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2 EDITORIAL
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ORDER TO ACCEPT. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte directs local government units
to stop creating restictions and start openning their gates for the upcoming arrivals
of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) during the Talk to the People of President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)’, May 25.
Words by Chou Tzuyu. Photo by CNN Philippines.
PRRD warns Filipinos to continue safety measures
as COVID-19 remains a threat in public health
by Chou Tzuyu
“Put it on your conscious
mind that coronavirus is still
here,” President Rodrigo Roa
Duterte urged fellow citizens to
have precautionary measures
while going out the public.
With regards to the protruding
issue, Duterte emphasized that
there is still no medicines and
vaccines that prevent the spread of
positive cases in the Philippines.
“Sa ngayon wala pang
medisina at walang vaccine. Kung
maglabas ka consider it as a risk,”
WE ARE
COMING
HOME
Words and Graphics
by Hirai Momo
By the numbers of Overseas
Filipino Workers (OFWs) who
are expected to return home
because of COVID-19.
Volume 1 Issue 1
June 2020
Overdue
The Official Publication of
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Desktop Publishing
OF RIGHTS AND RELIEFS
Duterte directs LGUs to open gates for OFWs
“
President Rodrigo
Duterte directed all the local
...open the gates of governments to accept the
your territories and incoming 62, 302 Overseas
allow the people Filipino Workers (OFWs) in line
to travel wherever with the situation of the 24, 000
they want.” stranded OFWs in Manila, May
- President 25.
Rodrigo Duterte During a meeting with the Inter-
Agency Task Force on Emerging
Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID),
Duterte clarified that it is a crucial
thing to deny each worker’s
constitutional right to go home.
“Ngayon, may mga siyudad na
ayaw silang tanggapin. You know,
I’m ordering you to accept them,
open the gates of your territories
and allow the people to travel
wherever they want,” the President
stressed.
Imposing Restrictions
With the number of local
governments forcing restrictions
in its places hindering the OFWs,
he emphasized. ‘Pag nandiyan na ang bakuna
During his talk, Duterte urged all okay na,” he remarked.
Filipinos to be cautious and always He also added that mayors
wear a mask for the safety of them and governors should also need
and their child’s well-being. to be vaccinated, for they are ones
On the other hand, Duterte told who make pronouncements about
his concern about the upcoming lockdowns and quarantine.
opening of classes by indicating In this light, he explained that
that vaccination should be first other countries are feverishly
employed. working on finding the cure and
“Iyang opening ng classes, I will are expected to have a vaccine
not allow the opening of classes na around the world by the end of
magdikit-dikit iyang mga bata na this year.
‘yan. Para sa akin, bakuna muna.
24,000
OFWs
are stuck in Manila because
Local Government Units refuse
to accept them due to the scare
of COVID-19 contagion.
62,000 President Rodrigo
more
Duterte to LGUs
in response to the
situation of the
OFWs are expected to arrive
once airports reopen their gates displaced OFWs
and resume operations.
Source: ‘Talk to the People of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19)’ (May 25, 2020) Lifted from Presidential
Communications Operations Office (www.pcoo.gov.ph)
3 FEATURE
Warp
of Trap
by Chou Tzuyu
Duterte pinpointed that nobody
but the national government
has the only power to declare
limitations.
He also stated that the
constitutional right of the people
should not be restrained nor
impede.
“You are not allowed to
unilaterally declare na ganito,
you are closing the egress
and ingress ng tao,” Duterte
commented.
Guarantee and Effort
Moreover, he also appended
that due to the large amount of
stranded and incoming OFWs, he
intended to use all government-
owned transportation in utilizing
the said OFWs.
With this, the DILG also
guaranteed the safeness of the
following OFWs before moving
them to their homes.
PH still on first
major wave
— Duque
by Hirai Momo
In connection to the
statement released by the
Department of Health (DOH),
Health Department Secretary,
Francis Duque III, clarified that
the Philippines is still on its
“first major wave of sustained
transmission.”
During the Talk to the People
on COVID-19, the secretary of
health clarified to President
Duterte that his first statement
was just his assumption based on
a report.
“Iyong nabanggit ko na
second wave was just based on
the article that was published by
Dr. John Wong of the EpiMetrics,”
Secretary Duque elaborated his
claim.
As of May 25, there were 5
new deaths and 284 Filipinos
were positive with COVID-19
making the total number of cases
to 14,319.
DOH also announced a high
recovery rate as 74 patients
recovered raising the toll to 3,323
cases.
2opinion
[editorial]
Overdue Resilience
On a press briefing held
on May 19, 2020, Presidential
spokesperson Harry Roque
addressed the public on the
government’s plan to curb the
coronavirus disease 2019’s
rapidly escalating cases
including mass testing. However,
Roque insisted that it would
be up to private sectors to
handle their own “voluntary”
part on testing employees.
Yet, this is easier said for there
are underlying problems that
engulfed the country amid the
lockdown. We are on the same
storm, not on the same boat.
