LISA by Leandra Lee Lopez

As years passed by, my sister was the talk of the town. I didn't know what to feel or act at all. Whispers are the source of sound that I would constantly hear. Nobody wanted to be friends with me. I am a loner, it's depressing to say the least but I'll manage. It's my last year in high school then hopefully I can leave this place for good.

Science class is my least favorite subject and basically, it sucks because nobody wanted to help me so I have to deal with this all on my own. Until, a tall looking guy sat beside me and offered to help. It shocked me to my bones because it has been years since someone payed attention to me. "Hey, I'm Martin. I've noticed that you have a hard time with the subject matter. I'm just wondering if you wanted any help?" The answer is yes, why not? Someone wanted to be friends with me and maybe, just maybe... I can finally find happiness and friendship. Martin is nice, cute and really down to earth. It's sad to know that he'll leave one day, but I'm going to treasure the days that I have left with him. I'm going to make the most out of it. Every day, Martin visits me every after class. He walks with me to my locker and talks about how my day went and sometimes he cracks jokes that mostly does not really make a lot of sense at all. People would always glance at us and even give Martin looks as if questioning why he's even hanging out with me. Well, he never really cared about them. He says that they are just jealous because they can never have a cool and beautiful friend like me. I'm getting attached, I'm not gonna lie. 

It's been a while since I've thought about my sister and it's making me feel a tad guilty because I haven't visited her since Martin came. The death of my sister, Monnalisa was a shock to the town. Basically, my sister was a Golden girl. Everyone adored her; girls envy her. Monnalisa was the type of girl whom every teacher loved. She was beautiful inside and out. She never really had a problem with anyone, but then one day she just disappeared. Everyone was looking for her. My mom, my dad, her friends... everyone. Until someone tipped the police anonymously that her body was seen afloat the Riverside lake. Nobody knew what really happened to her. But according to the forensics investigation she was raped and then tossed her out of the lake.

We never found her justice. There wasn't any suspect or witness. Nor were there evidences. However, there was always a red rose on her grave. Every single day, there was one. It was weird because her death happened years ago. It was a mystery. At first, I thought it was a secret admirer who loved her but as months passed, I knew it wasn't and this was getting serious.

I didn't tell anyone about this. Not even my family. I wanted to solve this case. Who sent those flowers... everything. Martin is a distraction and it's making my head hurt. I didn't know whom to choose. My sister who is now laying in the past or Martin who makes me happy now. I thought about this for days, and decided to choose Martin and let go of the past. I hang around with Martin, through day and night. We would watch movies in his house and eat around gummy worms. He would even steal kisses that would make my heart flutter. I don't know what we are but I obviously like him and I think he feels the same way too. We do this every single day and I feel like I'm literally floating on cloud nine. He told me about his family and his friends and I liked it a lot.

For once I've thought about my sister and decided to visit her. I turned down our movie night and told him that I have an important matter to attend to. He understands and told me to text him when I arrive home. When I arrived at my sister's grave, I talked and told her about my life. How happy I have become. How thankful I am that Martin have become a part of my life and he make me feel complete. I heard footsteps coming and quickly hid between a tree. What I saw made me loose my breath. Martin himself is standing in front of the grave, holding a piece of red rose in his hand. My body felt numb and I didn't know what to feel. When I was about to call his name, I stopped and listened as to what he had said:

"Lisa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I regretted everything that I have done. I loved you since the very first time I saw you. You are my everything until I met your sister. I know that this is out of the line but I hope you understand. I met your sister. I know that this is out of the line but I hope you understand. Your sister is depressed ever since you were gone and as payment to what I have done to you, I'm making her happy. I love you Lisa, see you again tomorrow." 

I was shocked and I felt anger surged through me."What do you mean, Martin?" Martin stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. Tears welled up his eyes. He's sobbing now. I wanted to comfort him but I can't. Monnalisa needs her peace. "I killed your sister, I'm sorry."

I breathed in, knelt down and hugged my sister's grave. I can't believe that I broke my walls and fell in love with my sister's killer. 

