The Herald Group of Publications

11/10/2026

An Addendum from The Herald: Acknowledging Our Oversights

On behalf of the entire Herald Publication, we sincerely apologize for the errors in our introductory video for Academic Year 2026–2027.

As most of our executives are LIPRISAA athletes and represented the school yesterday, our review and approval process fell short of the standard we strive to uphold. While this may provide context, it does not excuse the oversights in our publication.

In the interest of transparency, we would like to acknowledge and correct the following errors:

• Incorrect spelling and formatting of Editor-in-Chief
• Cropping of Ava Danta’s video
• Incorrect spelling of Pawn Sangha
• Incorrect pluralization of photojournalists
• Miscount of members and assigned roles

We extend our sincere gratitude to the teachers, students, and members of our community who took the time to bring these errors to our attention. Your feedback and constructive criticism remind us of the responsibility that comes with being the school’s official student publication.

As journalists, we recognize that accountability is just as important as the stories we tell. We take responsibility for these mistakes and acknowledge the need to strengthen our review process to ensure greater accuracy and attention to detail in our future work.

Once again, we apologize for these oversights, Kings. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we learn, improve, and work toward upholding the standards our community deserves.

Sincerely,
The Herald Executives

Pubmat by: Reese Mendoza
Caption by: Bernice Morales

10/10/2026

💥 Extra! Extra! Read all about it! 🗞️

Whether you’ve lost your earrings👂 or are looking for the latest scoop📰, consider this your headline of the day: The Herald’s official members for A.Y. 2026–2027 has arrived!📢

With fresh perspectives ready to hit the headlines and campus stories waiting to unfold, the SSISM Kings👑 better keep their eyes on the news. From the captions that catch your attention to the articles that spark thought✍️, the art that brings stories to life🎨, and the photos and videos that capture every moment📸, this team of student journalists is ready to bring campus stories to life and make their mark through journalism.

👀 So, who’s behind the bylines, the visuals, and the stories that keep the campus in the know?
🗣️ The PRESS is here. Meet the people behind SSISM’s campus media. Meet The Herald Team, A.Y. 2026–2027!💥

Caption by: Bernice Morales
Edit by: Iyarose Castillo

06/10/2026

𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒖𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒉 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 🗻

As our 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡 (𝐃𝐨𝐟𝐄) participants embarked on their 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, they faced new challenges, strengthened their teamwork, and made lasting memories

From moments of perseverance and grit to shared laughter and new experiences, the journey gave our students a chance to grow more confident in their ability to adapt, cooperate, and step outside their comfort zones.

Here's a glimpse into the journey through the eyes of our DofE participants 🌤 🤝

Caption by: Yna Nazareno
Edit by: Elrei Mangubat
Clips from: Gayle Malaluan and Ms. Leah

06/10/2026

✨ 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓖𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓦𝓲𝓼𝓭𝓸𝓶 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓖𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓵𝓾𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 ✨
🌎 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔’ 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 📚

Teachers are the ⚓ anchors that keep every student steady as they traverse the waters of learning and life. To acknowledge all their efforts, SSISM celebrated World Teachers’ Day on October 5, 2026, which gave the students the opportunity to pay tribute to the people who work so tirelessly to make a positive impact on the lives of many.

Organized by the 🎓 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 (𝑺𝒕𝒖𝑪𝒐), the morning celebration took place in the school’s lobby. The program began with a meaningful 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂, followed by welcoming opening remarks led by 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝑨𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒏 hosted the event, both of them keeping the celebration lively from beginning to end. 🎊

Hearts were warmed as students of SSISM greeted every teacher with excitement as they entered the campus. Teachers were surprised with thoughtful gifts 🎁, including 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒂 from the StuCo, providing a taste of prosperity for the special occasion. ✨

The StuCo also prepared a 🎭 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 from every department: 𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘋, 𝘎𝘚, 𝘑𝘏𝘚, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘏𝘚. The performances began with the excellent singing of 𝙿𝚒𝚘 𝙿𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚊 while flowers were given to the teachers by some of the StuCo members. The event featured a variety of talents, from singing, playing an instrument, telling jokes, and even more entertaining performances like the 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝟷𝟸 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚎 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝙾𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎. The performance set then concluded with a 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚐𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚂𝙸𝚂𝙼 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚅𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚢.

