Parents vs. Peers

Parents or peers? For us teenagers, this is a significant topic of discussion. There are kids who would say, “What a weird thing to discuss, I would rather obey my parents than to go with my friends.” But there are other who‘ll declare, “My parents aren’t going to know anything, of course friends first.” But this is really an important matter. Every kid has a different opinion but in the end, for most of them, who are they going to pick? – Because in this teenager life, you can’t choose both – of course if the parents’ and friends’ opinions are opposite. We have encountered a lot of stories about this topic in different media. But suppose this certain instance come in real life, what we will do?

A group mate of ours, for one, had been in this situation. She came in a moderately strict family – no boyfriends until after college, no drinking alcohol until after 21. She’s used to this kind of reminders, and obeyed it with all her might. Then come college – start of a new era in Baguio City, a new group of friends also, of course. One day, as she had expected, came the inevitable situation in a college student’s life – being asked out by your friends to a bar. At first she didn’t dare to say yes, but what’s a bunch of friends if they can’t persuade you in doing such a thing they loved? She started to doubt her beliefs, started to think about her reminders.

What if her parents are so inconsiderate? Why are the parents of her friends so cool with living their life? She turned to her parents, asked their advice. Her parents said that it’s normal for a teenager to receive invitations like this and eventually doubting parents’ reminders, but think first that the ones you do have a positive effect in her life. That’s when a reminder turns into a quote you have to live by. And never again that she doubted her parents. We don’t say that all friends are bad and they’ll ruin your life. It’s cool if you drink alcohol – go on, live a little, if this is what you believed in - as long as it isn’t opposite of what you believed in. What’s sad is a friend who will push you even if you to do a certain thing you don’t want to. It’s really nice if all the people in your life influenced you positively – it’s a win-win for all of us.

GROUP 6

Domingo, Mark Anthony

Jacobe, Dessa Mae I.

Perez, Jeff

Posilero, Jinky

Rubiano, Geremie

Tajan, Patrisha Willyn Mae

Ang Aking Pamilya

            Pamilya. Sinu-sino nga ba?

Si Ama - Ang ating haligi ng tahanan. Siya ang nagtatanggol sa atin sa anumang bagay na makakasakit sa atin. Siya ang natatanging ama na hindi kailanman matutumbasan ang pagmamahal ng ibang ama. Marahil ay minsan nararamdaman nating malayo ang loob niya sa atin dahil madalas siyang wala sa tahanan. Subalit ang anumang paghihirap na kanyang ginagawa sa labas ng bahay ay kanyang inihahandog ng buo para sa ating na kanyang pamilya.

Si Ina - Ang ilaw ng tahanan. Si nanay ang takbuhan natin sa lahat ng oras. Siya ang nagbibigay ng mga solusyon o payo sa bawat problemang ating pinagdaraanan. Si Ina ang gumagabay sa lahat ng ating mga ginagawa simula pagkabata. Madalas man siyang magalit at sumigaw sa atin, hindi pa rin natin siya kayang palitan sa ating buhay. Siya ay natatangi at nag-iisa lamang. Siya ang may pagmamahal na hindi kayang pantayan ng anumang bagay. Siya lamang ang tanging tao na nakaramdam na tayo ay may buhay dahil sa ating unang pagsipa sa kanyang sinapupunan. Si ina ang tanging nagmamahal sa atin ng buong puso at walang pinipiling dahilan.

Si Kuya at Ate - Madalas man silang magalit sa atin, sila pa rin ang mga taong matatakbuhan natin kung wala si inay at itay. Sila ang mga taong humahawak ng responsibilidad sa atin. Sila ang natatanging katulong ng ating mga magulang sa mga gawaing bahay. Si kuya na taga-igib o taga sibak ng kahoy (mga gawain ni tatay sa bahay) at si ate naman ang katulong ni nanay sa pamamalengke o paglilinis sa bahay.

Si Bunso - Siya ang nagbibigay aliw sa loob ng tahanan. Sa bawat tawa at ngiti niya, lahat ng pagod ay kanyang napapawi. Siya man ang madalas na magkalat o magdumi sa loob ng bahay, hindi pa rin matutumbasan ang saying kanyang binibigay.

