Pilipinas, Bayan Ko...

Live Streaming of CJ Corona's Impeachment Trial

2012-01-25T14:22:00.001+08:00

Remembering Our Dear Cory

2012-01-25T11:34:00.001+08:00

Memories of her may die with the passing of time, but the impact of the legacy of this reluctant leader will surely live and flourish for generations to come. May her dreams for the nation rise from the ashes of people's distrust of leaders, and passed on to flourish in the new hearts and minds of the next generations.

We remember you our dear Cory on your birthday today. Thank you for what you have sacrificed for our country.

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. (Ecclesiastes 7:1)

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

Tale of Two SALNs

2012-01-23T23:40:00.000+08:00

Political Tidbits

by Belinda Olivares Cunanan

News reports today said that President Noynoy is asking CJ Corona to explain the discrepancies “between (Corona’s) statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and as reflected in his declared properties.” Asserting that CJ's defense team could be resorting to “squid tactics” on this issue, P-Noy was quoted by Star as saying “What is being asked is, ‘Did you file the SALN? Did you disclose it publicly? He (CJ) can only say: ‘I filed on this date and it came out in this newspaper’ in meeting the public disclosure requirement of the Constitution.” ‘

P-Noy’s prosecutor-allies have succeeded in forcing public disclosure of CJ Corona’s SALN through a subpoena issued by the Senate trial court to the SC Clerk of Court. All the SC justices’ SALNs have been withheld from public scrutiny for the past 23 continuous years by the High Court, through an en banc resolution issued during the term of the late SC Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan in 1989, and followed all the way to the Corona Court. Since last Wednesday, when the subpoena took effect, Corona’s SALN has become open season in the internet, in gross violation of rules of the Senate trial court against UNAUTHORIZED disclosure to the public (two House prosecutors were seen taking cell-phone pictures of it and are prime suspect of this violation).

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Now that Corona’s controversial SALN has been made public and P-Noy has challenged him to justify the discrepancies there, it behooves P-Noy, too, to comment on his own net worth, based on his SALN. As shown in Corona's SALNs from 2002, when he entered the SC as associate justice, the CJ's net worth increased pretty steadily in small increments until 2010, when it increased by 57.5 % over his 2009 worth. The explanation of his defense team for the increase is that CJ sold property, and the prosecutors will be on the look-out for this.

On the other hand, P-Noy should explain why his net worth maintained a small but very steady increase every year since 1998, when he became a member of the House for nine years and for three years as senator; but suddenly it registered a whopping 250% increase in 2010, when he became President with his government salary of P820,000 a year.

The behavior of the two top officials' net worth is quite easy to see and compare in the following two charts:

getrealphilippines.com/blog/wp-content/upload..

The question that comes to mind is: what accounts for the whopping 250% leap in P-Noy's net worth? Some folks I checked out his chart with opined that perhaps it was due to inheritance from his late mother Cory, who passed away in August of 2009. Or perhaps it could have been his divestment of his share of Hacienda Luisita to, reportedly, one of his siblings, although someone else argued how it could have been from Luisita when that estate has been badly ailing financially, especially in the last few years? Or could this increase have come from considerable campaign contributions that were unspent during his candidacy in 2010 (because there was just too much of them)?

Then the next question is, did the President pay the correct taxes on either or all of these financial developments that favored him?

P-Noy should explain the gargantuan jump in his net worth, just as CJ will be made to explain his own increase in net worth when he was appointed to the helm of the High Court.

Secretary Abad on the 2012 budget

2012-01-14T17:59:00.000+08:00

Huwag sana tuloyang mabulagan sa kapangyarihan

2011-12-14T12:35:00.000+08:00

This is one of the present administration's blindness that they fail to recognize.

Sa di masyadong malayo na hinaharap, may mas lalong malaking kabulagan, kapipian, at kabingian ang nakahintay na mangyayari sa pamumuno ni PNoy kung walang gagawing tamang hakbang kaugnay dito. Seguradong alam na nila kung ano ang bagay na ito. Kung mga landmines ang tawag nila sa mga appointees ni GMA, ano naman kaya ang maaring itawag sa mga alipores ni PNoy? Kung puro na lang PNoy alipores ang nasa Supreme Court ang matitira, at sobrang nakakarami sa kongreso ay puro mga alipores na ni PNoy, ano na ang mangyayari sa check and balance sa mga sanga ng ating pamahalaan? Baka e-cheCHECK na lang ang mga alipores na ito kung may BALANCE pa ba mga bank accounts nila para tuloy ang ligaya ng pagharurot kasi wala nang balakid sa kanilang dinadaanan, matuwid daw kasi e, wika nga nila.

"Nearly all men can stand the test of adversity, but if you really want to test a man's character, give him power." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad man." --Lord Acton

PNoy steps up attacks vs Corona

2011-12-13T19:02:00.003+08:00

By ABS-CBN News

President Aquino stepped up his attacks against Chief Justice Renato Corona just shortly after the articles of impeachment against the chief justice were transmitted to the Senate.

Aquino called Corona as former President Arroyo’s “disciple” (“alagad”), enumerating cases in which Corona had voted in Mrs. Arroyo’s favor.

Aquino cited, among others, Corona’s vote in declaring as unconstitutional the executive order establishing the Truth Commission and the issuance of the temporary restraining order against the travel ban on Mrs. Arroyo.

“Sa ganitong lantarang pagtanggal ng piring ng katarungan, kailangan po nating tanungin ang sarili: hanggang kailan tayo magtitiis, hanggang kailan tayo uunawa, hanggang kailan tayo magpapasensya? Sobra-sobra na ang ebidensya; aasa pa ba tayong magbabago si Ginoong Corona?” Aquino said in a coalition caucus held in a hotel in Mandaluyong City.

“Naging kumbinsido po tayo na pagdating kay Ginang Arroyo, walang tama o maling kinikilala si Ginoong Corona. Walang patutunguhan ang ating pagsisikap kung bago pa man tayo dumulog sa husgado ay kargado na pala ang timbangan. Malinaw po ang katotohanan: Si Ginoong Corona ay itinalaga sa Korte Suprema, hindi bilang alagad ng katarungan, kundi bilang alagad ni Ginang Arroyo.”

Aquino said that Corona is compromising the high court’s integrity by preventing efforts to make the former president accountable. Aquino noted that Arroyo and Corona’s ties go a long way back.

“Para po sa kanya, mukhang sapat na ang samahang ito para paulit-ulit na isangkalan ang integridad ng Korte Suprema. Hindi po ako ang sumisira sa kanyang institusyon; sa kanyang pagtanggi na panagutin si Ginang Arroyo, inuubos ni Ginoong Corona ang dangal ng Korte Suprema,” Aquino said.

Aquino also riled against the Supreme Court’s reversal in recent cases involving cityhood and the Flight Attendants' and Stewards' Association of the Philippines (FASAP), saying these decisions had implications on the lives of ordinary Filipinos.

Aquino described the Court as “pugad ng katiwalian.” (nest of corruption).

“Hindi po tayo magpapamana sa susunod na salinlahi ng isang Korte Supremang pugad ng katiwalian,” Aquino said.

Time to face the music

Directly addressing Corona, Aquino said the impeachment process would allow Corona to answer the charges filed against him.

“Ginoong Corona: Sa Kongreso at Senado, harapin mo ang pinagmulan ng poder mo: Ang taumbayan,” Aquino said.

Aquino took the opportunity to thank members of the House of Representatives who signed the impeachment complaint against Corona. Present were not only partymates of Aquino in the Liberal Party but also members of other parties as well. Legislators previously associated with former President Arroyo were also there.

“Ipinakita ng ating lehislatura ang kakayahang ipagtanggol ang interes ng sambayanan nang walang paliguy-ligoy, nang may katapatan sa tungkulin, at nang may pagkilala sa pagdurusang dinaraanan ng taumbayan, na siya ninyong kinakatawan,” Aquino said.

PNoy confident Senate will convict Corona

Aquino is also confident that impeachment case Corona would prosper in the Senate.

“…May kumpyansa ako doon sa mga hinain na kaso…. ‘Yung articles of impeachment embodies ‘yung paniniwala nating kakulangan sa pamumuno ni Ginoong Corona at ‘yung mga pinaggagawa po na naaapektuhan ang sambayanan. So it follows. Kung matibay ‘yung kaso at inaasahan natin ‘yung mga senador, ang mga hinalal na kinatawan ng ating taumbayan, ay susunod naman sila sa tugon ng ating mga boss,” Aquino told reporters after the coalition caucus held in a hotel in Mandaluyong.

Aquino did not directly say if he would personally convince the senators to vote for Corona’s impeachment.

“I know what I’m supposed to do. And I will do what is necessary to fulfill my oath of service to the Filipino people,” Aquino said.

Mum on role in impeachment drive

Neither did Aquino give a direct answer on whether he had a direct hand in the impeachment of Corona.

“Nang-awat pa ako at some point in time at dumating nga ‘yung punto na napakarami na ng ebidensya na talagang napasang-ayon na ako na talagang hindi na pwedeng panatilihin ‘yung suffering o paghihirap na nai-inflict sa ating bayan,” he said.

Aquino said Corona’s impeachment should not create a “chilling effect” on other justices of the high court.

“Simple lang naman po ito e: kaya n’yo bang panindigan ‘yung desisyon ninyo? Kung tama ang ginawa ninyo eh ‘di maski saang korte sila dalhin ay kayang panindigan ‘yon. Pero kung hindi kayang panindigan, doon ka siguro kakabahan. Okay? Sabi nga ng mga nakakatanda sa atin: bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan na lang ang mamroblema,” he said.

If given the chance to appoint one, Aquino believes that the next chief justice would not be beholden to him.

“Bakit hindi ninyo tingnan ‘yung mga na-appoint ko na? Mayroon bang beholden? Have they voted every time in our favor? Or perhaps even the perception of what I would have wanted as far as a decision is concerned?” Aquino said.

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To the Chief Justice: Be not afraid of the arrows that fly swiftly. Stand firm as you let everything be as they have wished and planned to happen. In the eyes of many, you maybe condemned already. But remain sober and be humble as you can be, for the test is intended not primarily for you but rather the test is mainly for those who hate you. Though at your own expense they may gain favor with the masses and the temporal reward may not be to you, yet even so, remain obedient to the process which you will be undergoing through. This is the best way you can serve the Lord. After all of this, people may hate and despise you, yet it is the Lord who is the only source of true justice. Endure the pain, for in the future, their own blindness will be healed by the Lord, and in that day your spirit will thank the Lord for opening you an opportunity to be used as an instrument by the Lord to heal many even though you go through a painful way.

"Don't be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

Now, will you be obedient to enter the door of suffering which the Lord has opened for you?

http://wchimemssgs2010.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-11-2011.html

Higher Law - by Teddy Locsin Jr.

2011-11-26T05:03:00.000+08:00

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‎"Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself." --Robert G. Ingersoll

‎"Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets." --Matthew 7:12

Dalawang Mukha Ng Iisang Uri Ng Pag-iisip

2011-11-25T04:33:00.001+08:00

Kung tutuusin, kahit gaano pa ka tuwid ang daan, malamang mas malaki ang tsansang madidisgrasya o makakadisgrasya ang isang motorista kung ito ay sobrang paharurot na nagmamaneho lalo na kung triple pa ang bilis nito. Hindi masama ang pagmamadali kung ito ay hindi ginagawa sa kalabisan, dahil ang sobra o malabis na pagmamadali, tulad ng utak wangwang, ay isa ding uri ng pag-aaboso ng kapangyarihan. Sa larangan ng tuwid na daan, wangwang man o sobrang harurot, sila ay dalawang mukha lamang ng iisang uri ng pag-iisip.

"Look At Bohol Now": A Story of Bohol's Tourism Success

2011-10-10T08:52:00.001+08:00

New Emerging Tourist Attractions in Bohol Contiune to Develop (As of 2011)

Discover Bohol: An Island Paradise

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A few years ago, tourism in the island of Bohol was seasonal as the industry was yet starting to develop. But today, Bohol's tourism is already an all-year-round industry. The island is richly blessed with so much natural, historical, and cultural beauties and wonders which attracted tourists from every corner of the globe. For the past 2 to 3 years, the industry has been growing rapidly such that the small domestic airport in its capital city could no longer conviniently accomodate the ever increasing influx of tourist arrivals in this paradise island. But hopefully soon, with the completion of the new Bohol Airport project, the problem of congestion will be solved and the influx of tourist arrivals is expected to greatly increased even more. If Bohol will be properly managed by its leaders and successors, it has the potential to develop like Singapore, considering that Bohol has a strategic geographical location and has very rich natural resources.

The Importance of Family Dinner Table Talk

2011-09-19T21:35:00.000+08:00

2 in 3 teens long to have dinner with their parents to discuss issues like pre-marital sex.

Support the National FaMEALy Day on September 26, 2011 by going home early to have dinner with your family. Make everyday FaMEALy Day dahil ang Kainang Pamilya ay Mahalaga!

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The dinner table can be an altar for the strengthening of family relations where parents can impart values and virtues into their children through open discussions of important issues that concern the young minds and which greatly contribute to the formation of the character of their developing souls.

Mahinungdanon Nga Pahimangno

2011-09-18T07:15:00.002+08:00

Aron sa pagpaniguro, akong binisaya-on akong mensahe aron dili dali nga masabtan sa mga langyaw.