TERRORISTS' EFFECT ON PEOPLE by Valerie Aldridge

        Terrorists are people who promote terrorism. They are willing to go the extra mile just to get what they want  even if it means war and death. The possibility of chaos is getting bigger as more countries are getting harmed, so how exactly can their attacks  affect people's lives?

         ISIS has attacked a lot of places aside from Paris. They have bombed Beirut, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq as well. But after their attacks, some countries vowed for revenge with the help of their allies. Paris for instance, sent bombs to ISIS after the latter have attacked them. Russia on the other hand is planning to do the same. But does vengeance equal justice or is revenge always just?

        Affected countries have people who rendered homeless and abandoned. Great depression and grief struck families who lost their loved ones and their homes. In Syria, a kid was interviewed about how his family's life is after the attacks. He claimed they haven't eaten well in two days. They eat only grass. The video of the interview went viral. People live in fear thinking about who or where the terrorists will strike next.

       Therefore, terrorism has greatly  affected people to the point of confusion. They are left with no idea where to run. Terrorists left people feeling violent, eager to get revenge. Countries are now teaming up yet still have no idea whether or not revenge will do any good. Insanity might as well join in on the problem. Terrorism left people thinking whether it's better to be alive or dead than suffer greatly for things they didn't do.  Innocence is not a choice anymore.

Promise by Michael Angelo Osmil

"Death is an inevitable thing. It comes to you no matter how you try to avoid it with medicine and precaution. You cannot escape death."

A woman wearing a blue dress and a brown sweater was sitting on a banig. Her tired eyes looked at Jane. It was Jane's sick mother. Jane's eyes began to water. "Jane," a hand held hers, with a warm and comforting feeling. "You know, Jane, anak, I'm starting to think you're more scared than I am!" she chuckled like death was nothing to her. Somehow, Jane grinned because her mother's laugh, even though she had a lot of reasons not to. "Ma, I'm just so scared." Jane sighed, "If I only had a job!" Her mother sensed her frustration. She reahed out for her panyo and wiped her daughter's tears. Jane held her mother's hand, "Do you need anything, ma?" she stood up determined to do something. Her mother grinned, "Make me some milk, Jane anak." She looked at Jane and gave her a smile. "O-okay!" she hurriedly ran to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came back with a mug of hot milk. "Here, Ma." Jane handed it over to her mom. "Thanks, anak." She took a sip and stared out the window. There was a long silence in the room. "Ma, promise me, you'll guide me even when you're gone." She clutched her mother's hand, "I always will, anak." She wrapped her arms around Jane which became a long hug between mother and daughter.

Jane, who was very young, decided to just rely on the power of prayer. She goes to church alone, dressed in rags, since they have no money to buy decent clothes. Ever since her mother fell ill she has been going to church every day, from the countryside walking to the city. And she stopped going to school. Shortly after the exhausting walk, she felt desperate and frustrated. Her mother's condition just seemed to get worse.

One day, she went home from church, tired and frustrated. She heard her mom coughing. She went to her room. "Jane, your back!" she smiled as she saw her daughter. "Jane, I need a glass of water, anak." "Ma, I'm tired of always looking out for you! I pray every day to Sto. Nino, but your condition just gets worse! If only you weren't sick! You're so annoying! My effort on walking from here to there and back again just gets wasted! Why?! Why do we have no money? I should have been going to school a long time ago. Why won't you go away?! JUST DISAPPEAR!" Jane was crying and angry at the same time. Realizing what she has done, Jane ran out of the house crying. Her mother was so shocked, she wasn't able to say anything.

Jane ran to a nearby river to be alone. She looked at t he sapa as it's water shone like a huge wave of crystals. She decided to go home and apologize to her mother. She ran back home, filled with guilt, but she knew her conscience would be cleared afterwards.

As she arrived back from the sapa, she rushed to her mother's room. "Ma!" she was surprised to find her mother missing. "Ma?" she called out. She noticed a small note on her banig. She opened it anxiously.

