http://cassayuran.blogspot.com/

CASSayuran IIT (OFFICIAL), Iligan City (2026)

29/05/2026

Hello, Graduating Arachnids!

The nominations for leadership and activity distinction awards for the upcoming 2nd Semester Commencement Ceremonies is now open.

Please check the photos for the list of awards and requirements for nominations and click the link to submit (use your My.IIT email to access):

https://bit.ly/CASS-EXTRA-CURRICULAR-AWARDS
https://bit.ly/CASS-EXTRA-CURRICULAR-AWARDS
https://bit.ly/CASS-EXTRA-CURRICULAR-AWARDS

*NOTICE: There is an updated note for CRITERIA VII please check the link for the updated form. Thank you!*

The deadline for submission of nomination is ON or BEFORE June 15, 2026 (Monday) at 05:00 PM only.

Thank you!

24/05/2026

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗱 𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗶? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

Public outrage in the Philippines has identified a convenient enemy: the poor.

Whenever prices rise, wages stagnate, or government failures become impossible to ignore, anger is redirected toward beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Online discourse reduces complex socioeconomic realities into lazy accusations—“𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘯”, “𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘥𝘢”, “𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘺𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘶𝘯𝘢”. The narrative is familiar, loud, and dangerously misleading.

The problem should never be placed on the millions of Filipinos that receive assistance. Instead, it should be why millions still need it after decades worth of
promised progress in the first place.

Conditional cash transfers were never meant to replace employment, economic mobility, or functioning public institutions. They exist because these institutions have failed to deliver equitable opportunities. It was meant to be a safety net—temporary assistance to prevent families from falling deeper into intergenerational poverty while children remain in school and receive healthcare. Yet public frustration has been carefully misdirected away from systemic dysfunction and toward those struggling to survive within it.

According to the World Bank, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) has benefited more than 4 million Filipino families, including around 8.7 million children, across 145 cities and 1,483 municipalities nationwide. Studies cited by the organization found that without the program, poverty in the Philippines would have been 7% higher while inequality and poverty gaps would have significantly worsened. Beyond financial assistance, the program has improved school attendance, healthcare access, and long-term opportunities for children born into poverty—challenging the common assumption that social protection merely creates dependency.

Blaming the poor is politically convenient. It shields policymakers from scrutiny while turning citizens against one another.

The Philippines does not suffer from excessive social protection; it suffers from structural inequality sustained by poor policy choices. Persistent contractualization keeps workers insecure. Regional underdevelopment forces migration toward overcrowded cities. Agricultural neglect leaves rural communities trapped in poverty cycles. Education and healthcare remain unevenly accessible despite repeated reform promises. Even with PhilHealth, many Filipinos continue to shoulder overwhelming out-of-pocket hospital expenses because coverage often fails to match the actual cost of care. Studies by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) found that PhilHealth frequently covers only around 40% or less of hospital costs, leaving vulnerable households financially exposed despite being insured. Rising inpatient expenses and inaccessible healthcare systems continue to push many families deeper into financial crisis rather than out of it. These are not personal shortcomings of 4Ps beneficiaries—they are consequences of governance failures accumulated over generations of incompetence.

However, the public conversation insists on moralizing poverty instead of questioning power.

Every peso given through social assistance undergoes intense public judgment, while billions lost to corruption, inefficiency, and poorly planned projects rarely provoke sustained equal outrage. The double standard reveals a deeper societal bias: assistance to the poor is treated as waste, while systemic leakage at higher levels is dismissed as inevitable. This misplaced anger serves the status quo perfectly.

When ordinary Filipinos resent welfare recipients rather than demand structural reform, accountability disappears. Citizens argue over who deserves aid while policymakers avoid answering why stable employment, living wages, and accessible services remain elusive. Consequently, the debate shifts from systemic reform to social polarization— benefitting those in power while leaving the people on the ground fragmented.