Dili pa lang dugay, sa usa ka website nga akong nabisita, nagbasa kog mga balita bahin sa atong nasod. Sa mao nga website pwede pod ang mga readers maka kumentaryo. Ug diha'y usa sa ilang mga hisgutanan nga na-intresado ko mao nga misulay ko sa pagkumento. Apil sa ila nga pamaagi kung duna'y gusto nga mokumento mao ang pagpangayo sa email address sa gusto nga mokumento. Abi ba nako ug email address lang ang pangayoon nila, apil man pod diay ang password sa email address, mao nga nagpanagana na ko. Apan lagi tungod sa akong pagka intresado sa mao nga topic, ug tungod pod sa repotasyon sa mao nga website, mao nga nangarisgar ko ug hatag sa akong email address ug password aron nga maka kumentaryo ko sa usa sa mga init nga hisgutanan sa mao nga website. Apan pagka taod-taod sa pagkahuman na sa akong kumentaryo, diha na ko'y gikatingad-an sa akong email account nga makapaduda. Dili lang nako hisgutan ang detalye bahin sa akong gikatingad-an kay aron dili dali makabantay ang kung kinsa man galing ang responsable niini.

Kini nga nahitabo sa akong email account, usa kini ka dako nga leksyon para kanako (ug sa uban pa nga mga tig-gamitan sa Internet). Dili gayod diay angay nga basta-basta lang kita mosalig sa mga website maski na kung sikat o establisado na ang ilang pangalan.

Kung pananglit dunay mga importante nga inpormasyon ang imong email account, kinahanglan gayud nga magbinantayon ka sa seguridad niini. Posible kaayo nga magamit sa mga tao nga dunay dautan ug tuyo ang inpormasyon sa imong email account kung kini ilang mahibaw-an.

Tungod niini nga nahitabo sa akong email account, akong e-delete ang akong email address nga nakumpromeso. Daghang maamong nga uban pa nga mga account nako sa Internet nga konektado sa mao nga email account, mao nga dako ang kahasol ug kabudlay sa pagpahiluna sa uban nga mga account nga apektado sa pag-delete sa akong email account. Apan kinahanglan ug importante nga kini akong pagabuhaton.

Usbon ko ang pahimangno: Kung duna'y mga website (o kung unsa pang uban nga pamaagi sa interaksyon sa internet) nga mangayo sa inyong email address uban sa inyong password, unya dili ka 100% nga sinati o kabisado sa mao nga interaksyon, impportante nga magbaton mo ug dakong pagpanagana.

Kung bahin sa pag-amping sa atong kaugalingon nga seguridad sulod sa internet, adunay panultihon nga nagkanayon: "Maayo pa'y sa kanunay mabudlayon kang magbantay nunka nga sa kaulahian pa nga tuman kana lang nga magamahay."

Thailand's Unborn: A Case of RH Program Failure

2011-09-14T16:48:00.002+08:00

The gruesome discovery of more than 2,000 foetuses in a Bangkok temple sent shockwaves across Thailand last November.

As most abortion is illegal in Thailand, the case has shone a spotlight on a massive backstreet industry and sparked national debate about the country's current abortion laws, which date from the 1950s.

Religion has played a significant social and political role in this debate. Theravada Buddhism in Thailand is a socially conservative force. About 95 per cent of the population are Buddhist and Buddhism remains closely tied to the state.

The Buddhist nation has strict laws on abortion and views it as a sin.
"In Buddhism, we see abortion as a sin. It definitely violates our religious belief. Killing is a sin. It doesn't matter whether the killing takes place inside or outside the womb, it's a sin," Phra Kru Wichitsorakul, the abbot of Phai Ngern temple, says.

Illegal abortion is a huge problem in Thailand, a country of 67 million people. Official statistics suggest around 300,000 abortions are carried out each year in Thailand, the vast majority in backstreet clinics.

And with hundreds of unwanted pregnancies illegally terminated every day, these foetuses have turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.

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Here is one proof that population control by means of government-sponsored contraception-only policies (no abortion is legal), like what is being proposed in our RH bill version, would also be a failure if it is only addressed at the physical dimension of the problem and not more on the psychological/spiritual dimension of it where the core of the problem resides. Thailand is an example where its people are resorting to abortion because the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies remain unsolved no matter how much contraceptives their government are providing. Another dismal case of inaccurate study of the problem that resulted to inaccurate solution which in turn resulted to ineffective result.

Character Formation: The Only Right Alternative to "RH Bill" for the Youth

2011-09-10T10:56:00.001+08:00

Very uplifting is the message of their song. What the video portrays is a very good example of a small local community spiritually guiding their youth in the right path that they should go so that they would not be swayed by the negative influences of the worldly culture around them.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we don't wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the pulling down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

A problem which has more of a psychological/spiritual dimension can't be remedied appropriately with solutions that are merely material in nature and it can't be dealt with effectively if it is addressed in the physical realm alone.

With all of its symptoms and consequences, irresponsible sex is more of a mental attitude problem than it is a physical one. Therefore to address this problem with the use of solutions such as those provided in the proposed Reproductive Health bill -- which primarily includes maternal-and-child healthcare products and services as well as birth-prevention products and services -- is to merely deal with the physical consequences of the problem and does not address the psychological dimension of the problem itself at its very core.

In today's instant-gratification world, the correct and proper teaching of the ABC's of sexual responsibility which is a big part of the most critical phase of youth development has been greatly declining in most of the societies across the globe -- already almost to the point of total neglect. Majority of the young minds of today's information age, on their own, are left freely learning wrong norms from the various forms of media they constantly are exposed to everyday -- the internet, mobile phone, television, radio, movies, magazines, etc. Both at home and in school, parents and educators alike have become seriously negligent of the responsibility of molding the character dimension of the youth. Today's educational systems seem to have failed to prevent the destruction of the balance between material prosperity and spiritual prosperity. More and more focus has been given to career and profession building while less and less focus is given to character formation.

And how about the religious institutions? How are they fairing with respect to the formation of the youth's character? So sad to admit, but they too have failed the youth of today in varying degrees. Many of them preach a kind of Christianity without cross. Others preach a kind of cross without Christ. While the rest preach on material prosperity more than spiritual matters, and this is perhaps why they are supportive of the contraception-based solution to the problem of sexual irresponsibility-related poverty.

If societies are to succeed in the fight against the consequences of sexual irresponsibility in today's nihilistic and narcissistic world, one key and major factor to be given big focus in the overall strategy is the [re]formation of people's character particularly in the young minds of the youth. Molding them and guiding them spiritually with right values and imparting virtues into their young minds. Approaching the problem this way targets the underlying psychological dimension of the problem of irresponsible sex right at its very core.

This is the only right alternative to the proposed U.N.-advocated Reproductive Health bill that can stand the best chance against the menace and consequences of sexual irresponsibility.

A - Abstinence. Teaching them the virtue of chastity and purity before marriage.

B - Be Faithful. Teaching them the virtue of marital fidelity.

C - Character. Teaching them the Word of God for the formation of godly character.

"Train up your children in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Interest of Businesses Vs. People's Welfare: Where's the Balance?

2011-09-09T11:09:00.000+08:00

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Bakit ba halos na lang lahat ng pangunahing mga pangangailangan ng taombayan ay sabayang nagsitaasan? Mula sa langis, kuryente, pagkain, mga pangunahing bilihin, pamasahe sa train, toll fee, buwis, at itong tubig. Haaay nako mga kababayan, papano na kaya mabubuhay ang karamihan sa atin ngayon? Ang bigat na nga ng krus ni Juan De la Cruz dahil hindi na nga sapat ang kinikita niya sa araw-araw para sa kanyang pamilya, e lalo pang pinapalala ang kanyang kalagayan ng mga panibagong pampabigat na namang mga bagay na ito!

Panginoon, tulongan mo po ang aming bayan na makalampas at makatawid sa mga paghihirap at mga pagdurusang ito.

Sa susunod at darating na mga panahon, lalo pa ba kayang lalala itong mahirap na kalagayan ng taombayan, o ito na ba kaya ang sukdulang resulta ng masakim na pamamalakad ng mga makapangyarihang namumuhonan na nagmamay-ari ng malalaki at pangunahing mga kalakal sa ating bansa? Ano kaya ang magagawa ng kasalukoyang pamumuno ng ating bansa kaugnay sa bagay na ito? Sabi ng ating mga namumuno hindi raw nila mapipigil ang bagong pataw na buwis sa toll fee. Sabi din nila na wala raw silang kapangyarihan na kontrolahin o mapigilan ang halos linggo-linggong pagtataas ng presyo ng langis dahil ito ay "deregulated". E, papaano na kaya ngayon ang mumunting ikinabubuhay ni mamang tsuper na tanging inaasahan niya sa araw-araw para sa kanyang pamilya?

At tungkol naman sa tubig at kuryente, ang lugi ng mga pampublikong kumpaniya na nagnenegosyo ng tubig at kuryente ay parang walang awang dagdag na ipinapapasan nila sa balikat ng taombayan sa pamamagitan ng pagtataas ng singil sa babayarin na sobra na sa dapat na makatarungan at tama lamang na babayarin.

Hindi masama sa isang pamahalaan na alagaan ang interest ng mga namumuhonan sa bansa, ngunit kailangan din na maibalanse ito sa kapakanan ng taombayan. Pero sa nangyayari ngayon, at dahil na rin sa ikinikilos ng mga namumuno sa atin, ang pakiramdam tuloy ng taombayan ay parang mas pinapaboran pa ng pamahalaan ang interest ng mga namumuhonan na siyang naging dahilan sa pagkasira ng balanse sa pagitan ng interest ng mga namumuhunan at ng kapakanan ng taombayan.

Hanggang kailan kaya makakayang tiisin itong ganitong kalagayan?

RH Bill: A First Step Towards the Legalization of Abortion

2011-09-08T00:13:00.000+08:00

Three pro-RH groups backing legalized abortion exposed

By Dominic Francisco
CBCP News

At least three non-government organizations have been found to be espousing the legalization of abortion in the Philippines, as senators resumed floor debates on the controversial “reproductive health” (RH) bill Monday.

One of the sponsors of Senate Bill No. 2865, Sen. Pia Cayetano, did not deny that groups such as the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), and Likhaan have been campaigning for legalized abortion, under interpellation by Sen. Vicente Sotto III.

Sotto pointed out that FPOP got US$617,000 (P26 million) in funding from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) – the world’s largest abortion provider – last year.

FPOP’s website carries a document titled “Medical and Service Delivery Guidelines for Sexual and Reproductive Health Services,” which describes medical and surgical methods for inducing abortion.

“Efforts should be made to inform the public that abortion is safest when performed early, and women who seek abortion should be encouraged to attend as early in the pregnancy as possible,” the document on the FPOP website states.

FPOP is also on the listing of “Sexual Health Services and abortion clinics Worldwide” by the Dutch abortion group Women on Waves (WoW). WoW takes women aboard hired ships to undergo abortions in international waters, to escape national laws banning abortion.

WoW states on its website: “If you live in a country where there is no access to safe abortion services and you would like to obtain a medical abortion with Mifepristone and Misoprostol, please go to Women on Web. This is an online medical abortion help service that refers to a doctor who can provide you with a medical abortion.”

Mifepristone and Misoprostol are abortion drugs, and both are not legal in the Philippines.

Providing how-to instructions for abortion

Likhaan, meanwhile, published last year a Filipino translation of the book “Where Women Have No Doctor,” Chapter 15 of which has a section titled “Mga Ligtas na Paraan ng Pagpapalaglag.” The book is available to the public on the Likhaan website.

“Tinatanggal ang binubuntis sa pamamagitan ng paghigop, gamit ang ispesyal na tubo (cannula) na pinapadaan sa puwerta at cervix pa-pasok sa matris. Puwedeng gawin ito na hindi pinapatulog ang babae, pero minsan, iniiniksyunan ng gamot sa cervix para makatulong sa sakit. Sa manu-manong proseso (manual vacuum aspiration o MVA), tinatanggal ang binubuntis sa pamamagitan ng ispesyal na heringgilya (syringe). Kung hindi, gumagamit ng maliit na makinang de-kuryente,” the book states.

“Mayroon na ngayong mga gamot na nagagamit ang mga doktor at health worker para magpalaglag. Pinapaimpis ng mga gamot ang matris at pinipiga palabas ang binubuntis. Ang ilang gamot ay nilalagay sa loob ng puwerta … ang ilan ay iniinom, at ang ilan ay iniiniksyon. Kung tama ang gagamiting gamot o kumbinasyon ng mga gamot, ligtas at mabisang paraan ito,” it adds.

Pushing abortion acceptance despite being unlawful

The Manila- and Amsterdam-based WGNRR, headed by UP professor Dr. Sylvia Claudio, talks about its “Abortion Rights Advocacy” on its website:

“Throughout its almost 30 year history, WGNRR has made abortion advocacy a priority.”

The Claudio-led group’s “specific goals” include the investigation of “ways to improve access despite the law,” sharing of “experiences and strategies about how to confront religious fundamentalists,” and finding the “best practices for linking abortion rights to other social justice and human rights campaigns.”

Sotto pointed out that the RH bill provides an “open door” to abortion – Section 3 paragraph 1. The provision states: “While this Act does not amend the penal law on abortion, the government shall ensure that all women needing care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.”

“People and organizations behind it, as far as I’m concerned, are the difficulties I am encountering [in this bill],” Sotto said.

“IPPF has lobbied worldwide for the legalization and repeal of all laws preventing legal access to abortion,” he added.