Ako bilang isang anak - Resposibilidad kong irespeto at igalang ang aking mga magulang. Alagaan si bunso at pahalagahan ang mga ginagawa ni kuya at ate para sa akin. Responsibilidad ko rin na magaral nang mabuti para sa aking pamilya. Ako na isang anak ang dapat na mag-alaga at gumabay sa aking magulang sa kanilang pagtanda. Ang magiging mata nila sa tuwing nanlalabo ang kanilang paningin at ang kanilang magiging tenga sa tuwing mahina ang kanilang pandinig. Ito ang pamilya ko. Sila ang bumubuo sa isang tahanan na pinagbuklod ng pagmamahal. Ang pamilyang nag-aruga at nagpalaki sa akin. Ang pamilyang humubog sa kung ano ako.

GROUP 6

Domingo, Mark Anthony

Jacobe, Dessa Mae

Perez, Jeff

Posilero, Jinky

Rubiano, Geremie

Tajan, Patricia Willyn Mae

Senior Citizens in the Philippines

What is it like living in the Philippines when you’re above 60 years old? What are the benefits? How will the society, the community, and your family treat you considering that you are now old and you may probably not be a part of the labor force or a contributor to the family’s finances? These are the questions people approaching their 60s may probably ask. Examining R.A 9994 and R.A 10645 will give us a bird’s eye view of the current situation, senior citizens have in the Philippines.
Under R.A 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 and R.A 10645 a Filipino citizen who is 60 years old or above may apply for senior citizen card which will be issued by the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) in the city or municipality where the senior citizen resides (Gov.ph, 2015).  The benefits of having a senior citizen card includes a 20% discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT) on goods and services from all establishments, mandatory PhilHealth coverage, income tax exemption of minimum wage earners, some free medical services, and express lanes privileges.
The benefits enumerated in R.A 9994 and R.A 10645 indeed cover the basic needs of a citizen, ranging from food, leisure, and health to special lanes. However, most of these benefits are merely beneficial on the physical aspect of a human. Another factory that we also need to examine is the living arrangements of the elderly to better describe the current situation of senior citizens in the Philippines.
According to a study made by Abejo, a large percentage of the senior citizens are not dependent on their children. A possible reason, as cited by Domingo et al. (1993), is the strong attachment to one’s home and the desire to maintain autonomy. Moreover, the study also revealed that only a small proportion of senior citizens are living alone and it does not necessarily mean that they have been deserted by their children. However, he also concluded that if the poverty situation worsen, there will be a substantial number of senior citizens who will be living alone because it can be a burden for a family member to take care an elderly in the midst of poverty.
Considering these information, it is apparent how our society values senior citizens. Probable reasons might be because we have a concept of “utang na loob” and we have high regard for older people. Nonetheless, senior citizens in the Philippines can expect different benefits from the government and a society which will treat them with utmost respect and care. These are the qualities we, Filipinos, must be proud of.


References:
Abejo, Socorro. (2004). “Living Arrangements of the Elderly in the Philippines.” 9th National Convention on Statistics. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://nscb.gov.ph/ncs/9thncs/papers/population_Livi ngArrangements.pdf
Benefits for senior citizens. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2015, from http://www.gov.ph/services/senior-citizens/
Domingo, Lita J., M. B. Asis, et al., (1993). “Living Arrangements of the Elderly in the Philippines: Qualitative Evidence.” Comparative Study of the Elderly in Asia, Research Report No. 93-23. Ann Arbor: Population Studies Center, University of Michigan

SocSci10 Z Group 5


Enriquez, Ryan
Flores, Nathaniel Lorenz
Galido, Noel Joseph
Jimenez, Rica
Paican, Maria Luzviminda
Vergara, Bryan

Family

By NOTSO bad

This is from a friend who is more than willing to share her story.

Family? Drama. Functional or dysfunctional. Supportive or otherwise. Complete, broken or discontinued. Those were only the first few words that popped on my head whenever the word family was being talked about.

            Honestly and frankly speaking, I came from a broken family myself but a very functional one. Functional? Erm, functional in terms of communication and financial support, I guess. I have one sister and one half-brother from my dad. I never grew up with my dad. He had always been working overseas.  Traveling from one country to another. The last time I saw my dad was when I was barely six. Now, I am turning twenty this coming October. Just do the math.

