5 Shells of Shotgun Ended 2 Lives

TMC, CAVITE - Two victims are declared dead on arrival due to sustain multiple gunshot wounds on the different parts of their body and one who is badly injured is now on critical condition.
About 11:35 pm of July 1, 2009, Michael Consumo, 30, caretaker and a resident of Brgy. De Ocampo, Trece Martires City (TMC), Cavite, fraudulently shot the three customers of Pandan Videoker Bar, Brgy. Luciano also of the said city using a 12 gauge shotgun.
The victims are Manuel Atas, 41, Civil Engineer, a resident of Brgy. Inocencio; Modesto Horfilla, 35, government employee, a resident of Brgy. De Ocampo and Roberto Sierra, 44, driver, a resident of Brgy. Aguado.
Consumo together with his companions- Richard Nueva, 22, tricycle driver, and Michael Maxwell, 27, driver, both resident of Brgy. Lapidario are having a drinking binge at the Pandan Videoke Bar, a meter apart from the victims’ table.
One of the victims namely Manuel Atas, appear to be heavily drunk, rose up from his table to went to the comfort room when he was accidentally stumbled by Nueva’s foot. Treating the said accident intentionally done by Nueva, Atas then hit the former an payback attacked and beaten-up Nueva on the face and on the body.
Sierra trying to mediate and calm the two was differently seen by Consumo on his purpose, so the two groups have a fistfight and throwing of glass and bottles of beer ensue. But the mess was later appeased by the operators and workers of the said establishment.
Ten minutes after the suspects leave the place, they return on board with a tricycle driven by Maxwell and Consumo armed with a shotgun immediately get off there from and walked fast going to the bar together with Nueva and therein interrupt the three victims with bullets. After the shooting, the suspects rushed out and boarded with the same vehicle heading toward to Tanza, Cavite.
The victims were brought to the nearest hospital, but Atas and Horfilla were declared dead on arrival and Sierra who was badly injured is now confined at M.V. Santiago Medical Hospital having a critical condition.
-Princess Ruby Bascugin

A potent force for change

To my fellow youth,

One voice, one nation.

Election is coming, for about 278 days from now; Filipino voters including you will choose their bet candidates. This decision might change the situation of our country, either for the better or for worse.

If you just want to alter the current situation of our government, the solution is in you. Just think of it, about more than 50 percent of the voting population of 2010 election are compose of youth. If all of us will have one choice then surely we will win this battle for change. Enough to elect a president, a leader that will be a tool for the betterment of our country. Enough to change the path of our future and definitely sufficient to say “enough” to the old government.

Until now I still remember what my professor said, “If you will choose to those presidentiables, choose a lesser evil”. It is really funny but if you will go beyond it, then you will realized that it is right, maybe it is too cruel to tell that all of those presidentiables were evil, nevertheless it will even make you a wiser voter.

But how can we be able to achieve our goal – to make change to poor government system - if you, we, are not yet registered?

It is not a secret that deception was always present when the election comes, so we should do something to have it vanished. Especially right now, maybe all of you were aware that COMELEC has a new tool for election, the poll automation. According to them, using this will absolutely have a clean election. But don’t you think that if it may bring the election to the cleanest election, it is also possible that it may lead to the grimiest election ever.

So move, practice your right to register and vote then it will not happen. You still have time to exercise your right, go on, fight for what you know is right and what will help our countrymen to stand on grieve that they were experiencing now.

A shortened registration period divest a significant number of first-time voters their right to register during their available break, but please, do not make it as an excuse not to register thus make this a driving force.

Many people dismiss the strength of our vote. But to say that since our voting patterns are discrete, our vote is powerless would be wrong. Do not let those people won, let us vote for our own’ sake and as well as to our nation. Maybe our decisions were based increasingly on news and advertisements, depends on how media affect our mind regards to election. I understand that our leisure time is spent through watching television and listening to music. Hence I am sure that you are aware of the issues and have discussed these often and quite verbosely at times, with our peers and families. You do complain and show your frankness with the political issues but this will be worthy if you will do something.

Exercise your right to vote, be the voice of our nation, and be heard!!!

Painful comments make you strong

It hurts.
This line really implies to both senior mass communication students and languages and mass communication faculty. How come? Well, the story is behind on the last accreditation that was held in our college, College of Arts and Sciences.
Neither teachers nor us, students really mean everything we does that in one way or another causes heartaches in each individuals.
Before the accreditation started we are all trembled by the announcement of our teacher that we are to make a newsletter. Even though that it was per group, still we know how hard it is for us to make it. But of course, as mass communication students, well nothing is impossible for us, oh I was just being optimistic, just to convince my self that I, we can do that. Despite of our full-load schedules, still we have to make things possible, it is just a matter of time management.
Accreditation week is really a hectic week for us, simply because of our task; we should release newsletters – gather information (interview persons involved on it, and if feasible, know every details of accreditation) ; write news and feature articles ; validate information ; have it copy read or edited by the professor; then print it and photocopy for release.
As the accreditation goes by, each day becomes harder and harder, there were problems encountered that worsen our work. Being one of the members of first group, I have experience errata; we are the first who released newsletter and also the first to receive comments, suggestions, reactions, and heartaches of course. It seems that no one appreciate it, we work for it together with our teacher, we’ve done our very best to finish it in time and we thought that we had produce a good material but we are wrong. After its release on the second day of the accreditation, readers told us that we commit errors, so all of the newsletters were get back by my co-members to avoid misleading news. But when we see our errors, most of it was grammar lapses giving the fact that we have an editor.
Even the next groups encountered the same problem. Well, it is really hard to do news that you do not have enough information, most of the teachers that time were so busy and they did not even have time to give statements. How can we make a good material if the people that have this do not cooperate enough? We understood their side so they should also understand ours.
First, I think it is not right that the teachers that were assigned to us were not journalism major – as for the editor and the handler. I know that all the teachers have this own unique capabilities but I believe that it is also unfair to Sir RS’ side that he was assigned to this big thing since he was just a new in this field. It hurts him a lot as well us to us to hear such comments that seems really negative. I think we deserved a convincing driving force for us not to stop on this career.
Despite all of that, still, I learned. Now, practicing my career will make me a better journalist someday, a mass communication professional. I will not let this harsh comments bring me to downfall; it will rather served as my strength. A challenge that made me believe that pursuing this course is one of the right decisions I have ever made in my life.