In reply, Cayetano said: “The fact that an organization has made statements inconsistent with public policy does not prevent them from making statements consistent [with public policy].”

Using a poor analogy, the pro-RH senator said that even if Osama bin Laden supported policies against climate change, environmentalist Sen. Loren Legarda wouldn’t want to be associated with the brains behind the 9/11 attacks.

Sotto, however, retorted: “Climate change – everybody will agree to that. Eh ito contraception and abortion eh!"

Read also: Pro-RH NGO is pro-abortion

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Watch comprehensively the full video posted above, because this is how "Family Planning" and "Planned Parenthood" mean to the three groups advocating abortion (Family Planning Organization of the Philippines [FPOP], the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights [WGNRR], and Likhaan) in our country which Senator Pia Cayetano admitted are among the strong backers of the proposed RH bill. And passing this proposed "watered down" version of the RH bill ("watered down" because legalalized abortion is not yet included in the bill's provision) is merely a first step on the road to their ultimate victory -- which is the legalization of abortion in our country.

And to those who are subscribing to the idea that legalizing abortion will make the practice of it rare, see this annual abortion statistics record of the U.S.A. since they legalized abortion:

Total abortions in the U.S.A. from 1973 to 1998 alone is horrifyingly over 38 million already!

Over 38 million helpless innocent souls murdered in just 25 years with the full consent of the state?! If this is not grossly horrifying state-sponsored genocide, then what euphemistic term can it be called? Don't you think that the blood of these millions of innocent lives don't flood heaven's door and perpetually cry out for justice?

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How do you think did many of the states in the U.S.A. and in Europe end up with legalizing abortion as part of their Reproductive Health program? Would you be surprised to discover that they have once started their Reproductive Health program just like how our own country now is proposing this RH bill, no abortion as a first step? And look at how they have ended up now.

The practical reason for their legalization of abortion in their states is that no matter how much contraceptives their respective governments are providing to their people, still the problem of unwanted pregnancies remained rampant and prevalent. And owing to the desperate outcome of their initial population control programs, there was no other option left for these governments to choose except to allow their women to be able to legally eradicate their unwanted unborn children before these helpless little innocent human beings could even see the light of day.

Sa usaping "Reproductive Health" (read: "population control") at "legalization of abortion", kung baga sa lakbay, ang Pilipinas ay hamak na magsisimula pa lang na tatahak sa landas na ito, samantalang ang Estados Unidos at ang Uropa ay sobrang layo na sa kanilang pinagsimulan -- ika nga, humanly speaking, they are already at the point of no return. Hindi na nila pwedeng gawing isang malaking krimen ang pagpatay ng tao sa loob ng sinapupunan ng ina. Hindi ba itong kalagayan na ito ay parang katulad na rin sa impyerno na kung saan ay walang pananagutan ang pagkitil ng buhay ng tao?

Ang sino mang tatahak sa daan ng bitag ay natural lamang na walang ibang hahantungan kundi ang kapahamakan. Kung ang U.S.A. at Europe nga sa bandang huli ay hindi pa rin nila naiwasang baguhin ang kanilang batas sa "Reproductive Health" (read: "population control") at tuloyang ginawa na rin nilang legal ang abortion, e tayo pa kaya? E kung kusa tayong tatahak sa daan na ito pasunod sa mga nauna sa atin, e aba ang tatalino naman kaya nating mga Pinoy kung sa kalaunan ay hindi rin tayo mahulog sa bitag ng "legalization of abortion" katulad nila.

This issue on "Reproductive Health" (read: "population control") and ultimately the legalization of abortion as the final recourse to the stubborn and prevalent problem of unwanted pregnancies does not matter whether countries are secular or religious, poor or rich, democratic or not, because the bottom line and common denominator here is the bad old problem of unrestrained irresponsible use of human sexual appetite.

While on the surface, contraception may seem to address the unwanted physical consequences of the problem, but what is of great danger here is what is unseen happening deep within the psyche -- and that is, the further eroding of sexual morality. And this is where the core of the problem is. Just like the problem of "Utak Wangwang" (the mindset of corruption), the problem of "Utak Libog" (the mindset of irresponsible sex or sex-as-I-please whenever, wherever, & whomever) really lies between the ears and no amount of whatever type of artificial contraception is able to tame this mentality.

If our government will not open their eyes to the reality that this deceivingly and euphemistically called "Reproductive Health" (read: "population control") program (which the "big brains" of the U.N. is desperately advocating as a "solution" to mitigate poverty by reducing the population of the world's poor) is nothing but a futile attempt to [inaccurately] address or treat the symptoms and never the underlying disease itself, then the problem would only worsen. And when the complications of this wrong treatment begin to manifest and show off their ugly monstrous heads, there would be no other viable option left for the government to choose except ultimately to legalize access to abortion.

U.N. to stop funding Philippine population plan

2011-09-01T11:47:00.000+08:00

By Gil Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The country’s family planning program is in peril after the United Nations sounded off its plan to cut back its aid to the government’s population control program.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said that she was informed that the UN would abandon its $1 million birth control program in the Philippines starting next year due to lack of funding from members.

Garin said that the fund was used to bankroll the use of injectable drugs to prevent pregnancy in three months or the distribution of birth control pills especially to those who just gave birth.

The vice chair of the House committee on health said that this has made the passage of the Reproductive Health bill more urgent to ensure sustained funding for family planning programs.

Without this regular UN-funded program to poor Filipinos, Garin feared that the Philippines could experience a spike in its population growth rate recently pegged at 2.4 percent per annum.

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Whether people admit it or not, and no matter how much sugar-coating is done to it, the U.N.-advocated program which is so-called the "Reproductive Health" program is basically a world population reduction program. And whether people will like it or not, according to U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton (in her own words during a foreign policy hearing in their legislative house), "...Reproductive Health includes access to abortion..."

Passing our own "watered down" version of the U.N.-advocated RH bill in our country ("watered down" because abortion is not yet included in the birth control options to be legalized and offered) is merely the first step, because it has been proven time and again, as are the cases in many poor countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, that for a reproductive health program to be really effective within its program time frame and within the limitations of its budget, the option of abortion must be included.

Please see: World Abortion Policies

How can we be sure that our own country's proposed RH Bill will someday not lead to the granting of access to abortion? Is this part of the deal of the $343M grant the United States government has granted the Philippines during President Noynoy's first foreign mission with the world leaders at the United Nations? May we know the truth about this? FOI please?

Here are some relevant and significant information:
National Security Study Memorandum 200

But reducing the population of the world's poor is not that easy to accomplish as some so-called world experts may have thought. In fact many of these so-called experts are now even advocating another radical way of achieving their objective. Genocide! And of course to be carried out subtly through seemingly harmless products such as food, drinks, and medicines, and to be administered or delivered through food aids, medical aids, and in some forms of disease prevention measures through vaccinations. As the world's poor innocently and unsuspectingly take these "disguised substances" into their body system, either they will become sterile for the rest of their life, or their life expectancy is greatly reduced, or they will have both of those subtly intended adverse effects.

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Global Overpopulation: The Making Of A Myth:

Here is another animated video on overpopulation myth:

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Reduction of Birth Rate or Birth-Control? Whatever people may call it, one good way to achieve Birth-Control is to practice Self-Control. "Plan bago yugyugan." Or in other words, Family Planning. At "Kung didiskarte, maging responsable." Or in other words, Responsible Parenthood.

Talking about Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood. I am agreeable to the idea of managing birth rate for the sake of economic betterment with the aim of improving the standard of living of the population, no question about that. In fact some of the so-called "pro RH bill" might be surprised to know that many of the so-called "anti RH bill" are advocating Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood -- but in the true sense of the advocacy and in the right way, and not in the way that the U.N. is desperately advocating. The disagreement, I think, is not much in the objective or purpose but is more in the ways or means of achieving that goal. (If only there are "real" options such that both the Church and the State could agree, then there would be no significant obstacles in the legislation and implementation of laws on the objectives of Family Planning & Responsible Parenthood.)

While there are many points of disagreement, yet did you know that there are in fact some few points of possible agreement between the RH bill's proponents and some of those who are opposing the bill? One such point is the use of the Natural Family Planning method (NFP). Another is sex education for children provided there are agreements in the curiculum and in the age bracket.

But sad to say that the government seems to be subscribing to the United Nations' shotgun approach to World Population and is sold out to this so-called "solution" by [blindly] embracing the concept of Population Reduction.

* * * * *
Just because countries are implementing the U.N.-advocated version of the Reproductive Health program does not mean that the program will work for every country. In fact if you take a look at the record of the poor countries which implented birth-control programs for the past two or three decades, you will be shocked to discover of the very low success rate that these countries have attained with respect to their goal of achieving a better standard of living for the majority of their people.

Not everything in the Reproductive Health bill is wrong. But what makes the entirety of it wrong is that it combines into one bill both the population control program and the mother & child health care program that's been well promoted and talked about. This is where the seeming trickery of the United Nation's euphemism comes in. For it to have high global acceptability, they marketed it as a "Reproductive Health" program to conceal the inclusion of abortion in its original agenda because majority of the nations in the U.N. General Assembly did not agree to the idea of including access to abortion in the program.

Here is one video that might be of interest:
The Hijacked Agenda of the Nations in the U.N. General Assembly

* * * * *
Base on the data shown below (please see the link provided below), wherever there is considerable presence of Christianity, abortion is either illegal or rare. And the reason perhaps is obvious. When it comes to rare cases of birth that involves life and death situation for both the mother and the baby, Christians uphold the principle of what is known as "double effect." And these are isolated cases and do not count as to the category of legalized abortion due to unwanted pregnancy.

If according to Secretary Hillary Clinton's frank acknowledgment (please see my posted video above) that, "...Reproductive Health includes access to abortion...", then why do you think that the U.N.-advocated true version of the euphemistically called Reproductive Health program should include access to abortion and is made legal in many European countries as well as in the U.S.A.? It is because, let me repeat, that time and again, it has been proven in many countries which tried implenting contraceptive-only method of population control that without abortion the success of the program with respect to the global goal of improving the standard of living of the people is not that effective as they had thought.

See: Abortion Policies in Europe

* * * * *
Here is one article that might be relevant to the topic on abortion and notice how euphemism has been used also to attempt conceal the particular crime of murdering the unborn child.

There are demands worldwide for a procedure to reduce twins to a single pregnancy and it has grown steadily. “The Two-Minus-One Pregnancy” is one of the most twisted thinking that justifies the killing of the unborn, and the people opting for this procedure try to evade moral responsibility by calling the procedure a “reduction.” But the procedure so dishonestly called “reduction” is really not about mere “meddling.” It is murder. --Article Quote

See Article: "Reduction" Goes Beyond Meddling to Murder

* * * * *
And here is an article on the Principle of Double-Effect that is also relevant to the topic on abortion where rare difficult childbirth cases involve life and death situation of both the mother and the unborn child.

See Article: Double Effect Principle and Borderline Situations

Freedom of Expression?

2011-08-12T12:30:00.009+08:00

Art or Blasphemy?
By Gel Santos Relos
The Fil-Am Perspective

Picture this: an "image" of Jesus Christ with an attached wooden replica of male genitalia, draped with a rosary and protruding directly over the face of Jesus.

This is "Politeismo" by Mideo Cruz. It is one of the art works that was on exhibit at the the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Gallery, which opened last June 17, 2011. Entitled “Kulo”, this piece is part of a compilation of work by 32 artists, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Jose Rizal.

When the exhibit was featured by one television network, the “Christ with a penis” created such a public uproar. Filipinos from different economic, educational and social backgrounds were appalled by the exhibit, calling Cruz's masterpiece "blasphemous, malicious and sacrilegious."

Criticisms escalated to violent threats to security. A couple had reportedly vandalized the artwork and attempted to set fire to the exhibit, but was unsuccessful. The CCP Board and the artists received increasing number of hate mails and threats following this incident.

In her research for the rationale behind Cruz's work, Raissa Robles wrote, "The artist Mideo Cruz said he pasted the phallus on Christ’s face to symbolize Christ’s power and authority. Robles also cited a previous interview made by Ina Silverio with artist Mideo Cruz. This was before the outrage happened.

The art work is Mideo Cruz' visual commentary of how religion is viewed and practiced in the Philippines.

“I wanted to provoke people into thinking. I titled my work ‘Politeismo’ which loosely translates into ‘many beliefs’ or ‘many deities.’ Throughout history, humanity has grown to create new gods and these are not always religious figures but concepts and objects. Some have taken to worshiping money; some see politicians as godsend. People create idols and these idols whether or not they’re deserving of idolatry or worship affect our lives and how we function and see the world,” Mideo Cruz explained.

Based on the public reaction to the art work, Raissa made the conclusion, "Mideo Cruz was right about his observation on how Filipinos view religion."

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz has condemned the exhibit of artist Mideo Cruz, calling it a “consummate sacrilege.” He described the exhibit as “sick and sickening” and “radically insensitive to natural decency, offensive to ethical standards, and hideous to moral norms.”

Through his blog, the bishop criticized the CCP for “displaying the radical vulgarity instead at nurturing and promoting Filipino positive cultural values as defined by its Mission Statement.”

Echoing the sentiments of other Catholic Church leaders, Bishop Cruz further wrote that the CCP Board is supposed to be “art connoisseurs but [they] cannot even see the difference between art and plain vandalism... [they] allow themselves to be taken for a ride by a sick man posing as an artist.”

