Melvin Culaba’s Araling Panlipunan 101 zooms in on what he sees as widespread neglect on the part of society to usher in change. Decades on, and what we see around is continued degradation of our resources and misguided use of government funds, observes Culaba. “It seems like we, Filipinos, never learn,” he adds, on the garbage problem, corruption, election cheating, and other issues that continue to grab headlines today. In one of the pieces, “National Artist in the Making,” Culaba ponders the criteria and the process in the selection of National Artists. In another piece titled “1 Day Privilege,” he depicts a scene at the LRT, where a young child carrying a large frame was allowed entry on the day of the feast of the Nazarene. Culaba notes how it is always crowded at the train stations, where people wait in line to buy tickets, and how difficult it is to get on or off the trains because of the lack of discipline among passengers.
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