Painting is poetry that is seen rather

than felt, and poetry is painting that

is felt rather than seen.

Leonardo da Vinci
 For you, Assumptionist.

That you may find within you

the prose of life,
the poetry of love,
and the canvas of God.

Pluma is the literary and artistic folio

of the Regina, the official student publication
of the University of the Assumption.
It is published at least once every school year
in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Pluma | Regina
S.Y. 2008-2009

All rights reserved.

E
T
ditor’s note
Immortal
hey say that with the printed page, man has won the battle for immortality. He
has too, with the etched cave, the carved marble or wood, the once wet canvas,
the roll of film, and so on. Stories and ideas told and passed on from generation to
generation—be it through letters or the more visual creative arts—have, in a very big
way, become our salvation, our deliverance from a cold, forgotten grave. How else
would we know of Hardy, Whitman, Joaquin, Brocka, Van Gogh, Michelangelo,
and—if we so desire to be contemporary—the late Michael Crichton, all among so
many others? We cannot rewrite history, but that’s the point—we can write it once,
and so we can remember and be remembered, if only because we have learned to
commit our stories to paper, canvas, and what have you.
Fifteen or twenty years from now, a youngster might find this issue of Pluma
amongst his parents’ possessions and, at least for a few minutes, be transported to and
immersed in the world that once enveloped the writers, artists, and photographers
who gave of themselves to make this book possible. He might even say hey, there’s
a good poem, or here’s a story that I can relate to, or wow, she’s a good artist, or there’s a
beautiful picture. Of course, he might just as easily think it’s not much to read or look
at—although we hope for better. But the point is, once in our lives, we endeavored
to reach out to that young mind, we put some effort into being read, being heard,
and perhaps being understood. And at least for those few precious minutes, we have
achieved a new lease on life, wherever we may be at that very moment. We have
become—dare we say—immortal.

The Regina is an avenue of reportage. It is also—especially through Plu-

ma—a venue for creativity, emotional expression, and imagination. We thank and
laud our contributors who shared their minds and talents to these printed pages. We
only hope that they don’t stop here, that they pursue bigger, more ambitious attempts
at being remembered for their talents, and perhaps appreciated even more.

But opportunities to put out or appear on the pages of a book like this may
not always be ours. If you are confused by this statement, please refer to this year’s
theme.
We are on the verge of destroying the only planet that we have, and al-
though we as human beings have won the battle for immortality, this is a war that we
are quickly losing. According to Green Peace, we have less than a hundred months
left to take drastic enough steps to preserve our environment. After that estimate, we
may be facing a possible countdown to – nothing.
Immortal, we say? Our planet isn’t. What good is our attempt at being
remembered if, in the not-so-distant future, there will be no one left who can re-
member us?
We must care for the Earth. Now. In every little way we can.

Lastly, thank you, dear Reader, for taking some time to browse through
these pages and share a piece of us. Partake of this, our humble offering, and allow us
the luxury of hoping that you find something here that will move you, or inspire you,
fuel your own creativity, intrigue you, make you smile, touch you, make you pause,
and, in so doing, make you remember.

And if you are that youngster, reading us fifteen, twenty years after the date
of this publication, please know and never forget:

We were here.

John Vincent Tuazon Trinidad

Editor-in-Chief
S.Y. 2008-2009
 Pluma Inside
2008-2009
Poetry
2 Pluma ng Isang Manunulat
Regina Basura Kahit Saan
3 HBW 2000 (Ballpen)
Editorial Board & Staff 4 Convict
SY 2008-2009 5 Inside a Trash Can’s
Perspective
John Vincent T. Trinidad
Editor in Chief 6 Love for Nature
Design Director
Mistress Thief
Bryan G. Ocampo
Associate Editor 7 Overtake
Leo Carlo Aguas 8 The Future
Art Editor
Vision
Luz Nathasha Korionoff
Managing Editor 9 Barya
Nielsen S. Ocampo 10 Difference
News Editor
11 Earth
Adon Henrik Dizon
Photo Editor Global Warming
Joseph Lawrence T. Manansala 12 Himig ng Kalikasan
Circulation Manager
Hindi Mo Ba Napapansin?
Paul Kyrby Balingit
Rae Louis Maglaqui 13 Indu
Assistant Circulation Managers
If Rivers Turned to Black
Kriselle Jhean Navarro
Samboy Musngi 14 Just Yesterday
Jerrlito Custodio
Kevin Tuazon Mother Nature
Kevin Abad
Rionel Lazatin Nature is Cool
Mark Joshua Lansangan
Correspondents 15 Untitled
Oneill Ogoy 16 Untitled
Lorelie P. Bamba
Al-Zen Pauline Hilario The Earth is All That Will
Senior Artists
Remain
Michael Angelo Calupe
Sean Aurelio 17 For Alice
Jaydee Manaloto
Jan Philippe N. Cortez Graduation
Jef Randel P. Ducut
Joseph Patrick Anthony Mercado 18 The Harlot
Artists
I’m Your Mysterious Guy
19 Nag-iisa
Ms Melanie V. Briones
Moderator Prisoner
Mr. Danilo Maglaqui 20 I Love You, Daddy
Consultant
21 Nuit Blanche
22 The Goodness in You My Inspiration
Path 50 Out of Boredom: A
23 I Am Nursing (Revisited) Countdown
24 Nostalgia Princess Almost Perfect
25 Thorn Lady 51 Someone
26 Your Angel 52 Untitled
Amaranthine Sky What Love Is
27 Corny 53 Where I Belong… Astig
28 Why God is Better Than an
Annoying Boyfriend
29

Drop Dead, Gorgeous
Hans
Prose
56 Mistaken
30 Chapter One: Because 58 My Cam
31 For You 61 The Dead Letter
32 Unbearable Questions of Love 64 Puni
The Love I Never Had 71 Pro-Life Essays
33 Jezica 77 ‘Friends-friends’ Na Lang
34 How Will You Tell Me That 79 There is Something Special in
You Love Me? You
Love Me
35 Loving Companion in Life’s

36
Journey
Mamang Obra
My Only Wish This Christmas 82 Ima
37 Nyx Mother & Child
38 Searching and Waiting Pro-Life I
Searching for True Love 83 Pro-Life II
39 Serenade Solitude
40 Untold 84 Pilipinas
The Star’s Response Fallen Angel
41 Thou Trapped Me in Thy 85 Greed
Bittersweet Word Student’s Life
True Feelings Memories
42 A.R.I.E.N. 86 10th Avenue
43 Bliss Sand & Sky
Chapter Two: My Poison 87 Sky Flakes
44 Dreams Come True Mhel
45 Fences Igid Ti Baybay
For You Are My Beau
46 Gitara
Go to Sleep
47 I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
48 Irita
Lightning
49 My Awakening
A man should hear a little music,
read a little poetry, and see a
fine picture every day of his
life, in order that worldly cares
may not obliterate the sense of
the beautiful which God has
implanted in the human soul.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Dear Assumptionist,

T his edition of Pluma is actually a notebook that you can

use, ergo the spaces and lines on every page of poetry. Use
it for your notes, or attempt your own hand at writing your
own precious pieces of literature. That way, your copy of Pluma
earns a deeper, more personal meaning to you, and you surpass
being a passive Reader, for you become a Writer, as well. At the
same time, you are already recycling paper, which means you
are helping in our little but meaningful way of preserving and
saving the environment.

Good luck and God bless.

See you on the flipside.

~ The Editors and Staff of the Regina

Poetry is the music of the soul,
and, above all, of great and
feeling souls.

Voltaire
P etry
 Pluma ng Isang Manunulat
environment Rae Louis S. Maglaqui

Kay sarap titigan ng mga ibong lumilipad

sa himpapawid
Tulad ng mga bituing makikita sa butas ng
bubong sa pawid
Bughaw na kalangitan na humahalik sa
mukha ng karagatan
Sila’y malaya, nakatitig lamang sa
sanlaksang taong nabubuhay sa lipunan

Kay sarap umibig sa mga bagay-bagay na

alam mong pangkaraniwan
Tulad ng mga naiiwang bakas ng iyong
mga paa sa paglalakad sa dalampasigan
Na animo’y di na mabubura ng hangin o
ng mga alon ng kasaysayan
Ito’y mga bagay na simple, musmos at
dati’y inaakala nating di pangkaraniwan

Kay sarap minsang suot-suot ang mga

maskarang mapanlinlang
Tulad ng pagtago ng solidong katawan sa
pusod ng karimlan
Nagiging anino, hanggang sa di’ na
matanto ang mga taong nasa kabila nito
At ang pag-usad ng pangalan na gawa ng
kapalarang mapaglaro

Kay sarap ilathala ang mga kwentong

nabuo ng kaisipan
Tulad ng paglalahad sa buhay ng mga
magandang karanasan
Mga nanginginig na kamay ng nakaraan at
kasalukuyan
Nais ding makawala ang hawak nilang
katotohanan

Kay sarap maghanap, magtuklas at

magsulat ng simbolong gawa ng tadhana
Tulad ng malayang pagsulat ng anumang
kataga sa linya ng tula
Subalit pluma’y tila asidong lulusaw sa mga
taong huwad na di marunong maglapat
Sila’y huhusgahan, kikilanlan ng mga
matatalim na mata tulad ng isang manunulat

Basura Kahit Saan

aaliyah_06

Tapon dito, tapon doon

Kailan ka magsasawa sa kakatapon?
Hindi mo ba naiisip ang kahihinatnan
2
 Ng mga basurang itinatapon mo kahit
saan?
 
Kay ganda ng paligid noong unang
panahon
Malinis, walang dumi, kahali-halina ang
mga nayon
Ngunit ngayon ay nasaan na ang gandang
sinauna
Puro kalat at basura ang makikita saan ka
man magpunta.
 
Noon ay kay sarap maligo sa mga ilog at
batis
Ang tubig ay kay lamig at ang tubig ay kay
linis
Ngunit ngayon ay nasaan na ang malamig
at malinis na tubig
Marami na at maitim ang tubig sa ating
daigdig.
 
Noon ay ginhawa ang hatid ng papawirin
Kay sarap langhapin ang simoy ng hangin
Ngunit ngayon ay nasaan na ang ginhawa
sa pakiramdam
Kulang na lang ay hindi ka na lumabas sa
iyong tahanan.
 
Hindi mo ba nakikita ang kinahihinatnan
ng pagtatapon mo ng basura kahit saan?
Malinins na kapaligiran, tubig at hangin ay
nawawala na ng tuluyan
Ano pa ang madadatnan ng mga susunod
pang henerasyon?
Kumilos ka hangga’t maaga pa, sagipin ang
mundo para sa kanila.

HBW 2000 (Ballpen)

R. L. Maglaqui
Dedicated para sa mga gumagamit nito

Ako’y buong-buo nang piliin niya

Katawang may hugis, kinilatis niya
Hinubaran aking pang-itaas at ako’y hiniga
Sa isang malinis na papag na mababa

Sinakmal niya ko’t sinimulang galawin

Hanggang aking laman ay lumabas sa ‘kin
Mga mantsang mahirap ding burahin
Malinis na papag ay nahaluan din

Nasarapan siya sa aming paglalaro

Init ng kanyang palad ay naramdaman ko
Simula noo’y araw-araw ay ginamit ako
3
 Kaya’t lakas ko’y nabawasan at nanghina
ako
Oo! Nagpapagamit at mura lang ako
Ngunit dugo’t pawis ang binibigay kong
serbisyo
Pero ‘pag wala ng silbi’y itatapon lang sa
basurahan
‘di man lang naisip kung ano ang bakas
kong naiwan

Ngayo’y aking puri’y nawala na

Sa kakagamit ng husto’y naubos na
Ngunit nalikha niyang salita’y kailanma’y
‘di na mabubura
Dahil na rin sa aking ibinigay na dugong
tinta.

Convict
John Vincent Trinidad

It is by far
our longest yard

and how we wish

it would never end
—but it will

sooner than we think

The soil we tread

is on death row
—and we are to blame

We burned it
Retaliation is not a question
—it is her right

Reckless
total abandon

Woe unto us

For God’s green earth

walks her green mile
to judgment day

and we the jury

have failed our
sacred duty

4
Inside a Trashcan’s perspective
sey01@rocketmail.com

This is my journey, something not much

of a beauty.
Reeks of putrid stuffs in here smell so
badly.
Some mean kids love to kick me
and most of the time nobody takes good
care of me

One girl threw in her soft drink can

Thinking she must have helped nature, she
just ran
If only she will recycle what she is holding,
she might even start earning

That big guy that smell like smoke,

dumped his cigarette remains here so I
almost choke.
The woman next to him is carrying baby
diapers.
Oh no! Not that one please, somebody help
me disperse!

This dirty city’s famous taxi driver

spit his deadly phlegm on me, what a
massacre!
One homeless dog went near me and
spread his feet
That musty liquid is worse than a man’s spit

Rotten vegetables that can be used as

fertilizer
Was thrown by a woman in here, I wish I
can tell her
Various unnamable junks are inside me
Some are dirty but most can be reused, I
wish they’ll see

If only you people will learn to segregate

Recycle junks and learn to separate,
follow the colors and don’t wait for trashes
to disintegrate
Then this world would be lovelier, isn’t it
great?

5
 Love for Nature
mystique angel

As the sun rises over the sky

Its light beams unto my eye
Its rays penetrate on all things with life
Nature’s abundance shall cease to strife.

Flowers in a garden are such a feast

One’s heart shall soften even that of a beast
I slowly smell each blossom’s scent
And try to capture what each one meant.

The cool gentle breeze I love to feel

As it blows through me and starts to heal
My worries and burdens seem disappear
For my heart somehow feels less fear.

I climb up a serene, verdant hill

To reach the heavens on my own will
To drift away where the clouds abound
And see the earth below and everything
around.

I venture into a thick lush forest

With rich vegetation I find dearest
Teeming with life in all its glory
For preservation of nature itself is holy.

The message of nature now made clear

As I commune with my Creator who’s with
me here
To be the steward of all he has done
His majestic work bestowed on us since
life begun.

Mistress thief
jvttrinidad@yahoo.com

You horrible plague

You have espoused this!
A house of horrors
No doors, no windows
from which to escape

With your withering

this world ceases
to turn!

Mother of death
you have wronged us
As little as you are
your evil is boundless

6
Woe unto those who
believe you!

With your touch

everything alive
dies

You and your moles

And your pitiful
better half

You are safe from hell

for you are already burnt
to the soul!

Overtake
Celso

Here we go
Start your engines
Fire the NOS
Burn the octane
Skid, brother
for not just a quarter
Rev it down
Burn that rubber
Bleed some speed
Eat my dust
Swallow my exhaust
A rush of blood
A gust of wind
Floor it, boy
Watch the world fade
behind you
Oh—can you feel it
See that white line?
That’s your goal
Can you make it?

Now take off

your helmet
and stand with me

Do you see?
Do you realize
what we’ve done?
We’ve just overtaken
recovery and
replenishment

Shall we go again?

Or is that enough racing

—for one planet?
7
 The Future
Tricia Alexa Mendoza

What does the future hold for us?

Smog filled skies and poison cars,
And broken land with useless dust
And nature’s beauty behind bars.

Can I ever show my children,

(If they ever come my way)
The beauty of a sunset
At the ending of the day?

Can I walk into a forest,

And surround myself with trees,
Yet know that it will remain,
For me to visit as I please.

I know that I can today

Do all the things I’ve said,
But when today is yesterday,
Will all these things be dead?

This problem is enormous

As we gradually take heed,
So we must fix it quickly,
Using words and thoughts and deeds.

Vision
Vince of BloodChef Productions Ltd.

Dust will cover these bridges

And the rivers will be seas
Not of water but of sand
While we cover our eyes

Trees will be good not for shade

And bushes will dry
The sun will bake the earth
While we cover our eyes

Oil will float like a bad dream

On the once pristine beaches
Boracay will be a memory
While we cover our eyes

Caves will cave in

On miners desperate
Not for gold but for freshwater
While we cover our eyes

Children will cry

Not for milk but for air
And we who feed them
8
 Will only cover our eyes

Oh my beloved Coca-cola
My wonderful DB Vantage
And my pack of Marlboros
Will you cover my eyes

No more afternoons on the track

No more evenings on the porch
No more movies on the weekend
Just cover for the eyes

A hundred months to save

And a hundred more to waste
The beginning will now end
As we cover our eyes

Barya
Rae

Batang munti sa aki’y lumapit

Hinawak niya aking kamay na kay higpit
Ako’y nagulat at nagpumiglas
“Umalis ka dito mandurugas!”

Ngunit ako’y hinabol at nagbakasakali

Na bigyan siya ng tinapay o baryang kaunti
“Manghihingi lang po ng limos.” marahan
niyang sinabi
Kay’t binigyan ko siya ng baryang galing sa
aking kalupi

Nangilid ang aking mga luha

Nang makita kong ito’y may kapansanan
pala
“Salamat kuya,” ang nasambit niya,
“Pagkat ang baryang ito’y malalamnan ang
kumakalam kong sikmura “

Doon ko nalaman kung gaano ako

kaswerte
May magandang edukasyon at magarang
kotse
Subalit ako’y saludo sa isang walang
muwang
Pagka’t hinaharap niya ang buhay ng buong
tapang.

9
 Difference
Danica Dizon
HRM 2-A

As I opened my eyes
Harmonious sunlight kissed my face
Gave me willing power to sail for another
day
The cold breeze blew my miseries away

Stepped at the flourishing grasses

Smelled the sweet-scented blossom of
flowers
It enticed my whole being with
blithesomeness
Oh a sigh, what a tasteful world it is

But just as I thought that it doesn’t linger

I thought my simple appreciation would
inspire
I only saw the beauty
And forgot to look the other side which is
the agony

Then I turned my eyes around the corner

I saw that this world I step in is decisively
meager
And that the entire world sways with every
little step I take
I never realized what a difference one
person can possibly make

Very tiny matters such as putting the

garbage in proper
Is a stepping stone in saving our world
from all the trouble
And if we put all these little deeds together
Then the living days of this undefined
world would be much longer

Our world is our only home

We should keep a profound care for thee
And don’t wait for the time till there’s no
taintless place left
And our life-yielding sun may possibly kill
us from its unstoppable heat

We’re using the world’s riches

ridiculously fast
We’re ignorant if we think these riches
would last
So each of us might as well think of the
outgrowth for every step we take
And keep in mind what a difference one
person can possibly make

10
Earth
geraldine bognot

I can hardly breathe,

I’m weak and hopeless,
Will I die?
I want to help myself, but I can’t
My life depends on them…

“I can barely remember the times

that I’m strong and full of hope..”

Long ago, I have a peaceful life,

I’m happy and contented.
I have my companions who love and care
for me,
We live… helping each other hand in
hand.

Now, I miss my life very much!

Everything has changed,
My companions do not even care about
me…
I’m alone, crying aloud!
But…
They seem to be deaf and naïve.
What did I do?
I’m feeling left all alone…

Global Warming
Cindy David

Global Warming isn’t hard to explain

It leaves Mother Earth crying with
excruciating pain.
This hurts our planet in every single way
The changes could leave us all in sorrow
and dismay.
We need to stop it now so the temperature
doesn’t rise
People, plants, and animals would be in
demise.
Changes in temperature due to the
depleting ozone layer
We really don’t need it so show us that you
care.
Mother Nature can’t do it all so let’s give
her a rest.
We all need to try and do what is best.
Our planet earth is precious and can’t be
replaced
We need to act now or our home will be
erased.

11
 Himig ng Kalikasan
michelle angelie macalino

Umaawit na mga ibon sa kalawakang

malaya,
Kasabay ng pagsayaw ng mga punong
kaysisigla,
Mga ilog at dagat na naghahabulan
Tila ba mga batang musmos na naglalaro.