The lockdown lasted for as
far as the month of June in most
affected areas, roughly three
months after President Rodrigo
Duterte’s declaration. Amid the
lockdown supposed to control
the situation, every Filipino had
the same burden to carry: their
survival and livelihood. Several
community quarantine extensions
later, there is still no concrete
plan for mass testing and the
economy is struggling to cope.
[panoramic perspectives]
Contrary of Poison Antidotes
by Son Chaeyoung
Amid the grave state of
coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) in the Philippines,
the House of Representatives
approved the newly crafted
anti-terrorism bill on its third
reading. The controversial Anti-
Terrorism Act of 2020 aimed
to curb the existing violent
extremism in the country. On
the contrary, the proposed
law might be another terror to
Filipinos.
If legalized, the new
counterterrorism law would
repeal the existing Human
Security Act of 2007. The bill
featured harsher provisions,
with its broad outline and
identification of terrorism. Under
the bill, a person who threatens
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Volume 1 Issue 1
June 2020
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The government giving the
responsibility of testing its citizens
to the country’s private sectors
add salt to the wound. The people
are starving and the solutions
are delayed, sometimes not even
prioritized.
We cannot control the
transmission of the disease with
a blind eye. Data by the Bases
Conversion and Development
Authority shows that the country’s
testing capacity by May 10 is
only 14,500, barely reaching its
30,000 daily target. We need to
ramp up the testing process for
the vulnerable mass and make
it accessible. The government
should prioritize an accessible
medical response while the world
awaits for the vaccine. Not all has
equal privilege, which shows how
vital equal accessibility is.
Without improved and effective
testing, what for is the sacrifice of
the frontliners and unprivileged
Filipinos? Perhaps, we are in the
same storm and others are already
sinking. The resilience is long
overdue, it is time for action.
or commits an act of terrorism can
be penalized with detainment
for up to 12 years. The bill states
that any person who voluntarily
and knowingly join any group
of persons that are known as
a terrorist organization can be
penalized.
One could be flagged as
a terrorist just by using basic
rights such as freedom of speech
that can be found on Section 4
under our Bill of Rights, which
is unconstitutional. Whether we
face the fact or not, red-tagging of
activists are widespread, which is
evident in recent arrests of activist
students who carried out protests
for the bill and mass testing. The
bill’s dangerously broad outline
can be misused or even abused,
[editorial board]
Editor In Chief Son Chaeyoung
News Writer Chou Tzuyu I Feature Writer Minatozaki Sana
Publishing
Sports Writer Park Jihyo I Photojournalist Kim Dahyun
Cartoonist Im Nayeon I Layout Artist Hirai Momo
Volume 1 Issue No. 1 I June 2020
“
We are
on the
same
storm,
not on
the same
boat.”
putting Filipinos into a same threat.
When injustice becomes law, it
threatens the welfare of even those
who are not targeted. Terrorism
is already a familiar danger to our
country and a counteraction must
be done. But, the fact that the
bill breaches basic human rights
is utterly unacceptable. The bill
should be at least revised to be
humane. On the far end of the line,
there is a pandemic happening
and we are seemingly away from
our priorities. On the contrary,
antidotes could be poison after all.
DID YOU KNOW?
#JunkTerrorBillNow
became a hot trend on social media as
Filipinos petition for the withdrawal of
the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
ws
[caveat]
Of Odds and
Envisages
by Kim Dahyun
It has been three months since the
Philippines went under the nationwide
lockdown pronounced by President
Rodrigo Duterte. The lockdown brought
an ironically heavier toll on the country
amidst the pandemic: plummeting
economy along with the rapidly
escalating COVID-19 cases. On another
take, the country has ten more years to
attain its Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), which is quite overwhelming to
look forward to.
According to United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (Unescap), even before the pandemic
the country had as much as 80 percent of
SDGs which needed extra efforts to thrust in
progress. This data includes 17 SDGs and
169 targets, in which human rights for all is
highlighted along with gender equality and
women empowerment. Little progress is still
progress, but we should not settle on this.
There are a lot of odds for this envisage.
Although it sounds alarming, including
this vision to a blueprint gives a spark
of hope. This hope is evident through
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto
Pernia’s statement that these efforts
are included in the country’s Philippine
Development Plan (PDP) and even in
“AmBisyon Natin” (Our Ambition) 2040.
It will indeed take us time to recover
from the pandemic and the endangered
economic status but, that does not indicate
that we lose the fight for our SDGs. Attaining
these goals might get tough in these trying
times. But, we are not hopeless as long as
we know and aim for our targets.
 ws White Space I The Official Publication of WS Online Collaborative Desktop Publishing
Volume 1 Issue No. 1 I June 2020
feature3
WARP
OF TRAP
by Minatozaki Sana Illustration by Im Nayeon

