April 11, 2023
WORLDWIDE HOT ISSUES
The Latest - The Hottest - The Realest!
Photo from: rappler.com
TEACHER, THE ABUSER.
NEVER AGAIN!
By: Sittie-Nihayah Ali Ipha Gumama
School is the second home of the children and
their teachers are their second parents. However,
there are a lot of issues in the child safety
nowadays and one of these is the incident in
Antipolo City wherein a teacher, named Melany
B. Garin, forced their students to stuff their
mouths with garbage. Due to the teacher’s action,
one of the students suffered from lead poisoning
and post-traumatic stress disorder. This is a
violation of Republic Act 7610 - the law that
protects children from abuse, exploitation, and
discrimination.
As a punishment, the teacher was sentenced
by The Supreme Court a maximum of six years in
prison. Garin, the teacher, was also ordered to pay
damages to the student who filed a complaint
against her: P20,000 as moral damages; P20,000 as
exemplary damages; P20,000 as temperate
damages; and P15,000 as fine. 6% interest every
year will also be earned from the awarded
damages until Garin is able to pay the amount in
full. The teacher also filed a petition but the
Supreme Court denied it in the end because of the
fact that the teacher’s action is “deplorable” that it
affected the mental and emotional development of
the student.
Volume 1
JUST A
CANCER, I AM A
FIGHTER
By: Sheena Antonette Miguel
Jobelle Ann Ponta-Oy is a 23-year-old woman
from Dingle, Iloilo. She is no ordinary woman
because she represents sunlight in the darkness
of her life. Despite being an amputee and a
cancer patient, she decided to live her life to the
fullest that she can because of the fact that her
cancer can’t be prevented by the mere treatment
that she had been receiving. The life-threatening
journey of Jobelle started on 2016 wherein she
was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare
type of cancer that affects her soft tissues. But
still, she became faithful and courageous in her
life. In fact, she established a business amidst the
pandemic and have decided to let go of her
studies in order to give herself a mental peace.
Instead of focusing on the negatives, she kept
reminding herself, even in the smallest details, of
the good things that will come out in her life. She
even said, “I shouldn’t just be surviving, I should
live.” which is a challenging decision because
her cancer is now on stage 4. Cancer may fail a
person to survive but it will not hinder a person’s
will to live, just like how Jobelle lives her life
even with the uncertainty of until when she can
live.
Photo from: Ponta-Oy
01
 April 11, 2023 Volume 2

WORLDWIDE HOT
ISSUES
The Latest - The Hottest - The Realest!

THE DEAL IS THE ADVANCED IS DECLINING

By: Danielle Estores
NOT SEALED
By: Cheska Nicole Malulan
On February 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
has granted the American troops access to four more
military camps, which is an addition to the other five
locations previously agreed under the 2014 Enhanced
Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). According
to Defense Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez, the
projects under the EDCA and other defense
partnerships are not intended to commit any
aggression or misunderstandings. The projects are not
for war purposes but for aiming to develop the
country’s defense capabilities against eventualities and
threats to security.
Marcos’s decision to strengthen defense cooperation
with the U.S. is contrary to the policy of Rodrigo
Duterte, who forged closer ties with China’s
government. However, Marcos assured that he will
Photo from: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
Japan is the world’s third-biggest economy and is
improve economic relations with China and the effort known for its advanced technologies and high-
to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities is not functioning society. However, despite the fact that the
against Beijing. The four new locations have not been country is advanced, it is now having a population
identified, but officials have said that the northern
crisis that may affect their society’s vitality. From the
provinces of Cagayan, near Taiwan, and Zambales,
speech of Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, the
which faces the South China Sea, are some of the
number of births in Japan is estimated to have declined
potential sites. The deal between the US and
below 800,000 last year. To resolve the crisis, the Prime
Philippines is not intended for any war but it is not yet Minister suggested that he wants the government to
sealed when it comes to maintaining peace between
double its spending on child-related programs, and that
other countries. a new government agency would be established in
April.
The urgent resolution of the crisis may affect the
economy but what the politicians have missed is the
reasons why the young women of Japan are reluctant
to start their own family. In fact, a university student,
Nao Imai, was interviewed and she said, “I used to
think I would be married by 25 and a mother by 27.
But when I look at my eldest sister, who has a two-
year-old girl, I’m afraid to have children.” In addition,
the societal standards of being a mother affects the
decision of the women to bear a child. Amidst the
Photo from: Wikimedia Commons
crisis, women who marry too late are now blamed for
this low birth rate by Taro Aso, a former prime
 April 11, 2023 Volume 3
minister. For Kishida, it is a “now or never moment” for the country.