Hindi na bago ang baha kapag isa kang mag-aaral sa Maynila. Taon-taon, kasabay ng bugso ng panahon ang matinding pakikipagsapalaran makapasok lamang sa pamantasan. Ngunit sa kabila ng paulit-ulit na sitwasyong ito, bakit tila ang mga estudyante pa rin ang kailangan matutong makibagay sa panahon at sa isang sistemang hindi marunong makinig?
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Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa kasaysayan ng bansa, isang Bise Presidente ang nililitis sa impeachment court. Ngunit hindi lamang si Bise Presidente Sara Duterte ang nasa paglilitis. Kasabay niya, inuusig din ang administrasyon ni Pangulong Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. at ang mga hungkag na talumpating taon-taon ibinabandera. Sa halip na maging sandigan ng katarungan, ang impeachment trial ay nagiging salamin ng mas malalim na karamdaman ng politikang Pilipino: ang paghahari ng dinastiya, ang pamamayani ng partisanong interes, at ang patuloy na pagsubok sa tanong kung ang batas ba ay para sa lahat o para lamang sa may kapangyarihan.
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Ivana Alawi recently sparked controversy after announcing she would be giving away 100 iPhones. Millions of people flocked to the post, participating in the hopes of becoming one of the lucky winners. At first glance, the giveaway appeared to be nothing more than providing free gadgets grounded in generosity. But the initiative was actually a front for a gambling platform to lure people in. Upon closer look at the intention behind it, the campaign reveals itself as something else entirely: a modern-day Trojan horse.
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Pride is being stripped of its history and is being sold back to us. What emerged from collective resistance against state violence and social exclusion has, over decades of neoliberal restructuring, been recast as a marketable identity — one that corporations, institutions, and even governments can readily incorporate into their public image.
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What makes the recent obsession with the Trader Joe’s tote bag fascinating is not the bag itself. Over the past few months, the reusable mini canvas tote bags from the American grocery chain Trader Joe’s have gone viral online, with Filipinos buying them through ‘pasabuy’ sellers or balikbayanfamily members. Strip away the pastel colors, the TikTok hype, the pasabuyculture, and what remains is, quite literally, a grocery bag.
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Taon-taon, binibigyang-boses ng University Elections ang mga Tamaraw. Ngunit kung tahasang isinasantabi ng Far Eastern University (FEU) Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ang malinaw na pagtutol ng mga estudyante sa mababaw na politika sa pamamagitan ng abstention votes, nagbubunyag ito ng mas malalim na tanong na kung kaninong boses nga ba ang tunay na pinakikinggan.
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Inaction can be a political action. Sometimes, abstention simply means an expression of resistance. It signifies that students are cognizant of the consequences of voting — that when we participate in the electoral process, we legitimize a problematic system that is anti-student.
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Student elections occupy an indispensable place in the formation of students’ civic consciousness. Yet, the gravest peril to democratic life is when students habitually withdraw from their obligations to keep the student government in check and participate in the University’s political processes. If students get used to treating campus elections as trivial, they are being trained — subtly but effectively — to approach something bigger, such as national elections, with the same detachment.
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All it took was one TikTok video to bring back the debate over what women are worth. When men make demands of women, it has long been seen as normal. But when the same demands came from women, love suddenly became “too conditional.” As if expecting security in this unstable economy is something women should apologize for.
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In the halls of power, words matter. Yet recently, Filipino male lawmakers have made their disregard for women impossible to ignore; not in private whispers, but aloud over microphones in the very halls meant for governance. From Bong Untay’s jabs at Anne Curtis to incidents like Christian Sia’s remark about single mothers and Robin Padilla’s disturbing comments about women’s supposed roles in the bedroom, the real story isn’t just what was said, but also the ease with which it was delivered.
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