El Vigilante (The Observant)

Message from the Editor

Summer is waiting as we bid our farewell to this academic year. El Vigilante (The Observant) is a compilation of the things I've encountered lately: separating the superficial and uncovering the truth in the bittersweet world we live in. Here's how I see things. Share your insights towards these matters will ya? Ready? Read on!

_________________________________________________________________________________

A Nightmare Dressed like a Daydream

JM Ruiz

                Ever wondered how things would turn out at the end of the day?  One needs to be a keen observant to land into better avenues in the future for as far as we know, life is unpredictable. Different things come our way and we often end up asking ourselves: “Is it a blessing in disguise?” or “Is it a nightmare dressed like a daydream?”

                It’s another typical day aside from the sudden shift of atmosphere when this young couple joined the jeep. Setting bitterness aside, I always end up wondering why these kids are not afraid to display their affection in public. I think over reading between the lines will give you a different outcome. As we all know, Philippines is one of the top countries in Asia and even the world in terms of teenage pregnancy. And that’s a fact.

                Red floods the day. What day is it? It’s Valentine’s Day! Gifts, flowers, chocolates are seen in almost everywhere. Boys like me march their way with a guitar, looking for someone to serenade. That explains why these couples aren’t much aware of what other people may think of them. What happened to the virtues of Maria Clara? What happened to Rizal’s teachings?

                We all know that the only thing permanent in this world is change and that at all times, it is inevitable (even time change you know). But it is absolutely true that there is a right time for everything. Considering and choosing between the principle of change and the principle of ‘right time for everything’… I’ll go with the latter.

                Always note that there are two types of change: the good one, and the bad. Including the human nature in line along with the factors that bring never-ending change, we always hope to change for the better. Though our eyes and our hearts see and feel it in a good way, everything is useless without considering every detail of it. The truth is that one must think rationally before making crucial decisions.

                Why can’t just wait for the right one? Why can’t these kids think for a better future? Will a girlfriend or a boyfriend give them success? If yes, then grab one! The primary rule in decision making states that one must embrace the consequences. By consequences I mean worse case scenarios and one of these terrors is teenage pregnancy.

                There is a right time for everything. I repeat- there is a right time for everything. I’ve been there and things didn’t go out as planned. Grab a career then find the one. That should do it! Think things out and separate the blessings from nightmares dressed like a daydream.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Seriously?

Mikael Ruiz

As usual, the class starts at 8 am and ends at 5:30. I always make sure that I come prepared because of the vow of assurance I've made in my new year’s resolution. At the very least, in major subjects, I study the lessons in an early manner for the sake of my scholarship. With that, I’m confident to pass today’s examination in Biochemistry.

Too much excitement woke me up too early for school so I ended up scrolling the newsfeed and decided to spend some time and delight myself for just wee minutes before leaving. After all, I deserve a break. The feeling of butterflies inside one’s stomach best describes my eagerness to take the long quiz in the nerve-wracking world of Biochemistry. I will surely pass! I’ve studied every part, page, lectures, and even pulled myself into reading and analyzing every chemical structure with other references beyond our academe’s concern. I’m ready! I’m good to go!

All should go well as planned when suddenly...

Poof… ‘Coleen Bolanio posted in EAC-C AUXILUM’. A notification left me alarmed. I clicked the bar and decided to see the post.

WHAT? Gov. Jonvic Remulla cancelled today’s classes? I looked by the window and saw the shining sun. I’ve been waiting for hours for the heavy rain to pour out. Now, it is dusk. The sun seems to tease me as it sets brightly, fading into darkness. No rain, no rushing winds, just clear skies and gentle breeze. We’ve missed important lessons today and it’s too late to have make-up classes because our preliminary exams are in the next day. I turned around, and asked myself…

Seriously?

Housing thousands of learners, San Andres National High School, located in San Andres, Romblon is a humble institution that shared its excellence and pride in the academe. With little to many enrollees, my Alma Mater celebrates its existence as one of the five high schools with the Special Science Curriculum in the whole province. I can’t help but compare the eagerness of students from my hometown to the students here in Cavite.

I can’t remember a single time when the classes are cancelled in a bright sunny day. All I know is that we still go to school even if the roofs are flying. We valued our education so much that we have to go to school even in weekends just to finish our projects. We often engage ourselves in extra-curricular activities. I got 157 points at our graduation. Yes, 157 points in Extra-Curricular Activities for the final ranking of honors.

What I’m pointing here is that the fire of education must be continuous and preserved. To be honest, Gov. Jonvic’s constant cancelling of classes has gone too far. Students are screaming hoorays in the social media, most of them are acting like a wild child who hates every single part of education. They lived with it and adapted to it. Now, everything I see in facebook upon suspension of classes is the happiness of Cavitenios and their ignorance of what quality education really is.

How about their tuition fees? Do they get any ample distribution of what they should have in return?

They should consider things carefully and get an accurate analysis regarding the weather first thing before suspending classes. Too much of something is harmful. Too much cigarettes will leave you dead. Too much obsession to computers might ruin your future. Too much candy will give you diabetes.