Pansinin ang pagsikat ng araw sa umaga,

Tila ba ilaw na nagbibigay ng liwanag,
Gayun din ang hangin na tila umaawit,
Nagbibigay ng pag-asa at mga pangarap.

Masdan din ang mga isdang lumalangoy,

Di ba’t nakakaaliw, tila ba walang
kapaguran!
Patalun-talon sa malawak na karagatan,
Isa pang pagpapatotoo na napakasimple
ng buhay.

Nariyan din ang ibat-ibang mga hayop,

Maiilap ngunit napakabait.
Sadyang napakaamo ngunit minsan ay
lumalayo.
Ito’y tanda lang ng pagbibigay proteksyon
sa sarili.

Himig ng kalikasan, pakinggan…

pakinggan…
Sa puso’y damhin awit na kayganda,
Kalikasa’y ingatan, ituring na pamilya o
kaibigan
Igalang, ibigin at pakamahaling tunay.

Hindi mo ba napapansin?
Rhea Joy Sabino

Hindi mo ba napapansin?
Mga pagkakamaling ating ginagawa
Kalikasan ay tuluyang nasisira
Kalikasan ay tuluyang nawawasak

Pagtapon ng mga basura kung saan-saan

Pagputol ng mga puno para sa pansariling kapakanan
Polusyon galing sa mga pabrika at sasakyan
Ilan lamang sa mga bagay na nakakasira sa ating kalikasan

Ngunit may magagawa pa tayo

Para sa ating kalikasan
Tayo na at magkaisa
Magtulungan para sa ikagaganda ng ating kalikasan

12
Indu
Chucks

Anyang minuna nakang ka berdi

King babo yatu sagana ing bie mi
Oneng anyang me abusu ka
Lage mung masalese, mipalala ya

Balu mi ikamu ing pwedi ming tuknangan

Ing bie mapayapa, ika ing sandigan
ing bie ming mitmung kasalpantayanan
uli kekamimg tau mesira ngan

Ugse keni, ugse karin

Ilug, dagat menganuling
Putut keni, putut karin
Bunduk mung mayabung,mengakalbu
narin

Nanu pamo ing agawa tamu?

Masasabi pamong bandi taya ing yatu
tot pakanyan?! etaneman abayu
lawen ye, masisira ne i INDU

If rivers turned to black

John Paul M. Macalino
 
If rivers turned to black and ran with dirt
and cities sank beneath a dirty flood
perhaps the world would heed the
thunder’s peal
and understand that climate change is real.
 
If rain fell down as sawdust on them all
and piled in desert drifts against the wall
perhaps the world could see the end of days
and try at last to change their wasteful ways.
 
Perhaps our world has simply been hijacked
if man is to survive we need to act
Please take care of our environment
it is the best gift that God gave.

13
 Just yesterday
Patrick John G. Gutierrez
BSHRM II-B

Just yesterday, it seems

the fields were full of grain

Just yesterday, the water

came from heaven
and the earth was not athirst
But yesterday is five years gone
and today is naught but rubble
a wilderness of earth
baked brown by the relentless desert sun.

Mother Nature
Lecee Luis Sumat
HRM 2-B

Mother Nature is healthy,

And has beauty and is wealthy
But with Global Warming in the way,
It will take Mother Nature’s beauty away
It will become hot,
Like a steaming pot
Leaves will become brown,
Then everybody will frown
We need coolness,
Not hotness
But also happiness,
Please Mother Nature don’t come to an end
Because we’ll be your friend,
To help you become healthy and green
again

nature is cool
Ria Charina Vinuya

Nature is cool in its own way,

Nature is cool in the day,
But if global warming happens,
It would not be good
For our earth and neighborhood.
Global warming would make the earth hot,
Which would be like a boiling pot.
Global warming would harm the earth,
Mother nature could not give birth,
To animals and plants,
Earth would be under a trance.
Green plants would lose their fame,
Our waters would drain.
14
 Our government will try to help,
But you and I need to save the kelp.
So start playing it smart,
And do your part.
Life might not end,
If you’re Earth’s friend!

(Untitled)
Maria Lourdes L. Lugue
HRM 2B

Of more Natural disasters in the news each

day we hear
The anger of Mother Nature it is a thing
to fear
She rages through the suburbs and blows
the houses down
And leaves death and destruction as she
heads for another Town.

Why does Nature with us get so angry is it

the things to her we do?
Since what we do to others we do to
ourselves so happens to be true
When we try to poison her with pollutants
the anger in her we stroke
If to her we were kinder her fury we would
not provoke.

Nature does not owe us anything since to her we belong

With what I say some well may disagree
but what I say is not wrong
Without her we could not exist and it
would be fair to say
That when we cease to breathe the air of
life we’ll return to her one day.

When we take Nature for granted that is

our big mistake
We provoke in her great fury she avenges
herself on us with an earthquake
Mother Nature is our ruler though some do
not see it that way
For every wrong we do to her in kind us
she will repay.

Each day more Natural disasters, hurricanes,

earthquakes, droughts, floods and fire
When we treat Nature badly we stroke her
simmering ire
What we do to Mother Nature to our own
selves we do
I’m quoting from an often quoted quote
that happens to be true.
15
 (Untitled)
Shin Butiu

Ang pag-init ng daigdig ay sadyang

napakahirap ipaliwanag
Si Inang Kalikasan ay umiiyak kalukob ng
mga problemang nangyayari sa ating kapaligiran.
 
Ito ay dahilan para ang ating planeta ay
mahirapan ng tuluyan
Ang pagbabago ay nasa atin, kung alam
lang sana natin itong ingatan at pangalagaan.
 
di na sana tayo nagdurusa ngayon
Kailangan na nating itigil ang maling
paggamit ng kalikasan para hindi tuluyang
gumuho ang daigdig na ating kinatatayuan.
 
Mga tao, halaman at hayop ay maaring mamatay.
Ang pagbabago ng temperatura ay
magdudulot ng pagkaka-agnas ng patong na osona
 
Ako, Ikaw, Tayo kailangan nating
magpakita ng pagpapahalaga sa ating kalikasan
Ang Inang Kalikasan ay hindi na ito kakayanin pa.
 
Ang ating planeta ay sadyang napakahalaga,
hindi na ito mapapalitan pa.
Kailangan na natin kumilos ngayon bago
pa mahuli ang lahat, at mabura ang ating mga
tahanan sa mundong ating kinatatayuan.

The Earth Is All That Will Remain

Jean Clarisse Caparas

Wind, Snow, Heat and Rain, The Earth Is

All That Will Remain
So let your journey be Rich with Life until the end
By leaving trails like extensions of a hand to lend.
For others to grasp, reaching to pull them through
Doing to others only as you would’ve done to you.
Each day moving you closer to better health
Unveiling with every step that this is truly wealth.
Being able to see and do more than ever before
As you walk, bike or scoot when exiting by the door.
All Natural, Fresh and Pure guide the items you select
Farm raised and produced with no
chemicals to detect.
And after your deeds are done, the Earth is
what stays the same
Being able to be Proud as you pass it along
is what you gain.
Wind, Snow, Heat & Rain, The Earth Is
All That Will Remain
16
For Alice

life
mystique angel

For all your triumphs and conquests

Your exultation and happiness
Another feather added to your cap
For that I applaud you.

For your aim of constant improvement

Needed for your personal and professional
development
You certainly deserve what is due to your
hard work
For that I salute you.

For all you have been through

Your humble successes and even your
stumbling failures
You never ceased to acknowledge the
higher power
For that I admire you.

For all the things you have imparted to me

Your life that you have shared with me
I am so privileged to be a part of you
For that I thank you.

graduation
by kuya vince

and so it ends
the scramble for printouts
the race to beat deadlines
the whole nine yards
but boy did we have fun

do you remember
our first meeting
boy was that awkward
but hey did we have fun

the music and the movies

the giving and taking
the fights—and making up
boy did we have fun

falling in and out of love

beginnings and endings
laughing at how stupid we were
but boy did we have fun

so goodbye losers
how you’d won my heart
you will never be forgotten
cause boy did we have fun
17
 the harlot
ky

she’s what they call stunning

an angel on earth, even.
she’s always out by eleven
under the night, she’s waiting

she bats her red lips, charmingly

while a cigarette, she holds.
with tiny clothes, she gets cold.
but she endures it, unknowingly.

a man walks by, she smiles.

ignored, she waits for another.
a new one came and walks closer.
he then asks, “what’s your price?”

after a few whispers, a short talk,

the man pulled money from his pocket.
she’s a harlot i say, that’s her racket.
she’s what demons want, what haters mock.

I’m Your Mysterious Guy

RHTC-benjilicious_18@yahoo.com

Are you wondering what lies behind those

strange eyes?
Only the child within can ever tell the real
story.
Nobody has the right to judge and even
psyche.
Just communicate and touch me intimately.

Never compare what you have to what I

have.
Everyone has a different case of history.
Treat me fairly and make me feel loved
and you might be able to solve the
mysteries.

Make me comf ’table to reveal my soul to

you
by giving me hope and healing me all over.
But if you’re one of me who act like I do,
then I would say “Just do your own thing
and I’ll do mine...”

18
Nag-iisa
Angelo S. Bonus

Tunay na kaibigan, hanap nitong pag-iisa

Naguguluhan at wari’y kulang sa pansin
Hinanakit sa kapwa ang nangingibabaw
Damang dama itong pag-iisa

Buhay ko ba’y sadyang ganito

Mamuhay ng nag-iisa
Malayo sa mga tao at lipunan
Upang mabigyan lang sila ng saya

Peste bang ituring itong sarili

Asong buntot nang buntot kung umasta
Nakikisalo sa mga usapang hindi naman
kasali
Nakikialam sa mga buhay na hindi naman
kabahagi

Buhay ba ako o sadyang tanga?

Masyadong sensitibo kung ako’y ilahad
Kulang sa pansin sa harap ng iba
Banat nila’y “Laging nag-iisa”

Lagi akong nag-iisa para lang sa inyo

Wari ko’y sakit na kailangan alisin
Pag kailangan doon hinahanap
Ngunit ‘pag nariyan ituring bang wala

Mas masaya bang ako’y nag-iisa

Malayo sa inyo at mga buhay niyo
Sa pagkain, pagtulog, at kahit paglalakad
Mas masaya ang nag-iisa
Upang ang buhay niyo ay maging masaya.

Prisoner
Rae Louis S. Maglaqui

I have been encapsulated by distress

For my reputation was besmirched
When will I be freed from this wretched
fortress?
A dark room that prolongs my agony
I want to shout! I want to die!

I’m now a prisoner of a dreadful fate

And my heart is as hard as a carapace
Will I still continue to fight?
Will I still continue to live?
Or continue to dwell in this dreary, gloomy
cell?

19
 I love you Daddy
BENJILICIOUS
BS-PSYCHOLOGY 3-A

I need to tell you something,

but the words, I’m afraid I cannot find -
even though they lie here perfectly -
not to mention safe - inside my mind.
I want to scream it out oh so loud and clear,
but I am stringently held back
by my ever so concrete fear.
Will you accept what I tell you
with unlimited compassion and grace?
Or will I, from your lives, forever be erased?
Should I risk opening my mouth
and face what I’m fearing most?
Or should I keep it quiet -
maybe never go home?
If I open my mouth
I know that questions will be asked -
questions I’m not so sure I can answer.
But before the questions
will come the familiar look
of disappointment and hurt.
This dreadful look I have seen
one too many times before -
I can recognize it easily -
it is burned in me -
deep and to the core.
Two words as simple as “Happy Birthday”
yet so much more complicated to say.
Might as well say
“I’m about to drop a bombshell on you
so you better get out of the way!”
Complicated, yet so simple at the same time;
the road leading to these two words
is a difficult one to climb.
Normally these two words are shared
with happiness but not this time -
my situation’s different -
because through future dishonor and fear
I will be sharing mine.
Not only will I be letting you down,
I’ll be letting my little sister down too.
I’ve always tried to be a good role model for her -
but I always managed to screw up
in everything I tried to do.
This will only give her confirmation
that her big brother is a screw up.
I just don’t want her to mess up -
that’s my job -
I am the family f__ up.
This will only prove right
what my friend has told me
so many times before,

20
 “Stop trying to make them proud,
it’s a waste of your time,
you aren’t good enough anymore.”
I don’t want that -
I don’t want things to go back to the way they were -
but if I get up the guts to share this news -
I’m afraid that all of the above will occur.
If I dare say these two words,
you’re going to want me to say more words -
words so well rehearsed in my mind.
I would try to speak and tell you those words -
but they’d come out wrong,
so I would only be lying.
Maybe I won’t tell you -
because I know that all I could say is
“I’m sorry”
as you sit there jaw’s dropped to the floor in awe -
“I’m sorry...
mom and dad...
that you’re going to be a grandma and grandpa.”

Nuit Blanche
Lawrence T. Manansala

Crespuscule comes
Darkness creeps
Slowly
Majestically
Night predominates
None escapes
Tranquility reigns
Minds at rest
Souls at peace
To some...
It is the elucidation
In contrast
To a nomadic mind
And a tormented soul
Taciturnity broken
Reality forsaken
Risk taken
Queries soon forgotten
Principles rotten
World shaken
Doubt
Truth
All things happen
So seldom
Such moment
So often.

21
 The Goodness In You
mystique angel

There is so much goodness in you

Cultivate, sow and reap it
Multiply and share it
Be a reflection of kindness and gentleness
Be an inspiration to others through your goodness.
Draw out goodness in people
Affirm them
Boost their morale
Bring out the best in them
Help them utilize their potentials to the fullest
They are worthy of the best things in life
because of their goodness.
Goodness has a transformative power
An angry heart may be calmed down due to kindness
A wounded, afflicted soul may gain
comfort from your kindness
Kindness extended to a heavy hearted
person can warm his heart
and lighten his load.
Make a difference in someone else’s life
You shall surely linger in the hearts of those you’ve touched
Keep spreading love and goodness
That’s your legacy... for life.

Path
Joseph Lawrence T. Manansala

Slow
Shaking
Waiting
Daunted to reveal
Haunted by fear
I drove towards the broken road
Pain, torment and melancholy
Unbearable to hold
Then and there
I felt cold
I was lost
For a while
I cannot help but smile
Asked my self why
Soon I realized
What I was told
Test of my fate
It’s never too late
Pertinence of my faith
I’ve been seeing the light of dead stars
Those struggle show the scars
Sacrifice I have to give
For better days
Tomorrow
I shall live.
22
I am Nursing
(Revisited)
Samboy Musngi

I am a nurse called by God

To care for people who’s health is bad
I am Nursing

I am nurse and your best friend

To help you in the best way I can
I am Nursing

I am a nurse; not just an ordinary super

hero in a comic book
Ready to serve you by hook or by crook
I am Nursing

I am nurse; half human, part angel

An angel?! Well ask the patient and they
will surely tell
I am Nursing

I am a nurse, shining like the brightest star

With radiance that can heal every wound
without leaving any scar
I am Nursing

I am nurse and it is not just merely a

vocation
Armed with scientific and moral values and
it’s a noble profession
I am Nursing

I am a nurse and also an ordinary doctor’s

helper
I am a complete professional. Helper? Well
excuse me
I am Nursing

I am a nurse, on my body runs the the

royal blood of Florence Nightingale
The “Lady in the lamp”. The legendary
heroine of the Crimean tale
I am Nursing

I am a nurse. An interpersonal genius

Adaptive to any patient point of views
I am Nursing

I am a nurse world second best care giver

And care taker next to your mother
I am Nursing

I am nurse. my uniform stands for service

and purity
and I love Grey’s Anatomy
I am Nursing

I am a nurse.
Bound to save those who cursed
I am Nursing
Antonym of suffering

23
 Nostalgia
Samboy Musngi

Parang kailan lang inuubos ang pera sa mga

NBA cards
Ngayon na-adik sa Huntress, Assassin at
Bard
Dati si Super Mario ang pinakamagaling
Subalit pinalit mo na si Phantom Lancer
at Sandking

Naalala mo ba pag pinagse-siesta ni mama?

Magbeberat at magsusumbong kay lola.
Isa o dalawang oras lang sa Gameboy, ok
ka na
Pero ang maghapon sa YM at prenster ay
kulang pa

Alam mo ba ng nag-grand slam ang Alaska?

At si Jawo nang sa senado kumasa?
O ang jersey # 23 ng Chicago Bulls…
Walang kapantay ang kanyang rule

Marahil madalas kang maligo sa ulan

Maglaro maghapon at makipag-taguan
Kumaway pag may eroplanong nagdaraan
Magpaalam o tawagin kahit di alam ang
dahilan

Sa iyong notebook, may drawing ka nina

Sailormoon at Son Goku
Kabisado ang lahat ng episodes maging
mga theme song nito
Napaiyak ka rin ba nang mamatay si Battle
Hopper?
Napasabay sa suntok at sipa ni Maskrider

Inumpisahan hangaan and Pugad Baboy ni

Pol Medina
Nahumaling kahit sa klase’y binabasa
Pinilit isinaulo ang multiplication table
Upang sa eksamen maging pasado!

Natatandaan mo pa ba?
Mga inakyatan mong puno ng mangga?
Ang pagha-hunting ng gagamba
Labanan ng text, goma sa iyong kababata.

Eh ang Eheads at ang kanilang Huling El

Bimbo?
Buo pa nun ang “Maya” kasama sina
Bamboo at Rico?
Natatandaan mo pa ba? Sila oo. Pati sina
Chito
Yung mga bayani noon sa radyo….

24
Thorn Lady
pritizcel

When you walk on the road

expect people’s heads would turn to you
You always get the attention as you always
do
You have the beauty of a goddess
Act and talk like an empress
and always have that sweetness like that of
a princess
But what a shame
cause you’ll never be like one of them
You’re too salty to be sweet
You have such words when you speak
And you never possess a heart with a
goddess’s beauty
You have your palace
but your soul lives in a cave
You have acquaintances
but you treat them like slaves
You have everything
but your heart is already in the grave
You may live the way you like
a life without light
You may be an eye catcher
but remember, the time would come
that your reign would be over

25
 Your Angel
love mystique angel

Let me be the light that brightens your day

The path when you are lost on your way
Your hope when you say come what may
Let me be your angel.

Let me be the breeze that refreshes you

An inspiration in the things you do
Your delight when I say, “I’ll never get tired
of you”
Let me be your angel.
Let me be there for you always by your side
I offer you my heart open-wide
No need for you to turn away or hide
Let me be your angel.

Let me be the ear that listens to your sigh

The shoulder that says, “Go on and cry”
You unload your worries to me so I may
not pry
Let me be your angel.

When the day has ended and night has

come
And all of the day’s work have been
accomplished and done
You ponder happy thoughts and start a
melody to hum
Tranquility fills your soul and you
remember me
‘Cause I’M YOUR ANGEL.

Amaranthine Sky
Alvie John Magat

I stared at your beautiful eyes,

But you looked away,
I tried to approach you,
But you walked away,

I talked to you,
And you did talk to me,
We have those sweet moments,
I have them in my memory, like a fever
that isn’t supposed to get cured.

A whisper of the air,

Entwining of its notes soft and steady,
A ghost of your presence,
Leaving its ephemeral trace,

An evanescence of your pull,

26
 Falling away through time and space,
A flicker of a moment,
Escaping without thought,

Your eyes held a portal,

To a place that I belong,
I’ll be singing of you in a song

Gazing into the amaranthine sky,

Reflecting in the star’s light,
Sparkling in the eclipse of night,
You’re just a falling star already caught.

Corny
HYDE

Manununtok na lamang s’ya bigla,

Maninipa kapag kumontra ka,
Sasabihin na mas macho pa s’ya,
Kapag ika’y umangal, patay ka!

