The Ledger Publication

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗲, 𝗧𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗼 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹.

Behind every headline, every frame, every design, and every story is a team committed to giving the College of Business a voice.

This year, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿 moves forward with both familiar faces and new ones, bringing fresh voices, new perspectives, and the same passion for stories that matter.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙧.

𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡 | Iloilo City Government Encourages Shift to Flexible Learning Amid Rainfall

The Iloilo City Government is encouraging schools to shift from face-to-face classes to online, asynchronous, or modular learning for Pre-School to Senior High School (SHS) today, August 10, 2026, particularly in flood-prone and highly vulnerable areas.

The advisory cites intermittent to heavy rain showers, localized thunderstorms, 20–50 km/h southwesterly winds, and continued flooding in several low-lying barangays.

While the weather conditions do not trigger automatic class cancellation under national guidelines, the Iloilo City Operations Center emphasized flexible learning arrangements to prioritize the safety of students and school personnel.

Note: An official memorandum or announcement from the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) is still being awaited.

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| via Therese Guion
| Courtesy: Iloilo City Government

𝗣𝘀𝗽𝘀𝗽𝘀𝗽𝘀𝗽𝘀… 𝗺𝗲𝗼𝘄! 🐱🐾

It’s 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘆!

Comment down below a picture of your cat/s and let’s celebrate our fluffy friends on their special day!

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗿-𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀!

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| via Therese Guion
| Photos and Pubmat by Wellah Mae Ploteña

𝕷𝖊𝖉𝖌𝖊𝖗 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖘 | 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗔𝗞𝗢 𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧
by Franz Andrei Bernadas

Sa panahong ito, ikaw ay hindi akin
Kahit nagsusumamo na sa buwan, hindi ka pa rin maangkin,
Wari'y bang ako ay isang desperadang alipin,
Ng kwento nating aking isinulat sa hangin.

Bawat hiling ko sa mga bituin,
pangalan mo ang sinasambit,
Para akong sirang plaka dahil ako'y paulit-ulit,
Ano nga ba ang dapat kong gawin
upang wag na maging masakit?
Pagkat ikaw pa rin ang laman ng puso't isip, walang bahid na pilit.

Siguro nga'y hindi na mapipilit ang tadhana,
Kahit anong sugal pa ang gawin ay hindi gagana,
Magpapaalam na ba sa yugtong hindi kailanman nag-umpisa?
Ititigil na ba ang paghiling ng mumunting pag-asa?

Sa bawat panaginip at alaalang inaaral na limutin,
Sa aking sistema ay mahirap kang alisin,
Ngunit ito ay kailangan ko nang gawin at tapusin,
Dahil ang sugat gawa ng madayang tadhana
ay lumalalim.

Kaya ngayon, siguro ay akin nang sisimulan
Ang paglimot sa damdaming dapat ng wakasan,
Bagama't ang puso ay paunti-unting nawawalan
Ng lakas na ipaglaban ang nakaraang wala ng kahulugan.

Hanggang dito na lamang ako't patuloy na humihiling,
Na sana sa susunod na habangbuhay, ikaw na ang makapiling
Ngunit sa buhay na ito ay aking pipiliing ikimkim,
Pag-ibig sa iyo ay akin nang ililibing.

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| Art by Yzah Martina Calunsod

𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | The Binyag Komersyantes 2026 continued at the University of San Agustin Grandstand and Field, as freshmen and Komersyantes took part in afternoon activities.

| Photos by Vincent Frederick Ortega, Samantha Marthena Mendez, and Rezaira Michaela Jane Alfane

𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | The Binyag Komersyantes 2026!

| Photos by Vincent Frederick Ortega and Ermengild Mateo

𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | BINYAG KOMERSYANTES 2026

The College of Business (COB) welcomed its newest Komersyantes during the morning activities of Binyag Komersyantes 2026 at the University of San Agustin Grandstand and Field.

| Photos by Vincent Frederick Ortega and Ermengild Mateo

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐍 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀

There is a peculiar silence that echoes through Filipino homes today. Not the silence of peace, but the silence of occupied minds.

I noticed it on an ordinary afternoon.

School had drained every ounce of energy from me. I kicked off my shoes, tossed my sweat-soaked uniform onto the closet, reached for my phone, and opened Mobile Legends One the defeat became another then another.

“Isa na lang. Bawi tayo."

The familiar lies every player tells themselves.