The truth is uncomfortable but necessary: poverty in the Philippines is not accidental. It is reproduced by an economic model that tolerates inequality as collateral damage of growth statistics. Safety nets like 4Ps merely prevent total collapse; they do not create dependency as critics claim. Dependency emerges when economies fail to provide dignified and sustainable alternatives.

In the current political climate, people must learn to comprehend that social protection will not create productivity because hunger does not inspire innovation, and desperation does not build a competitive workforce. A nation cannot discipline its way out of poverty while ignoring structural exclusion.

The scrutiny should not be positioned on the existence of aid but the absence of long-term solutions. Why do families remain reliant on assistance years after enrollment? Why does economic growth fail to translate into shared prosperity? Why does resilience continue to substitute for reform?

These are political questions, not moral ones.

Critics often argue that some households abuse the system by receiving assistance despite appearing financially capable or physically able to work. This perception has become widespread in online discourse, where viral posts frequently portray beneficiaries as “fake poor” — showing individuals allegedly lining up for aid distributions before spending on nonessential items afterward. For many Filipinos, the frustration does not necessarily come from cruelty but from the belief that assistance should primarily go to the incapacitated, unemployed, or families in severe economic distress. These concerns deserve acknowledgment because no public program should be immune from scrutiny, and inefficiencies or isolated cases of abuse can weaken public trust.

But the 4Ps program was designed to assist the poorest households, but it does not disqualify families simply because parents are physically able to work. In many cases, beneficiaries remain trapped in low-paying, unstable, or informal labor conditions that still leave them vulnerable to poverty. The existence of perceived abuse should therefore call for stronger monitoring and better implementation—not the dismissal of social protection itself or the assumption that poverty must always appear visibly extreme and pitiful to be legitimate.

The Philippines has long romanticized resilience—the smiling survivor of disasters, inflation, and institutional neglect. However, resilience should never be demanded as a substitute for competent governance. Citizens are not meant to endure broken systems indefinitely because it is the state’s responsibility to repair what is broken and heal those who received the most damage.

Redirecting frustration toward 4Ps beneficiaries ultimately protects those most responsible for inequality. It shifts legitimate economic anxiety into social hostility while leaving systemic failures untouched and unquestioned.

The country does not need less compassion— it needs more accountability. Instead of asking why the poor receive assistance, Filipinos must begin asking why a nation rich in labor, resources, and potential continues to produce poverty on such a massive scale. Social programs should be stepping stones toward dignity, not permanent lifelines—but achieving that requires structural reform: living wages, accessible job opportunities, regional investment, agricultural revitalization, and corruption-free governance.

Until public anger confronts these realities, the cycle will persist.

The poor are not failures.

The system is.

And it is time Filipinos stopped tolerating, defending, and perpetuating it by blaming those it has continuously marginalized.

READ THE FULL EDITORIAL HERE: https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/pantawid-o-paninisi-how-misplaced.html

Written by Natalie Sheena Mainar
Art by Janara Rose Jacosalem

19/05/2026

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲

Second-year BS Philosophy major in Applied Ethics students of MSU-IIT transformed the University Library Theater into a space for reflection, critique, and artistic expression during Aesthetics Unbound: Building Social Consciousness Through Aesthetics, held on Friday, May 15, 2026.

Revived for its second installment, Aesthetics Unbound is a theatrical showcase by BS Philosophy sophomores under their PHL110 Contemporary Aesthetics course, which began last year as a means to bridge thought and the tangible.

Organized through the joint partnership of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities - Aesthetics Committee and the Junior Philosophers’ Guild, this year’s program featured four student productions that used theater, music, movement, and performance art to mirror the pressing social realities of Filipinos.

The panel of judges included Asst. Prof. Fitzgerald Torralba, artistic director of the resident pop band Echoes; Assoc. Prof. Renebel Labadisos, artistic director of the Kaalimulan Cultural Dance Troupe; and Asst. Prof. Ernesto Zaldua Jr., artistic director of the Octava Choral Society.