Sinasabi niya na siya’y lalaki,

Kinikindatan mga babae,
‘Pag siya’y pumorma ika’y mahuhuli,
Mas magaling siyang dumiskarte.

Sa paghatid sa kanya pauwi,

Mang-aapi nanamang muli,
Walang maisasagot kung di ngiti,
Pagkat tunay kang mabibighani.

Hindi ko malaman, bakit siya pa?

Bumihag sa puso at isipan,
Sa bawat oras na kasama siya,
Saya ko ay hindi mahigitan.

Siguro nga, siya ay mahal ko na,

Ang hinahanap lagi ay siya,
Ang kanyang kilos at kanyang galaw,
Magandang matang napakapanglaw,

Ngayo’y sigurado, siya’y mahal na,

Ako’y masaya ‘pag nariyan siya,
Maton man, sa aki’y nag-iisa,
Corny man, siya’y aking minamahal…

27
 Why God is better than an annoying
boyfriend
Kriselle ‘sey’ Jhean A. Navarro

A boyfriend may fancy another prettier woman

But God will love you whole because you’re
a human

Boyfriends get jealous when their girls look

at another guy
But God gave you freedom to choose and
he won’t ask why

Some boyfriends can’t accept your past

God won’t care as long as your love will last

BF’s may break their promises when they

are still courting you
But God will never ever leave you and that
is true

Don’t call or message your bf for a week,

he’ll get mad
Don’t call God, he won’t be angry even if
you’ve been bad

Some annoying boyfriends can’t forget their ex

God doesn’t forget his love to all, He
doesn’t need a hex

A boyfriend may be constantly late for dates

God is never late to understand all your ‘hates’

Some boyfriends do not treat their girls

carefully
Dear God loves us in the best way, totally

But then if your BOYFRIEND is close to

and has deep faith in GOD
You’re indeed a lucky girl so don’t hurt that
lover, that’s bad

28
“drop dead, gorgeous”
ky

you’re the prettiest star

when the empty sky is clear
a timeless music
to those who can’t hear

you’re the loveliest rose

among the lilies
you’re a piece of art
to the blind and silly

your soothing voice

sounds like thunder
the way you talk, oh!
just like murder.

you are a candle:

a candle in the dark.
and the view gets darker
when you’re lit by a spark.

your smile’s pretty,

priceless and unique
in two days,
it’ll be an antique.

Hans

Bleeding inside
About to explode
The pain is all around
I cannot escape
Death to my heart is near
With this death comes
No feeling no caring no fear
It builds up the wall
Calluses the heart
Not letting anyone in
The bleeding inside
It’s caused by love
Love that has been hindered
By God up above
For if I can’t have
The woman I love
May death to my heart
Come fast so never to love again
For without my true love
I’d rather live a life in solitude
Without my true love
I’m forever alone

29
 chapter one: “because”
~stra~

There she is.

I think I might be one of the reasons why
she stayed.
She stayed not for the reason that I asked
her to
but because I forced her.

I was being too selfish.

I knew that she didn’t want to.

I knew it would be hard for her.

But did I care? No.

I was too busy thinking about the joy that
I’m going
to have if she stayed.

And she did stay. She’s there.

Right, she’s there. Why isn’t she beside me?

Maybe because she wants to enjoy her last

months
with the class before she leaves permanently
by next year.
Does it mean that her enjoyment would
not include being
with me? Perhaps. And just maybe there is
no reason
why she should be beside me. NONE.

Wanting her near me is selfishness.

She isn’t even mine.

Once again, my wanting leaves me with

the feeling
that I am invisible. Or from the start, was
I already
unseen by her? Am I just a voice?

But this is what I wanted.

I said that I would be more than happy just
by seeing her
each day; just by knowing she’s present.

Now why do I want more than just laying

eyes on her?
Because this is what I am. dumb. dumb
and crying.

Yes, I’m crying.

Because I am invisible, and it isn’t even my
30
choice.

But I must endure this.

Because for every tear that drops from my
eye means
a smile for her. A tear for a priceless smile.

I wish that I could flood the world

with my tears so she’ll never have to be sad
again.
I wish I could do everything for her until
I reach the
point that I can’t anymore. yeah, I could
wish.

I was told to do what I think was right.

I was told to do what would make me
happy.

Seeing her makes me happy though she

doesn’t see me.
And I think it’s just right not to force
myself
to get close to her. It’s right not to be in
haste.

In her I find hope.

My distance from her gives her joy.
And in crying I find happiness.

“No more because.”

For you
George Michael

Maybe it’s time to say I love you,

In our crystal part of sweetness,
Care to each other and giving
Honest feeling to one another.
Enjoying the colorful worlds, that
Lay in our deepest heart and
Let the spirit of love would
Engage our ever lasting feelings.
My life is on the right way
And I won’t cross the wrong one.
Giving the best direction, and the
Distance that indeed to travel.
All my life is in your hand, the
Over populated of your love will be my
Nectar in the big card of our life,
Go with the flow, and I’m with you now
and forever…

31
 Unbearable Questions of Love
Hazel Guanlao

How can I let go of someone I had never

touched?
How can I move on, from something that
never did exist?
How can I give up something that is not
mine?
How can I say goodbye to someone I never
had?

Why do tears fall for someone who doesn’t

belong to me?
Why does my heart break for someone who
was never mine?
Why do I miss someone I was never with?
Why did I fall for someone who is intended
to catch someone else?
And I’ll ask why, why do I love someone
whose love will never be mine?

How will I end a relationship that never

started?
How will I wake up in this dream that took
my reality?
And how will I stop loving you when all
my life all I did was love you?

The Love I Never Had

Hazel Guanlao

I wish I could be there for you

Be there when no one cares for you
Protect you when the whole world is against
you
Hold you as I whisper I love you
And spent the rest of my whole life with you
But all this things I can never do

I have seen from afar and there I fell in love

with you
I never dared to cross the bridge between
me and you
I was afraid to hurt myself and hurt you
I built walls around my heart just to stay
away from you
I was waiting for the right time to say I love
you
It never came he was already there for you

I have waited for you for so long

For that true and real love that I long
Only to realize I cannot have it all along
32
 Because to someone else you belong
Now I need to forget you and move on
I need to stop this love on going on

I’m going to do what is right

I’m giving you up on this fight
I’m not sure if I’ll be alright
For this is not what I want but this is right
I’ll let go of the love I had hold on so tight
The love I‘ve failed to say, but I’ll say it in
everything that I write

I don’t regret falling in love with you

What I regret is I wasn’t able to say how
much I love you
This is the first and the last time I’ll say I
love you
Now I’ll say adieu to the love I never hard
and to you

“Jezica”
Rae Louis S. Maglaqui

The sweetest life, the wildest death is love,

A sentiment everyone knows, even a little
boy.
But doth not play with it ‘cause love is not
a toy.
Love gracefully flies in the air like a dove.
Ready to pull your heart out like a glove…
Love is like heaven, the cherubim’s joy,
But sometimes it brings pain and sorrow
to annoy,
Yet it is a gift come from heavens above.
A little thing called love is only for human’s
sake;
A thing that can also make your eye a misty
river;
Can we call it love if a father kisses her
little girl?
Or a couple dating in the middle of the
lake;
Yes! This is love, so give thanks to the giver!
Though its process is convoluted like how
thoughts swirl.

33
 How Will You Tell Me That You Love Me?
yraidyliad 02
Modnar Seadi

We never really said that we love each other

But we hang out more than just for a sister
or a brother
I’ve held my lips just enough so the words
won’t escape from me
And then I dwell into the dream that you
would want us to have more than just tea
I dream so often that you’ll someday
propose to my dear heart
It felt so true only that it stops just at the
last part
I had so much thoughts but I could not
imagine either on how you’ll tell
To this heart I keep, to others I just can’t
sell
I wonder if you’ll tell me in our language or
use foreign ones
Would you tell me abruptly or slowly while
holding my hands?
Would it be when I’m soulfully prepared
or would you just say it plain, simple, and
unexpectedly?
Would it be when we’re alone, or when we
have others for company?
But really I don’t care how you’ll tell me or
the world
I just hope that before others you’ll tell my
father first, our Lord
Because if you do, it only means that you
love Him more than me
Then I’ll be contented waiting on how
you’ll tell me that you love me.

Love Me
Alvie John Magat

Love me in the Springtime, when all is

green and new,
Love me in the Summer, when the sky is
oh so blue,
Love me in the Autumn, when the leaves
are turning brown,
Love me in the Winter, when the snow is
falling down.

Love me when I’m happy, and even when

I’m sad,
Love me when I’m good, or when I’m oh
so bad,
Love me when I’m pretty, or if my face is
34
plain,
Love me when I’m feeling good, or when
I’m feeling pain.

Love me always darlin’, in the rain or

shining sun,
Love me always darlin’, after all is said and done,
Love me always darlin’, until all our life is
through,
Love me always darlin’, for I’ll be lovin’ you!

Loving Companion in Life’s Journey

mystique angel

Once we were strangers, immersed in our

own worlds
Each had individual joys to celebrate and
sorrows to lament
Then we found each other and got along
easily
That a binding force seemed to connect us
as days went on
Best of friends we are now and partners as
we have coined
Learning from and inspiring each other
through our experiences
Drawing and encouraging one another
during hard times
Searching and yearning for each one’s love
and comfort
Realizing that our meeting was not merely
coincidental in our journey
But destiny would have allowed us to cross
our paths
Now we have offered a piece of ourselves
To hold and to treasure for the rest of our
lives
Though our journey would be long and
winding
With much obstacles that hurdle us on
our way
But with our unwavering presence and
support
We shall cross over and reach our
destination
And may this bond set our fate for a life-
long companionship
As long as there is still you and I.

35
 Mamang
Kriselle Jhean A. Navarro

If I’m gonna say “my mother is the best one

in this universe”
That ain’t enough coz my mom is my
UNIVERSE

There’s no mother like my very own

Mamang
She’s the bravest, even willing to fight the
bad ‘Aswang’

She’s feared by the crooks in our

subdivision
And won’t care if someone is affected by
her true opinion

Outspoken and loud, that’s what she is

Yet for her, the biggest reward is mine and
Joy’s kiss

With all the trials her spoiled Sey is

experiencing
She’s always there to comfort my feeling

Joyjoy may be so frivolous and ‘makulit’

Mamang is still sweet and ready to hug her
‘baby bulilit’

One of a kind, that’s what Mamang is

If together with Papang, they’re a couple
made of bliss

A woman filled with so much love,

She’s the best gift given by THE ONE above.

My only wish this Christmas

Hans Tiglao

Dear Santa,

there is a guy who needs you bad

always lonesome and very sad
every night he lays and cries
for an evil girl hurtful lies.
The days last so long
and the nights feel all wrong.
The air is getting colder
and he needs someone to hold him.
Can you send someone sweet
to be his Christmas treat
who will always love him so
and make his blue eyes glow
36
No one knows his hidden desire
to find a love who’s not a liar.
He doesn’t need a wrapped up box
just a girl who really rocks!
All he wants is someone to love
can you bring an angel from above
to wrap him up warm and tight
hold him close, all through the night
with deep green eyes
who never lies
gentle but strong
who can do no wrong
Bring him a love so white and pure
and make it so he can always be sure
that when she comes she will always stay
and never leave him to fly away
i know what he wants may be a lot
but for this one thing he has always sought
please forgive his past mistakes
cuz the tears he cries could fill up lakes
Santa, please, you are his only hope
i promise you, sir, they wont elope
he just needs someone cute and fun
to be his girl and only one.

-With So Much Love

And Hopeful Wishes,
A True Believer
in Your Magic

Nyx
R. L. Maglaqui

The darkness shaded the somnolent trees,

Only the fireflies who give lambent light
To the serene, somber, and soundless night
And it put me into the state of reminiscing
memories.
I saw the stars forming constellations,
They made me remember the time I held
your arms,
As I gaze sweetly upon your loving charms
Oh, I want to love again and see the
visions.
Then I saw the moon looking at me;
Waves and flashes of memory calls again.
I promise! Tonight will be the last night;
The last night I’ll cry many tears over thee.
For once, I want to sleep over the moonlit
glen…
To forget thee while lying in the real beauty
of the night.

37
 Searching... & Waiting…
BEnjilicious s0 mysterious

We spend our whole lives thinking

 and wishing it to be perfect...
people come and go,
Some leave with an mark on our lives, causing
us to change as a person.
Others come along to not leave a mark

but to be a mark of love, trust and happiness.

 We wait for that day to be able to know the
true feeling of love.
 But yet it is said without meaning.
I Love you! There is a reason for everything, a
reason to live and love.

 BENJ i asked myself, whats your reason?....

I live to love i love to cherish every special
moment with that special person,
to look back on my life knowing i have
fufilled the passions everyone else dreams of.
So i wait wait wait wait wait....
knowing and wishing for her to be the one i
can cherish my special moments with!

To never let her go,

to always care with the passion of a thousand
romeos and juliets...
her heart to never be broken...

BUT CHERISHED FOR A LIFE TIME!

TRUE LOVE IN MY EYES!

Searching For True Love

BENJILICIOUS_18@YAHOO.COM

It starts to storm
As I walk through this grassy field
My heart is torn
And the raindrops, become my tears
I’m searching for my soul mate
Someone that’s hard to find
I don’t know how long it will take
I will just give myself time
Will I ever find her
Is something that I worry about
All the other searches have been a failure
And now, I search with doubts
I shouldn’t have doubts, I got to believe
Even though I’m filled with sadness and
sorrow
If I find her, these feelings would be
38
relieved
She’ll make me live as if there’s no
tomorrow
She’ll give my life meaning
A life worth living for
She’ll love me with strong feelings
And I won’t have a broken heart anymore
I can’t wait until the day we get together
That’s my biggest dream
Two soul mates love each other forever
Together, they are a team
I pray for the day when I find my soul mate
The girl for me that’s right
I will find her, no matter how long it takes
And when I find her, I will hold her in my
arms tight
But at the end of the day
I’m all alone
And tears keep running down this sad face
As I continue to roam
The storm has settled down
And the beautiful night sky appears
While I’m the only one around
Shedding these tears

Serenade
Theresa M. Baldo
(Dedicated to Rose and Regina Bondoc, Rae
Louis Maglaqui, and Aldrin Alquero)

Rainy days may come and pass

Or a few tears may have been shared
Seems you never failed to show you cared
Every year we hoped won’t be the last

Reminiscing the times we thought it was over

Endings can really make us wonder
Getting harder it seems, the problems and tests
It doesn’t matter ‘cause together we’re fine
Now and forever our friendship is the best
And forever our star will shine

Ravishing and intelligence is not enough

And though I taunt you and I may seem cruel
Existence is worthless without you that much I’m sure

A friendship that has become a song in my heart

Lyrics and music built my memories
Dedicated to my friends
Real fantasies do come true
I found it in you, my confidant
Never will I replace the 12 years we had

39
 Untold
Alvie John Magat

Sometimes at night, when I look to the sky,

I start thinking of you and then ask myself, why?
Why do I love you? I think and smile,
because I know the list could run on for miles.
The whisper of your voice, the warmth of
your touch,
so many little things that make me love you
so much.
The way you support me, and help with my
emotions,
the way that you care and show such
devotion.
The way that your kiss, fills me with desire,
and how you hold me with the warmth of
a blazing fire.
The way your eyes shine when you look at me,
lost with you forever is where I want to be.
The way that I feel when you’re by my side,
a sense of completion and overflowing pride.
The dreams that I dream, that all involve you,
the possibilities I see and the things we
can do.
How you finish the puzzle that lies inside
my heart,
how that deep in my soul, you are the most
important part.
I could go on for days, telling of what I feel,
but all you really must know is my love for
you is real.

the star’s response

ky (a reply to “The Star” from Pluma 07-08)

“the light i shone was for you: a call

hear my voice, catch this star’s fall.
my radiance did outshine all the stars’
so bright; for you to see my scars.”

“you looked up, stopped and gave a smile,

my vain was gone and for a while:
you bowed your head and started to pray,
‘please take me in’ were words i heard you say”

“i extended my rays down to touch you;

to hold and take away from the blue.
a mere mortal up the sky, you were to be,
and death you were to await with me.”

“your presence neared but was lost suddenly;

when the sun shone, i was still there, but you let go of me.
why did you choose to listen to the sun,
when you were in my embrace; we were one?”
40
“Thou Trapped Me in Thy Bittersweet Word”
RLSM

Thou trapped me in thy bittersweet word,

Like thine smile as sharp as the blades of fan.
Now thee are my word, powerful than a sword;
And thy face will be loved by every man.
Seeing thy beauty is seeing the cerulean sky,
For thou are the one who gives me eternal life,
Like how God gave the breath of the birds that fly.
But thou didst drop me in thy heart, now
stab me with knife!
If not, it’s like I breathe while wrapped in
thick wool,
Because the harsh mishaps of reality
wounded my heart;
Twas then that I began to play as a fool,
Until our world, my life, my dreams were torn apart.
Thou shalt dispose me like a garbage bag,
Cause I’ll wait for thee until the ground will sag.

True Feelings
Hans Tiglao

Such a strong feeling,

Why won’t it go away?
I just can’t help it,
I think about them all day.

What I’m experiencing,

No one understands,
Can’t I just get over them?
Why must this love stand?

I don’t know what it was,

That drew me to them,
It must have been  mysterious but special,
For such an attraction to begin.

Nothing’s going to change this,

What I’ve felt for so long,
My heart’s telling me right,
But my head’s saying it’s wrong.

If only I could tell them,

Just share with them how I feel,
But it’s almost impossible,
It’s just too unreal.

Some say its a sickness,

But I know this love is true,
Such a strong desire in my heart,
And there’s nothing I can do.

41
 I’m hoping and praying,
That one day. they’ll see,
And feel the same passion,
This time for me.

I’m wishing and waiting,

That she will find me..
and give the unconditional love
That I’m longing to feel and change me

But ‘til then I must wait,

For this dream to come true,
And if she finds that I can love her,
I can return the love too.

A.R.I.E.N.
Ivy Tricia M. Trinidad

A spark of hope glistening through the dark

Moonlit lanes of sheer and everlasting mark
Cold ripples dominated by warm breeze
Comfort and zeal, felt slowly from a kiss

Rainbow reflections beaming upside down

The skyline illuminates behind mountains
brown
Leaves swathed with caress of raindrops
So pretty, so sweet as lollipops

Innocent birds, they fly with gusto

The sun shining through silver waters flow
Sweet air sweeping through a visage so
radiant
Whose eyes sparkle like a joyful infant

Engraved through pebbles covered with

moss
Are flourishing promises from a love I
cherish the most
Flowers whose fragrance emulsifies what
seems like ‘forever’
Like the love I pray that I’ll lose never

Nothing’s more stunning than a face so

magical
With all these illusions, life seems so
fictional
But everything’s real and occurring for me
All, everything’s beautiful when I’m with
thee

42
Bliss
Ivy Tricia M. Trinidad

Something in me amplifies enormously

It’s fulfilling and I like it genuinely
Like the ocean moving through its currents
My mind is filled with happy moments

Priceless, should I describe them

All the things shared through our tandem
Nothing compares to what we’ve been
through
Just because we love each other so true

“You can’t have the best of both worlds,”

as they say
But I’m lucky, I do have them, hey!
Just because I have you is enough
To make me survive this life that’s so tough

It’s you that I wanna die with, my angel

May it be heaven or a taste of hell
I love you and I know it’s forever
It’s a promise and we’ll make it together

chapter two: “my poison”

~stra~

i’m plagued with this emotion that won’t

let me be at peace. but i love it. i love
every second of this craziness. i love
the fact that i am going nowhere. my mind
has been controlled by my heart so
thinking is what i can’t do anymore. still,
i live; though i feel dead.

i can’t let go of this poison of mine.

i’m slowly consumed by the minute and
yet,
i refuse to get it off me. i find pleasure
in pain: the pain that she brings, the pain
that i choose to suffer.

as my poison crawls through my veins, i

wonder; will i die if i rid myself of it? will
i witness another sunrise? will i dream
of her saving me once more?

