#anthonianatasean

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CRITERIA FOR JUDGING

Content and adherence to theme               40%

Organization of thought                                20%

Grammar and mechanics                              20%

Uniqueness of style                                        20%

PRIZES

The Champion of the Essay Writing Contest will win P500 in cash, a prized collection from the Captain’s Library, plus a free quiz and a perfect score for Composition in English! Sweet, right?

Note: This competition will be tough with a capital T. Why? Because there won’t be a top 3 per level. :) Among ALL the entries from Grade 7 to Grade 9, there will only be one 2nd runner-up, one 1st runner-up, and one Champion. This selection process will be done to add more prestige to the contest. Aja!

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Not About War and Peace

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Zemver Color N. Magat (10-Quezon) was named Champion of the Spoken Word Contest.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Catherine Romina F. Aperocho (10-Quezon) was named Champion of the Letter Writing Contest.

Dear world leaders,

                       I am not in the position to represent the whole population of all ASEAN member states. But I am just a fraction of those who decided to raise their voice from a new generation, possessing radical ideas and indomitable will to shape the world according to their beliefs. With great hopes and expectations placed upon all of the chosen representatives by our society, all of you are undisputed catalysts of change who will guide us all in our pursuit of a brighter tomorrow, and all you have to do is to listen.

                       As the bearers of the ideals and traditions from the age of warfare begin to fade in history, we, the new generation, are the key to a brighter future. With the drive to always learn and experience in an innovative way, as well as our affinity for using modern technology, we have gained access to an unlimited amount of information. We have also developed the ability to think critically about social issues. These abilities are the key to finally achieve the world we want to see. True, the young minds of your citizens should not always rely on technology, because only a fraction of your population  has the advantage to utilize these materials. But education itself is not a privilege nor a luxury to a child, it should be a right.

                       Drop-out rates are a source of concern; this problem leads to serious deficiencies such as student retention. Thus, quality of education and knowledge gained should be an issue to be brought up in the summit because everything starts with the core of the society, the children. If we are indeed the leaders of tomorrow, how would you be able to produce leadership without the necessary utilities in the first place? Comprehensive policy, financing, and structural reforms are the real investments this world needs, and what world leaders must pursue. We do not require you to have an instant resolution to the emerging issue, although what we want to see is a change in the system that is evidently flawed.

                       Promise us the future you want to see, because we are not only citizens of your country. We are also your children who want you to invest in our future, in hopes that nothing can ever hinder us from learning and getting the education that we need. Because it is not only about me, it is about us.

                       Hoping for a brighter future ahead!

Sincerely yours,

Catherine Romina F. Aperocho

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Tides of Change

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, John Rick E. Perez (8-Jacinto) was named Champion of the Essay Writing Contest.

         The Philippines is greatly known for its biodiversity, colorful culture, and most importantly its mouth-watering delicacies. The appetizing Adobo, the lip-smacking Lechon, the scrumptious Sisig, the pleasing Pinakbet, and the tantalizing Tinola. These are just some of the dishes that define the Pearl of the Orient Seas. But thick with the sourness of tamarind and abundant with crisp-tender vegetables and succulent meat chunks, the sinigang remains as one of the captivating meals that can be found on the dining table of every Filipino.

         Sinigang is a Philippine soup considered to be one of the most indigenous dishes in the present Filipino cuisine. Its fine flavor comes from the tamarind which gives its sour taste that not only lingers in the soup but is also infused into the meat. It is composed of red onion, tomato, sitaw, kangkong, tamarind, talong, and last but not the least, the meat.

         This popular viand in Filipino cuisine captures the true essence of the Filipino people. It makes me grasp the life of the Filipinos under the tyrannical hands of the colonizers, and gives me an inkling of all the sufferings and sacrifices our fellow countrymen experienced during that time.  It reflects how the repressive reign of the colonialists left the Filipinos on a sour note. People lost their ability to express what they really feel and discern the path that they want to take. They were unable to make the steps and choices they want, and they suffered great torture and abuse. They lost their own voice and the society was filled with endless violence. The Philippines lost its self-identity.

