were able to broaden their
knowledge about their art and
gain more insight into what be-
ing an artist outside of PHSA
entails. They were given the
ability to create more intricate
and varied tapestries than the
ones they have already been
making.
 22
Taylor Swift’s latest
song gets slammed down
by critics in the unkind-
est way possible, many
saying this is the biggest
let-down of her career.
Look What You Made Me
Do is the lead single for
Swift’s sixth album, Rep-
utation, and was released
on August 24. The song
is, as some critics put
it, “different” from Tay-
lor Swift’s past songs.
Swift seems to have com-
pletely left the country
genre and went on to
pure pop, and her tran-
sition can be seen in the
eras of her two albums,
Red and 1989, 2012
and 2014, respectively.
The song is “very
unfamiliar,” and most
people would proba-
bly not recognize it as
one of Swift’s songs.
The lyrics, according to
some critics, are “viscer-
al and almost sloppy.”
“For all the serpent-themed
hype leading up to the
launch of the song, Swift’s
words lack venom, fangs,
and smoothness. They
have the consistency of
wet flour, and their mean-
ing could be converted
into a series of impotent
hisses, without any loss
How has So-
cial Media
affected
your
Social
Life?
features
in translation. As far as
her archnemeses Kim and
Kanye go, it’s completely
impossible to imagine them
doing anything but laugh-
ing, hard, at Look What
You Made Me Do. They’ve
‘made’ Taylor Swift release
the worst music of her
career. What could pos-
sibly be less intimidating
than that?” wrote Vulture.
Joseph Khan, the di-
rector of the music vid-
eo for Look What You
Made Me Do, immediately
came to Swift’s defense.
“Taylor smashes
every streaming record,
every download record,
and demolishes VEVO
Youtube records. Media:
Everyone hates Taylor,”
Khan says on Twitter.
Khan also accused critics
of sexism, tweeting that,
“If I plan something as
a man, I’m a “genius.” If
Taylor as a woman plans
something she is “ma-
nipulative.” Double stan-
dards. This is wrong.”
Despite all the negative
reviews and respons-
es to Swift’s new song,
its release, with an ac-
companying lyric vid-
eo, received 19 million
views on its first day.
The music video was re-
“Our [high school] batch,
Batch 1976, we had a
reunion by connecting [with
each other online], how our
lives are now... There’s a link
with old friends.”
– Christina Narvasa, PE and
Health teacher
Lila Sayajon
leased during the Video
Music Awards (VMAs),
and achieved almost 30
million views in 24 hours.
This beat the record held
by Adele’s Hello, which
achieved 27.7 million views.
“I Don’t Like You”
Look What You
Made Me Do seems to tar-
get Swift’s ‘haters,’ since
that’s what the lyrics sug-
gest. For example, the
simplest part of the song,
which is, “I don’t like you.”
The idea is more
strongly supported in
the last thirty seconds of
the music video, when
a scene is shown of a
group of Taylor Swifts ar-
guing among themselves.
One dialogue address-
es the time when Swift
received backlash from
critics about her signature
‘shocked’ face whenever
she received an award,
as the critics claimed
Swift’s response was fake.
One Swift says, “Stop
making that surprise face.
It’s so annoying,” and an-
other Swift says, “Yeah,
you can’t possibly be that
surprised all the time.”
“I get to communicate with
my friends more over the
weekend and I get to see
what they share and where
they go… I’m also updated
with the people I follow
online like my social media
icons, and singers, famous
people, famous dancers,
and I’m also alerted by the
news on, for example, Twit-
ter or Facebook and I get to
share my life online.”
– Amelia Hurtado, Grade 8
Write
Dead Taylor
The famous line in
the music video, “I’m sor-
ry, the old Taylor can’t
come to the phone right
now. Why? Because she’s
dead,” quickly became
a meme after the song’s
release, and sadly, it
didn’t help her reputation.
The main idea of
Swift’s song seems to
be about her “changing,”
and it may be why she
went into a new genre
completely, and it may
also be the reason why
the tone of the song is
very vengeful and rough.
Swift has never
been a particular favor-
ite of online critics, and
there’s always some-
thing heated to talk about
the celebrity every year.
It doesn’t help that she
has a “long list of ex-lov-
ers,” a favorite topic for
Swift’s haters to pick on.
So, Look What
You Made Me Do receiv-
ing so much negativity,
and if so many people
are saying it’s a “bad”
song, why is it trending?
“For me, it’s made me more
open and it’s helped me
learn more about myself…
and define myself better.”
– Julian Bernal, Grade 9
The media loves
different, revolutionary
things. People love sud-
den bright colors in a
long line of gray. It gives
us thrill, it’s very exciting.
Many people may
find Swift’s new song dry,
the lyrics may be “sloppy,”
but it is still very upbeat.
It’s upbeat, and
it’s something “different.”
It is a huge change from
Swift’s past songs and al-
bums, and if you compare
You Belong With Me or
Our Song to Look What
You Made Me Do, you
might even mistake them
to be by different singers.
As Swift says in
the music video, “the old
Taylor is dead,” and a
new one has been born.
As the era of Rep-
utation begins, we’ll get
to know more about the
changes in Swift, for good
or for bad. For fans, en-
joy the excitement of an-
ticipation of what comes
next in the new album.
For the critics, may you
be strong enough to wait
for this storm to pass.
“You know those relation-
ships that need a little push
for you guys to actually talk
to each other? Well, social
media is that push ‘cause
[with] people who I wanted
to talk to but couldn’t in real
life…, I was able to form
a somewhat relationship
with them through social
media… and strengthen
our connections with one
another.”
– Bea Zafe, Grade 10
 24 SCIENCE
Many of the Iba-
rang can remember the
night of January 31st
very clearly. The moon
was full, supple and
white. Yet, as the night
progressed, a scarlet
shadow loomed over the
moon, and by 9:30, it
turned a shade of blood
red.
This phenomenon
is known as a total lu-
nar eclipse. This occurs
whenever the earth is
between the sun and
the moon, and when the
moon is in full phase.
The sun happens to be
behind the earth, and
casts its shadow onto
the moon. But then,
people wonder, ‘why is
the moon’s color red?’
This is because
the atmosphere blocks
The
B lo o d
Moon
Sidney Lampayan
most of the wavelengths thing about the lunar
from the sun’s spec- eclipse is that it hap-
trum. A spectrum is the pened the same time as
different frequencies the super moon and the
of waves. On the spec- blue moon. This rarity
trum, red has the lon- hasn’t occurred for cen-
gest wavelength, so it turies. So, being able to
can easily pass through participate in the star-
the atmosphere and gazing of a once-in-
give the moon its col- lifetime opportunity was
or, titling it ‘the blood one of the most special
moon’. events that could come
by in a blink of an eye.
Another curious

H E R B S F O R S C H OO L
DANIEL BEN

Students tend to live

stressful lives. All the sleepless
nights, exhausted minds, and
the lack of exercise can cause
their bodies to wear down.