I CAN FEEL IT AGAIN. IT’S INSIDE

ME.

yes, she’s my poison right now. yet, could

she be the one who saves me?

43
 Dreams Come True
Jaymie Muli
BSE-1

If I would have my dreams come true

These are the things I’d like to do
To have a cabin deep in the woods
And to have someone to share both the bad
and the good.

We’d lie by the fireplace, forever it seems

And share with each other our future dreams
As we’re tired of talking we’d snuggle up close
These are times I’d cherish the most.

The times when I feel so close to someone

Who gives me such pleasure and so much fun
Who isn’t afraid of what the future may bring
And share so much love that our hearts sing.

Sometimes I wonder, will my dreams come

true,
And ask myself, could it be with you?
I don’t have the answer, at least not to share
I’m afraid if I share them you wouldn’t care

So, until the time comes, when the timing is

right
I’ll cherish our time everyday & night
And if in the future, our dreams become one
Then I know that my dreams have only begun.

To have you beside me through the rough seas

and good
I know we’d make magic, I’m sure we could
For you are my soulmate, I believe in my heart
And to get to our dreams we must first make
a start.

So, please take my hand, don’t be afraid

I believe that together our cabin will be made
I’ll never doubt my feelings for you
And if you return them, all our dreams can
come true.

44
fences
~stra~

i built these fences

to keep away from you
to kill my sadness
to wash away the blue

miles from you

these fences kept me
but my darn feeling
won’t let me be

each day on these fences

i look over
to watch you live
as i keep my cover.

over these fences i shout:

i love you, ------!
though in return
is hurt agayne.

For You Are My Beau

Jessica Julia C. Jose
BS Arch-4A

Feeling blessed for rescuing me

I don’t wanna go back to the way I used to be
Feeling special for reaching me out
I’ll always trust in You, without a doubt

Now I’m a lover of Yours

Without You in me, my life will be worse
I fix my eyes in You alone
I live for You and I am Your own

What You did for me is the greatest love

The hope that has found me, is now what I have
The joy of knowing You makes my life so full
To breathe without You is to create in me a fool

Nothing compares to the strength that You give

It keeps me holding on, in Your promises
I believe
The enemy can’t take You away from me
Now that I am new, I love the new me

I don’t care what they will say

The world may fall but with you I will stay
Jesus, I’ll never be ashamed of You
And I won’t be afraid for You are my Beau

45
 Gitara
eald

Ing bie anti yamu namang gitara.

E mipakinabangnan nung eme dinan nota.
Miyaliwang nota na ika mismu ing gagawa.
Sasambitan na ing panandaman ning
kekang diwa.

Ing pangabiyasa emu basta-basta,

Manasakit ka pamu bayu me apagana.
Anti yamo ning bie nung buri meng
masagana,
Pagsumikapan meng dinan malagung nota.

Ing bawat kuwerdas ning metung a gitara,

Importanti ya para king metung a kanta.
Ustung iti mewala ya,
Ing bie ning kanta maliwa ya rima.

Ing metung a gitara salamin ne ning amu na.

Ing notang lulwal kaya, ‘yang sasambitan
ning pusu na.
N’ya nung ika malungkut ka,
Kuwanan me ing gitara…
Uling anti ya namang kaluguran,
Nung nanung kekang panandaman,
Iya, agyu nakang damayan.

go to sleep
~stra~

you broke what can’t be mended

and shattered what can’t be moved
you killed what shouldn’t be dead
and left it lifeless for good

you took all there is to take

and promised to return none;
it was your nature to break
and in a second you’re gone.

now that you are in my arms

vengeance is mine, finally!
close your eyes as you are harmed,
go to sleep, eternally.

46
I can’t take my eyes off you
Jaymie Muli
BSE I

If walls could talk

They’d tell how much I miss you
All this time
There’s no one but you in my mind
How could I ever make it without you?
But now you are gone
There’s nothing more I could do

Now everywhere I go
The air screams your name
These grains of grass remind me of how
much we’ve danced before
It still lingers on my mind, back in time
when I told you
“You are the music in me”
But now the music left my life
There’s no rhythm that I can dance to and
the magic is all gone

The moon would never shine in my sky

again
Stardust would never fall on my hair again
My life was in turmoil since you left
Filled with undefined emotions and vague
points of view
You never let me sleep at night
Like a ghost who haunts me

I accepted defeat and hopelessly lost heart

Everyday was a battle of black, blue and
grey hues
As I watch the sunset alone
I felt like it was my dramatic downfall
And it just made me sob
As the calm ocean swallowed its great
colors

But now, it’s over, it’s over, why is it now?

I’ve given everything just to breathe the air
that you breath
Till the day that I die
I can’t take my eyes off you!

47
 Irita
Edge

Layo sumpa ng may lalang

Tago ka at wag magpakita
Sugo ka ng kadiliman
Kaya ako’y lubayan

Ikaw ba ay buntot ko?

Dikit ka ng dikit
Anino ba kita
Para sunod ka ng sunod

Tingin mo rin ay nakakalusaw

Parang kakain ng buhay
Ulam ba ako kung ituring
Pinapapak unti unti

Irita, Irita, Nakakairita

Iwan mo ako buntot ng sumpa
Hindi kita anino kaya ako’y lubayan
Isa kang sakit na dapat iwasan

Katahimikan at espasiyo lang

Ibigay mo na sana
Kakairita ang iyong pagbuntot
Tigilan pati iyong paglapit.

Lightning
Jessica Julia C. Jose
BS Arch 4A

Oh, summer is over

But the beautiful song still lingers
Yeah, summer is over
But its chords are stranded on my fingers

As raindrops begin to fall

Will the thunder remind me again
Of the soundtrack and the call
That I used to hear back then?

Oh, the strings of summer were confusing

Its melody is kinda hard to find
Yeah this thought has left me choosing
To play something that’s just half defined

As the thunder begins to roll,

Will it remind somebody
Of the soundtrack and the call
That we used to share so madly?

Oh, yesterday was a winding road

But today bestows a longer distance
48
 Yeah, the song reminded somebody of my load
Yet it couldn’t tell if it’s just a mere chance

As the song keeps me into thinking,

Will somebody ever love another?
Of all the colors that keep on striking,
Will I always be somebody’s thunder?

my awakening
~stra~

dreams of you be dead

and all hath been said
suffered long have i
this be last goodbye

i’ve fallen and loved

but my effort, snubbed
everything, i did
in the end, i bleed.

my heavens you took

with only one look
you be very rough;
this be when i stop.

go your own way, be gone:

you’re not the only one.

My Inspiration
Jaymie Muli
BSE-1

Is this the moment of query?

Or this is just ordinary?
Is it just only affection?
Or true love obsession?

When the time that you caught my heart,

I can’t sleep all through the night.
In every step I make everyday
Your face is painted on my way.

You’re the man that I can’t surrender.

Since we became friends,
You made my life complete
But now, friendship and whatever might complete.

How could I take these feelings away?

When all the questions bother my mind everyday
Perhaps there will be some answers to these questions.
And tell you, “Maybe you’re my inspiration.”
49
 out of boredom: a countdown
~stra~

the clock says eight fifty-five

nothing seems to have changed
now it dropped a minute more
all is still the same.

an hour already passed

the clock now reads nine fifty-nine
the sun is at its brightest
and i’m still waiting.

time flew by quickly

it’s already three o’ two
i went out, all’s normal
another ordinary day.

now it’s nine o’ clock pm

too late to fly a kite,
too early to sleep
and so wait more, i’ll do

finally, the time is upon

the clock speaks, tick-tock it says
i eagerly wait, patiently
a few seconds more, and...

princess almost perfect

~ stra ~

with a crown or without,

it’s obvious, no doubt.
she’s sunshine in a dress,
to no one, she’s less.

her smile is contagious:

(like) falling stars set loose.
her happiness is grand:
magic without a wand.

the entire world dies

when this princess cries.
for she, too, gets frail,
she grieves when love does fail.

in her eyes there is truth.

almost perfect, no dispute.

50
Someone
Samboy Musngi

Keeping you in my heart is all I can do

My days are incomplete without thinking of you
Your aura, voice and thy gentle face
And in my heart, that no one could ever replace

Light me with the radiance from afar

With your eyes, the brightest among the stars
Looking at your addictive pictures on the Net
Turned my sun to never set

An ordinary poem for a very special woman

That completes my whole being and makes
me feel a man
To the owner of the smile that stunned my soul
And makes my cold heart fall

Riches, fame, honor, I may not promise you

But only my heart I can offer and all the air
I breathe too
Without you, I will never be a better person
A future nurse. Hopefully. Thanks for the
inspiration

Every beat of my heart shouts your name

Longing for you thus driving me insane
But in my dreams you’ll come and touch me
The real angel and you will always be

Nights are sleepless waiting for this moment

To tell you all of my soul’s sentiments
And with this pen I reveal
My emotions that can never be sealed

Close your eyes, listen to my heart

Listen as it tells us that you’re the missing part
Make me feel like Seth and Dr. Rice
Enjoying every life’s sunset and sunrise

Even I may not be the lucky one

To care for you and to hold thy hand
Please continue to rock, write and share
And be safe and remember someone who
will always care

51
 Untitled
Samboy Musngi

Here I am, Lying on the bed; listening to the rain

Trying not to miss your smile, voice and
everything about you
Thinking of you too much can cause much pain
That breaks my heart down to my soul through

I want to go to that old damn place

Kiss your forehead and touch your face
Watch the beautiful stars with you as they
shed their light
Cause I know that you’ll also love
stargazing at night.

Reading thy poems granting me love and peace

Your words taste like a sweet special kiss
Thank you for always me making good
For sharing your talent under your hood

Hoping that one day we’ll write together

With great works of love that will last forever
Take my hand and be my lady
And I will look after you my baby

You’re the best thing that happened in

The history of my life
You made a great impact on me
A thousand times more powerful than an
Azura strike

We’ll play PS and your favorite Gunbound

Go basketball or just under the moon
simply walk around
I am very grateful to Him for sending you
and making me feel better
And please stay with me until both of us get older.

What Love is
Jaymie Muli
BSE I

Love is a journey, not a destination

It is a verb… an action we choose to carry
on
Love is a contrast: hard to find, easy to lose
It opens your eyes but makes you obtuse

Love is a gift, not an obligation

A glamorous gift to treasure, not a game
to gamble
Love is like a flame, beautiful if controlled
Dangerous if blocked
52
 Love is a complete mystery
It has no definition
Only existence and a part of life as an
illusion
Don’t be afraid to love,
For it is the most wonderful thing that
could happen
Yet it is the most confusing feeling you will
ever experience

Loving a person is not forcing to or

Because of
But you must love one in spite of…

wheRe i belong… Astig

Samboy Musngi

It just started with my curiosity

When I tried to join this community
A community that brings service to the
university
Composed of good and talented children
and a mother, honestly

I still remember… it was the first day of

class
To enter their office and assigned me task
It gave me much pressure and a headache
Promise ya man! It’s not just a piece of cake

I’ve been a stranger in that place

But they always greet me with a smile on
their face
They treat me very nicely
Like a real part of this one big happy family

Sorry for being a failure and unnecessary

actions
I’m just always carried by my emotions
Well, thank you in believing in thee
For all the good things you see in me

There’s nothing more I can say

For the company and pieces of advice
everyday
I am very grateful for accepting me as I am
For the warm welcome from your arms
Thank you for being good brothers and
sisters
And second mother. I am always with you
in prayers

53
 The short story is like an old
friend who calls whenever he is
in town. We are happy to hear
from it; we casually fan the
embers of past intimacies, and
buy it lunch.

R. Z. Sheppard
Pr se
Short stories & essays
 Mistaken
Short story by Sheryl Sagana

“Love is complex. It isn’t as easy as ABC nor as simple as 1+1…”

I
t was quite a cold night. The wind blew hard and raindrops kept falling, making that noise on the roof.
I was lying on my bed, thinking of what I have seen in my dream. I knew I was already awake. It was
about 11:45 p.m. I tried to relax my mind but something kept bothering me. I knew it was my dream.
Suddenly, I was frightened. Then tears started falling from my eyes. I couldn’t stop myself. I was confused.
My heart began to beat faster. I didn’t know what was happening. There seemed to be chaos between my
heart and my mind.
The next day, I felt so gloomy. Still, I was bothered by my dream. But I had to stand up and fix
myself so I could go to work.
I was about to leave the house when the phone rang… it was Ancel, my fiancé… He said,
“Good morning, bheibie… Just dropping by to say ‘I Love You’… eat your breakfast.” I replied, “Thanks…
I love you too.” Then we cut the conversation.
It was Thursday. The next day would be our fifth anniversary. I knew we loved each other.
That’s why we’ve gone this far. Yet, why am I feeling this way? Why am I frightened? Is this because of my
dream? But it was just a dream… an illusion… it meant nothing!
It was our anniversary. We had our date.
“Bheibie, this is our fifth anniversary. I can’t believe our relationship lasted this long. I thank
God for giving me a girl like you. I love you so much, bheibie.” Ancel said.
“I love you too bheibie”, I replied. I uttered those five words yet there was doubt in my heart.
It was the first time I had difficulty saying those words. I never felt this before.
We spent the whole night together. He kept on doing romantic things. But I remained silent.
Then, he noticed my reaction and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you not happy?” I replied quickly, “Nothing.
Of course I’m happy. I just feel sick. Sorry.”
“Oh, sorry, bheibie. I’d better take you home,” he said. “Maybe that’s better,” I answered.
He took me home and after a few minutes he left and went home. I went to my room. I sat on
my bed and started asking myself these: “What’s happening to me? Why am I feeling this way? Why am I
affected by that dream?” I didn’t notice I fell asleep.
The next day, I was on my way to the mall. I saw Ancel and my best friend Dhes. They were
about to enter the mall. On their faces, I could see that they were enjoying the company of one another.
There was happiness in their eyes. Their smiles proved that they were having a good time together. I sud-
denly felt sad. I felt something strange. I was affected… I was jealous…
They entered the mall. I decided not to follow them. I rode a jeepney and went to my cousin’s
house. I spent the rest of the day playing billiards. I tried to forget what I had seen but it kept replaying in
my head. It was all that was on my mind.
I felt sad. I began to hate them. I thought they betrayed me.
It was about 8:00 at night. I decided to go home. I went to my room. There, I cried. Then I
was reminded of something. Dhes told me, then that she liked Ancel even before he started courting me…
I uttered, “Traitors!” I was crying the whole night.
Now I understood why I was feeling that way. What I saw at the mall was exactly the same
scenario in my dream.

56
 Mistaken
It was Sunday. Ancel texted me and asked me to come with him. So we went to the mall. I
wasn’t talking the whole time we were together. All I said was either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ depending on his ques-
tions.
He stopped and asked, “Anything wrong?”
Upon hearing his question, I started to feel very angry. Hatred reigned over my whole self. I
shouted at him and said, “You’re asking me what’s wrong? You wanna know what’s wrong? You! You and
Dhes… Your sweetness, the way you enjoy the company of one another, the way you spend your time
together… Going to the mall, having fun! You are the wrong ones! I hate both of you!
He replied with a low voice, “Bheibe, you don’t understand.”
“Yes, I really don’t understand. I don’t know why I trusted both of you. You betrayed me!” I
replied.
Softly, he said, “But bheibie... Let me explain…”
“But what? I don’t need your explanation. We’re done. To cut this short, I’m breaking up with
you!”
“Bheibie? Please don’t do this.”
“Sorry. It’s my decision! Goodbye.”
Then I left him. I hurriedly went to the rest room so no one would see me crying. After a few
minutes, I already calmed myself. So I decided to go home.
I looked at my phone. I had lots of messages. They were from Ancel and Dhes. I didn’t need
to read them. Instead, I deleted them at once. My phone started to ring. It was Ancel. I didn’t answer the
call. I turned my phone off and tried to forget everything that had happened.
The next day, when I was at the park, a lady came. I looked at her. It was Dhes. I started to feel
irritated.
“Bhez, I’ve heard about what happened…”
Not letting her finish her words, I said, “How dare you call me ‘bhez’?! After what you did to
me, you come here and call me ‘bhez’?! Stop it! You’re spoiling my day!”
“But it wasn’t what you think,” she said.
“Don’t fool me. I knew it. You betrayed me! Yes, it’s as simple as that! You betrayed me!”
“But…”
“But what?” Don’t waste your time uttering lies. I won’t believe you anyway. Better leave me
alone!”
Dhes walked away. I knew I hated her. I hated the two of them. Suddenly, my phone beeped.
Ancel sent a text message. It said, “Bheibie, I love you so much but if this is what you want, I respect you.
You know that I have loved you so much. I never gave any girl the love I gave you. You’re my only one. I
love you, bheibie. I’ll be leaving for the Middle East this afternoon. Maybe I can forget the pain if I stay
far from you. I miss you so much. I love you, goodbye.”
I felt sad upon reading the message. I knew I still loved him. I knew I never hated him. But I
tried not to feel the pain knowing that he’ll be leaving.
My phone beeped again. It was Lheiroj – one of my close friends. Her message said: “Hi Shey!
How’s your day? Hope you’re fine. Anyway, I saw Ancel and Dhes in the mall. They were buying a ring.
They told me it was for Ancel’s proposal. Did he propose already?”
Upon reading his message, I felt so foolish. I tried to call Ancel’s phone but it was turned off.
So I went to their house. The maid said he had just left. I was so sorry for what I did but I know it was too
late. He had left already.
I went home and started to cry. All I could do now was cry and write a poem. I expressed all
my feelings through the poem. It goes like this:

The Ache Inside

As I live alone in this melancholic life

I endure with pain inside my heart
I search for a way to be happy
Forget the ache and be free

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 Mistaken

Weeping is all I can do

For with the hurt I could not go through
Hiding behind the teardrops of rain
I try to survive with my heart full of stain

The ache inside makes me think of the past

When love is all that’s between us.
But now, pretending is all I can do
As I regret letting you go.

I was crying while writing the poem. I was very sorry for what I did. But I knew I couldn’t
bring him back. I lost him…
It was raining hard. It seemed that the clouds were crying with me. Then my phone rang.
I answered it immediately without looking at the name of the caller. I was shocked upon hearing the
voice… It was Ancel. Yes, it was he…
”Bheibie, our flight was cancelled because of the typhoon. I just wanna tell you that I really
can’t afford losing you. I love you so much. What you’ve seen meant nothing. We were…”
“You don’t have to explain. I knew it already. I was mistaken. Sorry… I love you, bheibie.”q

My Cam
Short story by Moon Child

One difference between capturing an image and ensnaring a heart: the settings for the latter are not as
picture perfect.

