The Equilibrium

𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | The Equilibrium Holds Three-Day Screening for Aspiring Campus Journalists

From July 1 to 3, 2026, The Equilibrium welcomed aspiring campus journalists to its annual three-day screening, held from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM. The activity served as an opportunity for students to showcase their skills and passion across the different fields of campus journalism.

To ensure a smooth and organized process, each category was allotted one hour to complete its screening. Applicants underwent various assessments designed to evaluate their writing, communication, critical thinking, and technical abilities based on their chosen category.

For aspiring broadcasters, the screening began with a short news writing at the Collaborative Room, where participants crafted news scripts under a time limit. They then proceeded to the Newsroom to deliver their broadcast performance. Throughout the process, members of the broadcasting teams carefully observed each presentation, assessing the applicants’ delivery, confidence, accuracy, and overall broadcast presence.

Adding to the significance of the event, several The Equilibrium campus journalist alumni returned to their home publication to assist in the screening. Their presence not only strengthened the selection process but also provided valuable mentorship and training to the aspiring journalists. By giving back to the publication that once shaped them, the alumni inspired the next generation of writers, broadcasters, artists, and editors to pursue excellence in campus journalism.

The three-day screening reflected The Equilibrium’s commitment to developing competent and passionate campus journalists who embody the spirit of “Husay, ValMaSci!” As the publication welcomed a new generation of storytellers, it continued its mission of producing student journalists dedicated to truth, impartiality, and boldness in service of the ValMaSci community.

VIA | Alyza Joyce Escobia
PHOTOS | Joross Dela Vega

𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | ValMaSci Participates in "Youth Got This!", Empowering Young Student Leaders

20 Delegates from the Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science were present at the "Youth Got This!: Back-to-School Leadership Training and Workshop" at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela (PLV) yesterday, July 4.

Joining 27 other schools through the Division Memorandum No. 491 s. 2026, ValMaSci was invited by the Valenzuela Local Youth Development Office (LYDO) to take part in interactive discussions, workshops, and team-building activities with the aim of building effective leaders and responsible members of the community.

During the event, one of the speakers, PLV CPAG (College of Public Administration and Governance) Secretary and ValMaSci alumnus Lui Joshua N. Cuadra, discussed active community participation by responsibly acting on information that a person consumes. Meanwhile, News Anchor and Public Servant Hon. Gab Bayan emphasized the crucialness of leadership and journalism in the current era for shaping what information is being publicized to the masses.

In the third talk of the event, Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian answered inquiries in relation to the challenges experienced in leadership. According to the mayor, listening to the people's voices and combining them with leadership is what makes a community function despite all the problems that they are facing.

Through the participation in these events, the ValMaSci SSLG, Ang Iskolar, and The Equilibrium stay grounded in serving the community by proactively being at the forefront of school initiatives to ensure that the student body remains informed, empowered, and prepared to face what lies ahead of the academic year.

𝗩𝗜𝗔 | Zsaila Agsalog
𝗖𝗢𝗣𝗬𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 | Diane Ecaldre
𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗬 | Glianne Betis

𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦

To all applicants, The Equilibrium has extended the screening period for the Writing, Cartooning, Photojournalism, Mobile Journalism, and Layout categories until 𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗬 𝟯.

𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗦!

Attached to this post is the 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 required for The Equilibrium's screening on July 1–3. Before entering the school 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢, students will be required to submit their parental consent form. ValMaScians who are unable to present a signed consent form will not be allowed to participate.

The screening process will 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤'𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙋𝙈 each day throughout the three-day screening period. Students will be required to submit their outputs, whether finished or unfinished, once the time limit has been reached.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NxcxLXYoMX_0qu0xkUGaZfn-e6KQUD6KedjQsF1Fhio/edit?usp=sharing

𝗦𝗘𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪, 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦!

𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡 | When Schools Became Battlegrounds

In a world where people choose influence over facts, only the young are the ones who can truly change the future—if they refuse to be led astray. As the nation grieves the loss of innocent students in the recent school shooting in various regions of the country, another tragedy has shaken communities within days. Schools, once regarded as sanctuaries of learning and growth, are now shadowed by fear, where classrooms should never be a place where students question whether they will make it home safely.

Recently, on June 22, 2026, at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, 3 were killed and 5 were injured in a school shooting incident with two minors identified as suspects who should be held accountable for the lives they cut short. Another incident occurred at San Carlos, Negros Occidental, three days later, where a stabbing incident between a Grade 9 and Grade 10 student happened within the school premises.

