12/06/2026
FEATURE | How Pens Have Overthrown Swords
By: Samantha Skye “Twinkle” Malayo
Ding! "There's another article we need you to write about due tonight. Also, have you checked? Your latest article on the Senate went viral!" Only to find out through the comments that the article was being mocked and ridiculed online. The notifications on a journalist's phone in the Philippines do not just carry the stress of deadline reminders; quite often, they carry the chill of a target painted on their back.
Elijah knows this feeling too well. As a passionate young journalist who aims to open the eyes of the public to issues the world has yet to acknowledge, Elijah carefully chooses his words while writing to avoid getting red-tagged. However, despite his discernment in drafting his articles, he is now experience backlash from his latest composition.
During the Spanish colonial era, the authorities had their own version of red-tagging. Just as modern critics, journalists, and activists are labeled "communist terrorists" to strip them of their legal rights and turn public opinion against them, Spanish friars and officials labeled reformists, secular priests, and writers as "filibusteros." In Dr. José Rizal's time, merely possessing a copy of his books or writing for the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad got citizens branded as traitors, leading to exile, property confiscation, or ex*****on.
Elijah's love for writing started when he was in elementary. His grandfather worked in a newspaper publication, and it did not take long for Elijah to find out. As a child, Elijah read his grandfather's works, the published and the drafts. When he passed from pneumonia, Elijah solemnly swore to follow his grandfather's footsteps—to become a journalist himself and write for the truth.
As Elijah scrolled deeper into the comments about his previous article, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken. While his intent was to illustrate the country's reality through words, people online saw it as an opportunity to make fun of it. Ding! His phone buzzed again—it was his friend reminding him to submit his article within the hour.
June 12 marks no other significant event than the Philippines' proclamation of its Independence Day by the late revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo. According to the Philippine News Agency, the Philippine flag was officially displayed and the Philippine National Anthem was performed in public for the first time in the year 1898. Furthermore, this led to the formation of Asia's first democratic republic.
The day Elijah received backlash from his article was a reminder to keep him going—on Independence Day nonetheless. Elijah had a deadline to catch, and people to serve. He couldn't care less about the comments under his article, as he typed away on his laptop another composition for his publication.
Ultimately, the story of Philippine independence is not a historical artifact locked behind climate-controlled glass, nor did the struggle for sovereignty end when the first flag was raised in Cavite. It remains a living, breathing negotiation fought daily on the frontlines of truth.
The weapons have simply evolved from the swords of the Katipunan to the pens, cameras, and laptops of today. As long as community journalists face red-tagging for asking hard questions, and as long as digital swarms attempt to muzzle dissent, the line drawn by our ancestors over a century ago remains active. True freedom is measured not by the grandeur of a military parade, but by the safety of our citizens, the integrity of our truths, and the freedom of our poorest sectors to speak without fear. To truly honor the legacy of 1898 is to recognize that the torch has been passed to us—and it is up to this generation to hold the line.
Ding! Elijah submitted his article without hesitation and his work was posted once more on his publication. Did he receive positive comments this time? Did the backlash against his writing persist? No one knows; as long as he kept writing for the truth, there is one more reason to believe in hope for the future.
✍️: Malayo, S.
🖼️: Pelingon, R., Busayong, A.