Caged within the solid edges
of uncertainty upon sailing with
the necessary means to survive,
as prolonged, opens up a new
room for a vibrant paradox.
Thorns of inhumane superiority
had done the slits to penetrate
darker hues amid unresolved
crisis. How did one’s room to
survive has eventually gone to a
problematic trap?
For the past months, no one
ever had a choice but to keep
aligned with the stringent rules
by spending the whole day and
night at home and unfortunately,
by just entirely cancelling all the
2020 plans. As for the beginning
of the course in the early summer,
it all started with barely unscathed
horizons to mend the throbbing
upheaval. Almost everyone with
the sudden layoff or outstretched
“
vacation spend their time browsing
on the internet to get rid of boredom.
Until several sunrises and sunsets,
updates and trends, the firmed edges
to survive began to get distorted by
sequential daggers of newsbreaking
immoral power and mishandled
justice. There was a sudden spasm of
inflicted treacherous vows.
It’s a scenery of one controversy
that drifts to another having its pace
like starting a day with an aroma
of morning scent and ending with
havoc out from the whirlpool of
enigma.
Sun rays to mark the day’s
introductory. One plate of news
and a cup of misery for a much-
cleansed morning. Seeking for warm
sensation; one serve of a bitter news.
George Floyd’s painstaking death
rooted from a racial injustice flared
those eyes and then a pinch of black
powdered-coffee to the cup for a
perfectly-brewed rage and an ego to
fight. Bewilderedness has crossed
every corner of wonders and ignites
the soul until the noon of blazing
mess. Fully dressed in bravery and
...distorted rights but gone naked and harassed
through the hands of lawful ethics
by sequential as it objects the standards. A dial
for humane rights drenched the
daggers of whole afternoon but beaten by slaps
of rejections for it doesn’t give the
newsbreaking proper dress codes! It was a verbal
freedom-snatch. All the miseries
immoral splash hues for a tainted crimson sky
until a dark night comes. No home.
power and Just a havoc from the unevenly
chunked of justice.
mishandled Once dwelled at home to survive;
hidden imageries of tragedy were
hiding waiting for the unopened slits
justice.” to get crashed.