Former First Lady and now Ilocos Congresswoman Imelda Marcos said,” After seeing the exhibit I was really shocked because it was not only ugly, it was not true, it was not at all beautiful because there were statues and pictures of saints and Christ with horns and with his penis up and it was really a desecration of a spiritual symbol for Catholics.”

President Noynoy Aquino himself communicated to the CCP Board his disapproval about the exhibit. The CCP is under the Office of the President.

In an interview, Aquino pointed out that 85 percent of Filipinos were Christians and that the CCP is being funded by taxpayers.Thus, it should be “of service” to the people. “I think I made myself clear to them. You have rights but when you already trample on the rights of others, there’s already something wrong,” the President said.

Citing violent security threats, the CCP closed down the exhibit last August 9. Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Visual Arts division head Karen Flores, resigned from her post as well the day after. But the uproar against the CCP officials and artist Mideo Cruz has not ended.

Some Senators expressed the need to conduct a Senate inquiry on the matter. At least three of them: Sotto, Enrile, and Estrada, called for the resignation of all CCP officials. Sotto even threatened to withhold funding for the CCP.

The University of Santo Tomas has denounced and rejected Mideo Cruz as an alumnus. Devout Catholics staged their protest in front of the CCP. A lay Catholic group, St. Thomas More Society, filed criminal and administrative charges against the artist and the CCP Board before the Office of the Ombudsman “because the Christian nation has been offended”.

Artists, free thinkers and progressive Filipinos, on the other hand, protested against the closing down of the exhibit and said this is an infringement of the freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

The artwork, supporters say, has been exhibited since 2002 in other venues: Ateneo de Manila, UP Vargas Museum and Kulay Diwa Galleries -- why the uproar now? CCP Visual Arts Division Head Flores lamented on how the media, and two news organizations in particular, had "sensationalized" the issue, particularly "Politeismo.”

The curator of the controversial exhibit J. Pacena II said: "The latest pronouncement of the CCP Board sets a bad precedent. Our right to freely express ourselves were curtailed. I am shocked and appalled by how our civil liberties were exploited to satiate the sensibilities of a raucous mob. In effect, majority of the participants’ ideas and artistic expressions were neglected and compromised by this decision."

Artists called for unity to fight against censorship at the press conference dubbed "Palayain ang Sining." They pointed out that the threats and actual filing legal charges made against the Cultural Center of the Philippines (citing Art. 201 of the Revised Penal Code) is unconstitutional.

Article 201 penalizes “those who shall publicly expound or proclaim doctrines openly contrary to public morals... those who, in theaters, fairs, cinematographs or any other place, exhibit, indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows, whether live or in film, which are prescribed by virtue hereof, shall include those which… offend any race or religion; …are contrary to law, public order, morals, and good customs, established policies, lawful orders, decrees and edicts."

On the other hand, Article 3 Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution states that “no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

"Kaya maaasahan natin sa mga susunod na okasyon na magkakaroon ng paggamit ng sining upang ipakita ang pagsalungat ng mga artista o ng isang artista sa umiiral na kalagayan sa lipunan, maaasahan natin na ang mga obispo, ang mga pinuno ng mga reaksyonaryong artista, mga tagapagmasid sa lipunan, ay pauulit-ulit na maghaharap ng pagtutol tungkol sa ginagawa para sa sining...”, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera articulated.

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You always reap the increase of what you sow. Sow provocation and you'll reap controversy.

With his work, surely Mideo Cruz got his intended harvest. But is his controversial exhibit at CCP an art, or is it blasphemy?

Some people, when they are in a state of denial of their silent crisis of spiritual identity, subconsciously tend to resort to art as a means of abstractly ventilating their inner confusion.

Going back to the question at hand. Is the Mideo Cruz' controversial exhibit an art or is it blasphemy? There should be no argue as to whether it is an art or a blasphemy because clearly it is a combination of both. It is an artistic blasphemy as well as a blasphemous art. It is a work of a confused poor soul who is struggling to find spiritual identity and in the process subconsciously learns to explore the art of blasphemy to doubt its own doubts.

Should it be protected by freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution?

A political activist by the name of Noam Chomsky once said, "If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." But in some "democracies", there is something they called "blasphemous libel". It is the crime committed if a person insults, offends, or vilifies the deity, Christ, or the Christian religion. The question is this: In exercising freedom of expression, how much can a person insult, offend, or vilify someone or something before he violates a law?

What you always value, you always respect, and what you truly respect you truly value. But from an atheistic mind of an artist like Mideo Cruz, what is placing a penis on a picture of Christ? To him, of course, it's all but art. There is nothing more valuable to most artists than ego which they express in their brand of work. Most artists believe that without the freedom to offend, freedom of expression ceases to exist.

But freedom of expression does not mean you have the absolute right to offend, insult, or vilify anyone or anything. It means you are free to express anything while practicing the art of respect for others.

Have you heard of the story of a man who punched another man because he thinks he has the freedom to express what he pleases to do? And the punched man with his nose bleeding exclaimed, “Yeah, but your freedom ends where my nose begins!”

Now that story might be true. But the framers of democracy understood the danger before it happened. And they crafted a type of civilization where privilege is balanced with responsibility.

Freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want without constraints. A good citizen is one who exercises his choices with wisdom and respect for the rights of others.

[Galatians 6:3-7]

For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each man test his own work, and then he will take pride in himself and not in his neighbor. For each man will bear his own burden. But let him who is taught in the word share all good things with him who teaches. Don't be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.

Give the poor the fish, at the same time teach them to fish

2011-08-08T18:03:00.004+08:00

Enrile wants CCT beneficiaries to work for stipend
Kim Tan, GMA News

Although he supports the proposed 2012 national budget, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday suggested that beneficiaries of the Aquino administration's conditional cash transfer (CCT) program work in exchange for the stipend that they will be receiving.

"The people who are going to be recipients must work for it. We are making them mendicants," Enrile said during the Senate finance committee's deliberations on the proposed 2012 national budget.

The CCT grants monthly stipend of up to P1,400 to 2.3 million of the 4.6 million poorest families nationwide. It is part of DSWD's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In his second State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III said he expects three million families to benefit from the program by next year.

In the proposed P1.8-trillion national budget for next year, P39 billion will go to the CCT program— an 89-percent increase from the P23 billion allotted for the project this year.

On Monday, Budget Sec. Florencio Abad explained that CCT beneficiaries are only required to do three things:

•make sure that their children go to school 85 percent of the time;

•make sure that their children are immunized; and

•mothers undergo prenatal and maternal health care.

Enrile, however, said maybe the beneficiaries can be asked to clean the environment or plant trees, among other things.

"They must contribute to the building and strengthing of the country," he said.

Abad, for his part, said they are "open" to making changes in the conditions of the CCT.

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Ito ay isang tama at mabuting idea. Habang tinutulungan ng pamahalaan ang mga pinakamahirap sa ating lipunan sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay sa kanila ng pera para pantawid gutom, ang pagbigay sa kanila ng pagkakataong paghirapan nila ng kahit kaunti ang kanilang natanggap na biyaya mula sa pamahalaan ay makapagbigay sa kanila ng kakaunting dangal sa kanilang mga sarili sa halip na iisipin nilang sila'y nililimusan ng pamahalaan. At sa gayon din na pagkakataon, matutunan din nila at ng kanilang mga anak ang kahalagahan ng pagsisikap at may posibilidad na makakatulong ito na unti-unting maiaalis sa kanilang mga isipan ang pagka "Utak Inutil" at sa halip na piliing umaasa sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng "inutil" na uri ng pamumulubing pamumuhay ay piliin nilang sabayan at suklian ng pagsisikap ang biyayang kanilang natatanggap.

There is a Chinese Proverb that says, "If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime."

If our objective is really to help people, then let us not just give them the help they need for the day but we must be really concerned by going beyond temporary solutions. Teaching them to fish for themselves is a better solution than providing them fish everytime they need it. It is better to teach them how to do something than to do it for them. Giving someone a fish is good for the short term, but it is better to teach them how to do it so that in the long term they can independently take care of themselves. For example, a mother could cook for her children, but if she never teaches them to cook, they will always be dependent on her for meals. If she teaches them how to cook they will be able to take care of themselves for the rest of their lives.

To make a difference, one has to overcome negativism by staying positive. Positive things will always trigger negative reactions from their opposites. So be not embarassed if critics will mock your generosity for giving a hungry and poor jobless man a fish; being kind is better than being critical. And be not afraid if cynical people will doubt your true intention for teaching poor jobless people to fish; an honest desire to help the poor emancipate themselves from poverty can solve the problem than cynicism.

[James 2: 14-18]

What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it?

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

Let there be fairness in the land

2011-07-30T03:03:00.003+08:00

Thrust of anti-trust
By: Roberto F. de Ocampo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

About a month ago, Forbes magazine, in its annual listing of the world’s billionaires, indicated that the Philippines reached a milestone in 2011: doubling its number of billionaires from 5 in 2010 to 11 in 2011. Their combined wealth was a whopping $24.4 billion or an average of about $2.2 billion each. The magazine further disclosed that “the combined fortunes of the country’s 40 richest reached an all-time high of $34 billion, up from 2010’s $22 billion” (a 33 percent increase).

Shall we break the champagne? Is this grounds for a national celebration? You bet—for those in the magic circle of fortune, I suppose. After all, isn’t this evidence of the vibrancy of our democratic capitalist economic system? Isn’t this the epitome of entrepreneurial endeavor? Doesn’t this place our country above the ranks of the also-rans?

Maybe so, or maybe not quite. Most likely, the sense of jubilation amongst the rest of the 90 million or so of our people would be far more muted, to say the least. Consider for instance that the total wealth of the 11 billionaires is equivalent to about 13 percent of the Philippine GDP and that of the 40 richest nearly 20 percent. Consider also that the combined wealth of the 40 richest is equivalent to that of the combined wealth of about 20 million Filipinos or about 22 percent of the total population. Consider further that the average wealth of our billionaires, at $2.2 billion (P95 billion) is more than four times the total budget in 2011 for the Conditional Cash Transfer Program of P21 billion.

All this is mind-boggling of course. But this is not intended to be a rant against the super-rich. To some extent it is another way to present the ages old mantra about the Philippines: that a minuscule percentage of our people own and control more than the lion’s share of the nation’s wealth. Therein lies a major cause of why in spite of being the only Christian democracy in Asia, in spite of successive poverty-alleviation programs, in spite of breast-beating from time to time about increasing growth rates and improving credit ratings, the Holy Grail of inclusive growth remains elusive and the majority’s response to announcements of government after government of economic progress is usually, “Hindi namin ma-feel.”

There is no single magic bullet to redress this situation. The fact is that our socio-economic structure is severely lopsided, thus constituting the basic challenge of social transformation. A national vision of social transformation must start with the realization that the problem is a structural one. Solutions therefore require major structural change, not an upgrade of interior design or a repainting, as it were, of the economy’s façade.

Education is the usual antidote offered for this but there are some others that I believe worthy of equally serious consideration, which may have been either overlooked or whose impact toward social transformation may not seem apparent. One of them is the principle of leveling the playing field.

At a recent symposium on competitive policy organized by former President Fidel V. Ramos’ foundation, it was observed that our economy is “hampered by vested interests and inconsistent state policies. Competition is weak and weakening still. Monopolies and cartels dominate many sectors. Regulatory capture keeps down key services and even the World Bank describes the state as not effectively in the hands of the people since state policies and their implementation have tended to serve special interests more than the common good.” In short, our economy is anything but a level playing field. It is not enough for us to simply tout privatization and private sector led economy as elixirs to our economic woes in the face of a consistently weak public sector without putting firmly into place the basic operating principle underlying a truly democratic business environment, namely, competition. This could assume further strategic importance as the economy moves toward greater reliance on Public Private Partnership since without an effective competition policy in place, the already perceived ownership by a handful of an ever increasing number of vital industries and infrastructure may result in an even more lopsided socio-economic structure.

Attempts to level the playing field and bring about competition were successfully done in the past, notably in the breakup of monopolies in the telecommunication and inter-island shipping sectors. But the time has come to institutionalize a competitive framework rather than relying on sporadic exercises in enforcing competition. Such is the thrust of anti-trust legislation which is usually the centerpiece of competition policy in progressive states. Such is the thrust of anti-trust legislation (Senate Bill No. 1) filed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

It deserves prioritization by the administration and support by the business community. At this stage, business support would best come in the form of constructive scrutiny of the draft bill’s provisions as it makes its way to passage. This will help to ensure a balanced outcome for a landmark piece of legislation that moves the country toward true inclusive democracy characterized by greater business, entrepreneurial and job opportunity, the narrowing of the chasm between the rich and poor, and the rise of a far broader middle class, without casting bigness in business as bad and monopolistic by definition

Roberto F. de Ocampo is a former finance secretary and was Finance Minister of the Year in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

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Behind every "Utak Wang-wang" is the spirit of selfishness. It commonly manifests in the form of corruption or other forms of abuse of power and/or authority. Unfair business practices are among its manifestations.

In contrast, the spirit of kindness is behind every mindset of fairness and every attitude of selflessness.

Therefore, don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

Initial fruits of walking straightly on the right path

2011-07-27T12:14:00.009+08:00

"Aquinomics": What difference has it made?
By: Cielito F. Habito
Philippine Daily Inquirer

In a recent Inquirer Briefing attended by business leaders and other movers and shakers, I was asked to speak on the state of the Philippine economy one year into the Aquino administration. I titled it “A Year Under ‘Aquinomics’,” prompting someone to ask me if there was something to “Aquinomics” beyond playing on the President’s name. Not that I can claim to be a spokesman for the President’s economic team; I am not, and am not aspiring to be one, nor seeking to be part of his government. (It was “the other yellow candidate” whom I supported in the last two presidential elections, after all.)