Coffee is a necessity in
a dormer’s closet to keep them
up and working; but who’d
think that the vegetables’ nu-
trients and vitamins could help
your curious brain continue
functioning in other ways caf-
feine can’t.
An example of this is
the common nutrition power-
house – lemongrass. Contain-
ing high amounts of potassium,
calcium, zinc, iron, and vitamins
A and C; the plant, in many dif-
ferent kinds of preparations like
tea, helps the student’s body
fulfil its daily nutritional need.
However, because
Lemongrass is also a nervine, a
group of plants that help sup-
port the nervous system, it is
used to relieve pain and relax
our bodies from stress, as well
as treat insomnia and give a
good sleep, a helpful note to
students.
Research also sug-
gests that the plant’s high vi-
tamin C content could improve
blood circulation and help al-
leviate the pain caused by
headaches, as well as spasms,
muscle cramps, sprains, and
backaches.
Lemongrass could
help students find calm in exam
weeks and other stressful proj-
ects, but hunger still lingers,
causing students to eat un-
healthy options, such as the
dormitory favourite: cupped
noodles.
Cupped noodles are
usually beside the packs of
three-in-one coffee packs, a
solution to the student’s late
night hunger. But what most
won’t know is that eating food
with high dietary fiber content,
It is said that its high content of
such as okra, would keep you
vitamins A and C help improve
fuller for a longer time, cut hun-
and sustain eyesight, helping
ger cravings, and help diges-
your eyes in students’ late-night
tion; eliminating the need of
paper writing sessions.
unhealthy instant noodles.
For those times too
Like lemongrass, it is
much coffee or cupped noodles
said that the seed extract of
irritate your stomach, saluyot
okra has an anti-stress effect
helps eliminate digestive prob-
and could help lower choles-
lems from basic stomach aches
terol.
to diarrhea, constipation, and
ulcers because of its high fiber
Additionally, a study in
content and slimy consistency
the Institute of Medicinal Plant
when cooked. Thus, keeping
Development in China found
you full for a longer time, like
that okra could improve the
okra.
body’s resistance to fatigue. It
All of this may sound
was said that including okra
great for working adults, less
in your dietary plan along with
hunger with just eight medium
exercise should help the body
sized okra pods, or stress relief
sustain a longer workout, a
from lemongrass tea, but in the
pointer to student-athletes.
end, it’s still up to the students
if they’ll take those few extra
Another plant that could
greens.
help students is saluyot or jute.

