The Ruralite

| Hosts Jamila Daryn David and Heaven Leigh Pecho have officially begun LIYAB 2026, the closing program for HASIK 2026.

For live updates, visit The Ruralite's official X account for the complete coverage:
https://x.com/uprhstr/status/2026929937593319533?t=Bvi571R4P1o70BIB9_2QTQ&s=19

| Artistikhain: Senior High’s New Arts Club, Getting Star-ted!
By Sofia Andrei Mapayo & Althea Khaleesi Rada
Edited by Fiela Eirene Oculam

If you walk along the concrete path near the front of the campus, just behind the main building, you’ll see the rows of tarpaulins that each school organization has set up for the school year. There, all of the well-known club names and logos are in one place, with new and fresh designs to their tarpaulins, yet also with comforting familiarity all the same. This Arts Month, each of the art-related clubs seems to shine even brighter than usual. This includes—but isn’t limited to—USaPintor, SDC, Likha, Maestro, and…𝘰𝘩, 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯?

If the name Artistikhain still doesn’t ring a bell to you, then it may be the first time that you’re hearing about the brand new Senior High School (SHS) visual arts club that was established this A.Y. 2025-2026. Did you see the drawn photobooth and temporary tattoo services from the last HE-Aggie Fair, titled 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴? If so, then you ought to know: that was Artistikhain’s work!

However, the question now is: how did the club come to be, and why now? Thankfully, Nicole Pinto—Artistikhain’s current Grade 11 representative—has the answer to that.

Nicole, who was an officer at USaPintor for A.Y. 2024-2025, gave a bit of context as to when and how the planning for Artistikhain’s establishment began: “A year ago, our former club president for USaPintor informed some of the old officers that they were planning to make an art club for Senior High.” Naturally, Nicole was on board with this idea.

Prior to Artistikhain, there was no visual arts club for SHS. This is something that would have plagued Nicole for a while, if she hadn’t been quickly informed of the plans to make one. As someone who highly values the space that she is given to do art, she stressed, “Had Artistikhain not been established, I would have chosen a club where I wasn't fully enjoying what I do.” For her, and for many other artists who are either in or are about to go into SHS, Artistikhain has given them more possibilities to keep pursuing art in UPRHS before graduating.

Although the opportunity to work on Artistikhain is something that Nicole is thankful for, she admitted that there were some hurdles that they needed to overcome during the club’s early establishment. Particularly she noted, “The most difficult challenge was gathering members, because there weren’t a lot of Senior High students who wanted to focus on arts.” Nevertheless, the club is putting good work into getting themselves out there, and more importantly, introducing more students to the joys of visual artistry.

Now, onto what you might be wondering about: the Arts Month celebrations are getting real, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 close. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨?

Nicole shared the club’s exciting projects for the long-awaited event: “Our plans revolve around being active not just in school premises, but also outside of school. For Arts Month, we plan on opening up a booth that sells handmade merchandise made by different artists from our club. Additionally, our booth will be seen at Elbikon 2026!”

This Arts Month, each of the UPRHS art-related clubs seem to shine even brighter than usual—with Artisikhain’s addition, another twinkling star has been hung upon their tapestry. While Artistikhain is still less than a year old, its vision already goes beyond the limits of the current school year. Behind each of the colorful illustrations and elaborate crafts that they have planned for this year’s events lies a wider, overarching goal for the future: to provide every visual artist under the SHS belt with the chance to keep pursuing their creative passions, and to continue spreading the wonders of art to people both on and off campus.



Layout by Francesca Elise Pajares

OPISYAL NA PAHAYAG NG THE RURALITE SA IKA-40 NA ANIBERSARYO NG EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION

Apat na pung taon mula ngayon nang patunayan ng sambayanang Pilipino ang lakas ng pagkakaisa, na ang kapangyarihan ng bayan ay higit sa kapangyarihan ng sinumang namamahala. Sa paggunita sa ika-40 anibersaryo ng pagtindig ng Pilipino sa lansangan ng EDSA, nakikiisa ang The Ruralite sa pag-alala sa mga paniniil at dahas ng pamilyang Marcos—mga diktador at manlulupig sa lupang Pilipino.