     __________________________________________________________________________

Jane, anak,  I'm sorry if I have troubled you. I was a burden to you. I shouldn't have put so much weight on your shoulders. Since I haven't attended a misa in a while, I will go to the city and pray. Don't worry, this is my way of thanking you. You won't be seeing me anymore. Just remember that, I'll always love you even though I'm gone. I'll never break our promise. Goodbye.

Your Mama,

Floresita

     __________________________________________________________________________

Jane cried after reading the note. She ran outside. She heard lots of noises and shouts, "What's going on?". A man was talking to a police officer and there were lots of people nearby. "Didto Sir ay!  I saw a woman who was run over by a car." The man pointed to the road going to the church. "Ah, Manong, unsa iyang gisuot? the police asked. "She was wearing a white dress with a black jacket." the man answered. She was shocked because this was what her mother was wearing that morning. She ran to the direction the man was pointing at. Up ahead, Jane saw a car with a figure of a woman lying on the road. There was no one in the car, so she went over to the woman. It was her mother. "Ma! Mama!" she tried shaking her mother. Jane checked on her pulse, but there was nothing. The rain poured down as death has caught the
soul of her mother.

Flower by Scot Damier Sandoval

An incandescent flower
Which was born near the tower
Surrounded with hostile beast

Asian College of Technology held an on-the-spot
poetry writing competition in lieu of the English Month.

Hoping for the very least.

A butterfly with chatoyant wings
Has dreams for impossible things
And found the flower
Resting near the tower.

As the butterfly go close
Thinking if it's as lovely as a rose
It gave an ineffable look
While it's reading its book.

Then the butterfly flew night after night
Wondering whether he was right
It flew around mesmerized by the flower's petal
With courage as strong as metal.

But his wings grew tired,
And the flower hasn't known she was admired.
The butterfly died right beside
Knowing it's too late to decide.

EMOTIONS

EMOTIONS

by Dominic Ceballos

I feel heavy looking through those years When I waited and cried those tears, I felt the pain growing each and every day And “ I’m fine “ is all I could say

I feel down knowing what I did wasn’t enough Never enough to make you laugh, Even though problems are tough My efforts are just not enough

I feel confused on what to do Do I hide this feeling that is true? Or die every time you find someone new, I just can’t decide when I’m talking about you,

I feel crazy each and every day To see you smile in a way, That keeps me awake every night and day, Oh, girl I just want you to stay

I feel jealous to know you care For someone who wasn’t even there I find it really unfair It’s just the feeling I can’t bare

I feel mad to know you’re in pain All I witness is an endless rain I'll wipe those tears 'coz care And don’t worry I'll always be there

But now I only feel regret That I've kept all these things a secret, These emotions I feel inside That I never should hide

I just love you too much.

Juvenile Justice: Will Amendment Suffice?

Juvenile Justice: Will Amendment Suffice?

A Persuasive Essay 

by Maria Eloisa H. Garcia

Grade 9- Justice

Republic Act 9344 or Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 gives a child in conflict with the law another chance, a new beginning marked by a clean slate. They possess the freedom to pursue their future without any record of their stained past. But nowadays, people doubt and begin to question this law.

Minors are seen in the streets, not selling puto or sampaguita, but sprinting away with stolen possessions, or violently assaulting an unsuspecting civilian. They also come in as gangs, couriers of drug traffickers or bet collectors of illegal gambling lords. The public is terrified, seeing as these juvenile offenders end up in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), not behind bars as punishment, and for them to walk out with an unscathed record, only to do crime again. Lawmakers are currently reviewing Republic Act 9344, and considering proposals to amend the law in accordance to public safety. But is amendment truly the right solution?

At what age does a person endow a clear notion of what is right and wrong? Lawmakers, such as Sen. Francis Escudero and Sen. Vicente Sotto, propose to bring down the age of criminal liability for juvenile offenders are getting younger and younger by time. But this will only restore another type of criminal culture. Jail provides an unhealthy environment that can corrupt a child’s mind. In these quarters, children will be brutalized or raped by older inmates. They will become their vicious disciples who bear hatred for the world, stripped off their innocence.