MUST PRESSING DILLEMA

by Minatozaki Sana
In all emerging civic against human rights. The hashtag still on its track when there is no

IN OPPOSEETION corollaries, there are two

by Son Chaeyoung
Among all divided viewpoints
circling online, it is necessary to avoid
arguments with personal assaults by
grasping different opinions and be open
for any opposition; however, be firm
with your rightful stand.
INTERNALIZE.
Understand well first how they come
up with the certain stand. Let them speak
and assess whether they appear to be
inhumane or not.
FILL.
If something goes wrong with their
views, refrain yet from aggressiveness.
Share them what do you think they haven’t
known about. Both of you can provide
evident information but check the sources
first.
RELAX.
If they get offended to your stand, then
there is no room for arguments at all. You
did your part. You can always raise your
humane stand without insulting anyone.
Your stand appears to what kind of
person you are. Be open, keep the fight
and stay humane.
buttons I could perceive. One
is to embark a rightful rage
#BlackLivesMatter flooded all over
social media platforms worldwide
just after several hours of Floyd’s
such thing for me of teaching how
to dress but a matter of teaching
people not to rape! Press freedom
to break the silence and two death. has also been in a threat by the
is to enclose the loopholes of In the Philippines, the endless sudden ABS-CBN shutdown amid
conviction. Press one to devour controversies of so-called “dress crisis and the recently proposed
inhumane stunts and press two codes” were transcended when TV Anti-Terrorism act.
if fear over rights. host Ben Tulfo raised his view that All dirty stunts of the system
It is a long-stretched injustice women’s way of dressing could radiated when most people
that the death of African- be an invitation for a sexual crime. pressed one. I wonder how many
American George Floyd under the It has also been a top concern up rights will get eroded if everyone
authorized policeman enlarged to this day that victim-blaming is presses the second one.
the existing activisms against
antagonistic system across
the world. His corpse lay like
hibernating in peace but his “I
can’t breathe” was a blast and
propagated for thousand miles.
It was a defining moment of the
endless racial injustice and was
a breaking point for over 50
countries. UK protesters stood
against the unequal treatment
to black Britons and France also
carried out their notions against
abuse of power in the parallels of
Floyd’s death and Traore’s who
also died in police custody in
2016. There were more evident
activisms across Australia,
Europe, parts of Africa and
South-East Asia to defy prejudices
Photos by ArtNet News, The American Prospect, Vogue, Benar News.
sports White Space I The Official Publication of WS Online Collaborative Desktop Publishing
Volume 1 Issue No. 1 I June 2020 ws
[sports editorial]

Reviving the
Momentum
While facing the pandemic peril,
sports’ dilemma has been on a
hiatus since sports activities were
prohibited. Community quarantines
have directly affected the trainings
and competitions of the athletes that
conspired to a challenging fate —
delay of the momentum.
Deeming its significance, we truly
believe that sports positively impacted
across the board. Sports International
perceives opportunities in sports EN ROUTE TO GREATNESS. UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Finals MVP, Thirdy Ravena of the Ateneo Blue Eagles (Right)
because it develops people holistically struggles to drive the ball past University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers’, Rhenz Abando (Left), as the Katipunan-based
especially those underprivileged ones squad vie for a 3-peat championship victory and complete a 16-0 lossless slate in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament,
through support systems and uplifting November 20, 2019. Words by Hirai Momo. Photo by ABS-CBN News.

TRIPLE TRIUMPH
relationships.

