#NEWS | Batches 2025, 2026 celebrate Humanities Festival 2020 in the ‘new normal’
by Atila Vinculado, Ramon Jurelle Perez, and Vyan Abella
Students from Batches 2025 and 2026 attended various events throughout two days of the annual Humanities Festival with the theme “Humanidades sa Bagong Kadawyan: Kapit-Bisig sa mga Hamon at Pagbabago ng Lipunan sa Kasalukuyang Panahon.”
Grade 7
The Philippines Before and After Magellan’s Arrival
The first webinar for Batch 2026, The Philippines Before and After Magellan’s Arrival, was held on December 4 and hosted by Ma’am Joana Soriano and facilitated by Sir Edwin Del Rosario, both from the English Unit. Dr. Sophia Martha Marco, a History Instructor at the University of Asia and the Pacific, was the invited speaker.
Dr. Marco began by discussing how Magellan and Lapu-Lapu’s rivalry was not all about the battle but also the humanity and compassion Filipinos showed to Magelllan and his starving crew.She moved on to the Baptism of Humabon and his people, which marked the first dissemination of Christianity in the Philippines. Afterwards, she showed a comic-type illustration of the Battle of Mactan and how outnumbered the Spaniards were compared to the natives.
Lastly, she shared that before, our archipelago was divided into chiefdoms but since the Battle of Mactan, many of them became united to have peace. “Diligence in earning a livelihood is a true expression of love and affection for self, spouse, children, and brothers or compatriots,” said Dr. Marco.
“When I went to the Magellan webinar, I was impressed [with] how detailed and accurately the speaker explained the story. She was eager to share with us all of her knowledge about the Magellan Expedition, so we will know its significance to the Philippine History,” said Avril Sachi Tan, a Grade 7 student from Emerald.
SagiPisay at Iba pa: Mga Kuwento ng Paglilingkod (Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?) | Unang Bahagi
SagiPisay at iba pa: Mga Kuwento ng Paglilingkod (Ganito Kami Noon, Paano kayo ngayon), the first webinar for Batch 2026 on December 18, was hosted by Ma’am Cecile Bartolay, a Social Science 3 Teacher. Dr. Nicole Marella “Alla” G. Tan, the first guest speaker and a Pisay graduate from Batch 2011, shared her experiences as part of SagiPisay — a donation drive organized by the Student Council.
As a member, she was able to help and donate to those in need during numerous typhoons such as Typhoon Ondoy and the twin typhoons Pedring and Quiel. Additionally, she talked about what it is like serving as a doctor at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), a COVID-19 referral center in the Philippines.
Nina L. Garcia, the second speaker from Batch 2018, shared more details as to what SagiPisay is. “What happens is, the student council identifies a beneficiary, so a community that is in need who was badly affected by the calamity. And then we solicit the nations from the members inside of the Pisay community based on what our beneficiary needs,” said Garcia.
The final guest speaker, Philippe Gene S. Bungabong from Batch 2018, explained the four steps in conducting an effective outreach program. According to Bungabong, these four steps are: (1) focusing on a particular issue or goal, (2) building a lean and meaningful team, (3) leveraging technology especially social media, and (4) evaluating and improving our outreach strategies.
“My main takeaways from the webinar are to keep in touch with your why’s to help motivate you to reach your goals and to help others throughout your journey.” said Joshua Reysio-Cruz, a student from 7-Garnet.
Connecting in the time of Physical Distance
Aimed to encourage students to pursue other interests and explore the other aspects of school, particularly socializing, the webinar Connecting in the Time of Physical Distance for 2026 was facilitated by Ma’am Natalia Basquez from the Values Education Unit.
“It’s not just academics, it’s not just your grades. Yes, they are very important, but school is not just about that,” said Floyd D. Batongbakal, the guest speaker for this webinar. He is both a registered Pharmacist and a registered Psychologist.
Ms. Candice Baluyot, the psychometrician of UA&P Office of Guidance and Mentoring, was also present during the webinar. She assisted Mr. Batongbakal, and helped design the activities. After a short talk with Mr. Batongbakal, he asked the students questions through a website and they typed in their answers.
“We sometimes think that we are the only ones thinking of something, but here as we can see many people are thinking the same things that I am thinking. That there is another person that is thinking that many times,” said Mr. Batongbakal on the activity.
Afterwards, the students separated for individual section breakout rooms where they introduced themselves to their respective peer facilitators and played games such as “Can you hear me now” and “Song chain.”
SagiPisay at Iba pa: Mga Kuwento ng Paglilingkod (Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?) | Ikalawang Bahagi
The second part of the webinar series, SagiPisay at iba pa: Mga Kuwento ng Paglilingkod (Ganito Kami Noon, Paano kayo ngayon), was facilitated by Ma’am Ester Barquilla, a Filipino teacher.
Maria Cristina B. Buensuceso, the first speaker for this webinar and a graduate from Batch 2014, talked about how she tried to balance her duties in SagiPisay and her academics.