I
have sat here for quite a while now, patiently waiting for her; like I always had for our first 99 days.
And like always, my trusty camera has kept me company as I watch minutes go by. It may have lost its
sleekness and no more does it appear new but it has never failed me in capturing priceless moments
and thousand-word images.
I can recall almost every scene that this camera and I have witnessed together – and I recall
most clearly that very day…
It was almost 8 in the morning I haven’t gotten rid of all the sleep in my eyes, when my phone
started playing the immortal Nokia tune; someone was calling – it was Lon.
His words were vague but his request was clear; he wanted me to take pictures for him.
Being the good friend that I was, a “no” was never in my list of answers. So I hurriedly made
my way to the place he told me about; I came, 10 minutes late but I came. He was standing near the door,
obviously faking a frown which was immediately replaced by a smile.
Lon meant business so I needed to work that way too. Our start was tardy but the pictures were
superb. They were so good that they won me an invite to the luncheon.
There I saw familiar faces. Actors, politicians, businessmen; faces you always see in newspapers’
lifestyle pages. I wanted to finish my dish fast so that I could go home right away. But then Lon came to
58
 My Cam
my table and introduced this girl – Camille.
Lon said that she is a photography enthusiast. A nice person to talk to, and undeniably beautiful! But even
though she was, I was in a hurry. I excused myself and then left.
After that event, we met several times. But we never talked. Maybe because of that first meet-
ing rush…
It was the last Sunday of August. I was sitting and reviewing my shots when she sat beside me.
She asked how the event was. Knowing she was one of the organizers, what’ll I answer? She looked at my
shots and was amazed. After that short talk, we said “nice meeting you!” That was Day 1.
We grew closer. We smiled at each other when we met. And sometimes, a light talk. There I
found out that my editor, Elie, was her close friend.
On our 19th day of knowing each other, she came into our office. She was with Elie. As they
passed through the door, Elie laughed very loud. Camille then blushed and told Elie to keep quiet. But Elie
never had control on herself. She shouted that Camille had a crush on me! I didn’t take it seriously. Maybe
they were just making fun of me. So what I did was to take photos of them laughing their hearts out!
Things were different the following days. Camille seemed to be hiding. Whenever I saw her,
she ran and never said hi. I was wondering if she was mad at me.
Day 27, I went to their office. I bought a cotton candy, made a note and left it on her table.
But before I was able to go out of the room, she came! She was surprised that she punched me lightly in
the arms. I didn’t know what to say because in the first place, I didn’t know the reason why I was there. I
left the room without saying anything.
After that event, I found myself calling her every night. We talked about everything and any-
thing we could talk about. But there’s a rule that should be followed: I should text first before calling. And
we had a little gamble… If she answered it without me sending her a message, I had won. And if I followed
her conditions, she had.
When my birthday came, she was the very first to greet me. (Actually she was 45 seconds early.)
She made me an illustration and waited for me in the office. But I didn’t come. I was busy in covering an
event. That was my alibi. (But there was really an event.)
The truth was I didn’t want to see her that day. I was confused about what I was feeling. “Am
I in love with her? We just knew each other for more than a month. That can’t be! Maybe it’s just another
sort of infatuation.”
I saw the illustration when I came in the office the next day. There were notes written on the
corners. Things that I said to her that made no sense yet she remembered them all. But I was still con-
fused…
For 10 days, I didn’t call her. And during those times, things were very different. Photographs
were not as bright as before. There was something missing. Was there something wrong with my Cam? No.
I was the one who was making things blurry.
Day 44, I called her. She asked who was calling. I said it was me and shouted she lost again. She
then told me she already erased my number and asked why I called. I said I just dropped by to say hello.
After that five-minute call, thoughts like “maybe that’s the last time I was going to call her”
and “so this is goodbye” came into my mind. After 30 minutes, my phone rang. It was her! Why was she
calling? I answered it quickly and asked why. She didn’t say the reason but the message was clear. We’re not
saying any goodbyes yet…
Usual things happened. Smiles when we met, light punches when we passed each other, and
the evening phone calls. Faded photographs became vivid once again. There was nothing wrong with my
Cam. I just set the wrong exposure.
Day 48, Camille went to a seminar with Elie. The chances of meeting her were only 10%. I
knew not a single detail about the seminar. I stayed in the office the whole day. Seeing her then I thought
was quite impossible so I made a deal with myself. The moment I see her, even for just a few seconds, I’ll
confess all my feelings. It was about 8:00PM when I decided to go home. Just before I closed the door,
Elie came. She said Camille already took a cab.
Never did I run. I waited for Elie and helped her with her things. While we were walking, we
saw Camille. She was waiting for Elie.
After talking about things that have happened to them that day, Elie left us and said someone
would pick her up. Now it was only the two of us. While we are walking along the street, silence ruled the
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 My Cam
air. I didn’t know how to start. I didn’t know what to say.
We reached the bus stop. Her dad was there waiting for her. Just as she said bye-bye, I then
confessed. I LOVE YOU! She was shocked. I smiled and turned around. Like scenes in Romantic-Comedy
movies.
The next day, she asked what did I just said last night. I didn’t answer.
She asked if I just said I love her last night. No response.
She asked if I just said something last night. “I LOVE YOU.”
She punched me. But then she smiled. Perfect Shot! Even though the view wasn’t that amusing,
smiles in that photograph are priceless.
Day 58, her birthday. I waited for 12:00AM. I wanted to be the very first person to greet
her, like she did on my birthday. I asked her what gift she would like. She said she didn’t want anything.
Calling her every night was enough. She really appreciated it. Noon that day, I gave her a rose. Kind of
old-fashioned, but she said she’ll keep it.
Everyday we became closer and closer. It was like we were a real couple, till day 73.
Someone came to her office. A suitor for about six or seven years, I think. Their families were
friends. And he knew Camille far better than I did.
I could see in Camille’s eyes that she was really confused. Even without her telling me to, I said
I would leave. But before I left, I asked her if she liked me.
She said she did. She liked me as a friend. Not as a lover, yet.
I remember our gamble when we were just starting to call each other. I always told that she had
lost. I was not sending any messages yet she answered my calls. But the truth is, from the start, I was the
loser. I lost because I fell. I lost because she caught me. I lost because I surrendered myself to her.
That day a thought came to mind. I was not doing my role. I was standing in the wrong place.
We were not that close yet. Truly, I’ve always been a loser.
The next day, she let me take her home. She didn’t go home that early. I guess she said that to
make me feel better. We talked about different things while walking but never about what had just hap-
pened.
I was thinking of letting go that time. It was time to release the shutter and turn my Cam off.
I was not getting any good photos.
But whenever I would see her, I couldn’t help but smile. I was holding on.
I’ve always been a loser. So what?
I was not afraid of losing her. If she wanted me out of her life, that’s fine with me. But I was
not giving her up to anyone without doing anything!
Weeks later, our quarrels became frequent. But we made sure that before the day ended, every-
thing between us would be alright. Just like a real couple!
And now, I have sat here for quite a while now, patiently waiting for her; like I always had for
our first 99 days. And as always, my trusty camera has kept me company as I watch minutes go by. It may
have lost its sleekness and no more does it appear new but it has never failed me in capturing priceless
moments and thousand-word images.
I can recall almost every scene that this camera and I have witnessed together – from views to
events. Everything my eyes have seen and felt like framing. Things that caught my attention and made me
think. And I think I almost perfected them. All of them! Except for one…
You’ll never know what shutter speed you’ll use. Your aperture should be on its largest. Expo-
sure depends on the mood. Filters are needed in some cases and more importantly, no automatic focus
allowed. Everything is manual. You’ll never know when the subject will appear. It’s like your waiting for
shooting stars. It isn’t the hardest. But it’s never easy. You need no camera. You need heart - one true
heart.
Capturing a girl’s heart isn’t easy. But I’m working on it!
Here she comes!
(Still, I’m holding on to my Cam. I’m not letting go…)q

60
 The dead letter
Short story by Paul Kyrby Balingit

Sometimes, the very reasons why we hold on are the same reasons why we should let go.

i
’ll try not to lose you!”
those were the final words that i shouted and also the very words that i pray she heard as she walked
away from me – maybe forever.

i’ve sat there for hours; already lost track of how many. i was in a daze; with my back against the almost
hollow wall and with my 14th cigarette on my hand, i let my mind wander off into nothingness as i tried
to evade the image of her when she walked far and finally had gone.

“can i get you something, sir?” asked one of the crew of the coffee shop where i have stayed for quite some
time then.

i heard him but still, i chose to think of an answer to the question that lingered on my head: “is she ever
coming back?”

i faced the guy and he smiled while raising his eyebrow exposing his eagerness as he awaited my answer.

“another espresso double, please.” i said.

for a second he hesitated, and then finally wrote down my order on his pad. off he went.

that was to be my third espresso double. the first two i ordered were bitter: of course they were - and i
expected no less with the third shot. something with coffee always made me feel at ease; ease more than
liquor can deliver. ease that doesn’t come with a hangover. blame the caffeine.

“why am i here again?” i asked myself, already having forgotten the reason why i was there in the first
place.

i succeeded with my goal and after a blink of an eye, it was failure that took over. for a mere moment i
forgot what transpired earlier that day and then i remembered her: walking far, once again.

i wanted to forget – i really did. whatever air it was that i breathed that gave me that three-second amnesia,
i wanted more, much more.

my coffee was about to be given to me when i finally convinced myself that there was no more reason to
stay there. i picked up the shot glass, drank all the bitterness down and i was ready to go. where? i had no
clue and i didn’t care. i drew a bill from my wallet – a thousand; handed it to the guy who had been serving
me ever since i came. “keep the change,” i said while i read his nameplate: “matt.”

then i started walking.

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 The dead letter
i was near the parking lot when i struggled to search for the car keys in my pocket. i kept on running my
hands all over when i realized: “silly. i have no car. i don’t even have a key.” i must have been really out of
my sanity for thinking that i had one.

on i walked, still having no particular destination.

after around 15 minutes of senseless walking, i stopped. something halted me and it took me a moment
to figure what it was. then i looked up and realized i was under a tree – our favorite tree. the very tree
where we used to stay under and talk for hours. we used to talk about the future. we talked about the past.
we talked about how much we meant to each other. we loved that tree; especially her, because a butterfly
would always rest on her knee whenever we sat there.

as we sat there one day, out of nowhere, she asked me something – a question that i should have compelled
myself to answer when we were still together. because, for goodness’ sake, i had all the answers that i
wanted. i had all the answers that i needed.

“why do you love me?” she asked.

i was surprised and i knew that i wasn’t ready for that question. then i asked myself, “do i really need to
answer that? are words really necessary?” i was lost in the moment.

“hey. hey? are you still with me?” she asked while she waved her hand in front of my face. then she smiled.
she owns the most beautiful smile that anybody had ever given me.

i brushed her hair with my hand, smiled back and said “i love you.” that was enough for her.

the sun was coming down when i found myself already sitting under our tree. i was smiling and yet, tears
fell down from my eyes. “i love her because she’s the reason for my smile and my tears alike.” i said as i
talked to the tree which i awaited no answer from.

i resumed my journey to neverwhere, still walking and not wanting to ride anything.

i walked with my head down while tracing the steps that we have taken for so many times already. “i love
her because in the darkness, it’s her afterglow that i follow.” i uttered. i started to feel ridiculous for already
talking to myself but i thought it could not be helped. maybe the reasons why i love her were overflowing
from my heart and escaping as those words.

a frail rain started to come down but i guaranteed myself that it was something i could endure until i reach
the place where i was going. that was the problem. i had no clue about where i was headed to.

“i love her because she would have brought an umbrella if she were here,” i thought.

i couldn’t believe that earlier that day, i accompanied her to the airport in spite of the fact that we broke up
a day before. why did i do it? because i loved her. because i love her.

“do you really need to leave?” i asked her.

“yes, i do.” she answered.

“but why?” i continued. she then looked annoyed but at the same time, wanting to cry.

“because i need to be there. because that’s where i should be.” she replied.

“is this really happening? is this how i lose you?” i asked. i was already in tears that time.
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 The dead letter
“you haven’t lost me yet. you can try not to.” she answered - then she finally went inside. i had no clue what
she meant with what she said but it was perhaps impulse that made me answer back.

“i’ll try not to lose you!” i shouted.

“i love her because she doesn’t walk right through me when i feel invisible,” i continued.

the downpour of reasons went on along with the downpour of the rain. the rain got stronger and i was
soaking wet. “too late to catch a ride now.” i thought. “no driver would want me to wet his vehicle in-
side.”

i didn’t notice that i was only a few minutes away from our my house. it was cold and i was already giving
myself the warmest embrace that i can but to no avail. the freezing air of december proved too much for
me to tolerate, worse yet, a rain.

“i love her because she gives me a reason to be happy whenever i go home.”

“i love her because she’s the reason why i wake up each single morning.”

“i love her because she’s the first one that i can think of whenever i hear the word love”

i was shivering all over and was about to fall to my knees when i grabbed hold of the knob of my front
door. “home,” i murmured.

i gathered all my remaining strength and with all my being, i dragged myself all the way up the stairs and
into my room – with heavy, wet clothes and all.

i laid down on the floor and stretched my arms and legs. i accidentally hit the nearby night table causing
an envelope to fall. my whole universe stopped when i saw the envelope.

that envelope had inside it the letter that i planned to give to her before she even left. maybe i was thinking
about her too much when i was preparing to accompany her to the airport. maybe the letter had its own
mind and chose to be left behind. or maybe fate decided that it wasn’t meant for her to read the letter.
whatever the explanation is, it was there – in my hands – already half-wet.

i knew exactly what the letter was all about but i already ran out of rationality by that time; i wanted to
read it one more time; the letter that she wouldn’t be able to read, the already dead letter.

“i love you, because there is no reason why i shouldn’t.”q

63
 Puni
Short story by John Vincent Trinidad

Puni: an original Kapampangan ritual for the dead, eventually used by the Spaniards in their pursuit of
the Christianization of Filipinos. It soon became known as a ritual during Holy Week, coupled with the
pasion, a chant that tells the story of the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ.

S
weltering. There was no other way to describe the heat of that day. It was the first week of April, and
the days before Good Friday were dwindling. Tourists toting Canon SLRs and Sony HDs flocked
this section of San Fernando in Pampanga just like they have every year since time immemorial.
They hoped to be there to see people flagellating themselves on the streets and even getting nailed on a
cross in the world-famous barangay Cutud.
Juan took a swig of beer. He placed the half-empty bottle of Red Horse on the wooden table
in Ken’s house. It wasn’t much of a house; it was really a shack that looked ready to fall apart under the
next typhoon in June.
“Let’s rob one of those whites,” Juan said.
“What?” Ken said over his shoulder. He was washing a plastic plate on the rusty sink. He
wiped the plate with his shirt and poured into it the contents of a can of 555 sardines. He walked over to
the table and placed the plate of pulutan in front of his childhood friend. “You were saying?” Ken said as
he sat on the wooden stool.
“I said let’s beat up one of those tourists and get his camera and money.”
Ken looked outside the door. A Caucasian male of about six feet tall walked by with a young
girl, both in summer clothes, with their light skin glowing under the hot sun, and their chests adorned
with cameras slung around their napes.
“Let’s take the girl too,” Juan said. His bottle was empty now.
“And do what with her?” Ken asked with a smile, “And then what? Spend the rest of our lives
running from the law both of our country and of America?”
Juan grunted. He opened a new beer. The bottle was almost warm.
“Easy on the Red Horse,” Ken reminded him, “that’s the last one.”
“Easy? We don’t even have ice and this bottle is getting warm.”
Ken shrugged and tasted his beer. They tried the sardines.
“Don’t eat all the sardines if we don’t even have any more beer,” Ken said. “It’s all I have.”
“What do you mean it’s all you have?” Juan asked.
“For dinner.”
“What?” Juan said. “You bought beer and you can’t buy food?”
Ken shrugged again, followed with a swig from his bottle.
Juan shook his head.
Silence pervaded for a brief moment. They watched the people walking on the street. Once
or twice a flagellant passed, carrying a heavy wooden cross, or inflicting pain on himself by beating his
back with pieces of wood strung together, covered in blood. Their faces were covered with cloth, and on
their heads, a makeshift crown of thorns. They walked barefoot on the hot asphalt, followed by youngsters
carrying a bottle of water, a biscuit can, a plastic bag of hardboiled eggs, and an occasional bottle of gin.
“Let’s take that gin,” Juan said finally, staring at the bottle carried by a young boy laughing as
he walked behind a flagellant and joked with his friends.

64
 Puni
Ken shook his head smiling. “You are desperate, and after one beer you are already drunk out
of your mind.”
“No, Ken, you’re out of your mind,” Juan countered. “Buying beer and no money left for
food,” he said under his breath. He drank his beer.
“At least I’m not contemplating robbing a magdarame of his gin,” Ken murmured.
“Maybe that’s your problem, Ken.” He took another long swig.
“What is?”
Juan sighed. He looked at his second bottle of Red Horse, empty now as well. “Your problem,
Kennedy, is that you are too nice.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ken asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
“You won’t take a bottle of gin from a magdarame.”
“Huh? That’s almost sacrilegious, even for us. Maybe I’m not too nice; maybe you’re just too
rude.”
Juan shook his head. “What I’m saying is—forget the gin (he waved his hand)—think, Ken.
Look around you!”
“Why are you raising your voice in my house?”
“What are you talking about – you call this a house? See? That’s exactly my point!”
“I don’t understand,” Ken said in resignation. He finished his beer.
Silence again.
The afternoon was giving way to twilight. There were fewer flagellants on the street, but tour-
ists were still flitting about, cameras in tote, and sometimes with bottles of San Miguel in hand, no doubt
bought at double price from a cute, skimpily dressed girl under the nipa roof of a temporary store specifi-
cally erected very close to the puni at the corner.
Ken lit a gas lamp on the table. It would be dark soon.
“Look,” Juan said, “do you really have nothing to eat for dinner except for this?” He motioned
to the half-finished plate of pulutan.
Ken hesitated. “I might have some cold rice and some dried fish.”
Juan looked at him for a moment. He shook his head again and looked down at the packed
earth that served as the floor of Ken’s shack.
“Why, Juan?” Ken asked.
“We’re both turning 28 next month, Ken.”
“Yeah,” Ken answered softly, remembering that they were both born in May of the same year,
Juan three days earlier. “So? Just another day, you used to say.”
Juan again shook his head. “Not anymore, Ken. It’s not just another day. We’re not teenagers
anymore.”
They sat there for a while, neither of them saying anything, doing anything but watch the
darkening street outside. Mosquitoes began to buzz inside the shack.
“I cannot live like this anymore, Ken,” Juan announced, his eyes welling up in the semidark-
ness.
“We were born poor, Juan,” Ken answered, “and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“See? That’s your problem. You give up too soon without even putting up a fight.”
Ken looked hurt by the remark. “And you? Did you put up a fight? Because it seems to me
we’re on the same exact position today, just like yesterday... Dirt-poor, with no future, just a past we can’t
forget because of all the times we had to suffer in hunger, debt and embarrassment.”
“Well, is it my fault that my parents left me when I was ten? I had to fend for myself, beg on
the streets just to be able to survive,” Juan said, his tone rising.
“And is it my fault that my parents died?” Ken countered. There was a lump forming in his
throat, and he swallowed hard in an attempt to dislodge it.

They had grown together.