Illustrations by isagani pinzon


MAKILING --- ENDEMICS
Mount Makiling, although just several kilometres away from Metro Manila, is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. An
ASEAN heritage park, it houses many species of plants, trees, birds, spiders, and countless more fauna and flora, some endemic to the
mystical mountain alone.
An example of these
endemics is the Rafflesia, spe-
cifically Rafflesia panchoana.
The species used to be mistak-
en for the Raffleshia manilliana,
a different species of the same
genus that was first cited 1834
by Hugh Cuming in Basey, Sa-
mar.
For more than a centu-
ry, R. panchoana was thought
to be the same that grows in
Samar. It was only last 2007
when a study proved that the
two flowers were completely
different, as discussed in the
publication Madulid, D.A., Buot,
I. and Agoo, E.M.G. Rafflesia
panchoana, a new species from
Luzon Island, Philippines. Acta
Manillana 55:43-48 (2007).
The color of a newly
opened R. manilliana is creamy
white and turns creamy or-
ange as it matures. On the oth-
er hand, R. panhoana’s color
is reddish brown, and slowly
PAGASA and PHIVOLCS prepare
Ibarangs for natural disasters
Margaret mil
The students of the Phil-
ippine High School for the Arts
(PHSA) visited the headquarters of
the Philippine Institute of Volcanol-
ogy and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)
and Philippine Atmospheric, Geo-
physical and Astronomical Ser-
vices Administration (PAGASA) in
Quezon City, October 12.
PHIVOLCS and PAGASA
are both institutes under the De-
partment of Science and Technol-
ogy. PHIVOLCS oversees moder-
ating disasters that may occur due
to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
tsunami and other related geo-
tectonic phenomena. PAGASA’s
mission is to provide the public
with timely, accurate and reliable
weather-related information and
services.
At PHIVOLCS, the stu-
dents were educated through
talks, videos and an exhibit about
volcanoes, earthquakes and tsu-
namis. The students also got to try
SCIENCE
Illustrations by isagani pinzon
takes a deeper color.
Another of these en-
demics is the Platymantis mim-
ulus. This frog is one of the 30
of its genus in the Philippines,
and the only one of its genus to
habituate Mt. Makiling. The spe-
cies, however, is cited by the
IUCN Red List as near threat-
ened.
It is said that the pop-
ulation of the frog is not having
a significant decline, and it was
also said that the P. mimulus is
very adaptable, but because it
was only found within the con-
fines of 5,000 km2, it made the
species close to vulnerable.
According to the Ency-
clopaedia of Life though, it might
be possible that the diversity for
the genus Platymantis is under-
PHIVOLCS’ earthquake simulator.
“Nalaman ko kung paa-
no nangyayari ang mga erup-
tions, earthquakes, pati yung mga
tamang gawin to become safe
during those phenomena,” says
Jovit Dino, a grade 9 Ballet stu-
dent.
After, they went to the
headquarters of PAGASA where
they watched videos about the
causes of storms and typhoons.
They were also shown the most
recent data recorded by satellites
Himarawi and Diwata-1. The stu-
dents were then allowed to see
the devices and computers used
by PAGASA from a distance.
The students also visited the PA-
GASA Planetarium located with-
in the PAGASA Science Garden
grounds. The planetarium is man-
aged by PAGASA’s Astronomy
Research and Development Sec-
tion (AsRDS) and Atmospheric,
Geophysical and Space Sciences
DANIEL BEN
estimated. Research suggests
that the 30 frogs of the genus
endemic to the Philippines may
not be monophyletic, in other
words; it means that they might
not come from the same ances-
tor.
Because of this, it is
likely that future studies on in-
ter-population diversity and
genetic data may lead to dis-
coveries of new undocumented
species, meaning, there may
well be other frogs endemic to
Makiling.
The Makiling ecosys-
tem is so diverse, and if you
H A
H A
The death of 22-year-
old University of Sto. Tomas
law student Horacio Castillo
III, allegedly caused by haz-
ing, upon his application to
the Aegis Juris fraternity has
triggered a magnification in
anti-hazing awareness. His
body was found in Tondo, bat-
tered and bruised by burns.
A great number of col-
lege students claim to find a
sense of belonging in groups
such as fraternities and sorori-
ties. However, initiations to these
institutions can get fatal, espe-
cially if it involves the act of haz-
ing, which is practiced by most.
Hazing is an initiation
process which one must go
through as a form of test to be
proven “worthy” of membership
into these institutions. It usually
involves harassment which Sto-
pHazing.org classifies into three:
still need proof, look no fur-
ther to the recently discovered
spiders from 2015; Prolochus
junlitjri and Chrysso makiling,
an orb-weaver spider and a
comb-footed spider respective-
ly.
P. junlitri is the second
known species from the ge-
nus Prolochus, the other being
Dolichognatha longiceps, from
Myanmar and Thailand. The ge-
nus name may be different but
the two are considered to be
synonyms.
It was first found in Mo-
lawin Creek, also called the Mo-
lawin River, which runs across
the University of the Philippines
Los Baños (UPLB). P. junlitri
was first documented by fa-
ther-daughter team Dr. Aimee
Lynn Barrion-Dupo and Dr. Al-
I N
A R
subtle, harassing, and violent.
Subtle hazing leans more on
emotional abuse and “causes
ridicule and humiliation.” Ha-
rassing means there is “emo-
tional anguish and physical
discomfort,” however physical
abuse is not as fatal as in vio-
lent hazing. The last category is
where beatings and paddling fall.
These beatings cause
a range of physical injuries
such as bruises and contu-
sions—body tissue damage
without laceration—which may
lead to organ failure and death.
Oftentimes, the liver is
most sensitive to this violence
due to its critical placement in
the body. Once damaged, the
chance of living for the victim
drastically dwindles. This is
because injuries in the liver re-
sult to severe internal bleeding,
which lead to critical conditions.
25
berto T. Barrion, both entomol-
ogists from the UP Los Baños
Museum of Natural History.
C. makiling, document-
ed alongside P. junlitri, was
found in small trees and shrubs
in the Mudspring area of Makil-
ing. It is the seventh of the ge-
nus Chrysso that was found in
the Philippines, and the 33rd
worldwide.
Spiders are very im-
portant and need to be con-
served, especially becauses it
helps farmers lower the popu-
lation of pest species.
You’d wonder, just
how many species Makiling re-
ally houses and how many of
them are already threatened or
near extinction. Again, the mys-
tical mountain is only several
kilometres from Metro Manila,
what are the chances that pol-
lution has already reached the
mountain?
G
D
LEILA MALIGALIG
Another hazard is
cardiac arrest. Too much
stress to other organs and
pain can cause the heart to
stop beating. Those who have
histories of hypertension or
blocked arteries, there is an in-
creased risk of cardiac arrest.
Besides organ dam-
age, such injuries can also
happen to bones and body
tissue. Discoloration and pain
may occur on areas of the
skin due to the rupture of small
blood vessels upon hitting.
Hazing is indeed a
ruthless act which represents
violence instead of supposed
brotherhood. We must learn
from unfortunate deaths like
Castillo’s that our well-beings
are of more importance than
possible “brods” who may take
our lives through acts that are
rather barbaric than brotherly.
 26
THE SANMIGUEL BEERMEN. Photo are from sources such as CNN Philip-
pines, Inquirer Sports and Manila Bulletin Sports.
PHILIPPINE SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2017
2017’s Sports scene was a mix-
ture of victories, loss, and new
beginnings. Here are some of
the greatest and most trending
sports moments of the year:
#PACHORN
The world witnessed
the Pambansang Kamao’s first
defeat since losing to Floyd
Mayweather in the year 2015.
Pacquiao lost his WBO Wel-
terweight Title to Jeff Horn
and sparked a social me-
dia frenzy. The controversial
12-round unanimous deci-
sion led to comments saying
that Pacquiao was “robbed”
and not everyone agreed how
the judges scored the fight.
However, despite
his loss, Pacquiao says: “I
want the treatment for me
(and Horn) to be the same.
If I lost I lost, If I won I won.”
GILAS PILIPINAS CROWNED
IN THE 2017 SEABA
CHAMPIONSHIPS
The team earned a
gold medal after defeating In-
donesia with the scores 97-64
at the Southeast Asian Bas-
ketball Association Champion-
ship. With this, the team was
ADAMSON FOR SEASON 80
GILAS PILIPINAS
SPORTS
assured with a spot at the
FIBA Asia Cup held at Leb-
anon. Headlining the teams
are Andray Blatche, Jayson
Castro and Terrence Romeo.
Chot Reyes, coach of
Gilas Pilipinas, said: “I just re-
minded the players to play in
a way that honors what the
previous Gilas teams had
started, the kind of culture
and tradition that we built.”
THE SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN
The team made histo-
ry after winning their third con-
secutive All-Filipino title in the
2017 PBA Philippine Cup. The
San Miguel Beermen defeat-
ed their sister team, Barangay
Ginebra San Miguel, for the
23rd PBA title. The team set a
finals rematch with the Meralco
Bolts and managed to win once
again, their Governors’ Cup Title.
Fun fact: The team defended
their title at the Philippine Are-
na with over 54 thousand fans.
This is the biggest attendance
every recorded in PBA history.
THE BLUE EAGLES DETHRONE
DE LA SALLE GREEN ARCHERS
The school spir-
it in college sports is some-
thing you can’t beat.
The Ateneo Blue Ea-
gles finally took the crown back
after 5 years at the Season 80
finals with the scores 88-86.
Ateneo’s Isaac Go made the
last shot in the closing 24.7
seconds. Thirdy Ravena was
named the MVP after leading
the Eagles with 17 points, 8 re-
bounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
E-SPORTS PROS
AS ATHLETES the East Pep Squad won 2nd.
Who knew 2017
was going to be a great
year for Philippine E-sports?
On July 2017, the
Gaming and Amusements
Board (GAB) together with the
Philippine Government final-
ly allows e-sports players to
have athletic licenses on par
with legitimate sports. GAB
says that the field of esports
requires dedication and skills
much like traditional sports.
Now, e-sports is wel-
comed and given athletic licens-
es for quicker visa processing.
ADAMSON UNIVERSITY FOR
SEASON 80
Palarong pambansa
#pachorn
With their theme
#80sfor80, the Adamson Uni-
versity Pep Squad is the cham-
pion of UAAP’s Cheer Dance
Competition for Season 80. The
San Marcelino-based group
took it back to the 1980s and
earned a score of 663.50. This
is Adamson’s first ever cheer
dance title in school history.
The University of San-
to Tomas Salinggawi Dance
Troupe finished 1st run-
ner-up while the University of
2017 PALARONG PAM-
BANSA: YOUTH POWER
With the theme, “2017
Palarong Pambansa: Con-
verges Youth Power, Builds
Sustainable Future”, Pala-
ro inspired confidence among
young athletes in the country.
Thousands of student
athletes from the 18 regions
converged in San Jose Bue-
navista City for the 60th sea-
son of Palaro. It has always
been the biggest inter-school
competition organized by
DepEd. They usually gather
more than 12,000 participants.
Palaro also intro-
duced former demonstra-
BLUE EAGLES
E-sports
DANIELLE CASTILLO
tion sports like wushu, wres-
tling, futsal, and billiards.
Aero gymnastics and dance
sports were placed under the
demonstration sports category.
Fun fact: for the first
time, the winners of 2017 Na-
tional Schools Press Conference
(NSPC) covered the Palaro.
2017 SEA GAMES
The Filipino athletes
bagged medals in the South-
east Asian Games (SEA Games)
held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Philippines was
able to receive 24 golds, 33 sil-
vers and 64 bronzes for 6th place
on the table. The first gold was
delivered by marathoner Mary
Joy Tabal. Here are some of the
notable Filipino gold medalists:
Double gold medal-
ist Trenten Beram for athletics,
17-year-old Kaitlin De Guz-
man for gymnastics, the Phil-
ippine Ice Hockey Team made
history by winning the sport’s
first ever SEA Games gold,
and lastly, boxer John Mar-
vin for defeating the Malay-
sian boxer in just 21 seconds.
Fun fact: The Philip-
pines will be hosting the 30th
Southeast Asian Games in 2019.
 SPORTS 27