        But then, there was something unconventional that I saw in the Sinigang, something that we don’t see any more in our country. It is how the different and contrasting spices and ingredients of the dish unite as one to make every bite give complete satisfaction. I saw the light in the hearts of the Filipinos, I saw the burning hope and love we all have for our beloved country. I saw what separates us Filipinos from others: our ability to use such an experience as an inspiration or a sign that it is time for us to find and fight for change. I saw the ability of the Filipinos to rise up in the midst of failure, and hand in hand, help each other to surpass every problem and transform the Philippines into one unified nation.

         The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aims to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. The ASEAN will do so through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership, in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations. The opposing ingredients of the Sinigang represent the varying cultures, traditions, and beliefs of each member state of ASEAN. It tells us that, despite these differences, we are integrated as one, partnering for change engaging the world.

        It is time for us to realize that the ingredients to a better world and a propitious future for each individual are the following:

1.) See unity in dubiety and confusion, hand in hand help each other and be unified as one nation.          

2.) Inculcate in our minds and souls that it is through each other that we can fill the holes

3.) Never neglect your obligations, because relying on you are the future generations

4.) Ignite the flame within our hearts; when we are awakened to truth, change starts

5.) Gain inspiration from complications, stretch through all the limitations

6.) Aspire for a great future ahead, love and hope we shall spread

7.) Now is the time to change our ways, overcome the differences and break the chains

8.) Get up! Rise from the midst of darkness, and Southeast Asian nations shall progress.

         The Sinigang is a great part of the Philippines’ self-identity. It remains phenomenal and untainted by time.  While the flavoring to make it sour has changed, the taste has not. Although different ingredients have been used, it remains the way it has always been. This represents us, the Southeast Asian nations, fused as one by the same goal, the same dream. We lift one another through the tides of change.

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I Dreamed

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Hanna Gwyneth F. Ico (10-Osmeña) won 1st Runner-up in the Spoken Word Contest.

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The Real Problems

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Zemver Color N. Magat (10-Quezon) won 1st Runner-up in the Letter Writing Contest.

Magat, Zemver Color N. Unit V, Purok 15, Brgy, Commonwealth, Quezon City, Philippines

November 10, 2017

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indonesian President Joko Widodo Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith

Dear Sir and Madam,

I would like to send my warmest welcome to you and I hope you will find your stay here in the Philippines enjoyable.

Onto serious matters: the reason for this letter is to inform you of the growing problem of the Southeast Asian countries. Poverty is definitely one of the biggest problems of the majority of these nations. If we, the ASEAN community, aim to diminish these problems, we must start from the bottom. A bottom-up approach, if you must.

Poverty is not the problem. Poverty is simply an aftermath of the problem. The real problems are domestic violence, underemployment, and calamities, to name a few.

Domestic violence is roughly related to gender inequality and discrimination. A lot of the Southeast Asian countries are patriarchal, and believe that there are certain things women cannot do. The abuse that children and women receive would usually lead to psychological problems, which deem them unfit for different job description. Or worst, death. In return, the GDP of these countries does not reach its fullest extent.

Domestic violence also leads to minor problems, such as the spread of epidemic diseases like HIV/AIDS, which would require financial and health support to combat. Unfortunately, some governments cannot provide such support, leading them to be in deeper debt. Meanwhile, there is also a rise in unwanted pregnancy, which would cause a spike in the population rate. This means that families below the poverty line cannot continue to support themselves. This situation will also increase the death rate, which would in turn lead to the decrease of the labor force rate. In return, the country would not be able to reach their quota.

This goes to show that a simple problem expands if not addressed properly. With all due respect, I suggest creating fully-functional health care centers with low taxes. It would be better if the employees would be trained to handle support groups, and to inquire about domestic violence in case the need arises. If support groups will be needed, this must be in a friendly and confidential atmosphere.