Too much suspension of classes changes our drive and leaves us unaware of the education we truly deserve.

_________________________________________________________________________________

  500 Years from Now

John Ruiz

Sitting on a bench,

Without knowing the future

Five hundred years from now,

Will houses fly?

Asking things I wonder

Seldom in my thoughts,

Sometimes in my words,

But always end up unanswered.

Five hundred years from now,

Will mankind unravel?

The secret under,

Under the ocean bed

Will the sun explode?

Will planets collide?

Sounds childish?

I want to know why.

Will humans live inside?

Saturn’s gorgeous rings

Science will find.

A gaseous surface it is

Will lawyers preach?

Will plumbers break?

Things I can’t imagine,

Invading, dominating.

Will faith meet science?

Will red be the new white?

Endless possibilities I say,

It’s a matter of choices and chances.

Will science be ignorance?

Will ignorance take its toll?

I don’t know a thing or two.

Clueless, I admit.

Will religion harvest,

The fruit of faith?

Will students like me answer,

“What happens next?”

Will the things we matter most,

Value the same?

Will people in the future

Know us by our name?

 _________________________________________________________________________________

Public Health at Risk

Mike Ruiz

Philippines is suffering from high population density. This is one of the major factors that affect the transmission of infectious and communicable diseases. Our country greatly needs decent housing, education, better means of transportation and communication, and health services. I’ve always noticed that health spending was always inadequate in our country. Medical supplies are never cheaper. With limited access to basic health services and inability to make decisions on matters that are important to health, Filipino communities are at risk. Evidently, public health must be pursued.

Controlling the population growth of the country for me is a great step ahead of this crisis. Seriously, if birth control is the answer, I’ll take the hard step to ignore the church. It is because of the fact that uneducated women have more children than those who have college education. The scenarios in urban areas are never different to rural areas: children are left with poor nutrition.

Few are knowledgeable enough to meet the daily health expectations. There was this scenario in our clinic where this mother was looking for used newspaper to use as a substitute towel for her baby. Inconvenient practices and beliefs directly influence health. Those newspapers are crawling with microbes. She is not aware that it may also irritate the sensitive skin of her baby. Negligence and unfounded health beliefs will always trigger the crisis.

Improper waste management is an indicator of a poor environmental sanitation. Street children aren’t even wearing slippers for healthy footing. Their parent doesn’t even mind finding them swimming in the streets during rainy seasons. In Kadiwa, there was this stinky irritating smell of rotten something. It must be trash or garbage. The area is a school zone and is supposed to be clean. This unsanitary environment serves as a breeding ground of animals and insects that harbor and transmit microorganisms. This is because of poverty and uncaring attitude of the people towards the environment.

Poverty forces people to deteriorate the ecosystem and even commit unnecessary ways for survival. An example of this is the unhampered prostitution in our country that leads to the increase in STDs in the urban areas. I was buying some snack at the sari-sari store when this little kid approached me. I gave her a peso but she insisted for five. I gave her the money because she was gonna cry. I headed home and a lady thanked me. It took me a while to realize that she’s the mother of the kid. Irresponsible parenthood also forces children to scavenge trash for food and isolates them from having good education resulting to abnormal growth in physical, mental, and emotional health.

The public health of our country is in a pretty bad shape. Population along with unemployment rise from year to another. Higher demand in curative and preventive health care must be satisfied from time to time. These are just some of the present situations concerning the public health of the Philippines. Some may not care, but we in the academe must be more than aware.            _________________________________________________________________________________

 School Automate- Why so late?

Juan Ruiz

Prelim ends and just like other GCs (grade conscious) in Emilio Aguinaldo College, I get too excited to know my grades. Did I pass? Have I reached the quota? If not, how much more effort will I exert to have a considerable grade for my scholarship at the end of the semester?

                Questions lingered. Aside from the fact that people should always know the ‘whats’ and ‘hows’ in academics, I still don’t get why the service was so slow- like it will take you up until midterms to see how your grades are in the automate. Not paying the whole tuition fee doesn’t mean that I should stop asking. The fact that quality education is the primary discussion inside these four walls makes me do so. What really happens?

                Setting GCs aside, the toll also falls out to other students. How? The student portal was the ‘supposed to be’ monitor of the parents and guardians. Without them knowing how their college student was doing in class, bad things may happen. It’s a chain reaction.

                Here’s the scenario: student A got failing grades in all his major subjects (that’s a lot of catching up), and without further encouragement or brute force from people around him (especially his parents), he often makes up his mind telling irresponsible thoughts like ‘bahala na si batman’ and ‘may midterms at finals pa’ instead of coming up with optimistic approaches and strategies to turn the tables. The effects along with the chances are limitless. If mediocrity persists throughout the semester, then student A will have to take a new round.

                Updates are very important. To provide quality education is to ensure that everyone inside the premises is well aware of their academic standing. Mediocrity will always take its toll.