Addressing the question, “Aquinomics” cannot be likened to, say, “Reaganomics” of the 1980s, which was defined by a distinct economic philosophy known at the time as “supply side economics.” This had challenged traditional demand-side or “Keynesian” economics, which until then was the mainstream thinking in macroeconomics. More recently, we heard of “Thaksinomics” espoused by the former leader of Thailand, which appeared to be defined by his business-friendly yet pro-poor approach to running the Thai economy.

What defines “Aquinomics,” then? One description that comes to mind is “economics of business confidence,” as that has been the driver of the economy under Aquino’s leadership so far. Over the past four quarters, growth in private domestic investment has been consistently surging, based on the quarterly National Income Accounts. This investment surge comes after many years of relative stagnation. Cross-country data from the Asian Development Bank reveal that in 2002-2007, our annual growth in total investment—that is, putting public and private, and foreign and domestic investments together—averaged zero percent. In contrast, our neighbors posted positive investment growth ranging from 3 to 19 percent per year. For most of the past decade, then, our neighbors were leaving us behind in building even greater productive capacity in their respective economies.

What is remarkable about the investment growth we are seeing lately is that it comes in the face of a significant drop in foreign direct investments (FDI). Latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data report that actual net FDI inflows so far this year are 17 percent lower than in the same period last year, a steep drop by any standard. Similarly, latest data on foreign investment approvals by the different investment bodies taken together (namely the Board of Investments, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Clark Development Corporation) report a 53 percent drop from last year. And yet, overall investment has jumped 37 percent, implying that domestic investments must have jumped by much more, far overcoming the foreign investment decline.

What makes it even more remarkable is that the public component of domestic investment (government construction) also suffered a deep decline of 37.3 percent. Again, private domestic investments must have zoomed so much that not even this steep fall prevented total investment from surging the way it did.

At face value, the drop in government spending appears to be a downside to the Aquino government’s performance. Data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) indicate that disbursements in the first four months of the year were P60.5 billion or 11.6 percent lower than in the same period last year. Some observers now fault the new administration for “underspending,” for indeed, not only has it spent less than it did last year, it has also spent even farther less than what had been programmed to be spent by this time. But before casting this government as inept and lacking absorptive capacity, one must remember that this year’s budget was still drawn up by the previous administration. And if the current government has been more prudent about spending the money, it could well be because they have found that they don’t have to spend as much as the former government would have, to accomplish as much.

And it seems they have. The Department of Public Works and Highways is one of the biggest “culprits” in the underspending. It turns out that the agency has made dramatic changes in the way public works projects are costed out, leading to substantial savings. For one thing, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson has significantly reduced allowable “indirect costs,” including contractors’ profit margins (and quite likely the so-called “bukol”), in public works projects. Coupled with a strict policy on transparent public bidding, the agency boasts of more than P2 billion in savings from 2,797 projects over the past year.

Another reason for the underspending is that much of the large lump sums allocated by the previous government to various departments remain unspent. These are substantial amounts that the previous leadership gave department secretaries the discretion to allocate and spend—and it’s not hard to imagine how much of it must have gone to less than responsible uses. If the current department secretaries are slow in spending such sums, it could be because their predecessors had over-provided them in the first place. The new administration intends to cut these “lump sums” to a bare minimum in the 2012 budget, the first budget they truly own.

Aquinomics, then, might also stand for economics of fiscal responsibility—and the government now has a rare budget surplus to show for it. And while their underspending normally would have dragged the entire economy down, fortunately for them (and for us), the tremendous boost in private domestic investments that Aquinomics also brought about more than made up for the gap.

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Proverbs 2:1-15

My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you; so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;

Yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity; that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things; who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the perverseness of evil; who are crooked in their ways, and wayward in their paths.

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)

The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility. (Proverbs 15:33)

Church eye-opener

2011-07-20T11:47:00.001+08:00

Editorial
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Our mother Church has been deeply wounded by the controversies in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office that have erupted in the past two weeks…. There is no doubt that everywhere in the Church there is great sorrow. We your pastors are one with you. As shepherds struggling to love you like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you.” Thus the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines apologized and expressed in a pastoral letter signed July 11 by its president, Bishop Nereo P. Odchimar, its “deep sorrow for the pain that the recent events have brought to you our beloved people.” The letter, to be sure, was issued in the context of the “surprising” revelations that at least seven bishops solicited and received from the PCSO expensive, luxurious Mitsubishi Pajeros – the logical insinuation of which was that these were for their personal use.

It turned out in the Senate hearing held a day or two after the letter’s issuance that the vehicles, though indeed bought with funds coming from the PCSO, were not Pajeros and, according to the bishops, were in fact used in conjunction with their dioceses’ various social action projects.

Unfortunately, lost in the Senate hearing may have been the most surprising, albeit very subtle, of all revelations: quite a number of Catholic dioceses and parishes, on their own, do not have the resources to effectively carry out their charities to the remote and, often, the poorest and most neglected villages in their sphere of service, thus the need to ask for external assistance.

In a sense, the “Pajero 7” controversy should be an eye-opener to both the Catholic hierarchy and the faithful. The poor dioceses do shock in a country that is virtually universally Catholic. In 2009, there were at least 91.8 million Filipinos and of that number, at least 63.06 million were Catholic. The Catholic Church in the Philippines is in a way a kingdom by itself, and every weekend sees millions of pesos flow into its coffers as offerings. But while churches in the other Christian denominations are taken care of and watched over by their mother churches and fellowships, Catholic dioceses and their leaders share no such bounty. In Catholic Philippines, the guiding principle is still generally “to each his own,” meaning, poor dioceses and parishes practically have to fend for themselves.

The Catholic Church “has more than sufficient resources to finance its charitable work without competing with countless indigent patients and legitimate charity beneficiaries,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman noted. Indeed, there are dioceses and parishes that are overflowing with donations and contributions, more than enough to keep the Catholic Church in the Philippines, as a whole, affluent. Yet there are impoverished dioceses where the clergy are practically “forced” to beg for scraps, never mind if the scraps come from the table of the politically powerful.

The example of Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, who said he was offered money from politicians twice, which he refused both times, is not only the ideal for a Church whose bedrock is its Christian, moral teachings; it is an imperative if the Church must insulate itself from politics and partisanship. This should now be more obvious to the bishops – after this recent controversy.

In fact, in the same pastoral letter, the CBCP also assured the Catholic faithful that it will “reexamine the manner of our collaboration with government agencies for purposes of helping the poor, making sure that pastoral sensibilities are respected and the highest ethical standards are observed. We shall examine our values in the light of our vocation to be disciples of Jesus Christ.”

If the Church must follow through on this pledge and its leaders must lead themselves away from temptation, it is high time that it spread its wealth equally among its 85 ecclesiastical territories and 2,762 parishes in the country. Only thus can the Catholic Church in the Philippines truly become a kingdom of faith for the people, assuredly free from the influence of materialistic politics.

Read also: Do away with "Inappropriate Exchange of Generosity" by The Windchime

Raising Tax Payment of the Self-Employed?!

2011-07-17T12:21:00.007+08:00

Labor center assails DOF’s plan to increase self-employed taxes
By Noel Sales Barcelona
CBCP News Online

Militant labor center, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) assailed the Department of Finance’s (DOF) plan to increase the tax payment of workers, under self-employed and professional categories in order to beef up government funds.

Joselito “Ka Lito” Ustarez, vice chair of the KMU said in a statement that the DOF, particularly the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should go after tax evaders and large corporations, and not after the measly income of individuals.

“It is simply callous and opportunistic for the Aquino government to tax poor vendors, jeepney barkers, sari-sari store owners, and others in similar employment status. Callous because it shows a lack of understanding that they only raise a meager income. Opportunistic because it aims to raise tax collection from people it hardly supports,” said Ustarez.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima estimates P340 billion additional income for the government if the tax of professionals and self-employed be increased by a certain percentage as the latest Labor Force Survey shows that 30.4 percent of the employed employees are under self-employed category. For the Finance Secretary, it is an opportune time to tap this portion of the labor force as a new source of income.

However, Ustarez sees this move as an evidence of the incapability of the Benigno C. Aquino III government to create measures in improving its tax collection. He also criticized the bachelor president of being pro-rich, instead of pro-poor as the Chief Executive had approved the waving of the P64 billion unpaid taxes by the Team Energy Japan Corp. and the Aboitiz Power Corporation that are supposedly to go to the Quezon Provincial Government’s chest. This was done last January, revealed Ustarez.

“Purisima is also boasting that his fiscal team encountered a case last year with liabilities as high as P25 billion,” said Ustarez.

Ustarez advised the government that to be able to increase tax collections, it should waive the tax holidays given to big companies and conglomerates, run after tax evaders and tax foreign investors.

“Our self-employed kababayans barely earn a living through informal jobs because the government failed to provide them decent work,” Ustarez reminded Purisima.

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Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes... (Daniel 11:20).

Do Away With "Inappropriate Exchange of Generosity"

2011-07-13T20:41:00.014+08:00

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The government as a State of people, and the Church as God's people are the two sides of the coin of humanity. They are both established and instituted by God himself.

But while the leaderships of secular governments have their own mandates from the people to fulfill, the Church's leaderships have their Great Commission from the Lord to carry out. Wherever and whenever the different paths of these two types of leaderships cross, let the following verse provide wisdom:

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12:17)

And as the Church leaderships pursue the course of their path in the direction that is in accordance with the Church's mission, may the following verse keep them consistent on their track:

"No man, being a soldier to God, entangles himself with secular affairs: that he may be able to sanctify himself to Him to whom he has dedicated himself in service. Therefore for this reason you must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

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People of God: It is our obligation to support the Church and provide for Her needs. When we neglect this solemn obligation, the other side of the coin of humanity could (or would) fill the vacuum and slowly the moral authority of the Church could be held hostage by some debt of gratitude that might develop in the inappropriate exchange of generosity.

Instead of sowing your seeds in the field of gambling, why not prove the faithfulness of God by sowing your seeds in the Lord's field? Here is a practical challenge from God to anyone:

"Bring the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says the Lord, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough for." (Malachi 3:10)

It's yet two years since I started to actually took this challenge from God, and to my delightful and thankful amazement, God is faithful with his promise! True tithing is honoring God with the tenth part of the whole blessing of your material substance in a regular periodic manner (I do it monthly). For Catholics, it is hard for most of us to do tithing because we have not practiced it aggressively. But when I decided to myself that I will honor the Lord with my tithe, I prayed this simple prayer: "Lord, like the others, I also wanted to honor you with the tenth of the blessings you give me regularly, help me do this."

There are no poor church congregations, there are only poor faith in taking God's promise.

Executing goats instead of wolves

2011-03-31T02:29:00.005+08:00

"Am I going to die today?"

They were told they were to die only Wednesday morning.

“I was the first one to see her,” Sally Villanueva’s younger sister Mylene Ordinario told radio dzBB from Xiamen, China. “We locked eyes and we both cried. She said, ‘What are you doing here, why are you all crying, am I going to die?’ She tried to console us. She said, ‘It’s okay. I have accepted my fate. I will be your angel and watch over you.’”

China normally does not announce executions. Amnesty International says China is the world’s biggest executioner, with thousands of convicts killed every year.

Batain, Credo and Villanueva were allowed to meet with their families for an hour before they were executed by lethal injection, in what turned out to be devastatingly emotional encounters.

“She was crying, she was partly incoherent. She had a lot of things to say,” Villanueva’s brother Jason Ordinario told dzBB. “She asked us to take care of her two children and make sure they finish their studies.”

Mylene Ordinario said that her sister was blessed by a priest, and “she said she wants to be forgiven for all her sins, but she insisted that she was a victim.”

Read the whole story at: "Am I going to die today?"

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“Death cancels everything but truth." --Proverbs

Pondering on the execution of our three OFW kababayans in China who were convicted of drug trafficking. They were made to carry something by their supposed job recruiters, but unjustly instead, that thing carried them to their untimely death.

Between goats and wolves, I think those three OFWs that were executed may be consider as helpless sacrificial goats slaughtered in the altar of the wolves of drug criminals, and in the name of "law". Unless the efforts to fight international drug syndicates are intensified and focused more on the wolves, goats after goats will continue to fall like dead flies on the altar of what would become in time a grave injustice to humanity.

Treading the Avenue known as "Epifanio De los Santos"

2011-02-28T11:30:00.005+08:00

Remembering EDSA I
By Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.
Sounding Board - Philippine Daily Inquirer

February 25 is a day for recalling February 1986 and the times that preceded it. My own thoughts about what transpired have not changed:

“There is a tendency to attribute the rebirth of democracy to the events of the four days of February 1986. Those days will forever be remembered as a shining moment in a people’s history; but the four days do not tell all. EDSA was but a part of a process, albeit the most memorable both for the intensity of its emotion and its dramatically eye-catching and infectious symbolism. But the long process of which it was a part includes both the struggles that precipitated the imposition of martial law as well as the struggles during the long dark nights that followed.