“
...reviving their momentum
means as much as securing
the gold.”
Sports even contributes to the
economic wellbeing of a country.
Countries are generating whopping
revenues like FIFA’s $9billion last
2019, NHL’s $5 Billion and NBA teams’
near to $9 Billion. While here in the
Philippines, sports served to be a
grassroot program to the youth against
illegal drugs.
It is going to be a crucial phase on
how we will incorporate sports into the
new normal. Moving forward during
this situation drifts us to numerous
concerns however we can assure
quality control of facilities, disinfection
of equipment, harnessing digital
technology and most of all, abiding
health protocols.
Together, we must support serious
comeback of sports to continue
the best interests and accolades
of athletes. Hence, reviving their
momentum means as much as
securing the gold.
Blue Eagles carves three-peat, sweeps Growling Tigers over 86-79 win
by Park Jihyo
Clawing like legends, the
Ateneo Blue Eagles carved their
three-peat in a season-perfect
performance against the UST
Growling Tigers.
Anchoring successive three-
pointers and penetrating drives,
Blue Eagles swept the hopeful
Growling Tigers, 86-79, in a
dominant UAAP fashion as they
combined their arsenals in crunch
time during the Men’s Basketball
Finals Game 2 at Mall of Asia Arena,
November 20, 2019.
Tab Baldwin-coached squad
played like they never obstructed
and catapulted a quarter-
ultimatum chain of commands en
route to their third championship
and completing a historic 16-game
sweep, a first in UAAP history.
King Eagle Thirdy Ravena
switched on his MVP mode while
delivering a solid follow up to his
32-point explosion in Game 2 as he
erupted 17 markers along with Point
Guard SJ Belangel who tallied a
career-best 15 points.
In the first quarter, Ateneo
displayed solid passes that
increased Matt Nieto’s and Ravena’s
point percentage while Belangel
announced himself by firing shots
beyond the arc, leaving the Tigers in
a 12-point deficit, 22-10, during the
8th minute mark.
UST gradually paced up their
rhythm as senior Renzo Subido and
rookie Rhenz Abando clicked their
shots in the second quarter forcing
Ateneo to timeout, 24-31.
With 3 minutes remaining, Ateneo
maintained its lead while the Tigers
retaliated with intermittent shots
until the third quarter came as
Ando and Nieto exchanged three
points, 45-34.
It was until Ateneo’s lead boiled
down to 5, 56-51, from UST’s 7-2
run as they limit the opponent’s
lead into single digits. The ball
game was even intensified when
Abando vs. Ateneo’s six alternating
three-point shots were induced,
65-60.
Returning to the last quarter,
Ateneo relentlessly covered the
Aldin Ayo-coached team’s pace
when they finally substituted to
a mix of rebounds and drives by
Ravena and Belangel pinning 6
points securing the historic 16-0
sweep, 86-79.

Thirdy Ravena:
Three-Peat in the Arena
by Park Jihyo
Foreshadowed by the pressure of excellence once, he revamped his
supremacy thrice.
Ateneo King Eagle Thirdy Ravena cemented his collegiate career upon wrapping
up his UAAP stint with three Championships and three Finals MVP Awards. This
culmination of his hardwork prospered himself to get Ateneo at this point.
He was once carrying the weight of his surname’s history while growing up. From
a family of athletes, Thirdy faced the difficulty of living up with his dad and brother’s
steps as basketball players. It was tough for him to create his branding as an athlete.
Entering the pack as the 17-year-old rookie, Thirdy had an unforgettable debut.
But his lowest point came when he was ineligible to play for his second season due
to failure of meeting the school’s academic requirements.
Without drawing strength from his friends and family, he couldn’t gradually pick
himself up and be the renowned Blue Eagle of today. Thirdy prepared holistically for
his comeback last Season 79 along with his coach, Tab Baldwin, and announced his
worth upon bracing pressure in his return.
Armed with the championship, Thirdy attained first three-time Finals MVP, first
collegiate player to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup and the first team
to complete a 16-0 sweep.
Leaving Ateneo with a winning streak, Thirdy has carved his best version and
garbed life lessons.

Photos by Rappler, Spin PH, GMA Network.