Juan’s parents were poor fisher folk who separated early because of his father’s drinking prob-
lem and his mother’s discontent. Neither of them seemed to want to keep Juan, and they drowned him
with misery each time he was left with a relative or friend who would mistreat and starve him. His mother
would come for him after a month or two, and his father would visit sometimes. Until after a while, after
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having left him with a spinster aunt for almost two months, Juan’s mother came by, gave him a crumpled
hundred peso bill, and left without a word.
Juan waited for days for his mother to pick him up. He would cry himself to sleep, with the
crumpled bill held tightly in a fist, close to his heart. After another month, he realized that his mother had
left him for good, and his father, perennially drunk, probably did not even know where he was. So he ran
away from his aunt while she was engrossed in her daily ritual of gambling and smoking herself to death.
Ken was born to a seaman father and a young prostitute mother. He was named after an
American president, after his father returned from his first visit to the US just in time for the baby boy’s
christening. Ken grew up practically alone in a little apartment close to the slum areas of San Fernando.
His father would be away at sea, and his mother would be out at night peddling herself, and asleep during
the day. His parents had violent fights that often ended with his mother all beat up, and she would lock
herself for days inside the small bedroom after her husband had left, only coming out to eat and to lash
out at Ken for her misfortune. When the bruises had gone she would go back to the flesh trade, against
the wishes of the seaman.
One time, Ken’s father came home. Uncharacteristically, he seemed happy. He even apolo-
gized to Ken’s mother, promising her a new start. He bought a used car with all his savings and said they
would spend the rest of their lives together driving. For a few minutes, Ken felt happy too. His father gave
him some money and told him to buy himself some candy at the sari-sari while they inspected the car.
He was about to walk back home—his shorts pockets bulging with all the candy he had
bought from the store—when he heard a loud crashing sound. Shrieks rose into the afternoon air. And
in the distance, he saw the rear of the car his father had just bought. It was no longer parked in front of
their little apartment. A jeepney had rammed into it and sent it crashing into the lamppost a hundred
meters away. Ken dropped the lollipop he had in his hand and ran to the scene, all the while hoping that
his parents were still inside the apartment. As he approached the shattered car, however, he saw the bent
shape of his mother’s corpse hanging through the open passenger door. His father was facedown on the
steering wheel, lifeless as well. And just before he passed out, Ken heard the singing of the pasion in the
distance. It was Holy Week.
He woke up in the public hospital the next day. A neighbor had brought him and left him
there, not knowing what else to do with the boy. He was in a crowded ward. Beside him, another boy
was alone on a heavily stained hospital bed. The boy was very thin. He gathered later from what he’d
heard that the boy’s name was Juan, and that he was being treated for malnourishment and dehydration,
whatever those meant. Ken just assumed that Juan must be dying of hunger. The candy was still in his
pockets, and he fished out some of them to give to Juan. This sealed what was to be a bond of friendship
that would last their whole lives.

“We’ve come a long way from that hospital ward,” Ken said. He attempted a smile.
Juan smiled too. “And it wasn’t the last time we would run away from somewhere, from some
people trying to stop us.”
“It was your idea,” Ken recalled.
“Yeah. It’s always my idea every time.”
“And the look on your face right now tells me you must be planning something new in mind,”
Ken said seriously.
“No,” Juan said. “I am not thinking of anything. At least nothing new. How about you?”
Ken shifted on his seat, obviously caught off-guard. “Well, there’s this thing I’m thinking of
doing.”
“Really,” Juan said. “What?”
“Oh, it’s just something this tourist is asking me to do. Buboy introduced me to him.”
“A tourist?”
“Yup.”
“Well, whatever it is,” said Juan, “be careful. And I hope you’re getting paid enough.” He
fished a fifty from his pocket and placed it on the table. “Buy something to eat with this. I’m going
home.”
Ken was still sitting on the stool, staring at the money, when Juan left the shack. After a few
minutes, he got up, took the money, and placed it in a large milk can almost full of other paper bills of dif-
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ferent denominations. “A twenty here, a fifty there...” he whispered to himself. He replaced the lid tightly
on the can, put it back under the makeshift bed, covered it from view with boxes and old newspapers, and
proceeded to the pantry to eat his cold rice and leftover sardines. As he ate, he pictured in his mind the
little sari-sari he would put up, and thought about the words he would use to convince his friend Juan
to go back to school and earn a degree. He had worked odd jobs here and there, saving what he could,
nursing a little dream he had of putting up a little livelihood and supporting his more ambitious friend
through college. “Someday,” he told himself, “he will finish school and get a good job and he won’t be
bitter anymore, and maybe my store will be bigger by then, and we will build a decent house and spend
our days drinking cold beer, watching our own TV.”
Juan arrived on foot at the house where he lived. He was a gardener and all-around helper for a
businessman, a middle-aged Chinoy who owned a couple of thrift shops and a videoke bar in Angeles City.
The man was kind to him, although he didn’t pay him much. The half-Filipino, half-Chinese guy told him
once that he had a family in Manila, and they chose to stay there because his two teenaged daughters were
in college there. Juan never saw any friend or family visit the man, who was always out anyway, tending to
his businesses. Juan was usually alone with the elderly female house help, who was deaf-mute and strange
and kept to herself in her small room. Juan occupied the adjoining room, which was a little bigger.
Now he lay on the narrow bed, thinking about Ken. He had pitied his friend. He wondered
what Ken would buy with the fifty pesos he had left him; some isaw maybe, he thought. Then his thoughts
shifted to other things, like how much a camera like those he saw on the tourists would cost in the black
market these days.
The Chinoy’s house was not very big. In fact it was simple, just a place for rest and a secure
parking area for the man’s Pajero. Out of respect for his employer, and out of fear that he would be thrown
back out into the streets, or worse, put in jail, Juan never tried to take anything from the house. Besides,
aside from the TV and the DVD player in his master’s room, there was nothing in the house that was of
any value and that could be stolen and sold immediately. Juan assumed his boss had a very big house in
Manila, with lots of valuable items. And this was sort of his apartment. Once or twice the man had come
home with pretty young bargirls. Maybe he and the wife are separated, Juan thought.

Overnight, sleep eluded the two young men. Ken stared into the darkness above his makeshift
bed and imagined his plans coming into fruition. If only he had more savings he could start now, and he
and his friend would be free from the same worries and live with some peace of mind. Maybe they would
even have time and some extra money to have girlfriends. I’m sure Juan will meet a pretty college girl and
she would have friends, he thought with amusement.
In his room, Juan heard the rumbling of the Pajero’s engine in the garage. The boss was home.
The engine died and the jangling of keys at the front door could be heard. A few minutes later, he could
hear the snoring of his master through the wall.
As was his wont whenever he could not sleep, Juan sneaked out through the back door and
went to the garden for a walk. Outside the low fence, a few drunks passed, walking unsteadily under the
streetlamps. Juan envied them a little. How he wanted to be drunk enough to forget about the pain and
suffering he had gone through all his life. He wanted to be drunk forever. He remembered his father.
With an anger he found familiar, he thought to himself, “Is this what you have left me with, father? This
hatred and pain? This longing to be intoxicated enough to forget?” Then he thought of his mother. He
remembered the crumpled one hundred peso bill, which he still had in his wallet today, discolored with
age. “One day,” he thought, “I will find you and give you back your money, mother, to tell you without
even uttering a word that I despise you and I do not need your money.”
Just then, a foreigner passed by outside the fence. He was white, not too tall, a little thin and
lanky, wearing thick glasses. He had a big knapsack. Juan was sure it contained a camera or two, and
other valuable things. The man noticed the stranger watching him and looked at Juan, standing on the
lawn inside the low fence. The foreigner nodded and walked on. Juan stood there, his brain on high gear,
contemplating the consequences of what he was compelled to do. Ignoring logic, he sprang over the fence
and grabbed the tourist from behind, twisting the poor man’s neck so violently it snapped.
Juan looked at the unmoving body prone on the cement. The glasses had flown from the man’s
face and the lenses had shattered on the street. Juan looked around. There was no one else on the street
but him and the stranger. The man appeared to be dead. Panic was beginning to form inside Juan, and
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he fumbled to unlatch the lock of the backpack around the man’s waist quickly, before he could lose his
nerve. He searched for a wallet and money inside the pockets of the tourist’s hiking shorts. He found
several hundreds, five hundreds, and a few one thousand peso bills but no wallet.
Juan ran with his loot through the unoccupied lot beside the Chinoy’s house and jumped over
the fence onto the backyard. He went inside the house through the backdoor and locked himself inside
his room. He dared not flick on the lights. He positioned himself on the bed, close to the window, where
some light from the lamppost was coming through. He opened the backpack and there inside was indeed
a Canon camera with a telephoto lens, along with a little black bag containing two extra lenses of different
lengths, and some CompactFlash memory cards. There were clothes in the pack as well, and a Motorola
Q9 PDA-phone. Juan did not understand any of this stuff, but he knew they were of value. There was an
American passport, which told Juan that the man’s name was Jim Oliver, and he was from a place called
Cincinnati, Ohio. Juan found the man’s wallet containing several credit cards and about a hundred US
Dollars. He also found a driver’s license and several IDs, almost all of them bearing the word PRESS or
MEDIA, in bold letters. The most recent ID told Juan that Jim Oliver was a photojournalist and cor-
respondent of something called the National Geographic Society, which sounded familiar.
Juan took the camera and the other gadgets and wrapped them with some old towels and
placed them under his bed. He stuffed the money—both pesos and dollars—inside an old sneaker, and
put the sneakers under the bed as well. He rolled up the empty backpack and put it inside a big old paper
bag, then the clothes he folded and put in his cabinet, covering them carefully with his own garments. The
IDs he slid under the cabinet. He planned to burn everything except the gadgets and the money when he
got the chance. Then he lay on the bed, as still as he could, and stayed awake, listening to the sound from
the street. Noises began to form after a while; the body had been discovered, and Juan’s heart sank as he
realized that he was hoping that the tourist would live, but now his earlier suspicion that he had murdered
him was confirmed. The lights and sounds of a police car presented themselves, and very soon, Juan had
no doubt that the street outside the Chinoy’s house was crawling with people.
It was almost 4:00 AM when Juan decided he could no longer stick around to find out what
would happen next. He opened the cabinet and found his old bag, big enough for most of his stuff plus
the things he had taken from the dead man. He took first the stolen things, including the rolled-up knap-
sack, and put them inside his bag, then covered them with his own stuff. He zipped it closed and walked
out of his room, the heavy bag strung over his broad shoulder. It was still very dark, but he knew that very
soon the sun would show. Hurriedly, he snuck out of the backdoor, half-ran to the rarely used back gate,
and tried his best to leave through it quietly. He could not risk jumping over the low fence again because
of the police presence in the area. He had to stay low and quiet.
Juan let out a sigh of relief when he realized that the small street at the back of the house was
deserted, in contrast with the hubbub now happening in the front. He was able to disappear in the dark-
ness without anyone noticing him.

Four days later, on Good Friday, Juan appeared at the door of Ken’s house. There was a thick,
rusty chain with a padlock on it. Juan wondered where his friend could be. He did not usually lock the
little shack.
Juan was tired, dirty and hungry. He had spent the last four days hiding in an abandoned
building, hardly getting any sleep at all. He was able to sell the camera and lenses at the black market, the
cellphone too, and even had the dollar bills exchanged. He had left his bag in the abandoned building to
avoid suspicion. But on him right now, he had about forty thousand pesos including all the cash he had
killed a human being for. He planned to give them to Ken, remembering how his friend used to tell him
about putting up a little store.
He sat on a dirty plastic chair outside the shack. A teenage boy found him there.
“Are you looking for Ken?” the boy asked.
“Yes, do you know where he is?” Juan recognized the boy as Buboy’s younger brother.
“He’s with kuya Buboy. He’s pretending to be a magdarame. He’s going to be nailed to a cross
later, in Cutud.”
“What?” Juan asked. “Buboy is going to be nailed to a cross?” He knew Buboy; he was a con-
man and petty thief.
The boy laughed. “No, not my brother. Ken! I think a tourist is paying him a lot of money
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to do it. The white man is going to take his pictures.”
Juan was tired, sleepy, and very hungry. But the boy’s words were like a gong that brought him
suddenly to his feet. “Where are they now?” he asked the boy.
“I don’t know, probably on the street carrying that cross, or drinking somewhere.”
Juan left quickly. He figured that Ken must be drinking right now. He had to be; he was never
that tough. He needed a lot of alcohol for him to carry out something like this. Juan thought that his
friend might be at the old tambayan, the sari-sari on the next block where he and Ken used to drink with
Buboy and his cohorts.
Juan’s steps were quick. He was walking in the direction of the tambayan when he heard a
voice say loudly, “That’s him! That’s Juan Sandoval!” He turned to see the boy, Buboy’s younger brother,
pointing at him. And beside him were two policemen in uniform, and they had spotted Juan.
Juan instantly knew he was in trouble, and he ran like mad, away from the boy and the two
uniforms. The policemen called to him and gave chase. He jumped into a very narrow alley and kept on
running, the two policemen tailing him.
The more senior cop got on his radio and called for reinforcement. The younger, more ideal-
istic one was quicker on his feet, and a tad more reckless.
Juan was too tired to keep this up. They had been running for what seemed like a very long
time, and adrenaline was running low. In his desperation, he thought of losing the policemen in a crowd,
and on this day, there was no other place in San Fernando with a bigger crowd than the area called Cutud.
As luck would have it, he was almost there.
The older policeman could not go on. He stopped to catch his breath. He went back to his
radio to give instructions to other policemen in the area. There was quite a number of them at that mo-
ment in Cutud, helping with the traffic and safety.
The younger cop was not even tired. But he was furious. How dare this guy make him run this
far and this fast! And he killed a tourist in his city! And not just an ordinary tourist, but a photojournalist,
an international media man!
The young man drew his gun, a standard issue .45, and watched with growing anger and frus-
tration as Juan disappeared into the crowd gathered to watch flagellants being nailed to the cross.

Ken was very drunk. But one thing about him, he could be totally intoxicated and it wouldn’t
show. His eyes never became droopy, his skin never flushed, and his gait was always straight. He would
only give himself away if he spoke, and being nailed to a wooden cross did not require this of him. The
thick rope around his arms, waist, legs and feet that fastened him to the cross burned through his skin, but
he could hardly feel it. Neither did he feel much pain as the spikes were hammered through his palms and
into the wood. In his inebriated brain he had flashes of his dream business and the life he and his good
friend—his best friend in the world!—were going to have as soon as he got paid for this – his sacrifice. His
eyes were blinded by the sun as he lay on the cross on the ground, his hands being nailed. He closed his
eyes and drowned out the sound with his imagination of good things that were sure to come.

The young policeman looked around at all the people, trying to make out the figure of the man
he was set to take to jail or shoot if the need ever arose. The people were all too busy watching the men
being nailed to their wooden crosses that no one noticed the gun in the policeman’s hand.

Ken felt the cross being moved, being erected. He opened his eyes. He saw the skies quickly
darkening, foreboding rain. For every inch the cross was raised to an upright position, he felt the pain
beginning to shoot from his nailed hands and feet as pressure began to mount. The ropes that bore the
brunt of his weight tore at his skin, and there was more pain. But he kept his silence, merely moaning
softly now and then. At last the cross was upright, held in position by ropes, cement weights and braces.
He was blinded by flashing lights from cameras in all directions, and he could hear people talking loudly,
some whimpering, others praying. Thunder roared from above. A few more minutes passed. They might
as well have been hours for Ken. The sound of people around him began to fade, even the thunder. He
seemed to be going deaf. His eyes blurred until he could no longer see the sea of humanity around him.
The pain from all over his body strangely began to feel comfortable. He closed his unseeing eyes as the
rain slowly began to fall.
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The policeman felt a strong hand grab his wrist from behind. He fought the action, and in a
split second, he was fighting Juan for the gun. The two tried to overpower the other, all the time trying to
wrestle for the .45. Juan’s hands were rough, his grip very strong, and he was close to pointing the gun at
the young officer. But the policeman remembered his training. In another second he had used his right
knee to apply pain between Juan’s legs. Juan’s legs buckled. The sudden movement caught the attention
of some of the people around them. Someone gave out a scream, and panic followed.
As the two wrestled for control of the deadly weapon, everyone ducked for cover away from
them. Other policemen were already running towards the two adversaries, but none of them was really
close. Juan was kneeling on the ground now being turned into mud by the slowly worsening rain. But he
was still holding on to the policeman’s hands around the pistol.

Ken opened his eyes, and he could see again, as if the rain on his face had cleared his vision
and somewhat awakened his mind. He saw very close to the foot of the cross two men. One was wearing
something blue, and he was standing, holding something black that was also being held by another man
who was kneeling on the ground. He recognized the kneeling man. It was his friend—his best friend in
all the world!—and he was there, kneeling, praying for him, joining him in this sacrifice!

Juan’s eyes wandered for a fleeting instant to the man high up on the cross. The rain stung
his eyes and in the blur he realized he was looking at Christ. Juan took his eyes off the man on the cross,
focusing on the fight for his life. His energy was failing, and there was something in the young policeman’s
eyes that told him he would never allow Juan to see the inside of a jail cell. The cop was intent on killing
him.
But Juan would not be denied salvation. He decided that if he was about to die, it wouldn’t be
so bad to have the face of Christ as the last thing he ever saw on this earth. Perhaps for the first and last
time in his life, he would believe in and ask for forgiveness from the Son of God. And so, he turned his
gaze slowly at the man on the cross.

Ken could not feel anything. But he could still see, and he saw his friend Juan turn to him and
stare into his eyes. In his ebbing consciousness he felt happy, and managed with all his strength to smile at
Juan below him. It was the last he would see his friend. And it was the last thing he would ever see. His
smile, his stare, seemed frozen as the life inside him faded.
Juan saw Ken smile. Recognition dawned. He could not believe his rain-stung eyes. No, it
could not be... not his friend, not his best friend!
“No,” Juan whispered in disbelief as he stared at his dead friend looking down at him, and
loosened his grip on the policeman’s hands around the gun.
The rain suddenly stopped. And the sound of the bullet echoed in the air.
Juan fell in an awkward position on the ground, looking up at the sky. The bullet had gone
through his chest. With his remaining strength, he turned his gaze slowly to the man on the cross. In his
delirious state, he saw nothing but light, but slowly, just seconds before life left him, he saw Ken’s face on
the cross, and Juan smiled weakly. If he could only still speak, he would have whispered: “Kristo.”q

70
 Pro-life essays
H ealth is wealth, just like life is vital to existence. Life is the reason for living no matter what kind of
life we lead. Even the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich have the right to life. Everyone
has his/her own way of struggling to survive especially nowadays when life itself is infirm because of emo-
tional and mental disabilities and insecurities due to old age or crippling illnesses.
One dominating factor for staying alive and kicking is being happy and leading a clean life,
setting aside vices that may cause our lives to deteriorate. Vices lead to less sleep, which contributes greatly
to being unstable, irritable and being too weak to sustain the day’s work, especially for workaholics.
Being happy despite our problems is a special favor to oneself, to us and to everyone, a trait
that no one can take away from you. Happiness and contentment can prolong life itself because you are
free from sustaining mental force intensified by tensions. Be contented with what you have for the day and
think lightly of tomorrow. Never regret the bad things that happened because these serve as lessons.
Nowadays, what we take into our body is not always healthful. Street foods are everywhere.
We crave junk foods that prove very bad or disastrous to our health. Carcinogens are a deadly intake
that can cause death. It is really better to eat at home where our parents can monitor the kind of proper
foods we take in. The best thing is to raise our own poultry products, vegetables and fruits. Those we
buy outside are no longer pure. Even shellfish and fish are being raised elsewhere. Life is under threat
these days. We should be aware of where we buy our food. Food poisoning is rampant in eateries that are
considered less expensive.
Being cautious means better safe than sorry for you in the long run. There are a lot of factors
why our health is at stake that may lead to death. Illness is one. We are very irresponsible in taking care
of our health. We always take for granted the possibility of getting sick or acquiring illnesses as long as
we give to ourselves what our bodies crave, despite the consequences. Before it’s too late, we ought to be
aware of ourselves and our environment.
Next to awareness of our own health, we cannot ignore the fact that responsibility to our
personal safety is also a necessity for pro-life. Accidents are also all over the news. Let us be vigilant for
our safety. Let’s stay away from alcohol or drug-related activities. Once we indulge ourselves in drugs,
we are already sure of the pit we are going to be buried sooner or later. Not only do we prove disastrous
to ourselves, but we can also be life-threatening to other people and to the environment. Drugs lead to
a big death toll in the world. Even just a drug-runner can lead to wasting our life once we are put to jail
serving a life sentence.
In accidents, we have to comply with the rules and regulations. There are a lot of factors why
accidents happen. Riding motorcycles without helmets, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
disregarding street signs, lack of sleep and so on. These are responsibilities that we take for granted. Let
us take the responsibilities of taking care of our life as well as the life of others.
I personally take a stand for pro-life because life is a God-given gift that was given to me by my
biological parents. I should preserve this until God himself takes it away from me. I don’t just practice this
preservation of life on myself but I want to share this to others also, by way of doing it to my house and to
my friends and schoolmates. Actually, preserving life is an easy thing. Just live normally, lead a clean life,
no vices at all. There should be awareness, personal responsibility, and responsibility towards others. There
should also be concern and caring because without that, we cannot reach out and relate to other people.
There should be an involvement not only physically but emotionally as well as spiritually.
Life is important because we have to exist. We are the living model of our Creator. We have to
shape our earthly existence in a pattern of being useful to others by way of sharing, having healthy concern
and care, awareness and responsibility. Let us help preserve LIFE. Let us be models, living independently
with human consciousness and contrived manifestation of power and purpose. (Health is wealth by Jef-
frey H. Aldana, BSN 2A)