Among the performances, 143 Productions presented ILY-ILY: The Musical, a deeply emotional portrayal of overseas Filipino workers and the families they leave behind.

Centered on labor migration and economic hardship, the story followed a Filipino family separated by circumstance, where love persists across distance through memories, lullabies, and music. It highlighted the sacrifices of OFWs, harsh working conditions abroad, and the emotional toll of separation.

One of its most striking lines described OFWs as “hindi kriminal pero sila ay bilanggo,” underscoring how systemic conditions trap workers in cycles of sacrifice.

The production emphasized the emotional weight of portraying both OFWs and the families left behind, highlighting how migration reshapes relationships and survival itself.

MARITES Production staged Radyo, a politically charged and philosophical performance anchored on silenced voices and exploited laborers, including teachers, nurses, farmers, and other public-sector workers.

Incorporating academic discussions on capitalism, labor systems, and social inequality, the production critiqued empty governmental promises and the continuing struggles faced across sectors.

Through the use of radio static, silence, and sign language choreography, the performance emphasized how marginalized voices struggle to break through systems that often ignore them.

The production expressed this reality through the line, “maingay ang radyo, pero ang bayan tahimik lang,” highlighting the contrast between constant noise and social silence. Their work drew heavily from lived experiences and collective social conditions.

Meanwhile, KALOYS Production presented Kaloy, a story that explored media influence and constructed reality through an ordinary individual shaped by television narratives and celebrity-driven ideals.

As Kaloy crossed beyond the screen, he confronted the gap between curated images and the lived realities of ordinary people. The production engaged the idea of aesthetics as revelation, showing how art can expose hidden truths beneath spectacle, while also questioning the romanticization of resilience in the absence of institutional support.

Lastly, BAGLIS Production staged Balota, a performance that began with humor before shifting into a critical examination of electoral politics, vote-buying, and dependency on political “ayuda.”

Depicting divided families, political pressure during elections, and the consequences of resisting corrupt systems, the narrative reflected how temporary aid is often used to influence voters while deeper social issues remain unresolved.

Across all four productions, shared themes emerged: labor migration, poverty, unreliable governance, systemic inequality, and the difficult choices faced by working-class Filipinos. The performances collectively emphasized how individuals navigate survival within structures that often limit opportunity and voice.

Aesthetics Unbound concluded with reflections from participants emphasizing that the showcase was not only a performance but an attempt to use aesthetics as a tool for awareness, critique, and social reflection.

Best Creative Director awardee Arra Ruiz of ILY-ILY: The Musical described the process as both an honor and a privilege, emphasizing collaboration and fulfillment in the craft.

She shared that working with her group felt meaningful because of the experience of seeing their ideas realized on stage, noting that their main goal was to “build social consciousness through aesthetics.”

Ruiz also emphasized that awards were secondary to addressing social issues, stating that “all these awards, applause, and praise means nothing if we continue to be blind towards our societal issues.”

She added that the production process required extensive research and care because they were representing a lived reality of Overseas Filipino Workers and their families.

Special awards were given to the productions, highlighting their different strengths. KALOYS Production (Kaloy) received Best Poster, BAGLIS Production (Balota) earned Best Teaser, while 143 (ILY-ILY) Productions clinched the Aesthetics Committee Choice Award for Outstanding Creativity and Best Creative Director.

Ultimately, MARITES Production (Radyo) was named overall champion, followed by 143 Productions, KALOYS Production, and BAGLIS Production, respectively.

