Recently, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos has been under heavy flak for some of his recent statements. These include his suggestions for Filipino rice farmers to switch to producing dragon fruit during the Taiwanese off-seasons, and his claims that the Philippine Peso is weak due to the fact that the U.S. Dollar is strong.

“The Sierra Madre mountain range doing her thing,” sabi sa isang post mula sa Twitter. Umalingawngaw ng mga panawagan at paghanga sa kapangyarihang taglay ng Sierra Madre ang iba’t ibang plataporma ng midya. Ito ang parehong araw kung kailan tumama sa kalupaan ng Luzon ang bagyong Karding na siyang agarang humina nang makadaupang-palad ang bulubundukin. 

The past few months have been one of utter chaos in the United Kingdom. Alongside the skyrocketing gas and energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was political turmoil in the House of Commons. The British government has essentially hit the panic button, having had three prime ministers (PMs) in the span of only 52 days. 

Every November, the Philippines celebrates Environmental Awareness Month to bring frequently overlooked issues to light, with high hopes of raising public awareness and promoting sustainability around the whole country. Just last June, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) set the theme of this year’s Environment Month, “Aksyon Para sa Natatanging Mundo”, to highlight its persistent commitment to the environment and Filipinos, as it continues to protect the country’s natural resources despite the threats and challenges imposed by the pandemic. 

“The audacity of the aggressor is a clear signal to the West that sanctions against Russia are not enough, because they did not understand, did not feel, did not see the world is really determined, really determined to stop this war. You will not hide from this reality. You will not hide from new murders in Ukraine.” Those were the words echoed by Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy last March, during the early developments of what would be a prolonged and devastating battle. 

Despite out-of-the-blue announcements and undetailed responsibilities, filmmaker and director Paul Soriano was appointed Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday, October 17. Witnessed by his wife—famous television and YouTube personality Toni Gonzaga—and son, Soriano took his oath on the same day in Malacañang Palace.

In the morning of October 9, Sunday, former senator Leila De Lima survived an attempted hostage-taking at the Camp Crame Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police (PNP), where she has been detained since 2017.

The PNP revealed the hostage-taker to be detainee Feliciano Sulayao Jr., who, just prior to taking De Lima hostage, attempted to escape the facility with fellow detainees Arnel Cabintoy and Idang Susukan. The group stabbed a policeman in the facility as they tried to escape, although Cabintoy and Susukan were shot to death by another officer upon witnessing this scene. Just like his companions, Sulayao was later shot dead. “After being told by the hostage-taker that since his two other companions were already dead, he’s certain he would also be killed and he might just as well also kill me,” De Lima shared in a statement, speaking about the supposed motives of the perpetrator.

Roughly two months into his reign, it is still unclear how President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. aims to achieve the national unity he strongly advocated for during his campaign. If anything, one may say that many of his actions and decisions thus far—or lack thereof—have caused more neglect and division than oneness.

Kahit itinatag noong taong 1987, ang kasalukuyang Konstitusyon ng bansang Pilipinas ay wala pa ring salin sa wikang Filipino. Bagama’t ang Filipino at Ingles ay parehong mga opisyal na wika ng bansa, mukhang ang Ingles lamang ang ginagamit para sa mahahalagang pambansang dokumento.

“While a people preserves its language; it preserves the marks of liberty,” once said the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal. Yet, in the case of Baybayin, the proper way to apply this statement seems to be quite debated upon.