            I could never imagine the pain my mom went through the first time my dad committed adultery against her. I was barely two when I had my half-brother. He was a product of an amorous and erotic love created in Rome. My mom believed in ‘karma’ way back. My half-brother’s mother had never got the chance to see nor hold his child. She died right after giving birth to my half-brother. Nonetheless, my mom never taught me to hate nor maltreat my younger brother, instead to show him love and be a good sister to him. Afterwards, my dad was forgiven by my mom and so my sister was born. 2001. Upon after having his Philippine vacation, dad left for States on that the same year my mom was about to give birth to my sister.  My sister never got the chance to meet our dad in person. Despite those years of not seeing him, our dad pampered us materially and financially which I think is his way of filling up his absence for fourteen years. We can tell him anything we want to have or how much money we need to buy stuffs we want and so far he had never failed us on that part. Finances are good and overflowing but of course we need him – we need to see him and be with him also. He never had his vacation since he left for States and we don’t know why, but I suspected him to have another family in States because mom and dad were already divorced on summer 2012.

            Going back to the functionality of my discontinued family, I find our family to be recently functional evidently because after upon the divorce of my parents they are in good terms again, I assume. Not that, my parents were not in good terms before but dad never asked me how mom’s doing or whatsoever two years prior to their divorce. Both of my parents are talking to each other – dad has been checking out on mom again, asking her what she wants and needs which is really ironic for a divorce couple. Nonetheless, it feels so good to see and hear that despite that divorce my parents are friends, if that’s what you call. But, I believe first love never dies. That’s why my sister and I smell something fishy about why dad asked mom how is she or what does mom need or want.

            If you can see I have never talked a lot about my mom on the previous paragraphs. She is really good. She has pure heart. She is super nice, patient, and understanding. In fact, due to her overflowing goodness, sometimes I really confront her by telling her, ”you are too good to be true”, but really she had never been good at faking. Trust me. That’s why I envy her attitude and personality. She never taught us to neither hate our dad, our half-brother, nor our grandparents despite all actions our dad made nor even after all the cover-ups my grandparents did to tolerate what my dad did. What she did was not easy – to shut her mouth up despite all the emotional pain she suffered from to protect the intimate relationship we have with our grandparents on our father side. If that was me on my mom’s situation, I could not afford to do the same thing. Maybe, I would probably go for what my heart desires but my mom always say, “always go for what the brain says. That’s the reason why brain is higher than the heart.” I really salute and respect my mom for a lifetime for it.

            If there is one thing I want you to learn from me is this, despite all the wrong-doings your parents did to you and your siblings, either your mom or dad, you can’t change the fact that they will always be your parents and without either one of them, you will never be here today. So, even how much you hate either your mom or dad, well you should learn how to respect them at the end of the day. J

SocSci 10 Z Group 4
Jaeger Dwayne Tamaray, Mike Gyro Paras, Anthony Teofilo Jr., GiannaCapacia, Faye Mendoza, Jerome Gabriel

PAMANA

Kung sa mundong kinamulatan mo ay ordinaryong tanawin na lamang ang mga musmos na tulad mo na nabibilad sa arawan, batak na ang mga bata ninyong katawan at sumasabak na sa mabibigat na trabaho, hindi ba’t hindi mo naman ito ituturing na pang-aabuso? Pagkat ito ay isang pangkaraniwan nang pangyayari sa inyo. Ito ang reyalidad na kinabibilangan mo. Na ang mga bata ay katulong ng kani-kanilang mga magulang sa bukid o kung saan man may trabaho o mapagkakakitaan ng perang pantustos sa araw-araw. Ito ang inaakala ninyong normal na nangyayari. Ito ang akala ninyong tanging maaring mangyari. Dahil hindi lang ito nagsimula sa inyo, maging ang inyong mga magulang ay ganito na ang kinamulatan at ang mga magulang ng magulang ninyo.

Hindi pera o ari-arian ang siyang pinamamana sa inyo ng inyong mga magulang sa mura ninyong edad kung hindi ay trabaho. Ang kanilang pamana ay maaari mo nang tamasahin,  agad-agad, kahit na nabubuhay pa sila. Hindi tulad ng iba na kailangan pa munang maghintay na tumuntong sila sa legal na edad bago nila makuha ang kanilang mana. At lalong hindi nila kailangan pang hintaying mawala sa kanila ang kanilang magulang bago mapasakanila ang bagay na gustong ibigay sa kanila ng kanilang mga magulang.

