Listening to President Duterte’s press conferences is a challenge (and transcribing them, an extreme sport.) He either interjects without warning, goes around in circles, curses just for the sake of it, or misses out on important points. Yup, even in the middle of a pandemic.
Good thing there are a couple of people who have our back in this dark, dark moment for the world. They designed sanitation tents, developed COVID-19 test kits, and now students of University of the Philippines (UP) made a transcription of Duterte’s “speech” about COVID-19. The taking one for the team spirit is strong in this one.
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A tweet by UP Manila University Student Council reveals pages from the collaborative transcript made by UP College of Dentistry batch 2024. “Wala ka bang naintindihan sa speech ni Duterte? Worry no more because UP College of Dentistry – Batch 2024 got you covered!” reads the caption.
Their joint efforts resulted in a four-page reading material, this includes a summary of Duterte’s speech on COVID-19, a primer on the “enhanced community quarantine,” safety measures in combating the virus, and COVID-19 myths we should sashay away from. Speaking of myths, does this include Panelo’s “health advice” on eating bananas? You have to download the PDF to find out.
Wala ka bang naintindihan sa speech ni Duterte? Worry no more because UP College of Dentistry – Batch 2024 got you covered!
Link: https://t.co/66rovHiVpF#UPMUpdates #COVID_19PH #COVID19PH pic.twitter.com/zhzixRYnlY
— UP Manila University Student Council (@UPMUSC) March 16, 2020
Transes are a vital element for students in the medical field, serving as a collaborative reviewer of sorts so lessons from lectures and books are easily digested. In this internet gift, you’d notice how everything is placed in a neatly-outlined fashion partnered with helpful infographics.
Read more: Here’s how you can help fight COVID-19 even if you’re not in healthcare
“One of our classmates likes sending summaries of the recent speeches given by the President, so as a joke we decided to make a trans for fun and also to give highlights to our classmates who weren’t able to watch or hear the press conference live. We were not that serious in making it—thinking that it would not spread as widely as it did, so the trans follows how we normally do them, with memes to lighten the mood and quizzes to help us remember what we had just learned,” says a statement I received from the class.
Like a real academic deliverable, you’ll find a quiz (with an answer key, of course) that will show you fared throughout reading. It’s okay if it isn’t perfect, as long as you keep in mind their message on page two: “Be aware para sa bayan!”
Art by Zaila Mae Urmeneta