Whether it be chocolates 🍫, handwritten letters 💌, or even special presentations 🎁, one thing was for sure: it was truly a day filled with 💖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏—finally, a heartfelt message to all the sensational teachers around the world.

Thank you, teachers, for being our 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨, guiding us through the 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, and for giving a little piece of 💡𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 💐

Caption by: Laureus Sumague
Photos by: Li Yhan Hernandez, Bea Villegas and Iyarose Castillo

05/10/2026

🍎✨ 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚. 💗

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕. 🌟

📚 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. October 5, 2026, marks the day that the students of SSISM express their love and appreciation to all the teachers. 💐

💌 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓋𝒾𝒹𝑒𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓅𝓁𝒾𝒻𝓉, 𝓃𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝓊𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝒹𝒶𝓎. All students of SSISM hope that this message warms the hearts of every teacher and reminds them that their kindness and dedication are valued. 🌷

🎁 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨’ 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩—𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 🌱

❤️ 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.

Caption by: Laureus Sumague
Edit by: Lany Aquino and Ava Danta

04/10/2026

04/10/2026

🏐🔥 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆: Brent Invitational League 2026 🏆

After countless weeks of preparation and stepping onto the court of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, the Kings carried their spirit throughout the Semifinals and Championship matches of the 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, held on October 4 at Brent International School Manila. ✨

In a heated match, the 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒔 outlasted Xavier School Nuvali to claim a spot in the Semifinals. Though their run was cut short by Dominican College of Sta. Rosa, they bounced back strongly, defeating Brent’s Team B to claim 🥉 3𝒓𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆.

Meanwhile, the 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒔 soared past Southernside Montessori School and Colleges (SMSC) in the Semifinals, earning their place in the Finals. They battled Makati Hope Christian School (MHSC) for the championship title and wrapped up their run with a strong 🥈 2𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 finish.

📋 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑺𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔:

𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝘃𝘀. 𝗫𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗲𝗿 (𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀):�𝟯–𝟮�🏆 Winner: 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀

𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝘃𝘀. 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮. 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗮 (𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀):�𝟭–𝟯�🏆 Winner: 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮. 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗮

𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝘃𝘀. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗕 (𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀):�𝟯–𝟬�🏆 Winner: 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀

𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝘃𝘀. 𝗦𝗠𝗦𝗖 (𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀):�𝟯–𝟮�🏆 Winner: 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀

𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝘃𝘀. 𝗠𝗛𝗦𝗖 (𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀):�𝟭–𝟯�🏆 Winner: 𝗠𝗛𝗦𝗖

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔
🥉 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝘀 — 𝟯𝒓𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆�🥈 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 — 𝟮𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆

🎉A huge congratulations to the 𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺! They truly showcased the 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒕 of a King. 👑

Every block, every set, and every spike reflected their hard work and determination—leading the way with 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆. ❤️‍🔥

Caption by: Ava Danta
Photos by: Lih Yhan Hernandez, Lany Aquino and Elrei Mangubat

03/10/2026

𝑫𝒖𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒉 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 🥾🌿

From 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏- 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔, our 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐡 (𝐃𝐨𝐟𝐄) participants took part in the 𝐃𝐨𝐟𝐄 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, a two-day adventure designed to challenge our students beyond the classroom while developing teamwork, perseverance, and practical skills.

The two-day experience included a hike through the trails of 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐤-𝐧𝐚-𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐤 🗻 reaching the summit, preparing meals, tree planting, and team activities that emphasized the importance of environmental care and collaboration. The day concluded with a cozy campfire and reflections, allowing the learners to look back on the challenges, lessons, and the memories they shared throughout the day.