“It was my last year in school, I was trying to catch up with my grades to make honors, and at the same time I really wanted to make the most out of my senior year…but at the same time, I knew I was in the position to help, and actually, it was my responsibility to help,” said Buensuceso.
The second guest speaker was Mikaela Castro, a graduate from Batch 2018, who talked about how combining service and passion becomes an advocacy, and what exactly the value in working together is. “It’s not just one person or a small group of people but the entire community wanting to help a bigger purpose,” said Castro.
Arriza Ann S. Nocum of Batch 2011 was the last speaker. She talked about how she established a non-profit organization called KRIS, which started as a Kristiano-Islam peace library and now provides scholarships and donates books and school supplies to young people affected by conflict and poverty. Nocum said that handling KRIS was probably one of the most difficult challenges of her life but also that the difficulties, failures, and the mistakes allowed her to grow and learn.
“I found the webinar really insightful. I got to learn about the experiences of someone else and I found it fascinating how much people can grow and mature. It inspired me and made me value personal growth more,” said Kashieu Gan, a student from 7-Garnet.
Grade 8
Writing in the Time of the Pandemic
Batch 2025’s first webinar, Writing in the Time of the Pandemic, was held on December 4 and hosted by Sir Salvador Fontanilla and Ma’am Elizabeth Sagucio of the Filipino and English Unit, respectively. Mr. Ricardo Fernando III, a journalist for ABS-CBN and a Pisay alumnus, was the invited speaker.
Mr. Fernando started his speech by reminiscing his Pisay memories and experiences and how they were related to his writing journey. He also mentioned that his Literature teacher once said that we do not need writers but rather engineers, scientists, and farmers, among others. Mr. Fernando disagreed with this, since he believes that everybody can write in their own ways.
He then gave four tips on being a content creator: open our minds, don’t be afraid of life, read and watch more, and lastly, be honest with ourselves in anything we do.
“Ang kailangan lang ng bawat bayan sa bawat henerasyon ay iilang writer, para magtala ng kwento sa kanyang panahon,” said Mr. Fernando.
(What every nation in every generation needs are a few writers who can record stories from their time.)
“[Mr. Fernando]’s words were powerful, and I left the Zoom webinar inspired to write,” said Wrynah Calpito, a student from 8-Jasmin.
Freedom of Excellence during the Pandemic
Batch 2025 was joined by representatives from the World Youth Alliance (WYA) in Freedom of Excellence during Pandemic, held on December 18 and hosted by Ma’am Floriedes Anda of the Values Education Unit. The webinar was split into two parts to accompany all Grade 8 sections, with four sections attending the webinar in the morning and the other four attending in the afternoon.
Mr. Jan Miko D. Superable, current Director of the World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific (WYAAP), and Mr. John Santeo Tamayo, founder of the WYA Enderun Colleges Chapter were the speakers for the webinar. They discussed human dignity and freedom of excellence, defining the latter as “the capacity to act in ways that choose the good and affirm human dignity.”
The students were then separated into breakout groups to conduct an activity where they were assigned certain situations, and they had to come up with the excellent choice. Each group then reconvened in the main room to give presentations on the outcomes of their respective activities.
“[The webinar and] the speakers were cool. It was philosophical,” said Embry September Lee Nucum, a Grade 8 student from Jasmin.
Providing Humanitarian Aid and Services Amidst the Pandemic
With Mayor Vico Sotto, Congresswoman Sarah Elago, and three other guests as speakers, the webinar “Providing Humanitarian Aid and Services Amidst the Pandemic” was hosted by Ma’am Camille Barquilla from the Filipino unit on December 18.
The first speaker, Pasig Mayor Victor Ma. Regis “Vico” Sotto, shared the three lessons he learned from this pandemic — adaptability, teamwork, and proper communication.
Providing a medical expert’s perspective, Dr. Joshua San Pedro discussed concepts of social solidarity and privileged assumptions in health policy in his presentation. Dr. San Pedro is the Co-Convenor of the Coalition for People’s Right to Health (CPRH).
Kabataan Partylist Representative and Congresswoman-elect Sarah Jane Elago asked for the postponement of projects under the government’s Build Build Build program in favor of more pandemic-relevant bills like the Shield Bill and the Paid Pandemic Leave Bill.
Atty. Katherine Panguban is the Secretary-General of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL). In her talk, she spoke out against the government’s “arbitrary and inhumane punishments” for alleged violations of quarantine protocols, calling for better health crisis response instead.
Nathan Villegas, a PSHS-MC Batch 2021 student and the current Education and Research Officer for Anakbayan UP Diliman, encouraged the students to amplify the voiceless and continue serving the Filipino people, as the final speaker for the webinar.
“Bilang iskolar ng bayan, dapat tayo iskolar kasama ng bayan,” Villegas added.
(As scholars of the nation, we should also be scholars with the nation.)
Watch out for other updates through the Humanities Festival Facebook page or Pisay Direct, and stay tuned to The Science Scholar’s social media accounts for more Humanities Festival articles to come!
