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Showing posts from December, 2024

Behind the Screen: Discovering the Basics of Coding

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This quarter, we stepped into the world of coding, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. At first, seeing lines of HTML felt overwhelming—almost like trying to understand a new language. But as we started learning, everything began to make sense, one step at a time. Working with HTML taught me how websites are built from the ground up. Simple tags like  <h1>  for headings and  <p> for paragraphs showed me how to organize content, while adding links and images made the pages come alive. It felt amazing to see how a few lines of code could turn a blank page into something interactive and creative. What really stood out for me, though, was how coding isn’t just about typing commands. It’s about thinking critically and solving problems. When something didn’t work, I had to figure out why—sometimes it was a tiny mistake, like a missing tag, but fixing it felt like solving a mystery. It taught me patience and the value of learning from my mistakes. This experi...

Unbroken: Rising Together to End Violence Against Women

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Violence Against Women (VAW) is not just a statistic—it’s a harsh reality for millions of women worldwide. In the Philippines, nearly 1 in 5 women has endured emotional, physical, or sexual abuse from someone they loved and trusted. These numbers, revealed in the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey, are more than just data; they represent real lives affected, families torn apart, and futures altered forever. Every year, the  18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women  reminds us of this ongoing struggle. Anchored on Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9262, the  Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 , this campaign highlights the importance of laws designed to protect women and children from abuse. R.A. No. 9262 empowers women to seek justice through protection orders, legal support, and stronger penalties for abusers. It acknowledges that abuse is not just physical—it can also be emotional, sexual, or even economic. This recognition is crucial because...

The Legendary Legacy of Quirino

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Elpidio Quirino, born into a poor family in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, was a self-made man with a strong will and a burning passion. While attending Vigan High School, the young Elpidio taught in the neighboring town of Caoayan's Barrio Caparia. He earned enough to pay for his transfer to Manila High School, and he continued to work while studying law at the University of the Philippines. He received one of the highest marks in the 1915 Bar Examinations. He started his career as a law clerk for the Philippine Commission before catching the attention of rising politician Manuel L. Quezon, who became his mentor in life and politics. He served in a variety of posts, including congressman, senator, and cabinet secretary, until becoming President Manuel A. Roxas' Vice President in 1946. When Roxas died of a heart attack in 1948, Quirino took over and was elected to his own term the next year. Faced with the challenges of a war-torn and newly independent country, Quirino established the grou...

Katutubos: The Bearers of Filipino Communities

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       The book Indigenous Peoples' Movements: Past and Present gave a historical account of the attempts to reestablish indigenous identity and autonomy over time. The indigenous are traditional populations that have lived on the territory since before the Spanish arrived in 1521. These communities include Mindanao's Moros, Lumads, Kalingas, Tagalogs, Ilocano, Igorot, Bikolon, Aetas, and Agtas.      Prior to being fisherman and farmers, their forefathers were hunters and agriculturalists. The indigenous cultural communities of the Philippines have long fought for their rights, ancestral properties, and sovereignty. Over the past century, Filipinos have responded to external oppression through a variety of movements and responses. This period saw the end of the Spanish "civilizing" missions, which sought to demolish or eliminate native cultures through forced conversion, absorption, and transformation. The locals' first reaction was defiance, and they ...

Taking The Shine Off Shein: Fast Fashion Becoming The Cause Of Our Climate's Deathbed

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     https://fashionmagazine.com/style/overconsumption/      From "Let's purchase this top from Shein," to "We have to buy the new iPhone," we can't seem to stop supporting the overconsumption movement that slowly contributes in deteriorating our climate. Overconsumption is when humans consume more resources than we produce. Office siren, mob wife, sage girl —we make up the most outrageous micro trends that we spend every dime we have for in a span of 2-3 weeks. Trends keep going viral every second of every day, and we're too environmentally clueless to realize that all the purchases in our carts take up a percentage of the causes of climate change every time we press "Check out."  https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fast-fashion-2021-sustainability-environment-b1981303.html     Over the past years, overproduction and overconsumption add to the brutally increasing levels of pollution and toxic gases that contribute to global...