T he Reproductive Health Bill or the Reproductive Health and Population Act of 2008 has been leg-
islatively proposed to the senate which primarily aims to promote and provide a national policy on
responsible parenthood, informed choice, birth spacing and respect for life in conformity with the human
rights standards.
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Some say it is necessary in order to control population growth which is now composed of mil-
lions of Filipinos as well as for the sake of our limited resources such as our daily need for food, saying we
have no more reasons to argue against the bill. Others claim that it can be of great help to underdeveloped
countries like ours. But there still lies another issue – the moral issue.
Yes, we may say, it may somehow help in controlling the fast growing population but what
about the Divine Law? This bill may allow another room for abortion and to some extent, euthanasia.
The bill promotes the use of contraceptives and different artificial means of birth control which is contrary
to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Progress does not mean that we have to promote these kinds of
immoral policies.
Once this bill is put in order, it may cause different disadvantages such as letting pre-marital
sex be prevalent. It may somehow push people especially the youth to do something without thinking of
the consequences of their wrongdoings.
Not to mention the other disadvantages that it may cause. Indeed, House Bill 5043 manages
to provide progress for each and everyone but no bill, no law, no act will surpass the law which existed even
before our grandparents were born. Say yes to life! (House Bill No. 5043: A Bane, Not a Boon by Weslee
Dizon, AB Comm 1)

S uch is life and how much this abstract concept of the clever psyche constitutes the totality of the world
that surrounds us. Either you take its origin from the scriptures where God breathed life to mother
earth and its life forms, or take it from Charles Darwin who claims that single-celled organisms evolved
to impervious complexities we now call mankind. Life seems to be the single most important representa-
tion of being. Esse est percipi. Its preservation, therefore, is something that humans in particular must
take good care of; otherwise we would become futile and stagnant examples of higher forms of intelligent
existence.
Generally, life starts with love… and conception. Scientifically, it is the meeting of the male
and female sex cells to reproduce an organism that is the genetic half of the parents. PROCREATION.
In humans, it takes nine months for a new life to be born to the world of people. Such a process—or a
development that conceives a new addition to God’s growing number of children—a newborn is undeni-
ably of utmost sensitivity. Imagine a life—a small unborn human being—nurtured and cared for 275
whole days without the rest within a mother’s womb. Imagine how it develops its little fingers and how it
moves to and fro with its frail instinct for 6600 hours. Now imagine that life form—that unborn—given
as a gift of joy, absolute happiness and balance, to not exist at all. How will it feel if it was your son, your
grandson, your wife, your husband who was unborn? What if it was you?
Sexuality has always been and will always continue to be an issue and a topic of eager debate.
Making love, given its pre-assigned design from the times of long ago, was invented for the formation of
life-to-be. As the excerpt says, “Go forth and multiply.” Yet man has neglected its entirety purpose and
used it as a tool for supreme pleasure. Yes, the satisfaction from sex is undeniable, and human ingenuity
took a step too far through the invention of contraception. Through methodic control of hormones that
the body produces, man is able to mimic an internal environment that ceases the process of fertilization.
With the simple method of using an artificial barrier of medically treated plastic called condom, the
meeting of sex cells is prevented. With this, nothing exists. Still, legality differs from morality. Educa-
tion is supposed to be good and beneficial. Yet, why does sexual education, or more likely contraceptive
education, become destructive? It is comparable to handing a knife to children. It becomes a possibility
that people and children without proper thought will not understand its use and abuse it more. DENIAL
OF RIGHTS TO THE UNBORN. Humans are but caretakers of life. Though we are given the most of
inalienable freedom to do what we will, it doesn’t include the rights to deny that unborn child of his right
to live and exist. Denying life is denying somebody his future, his dreams to be, his ambitions and his pos-
sible contributions to the world that is filled with abominations brought about by our cunning perception
and misunderstanding of liberty. Together with our command over everything else in the cosmos, we are
given the responsibility to stand by God’s side in saving and making lives worth being.
Murder is the merciless annihilation of a life, that in the process you destroy a person, everyone
around him and yourself. With murder, you destroy aspirations. With murder, you create scars of time
that people cannot heal because of such a ruthless act. With murder, you destroy yourself by cutting your
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last ties from God, from Allah, from the Almighty. Abortion is killing a child pre-conception. Abortion
is murder. Contraception is indirect abortion. With all that is said and done, contraception is murder.
Can you, by a simple stroke of invention, kill? Can you refute a life in exchange for simple pleasure? Yes,
overpopulation is fast becoming a major factor of the lessening degree of existence’s quality. In spite of
everything, it doesn’t become an excuse for mass murder. Population control is also achievable through
instilling open value systems to the people. Boosting human responsibility won’t cost anybody something
but effort. Establishing morals shall require constant overlooking, but this fragile core shall be a better
means than death, but has a same end that can be met. The excuse of repudiating life to someone who
could have deserved it is human err of sloth – the same sloth that makes people stagnant to acting better
and being increasingly moral. It dampens human reasoning and feeds on human nature of looking for
easier pathways. Humanity’s blunder is a glitch on human anima that, to a certain extent, must be cor-
rected.
Life is like a box of chocolates. You’ll never what you might pick. You’ll never know what
kind of person will come up if every birth is given a chance. It is similar to a gift box. If you open that
box you might have the biggest surprise of your years. To magnanimous extents, we might be opening
the box of life for the cure of aids, or somebody who will be of utmost impact that will make the world
a better place in the future. Life denied is life equality. Our hands should not be stained with the invin-
cible subsistence of life yet to be, but we should be the progenitors of a society where life is, again, given
importance and the obstacle to retaining an exacting amount of morality and unwavering respect to life.
We cannot neglect our duties to our community. If we stand in unison to encourage life, we then follow
what we should have been in the past. PRESERVERS OF CREATION, RESPONSIBLE CHILDREN
OF GOD, CARETAKERS OF HUMANITY, PROTECTORS OF LIFE. (Living in full existence by
Jerome Castor, Yastro Shinji XIII, BSCpE III-A)

L ife is one of the greatest gifts God has given Mankind. It is a blessing that everyone must be thankful
for. God gave us this wonderful gift for us to take good care of and not to use it in any unnecessary
act that may violate the right of anyone to live.
It is often said that “life is beautiful.” No matter how difficult life is because of the trials and
conflicts we experience today due to so many unsolved issues and economic instability, it is still good to
know that we are alive; that we are still breathing; that we still have our families, friends and significant
others whom we can count blessings. They may seem small, but their.
Life starts when the seed is sown and are of great worth then eventually spouts, when an egg
and a sperm meet, fertilization occurs. Personally, I don’t believe and in any way promote abortion. Abor-
tion is synonymous to death. Abortion is killing innocent lives. It could be beneficial if the mother’s life
is at stake but if it is done solely because of immaturity and irresponsibility, then it is not rightful. It is
stopping an unborn child to live and experience the life that we care enjoying and at the same time strug-
gling for. What if and who knows if that unborn child will be one of the greatest people the world could
have?
God is the one who gives us life and only He has the right to take it back. It is not fair to put
that innocent child’s life to a dead end no matter what your reason is. It is not the choice of that child’ to
be formed in that woman’s womb. How unfortunate it is if that child would be one of the thrown fetuses
is placed in a plastic bag and left inside the church or in a public restroom.
Since no one has the right to get anyone’s life, it is but rightful to live a moral life. If abortion
is death, then euthanasia or mercy killing also means death. Many cases of coma still make it and survive
even for at long span of five years. No one can say that the case is hopeless, not even doctors and specialists.
“While there is life, there is hope.” People get hopeless and tired of fighting for life but the person in coma
“might” still be struggling to survive. There are many possibilities. Chances maybe small and big but we
love to take the risk.
For abolition death penalty is one way of respecting life. It is a fact that justice must be met
and everyone must be treated fairly. Fairness and justice should be given especially to the victims who
were violated of their rights as individuals and citizens of the country, yet “doers” of the inappropriate and
unjust act must also be given justice. Due process of the law must be followed. Many convicted persons in
jails are innocent. Some are imprisoned due to discrimination and unfounded proofs, money and power
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of other people who might have vested interest on that case.
Life, in general is a treasure that must be cherished and protected. It is not a thing that once we
are tired of using it, we could be damp it right away. It is a precious crystal whose value never depreciates,
and can stand the test of time. It is present for as long as there are seeds growing to from trees, animals
breeding to form new ones and people breathing, life is infinity, but if not respected and taken for granted
and worst, violated, that may result to death.
We have and enjoy the gift of life. Sometimes, we live it well and sometimes not. We do things
beneficial for others and on the other hand things that may hurt and inflict pain to others. We live life
differently but no matter how different it may be, as long as you live life meaningfully and respect other
people’s right to live, “life is indeed worth living” and also dying at the right time and purpose. (Rosabel
Y. Madridesjos, BS Psychology IV)

L

ife is a gift from God that we should take good care of. It is considered as the largest school for it
teaches and tests us to become better persons someday. It is to be valued and respected.
It is sad to know that in our time today, many people do not know how to give importance to
the ‘life’ our Creator has given us. There are some who would choose to kill just to save themselves from
shame. Is it abortion I’m talking about? Yes, I’m talking about abortion. Abortion is spreading in our
country nowadays. There are some who would sacrifice the life inside their womb because of personal
reasons. But whatever reason they have, be it for a good cause or not, they still disobey the commandments
of God especially the Fifth Commandment which states, “You shall not kill.”
In our country, there is what we call ‘Pro-Life.’ It is a term representing a variety of perspec-
tives and activist movements in bioethics. It does not support abortion, rather it supports fetal rights. If
in our government there is administration and opposition, pro-life can be considered the opposition of
abortion. The term describes the political and ethical view which maintains that fetuses and embryos
are already human beings and have lives, and therefore the rights to live. We can also that pro-life is the
opposition of practices such as euthanasia, death penalty, human cloning, and research involving human
embryonic stem cells.
Pro-life individuals generally believe that human life is very important and it should be valued
and taken care of until we reach the so-called ‘natural death.’ It is God who has given. We do not have
the right to kill especially new babies who want to live and explore the beautiful creations of God.
As I started another page of this essay, I was thinking of why there are women who abort their
children. Why don’t they give the child a chance to live? Don’t they feel any guilt? Some would say that
they abort their children because they are not yet ready for the responsibilities. Others say that they have
to finish their studies first or maybe because they are scared of their parents or scared of what other people
may say. Others say that they don’t need the baby because the father left or others say that they won’t
give birth to the baby because nadisgrasya lang. But, thinking about these reasons, are they really valid to
kill the life of an innocent human being? For me, no! Whatever it is that is happening to us right now is
based on our actions. We just have to be brave enough and mature enough for our own actions and the
consequences of what we have done. Ginusto mo, panindigan mo. Nobody should suffer from your actions
and if you think you can’t do or face the consequences, better not do the action.
Another thing that pro-life advocates don’t agree to is euthanasia or mercy killing. It is putting
away the life support of a very sick person and is about to die. Personally, I don’t agree to euthanasia either
because that life is a gift from God and just like I always say, God is the only one who can take away the
life he has given us. Life is also sacred, that is why we cannot take it away from an individual.
Nowadays, there is this Reproductive Health Bill which is not supported by the Church. Those
birth control measures are against the law of the Church. Once a couple has done a sexual act and fertility
takes place, we have no right to control the growth of a fetus or embryo because it is already a life.
In my own opinion, I don’t agree to abortion, euthanasia, and other things that could kill an
innocent life or the life of another individual. Why can’t we just wait for God to take away our life rather
than doing immoral actions? Even though our population is growing, it is not still advisable to use birth
control according to the church. We just have to be careful with our actions and know our limits. We are
mature individuals so we know what is right from wrong.
Life is the best teacher ever for it teaches us and makes us realize good from evil. We just have
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to live our life to the fullest and learn from our mistakes and never go down the path of evil. For the real
challenge for us is to live freely and learn to resist evil. (Caitlin Joyce G. Samia, BSN 2A)

G

od gave us the life we have now. Life begins with the union of the egg cell and sperm cell. It will end
when it is already our time to die.
We do not decide when or how we will die. He gave us life and it is our responsibility to take
good care of it. We control our life but we do not control our death.
Life is the most important ingredient in every individual’s personality. Some people abuse
their health and later on will be ill.
Pro-life means anti-killing. In pro-life, we are against suicide and abortion and most probably
murder. The church is also against abortion and suicide because God gave us life and we kill that life he
gave. In the Ten Commandments, “Thou shall not kill.” Abortion is a sin and it is against the Ten Com-
mandments.
There are many cases of suicide nowadays. Sometimes, they commit suicide due to poverty or
conflict with their loved ones. There are many cases of suicide wherein the reason is poverty. There was
this case of suicide which I watched in the news. The mother drank toilet cleaner and she let her children
drink it too. The mother committed suicide together with her children because they were so poor and she
could not provide for her children anymore.
In other countries, abortion is legal but in the Philippines, it is not. But there are still cases
of abortion in our country. A mother commits abortion when she thinks she is not ready to be a mother.
One reason is when they don’t like the father of the baby.
There are many kinds of abortion. In the hospital setting, these are cases when the mother’s
life should be saved and the baby should be aborted because lives are both at risk.
Why does God give life? Life is a cycle. We start breathing then we stop breathing. Our life
starts in the womb and ends in the tomb. Pro-life is particularly about saving a life. The life we have is
very important and it is our responsibility to handle it with care. Life is an important element in a person.
Why do others commit abortion? Do they have a conscience? The people who engage in it don’t think
of a life being murdered.
The Church has been saying that every person has a right to life. Every human born or unborn
is created in the image and likeness of God. We do not have the right to end somebody’s life or even our
own life. Life goes on as we get older and we do not have the right to stop it.
I watched last October about the fetus on a frying pan. I was so upset because the mother
did not do anything to save her child. And there are cases that I have watched in the news that they have
seen a fetus in a heap of garbage. When I watched these, I felt so upset and sorry for the mothers of those
fetuses. They did not have the guts to let their child see the beautiful world that God has created. I feel so
sorry for them because having a son or a daughter, for me, is the best gift that God can give us. It is a life
from you yet you will abort it. As what I’ve said, life is from womb to tomb. We should value our lives.
(Vikkijoan M. Adus, BSN 2A)

I n this era where technology paves the way to new discoveries, more and more people are hooked on
finding alternatives and want to try things which are beyond the usual ones. In less enlightened times,
people were led by the idea of trying new things – things that may result to either positive or negative
consequences.
The issue on the Reproductive Health Bill has been very controversial these past few days.
Many concerned people are trying to fix the issue and want to come up with the best possible solution.
Though I know the intention why the Reproductive Health Bill has been proposed, I am more concerned
about the content of the said proposed bill and what might be the possible effects it may have on us if
passed.
The said bill contains something about contraception and other alternative methods of family
planning, as well as sex education. As I have learned from my Theology 4 (Christian Marriage) subjects,
sex is a sacred gift from God. Yes, it is definitely a sacred gift. Just look in the mirror and there you’ll see
yourself as a great miracle – a miracle that was and is realized through the marriage of your parents. Your
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life serves as the great miracle. Indeed, sex is one of the most precious gifts from God. It results from the
mutual love of the husband and wife for each other. It should only be done by two persons who truly love
each other and are completely mature to be married in order to commit themselves to each other whole-
heartedly. Imagine how our society will be if marriage, which is the foundation of the family, is rooted in
love, responsibility and maturity. Wow, I think this world will be a better place for us. Perhaps everyone
will be constantly aware about the sacredness of lovemaking and there will no more Reproductive Health
Bill to be passed.
However, it is a bitter reality that many people are actively engaging in sex before marriage.
There are those who, at a very young age, are already parents. These concerns are few among the many
problems that our society is facing at present. Our government plays a major role in bringing solutions to
these dilemmas. But the family also plays a very important role. Education starts within the family. Our
parents serve as our first teachers. What you are right now is how you have been shaped by your family,
more importantly your parents. If you have been raised by less responsible parents, then it’s time for you
to build a family of your own which is founded in love and fear of God. Truly, the most powerful and
strongest weapon that parents could give to their children is love. It can make them better individuals.
Love can build and heal what has been broken in our lives.
Perhaps sex education is a good thing. But how will this thing affect our lives? I know sex
education deals with safe sex. Because of the big population our country has right now, many “concerned”
people are finding ways to lessen the constantly increasing number of people in our country. But are these
people really concerned? In the near future, I don’t want to remind my son, “bring your condom every
time” or remind my daughter “have you taken your contraceptive pills?” What I would like to be instilled
in the minds of my children is the sacredness of their body and soul and valuing what have been blessed
to them as well as with other people. I would like them to be disciplined enough and have this mindset
that “unselfish love can wait for the right time.” Right time? Yes, that right time is having sex in the
context of marriage – marriage rooted in love and maturity, a love which is not self-seeking pleasure and
a family centered on God. Let us all be guided by the perfect example of love as “sacrifice.” I believe that
the government can help in educating the parents about family values which will help the parents to raise
disciplined children. Instead of passing this Reproductive Health Bill, why not focus on educating the
family about these very important values. Too idealistic? Impossible to achieve? I don’t think so. Many
hard things have been already done. Maybe, all we need are hearts that are willing to follow suit.
Is the Reproductive Health Bill really the solution to the problem of overpopulation in our
country? Or is it merely trimming the weeds without pulling off the roots, and that sooner, the weeds
will still continue to grow? Even though I am not a medical or nursing student, I am aware of how life is
formed from the union of the egg cell and the sperm cell. I have learned from my Nat. Sci. I subject that
when the two cells unite, a zygote is formed. Artificial contraceptives inhibit the union of the egg cell
and the sperm cell. But some contraceptives deliberately kill the life of a two-day or five-day old zygote.
Some contraceptives enable the inner layer of the uterus to shed off so that the zygote will die. “The state
recognizes the sanctity of family and shall protect and strengthen the family… it shall equally protect the
life of the mother and the life of the unborn.” This is embodied in section 5, 11 and 12 of article II of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Clearly, some contraceptives deny the inherent right of
the zygote to live. And this is a violation of the aforementioned sections of the constitution.
A new life that is created from the union of the egg cell and the sperm cell is God’s opinion
that the world should go on. Let us not be blinded with the problem of over-population. Let us look
“life” in a new and more open-minded perspective. Well, one might say that it is the new generation and
why settle for natural family planning if there’s a new and safer alternative? Well, if you truly respect life,
you will think twice if you should try these alternative contraceptives. The problem of overpopulation is
not because of not having safer sex. It is because of the family and the religious values that have been long
buried. By recovering these values, we might make better changes to build a better place. Instead of look-
ing for abrupt solutions, let us look beyond and search for the right solution. Let us respect the sanctity
of life. Let us not destroy this precious gift that God has given us. Say “YES” to “LIFE.” Live. Initiate.
Make a difference. Be an advocate. Why not start right now? (The Sanctity of Life by Benedict Bagang
BS–Accty 4A)q

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 ‘Friends-friends’ na lang
JV Trinidad

Sometimes, it’s better to be friends than lovers.