Noon hanggang ngayon.

Apat na dekada pa rin nating patuloy na pinaglalaban ang ating mga karapatan laban sa korapsyon ng mga kinauukulan. Ang mga panawagan noon ay dahilan pa rin ngayon ng ating mga pagkilos. Sa harap ng mga pananamantala sa atin—na nilinaw lalo ng balita ng mga anomalya sa flood control at mga mas luma pang usapin ng pagsundot ng pakinabang ng mga opisyales tulad ng mga Duterte—hindi matitinag ang konsensiya nating isulong ang pananagot sa mga sangkot sa pang-aapi ng bansa. Ngayong ginugunita natin ang rebolusyon sa ika-40 na taon nito, ituon natin ang ating sipag at diskurso sa mga buhay at mga pamumuhay ng mga marginalisado—ang mga ‘tao’ sa People Power.

Pinipihit nila ang taumbayan. Sa bawat balita ng katiwalian at pang-aabuso, muli nating naaalala ang mga dahilan kung bakit tumindig ang sambayanan. Habang ang iba ay nalulunod sa kayamanan at kapangyarihan, marami ay patuloy-tuloy paring nakikibaka sa mga realidad ng buhay: mula sa sahod na kulang para sa pangangailangan, sa presyong patuloy na tumataas, at sa mga pangakong paulit-ulit nang naaantala. Ang mga pangarap ng maayos na edukasyon, hanapbuhay, at tapat na pamumuno ay nananatiling mga pangakong nakasulat lamang sa tubig.

Ngunit ang krisis at panunupil ay nagbubunsod ng paglaban. Bilang mga estudyante, periyodista, at tagapagtanggol ng kasaysayan ng bayan, mayroon tayong gampanan na gamitin ang ating mga salita at kalayaan para sa mga nawalan at pinagkaitan nito.

Sa paggunita sa ika-40 taon ng EDSA People Power Revolution, nawa ay hindi lang tayo maging tagamasid sa kasaysayan kundi maging bahagi ng rebolusyong ito. Buhayin natin ang alaala ng mga mamamayan sa pamamagitan ng aksyon at pag-gunita. Sa atin, buhay ang diwa ng pagkakaisa laban sa nagpapahiwalay sa bayan.

| Softball Kickoff! “First swing of the final day”

The Passing of the Torch: SHS Softball Exhibition Game took place last Friday morning, January 16, 2026, at the UPRHS Field, marking the first event of the final day of Palarong Rural 2026. Grade 11 and Grade 12 students stepped onto the field ready to bring both skills and spirit in front of a lively audience.

The game was kept interesting throughout by strong batting, steady pitching, and fast field plays. Players stayed locked in from first pitch to final out, combining clean plays with playful exchanges that kept the crowd entertained.

When the final play was made, Grade 12 secured the victory, finishing the first event of the day with sustained cheers and high spirits.

SOFTBALL WINNER – GRADE 12
Photos by: Ike Vergara

| Chess games commence, students engage in battle of strategy

Chess games were held on Day 2 of Palarong Rural 2026 at IB 202. By 1 pm, students from different teams gathered inside the tournament room to listen to the rundown of the event guidelines. They were given time to ask questions and clarify rules before the official start of the tournament.

A total of eight players from each team, four for both the women’s and men’s division, were needed for the tournament. And although some players had failed to attend their individual matches subsequently resulting in their team defaulting a few games, the teams themselves were not necessarily disqualified.

After 4 pm, scores were tallied and two three-way ties were found in the individual rankings in Boards C and D in the women’s division. Tie-breaker matches were held that same day as well as the day after to settle the rankings.

Below are the results for women’s and men’s chess:

WOMEN’S

Board A: Red
Board B: Teal
Board C: Purple
Board D: Red

MEN’S

Board A: Purple
Board B: Teal
Board C: Purple
Board D: Pink

Photos by: Maria Celine Andrea Tallud