The second concern would be underemployment. Underemployment is the greatest contributor to poverty. According to Karl Kendrick Chua, a Filipino senior economist, unemployment is not the problem, it is the underemployed. The underemployed are being employed in jobs lower than the education they took. In return, the underemployed are taking the small-time jobs intended for those who were not able to finish their college education. With this situation, those who were supposed to be employed in small-time jobs will be left unemployed. This would just trigger a chain reaction, and as long as underemployment continues, unemployment will. Fresh graduates are having difficulty in finding a job due to experience being a job requirement. They complain that their education does not offer enough internship for them to comply with the required experience that companies demand.

The best way to address this concern is to include internships in all college education programs. This way, the students will be able to comply with the required experience. Another solution is to make sure that there will be enough job openings for each graduating batch.

The last concern would be calamities. Most of Southeast Asian countries are surrounded by water, and are located around or near the pacific ring of fire. Therefore, Southeast Asia, as a whole, is subjected to typhoons, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes more than those in the other parts of the world. The main problem in calamities is the effects they leave in their wake. Usually, calamities would cause a whole country to release funds for the rebuilding of the damages—fund  they have or funds they will ask for from the other countries. Thus, this would leave them in deeper debt.

The obvious solution is to make sure that the countries will be prepared before calamities strike. It would be best if they would have a completely different account for the country’s recovery, separate funds for the mitigation of the damage sustained by the country.

It is clear to me, our Sovereigns, that you have other matters to discuss. But I do hope you could spare a few minutes of your time to ponder these insights.  I hope that the information I supplied is essential and helpful to the attainment of the association’s goals. Please do let me know if I could be of any assistance. I would be glad to help if the need arises.

 Yours faithfully,

Zemver Magat

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Beyond Diversity

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Margaux V. Generao (8-Jacinto) won 1st Runner-up in the Essay Writing Contest.

My eyes wandered around the restaurant that my father and I entered, and a particular desert caught my eye. I remember afternoon delights when my father let me try it when I was a child, to share with me the heavenly goodness of the mixture of the ingredients. I recall that I was smoothly enjoying the crushed ice melting in my mouth, and delighting in the evaporated milk that comes with it. It contains leche flan, saging na saba, macapuno, sago, gulaman, and tubers. The halo-halo is a famous Filipino dessert that has various ingredients, but it is perfectly mixed in harmony, tasting like perfection.

Last November 13-14 2017, the leaders of Southeast Asian nations dealt with regional issues during the 31st ASEAN Summit here in the Philippines, with the theme “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World”. So if I were to serve one representative Pinoy dish to the leaders of the ASEAN Nations, I would serve our famous dessert, halo-halo.

From all over the country, there are indigenous tribes with different cultures and traditions. The Aeta in Northern Luzon have this unique culture of sharpening and blackening their teeth. In Buscalan, Kalinga, we also have Whand-od, the last mambabatok or traditional Kalinga tattooist in the Philippines.  In the large cities and high skyscrapers of modernity such as Metro Manila, there are also Filipinos, not with another unique and different type of culture, but variations in opinions, belief, and knowledge. On the internet, Filipinos themselves fight over their political opinions or different idols in the showbiz industry.

But I picked the halo-halo as the dish that best represents Filipinos because of how we settle our differences. When we become one despite our cultural variations, it’s a beautifully rich perfection. One perfect example of this is when the Maute group terrorized Marawi City, leading to the Marawi siege. It was beautiful how hope was frail, but the light inside of Filipinos never became unlit. It was heartwarming how every Filipino has his or her own differences with others, but we became one when we faced such a horror unfolding, when we were all there for each other, for the people stuck in Marawi.

Like the halo-halo that has different ingredients, we Filipinos are different physically, culturally, and spiritually. But just like the halo-halo, when we’re mixed and united, we create the sweetest harmony. As we look into the love in our hearts and the nationality in our souls, we are all Filipinos, above and beyond diversity.

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A Little Hero

This piece was an official entry to “Anthonian at ASEAN: A Writing Contest for Leaders of Tomorrow.” Thanks to this piece, Princess Bea P. Sevilla (10-Quezon) won 2nd Runner-up in the Spoken Word Contest.