Dear Basketball
THE STORY BEHIND BRYANT’S OSCAR WIN
PHSA alumna scores silver in AIMAG
One graduate of
the Philippine High School
for the Arts (PHSA) is one
of the athletes to bring
home silver from the 5th
Asian Indoor and Martial
Arts Games (AIMAG) held
in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
during September last year.
MAURA YAP
Her name is Danel- Publico brought home
la Renee Publico, a dancer silver from AIMAG with her
on the Philippines DanceSport partner German Enriquez with
team, and a ballet alumna of a score of 30 in Vietnamese
the batch Kiukok-Gonza- waltz. The tandem had been
les who graduated on 2006. dancing together in 2011, but
Publico only started danc-
DanceSport could ing the sport in 2009 with the
be referred to as com- partnership of Roderick Cruz.
petitive ballroom dancing.

Screengrab from Dear Baskteball.

Kobe Bryant, the former
NBA player, added a new tro-
phy to his vast collection. What
makes it different is that it isn’t
any sports trophy, it is an Oscar
award for Best Animated Short
at the 90th Academy Awards.
“Dear Basketball” is an
animated short film written and
narrated by the athlete himself.
It is based on his poem which
he wrote on The Player’s Tri-
bune on November 29, 2015,
announcing his retirement from
basketball. He worked with
one of Disney’s former anima-
tors, Glen Keane, who is also
known as an award-winning
animator for “Aladdin,” “Beauty
and the Beast” and “The Lit-
tle Mermaid”. Oscar-winning
composer, John Williams, pro-
vided the music for the short.
The athlete made
history by being the first per-
son who won both a sporting
championship and an Os-
car award. “Dear Basketball”
beat out Garden Party (Victor
Caire and Gabriel Grapper-
on), Lou (Dave Mullins and
Dana Murray), Negative Space
(Max Porter and Ru Kuwaha-
ta) and Revolting Rhymes (Ja-
kob Schuh and Jan Lachau-
er) in the short category.
DANIELLE CASTILLO
journey of having a dream, be-
lieving it’ll come true; it comes
true, then the realization that
you have to wake up from that
dream and move on to another.”
“We are really supposed to shut
up and dribble”
The athlete received
the award from Mark Hamill,
Star Wars actor. He shared
the award with Glen Keane.
Bryant took a deep
breath while repeatedly look-
ing at his Oscar before saying:
“I don’t know if it’s possible. I
mean, as basketball players, we
are really supposed to shut up
and dribble. But I am glad we
do a little bit more than that.”
Bryant has looked
to move into film and tele-
vision since his retirement.
Other than Dear Basketball,
the athlete is writing, produc-
ing and presenting a series
for ESPN called Detail. The
show features him analyzing
the intricacies of the game.
He deliberately chose
an artist who didn’t know bas-
ketball. Like he said: “Someone
Team Oby performs their cheer dance at National Arts Center, October 24, 2017. Photo from PHSA Archives.
who’s been watching basket-
ball their whole lives — and

