The Reed

25/08/2026

| 𝟗𝟏𝟏: 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 – 𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝

When an emergency occurs, people need help as soon as possible. Whether it is a fire, injury, accident, or another hazardous circumstance, every situation where people require assistance from authorities is urgent. Therefore, the unified 911 emergency response system is essential because it can provide citizens with the help of law enforcement, firefighting, and medical services.

In order to ensure that the emergency is managed appropriately, the 911 emergency response system must be improved and unified across the country. People will be able to contact emergency services more quickly and easily without having to call multiple numbers or worry about which authority to turn to. It will be more convenient for operators to understand the issue and assign the emergency to the appropriate team. It would seem that a single emergency number, which everyone can remember and use in any situation, can significantly improve the current response system. However, the most obvious downside to the unified 911 emergency response system is that there is only one number for all emergency services, and this can slow down the entire process. The operator will receive the call and identify the problem, but it can take time to transfer the emergency to the corresponding team. As a result, the person needing help might not receive the necessary service quickly enough, which can be critical in some situations. Moreover, emergency units are highly dependent on traffic and other environmental factors, and thus, operators should always keep in mind that responding to an emergency call can involve risks. It is apparent that in some cases, the unified 911 emergency response system might be ineffective and even dangerous.

Although having one emergency number is essential, it is also necessary to remember that 911 is only a tool, and in order to respond to all emergency calls, trained and professional workers with appropriate equipment and communication devices are required. In other words, the 911 emergency response system should not only be easy to access but also properly maintained and controlled. Citizens should know that emergency operators and dispatchers are real people who should not be disrespected or joked with because their job is to protect and serve the public. People should understand why they need the emergency response system, when it is appropriate to call 911, and how to use it correctly. For example, there are some emergency numbers that are not supposed to be used for prank calls, and a single false emergency call can block a channel that could have been used by someone with a real emergency. Thus, both the authorities and civilians need to put in the effort to ensure the 911 emergency response system works effectively.

In conclusion, the 911 emergency response system is one of the most important parts of any country’s safety service and, even though it provides a variety of benefits and tools, it is essential to ensure that it is not abused and that everyone knows how to use it properly.

Remember, in an emergency, every second counts, and a call for help should never become a wait for hope.





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Opinion by: NABOR | COLUMN
Illustration by: DELA CRUZ | CARTOONING
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24/08/2026

The rain falls the same on every roof,
but it does not weigh the same on every shoulder.

Outside, the sky hung low, a heavy blanket of iron-gray pressing down upon the city. Rain drummed in an endless, roaring rhythm against rooftops and pavement, loud enough to drown out thought, loud enough to blur every horizon into a single, weeping veil.

Wind whipped droplets sideways, and the world seemed to shrink beneath the downpour.

They say students get a break when classes are suspended. But 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦. It depends entirely on who you ask.

When the announcement flashed across screens — 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗨𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 — the city split in two.

Some breathed a sigh of relief. They closed their laptops, pulled on warm socks, and curled up with mugs of something hot, grateful for the pause, the permission to rest, to let the world spin on without them for a while.

But others held their breath.

For one, the flood rose outside their door.

Water crept up the driveway, murky and slow, swallowing the curb, then the lower step, then edging toward the threshold. They watched it rise with a tightening chest. They moved furniture onto tables, stacked books atop shelves, dragged their most precious things higher, yet the water kept climbing - silent, unrelenting, eating away at their home, their safety, their peace.

Outside, the rain battered walls; inside, anxiety beat louder than thunder. Every glance out the window brought a fresh wave of fear, and there was no pause, no relief, only the quiet, desperate hope that the water would stop before it crossed the line.

For another, the flood rose on their screen.

No water seeped through their walls, yet 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. As the storm raged outside, assignments piled up like fallen leaves—readings, essays, problem sets, deadlines sliding closer, piling higher, cascading one after another until the page blurred into an endless wall of text and due dates.

Since you are 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, the messages said, use the time wisely. And so they sat, hour after hour, eyes burning, shoulders tight, while the rain drummed a taunting rhythm against the glass. The storm outside was not their enemy; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

No one saw the weight pressing down, the way "stay safe" had quietly become "work twice as hard."

Both were drowning. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.

Few ever truly realize—the rain brings 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴. The same storm that grants rest to some brings ruin to others. The same announcement that brings relief brings exhaustion.

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘬𝘺. 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚜.

Literary Prose by: Marie G. | Literary
Photo by: Andrei T. | Photojournalism
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24/08/2026

ReeRee is still waiting... ReeRee says it's not too lateee~!
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ReeRee is waiting. Are you ready to take the next step?



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21/08/2026

✦ 𝗔 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 ✦

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨 "𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲" 𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐉𝐫. 𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬. 🇵🇭

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦, 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.

𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 🕊 ⋆. ୨୧˚⋆




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Caption by: NABOR | COLUMNIST
Illustration by: A. ORTIZ | LAYOUT
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17/08/2026

| 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧.

Love comes at a price, they say.

Perhaps it does — not only in relationships, but in the quiet surrender of dreams.

For some students, Mahal Magmahal is not about a love that is difficult to keep. It is about loving something they can no longer afford to pursue.

A course they dreamed of. A university they could not enter. A passion buried beneath tuition fees, transportation costs, materials, and the simple mathematics of survival.

It is a peculiar kind of heartbreak when you are not defeated by failure, but by circumstance.

You want it. You love it. You have imagined yourself becoming someone through it.

But your parents are already giving everything they can. And sometimes, love means looking at the people who raised you, seeing how hard they work, and choosing not to ask for more.

So you let the dream go.
Quietly.

No applause. No farewell. Just a student learning, perhaps too early, that some futures are not abandoned because they were never loved enough — but because they were loved in a world where love alone could not pay the price.

Maybe that is the deeper ache of Mahal Magmahal:

Sometimes, the thing we love most is the very thing we have to give up.

And perhaps the cruelest part is not losing the dream — but knowing you would have chased it, if only money had not gotten there first.

It is waking up tomorrow and continuing to live as though you never lost it.

So you attend a different class.
You study a different course.
You learn to call another future practical.

And no one sees the small funeral you carry inside you — the future you quietly buried without ever getting the chance to live it.

Because some dreams do not end with failure.

Some simply become "if only."

And maybe, years from now, you will still wonder who you could have been — if loving your dream had never been so beyond reach.




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Literary by: LIMON | FEATURE
Illustration by: ISABELLA | CARTOONIST
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𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗨𝗦:
ⓕ The Reed
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17/08/2026

ReeRee Waits, But for Whom? 👀

For those who have submitted their application forms, kindly click the provided link or check your Gmail for further information.

ReeRee is waiting. Are you ready to take the next step?




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17/08/2026

14/08/2026

❗

𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗡𝗦𝗬𝗢 | Dahil sa patuloy na sama ng panahon dulot ng Habagat, 𝗸𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗼 ang 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗸𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 bukas, Agosto 15, 2026.

Manatiling nakaantabay sa karagdagang impormasyon sa panibagong iskedyul ng naturang programa.
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13/08/2026

In view of the announced class suspension for Friday, August 14, 2026, all classes are hereby suspended due to the continuous rainfall brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat).

According to Mayor Jeannie Sandoval, classes are now shifted to Alternative Delivery Mode(online class). Students are encouraged to stay indoors, prioritize their safety, and remain updated through official school and local government announcements for further advisories.

For references, please visit this link:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ek7q9EV26/






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𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗨𝗦:
ⓕ The Reed
Email: [email protected]