Tambuling Batangas Publication August 15-21, 2018 Issue | Page 5

OPINYON
August 15-21 , 2018
How To Make a Devil Food Cake
by Mae Hyacinth Ludivico
CAKE is the star of any
celebrations. I remember when I
was in third year high school, I
had mybaking class. I’ve learned
how to bake some cakes and other
pastry stuffs and I do really thank
myteacher for that. I suck when
it comes to cooking viands but I
think I know atleast, I can bake
acake.
Luckily, I can vividly remember
the first ever cake I have made
with my groupmates way
backwhen I was a highschooler, it
is called the “Devil Food Cake”
which is one of my favorite cake.
This recipe that I will share is just
easy and simple. It really suits for
those people who are notfond in
the kitchen like me.
For the Devil Food Cake, prepare
all the ingredients needed like
2 cups of All Purpose Flour,
halfa cup of shortening, 1 cup
cocoa powder, a teaspoon of
salt, vanilla, and baking powder,
2teaspoons of baking soda, 3
cups of sugar, 1 ¼ cups of water,
¼ cup of evaporated milk, 1 cup
ofunsalted butter, 3 large eggs
and 2 cups of chocolate bars of
your choice.
First, preheat the oven to
350-degree F. Second, measure
all the ingredients accurately.
Next, siftall the dry ingredients
and stir it altogether. Combine the
evaporated milk, oil, water and
vanilla ina separated bowl.
By using an electric mixer, beat
Why do people bully
others?
MANILA — Seventeen-year-old
“Arwin” (not his real name) has
always seen himself as an alpha
male.

At age 10, he began
throwing his weight around and
bullying those younger than him.
When people around him called
him names, such as “Toyo” or
“Suka”, he defended himself,
albeit in a different way.
“Tinatawag
akong
‘Toyo’,
‘Suka’,
kaya
kinokotongan ko sila, sinusuntok,
dahil hindi ako mang-aano kung
hindi nila ako inaano (They call
me soy sauce, vinegar, so I extort
from them. I punch them. I don’t
do anything to anyone who does
not do anything to me),” said
Arwin.

The moniker “Toyo”
eventually stuck. In Filipino
slang, a person is called “toyo”, a
staple cooking ingredient in Asia,
when he is difficult to deal with
— which held true for Arwin.

“Parang ako ang siga
dito. Kung may ibang bata
na nagpapasaway tapos ayaw
magpapigil,
binu-bully
ko.
Medyo pakiramdam ko dapat nila
akong sundin (I’m like superior
here. I bully kids who are unruly
and could not be managed. I
somehow feel that they should
obey me),” he said.

When asked why he
bullies other young people,
“Toyo” said he wanted to defend
himself and “be known as an
untouchable.”

“Kapag nakakapanakit
ako, hindi ako mapakali.
Gusto ko pa dagdagan. Hindi
ako kontento na umiyak lang
‘yung na-bully ko (When I hurt
someone, I feel uneasy. I feel
like I want to inflict more pain.
I’m not contented that my victim
simply cries),” he said.
“Toyo” began with verbal
bullying, which worsened into
physical bullying when his
tweener neighbors called him
names.

It went on for years but
stopped five years ago when he
was imprisoned for stabbing
another tweener during a riot
inside a church on Christmas
Eve.

“Simbang gabi sinaksak
ko ng ice pick yung tatlo sa loob
ng simbahan. Tumakbo kami sa
Talayan Village. ‘Yung tito na
pulis ng sinaksak ko pinagbabaril
ako. Tapos sumigaw siya ng
‘Snatcher!’ Kaya yung mga tao
hinabol ako at pinagsusuntok
ako (It was dawn Mass. I stabbed
the three with an ice pick inside
the church. Then my friends and
I ran toward Talayan Village.
One of those I stabbed has a
policeman for an uncle. He
fired his gun at me then shouted
‘Snatcher!’ The people chased
me and ganged up on me),” he
related.

“Toyo” was arrested
and turned over to the Molave
Youth Home, a center for young
people charged with crimes.

At the Home, he became
a “big brother”, who facilitates
the daily routine of more than 80
youths who, like him, are looking
forward to having a renewed life.
He was released from the center
in November last year when the
judge handling his case found no
solid evidence that he committed
the crime.