“There was never a moment, starting on Sept. 21, 1972, when the nation was not moving toward EDSA. The underground struggle, the bloody encounters, the groans of torture victims, the pamphleteering, the rallies, both political and religious, the silent storming of heaven by contemplative nuns, the whir of fax machines, the electoral struggle under the most adverse circumstances and, yes, even the ‘collaboration’ with the enemy—each in its own way contributed to the assurance of rebirth. In the end, Divine Providence, which the Filipino people had first formally invoked in its 1935 Constitution, put the pieces together and let them explode into the celebration that was EDSA.

“When I reflect on the events of 20 years ago, I see hubris as divine Providence’s triggering weapon for the final downfall of the ruler. Feeling that he bestrode the world like an unconquerable colossus, President Marcos dared all challengers to a ‘snap election.’ That was November 1985. The events that followed brought out a multiplicity of heroes no one of whom could have achieved the result alone.

“First, presidential hopefuls sacrificed their ambition (realistic or not) in favor of one presidential candidate supported by all. They anointed a housewife inexperienced in governance, derisively branded by the ‘wise’ as walang alam, to become the ‘foolish’ instrument through whom Providence would confound the proud. Her battle cry of tama na, sobra na captured the public imagination.

“Next, in the early weeks of February, whether by free choice or by desperate necessity, new heroes emerged. The computer operators unmasked the conspiracy to cheat the ‘foolish’ woman of her electoral victory. Government intelligence officers discovered a RAM plot for a coup d’etat. Trapped, the soldiers made a defiant stand. To the death, they said.

“Then followed the call of the Cardinal and of Butz Aquino for the populace to rescue the beleaguered soldiers. The people came in massed brigades of all ages and sexes to shield the soldiers from the threatening mortars of the President.

“The mortars were never fired. Fundamental humanity overcame the soldiery. Loyalty to the sovereign people conquered, and the soldiers turned their back on the Commander-in-Chief. In that fact too there was heroism. And the dramatic encounter between civilian and soldiers, bound together by the bonds of love of the same country and of the same people, is what is celebrated as salubong, symbolic of a people determined to join hands and work for a new future.”

Today the lament is sometimes heard that nothing has really changed since 1986. What a waste EDSA I was. That obviously is not true.

The government structure under the 1987 Constitution, though by no means perfect, is better than the government that evolved from the 1973 Constitution. Imperfect as it is as a protest against the Marcos Constitution, in more ways than one it is truly democratic.

Congress today is structurally almost the same as that of the 1935 Constitution even if, in terms of the quality of membership, it suffers by comparison with those of the 1935 Constitution. But at least it is different from the Batasang Pambansa.

As in the 1935 Constitution, the office of President is not free from the temptation toward authoritarianism. Much depends on who holds the power. For the moment, we seem to be safe.

The Supreme Court membership today does not go through the same rigid screening as the members of the Court under the 1935 Constitution. But collectively it is an improvement on the Marcos Constitution.

The emotion and drama of February 1986 have died down and I do not see “people power” like that of EDSA I emerging. Nor do I see hubris precipitating radical reform. Not yet, anyway. What I see is an emerging people power in the form of energized local governments, unfortunately not yet nationwide but hitherto only here and there. But I also see corruption and popular indifference of a people lulled by economic and technological advances as major obstacles to progress. In the end, there is truth to the dictum that a people get the government they deserve. How can everyone be awakened to the realization that the future depends not on government but on all of us?

Beyond the shadow of doubt?

2010-12-15T04:25:00.006+08:00

SC acquits Webb, 6 others in Vizconde massacre
By Edu Punay
The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – Hubert Webb and six others convicted for the highly publicized Vizconde massacre almost two decades ago walked off the national penitentiary as free men after the Supreme Court acquitted them based primarily on inconsistent testimonies of state witness Jessica Alfaro during trial.

Voting 7-4, the High Court ruled that the Paranaque regional trial court erred when it handing down in Jan. 2000 the guilty verdict on Webb, Hospicio "Pyke" Fernandez, Antonio "Tony Boy" Lejano, Michael Gatchalian, Peter Estrada, Miguel "Ging" Rodriguez and Gerardo Biong for the crime of rape with homicide.

The High Court overturned the verdict of Paranaque RTC Branch 274 Judge and now CA Justice Amelita Tolentino, which was upheld by the Court of Appeals on Dec. 15, 2005 and had sentenced the primary accused to life imprisonment.

Biong, who was convicted as accessory for destroying evidence, was released last month after serving his sentence of 12 years.

“There is no more motion for reconsideration can be filed. That would be tantamount to double jeopardy,² Court Administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez told a press conference, citing a rule in criminal procedures prohibiting a second prosecution against the same person under the same offense after acquittal or conviction by court.

But Marquez stressed that declaring the guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt is not tantamount to establishing innocence of the accused.

The 38-page decision penned by Associate Justice Roberto Abad cited "reasonable and lingering doubt on the guilt of the accused" and "failure of prosecution to establish the guilt beyond reasonable doubt."

"In our criminal justice system, what is important is, not whether the court entertains doubts about the innocence of the accused since an open mind is willing to explore all possibilities, but whether it entertains a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt. For, it would be a serious mistake to send an innocent man to jail where such kind of doubt hangs on to one's inner being, like a piece of meat lodged immovable between teeth," the SC stressed. [...]

Click here to read full text.

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The final decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on this case as released in the media, basically boils down to and focuses on the credibility of the testimony of the "star witness" versus the alibi of the accused.

Here is a summary of the decision as reported by ABS-CBN:

1.) Quality of witness - Jessica Alfaro was a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) asset, not really an eye witness. At first, she told the NBI she would bring in a witness to the commission of the crime, but when she couldn't do so, she said she would play the role of eye witness.

2.) Suspicious details in some testimonies;

3.) Quality of testimony (inherent inconsistencies);

4.) Supposed corroborations which are unreliable.

For those interested, you can grasp more understanding of the case's decision by reading a copy of the full text of the decision which may also be found at the following link:

Supreme Court decision on Webb et al re Vizconde Massacre

Now, if we take a look at how the justices voted on the case, the Supreme Court en banc voted: 7-4-4 (7 in favor, 4 dissented, 4 abstained).

The reasons why the four Associate Justices abstained were:

1.) Antonio Carpio (because he testified during the hearings at the Regional Trial Court);

2.) Mariano del Castillo - (because one of the accused is a client of the law firm of his wife);

3.) Presbitero Velasco - (close relation to a party);

4.) Antonio Nachura - (who signed as former Solicitor-General before his appointment to the court).

In other words, not half (but almost very close to half) of the number of justices deemed that there are reasonable shadows of doubt in the credibility of the testimony of the prosecution's star witness.

In the imperfect world full of mistakes and uncertainties, one desperate proverb says: "It is better to wrongfully free a guilty person than to wrongfully punish an innocent man."

Because of the inherent imperfections of the man-made system of justice, democratic governments presume any accused person to be innocent unless proven guilty beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt.

So in my personal opinion, the en banc voting of 7-4-4 is not convincing enough. The final decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on this particular case is not very solid, thus perhaps leaving a reasonable shadow of doubt in the minds of many people.

Dense And/Or Malicious?

2010-11-28T14:19:00.001+08:00

By Fr. Roy Cimagala
The Bohol Chronicle

For a while I was frozen in disbelief as I read newspaper headlines and commentaries of what the Pope said recently about condoms. Who would not be dismayed when you read titles like, "Church has changed her position on condoms"?

There were more disconcerting takes. UN officials welcomed the Church's change of heart. Palace told bishops should now soften their stand on the RH bill given the Pope's statement on condoms.

Lagman, the main RH bill proponent, and the Damasonians were practically dancing in the streets. Some clerics now lawyering for the bill must be excited.

I could not believe that some officials who are supposed to have some IQ and the media would bother to publish this clear case of misinformation, since the clarification on the part of the Vatican was readily available.

It was again another field day for sensationalism. Virtually a bar room type of atmosphere, complete with the carousing and the drunkenness, with practically the whole international community as the stage.

The Pope's words were twisted. Commentators just selected a part and blew it up according to their own agenda. They were actually expressing their own mind, not the Pope's.

Where have we fallen into? I can't help but think that those responsible for transmitting this piece of misinformation must be dense and/or plainly malicious. Sorry, I don't have many other possibilities.

To make things worse, I wonder if we can expect any note of apology from any of the protagonists. What is most likely is to play the blaming game. And most likely the blame would mainly fall on the Pope for making such statement.

But the Pope did right in clarifying that matter about the condoms. What he was actually saying was that condoms as contraceptives are always wrong, are always sinful.

Yet in spite of that sinfulness, one can still distinguish shades of mitigating circumstances. The "justification" of the use of the condom arises from this-that it can prevent graver harm, that it can be a sign of a beginning conversion, etc.

Just the same, its use as a contraceptive in spite of those mitigating circumstances is already wrong. Obviously, when the condom is used as a balloon for decoration or toy, its use is not anymore sinful. It's now moral.

So the Pope is trying to be nuanced in his approach to a moral situation. Who says the Pope and the Church in general are just dogmatic, so black and white as not to admit shades? I would say, the Pope was trying to take us a step further than our current state of understanding about condom use.

The reasoning behind the Pope's argument echoes the one used by our Lord himself when he talked about the unjust steward, found in Luke 16. Our Lord praised the dishonest steward for his cleverness in arranging things when he, the steward, would eventually be kicked out of his employment.

So, our Lord, even in the midst of an over-all sin, managed to see bright spots in that cleverness.

The parable concluded by saying, "The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence. For the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." (Lk 16,8)

As our Lord said, we need to be innocent as doves but also shrewd as serpents. We have to be very prudent and discerning, without allowing that prudence to spoil the goodness of our heart. It's not easy, but it can be done, with God's grace and our efforts.

This quality is necessary these days, when we know that some people and even some leaders in politics, business, etc., can be playing the devil's games. Recently, for example, we were pleasantly surprised to hear former US President Clinton sort of giving a positive comment on our big population.

Without saying that he is playing the devil's game, we are of course happy to hear what he said, though we should not forget what he is known for. He is good in playing games, and so we just have to decipher what game he is playing this time.

If in the end, it's found that he is being honest, then well and good. If not, then we have to act accordingly. We should try to avoid being taken for a ride, being sweet talked to. We are living in dangerous times. We need to be familiar, for example, with the reality behind the expression, "wag the dog."

But prudence should allow us to see the silver lining in the world's dark clouds.

Congratulations to our dear "Pambansang Kamao"

2010-11-14T14:48:00.008+08:00

Now I believe what boxing promoter Bob Arum said that Manny Pacquiao is the greatest boxer he had ever seen, greater even than heavy weight boxing legend M. Ali. But what gains most my respect for Manny as a professional boxer in this fight with Margarito is the fact that he has chosen to spare Margarito from possible further severe injuries when he could have easily knock him down at the last rounds. At the eleventh round, he even quickly glanced at the corner of his opponent to look for signs of surrender from Margarito's coach because he was unwilling to hurt Margarito's badly swollen face any more destructively.

For me Manny won even a deeper level of victory that no other fighter could have shown if they were the ones in Manny's position in this fight. At the last round, Manny could have easily gone for the "kill", but he has chosen to end the final round with less powerful punches and saved Margarito further severe injuries to the face.

With such strength and a great team that the Lord has blessed Manny with, who can compare to the glory that Manny has given our homeland? No fighter I've yet seen who is like Manny who is not ashamed to honor the Lord in each of his professional fights.

In one interview I heard Manny said something like, "Tao lang si Margarito, nagkakamali. No one is perfect." By honoring Margarito with a professional bout, even though Margarito lost, Manny was able to restore back Margarito's dignity as a professional boxer after that big mistake Margarito had done that caused him a long time of suspension.

Manny, congratulations! We are so proud of you, our dear "Pambansang Kamao". May you remain humble and may you continue to share the overwhelming blessings that the Lord has blessed you with --materially, physically, and spiritually. Never forget to honor the Lord with some portion of your blessings.

Church, Constitution, and the RH Bill

2010-10-27T23:02:00.002+08:00

By Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted on 10/13/2008

The debate on the reproductive health bill in Congress is by no means over. It should surprise no one that this is happening; after all, religion and the Constitution, both of which are involved in any evaluation of the bill, are very much at the heart of the life of our people.

I am not about to critique the entire bill nor am I going to say that we should not have a law which seeks to protect the health of women. What I want to do is simply to point out some areas that need further discussion.

Let me begin with the Constitution in so far as it is related to the right to life. We have in our Constitution a provision that assures protection for life. It says that the State “shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.”

Is this provision completely satisfied by the prohibition of abortion which the reproductive health bill reaffirms? It is true that the provision was discussed at a time when many were aware of the US Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade which liberalized abortion laws up to the sixth month of pregnancy. The prevention of the adoption of the doctrine in Roe v. Wade was certainly one of the purposes of the provision. But Commission deliberations indicate that the provision goes beyond Roe v. Wade.

Abortion is usually defined as the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus. Pregnancy for its part is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. Pregnancy begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female’s uterus and ends once it leaves the uterus.

The unborn’s entitlement to protection begins “from conception,” that is, from the moment of conception. The intention is to protect life from its beginning, and the assumption is that human life begins at conception and that conception takes place at fertilization of the zygote. Although the constitutional provision does not assert with certainty when human life precisely begins, it reflects the view that, in dealing with the protection of life, it is necessary to take the safer approach. For this reason the Constitution commands that protection be given from conception, that is, from the fertilization of the zygote.