Spearheaded by Education Secretary Sonny Angara, the Department of Education ordered a review of school safety measures and security following the deadly campus shooting. It is a conversation that must involve within families, communities, and local governments that are entrusted with the welfare of children. Schools started mandatory bag inspections across the country, including a school in Aparri, Cagayan, where weapons were retrieved and prevented an alleged attack from a student. After all, this issue not only causes a threat to the youth but also to the security of the education system in the country.
Private conversations circulate the internet with suspects assuming they were protected by the law, yet this exact misunderstanding is one of the reasons why, at a young age, criminal minds are shaped to what they will become if they are not well informed by law enforcement.

Amid the outrage, many point to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 or Republic Act No. 9344, which exempts criminal liability to minors aged 15 and below, focusing on intervention rather than imprisonment. However, the law is often misunderstood. It does not excuse minors from accountability but rather recognizes that children are still developing. Blaming the law alone oversimplifies a complex issue that extends far beyond legislation.

On the other hand, this issue reopened the doors of discussion to lowering the age of criminal liability. While stricter punishment may appear as a straightforward solution, it does not address the factors that drive young individuals to commit such acts in the first place. Lasting change cannot be achieved by solely imposing harsher penalties when the underlying issues remain unsolved.

Influenced by the external factors of the online community, the discussion also opened the banning of social media for minors 16 and below. Some members of the Senate and the House collectively agree that these may contribute to the students’ conduct of these heinous crimes, and some disagree due to the possibility that it may have been from the environment where every student is raised.

Behaviors of young offenders are often shaped by multiple external influences. Violent media, including video games, are frequently blamed, but no research has established them as a direct cause of violent crime. Every student comes from a place of their own—whether it is exposure to abuse or trauma. While pointing fingers at one factor, most people forget that there are multiple factors that lead to a crime, especially from the perspective of the one who should be held accountable.
School shootings are not merely failures of judgment; they are reminders of collective shortcomings. If schools are to remain places where dreams are meant to be built instead of lost, society must look deeper for the roots of youth violence before another classroom becomes another headline.

𝗩𝗜𝗔 | Sidney Villalino
𝗖𝗢𝗣𝗬𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 | Diane Ecaldre
𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧 | Reign Adelheid Alcantara

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗪 | The Equilibrium introduces the Mobile Journalism Category!

Ready to tell stories through the power of your own phone? This category challenges participants to write, broadcast, record, and edit their own news output using only their mobile devices.

Before the screening process begins, students are expected to have their mobile phones ready with their preferred video editing app already downloaded.

For more information, kindly refer to the post below. See you soon, future Mobile Journalists! 💙

𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧 | Glianne Betis

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗪 | The Equilibrium 2026 Screening

With the aim of strengthening campus journalism, The Equilibrium will officially conduct its yearly screening process this July 1–3 at the ValMaSci Library from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Students trying out for the writing categories and photojournalism category are expected to attend on Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, the broadcasting categories, including Mobile Journalism, will take place throughout the entire three-day screening period.

See you soon, future journos! 💙

𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧 | Audree Cabaluna

𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗦 | ValMaSci Conducts the Second Quarter NSED, Enhancing Readiness Through Practice

The Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science (ValMaSci), in compliance with NDRRMC Memorandum No. 15, s. 2026 – Conduct of the CY 2026 Quarterly Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) was successfully completed during the second quarter earthquake drill on June 18, 2026, at 9:00 A.M.

The drill was used as a way to practice and to strengthen awareness of the proper procedures in the event of seismic activity. Through proper ex*****on of the planned procedures, all participants were able to safely evacuate from the school building into the parking lot.

Beyond compliance, the drill served as a vital education exercise to foster a culture of readiness and resilience within the school community. One crucial tool that students were able to utilize was their MFATE (Male, Female, Absent, Total, Excused). This system serves as a way for teachers to quickly tally, identify, and report student headcount to the Incident Command Center, ensuring every student from every section is accounted for.

Students also brought the Go Bags located in their respective classrooms, proving their necessity in such drills, which contain items such as ready-to-eat foods, a whistle, flashlights, and first aid kits.

By continuously participating in these kinds of drills, the school reaffirms its commitment to safeguarding its learners and to promoting a proactive approach to disaster risk reduction and management.

𝗩𝗜𝗔 | Joross Dela Vega
𝗖𝗢𝗣𝗬𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 | Diane Ecaldre
𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗬 | Joross Dela Vega, Glianne Betis