A love letter to his sport

Bryant’s poem be-
gins: “Dear Basketball, from
the moment I started rolling my
dad’s tube socks and shoot-
ing imaginary game-winning
shots in the Great Western
Forum, I knew one thing was
real: I fell in love with you.”
He succeeded with his
dream of playing professional-
ly, then realized his career must
eventually end. He mentions
that his aging body can no
longer endure the demands of
the sport. The short emotionally
ends by counting down the final
five seconds on a game clock.
Bryant got his inspira-
tion to turn the poem into a film
from his 11-year-old daughter,
Gianna, who told him, “Dad,
you always tell us to go af-
ter our dreams, so man up.”
The athlete said he
wanted a younger genera-
tion of athletes to see the film
and learn “about the emotional
playing it — tends to miss
the small moves, the details.
When you come at it with fresh
eyes, you look at every sin-
gle thing because it’s all new.”
Regarding collaborat-
ing with Bryant, Glen Keane
says: “I’ve always believed
animation can help an audi-
ence understand an action in
deeper ways than live action.
You can edit the movement,
leaving out extraneous details
and emphasizing the import-
ant points. There’s something
deeper and more emotion-
al that art can communicate,
even though you can take
a photo of the same thing.
“And to Kobe, for
writing ‘Dear Basketball,’ it’s a
message for all of us,” Keane
said during his acceptance
speech, the athlete by his side.
“Whatever form your dream
may take, it’s through pas-
sion and perseverance that
the impossible is possible.”
PHSA holds SportsFest 2017
ianna oliveros & sidney lampayan
One of the awaited events of diverse; the first day had pa-
the Ibarang every school year is lasebo, table tennis, tug of war,
definitely the Sports Fest. This is track and field, basketball and
a three-day occasion held last sungka; the second day had
October 24-26 2017 in the Na- swimming games, dampa, food
tional Arts Center (NAC), man- relay, double dutch, piano tiles,
aged by the Supreme Student dodgeball, volleyball, and the
Government (SSG/Supremo). third day had Amazing Race,
kickball, patintero, basketball,
The Supreme Student BBTan, and Hunger Games,
Government’s President, Bi- and there were even some ex-
anca Rabe, has stated: “This tra “games” prepared such as
year’s theme [for the team the ‘Jail Booth’ and the ‘Mar-
names] is Chicheria (junk riage Booth’. And as mentioned
food). The process of choosing above, the wide range of these
it was pretty random. Supremo games seemed to be very
just threw in themes and voted beneficial to the Ibarang be-
for it. We just had to ensure cause even the unathletic were
the Ibarangs would be able to given a chance to participate.
make names, given the let-
ter requirement [M, N, O, P],” Rabe mentions the
outcome of the event: “[But]
This is the time where seeing the Ibarangs during the
student-artists get to show their last day (and during the exper-
other talents for there are major imental games, Hunger Games
and minor games which chal- and Bet On Your Baby) suc-
lenge the body as well as the ceed, it was as if all the sleepless
mind. The selection of the ac- night were very much worth it.”
tivities were quite unique and
 28 sports
Doubting the Bout
DANIELLE CASTILLO

The match between Man-
ny “Pacman” Pacquiao and
Jeff Horn in the WBO World
Welterweight Title has stirred
controversy when Horn wins
the match via unanimous de-
cision. With this, it is indeed
questionable how the game
was officiated and how one of
the judges, Waleska Roldan,
gave 117-111 as a score.
115-113 by Chris Flores and
Ramon Cerdan while Wales-
ka Roldan received criticism
for the score of 117-111.
How did Roldan come up
with the score of 117-111?
In Boxing, the term
unanimous decision means
that all three judges agree on
one winner. Although the judg-
Sports Programming Net-
work (ESPN), the num-
bers show that Pacquiao’s
punches landed 182 out
of 573 (32%) while Horn’s
landed 92 out of 625
(15%). Pacquiao’s power
punches also outnumbered
Horn’s with 123 out of 380
Photo from Google.
attempts (32%), Horn land-
ing 73 out of 428 (15%)

The Games and

Amusement Board’s (GAB)
request to conduct a thor-
ough review of the offici-
ating and judging in the
match was turned down by
es’ scores state that Horn is
the winner, the conflict here is
how Roldan scored the match.
Roldan’s score was equivalent
to nine wins for Horn and three
wins for Pacquiao. This caused
the majority of criticism. Val-
only. The statistics clear-
ly show that Horn hit less
punches than Pacquiao.
PH Traithletes
dominate SEA
With all the things
mentioned, WBO should
consider GAB’s request to

the World Boxing Organiza-
tion. In WBO’s official Twit-
ter account, they stated that
the referee’s discretion and
the judges’ decision are ir-
reversible and final. How-
ever, the debatable point
here is that the judges’ fi-
nal decision may not always
be accurate or statistical.
WBO’s president
Francisco Valcarcel de-
veloped the scoring sys-
tem where the fight will be
scored to ascertain clearly
which rounds each fight-
er won. Horn won seven
rounds while Pacquiao won
five. The match was scored
carcel defended the judges,
saying that they ensured that
the officials were honest, dis-
tinguished, and professional.
Pacquiao’s trainer,
Freddie Roach, reacts to this
in an interview with the Daily
Telegraph. He says: “At least
in America where you get odd
scores like that with the judg-
es, the head commission-
er should ask at some point,
‘Why? Where? Show me how
you came up with that score’.”
There are also doubts
with Horn’s victory regarding
the statistics in the game. Ac-
cording to Entertainment and
review the match. Although
Pacquiao did not immedi-
ately protest, he is still hop-
ing that they would analyze
the bout and the scoring of
judges. The final decision
may say that Jeff Horn won
the title, but this will nev-
er change the audience’s
opinion that Horn’s victory
is doubtful. The uncertain-
ness of the match’s result
will remain the same if it is
not reviewed. If ever they
do, Pacquiao said in an
interview: “I don’t want the
referee to favor me. I want
the treatment for me (and
Horn) to be the same. If I
lost I lost, if I won I won.”
Games 2017
Four Filipino triathletes won
medals in the South East
Asian (SEA) Games 2017
in Malaysia, August 21.
Competing for the
men’s triathlon, Nikko Bry-
an Huelgas and became a
two-time gold medalist fin-
ishing first with an official
time of 1:59:30. John Leer-
ams Chicano finished sec-
tHERESE MALAPAD
ond winning a silver medal
with an official time of 2:01:27.
For the women’s tri-
athlon was 2015 SEA Games
defending champion Kim
Mangrobang who finished
first with an official time of
2:11:14. Taking home the
silver medal is second place
finisher Claire Adorna with
an official time of 2:18:58.

