SCRIBE - Journalism Society

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐆𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐘! 🎉

As one of 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐄’𝐬 members, your courage, teamwork, and enthusiasm continue to inspire us all and help make every project and event even more meaningful. 🎨✨

On your special day, we celebrate you and your brilliant contributions to the initiatives of the organization. 🖊️🥳

SCRIBE wishes you a birthday filled with joy.

Keep on burning bright, peryodista! 🎂 💫

Caption by: Jia Fajardo
Layout by: Rich Longakit

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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬?

Letran’s BA Journalism program trains future journalists to tell credible, impactful, and responsible stories. Gain hands-on experience in news writing, reporting, feature writing, and investigative journalism while sharpening your skills in research, interviewing, and multimedia storytelling.

From covering real issues to producing stories that matter, you’ll build the discipline, ethics, and critical thinking needed in today’s media landscape — preparing you for careers in journalism, broadcasting, digital news, and public affairs.

To apply, visit https://letpass.letran.edu.ph/

Your Best Self Begins at Letran! Arriba!

JRN2A (GE18) | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐳, 𝐁𝐢ñ𝐚𝐧

In every heavy rainfall, the people of Biñan City wait anxiously as water slowly rises in the. streets of Barangay Dela Paz. What should have been a temporary inconvenience has become a painful cycle of destruction, fear, and neglect. Families are forced to live with knee-deep floodwaters for days, sometimes even months, while officials continue to promise long-term solutions that never seem to arrive.

Flooding in Dela Paz is no longer simply a natural disaster. It is now a social issue that reflects poor urban planning, environmental abuse, and slow government action. Reports have shown that the barangay’s location near Laguna de Bay makes it vulnerable whenever the lake overflows during storms. Residents also suffer because nearby rivers and waterways become clogged with garbage, water lilies, and thick layers of silt that block the natural flow of water.

What makes the situation even more frustrating is that this problem has existed for years. In 2021, some parts of Dela Paz remained submerged for almost four months after typhoons struck the area. Even today, many residents still endure recurring floods despite repeated flood-control projects and rehabilitation efforts.The people are tired of hearing excuses while their homes, belongings, and livelihoods continue to disappear underwater.

Flooding affects more than just roads and houses. Students struggle to attend school, workers lose income, and families are exposed to diseases carried by dirty floodwater. Children grow up treating floods as a normal part of life when it should never be normal for communities to live in danger year after year. The emotional burden is equally devastating
because residents are constantly uncertain about when the next storm will arrive and how much damage it will bring.

Authorities have recently proposed pumping stations and floodgates to separate and drain floodwaters more efficiently in Dela Paz and nearby barangays. These projects may help lessen the problem, but solutions should not stop there. The government must strengthen waste management, maintain waterways regularly, enforce environmental laws, and create sustainable urban development plans.

The flooding in Dela Paz is a reminder that disasters become worse when preparation and responsibility are ignored. The residents of the community do not need endless promises; they need action. Until real and lasting solutions are implemented, every rainfall will continue to symbolize not only a failure in infrastructure, but also a failure to protect the people who call Dela Paz home.

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲: Malaya Laxamana
𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟: GE18 - Environmental Science
𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐟: Bilyonaryo News Channel

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JRN2A (GE18) | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐘𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

Having lived in Dagupan City for 13 years, my family and I eventually reached a breaking point, leading us to relocate. Our move was driven by a single, systemic failure: the city’s unresolved flooding crisis. Over the years, I witnessed various administrations come and go, yet a long-term environmental solution remained elusive. While the city’s geography is a natural challenge—being a low-lying delta where seven rivers converge—the true "floodgates" preventing progress are political inertia, corruption, and unplanned urbanization.

It is often argued that Dagupan’s vulnerability is inevitable because it is built on reclaimed land and sits at sea level. However, this excuse falls flat when compared to low-lying nations like the Netherlands, Japan, and Singapore, which have successfully engineered their way out of similar geographical traps. In my lifetime, I have seen five different mayors, yet the names rarely change; the city is locked in a cycle of political dynasties and oligarchic rivalries.

As a child captivated by local politics, I attended Miting de Avances and listened to candidates promise sophisticated flood mitigation platforms. Yet, once in power, those blueprints vanish. The implementation of environmental policy is consistently sacrificed at the altar of political interests. Even with recent probes into multi-million peso flood control projects, the citizens of Dagupan feel no relief. The water continues to rise, proving that until the city’s political environment is fixed, its physical environment will continue to sink.

The continuous land reclamation in the city, became its big scar. Their plan to urbanize the city of Dagupan hits a big block that affects drainages, canals, rivers, ponds, and the city's trees. The heat in the city during the months of April and May, is largely different from the temperature of its surrounding cities.

It must be noted by now that environmental issues are a political issue. The people must now rethink how it has been for the past decade. How are their homes, livelihoods, living conditions, and the structure of the city they are in. Everytime that the season of typhoon hits the country, it also leaves a big damage of flooding in Dagupan. For over six decades, the same old issue has thrived in the city. When will they think of a long-term solution? When will the campaign talk about solving it be felt? And when will they care about the environment?

𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲: Seth Jarell Diamse
𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟: GE18 - Environmental Science
𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐟: Philippine Star

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𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃𝐒, 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒, & 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 🌟

Yesterday, May 9 2026, SCRIBE Journalism Society, in partnership with The LANCE, held its flagship event at the Del Pilar Hall.

The event featured media practitioners who shared their insights on the state of press freedom in the country, offering personal anecdotes and professional advice to aspiring student journalists.

This initiative marks the organization’s commitment to promoting and honoring the noble profession, especially at a time of dwindling student populations, distrust in the media, and other challenges faced by the press and its practitioners.

Photos by: Augusto Urbano II

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Meet the Speakers for this years' 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬, & 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔!

This Saturday, we invite you all to the Media Congress and hear firsthand stories from our incredible speakers:

🖋️ 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚 - Award-winning freelance photojournalist known for documenting the country’s war on drugs

🖋️ 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐨 - Multimedia reporter for Rappler covering justice, crime, police, and human rights

🖋️ 𝐑𝐨𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐚 - Community journalist and news editor at Manila Today focusing on investigative reporting and environmental and social justice stories

🖋️ 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨 - Business Journalist at Charlton Media Group covering industry news, market trends, and corporate developments across Asia-Pacific

See you there as they share their experiences, insights, and stories from the field!

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃𝐒, 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒, & 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

This Saturday, May 9, you are invited to explore with us the evolving state of Journalism and Press Freedom in the Philippines, understanding where it once stood, what it currently faces, and it's possible future.

📅 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Saturday, May 9, 2026
🕑 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
📍 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Mabini Hall, Letran-Manila

Join us in the upcoming panel discussion and be part of this meaningful initiative.

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦. 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

Which one truly defines the media landscape of our time?

Join us as we confront the state of press freedom and recognize the voices that refuse to be threatened.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝— 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭.