February 10, 2020

Position Paper about Sellers Making Advantages to Buyers in Times of Calamities

By Wilca Nicole D. Villaluz

During a time of crisis, should merchants raise or maintain prices when demand increases

for essential products? Due to the influence of social media, a new alternative is emerging: Why

not lower prices during these critical times? Nowadays, most of the sellers take advantage of the

situation by increasing the prices of the things needed in a certain calamity. Mostly because

buyers will be left with no choice, but to buy what they need in order to ensure their health and

safety.

This 2020, there is a sudden eruption of Taal Volcano, and Philippines confirmed its first

case of the 2019-nCOV (Novel Coronavirus). A little hours after, the sellers or the retailers

increased the price of surgical masks, disinfectants, and other masks used for filtration to take

advantage of the calamity, because it is highly needed. Strong demand allowed some stores to

sell face masks by triple or even more. Most of the Filipinos, especially those who are working

in public, and living in the street or beggars, will need to wear a mask, for they are the most

prone to virus because of too much exposure. But instead of helping their own fellow

countrymen, they tend to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit, without minding

the fact that there are those who would not be able to afford their necessities. In contrary with

their actions, the Department of Trade and Industry conducted monitoring of supply and prices

of face masks, alcohol and other medical supplies as demand for these products continue to surge

due to the public’s fear of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez advised

retailers of face masks and disinfectants against taking advantage of the novel coronavirus scare

and increasing prices, as consumers flock to stores amid the threat of the virus. He then said that

the prices should not increase if the manufacturing cost of the product remained the same. Those

found to have unreasonably increased their prices for gas masks, face masks and other similar

items, which act is tantamount to profiteering, shall be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.
The Department of Trade and Industry then stated that they will not hesitate to file administrative

and criminal charges against unscrupulous business entities and individuals who capitalize on the

consumers’ urgent need for their own profit. Therefore, prices of manufactured basic necessities

and prime commodities shall likewise remain unchanged as of the published September 30,

2019.

We should all realize that during a calamity is not the time to try to get rich, but rather the

time to assist your fellow countrymen. Because the glaring downside of this situation is its

unfairly discrimination against lower-income people, who are less able to afford higher prices.

Our world doesn’t revolve around money, it is more fulfilling to be of help than to cause

someone’s desperation and misery. Choosing to take advantage for your own benefit instead of

helping them in times of calamities is not an accomplishment at all.

 February 10, 2020

A Position Paper about Drug Testing on High School and College Students

By Nino Hiro Kondo

Addiction is a horrible reality that many people suffer and deal with on a daily basis. Not

many people understand the dynamic dysfunction that addiction to a drug like heroin, can be in

someone's life. The public image of what a heroin addict looks like and who they are has

changed. No longer can they be described as ragged and homeless. Now the heroin addict is our

neighbor, that friend from school, the girl that works at Walmart. How do we, as a society,

address such a powerful and prevalent social issue?

Drug testing is a way to evaluate the type and the possibly the amount of legal and

especially for illegal drugs substances taken by a person. Drug testing can be performed from

small samples taken of your fingernails, saliva, or more commonly, your blood, urine, or hair.

Almost 10 percent of the nation’s teens report the use of illicit drugs within the last month. The

drug testing in high school and college students is an important and ultimately one of the best

solution made by the government officials to reduce and stop the increasing amount of young

drug users in schools, universities, and state colleges. Schools have made the policy of random

drug testing on students to serves as a warning to not get into peer pressure. One of the best ways

that we can hope to address this increase in heroin addiction is to start with education for those

who have not as yet been exposed to this deadly drug. In regards to those already addicted, we all

we should work on passing legislation to recognize people that are found using these illegal

drugs to not be treated as criminals. Addiction is a sickness and few understand its underlying

mechanisms. As such, we should treat it as a national health epidemic and not a criminal one. At

the heart of many addictions is a dysfunction in the family unit, or the trappings of poverty. In

any case it is the societal environs that allow for addictions to rob our people of their own lives.