AT H L E T E P R O F I L E S
Pyeongchang 2018
DANIELLE CASTILLO Another of the two athletes to
One of the two competitors
from the Philippines for the Py-
& Daniel Ben compete in the Olympics in
eongChang 2018 Olympics is PyeongChang is the 17 year
21-year-old figure skater, Mi- old alpine skier, Asa Miller.
chael Martinez.
Miller placed 70th
Photo from Inquirer. Martinez started fig- in her Olympic debut after

g a s
ure skating at the age of

a r
getting the combined time

y V
eight when he saw skaters

Rick
The New Leader
The Philippine Olympic Commis-
sion (POC) ends Jose “Peping”
Cojuanco Jr.s’ 13-year rule after
Nicky Vargas, the National Boxing
chief, was voted as the POC’s new
president on February 23, 2018.
Vargas received 24
votes against Conjuanco’s 15.
After the election, Vargas told
Cojuanco and his supporters that
“it’s all over, we have to reconcile.”
Besides Vargas, Abraham
“Bombol” Tolentino (Philcycling
president and Tagaytay City
Representative) won the po-
sition of chairman against the
Table Tennis President Ting
Ledesma. Tolentino won 23
votes while Ledesma won 15.
of 2:49.95 in two runs, and
at a mall in the Philippines.
He soon began training in one of the 7a5 athletes to
the United States of Amer- have finished the two runs.
ica in the year 2010. Origi- She was the 3rd youngest of
nally, he failed to qualify for the 110 athletes in the event.
the 2018 of the Games when Although this was
he failed to secure qualifi- his first time competing in
DANIELLE CASTILLO cation through the 2017 CS the Olympics, this wasn’t his
Nebelhorn Trophy. However, first time competing at the
when Sweden returned their international level. He also
quota spot in January 2018,
F o r t y - t h r e e competed in the 2017 World
the Philippines was given the
votes were cast, opportunity to have the quota Junior Alpine Skiing Cham-
including Cojuanco’s spot. This allowed Michael to pionships in Are, Sweden.
daughter Mikee Jawor- compete in the Olympics. Miller competed in the events
ski, the International Olym- Martinez skated to the of slalom, giant slalom, su-
pic Committee representative. tune of “Emerald Tiger” by per-G, and alpine combined,
Vanessa-Mae in earned a to- but only finished in the sla-
PLDT/ Smart CEO tal of 55.56 points. He placed lom where he ranked 39th.
Manny V. Pangilinan pledged 28th among 30 competitors, He started compet-
P20 million as seed money for besting Felipe Montoya from ing in the sport when he was
the POC. “I hope we can use Spain and Yaroslav Paniot
just eight years old in the Unit-
it properly-and we will”, said from Ukraine. He was also the
first figure skater to represent ed States, but he competes
Vargas regarding the pledge.
the Philippines at the Olym- for the Philippines because
pic Winter Games in Sochi, he holds a dual citizen-
Vargas will serve
2014. ship with the two countries.
the remaining term of Con-
juanco that will last until after The athlete’s hobbies in- The athlete also
the Tokyo Olympic in 2020. clude video blogging, pho- enjoys playing baseball,
tography and cinematography. hiking, and scuba diving.
 Sports
POLL Dorm
Aerobics
It is a given that every one of us
needs our daily dose of exer-
cise. Here in the Philippine High
School for the Arts (PHSA),
students live in their respective
dorms for about a week and
sometimes we are unable to ex-
ecute proper exercising. How-
ever, according to Elizabeth
Narins’ “5 Exercise Moves You
Can Do in Your Dorm Room”,
a successful dorm workout
can be made possible with
these steps without needing a
large space. You can do ten
repetitions of each procedure.
First is the Air Squats.
All you have to do is to stand
with heels shoulders-width
apart and toes turned out
slightly. Open up your chest
and pull the shoulders down
your back. Sit your hips back
until your thighs are parallel
to the ground, extending your
arms straight out and bringing
your hands together at shoulder
Pambansang Kamao, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, con- level as you near the ground.
Push through your heels to
firmed that he will have a bout this June at Malaysia stand as you release your
despite his WBO Welterweight Title loss to Jeff Horn. hands along your sides and
squeeze your butt at the top.
Do you think Manny Pacquiao should retire as a Boxer?
What follows is what
you call as the Push-Up Jacks.
29
NELVIE DALIVA
lower your body to the floor. (If
that’s not happening, bring your
knees down to the floor, cross
your ankles, raise your heels
to come off your kneecaps,
and do a modified push-up).
The Bulgarian Split
Squats comes next. Push the
chair against the wall so the
seat is facing forward and your
back is facing the seat. Stand
far enough in front of it to put
the top of your left foot on the
chair. Keeping your front knee
behind your toes, sink straight
down until you’re standing
thigh is parallel to the floor.
After that is the Bicep
Chair Curls. Stand behind your
desk chair with your feet hips-
width apart. Grab both sides of
the chair so your palms face
each other. Lock your elbows
at your sides, roll your shoul-
ders back, and bend your el-
bows to lift the chair up. With
control and without dropping
the chair to the floor, low-
er it back to starting position.
The last one is known
as the Forearm Plank. Get into
plank position with your fore-
arms on the ground. Your el-

Art student bags To do this, you must get into

push-up position with your
shoulders stacked over your
bows should be directly be-
neath your shoulders and
your hands locked togeth-
er. Keeping your gaze down,

silver in Sunlife
wrists and your feet together.
Hop both feet apart, and then
hop them back together. Keep-
ing your body in one straight
push out through the heels
and engage your core to keep
your body in a straight line

Aquathlon 2017 line between your head and

your heels, brace your core
as you bend your elbows and
between your head and your
heels. Hold for 30 seconds.