Nabuhay man ako sa mundong iyon noon, naranasan ko man ang ganoon noon, tumanggap man ako ng pamana noon, hindi naman ako nanatili roon ng ganoon katagal. Sa kabutihang palad, isang amang may mataas na pangarap at inang gustong umalis sa nakasanayang hirap ang mayroon ako. Hindi nila gustong manatiling pinapasa sa aming pamilya ang pamanang hirap iwasan. Ayaw na nilang hanggang sa aming bunso ay umabot pa ang manang noon pa man ay gusto na nilang tanggihan.

Ibang pamana ang pangarap nilang ibigay sa aming magkakapatid. Pangarap na unti-unti na naming naaabot. Pamana na hindi mawawala sa amin. EDUKASYON.

Laking pasasalamat ko sa aking mga magulang na hindi ko na mararamdaman ang takot na noo’y bumalot sa kanila na baka pati ang aking mga apo ay mapamanahan ko ng trabahong magkakait sa kanila ng pagkakataong maranasan ang kasiyahang dulot ng pagiging bata.

Group 3 SocSci10-Z

Nunez, Vanessa Janine R.

Ojos, Kevin

Red, Ramces Brayalle

Alabin, Glassyl

Moraleta, Raniella

What is Love?

Love for me before was this special feeling of happiness, overjoy and tingly feeling inside. When my heart beats so fast after seeing and talking to a girl I like I know its love. I used to say “I’m so in love!” Oh how I have never been so wrong my entire life. Well not entirely of course.  Love is defined to be a special connection between people. So love is definitely not a feeling but a very special connection. When you say you’re so in love that’s not really love. For you to love you must have trust, believing in them, respect, showing appreciation of them and affection, showing your good intent through action. Lacking in either of those does not make you love them. Even though you have respect and trust towards them, if you don’t show your affection it not love.
It is also said that there are 7 types of love namely Agape, Storge, Pragma, Philautia, Philia, Ludus and Eros. Agape is the type of love for humanity. This loves makes us sympathize with ourselves. We feel like there is a connection to other people even though we don’t know them for the reason that we are humans who share experiences, emotions and ideals. Storge on the other hand is a love for family. This is the type of love that the mother has for the child, father to child, grandfather to child and vice versa. Another type is Pragma. This is lasting love or love that endures. The type of love you see I marriage.  The love that endures through thick and thin. The love that endures even after so many years of not meeting each other. Next is the Philautia. It is the love for oneself. This is not vanity but the joy of being ourselves. The next is Philia, the love of shared experiences. Ludus the  playful kind of love. Finally, Eros, the romantic and erotic love.
From those, we know that love is not only about you but also the other person. Their needs and wants. Love is not selfish, its about how you can sacrifice yourself for the person you love. And that is true love.

SocSci10 Z Group 5


Enriquez, Ryan
Flores, Nathaniel Lorenz
Galido, Noel Joseph
Jimenez, Rica
Paican, Maria Luzviminda
Vergara, Bryan

Techie Generation

Technology has gone a long way making today's kids a bit drawn to it. 3 year old's can play Fruit Ninja and 15 year old's can generate softwares! But the question is, has it gone a little too far?

While different media connect you to a loved one far away, others are detached by it. Things can be destructive depending on the way you handle them. Remember the times when a family sits together in the dining area, talking about how their day was while eating, and bond a little. Compared to families nowadays, families back then have a strong bond and communication.

People today, especially kids, are drawn towards different media - television, internet/website, phones, books - most of them for recreational use. While they can learn easily using these, it alienates them from their families. People, being practical beings, use instruments for our own sake. Because of this, these 'instruments' - in this sense, media -- reduces the physical distance between family members. They have less communication and bonding because other members of the family are gravitated towards technology. Sometimes, they bond more with people virtually than their family who is with them physically.

And what do this mean for the Filipino family? Have the values and the connection died because of technology? - No, not at all but it caused people to drift apart. They have less time to bond with friends, make adventures, and connect with the family. Thus, bring technology to a low consumption. You don't want to miss what's really happening out there, do you?

GROUP 6

Domingo, Mark Anthony

Jacobe, Dessa Mae

Perez, Jeff

Posilero, Jinky

Rubiano, Geremie

Tajan, Patrisha Willyn Mae