This is reflected in one of the exchanges during the debate. Since the protection of the unborn was to begin from conception, Reverend Cirilo Rigos asked when the “moment of conception” was. Commissioner Bernardo Villegas, who was the principal sponsor of the provision, answered that the conception took place with fertilization since “it is when the ovum is fertilized by the sperm that there is human life.” When Commissioner Fely Aquino observed that at that point there would only be biological life, Bishop Teodoro Bacani did not contradict her but said that there would already be biological human life even if there was as yet no “person.”

From this it can be seen that the intention is to protect the “life” even before implantation in the uterus, that is, from the moment biological life begins. The constitutional intent, in other words, is to play it safe lest human life be destroyed and to impose the protection even before implantation in the uterus.

This brings us to the question whether the reproductive bill allows or even prescribes the use of birth control methods which have the effect of blocking a fertilized zygote from being implanted in the uterus or of expelling a fertilized zygote before implantation. This is a question which, while it has constitutional, religious and moral implications, must first be answered by medical science. Has this question been sufficiently explored in the course of the debates over the reproductive health bill? My impression is that it has not. And if the law is passed as proposed, the question will most certainly reach the Supreme Court.

Another important element in the debate is the freedom of religious belief. The free exercise of religion guaranteed by the Constitution means more than just the freedom to believe. It also means the freedom to act or not to act according to what one believes. And this freedom is violated when one is compelled to act against one’s belief or is prevented from acting according to one’s belief.

In our society, while people of good faith may find near unanimity on the matter of abortion, there clearly is a sharp division in the matter of contraception. The division is drawn along religious lines. The law as proposed will require people of good faith to act or not to act contrary to what they believe. Concessions must be made so that religious liberty will not be violated. The law must allow for the conscientious objector.

I would make special mention of the requirement of sex education. Sex education is a matter closely related to religious morality. Our Constitution allows the teaching of religion to children in public schools, but it requires that it be done only with the written consent of parents. A similar respect for the desire of parents should be provided for in the law. Our Constitution says: “The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.” As for sex education in private schools, any law on this should respect academic freedom which is also protected by the Constitution.

I have also scanned the penal provisions of the proposed law. My initial impression is that, if passed, they will encounter problems in implementation along lines of criminal due process.

Natural Family Planning, Contraception, & Cancer

2010-10-15T04:11:00.005+08:00

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Natural Family Planning vs. Contraception

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How "The Pill" Works As An Abortifacient

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Birth Control Pills Raises Breast Cancer Risk
By Pam Stephan
Breast Cancer Blog

In 2003, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) sought to reassure women that using birth control pills would not raise their risk for breast cancer. NCI also told women that having an abortion was not a risk factor for breast cancer. Now it turns out that a study published in April 2009 by Jessica Dolle and other researchers of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center appears to show just the opposite: oral contraception (OCs) is linked with an increased risk for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in women who are 45 years old and younger. The research paper, "Risk factors for triple-negative breast cancer in women under the age of 45 years," was published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. This research paper features a table of risk factors, which includes oral contraception use, tobacco and alcohol consumption, number of births, breastfeeding, and induced abortion.

Dolle's research shows that if you started taking birth control pills before age 18, your risk for TNBC is increased by 3.7 times. If you've been using The Pill within the last one to five years, your TBNC risk is raised 4.2 times. Triple-negative breast cancer is aggressive and strikes women who are under 40, and many victims are African Americans. Survival odds for TBNC are lower than average, compared to other types of breast cancer.

As if that news were not alarming enough, a statement in this paper refers to induced abortion as a factor that is associated with an increased breast cancer risk. One of the study co-authors, Louise Brinton, spearheaded the 2003 NCI workshop about the abortion-breast cancer link (referred to as ABC). That workshop made every effort to assure women that having an induced abortion was not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and that research did not support an ABC link. Keep in mind that this paper discusses only one study.

Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2002, I took birth control pills for about 5 years. They prevented conception, made me a little queasy, but seemed otherwise harmless. In those days, the hormones in The Pill were lower than contraceptives that were produced in the 1980's, so I thought they were safe. After all, a doctor prescribed them for me - so no health risk, right? Maybe they were wrong! As soon as my breast lump was detected on a mammogram, when I was 46 years old, I was told to stop taking The Pill. That was one year before NCI told us that The Pill would not raise my risk for breast cancer. Now, I wish I'd never taken it. Perhaps one's risk is not as simple as taking The Pill, or eating a healthy diet, or having a genetic mutation - but if my risk is lower now because of being off contraceptives and never having had an abortion, I'm glad there's something I can do. I just wish we could have as much information as possible, to reduce our risk of breast cancer.
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Hotdog and Hamburger

2010-10-13T17:44:00.003+08:00

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See: Hamburger and Hotdog in Comparison
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When Does Life Begin?

2010-10-09T08:09:00.007+08:00

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When does life begin?

Source: Popular Issues

This question has taken on major proportions of debate and controversy, between supporters of Pro-life and groups of Pro-choice. To most, the answer is distinctly clear about when life begins. It begins at conception, when the sperm fertilizes the egg.

Dr. Landrum Shettles, sometimes called the "Father of in vitro fertilization" notes about life's beginnings: "Conception confers life and makes that life one of a kind." Continuing on his comments about the Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade he says, "To deny a truth (about when life begins) should not be made a basis for legalizing abortion."

Dr. Albert Liley, the renowned physiologist known as the "Father of Fetology" has stated, "Biologically, at no stage of development can we subscribe to the view that the unborn child is a mere appendage of the mother. Genetically, the mother and baby are separate individuals from conception."

The baby is autonomous of the mother and has been demonstrated successfully since the introduction of test tube babies. The ovum or the egg is fertilized with the sperm inside a laboratory facility. The zygote, a fertilized egg, begins to divide and grow looking like a bag of marbles even though it may be countries away from the mother.

This halts the viewpoint that the fertilized egg (or pregnancy tissue, as Planned Parenthood calls it) is an appendage of the mother. If any other part of the mother's anatomy is removed, such as an appendix, it will not continue to live. But the fertilized egg has shown its autonomy in survival outside the mother's body, and has further shown its autonomy implanted into another woman. The fertilized egg does not take on the surrogate mother's characteristics, but develops according to its own DNA make up.

Within four days of fertilization, the sex of the zygote can be determined through microscopic techniques. Soon after one week of fertilization, the zygote contains the beginning of all major body structures. Fetal circulation occurs by three weeks - complete with heart and major blood vessels coursing through its quarter-inch frame. And at five weeks, all basic body systems are developing, including the brain and nervous system enabling the fetus to feel pain.

When the zygote reaches the eighth week, it is called a fetus for the remaining of the fetal development. The fetus at twelve weeks of growth shows tooth buds, nail beds, and genitals. By thirteen to sixteen weeks, the arms and legs are complete. There is air on the head, the skeletal system shows up on x-ray film and has breathing movements. By the twentieth week, the baby has eyebrows, tiny nipples, sucks its thumb, and holds its own umbilical cord.

If the sexual gender of a fertilized egg can be determined within four days of conception, then this pregnancy tissue is more than an appendage of the mother. It is the beginning of a life.

Read also this resource material from Princeton University: Life Begins At Fertilization

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"Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you." (Jeremiah 1:5)

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

"I will give thanks to you O Lord, For I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well." (Psalms 139:14)

"Reproductive Health includes access to abortion" -- Hillary Clinton

2010-10-09T00:25:00.006+08:00

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How can we be sure that our own country's proposed RH Bill will someday not lead to the granting of access to abortion? Mr. President, is this part of the deal of the $343M grant the United States government has granted the Philippines during your first foreign mission with the world leaders at the United Nations?

See also: The Hijacked U.N. General Assembly Agenda

Japan suffers nurse shortage

2010-10-07T01:45:00.008+08:00

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More than 15,000 nurses are needed in Japan, as the country faces a growing aging population.

In addition, the turnover among Japanese nurses in hospitals is high, as working conditions are very demanding that even death from overwork has been reported.

Hiring foreigners has been a challenge for the country as most of them failed to pass the standard Japanese nursing examination.

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Is it possible to somehow incorporate into our country's nursing curriculum what the Japanese government required of the foreign nurses who wish to work in their country? Or perhaps some schools would open special courses that teach nursing standards required by the Japanese government or any other target country?

Like Singapore, because of Japan's rapidly declining manual workforce population, maybe in less than 30 to 50 years, whether they like it or not, Japan will be needing more and more foreign workers to keep their country running and globally competitive. In the field of health care, compared with other countries in the region, our country has the better edge to fill the lack.
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Sow Not On The Devil's Ground

2010-09-26T05:00:00.016+08:00

Surrender
Editorial, Inquirer.net

The senate hearing on jueteng has turned out to be a disaster for Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno, and it threatens to produce another disaster for the entire nation.

Still reeling from the embarrassment over the failed hostage rescue attempt last Aug. 23, Puno found himself again in the center of another controversy when his name landed on a list submitted by retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz to the Senate as one of the “ultimate recipients” of jueteng payola. Puno, who is in charge of police matters in the Department of Interior and Local Government, may have been wrongly accused, but he did not help disabuse suspicious minds with his evasive answers during the Senate hearing last Sept. 21.

Questioned by senators, Puno admitted that “friends and local officials” had tried to set up a meeting between him and some jueteng operators. At first he refused to identify the operators, saying that revealing their names would put to waste “months of surveillance” undertaken by the police, but later admitted that one of them was Bong Pineda, the husband of the Pampanga governor. However, Puno was adamant in refusing to name the operators’ intermediaries, lamely explaining that he could not remember their names anymore since he received so many visitors during the two months or so that he has been in his post. If only because there are now doubts about Puno’s integrity, President Aquino should seriously consider accepting his resignation.

But if Puno’s lack of candor was disappointing, the solution to the old illegal numbers game now being suggested by some senators is disturbing, to say the least. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada have revived the easy solution put forward by the President that jueteng brought down, Joseph Estrada, which is to legalize jueteng. This proposal reveals a sense of helplessness on the part of the Senate in upholding the law when criminal syndicates put it to a test. The call sounds like a declaration of surrender.

This illegal numbers game, the argument goes, has been around since time immemorial and has persisted despite countless attempts to stamp it out. If we allow the rich their excessively wasteful vices, why not let the poor enjoy some of their small indulgences? Besides, without jueteng, thousands of rural families who rely on this illegal numbers racket for livelihood will die of hunger.

We disagree. We are with Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Krusada Laban sa Jueteng in saying that jueteng can be stopped. Cruz says it’s just a matter of cutting off its “two legs” that bring it from one house to another, with impunity: the local officials and the police officers who tolerate or protect its operations. And he points to the communities in the country where jueteng (or masiao) can’t proliferate to prove this.

Indeed, jueteng must be stopped. Not just because like all forms of gambling, it erodes a people’s cultural and moral foundations and corrupts social institutions, including the Church, but more importantly because, contrary to what some people say that it is the least destructive of all forms of gambling, it is the worst.

First of all, it strikes into the very heart of our society, the family. Other games of chance draw “walk-in” bettors. This one is door-to-door pick-up and delivery. Nobody makes a living from visiting the houses of the poor and inviting them to a casino or to a game of tong-its or mahjjong.

Second, it is oppressive, of the poor most especially. In fact, it primarily targets the poor. Worse, it is a con game. Jueteng is not a game of chance, or a game of luck. The winning numbers are pre-selected before each draw, depending on which combination of numbers the smallest bet has been placed.

It is open even to the poorest man who is foolish enough to part with the last centavos in his pocket and to risk losing his family’s next meal for the chance to win in a game that is heavily stacked against him. Jueteng impoverishes the poor even more only to make the jueteng bosses super-rich, while the collectors doing the dirty work can’t provide their families a decent existence.

Simply put, jueteng victimizes the poor more than anybody. Legalizing it is tantamount to inviting them to entrust their day-to-day survival to chance. It is like legalizing deceit.

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Gambling is pinning your hope on sure uncertainty. It is a clear manifestation of one's ignorance of God if one is an unbeliever. Or if one claims to be a believer, it is an evidence of one's fake trust in God, particularly in God's ability to bless and to provide for people's needs.

Gambling is sowing your seeds on the devil's ground, and on this ground everything you sow grows and multiplies so quickly that in no time you reap nothing but a thousand fold of curses -- poverty, crime, corruption, destruction of families, etc.

Do you want true prosperity? Prove the Lord by sowing your seeds instead in His field.

[Malachi 3:10] "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Except one thing, God needs nothing from us because He owns everything and has everything. What He needs from us is our faith in Him. To truly believe in the Lord through obedience to His word is the key to true prosperity. In other words, God's challenge to prove Him through our giving to Him is actually a test of our trust in Him. It is not the quantity of our giving that God is after but the quality of our heart towards Him. Isn't it true that when we truly love someone we give our best to that person? Likewise with God because in His economy love is the only currency and giving is its medium of exchange and prosperity is merely a side effect.

[Luke 6:38] “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”

It is not only the temporal resources that gambling is able to take away from us -- wealth, health, time, family, etc. If gambling is not forsaken, ultimately it could steal away our faith in God and our future in eternity.

He Needs Our Support And Prayers

2010-09-22T05:16:00.006+08:00

Anti-gambling bishop fears for his life after jueteng expose
CBCP News

Outspoken Archbishop Oscar Cruz admitted fears for his life after he identified in a Senate hearing the country’s alleged jueteng operators and protectors.

Cruz said those involved in the illegal numbers game are influential people, adding that he is afraid of possible revenge.

“Of course I’m afraid. There are shameless people so how can you stop worrying,” said the founder of the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng.