It should be labeled as societal and health related, not criminal. Drug testing in school has

resulted in accurate, powerful, and a positive outcome in attempting to reduce the amount of

young drug users in school. The purpose of drug testing is not to catch whose using an illegal

drugs, but to prevent them from using it in the first place. Surely, there should be action taken to
punish those criminals. The current method to attack drugs is at the source, by imprisoning

dealers and breaking the supply chain are not so succeeding. Why drug testing is so important

and necessary to be implemented, because it is important to protect teenagers at the age were

they’re easily get influenced by the peers and at the time when their attitude to education greatly

affects their entire lives.

Some sacrifice of human rights is necessary to eliminate the drug problem. Drug testing

is a simple mechanism for examining the human body because there is a multiple options of

detecting it by supplying urine, hair, or simply a breath. These small sample helps to detect the

common drugs like methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin. Also, if you know that you are not

breaking the law then there’s nothing to fear of. Addiction is like a dark passenger in someone's

soul, another person hiding just below the surface. Someone that you have no control over. When

that craving hits them, they're no longer the same person. The dark passenger has taken over.

These powerful drugs can permanently alter a person's brain chemistry. That's why many

recovering addicts that have been clean for decades admit that you're never cured. You only learn

to cope and manage it. That dark passenger will ride with you for the rest of your life. The best

option is to never even try it.

 February 10, 2020

A Position Paper about Death Penalty

By Teejay Dimaclid

Dating back to imperial times, the merits of the death penalty has been a regularly argued

topic. Since then, the progressive general opinion has been in opposition of capital punishment.

More specifically, within the US, the number of supporters have dropped from 80% to 64% since

1999. That is a very drastic change of the public opinion. However, it will not seem as shocking

once properly informed about why so much has changed.

There are many times when such heinous crimes are committed, and it seems as though

no punishment other than the death penalty is appropriate. However, over the years it has

become clear that this kind of capital punishment is too irreversible to be taken lightly. More

countries around the world are progressing in the direction of banishing the death penalty. All,

but one, of the countries in Europe have successfully halted the death penalty. Which in fact is a

very hard task to accomplish. Even countries in Central Asia like China, who have such

enormous numbers of executions, have been declining drastically in the past decade. Another

issue facing the death penalty is the new rising rates of exoneration within the US. Many people

previously convicted of serious crimes and sentenced to death are now being exonerated due to

new appearing evidence. It seems as though the US justice system is too flawed to make such

serious judgement about someone. Finally, the methods as to how the executions are carried out

are unethical and inhumane. The people who administer the lethal injections to death row

inmates have little to no medical experience. Mostly because doctors refuse to violate their oath

to "do no harm." Also, because nearly all the countries in Europe have banished the death

penalty, they refuse to sell lethal injections to anyone if they are being used to execute people.

This has caused the US to start experimenting with their own concoction of chemicals to create a

lethal serum. Most of the drugs they come up with are untested and cause a torturous, extended

deaths. Because of this, people are starting to debate the constitutionality of the death penalty.

The public opinion is still in favor of capital punishment, even as it's on the decline. For families

of victims, there is no punishment other than the death penalty suitable for their crime. Without
this, there would be no way for the death row inmates to atone for what they've done as well as

there being no proper justice for the families of the victims. Additionally, some government

officials have argued the fact that the death penalty serves as a deterrent for "would-be"

murderers. All who would commit murders but don't in fear of execution. This claim is based

purely on the assumption that the death penalty is the only effective form of punishment in the

United States. For starters, the families of the victims associated with the death row inmates are

entitled to closure and justice. However, the death penalty is not the only punishment suitable. I

believe there should be governmental reform stating that all inmates sentenced to death are to be

stripped of all basic rights and forced to live in solitary confinement for the remainder of their

life rather than executing them. That kind of punishment is much more harsh and will in a way

force them to repent their actions. This will also tie into the fact that capital punishment is not the

only successful deterrent for "would-be" murderers. I think that my specific ideas of

governmental reform would serve as a much better deterrent than the death penalty.

In the end, we will have managed to save ourselves from the fact of executing someone.

Regardless of their actions, all life is precious and it isn't us who should be allowed to decide if

they live or die. The opportunity to undo punishment, keeping in mind the amount of exonerated

cases, will be entirely present. We will have ended funding towards the development of lethal

injections. As well as being able to join the world in its movement towards a more humane and

ethical form of punishment.