READ FULL STORY HERE: https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/staging-truth-philosophy-sophomores.html

Written by Tresha De Villa
Proofread by Andrea Ross Sedero
Photos by Krizylle Louise Giltendez

09/05/2026

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮 𝗚𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗮 𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀, 𝗧𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗸 𝘀𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗸𝗶𝘁-𝗦𝘂𝗸𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗙𝗣

Kaakibat ng layuning itanghal ang panitikan bilang salamin ng lipunan, pinangunahan ng mga mag-aaral sa ikalawang antas ng programang BA Panitikan ng Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ang panglimang iterasyon ng “Sukit-Sukit” sa Pananaliksik Pampanitikan na may temang “Panitikang Pagbabanyuhay: Pagluwal ng Kontemporaryong Pananaliksik bilang Tugon sa Pandaigdigang Krisis,” na ginanap sa CHS Hall noong Miyerkules, ika-6 ng Mayo.

Ibinahagi ni Katuwang na Propesor Loi Vincent C. Deriada na ang terminong “Sukit-Sukit” ay nagmula sa konsepto ng pag-usisa. Tulad ng pamimitas ng bunga, maraming aral at kamulatan ang maaaring mahinuha mula sa pagbabasa at pananaliksik pampanitikan.

Binigyang-diin din niya na ang nasabing aktibidad ay hindi lamang isang simpleng bahagi ng kahingian pang-akademiko, kundi isang mas malawak na pagpapahalaga sa panitikan at ang paggamit nito bilang paunang hakbang tungo sa kamulatan at paglaban.

“It's basically a first step for them [students], makikita nila kung bakit sila nagsasagawa, bakit sila kailangan mag-ulat, makipag-ugnayan pa, maki-alam sa kung ano yung mga issues ng mga manggagawa, tao, lahat. This researches could help those people na hindi sila nag-iisa, may mga estudyanteng tulad ng ganito na patuloy na nakikialam para maituwid yung dapat maituwid sa sistema,” dagdag ni Deriada.

Sa iterasyong ito, labindalawang (12) pananaliksik ang iniharap sa naturang kolokyum, na nakasentro sa iba’t ibang panlipunang isyu tulad ng aborsyon at representasyon ng kababaihan, sistematikong kapabayaan at inhustisya, migrasyon, kahirapan, at digitalisasyon.

Tinanghal na pinakamahusay na pag-aaral ang “Buhay ang Panitikan: Isang Kwalitatibong Pagsusuri sa Podcast bilang Tulay ng Tradisyunal at Kontemporaryong Panitikan,” ang pananaliksik nina Jackylou Borongan.

Layunin nitong suriin kung paano nananatiling buhay at umuusbong ang panitikan sa kabila ng lumiliit na pagpapahalaga rito.

Binigyang-diin ng pag-aaral na ang makabagong midya tulad ng podcast ay mahalagang kasangkapan sa pagpapanatili, pagpapalaganap, at pagpapaunlad ng panitikan sa kasalukuyan at sa susunod na henerasyon.

Dagdag ng mga mananaliksik, “Gigamit namo ang podcast tungod kay aside sa nakitaan namo siya ug elementong pampanitikan, kay kanang kuan sab mo attract siya sa audience kay pwede nimo siya paminawon anytime balag nag-unsa ka.”

Samantala, mula sa lente ng kanilang pag-aaral, binigyang-diin ni Leigh Largo na hindi dapat ituring ang aborsyon bilang isang karumal-dumal na krimen, at ipinahayag niya ang kaniyang pagsuporta sa legalisasyon nito.

Sa kanilang pagtalakay sa pelikulang “Sunshine,” inilarawan niya ang pag-iral ng mga panlipunan at moral na limitasyon kaugnay ng usapin ng aborsyon.

Gayunpaman, sa personal na antas, iginiit niya na hindi dapat ang naturang limitasyon ang siyang mangibabaw sa pagbuo ng desisyon, kundi dapat kilalanin ang karapatan ng kababaihan sa malayang pagpili ng walang pagtatakda mula ninuman.

Sa isang panayam naman kay Kathlyn Kate Daganasol, Batsilyer ng Sining sa Panitikan - IV, binalikan niya ang kaniyang unang karanasan ng paglahok sa naturang kolokyum, kung saan siya rin ay nakapagpresenta.