My mother called me for dinner.

“Wait lang, Nay. One game na lang."

She did not answer. Instead, she handed me a few coins and told me to buy something from the neighborhood sari-sari store.
Along the way, I heard another voice.

“Wait lang, Ma. One game na lang."

The words stopped me.

They sounded exactly like mine.

A few steps farther, a little boy sat glued to an iPad, shouting insults no child should know. Every defeat was answered with another curse, each word sounding strangely rehearsed—as though the internet had become his first language.

His parents never looked up.

Their eyes were fixed on another screen.

It struck me that the child had inherited more than a screen.

He had inherited their absence.

Further down the street, another family gathered around the dinner table. The rice was still warm. The food sat untouched. It seems like the conversation had quietly surrendered to endless scrolling. Four people shared one meal, yet each seemed to be eating alone.

I wondered if this had become the new Filipino family portrait—not broken by distance, but by distraction.

When I arrived home, the evening news filled the room with another tragedy. A horrific school shooting had reignited public calls to ban violent video games.

Whenever tragedy strikes, we search for something we can point at.

A game.

A smartphone.

An application.

A screen.

Blaming technology comforts us because it offers a villain with an uninstall button. It is far easier to ban software than to confront the things no legislation can measure: the conversations that never happened, the cries for help dismissed as teenage moods, the warning signs ignored, and the homes where presence quietly surrendered to convenience.

Do not mistake me

I do not defend unhealthy gaming habits. But banning online games cuts the branches while leaving the roots untouched. The real problem begins long before a child ever logs in.

Violence has never been downloaded from an application.

It grows where loneliness is left unanswered, where anger is left untreated, where discipline is replaced with devices, and where children learn more from algorithms than from the people who were meant to raise them.

Technology has never created character.

It only magnifies what is already there.

A phone can teach a child to code or teach them cruelty. The internet can introduce a student to a scholarship or to a scam. A screen can connect a father working overseas to his family—or separate a father sitting beside them at dinner.

The question has never been whether technology is dangerous.

The question is whether we have become too absent to teach the next generation how to live with it.

Children do not merely need stricter internet regulations.

They need parents who notice before disciplining.

Teachers who listen before judging.

Communities that guide before condemning.

Leaders who invest not only in digital policies but also in mental health, education, and family welfare.

Because no law, no application, and no algorithm will ever replace the quiet power of a family that chooses to be present.

Perhaps the greatest crisis of our generation is not that children are always logged in.

It is that too many are being raised out.

| via Mitch Dianne Pabila
| Layout by Therese Jan Pauleen Guion
| Courtesy: Britannica

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position, views, or policies of The Ledger Publication of the College of Business, University of San Agustin. The publication does not endorse or assume responsibility for the opinions, interpretations, or conclusions expressed herein. This column is published to encourage critical thought, discussion, and informed discourse.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦

The College of Business (COB) ended as champions, clinching the ASEAN Quiz Bee Crown at the USA Auditorium on August 5, 2026. With sharp minds and seamless teamwork, COB outpaced the competition, leaving the College of Pharmacy and Medical Technology (CPMT) as 1st runner-up and the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences, and Education (CLASE) as 2nd runner-up.

The event brought together contestants from across colleges and Junior High School, all battling through trivias and historical facts of ASEAN knowledge. It was not just a test of facts. It was a showcase of composure, collaboration, and the spirit of academic rivalry. Prevailing of perfectly scoring thirty (30) points during the first round, and another perfect twenty (20) points during the tie breaker match, the COB won this quiz bee with absolute advantage amongst their opponents.

College of Business’ ASEAN Quiz Bee Lineup:
J-Chloe O. Pecaoco – BSMA 2A
Valerie G. Villanueva – BSTM 4A
Charles Danielle N. Villanueva – BSA 4A
Ignatius Daniel S. Amular – BSBA MM 3A
Jaron Drew A. Olivar – BSBA MM 3A
Within a few days of preparation, this shows that great minds and hard work wins through any challenge. And together, these five (5) champions from various programs proved that brilliance shines brightest when fueled by teamwork. That is the Komersyantes' witty-way to success.

Final Standing:
Champion: College of Business
1st Runner-up: College of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology
2nd Runner-up: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Education

| via Nicole Villarina
| Photos by Regine Mariz Alkonga and Rezaira Michaela Jane Alfane