maura yap

MOST TWEETED SPORTS

HASHTAGS IN THE
PHILIPPINES (2017)
1. #NBAFinals
2. #UAAPCDC2017
3. #PacquiaoHorn
4. #OBF
5. #UAAPSeason80
6. #LabanPilipinas
Malapad and her winning shot at Makati Aqua Sports Arena at Sunlife Aquathlon 2017. Photo from Lee Malapad.
7. #GoldAndGloryAteneo
Therese Malapad,
grade 10 Visual Arts student
of the Philippine High School
for the Arts, placed second in
ner-friendly race,” says the
artist athlete. “For me, the race
was super relaxing and I didn’t
really expect to win it... My only
“
“I’m really
8. #Animo
9. #PBAFinals
the Sunlife Aquathlon 2017 last
Sept. 17 at the Makati Aqua
goal was to finish strong and
enjoy the race. It was a great proud of her,” 10. #GilasPilipinas
Sports Arena and the University plus to have won!”
of Makati.
The aquathlon involved -Lee Malapad,
“It was a begin- a 200m swim and a 3km run.
mother
 30 NEWS
Ginto sa Makiling: Photos by Lei Angelli Ortega
& Vien denille HUsana

PHSA@40
Captions by Amara Mikaela
Averion

PHSA student waits

during the PHSA@40th
kite making activity at
Tanghalang Maria Makil-
Joey Ayala performs at Tanghalang Maria Makling in celebration of PHSA@40, June 11. ing, June 9.

Faye Cura, Creative Writing alumna, shares editing

experience on Danas to students, June 10, PHSA
Library.

Dr. Victor “Vim” Nadera Jr., PHSA

From roots to leaves: current Variations staff in- Performatura 2017, Noreen Domingo, Director IV kids with guest Bebang
terview pioneers of Variations, Tanghalang Maria recites her spoken word piece at Entab- Siy at Entablado Cafe, September
Makiling, June 11. lado Cafe, September 16, Los Banos. 16, Los Banos.

Program closes 40th

anniversary celebration
Leila Maligalig

The Phi l i p p i n e H i gh S c ho o l fo r the Ar ts’ Misa , JM Ca bling, Al Ga r cia , Ra lph Ta ylan , B i-

(P HSA ) ce l e b r a ti o n o f i ts 40th an n i vers ary wa s
c onc lu d e d b y a p r o gram at the C u l tu ral C e nte r
o f t h e Phi l i p p i n e s .
O r g an i z e d b y the P H S A A l u mn i A s s ocia -
t io n le d b y A tty. S i m Z u n i ega, the p ro gram aims
t o sh o w cas e the s c ho o l ’s grad u ates ’ s u c ce ss
in t h e ar ts s c e n e a n d p ay ho mage to thei r alma
ma t e r . I t f e atur e d p erfo rman c es , mu s i c al com-
p o sit io n s , an d cho reo grap hi es b y al u mn i Apr il
a nca Lope z , a nd Gr e g Zunie ga .
Cur r e nt se nior high school stud e n t s
a lso pe r for me d for the pr ogr a m.
“ The closing ce r e mony doe sn’t ne c e s -
sa r ily me a n the ce le br a tion e nds r ight t h e n
a nd the r e , ” B e a Ra be , Supr e me Stude nt G o v -
e r nme nt pr e side nt sa ys. “ life sta r ts a t 4 0 a n y -
wa y.” Music majors performs in CCP for PHSA@40. Photo
from PHSA Archives.

CW major wins the
Geisier-Maclang Alamat
Award
Grade 10 showcase their
arts training in 2018
recital season
Kinabuhì – living and letting go.
This is the name of
Batch Romulo – de Leon’s junior
high recital season where on
February, otherwise known as
arts month, each discipline of the
grade 10 students presented the
culmination of their four years’
worth of intensive arts training.
The Musika Ibarang
kicked the season off with “Dal
Segno”, meaning a musical sign
that instructs to go back to the
beginning until the end of the
piece, with soprano Daniella Si-
lab, pianists Andrea Verzosa and
Christine Catelo, and violinists
Gabriel Domagas and Luigi Tor-
res.
Next was Dulaang Si-
pat Lawin’s production, “Nag-
wawalang Gubat”, about the
NEWS
Maura yap
Ma-I Entico, grade
11 Creative Writ-
ing major, received
a grant after winning
the Geisier-Maclang
Alamat Award during
Komiket 2018, Feb-
ruary 25, 2018 at El-
ements at Centris.
The award was for her
comics “Emla and Bu-
gan” and “My Name is
Agung”—both of which
deemed culturally rel-
evant. “My Name is
Agung” was nominat-
ed for Best Student
Komiks and Entico re-
ceived a nomination
for Best Illustrator.
events before, during, and after
the Romanian Martial Law, star-
ring recitalists Ainah Remonte,
Kyrie Samodio, and Tomas San-
tos.
“Kalag”, the Maquiling
Ballet’s showcase, was split in
two parts – classical ballet with
a production of The Nutcrack-
er and modern dance choreo-
graphed by Arjay Albores, MJ
Rogando, Lance Guinid, Glycel
Abatol, Ronieth Dayao, Chin De
Castro, Alliah Torte, and Alyana
Presa.
Sanghiyas Pangkat Ma-
nanayaw’s recital was entitled
“Tatu”. Choreographed by Lam-
uel Pulpulaan, Eden Dumas, Gie-
gee Forcadela, Marielle Vargas,
Maepril del Puerto and Angel
Ramos, the production delved
into the cultural significance of
31
PH S A s t u de n t
p a r t i c i p at e s i n
In t e r n at i o n a l B a l le t
HAVEN MOSQUITO G r a n d Pr i x
As a represen-
tative of the country
and the Philippine High
contemporary class-
es, which she was able
to pass. The classical
School for the Arts, Lia classes she had the next
Cuartero, Grade 8 Ballet day became her ticket
“I guess it should
Major, joined the Malay- to move on to the com-
have felt amazing but
sian International Ballet petition proper of the
I only felt this re-
Grand Prix—a four-day event, and eventually, the
sponsibility... I mean,
master class facilitated semi-finals.
since I already won
by esteemed Ballet in-
this award that just
structors. A showcase fea-
means that people will
turing the contestants of
be expecting… some-
Lia Cuartero’s the competition was held
thing greater,” says
master class started with on the last day.
Entico. “I’m definitely
going to try better. I
Students clean
mean, I’m always look-
ing for ways to top
my previous works.”
dormitory areas
Entico is currently
working on the second
chapter of “My Name is
Agung” and a wordless
comic about the ba-
kunawa and its sister. Daniel ben
Maura yap
PHSA students brings house cleaning materials back to the Duran, June 6.
Photo from PHSA Archives.
The students of
the Philippine High
School for the Arts
(PHSA) failed to main-
tain the sanitation of
“
the dormitories af-
ter “Linis Ganda”, a
cleaning project of the
school.
“It definite-
Students were
instructed to clean ly helped the
their own dormito-
ries and the school’s
cleanliness
the tattoo in pre-colonial, colo-
nial, and contemporary Philip- maintenance staff let o f t h a t d a y,
the students borrow
but definitely
pines.
cleaning materials.
One day short from
arts month, Kuwit launched both
The cleanliness of the
dormitories improved,
not the whole
volume 2 and 3 of the Pinky but the longevity of s c h o o l y e a r, ”
Swear anthology with Soleil Cruz the sanitation wasn’t
on fiction, Bea Zafe on creative maintained.
non-fiction, and Maura Yap on
poetry. Kuwit also launched When asked - anonymous
Dagta. why the cleanliness source
wasn’t preserved, Al-
To end the season was vin Miclat, the gen-
Pintados’ “Pakikilala” to intro- eral services section
duce the self through expressing head said, “ang char-
certain emotions, retelling stories acter ng student at
from the past, and reflecting on ang kanilang pagiging
human characteristics. The ex- busy masyado.”
hibit featured the works of Andie
Jaro, Jet Tan, Therese Malapad,
Tannah dela Cruz and the grade
9 students.