The case of “Toyo” is
just one of the many bullying
incidents in communities and
schools.

Bullying has become
prevalent in recent years,
especially on social media,
prompting the passage of
Republic Act No. 10627 or the
Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.

Latest data on child
protection from the Department
of Education showed that as of
December 2017, the incidence
of bullying had decreased
nationwide from 29,723 for
school year 2015-2016 to 19,672
for school year 2016-2017.

The highest incidence
of bullying for 2016-2017
was recorded in the National
Capital Region with 3,595
while the lowest was in Region
9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) with
113.

In an earlier interview,
Education Undersecretary Anne
Sevilla said the decrease in the
number of bullying incidents
is a result of the department’s
continuous campaign against
bullying, including capacitating
teachers
and
non-teaching
personnel on how to handle
bullying.

Celebrity psychologist-
psychiatrist
Randy
Misael
Dellosa told the Philippine News
the butter for 30 seconds. Little
by little, add the 2 cups of sugar.
Continue beating and scrape
the bowl occasionally. Combine
the eggs to the mixture one at a
timeand beat well. Alternately
combine the wet and dry
ingredients in the egg and butter
mixture in alarge bowl. Begin
combining and end with the dry
ingredients.Grease the baking
pan with oil orbutter.
Carefully pour batter in the
circular pan. Use a spatula to
spread it evenly. Bake the cake
for about30 minutes. My teacher
told us how to know if the cake is
ready. She taught us to use a cake
testeror insert a toothpick in the
center of the cake. If the toothpick
comes out clean, it means that
thecake is ready. Let the cake cool completely in
the pan for about an hour.
While waiting for the cake
to cool down, you can make
its frosting. In a medium size
bowl, beatthe butter and vanilla.
Add the cocoa powder and the
melted chocolate bars. Gradually
add somepowdered sugar until
smooth.
Once the cake is ready, using
a spatula, apply a thin coat of
frosting on the top and sides
of it.Then add the remaining
frosting evenly. Put it inside the
refrigerator. After an hour,you
can finallyserve your delicious
“Devil Food Cake
Agency (PNA) that bullying
could be caused by behavioral
problems, mental disorders,
personality disorders, and family
background and issues.

Bullying is the use of
one’s influence and strength to
intimidate others and force them
to do what the bully wants, either
verbally, physically or socially.

Dellosa noted that
most bullies have personality
disorders, for instance, a
narcissistic or an anti-social
personality disorder.

“Those who have a
narcissistic
personality
are
arrogant. They think highly of
themselves. It’s like they own
the world and they own people.
So naturally, they look down
on everyone else, except those
whom they think belong to their
level,” he explained.

“Those
who
have
an anti-social personality are
criminal-minded, rule breakers.
Your classmates who steal, who
lie, who deceive their parents
and teachers and engage in a
different level of copying or
cheating — they are the anti-
social,” he added.

Dellosa said a person
can have a combination of both
personality disorders, which
could result in a very destructive
behavior.

He pointed out that to
mask their low self-esteem, some
youths resort to bullying because
of reaction formation, which is considered a psychological
factor.

“It’s the opposite of
what you feel inside. Because
they have low self-esteem, they
have to mask it by going the
other way. He/she can be weak,
insecure inside but aggressive on
the outside,” he said.

Dellosa added that
bullies can also be from families
with very authoritative parents or
parents who are punitive towards
their children.

“The young people
would copy authoritarian and
aggression from their parents.
But it is also possible that they
are abused in the family and
they have to release their anger,
like catharsis since they don’t
have someone to talk to. They’ll
lash it out physically on their
classmates,” he said.

While
counseling
could help in correcting bullies’
behavior or disorder, Dellosa
said imposing penalties is the
best way to teach them a lesson.
“Counseling
is
sometimes not enough. They
revert to what they were. It
is important that you talk to
the bully and penalize him by
ordering him to do something
that he dislikes so that he will
remember the consequences
of bullying and not do it again.
For example, let him clean the
comfort room if he hates it,” he
said. (With reports from Lyda
Gail Suyu, OJT/PNA)
Celebrity psychologist-psychiatrist Randy Misael Dellosa says people bully for different reasons and
intimidate others and force them to do what they want. (PNA photo by Jayrome Pablo)