More than a qualifying journey, the experience helped the participants step outside their comfort zones, work together, and put their skills into practice 💫

Caption by: Yna Nazareno
Photos by: Lany Aquino and Miss Leah Ilagan

02/10/2026

📰✨ 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏—𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 🏆📝

The cliniquing sessions were held on September 18, 25, and October 2 at Senator Claro Memorial Integrated School. It served as a mini “journ camp” for the aspiring campus journalists—from going back to the basics, to further sharpening their writing skills, each session was filled with practice and learnings. ✍️📚 These sessions helped determine who would be representing the Division in the 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 (RSPC). 📰🏅

✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝. ✨

𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 — 𝟓𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑬𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 — 𝟐𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆

🎉 𝑨 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒊𝒏! 🎉

From every practice output to every revision—your hard work has led up to this moment. 📝✨ Your dedication and passion truly shone throughout every aspect of the competition.

Caption by: Ava Danta
Photos from: Miss Adelle and Sir Ron

01/10/2026

𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬 | 𝗗𝗨𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗞𝗢

Mayroong isang klaseng dugo na hindi kulay p**a.

Mayroong dugong kayumanggi—minsan ay mainit, madalas ay mapait, at palaging nagpapadala ng matapang na samyo tuwing umaga. Maaari itong maamoy mula sa kapetera o mula sa isang tasa sa hapag.

Kape.

Sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo, ang kape ay isang inumin lamang. Isang pampagising, kasama sa mahabang gabi, kasabay sa tahimik na umaga, at isang simpleng bahagi ng pang-araw-araw na buhay.

Ngunit dito sa Lipa, iba ang kuwento.

Ang kape ay hindi lamang iniinom. Ito ay inaalala, minamahal, at minamana.

Barako.

Isang pangalan na matagal nang nakaugat sa Lungsod ng Lipa —sa lupang tinubuan, sa kasaysayan, at sa mga kuwentong ipinasa mula sa isang henerasyon patungo sa susunod.

Sa bawat butil ng Barako, may kuwentong naghihintay na maihayag.

Mga bakas ng lupang pinagmulan nito.
Mga kamay na buong tiyagang nag-alaga sa mga puno.
Mga pamilyang umasa sa ani.
At isang lungsod na lumaking kasabay ng samyo ng kape.

Bawat tasa ay tila may tinig ng nakaraan—isang bulong na marahang nagpapaalala:

“Huwag mong kalimutan ang iyong pinagmulan.”

May mga bagay na kumukupas sa paglipas ng panahon.
Ang panahon ay lumilipas.
Ang mga bata ay tumatanda.
Ang mga henerasyon ay dumarating at lumilisan.

Ngunit may mga bagay na nananatiling buhay kahit gaano katagal:

Ang alaala.
Ang tradisyon.
At ang Kapeng Barako.

Sa isang tasa ng Barakong Kape, humihinto ang panahon.
Sa pait nito, nananatili ang mga alaala.
Sa init nito, tila bumabalik ang yakap ng tahanan.
Sa amoy nito, nananatili ang kuwento ng isang bayan.

At sa bawat butil na nagmula sa lupang ito, tila may munting bahagi ng Lipa na naiiwan sa panlasa ng bawat umiinom.

Kaya marahil, ang Barako ay hindi lamang kape; isa itong walang-kupas na pamana.

Isang ugat na nakabaon sa lupa at sa Lungsod ng Lipa.
Isang alaala na dumadaloy mula sa kahapon patungo sa ngayon.

At kung ang dugo ang nag-uugnay sa isang tao sa kaniyang pinagmulan, marahil ay may dugong hindi p**a—dugong kayumanggi.

Dugong mainit.
Dugong mapait.
Dugong mabango sa halimuyak ng lupang tinubuan.

Dugong Barako.

Dahil bago pa man ito maging laman ng tasa ng bawat pamilya, isa na itong bahagi ng Lipa.
Bago pa man ito maging isang inumin, isa na itong bahagi ng kuwento.
At bago pa man ito maging isang pangalan, isa na itong bahagi ng pagkatao ng isang Lipeño.

Sapagkat ang Kapeng Barako ay hindi lamang iniinom —ito ay kulturang minana at patuloy na pinagyayaman.

Dugong Barako.

Mabuhay ang Kapeng Barako!
Mabuhay ang mga Lipeño!

Isinulat ni: Rain Reyes
Pubmat ni: Ace Bondad, Bernice Morales at Reese Mendoza