VOL. XL NO. 1
Photo from Blogspot Philippines
BA majors join the
stage of PBT’s
“La Bayadere” Maura yap
Several Ibarang joined
the production of the
Philippine Ballet The-
ater’s (PBT) restaging
of “La Bayadere” on July
15 and 16 at the Culural
Center of the Philippines.
Grade 12 dance ma-
jors Micha Carreon and
Chiles Maraña, Junior
High alumna Dania Gali-
cia, and alumni Kazier
Policarpio and Ronilo
Jaynario took part in
the production which
was part of PBT’s 18th
performance season.
I b arang
pl ac e s 1 s t i n
#drawe p i l ep s y
a rt c o n t es t
Maura yap
Grade 9 Visual Arts student
Sherry Cameron G. Kag-
alingan placed first in the
#drawepilepsy Art Com-
petition, A Creative Way to
Raise Epilepsy Awareness
for the 15th National Epi-
lepsy Awareness Week last
September 1-8, 2016 and
awarded last May 1, 2017.
On winning, Kagalingan
says that she was hap-
py and flattered. “[L]ahat
pala ng pinaghirapan ko,
meron din palang babalik.”
“Medyo tumaas yung
self-confidence ko, na hin-
di lang pala ako isang sim-
pleng tao na nagdadraw-
ing,” She states further.
variations
PBT’s Artistic Director
Jaynario restaged the
Ballet; Policarpio starred
as the Golden Idol;
Maraña appeared as one
of the Corps, and Carre-
on and Galicia were part
of the Pas de Quatre.
“Working with other
dancers outside Makiling
is thrilling... as we en-
gage with one another, I
saw myself being helped
and shaped. I am very
happy and proud to be a
part of this ballet com-
pany,” Maraña shares.
“May mga
“
bagay pala na
nangyayari na
nagbibigay
ng halaga sa
akin at sa mga
ginagawa ko.”
-Kagalingan
MSJO bags second place in
international competition
Photo from MSJO Facebook page.
The Manila Symphony
Junior Orchestra (MSJO)
bags second place at the
Summa Cum Laude Inter-
national Competition and
Music Festival (SCL) in
Vienna, Austria last July.
Including seven stu-
dents from the Philippine
High School for the Arts
(PHSA) – namely, Angel
Joyce Esteban, Jodeline
Michaela Pecson, Ian
Levi Mora, Gabriel Mari
Domagas, Victor Jan Lu-
igi Torres, Julian Mat-
thew Bernal and Emanuel
John Villarin – and two
alumni – Raphael Espa-
Daniel ben
IBARANG REACHES FINALS OF
INTERNATIONAL PIANO TOURNAMENT
Photo from Facebook.
Yñigo Regis, grade
eight student of the Phil-
ippine High School for the
Arts (PHSA) and the only
representative from the
Philippines, reached the
finals of the Thailand 7th
Mozart International Piano
Competition (ages 13-17
category) last July 23-25.
Leila Maligalig
da and conductor Jeffrey
Solares – 32 MSJO del-
egates competed against
musicians from Australia,
China, Japan, USA, Israel,
and more in the sympho-
ny orchestra category.
Aside from the compe-
tition proper held on
July 11, delegates also
did concert tours in
three different coun-
tries in Europe as part
of the SCL program.
When not performing,
delegates took tours.
“We got to see two film-
Besides Thai pia-
nists, Regis’ competitors
included pianists from Ja-
pan, Italy, and Vietnam.
“I was just hon-
oured to be there, raising
[our] flag as I went by,”
Regis says.
LOS BANOS, LAGUNA IV-A
JUNE 2017 - MARCH 2018
ing locations of The
Sound of Music in Sal-
zburg!” shares Bernal.
“I felt happy of course,”
Bernal says when asked
about the orchestra’s tri-
umph. “Right after the
competition, we were
waiting for the results
in Kuya Luigi’s (Tor-
res) room…then some-
one came from the lob-
by and said, ‘Second
place tayo!’ and they
literally ran throughout
the whole place scream-
ing, ‘Second place!’”
While in Thailand,
Regis also had master
classes with Dr. Shu-Wei
Tseng, a Taiwanese-British
Concert Pianist and Cellist,
and Giovanni De Cecco, an
Italian concert pianist and
recording artist.