Why do children resort to crime? They are either used or exposed to factors in society that greatly influences it. A child is not solely responsible for a crime he/she committed. He/she is a victim of our political and socio-economic system that created the problem in the first place. Hunger, malnutrition, neglect, poverty and other forms of social injustice relay an insurmountable impact on a child without adult guidance. Effective implementation of RA 9344 cancels or paralyzes these factors. It does not exempt a child from criminal liability, but rather to get both the adult and the child to face the responsibility of the wrongdoing.Parents or guardians, who neglect their children and turn a blind eye to their crimes, do not appear innocent to the law and therefore, subjected to DSWD investigation.

The law mandates the formation of Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children or BCPCs nationwide. Encourage the proper performance of the duties of parents and provide learning opportunities on the adequate rearing of children and positive parent-child relationship are only some of the specific functions of BCPCs. Their main advocacy is to provide a holistic and wholesome environment for children, cater their needs and protect them from abuse and exploitation.

Though BCPCs are noble and promising, a number of them have not been as ideal and fully functional as the barangays claim. Out of 39,535 barangays, only 13 percent (5,208)has submitted a report to DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) on functionality; at least 3,876 barangays have not passed any report. DILG still doubts that the listed 5,208 barangays have BCPCs that are indeed fully functional. The agency is set to conduct a field investigation to confirm if the BCPCs are working effectively.

The law does not need amendment. It needs thorough implementation to harbour positive results. The government must be prepared to utilize its funds to make this possible. Good rehabilitation centers, programs and BCPCs come at a hefty price. The government must also dedicate itself to keep children in schools, supply them with morals, and keep them off the streets.Their innocence must be sheltered by a healthy society, bound with beautiful traditions and loving communities.

If the future of the children is threatened, the future of the country might as well be.

Suicide: The Darkest Crime of Our Hearts

      Suicide: The Darkest Crime of Our Hearts

By Noni Kent A. Kaindoy

                   There are two types of people who can’t reach their goals: the defeated and the failures. The defeated are those who try again, while the failures are those who accept their mistakes. Without hope, they commit suicide because they feel they are rejected by the world or by chance.

                  Suicide is caused by loneliness, desperation and helplessness. This is the second leading cause of death globally among 15 to 29 years of age, according to the 2014 global report on preventing suicide by the World Health Organization (WHO). In the Philippines the estimated number of suicides in 2012 was 2,558 (550 female, 2009 male), according to the same report. Suicide is committed because some people believe there is nothing they can do to make their lives better from sadness. They have no one else to help them change their outlooks about themselves.

                 Their losses have been stuck on their heads because they have suffered consequences that hurt them both mentally and physically. In Manila, two students from separate schools in Batangas shot themselves dead after receiving failing grades in separate incidents on a Friday afternoon. Scene-of-the-crime investigators found the body of Daveson Beron, 22, a mechanical engineering student of Batangas State University and one of the suicide victims, a caliper .38 revolver he used to shoot himself with beside his body, and a laptop with message on screen: “I’m sorry, I quit.” People believe that when a person dies, it’s his/her decision, but what matters is why. What possible reason is there that people want to die? What could have been done to prevent them from taking their own lives?

                 The worst part of despair is the belief that they cannot do anything to prevent it. While there are some people who can deal with it after a while, some people believe they can’t. People who fail to recognize true happiness are those who say, “I am nothing to this world.” One example is a Filipino-American named Izabel Laxamana, who killed herself by jumping off a bridge in Tacoma, Washington. Laxamana’s father cut off her black hair as a punishment for ‘getting messed up’. Her father then taped the incident and shared it online, which ended up humiliating her. She felt like the world went against her.

                So I am begging those who know this sad type of death, please listen. Try to increase the esteem of those people around you, stranger or not. Continue to make them live happily until they die of old age content and blissful. Instead of punishing them for failing, try to help them overcome their failures. Let us live life courageously and continue to live happily.