W
hile studying Physical Therapy in another university, I had a seatmate who told me about her
dilemma, seeking proper advice from me and her other friends. She had two suitors: one was
nice, simple, and a total gentleman, but he was not really good-looking; the other was hand-
some, drove a fashionable car, but he had the makings of a jerk. My seatmate’s problem was, she was ready
for a relationship, but she didn’t know whom to choose.
Most of us guys sided with Mr. Nice. Most of the girls liked Mr. Handsome but even they
thought he wasn’t really boyfriend material, unless you liked dating the rugged, bad boy type.
After several dates with the two guys—separately, of course—my seatmate told both of them
the same line: “Friends na lang tayo.” Apparently, that line had a very ‘revealing’ effect on the two boys.
Mr. Nice turned out to be not-so-nice. Boy, was he sore about getting dumped. And Mr. Handsome
turned out to be the better sport, but he also quickly turned his pursuits to other girls—the rugged, bad
girl type that better suited his style. My seatmate could only sigh. It took dumping them to see their real
colors.
That seatmate was on my right. Meanwhile, I had a crush on the seatmate I had on my left.
Let’s call her Marcy.
Marcy and I hit it off on our first week together as classmates. We became very good friends.
We would talk for hours about anything at all, from our families to sports to school stuff to whatever, and
we would never get bored. After the Prelims, we had reached what is popularly known as M.U.: Mutual
Understanding, although that acronym might as well be Mutually Undecided, as far as I’m concerned.
And so we became more than ‘just friends,’ did everything together, shared the same sets of
friends, etc.
We had another classmate, a champion swimmer with uncharacteristically perfect skin, chest-
nut hair, and beautiful bluish eyes she probably got from a non-Filipino parent. She was simply lovely to
look at, and a joy to have around. To make the long story short, I wanted her. And the smile she gave me
told me I was in luck.
But one university is not a safe place to keep those kinds of secrets, let alone one classroom, one
section, one favorite cafeteria, etc. And so ultimately, my luck turned. I lost them both. The lucky thing
about it was, they both became my friends still.
But not all of us are that lucky, and those who are that lucky once or twice, might not be all
the time.
The problem is not that we have a hard time getting into relationships. Take a guy who likes a
girl or vice versa, and under favorable circumstances—which aren’t that scarce as far as the dating scene is
concerned—it only takes a little time, a little patience, a date here and there, a good choice of words and
actions, proper grooming, and a relationship could just be right around the corner.
The real problem, however, is maintaining the status quo. From friends to lovers, that’s good,
and it’s easy. But from lovers to friends? You had better be lucky.
Those who have been jaded too many times with Cupid’s broken arrow may lose interest—at
least for the time being—in getting steady with a new love. That is why we are so familiar with the line
“Friends-friends na lang muna.”
And why not? There are obvious differences between being friends and being lovers. And

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 ‘Friends-friends’ na lang
when the jaded side of you really takes over your psyche, you will find how interesting and mutually ad-
vantageous it is to be friends instead of lovers.

For instance, if you are late for a date at the movies, you will find your girlfriend standing there
looking like Atlas just passed on the weight of the world to her shoulders. And she will be totally cold, so
cold and unmoving you might as well be sitting with a statue, and not even the Adam Sandler film you’re
watching can brighten her face. You grab her cold, seemingly lifeless hand, and no matter how tightly
you hold on to it, her fingers are like Jell-O to your touch. She won’t even hold your stupid hand! And
this after you’ve tried to apologize a thousand times about being late because your mother insisted on you
driving her to her dancing class.
But if you’re going to a movie with a friend, she will wait for you, and if you’re half an hour
late, for whatever lame reason, she’ll buy the tickets and the popcorn, find you some seats, and send you a
text message telling you to ring her as soon as you’re outside so she can run and give you your ticket, and
you can laugh together at Adam Sandler being an Iranian soldier who would rather cut hair. She won’t
hold your hand, but she’ll slap you silly while she’s laughing.
If you and your boyfriend have a fight, you’ll ignore his text messages all day. Well, not ex-
actly, you’ll read them anyway. But you won’t reply to them. You’ll be thinking, ‘serves you right, jerk!’
and happily go on watching your favorite soap on TV. When his messages stop coming, you begin to
wonder—with the tiniest pang of paranoia settling in—but you fight the thought, telling yourself, “Hindi
naman niya ko matitiis.” He’s grown tired and weary of sending you apology texts, and his pride is telling
him to give himself a break. So he waits for you to start texting him. But you’ve got lover’s pride too, so
you wait for him to text. He waits. You wait. And wait. The next day you call all your female friends and
start bawling on their shoulders. He hasn’t texted overnight! Where is he?!
Meanwhile, if you and your buddy have an argument, you won’t talk for a while. You won’t
text; you won’t visit. Then, while queuing up for sundae and fries at the local fast food, you remember how
he would pick on your food whenever you ate out together, and you realize that you miss him. And so you
call him and say, “Uy, bati na tayo, libre mo ko sa McDo.” And he goes, “Yoko nga!” but you know he’ll be
there in five minutes, with a smile and a pat on your shoulder to say he’s sorry he kicked your favorite cat.
You know he’ll do it again, but hey, you’re friends, and there’s no pride and prejudice between you.
A few days before her birthday, you spend eternity walking in the mall looking for a gift for
your girlfriend. You find something you know she would love, but it would take all of your money for you
to afford it. You think, what the heck, and you buy it, knowing she loves the brand. Driving home with
your expensive gift on the passenger seat, you run out of gas, and you’ve got nothing left in your pockets
and under the seat but some change, and so you call your elder brother and ask him to please, please drive
over in dad’s car with a few liters of unleaded in a fuel can. And when you get over that predicament and
make it alive to your girlfriend’s birthday bash, you give her your prized gift complete with a kiss and a
“Happy-birthday-baby-I-love-you,” only for her to tell you that Mike—that guy with a Lancer Evolution
she was telling you about who wouldn’t stop bugging her since high school—came over and gave her the
same exact gift! To add insult to the injury, her best friend tells you that your girlfriend likes the color
of Mike’s gift better! And Mike was thoughtful enough to enclose a personalized card! You didn’t have
money left for Hallmark and oh, she also told you once that Mike was a writer and artist, ergo the person-
alized card. You feel a big ‘L’ burning through the skin on your forehead.
Meanwhile, at your friend’s birthday party, you arrive in shorts and sneakers and have a drink
with her dad, and you drunkenly tell her, “Heeyy-py birthday!” and give her a tight hug. She goes, “Gift
ko?!” and you answer, “Lista mo na muna!” She feigns sulking, and you comment on her makeup, “Bat
para kang nasubsob sa harina?” You both laugh and the world keeps on turning. She introduces you to
her new suitor and you give the guy a beer and—while your friend is busy welcoming other guests—you
whisper to him, “Pag niloko mo kaibigan ko, pare, wag ka magpapakita sa barkada.” You smile at him as he
pales.
After eating at your favorite pizza joint, you and your friend drive over to her apartment, where
you pop open a bag of chips, collapse on the familiar couch, and watch the NBA. She offers you a glass
of Coke and you sit together, cheering for the Lakers, talking about other stuff, laughing, and finally, at
around 1 AM you say goodnight and she walks you to your beat-up Kia Pride. When you get home, you
clean up and hit the sack, not a thought on your mind but what time you’ll be meeting the guys tomorrow
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 ‘Friends-friends’ na lang
for basketball practice.
After dining out at a fancy restaurant, you drive your girlfriend home, kiss her goodnight, and
leave. When you get home, you clean up, hit the couch, open a can of Coke, and watch the game until
you fall asleep. Your cell, being on silent mode, does not wake you up. The next day you find about 50
missed calls and 73 text messages, all but a couple are from your girlfriend. She’s fuming mad about why
you did not text her as soon as you got home. Where did you go? Did you even go home? Or were you
out with somebody else? And no amount of explaining will convince her that you had fallen asleep on the
couch with a Coke can balanced on your tummy.

In the dating arena, you have to be sure about what you really want, and what you’re ready for.
Those who are more serious about these things should also wonder about their own level of maturity, their
readiness to take what’s being thrown at them, and their ability to cope with whatever happens.
If you believe you’re ready for a relationship, then by all means, go and grab your slice of the
dating pie. Just be sure you can take it if and when the time comes for a lover to be less than that.
If you’re not ready for that, or if you have been jaded far too many times to be ready for another
heartbreaker far too soon, there’s always another option. What’s that line again? Oh yeah, ‘friends-friends’
na lang muna.q

There is something special in you

Sheryl Sagana

E
ach and every one of us is created with distinctions. There would be times when you feel you’re
futile – someone who isn’t blessed with any talent. You feel so depreciated. It seems that you have
nothing to be proud of – that you are different, very much different from those famous people
around you. There would come a time that you look at yourself at the mirror, taking your time point-
ing out those unpleasant things you have inside you. You may even say, “kawawa naman ako; di ako
pinagpala.” Then you start uttering these things: “I wish I was like her… beautiful, intelligent, talented,
respected… I wish I have those pieces of jewelry… I have that fame… I wish I was loved and cared for
that way… I have those friends… I wish I was blessed with those talents… but sad to say, sorry for me…
I wasn’t blessed with such things.” This is just a usual scenario.
But on the contrary, if you look deeply into yourself, you will see that you are very much mis-
taken – that you are also blessed with talents waiting to be explored and tapped to their fullest potential
for your own advantage; that you just have to learn how to appreciate these talents and you just need that
self-esteem, that confidence to show the world that you have those talents… that you have what others
have… that you’re capable of doing many things.
Be appreciative. Learn to recognize your God-given talents.
Be grateful. Thank God for giving you the things you have right now.
Be confident. Have that self-esteem to stand up and take your place in this world.
Lastly, be a leader. Serve as the pillar that will teach others to be proud of what they have. Lead
the change.q

79
 The artist must create a spark
before he can make a fire, and
before art is born, the artist must
be ready to be consumed by the
fire of his own creation.

Auguste Rodin
Obra
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Previous page:
Ima by Leo Carlo Aguas
Mother & Child by Al-Zen Pauline Hilario
Centerfold & this page:
Pro-life I & II
and Solitude by Lorelie Bamba

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This page:
Pilipinas by Jan Philippe Cortez
Fallen Angel by Lorelie Bamba
Facing page:
Greed by Jan Philippe Cortez
Student’s Life and Memories by
Amarantha 12_08

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 This page:
10th Avenue and Sand & Sky by
Adon Henrik Dizon
Facing page:
Sky flakes and Mhel by Adon
Henrik Dizon
Igid ti baybay by Kevin Abad

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 Guilty parties. Information about some of the people responsible for this.
Melanie Viloria-Briones (Lanie/Mel)
Moderator
A loving wife and doting mother of two, Mela-
nie is currently a professor at the University of
the Assumption School of Arts and Sciences.
She majored in Political Science and earned her
Master’s Degree in Public Administration both
at the UA, and is currently taking up Doctor of
Education, Major in Educational Management
at Bulacan State University. In 2002, Mel was
part of the original group of individuals who
revived the Regina from the ashes of its first and
only university ban after the release of its most
radical and controversial issue two years earlier.
Mel plays volleyball and table tennis, and loves
picnics. The Regina editors and staff consider
her not only as their supportive moderator,
but as their good and respected friend, as well.
“She will push you to the limits of your talents
and intelligence, and sometimes your patience.
But at the end of the day, she will support and
boost your confidence the way no other friend
can.” - JV
John Vincent T. Trinidad (John/Vince/Vin-
cent/JV) AB Comm. IV
Editor in Chief/Design Director
John is a former Physical Therapy student,
rock band vocalist, and associate editor of his
first campus paper. For a few years he was the
advertising and corporate communications
head in an automotive conglomerate. He also
recently dabbled in writing and producing TV
programs. JV is, before anything else, a writer.
Next to that, he is an editor, digital graphic
artist, voice talent, event organizer, car test
driver and reviewer, and multi-awarded short
film writer, producer and director. His writing
influences include Stephen King and F. Sionil
Jose, who authored JV’s favorite anthology of
books, the Rosales saga. An all-around sports
guy, JV is a Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and
Kimi Raikkonen fan. His favorite films include
No Country for Old Men, the Lord of the Rings
trilogy, The Big Hit, and A River Runs Through
It. He lives by the dictum “When all is said and
done, only God will judge me.”
Bryan G. Ocampo (Bry) AB Comm. IV
Associate Editor
Bry knows not the word quit, and so he de-
scribes himself as the man of dreams. He is
an avid fan of Harry Potter and fantasizes
about having pet dinosaurs. His favorite film
is Homerun (a Chinese film), and is also fond
of watching anime like Ghost Fighter, Cooking
Master Boy, Digimon and Pokemon. He fol-
lows American Idol, Iron Chef, and the original
Survivor series. A former lector and an active
choir member in their parish, Bry listens to
various types of music but loves Air Supply hits
the most. Active and multifaceted, Bry is the
president of the UA’s Mass Communications
Student Association (MCSA), and is the 2008
Mis-en-Scene Film Festival recipient of Most
Promising Student and UA’s Merit for Journal-
istic Contribution. He was also awarded Best
Actor for Cine-Ikli in 2006. He directed the
theatrical play Traje de Boda. Behind all the
theater and journalistic exposure, Bry actually
dreams of becoming a famous chef. He be-
lieves that a true winner never quits; he might
cry sometimes but he’ll never stop trying. “He
makes my job easier. Bry is the kind of guy you
always want to tandem with when it comes to
work like this. He’s funny, intelligent, talented
and effective.” - JV
Luz Nathasha Korionoff (Luz/Lucci) BSN
Managing Editor
Soft-spoken and sometimes very silent, Lucci
prefers to observe from the shadows. A Nursing
student, she is next in line for the position of
Editor in Chief, a challenge that will not be easy
but which she is ready to accept. Lucci is also a
short story writer and a fan of love stories.
Nielsen S. Ocampo (Sen) AB Comm. II
News Editor
A consistent recipient of leadership, academic,
journalistic, religious, and socio-civic awards,
Sen is the current gold medalist for news writ-
ing at the regional ATSPAR III. He dabbles in
graphics and is also a popular events host. Sen
was a school paper editor back in high school.
He is one of the most prolific straight news
writers of the Regina.
Joseph Lawrence T. Manansala (Law)
AB Comm. IV
Circulation Manager
A former Economics student, Law is the
Regina’s party guy. He loves movies, espe-
cially those of a military nature. He spends
his downtimes at home on DVD marathons
alone or with friends. Law is a perennial bar
hopper and road tripper. Naturally happy-go-
lucky, Law says that his present course at the
UA has given him a much needed direction.
His favorite quote: “A man’s character is the
reality of himself; his reputation, the opinion
others have formed about him; character resides
in him, reputation in other people; that is the
substance, this is the shadow.”
Paul Kyrby V. Balingit (Ky/Stra)
AB Comm. III
Assistant Circulation Manager
Given the opportunity, Ky would ban all kinds
of food except noodles, his uber favorite. A
budding fictionist and poet, Ky is a fan of the
films Stardust, The Lord of the Rings, and The
Butterfly Effect. He listens to A7X, Guns N
Roses, and The Mars Volta. He likes the Power
Rangers, cars, cartoons, and sports. Ky lives by
the adage “If you want something done right,
do it yourself.”
Rae Louis S. Maglaqui (Rae/Louie)
AB Comm. III
Assistant Circulation Manager
Rae is a consistent Dean’s Lister and a lover
of books. His favorites are The Notebook by
Nicholas Sparks, John Bellairs’s The Curse of the
Blue Figurine, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s
classic The Little Prince. Rae has two dogs,
Cruella De Ville and Chocolate. He quotes, “I
would rather be a swineherd and be understood
by the swine, than be a poet and be misunder-
stood by men.”
Adon Henrik L. Dizon (Adon)
AB Comm. III
Photo Editor
Adon is not a talker; he is a doer. Silent and
sometimes shy, he nonetheless loves singing
Rico Blanco songs. He plays the guitar, flute,
piano, and drums. But everyone knows that his
premier fascination is photography. “I capture
everything that catches my attention,” he says,
and he does. Simple and unassuming, Adon’s
favorite dish is tortang talong. He loves Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle’s original creation Sher-
lock Holmes, and Absolute Boyfriend manga.
His preferred films are Moon Child and Last
Quarter but he is a heavy enthusiast of anime
and a Gundam fan. He has the coolest quote
you will ever see on this page: “The sun doesn’t
rise at 2:00 AM.” What that means, we don’t
exactly know.
Kriselle Jhean Navarro (Sey-Sey)
AB Comm. IV
Senior Correspondent
According to her, she was named after the talk
show host Kris Aquino which explains her be-
ing talkative and tactless. Sey loves Winnie the
Pooh, Paris Hilton, the books of Jessica Za-
fra and Dan Brown, the Reader’s Digest, chick
flicks, and Steven Spielberg films. She is active
in hosting events, radio announcing or DJ-ing,
and writing. She won 2nd place nationwide
SPAM, 1st place ATSPAR III, and 7th place
Luzon-wide, all in feature writing, and 2nd
place Pa-psych Laban Quiz Bee. She professes
loving orange cats, rodents and hamsters. She
believes that nothing is impossible if there is
determination.
Samboy Musngi (Samboy) BSN
Correspondent
Samboy is the recognized sports writer of the
paper. A Nursing student, he believes in the
diligence required to fulfill his dreams and in-
spire the sick he will take care of and help heal
in the future. Aside from sports like basketball,
Samboy loves watching anime and sentai, and
can spend hours viewing music videos. His fa-
vorite reads are graphic novels such as Pol Med-
ina Jr.’s Pugad Baboy series, and Manix Abrera’s
Kikomachinemix. A sports fanatic through and
through, his motto is Dwyane Wade’s “Fall
seven times, stand up eight.”
Kevin Tuazon (Chucks/Kebon)
AB Comm. I
Correspondent
God-fearing, Church-serving Chucks is a choir
singer. He plays lead guard in basketball, and is
an Airsoft devotee. He is a recipient of MCSA’s
Most Promising Student Award and was a
Boy Scout of the Year in high school. He is
guided by the words, “You over fear; not fear
over you.”
Kevin Abad (Keb/Badong/Abdone/Abdul/
Abdullah/Abad) AB Comm. I
Correspondent
Perhaps the quickest to receive a new nick-
name every time among all staff members in
the history of the Regina, Abdone is the paper’s
resident funnyman. He is good with the lens
and quick with his jokes. A Johnny Depp fan,
his work as a theater director and actor in high
school won him the admiration of many. He
also plays the piano and guitar, sings, dances,
and does stand up comedy. Abdone is a gold-
winning Taekwondo welterweight. He says,
“That’s life. What more can you ask for?”
Michael Angelo Calupe (Milo)
AB Comm. II
Artist
Milo is a basketball player first, and an artist
second. He has the most difficult hobby of all:
watching people.
Sean Aurelio C. Garcia III (Sean/Ainse)
Artist
Pasta-loving, DOTA-playing, self-professed
‘weird’ artist Sean is one of the Regina’s young-
est members. He considers Scrabble his sport,
and himself as sophisticated in etiquette. A UA
student since high school, he believes in the
quote, “Never underestimate anyone; if you
have nothing good to say, just shut up!”
Mark Joshua C. Lansangan (Josh/Butand-
ing/Butad/MJ/Adik/Lambotido)
AB Comm. I
Correspondent
The story behind Lambotido’s nickname is one
for the record books of funny anecdotes, but
it is also a well-kept personal joke. Josh plays
the bass, reads books like Dave Pelzer’s A Child
Called It, and has a dog named Tiger. A self-
confessed former online game addict (he coined
the term CABALbalan), he also plays basketball
and chess. His favorite films are Forrest Gump
and The Devil’s Advocate.
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Read. But don’t just stop there.

Pluma