Category: Opinion

MANY years have passed since Senate President Vicente Sotto III proposed a bill to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13. Once again, the same bill resurfaced in 2025. When it was first proposed, it faced a lot of backlash and criticism, but the continuing question still lies the same: Who is the real culprit?

LAST time I talked about risk, it was about choosing courage in moments that demand it—maybe that’s true. But over time, I learned that bravery is only the first chapter of the story.

WHEN you hear the word instant, do you treat the term with little value, often associating it with noodles, something microwavable—something instantly served? Or perhaps you cast it in a negative light, because nothing good ever seems to come from something done in an instant, right? So, why does the term also apply to a certain program—a stereotype or a running gag for a particular engineering degree? Baffling as it sounds, unfortunately, the label lingers.

THERE are things in life we resist, moments we fight to forget, rewrite, or avoid entirely.

FORTUNE, dream career, peace of mind, or whatever your ultimate life goal is, do you have what it takes to get them? Or rather, the real question: were you ever meant to achieve them?

THEY say that “laughter is the best medicine” — but in the Philippines, that laugh can sometimes become poison for those who are living with mental health issues, as they are ridiculed or shamed due to our “resilient culture.” While our generation has embraced the topic of mental health more openly, not all people are the same. A lot of Filipino families would think that if you decide to prioritize your emotional well-being, they would either say that you’re being too sensitive or that you’re not insane to consult any psychiatric professionals. In a country where mental health and therapy are still taboo, some resort to seeking help in artificial means, also known as AI.

“PITIK nang pitik, hindi naman ina-upload”— a remark thrown at THE BEDAN HERALD during one of our photo coverages on campus. It wasn’t the first time someone said that to the publication, and it probably won’t be the last. But here’s the truth: Photojournalism is not just “photography.” That’s the misconception.

They say leadership ends when the title is gone—but for me, leaving the newsroom is not the end of the mission. If anything, stepping away from the Editor-in-Chief’s desk has only clarified what I’ve always known: that student journalism was never just a role, it was a responsibility.

As we live in an era where fake news spreads six times faster than the truth, the journey to attaining it is a challenging one. With the current climate where politics thrives in the presence of misinformation, political propaganda, and the vloggers who tag themselves as members of the press, journalists find themselves in a position fighting for the truth.

HAVE you ever gone on TikTok during your nightly bedtime social media scroll and been bombarded with a barrage of video content that shows Filipinos going to different countries, holding multiple bags of designer brands, and eating out in BGC or Salcedo Village? And then you mentally think to yourself, ‘I wish that was me.’ Because yes, you wish that were you, and everyone else in the comments thinks so too. Multiple anonymous commenters from around the country also flex in said comment section, ‘The bill when we ate out at Wolfgang Steakhouse reached 250,000 pesos!’ or ‘My mom bought me 7 different labubus when we went to the Popmart Store!’ And that is exactly where this conversation begins.