Ayon sa kaniya malayo-layo na ang kanilang narating hindi lamang sa larangan ng pananaliksik pampanitikan kundi maging sa mas malawak na pag-unawa at pagtataguyod dito bilang isang makabuluhan at disiplinadong larangan, sa halip na ituring lamang na isang ordinaryong asignatura.

Sa gitna ng patuloy na pagliit ng espasyo para sa Filipino, Panitikan, at Humanidades sa kurikulum pang-edukasyon, naghayag si Daganasol ng kaniyang saloobin at panawagan sa mga kinauukulan, partikular sa Commission on Higher Education, na sana ay higit pang mapalawak ang pagtingin at pagpapahalaga sa panitikan.

Para sa kaniya, ang panitikan ay hindi lamang isang asignatura, kundi isang mahalagang bahagi ng identidad at karangalan ng mga Pilipino.

“If I were to speak sa higher ups sa CHED, I would say mas bigyang pagpapakahalaga ang panitikan dahil hindi lang ito teksto,” mungkahi niya.

Hinggil naman sa Artificial Intelligence, nagbigay ng puna ang isang kalahok na bagama’t may presensya ng AI, mas nagiging makatotohanan ang panitikan kung ito ay nagmumula sa tunay na karanasan at malikhaing pag-iisip.

Hango ang tema ng kolokyum sa kasalukuyang mga kaganapan at suliraning hinaharap natin, na may pagbibigay-diin sa ugnayan ng panitikan at lipunan. Matatandaang nito lamang Abril ay ipinagdiwang ng bansa ang Pambansang Buwan ng Panitikan bilang pagkilala sa kadakilaan ng Panitikang Pilipino.

BASAHIN ANG BUONG ULAT DITO: https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/panitikan-sa-gitna-ng-pandaigdigang.html

Isinulat ni Adrian D. Ala
Iniwasto ni Adam Vincent Perez
Mga kuha ni Andrea Karla Deligero at Jocel Mae Latris

06/05/2026

𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗕𝗔 | 𝗧𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗺 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

The deaths of University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) Student Councilor Alyssa Alano and UP Open University student Maureen Keil Santuyo have ignited a wildfire of narratives that portray academic institutions as hotbeds of insurgency. Stories of alleged recruitment into armed movements within the campus, along with familiar past cases, have quickly been wielded like a gavel, too swiftly condemning names as enemies of the state. Yet within this framing, one thing becomes clear: the sheer longevity of this problem reveals a normalized violence rooted in the state’s failure to protect its people, not from bullets, but from the circumstances that push them toward armed struggle.

The ambiguity of the matter is as certain as the question of “why was she there?” to implicitly tell us that the academe should be bound by gates, of poor ventilation, and a knowledge produced by archaic scripts. This is where the same failure stems when scholars immersed themselves to the ground, amplifying the voices of communities to inform policies yet little to none have become proactive nor responsive directives to strengthen regulation and improve welfare of these communities. There is growing scholarship on indigenous people (IP) yet on one hand we have cases of intensified land grabbing backed by the state to push for the agendas of multinational companies.

In fact, the Dupax del Norte anti-mining protest earlier this year have led to dispersals and arrests after residents erected their human barricade to resist Woggle Mining Corporation’s exploration permit granted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Its lack of consultation was continuously cited by residents, fearing repercussions of the said operation on environment, health, and livelihood. Loryvic Aguada, president of one of the people’s barricade and Juan Dammay of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance–Kalinga, along with their communities, shared testimonies of this resistance that strongly highlighted the red-tagging and intimidation they have endured notwithstanding the temporary suspension of the permit.

These cases of redtagging often are most pronounced among young activists and advocates with data from Amnesty International notes that 456 red-tagging incidents occurred in the first half of 2024 alone, frequently impacting students and young activists. This climate of fear makes individuals highly vulnerable to trumped-up charges, intimidation by military forces through supposed summons and “home visitations,” and, in some cases, threats from paramilitary groups. Ironically and counterproductively, such practices unintentionally create the very problem they claim to prevent by fostering exclusion and insecurity, they turn repression into a gateway for identity, belonging, and protection, which are drivers that can pull people toward armed movements even beyond ideology.

