Leave my pen under the rubble

Student journalist reminds us of the vital role of truth-tellers

- By AZSHIAH ZEANTELLE U. RUEFA, 16

There is no excuse—their coats could be unable to absorb water from the amount of rain poured onto them, or their tongues could scratch the roof of their mouths with not a single drop of saliva left to spit out. But as long as their pens are filled with ink, journalists will rattle their bones and reassemble their limbs to be heard among all the yells of the unjust.

With over 7,000 islands and a million reasons to go, lies a country full of rich politicians who give us every reason to say “no.” You can smell it from the way streets reek of a funky stench and see it from the way two Filipinos could go to the same neighborhood, but only one has a home. For those in higher power, Filipino lives could be something as white noise is to sleeping, as a tall building is to Manila-it is just there.