If our problem centers on the role of institutions to produce critical students sliding into ideas firsthand and their propensity to turn against established ones, we have mistook universities as factories in assembly-lines. The spectrum of causes and the extension of means by which students engage to understand communities must not be dealt with the license of labels to brand them as targets, but should be understood in depth of the problem that entices them in vulnerable spaces.

The persistence of the country’s longest-running insurgency has long been disruptive, claiming innocent lives and often casting academic institutions as touchpoints to radicalization through exposure of transgressions in communities students are grounded into.

But if the state’s only response is to conduct military operations and cast suspicion on campuses rather than uphold communities’ rights to their lands, address historical grievances, and improve people’s overall welfare beyond security measures, we risk reducing violence to a mere tally of casualties from armed encounters. In doing so, we overlook the oppressive conditions communities endure each day and ignore the deeper truths embedded in the very movements we seek to suppress.

To be fair, deradicalization programs are in effect to include socio-economic components through immediate financial aid and livelihood programs of surrenderees, yet given the volatile living conditions and the ongoing vigilance in conflict areas, long-term economic stability remains precarious. Not to mention, stigma among these former combatants are underexplored.

Systemic gaps in fragmented coordination, ambiguity in the parameters of its effectiveness, agencies becoming instrumentalities of repression (e.g. National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s red-tagging spree), and long term sustainability marred the true essence of transitions in these programs.

Reintegration should not stop from disengagement (straying away from the skirmish) but must also touch on the ideological aspect of one’s entry. The complexity of the matter required the same degree of holistic intervention, from landmark legislations, reforming agencies, and transformative policies receptive to the challenges of communities. At the end of the day, there is no such thing as success in these bloody operations; it only engines ideas to reaffirm its long suit.

It is high time for the government to also be accountable, penalize red-tagging, and guarantee that welfare programs are not band-aid solutions reactive to specific conflicts, but must be genuinely serving communities as they should be intended in the first place.

Until then, ideas endure more than the shells and when students die for ideas there is a hard truth to accept that the fertile grounds of this struggle will not die in the mountains. Until the state fully recognizes that violence does not begin in warfare but in empty plates, in dissent framed as hostility, and lives reduced in the periphery— it is not the bullets that we should fear for our youth but the prevailing ideas that no longer sell. Because once justice becomes a mere slogan, it erases whoever that believes in it even before they have the opportunity to ask whether the state's protection really is for whom?

READ THE FULL COLUMN HERE:
https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/to-whom-it-may-concern-this-violence.html

Written by Spider X

05/05/2026

𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗼𝗦𝗼𝗰 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Driven by reports of financial woes and pleas in aid of meals among students online, the MSU-IIT Sociology Society (MISS) organized its version of a community pantry on April 13, Monday, providing goods and basic essentials for IITians in need.

The set-up, installed in the Old CASS Building Lobby, has run for two batches of filled pantries in a single week with their recent partnership with MSU-IIT SafeStay Connect (MISSC) and monetary donations from individuals supporting the initiative last April 15, Wednesday.

These are well-received by the students however limited, noting how supplies typically last for only about an hour.

Nonetheless, prospects of further waves signal as the society expressed plans to expand the pantry after more donors reached out for their contributions.

Prince Philip Labide, one of the main organizers from MISS, shared that amid the ongoing crises and soaring prices of basic commodities, the wisdom of establishing a community pantry compelled them as “mass-oriented” leaders to be proactive in the alarming frequency and urgency of these matters that concern the welfare of their fellow students.

“This situation is further intensified by the broader crises affecting our current conditions, which have strained not only students’ financial stability but also that of the families who support their daily needs. As a sociological instinct nga naa jud ta’y urge sa paglihok para mu-extend og tabang sa atong kapwa, a student-led community pantry initiative was established,” Labide detailed.

Initially, the initiative drew from surplus supplies used in their relief operations during Typhoon Basyang, which were redistributed to beneficiaries; however, after the first batch, collaborations began to emerge, signaling the possibility of further installments.

Labide emphasized that the effectiveness of the community pantry lies in how it is designed to be “pang-masa,” without designated watchers, banners, or logos that may intimidate students in need or make it appear like an exclusive stall.

“Wala’y people or students nga nagabantay didto para dili ma-intimidate ang students nga moduol og kuha. Wala pud society logos nga gibutang para talagang inclusive siya ug dili ma-misinterpret as pang-‘Sociology’ lang nga pantry,” he wrote in a virtual interview.

The Sociology Society remains open to accepting donations for the expansion and sustainability of the community pantry, hoping to reach more students in pop-ups dispersed across the campus.

For monetary donations, initiative support may be channeled on the following platforms: Landbank - 0327 3306 91 and GCash - 0907 239 8044 under Potre Alikhan. Labide also expressed a desire to connect with various groups or individuals for future collaborations.

READ FULL STORY HERE: https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/sociosoc-drives-community-pantry.html

Written by John Vincent Balustre
Photo from MSU-IIT Sociology Society FB Page

05/05/2026

𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺: 𝗠𝗦𝗨-𝗜𝗜𝗧 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗝𝗔 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘇 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀

Ending a decade drought, delegates from Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) bagged the overall second place in the Inter-School Psychology Quiz Competition during the annual convention of the 39th Psychological Association of the Philippines - Junior Affiliates (PAPJA) held on April 27, 2026 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, Pasay City.

Representing MSU-IIT in the tilt are junior Psychology students from the College of Arts and Social Sciences: Osamah Flores Balaki, Cheval Descallar Biwang, Marjuvy Asily Duma, and Kurt Kareem Israel. The team is also coached by Asst. Prof. Jean S. Taypa from the Department of Psychology.

Nipped and tucked against ninety-nine premiere institutions across the country, the team breezed through the scoreboards, securing a podium finish following the University of Santo Tomas and ahead of the University of San Carlos.

In a virtual interview, Kurt Kareem Israel, shared how their stint was a confluence of pressure and motivation, noting that the last time the department joined in 2016, MSU-IIT clinched the championship title.

“Pressure, because it was obviously straining to live up to expectations from a decade ago—much more than it was the highest designation possible for the time. And more importantly, motivation, because if we were able to achieve an accolade of that magnitude, then surely—however, big or small—the possibility of doing it again is not so dim after all,” wrote Israel.

Israel set his sights on participating in PAPJA through his role as the current Training and Development Chairperson of the Psychology Society, organizing quiz bowl competitions among constituents modeled after PAPJA standards.

Despite having a seemingly clear and structured vision, he shared that preparation proved challenging amid the competing demands of their academic workloads as juniors, that resulted in much of their reviews being individually done.

Reframing the competition as a review of all the things discussed in courses they have undergone have also been instrumental to remedy their perceived lack of preparation.

He added that the win reflects the culmination of his college journey, not only as a student but also as an officer who led efforts to secure the Psychology Society’s participation in the national conference, and how collectively, such manifests as a shared achievement that speaks to the quality of education in the program, extending to the broader MSU-IIT student body across its many disciplines.

“We hope that this year’s success sets a precedent for the Psychology Society's future participation in similar contests, both to bring further honor to the university's name as well as to demonstrate the sheer level of competence that the scholars of the institution possess. In other words, may this journey in the present continue towards influencing the future,” he concluded.

READ FULL STORY HERE: https://cassayuran.blogspot.com/2026/05/back-on-podium-msu-iit-clinches-2nd.html

Written by John Vincent Balustre
Photo by Ezer Neil Pasco

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