Cruz identified Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno and retired Philippine National Police chief Jesus Verzosa as the two Aquino administration officials coddling jueteng operators by receiving monthly payola.

The anti-gambling crusader also revealed 10 more names during the investigation on the multi-million illegal lottery as jueteng lords, operators and beneficiaries of jueteng payola.

The 12 are: 1. Governor Baby Pineda in Pampanga; 2. Paul Dy in Isabela; 3. Retired general Eugene Martin; 4. Mayor Mauricio Domogan of Baguio; 5. Danny Soriano in Cagayan; 6. Retired General Padilla in Pasay, Parañaque, Muntinlupa and San Pedro; 7. Governor Amado Espino in Pangasinan; 8. Boy Jalandoni in Bacolod; 9. Eddie Fontanilla; and 10. Rey Cachuela.

The first eight names were named as jueteng lords and operators in their respective areas. Fontanilla, meanwhile, was identified as a collector on the ground while Cachuela was tagged as intermediate recipient.

The retired archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan said his group had already suffered big blows in giving information to the government so it could stop jueteng “which corrupts public officials.”

He said one of them has already been killed, referring to jueteng whistle-blower Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor, who was gunned down in Pasay City in February.

Last week, the prelate said he received a mail sent to his office at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in Intramuros, Manila. The bond paper has his face printed on it and with a note: “Shut up!”

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To those people with the same conviction and advocacy as the bishop, it is time to join forces and fight with him against gambling in our country. Never to the legalization of "jueteng". The nation can win this fight if we put our individual strengths together.

Lord, let an avalanche of will and determination begin. Grant us the strength to stand against this Goliath for your name's sake. As you have shown your glory through David, be it so likewise as we stand to face this yet another of the many stubborn monsters in our land.

Media In Focus: Watching The Watchdogs

2010-09-19T00:45:00.005+08:00

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On Sept. 14, in the words of this paper (Philippine Daily Inquirer), “Senators led by former press freedom champion Joker Arroyo took turns browbeating messengers of bad news for allegedly tarnishing the country’s image with their reporting on the botched hostage rescue.” Eight Hong Kong nationals were massacred during the incident inside a bus parked in the Quirino Grandstand.

There were two issues at stake at the media hearings, although Arroyo attempts to make them one and the same. The first was the media’s lapses during the hostage crisis. On Aug. 23, news networks aired the crisis live on national television, making available information to the hostage-taker via a television inside the bus. ABS-CBN aired a blow-by-blow account of the situation, including assault positions, as well as live footage of the hostage-taker’s brother being arrested. TV5 reporter Erwin Tulfo, with fellow Radyo Mo Nationwide commentator Michael Rogas tied up the hostage-taker’s phone line in an increasingly tense 45-minute radio interview that ended with gunshots.

“We just wanted to talk to the hostage-negotiator first. We did not know that there were negotiations. We did not know that he would get angry. We were thrown into a situation that escalated into something that made even us nervous.”

It is true that the press failed to regulate itself, aggravating the situation for an already inept police force. There is a limit to press freedom, and even the lowest standard demands a respect for human life. Since the massacre, broadcast networks have committed to reform. GMA Network vice president for news programs, Jessica Soho, acknowledged that they could have performed better. ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs head Maria Ressa said during the hearing that they never expected that authorities would not be in control of the crisis situation, and said that belief was their failure as well. The concession was clear: inept leadership does not excuse journalistic irresponsibility.

Read full text: The Joker by Patricia Evangelista, Inquirer.net

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"Maybe it is the media that has us divided." --Laura Bush

“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” --Malcolm X

“All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgerize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level.” --William Bernbach

“All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.” --Marshall McLuhan

“The media tends to report rumors, speculations, and projections as facts... How does the media do this? By quoting some 'expert'... you can always find some expert who will say something hopelessly hopeless about anything.” --Peter McWilliams

“The media's power is frail. Without the people's support, it can be shut off with the ease of turning a light switch.” --Corazon C. Aquino

“For a politician to complain about the press is like a ship's captain complaining about the sea.” --Enoch Powell

“In day-to-day commerce, television is not so much interested in the business of communications as in the business of delivering audiences to advertisers. People are the merchandise, not the shows. The shows are merely the bait.” --Les Brown

“People in the media say they must look at the president with a microscope. Now, I don't mind a microscope, but boy, when they use a proctoscope, that's going too far.” --Richard M. Nixon

"Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." --Jim Morrison

"Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted." --Margaret Thatcher

"These days politics, religion, media seem to get all mixed up. Television became the new religion a long time back and the media has taken over." --Van Morrison

"The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message." --Pope John Paul II
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Ang Dasal, Sana Maghilum Ang Sugat Ng Nakaraan

2010-09-03T21:35:00.006+08:00

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A single oversight
Should not make you feel
All the anger inside your heart
We did not wish for this to happen

We understand that you've been hurt
All we're asking for is forgiveness
As we extend our hands to you in goodwill

We wish you'd open your heart once again
We feel your sadness and grief
Now we plead for us to be heard
Our apologies we pray you'd accept

We join our hands in prayer for forgiveness
Waiting for a new day to come
Now we plead for us to be heard
Our apologies we pray you'd accept

We are a loving race
Loyal heroes of our land
Believing in the good hearts of our people
Condemning what is wrong

-- Ryan Enriquez
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There Are Days And There Are Nights

2010-09-01T16:10:00.004+08:00

Palace: President cannot remain 'worried' over hostage incident
GMA News TV

Malacañang said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III remains "concerned" over the hostage crisis in Manila last week but can no longer afford to remain worried about the consequences of the incident.

Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma said while Aquino is still concerned about the hostage incident, he also has to focus on the other problems facing the nation.

“Di pwede sa worrying mode palagi ang isang leader, kailangan nakatutok ang attention sa darating sa kinabukasan. Kailangan naka-focus sa paghanap ng solution, di magiging productive kung palaging worried," Coloma said in an interview on dzXL radio.

(A leader cannot remain in worrying mode indefinitely. He must keep his attention on other problems. He must focus on finding solutions to these problems. Worrying will mess up his productivity.)

On August 23, a dismissed senior police inspector, Rolando Mendoza, hijacked a bus in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Manila and held hostage 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos. After an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza and eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

“Siguro ang tamang salita ay concerned sapagka’t dapat naman ay yung ganung concern dahil seryoso ang kaganapang nangyari. Pero I don’t think tama ang salitang worried. Ito ay bahagi ng hamon na kinakaharap," he said.

(Perhaps the right word to describe Aquino is concerned. He remains concerned over such a serious situation. But I don’t think it is right to say he remains worried because such things are part of the challenges he faces as a leader.)

Coloma said the Aquino government has already taken steps to heal the wounds between the Philippines and Hong Kong after last week's hostage crisis.

“Ang importante dito ang maging makatwiran at makatarungan ang mga aksyon ng pangulo, di dinadaan sa pabilisan lamang (What is important is that the president’s moves are proper and not necessarily rushed)," he said.

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The world keeps on turning.

What Picture Would It Paint?

2010-08-02T11:36:00.003+08:00

Hundreds of photos of events of Cory's life put together side by side to form a mosaic that when viewed from a distance the individual details of each photos seem to melt and blend to form a single large image of a familiar portrait of Cory. What a remarkable and impressive work of art.

But if all of our people's individual stories could be put together in one big mosaic, I'm just wondering what image perhaps would it paint?

Pangangalampag

2010-07-22T14:33:00.005+08:00

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An impressive exhibition of raw talent.

This is a facebook video from a friend's friend which I found to have some relevance to some issues in our country.

On a lighter note: Looking at the improvised instruments the guy is using, some funny thought popped up in my mind. I thought if someone would do something like that in Metro Manila today where residents there are experiencing a case of water shortage for days now and are lining up outside the streets bringing with them all sorts of water container they could get waiting for the water trucks to come by, people might think that's probably what happens when frustrated and angry people undergo water crisis -- they'll protest artistically beating their water containers to call government attention to their desperate condition. :-)

On a serious thought: According to reports, about 53% of the water supplied from Anggat Dam to the consumers go to waste through leakages in the distribution system. What a remarkable waste! Also, according to the new DPWH secretary, since the dam was privatized the consumers now are at the mercy of the dam's owners when it comes to matters of priority when low water level conditions occur.

This recurrent persistent water "shortage" situation affecting some areas in Metro Manila seems to remind of the situation of our national government's resources. Huge wastage resulting from mismanagement, inefficiency, corruption, scarcity, etc. are sorrounding the problem. How the new administration handles this water problem will tell something about their quality of leadership. Will they approach the problem the hard but right way, or will they handle it the quick and easy wang-wang way?

Mga Tagapagtangkilik Ng Wang-Wang

2010-07-21T07:47:00.021+08:00

"Betrayal" Of Party-list Law
By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) disqualified a big businessman who wished to speak for small entrepreneurs, but ruled that a wealthy political scion can represent marginalized security guards and tricycle drivers in the House of Representatives.

The Comelec has voted 4-2-1 to allow Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo to represent the party-list group Ang Galing Pinoy, but Election Chair Jose Melo said the poll body’s latest ruling and that on another party-list group, Ang Kasangga, were “contradictory.”

Election Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Elias Yusoph and Armando Velasco—all members of the second division except for Yusoph—approved Arroyo’s assumption of office as the first nominee of a group that claims to speak for the guards and drivers.

Commissioners Gregorio Larrazabal and Rene Sarmiento of the first division dissented, saying a “yes” vote would be a betrayal of the party-list law.

Melo did not take part in the voting.

Asked on Tuesday if it would be dangerous for the Comelec to issue two conflicting decisions on party-list groups, he replied in the affirmative. He also said those opposed to the en banc ruling could seek a restraining order from the Supreme Court.

Militant groups are determined to block Arroyo, the eldest child of the former First Couple and a former representative of Pampanga, from again taking a seat in the House.

Through its secretary general Renato Reyes, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the Comelec ruling “is utterly despicable and truly destroys the essence of the party-list system.”

Reyes also said Arroyo’s presence at the opening of Congress on July 26 would “insult the entire Filipino people.”

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, whose colleagues had earlier sought Arroyo’s disqualification as Ang Galing Pinoy nominee, said the Comelec ruling allowed those in power and in positions of influence to coopt the party-list system.

He said Bayan Muna would appeal the ruling before the high court.

Click here to read full text.

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Kailan kaya tuluyang mawala ang Wang-wang na pag-iisip ng karamihan sa mga taga-Comelec? Pero mga taga-Comelec lang ba ang may bahid ng Wang-wang na mentalidad?

Bakit kaya na kung pagdating sa pagsunod o pagpa-iral sa batas ay hindi pa rin mawala-wala itong ating lumang pag-iisip at pag-uugali na kung may pagkakataon ay sumasamantala sa kapangyarihan upang tangkaing baluktotin o impluwensyahan ang sistema ng ating batas para sa isang hangarin sa pamamaraang labag sa kung ano ang dapat, wasto, at tamang gawa?

Kailan pa kaya tayo tunay na magbago? Kailan kaya ang Wang-wang tuluyang maalis hindi lang sa mga kalsada at mga lansangan kundi lalo na sa mga kalye at mga sulok ng ating mga puso at isipan kung saan dito ang pugad nito?

Binibigyan tayo ngayon ng panibagong pagkakataong magbago, magbago ka ba o wawangwang-wangwang ka pa rin?

Building Our Nation With Living Stones

2010-07-11T05:15:00.008+08:00

An Interview of Dylan Wilks
By Bo Sanchez

Dylan Wilk was born to a poor family. But at the young age of 20, he started a computer games company that made him a millionaire. Soon, Dylan operated in nine countries and ran his own TV channel. Then at the age of 25, Dylan sold his company for multi-million British pounds. He became the ninth richest person in the Great Britain under the age of 30.

But one night, while lying in bed, he was distressed by a nagging question that wouldn't let him sleep.

"God, why am I rich?"

He asked if there was a reason for his immense wealth. Ironically, he also felt terribly empty inside. This, despite his ability to have any kind of pleasure he wanted. He had just bought himself a brand-new Ferrari and took one holiday after another. But he was discovering that pleasure was like fire... it constantly needed more fuel to keep it going.

And he realized he would never be happy in the path he was taking.

One day, a Filipina friend visited him. She said she felt guilty going there because her plane fare could have built two homes for the poor. That made Dylan pause. How can you build two houses for that measly amount? He decided to investigate.

In January 2003, he visited the Philippines. And for three hours, Gawad Kalinga (GK) Director Tony Meloto brought Dylan to different GK villages for the poor. With his own eyes, he saw something that would change his life forever...

Bo: What did you see on that day?

Dylan: I saw hope. More than newly built houses, I saw transformed lives. We were entering rather dangerous slums, breeding ground for thieves and kidnappers... yet in the middle of that was an oasis...the Gawad Kalinga village. I saw people smiling, men working, children laughing... I've seen many other projects in South East Asia and across the world. And I've never seen anything like GK. This was different. This really worked!

Bo: So what did you do after your trip?

Dylan: I went back to England. I saw my BMW parked in the garage and realized I could build 80 homes with it... and affect the lives of 600 people. I saw the faces of the children I could help. I called up Tony Meloto and told him I was thinking of donating $100,000 to Gawad Kalinga and asked him if that was okay...

Bo: What did Tony say?

Dylan: He said, "No, I don't want your money."

Bo: Only Tony can say something like that. (Laughs.)

Dylan: He said if I was really serious in working for the poor, I should go back to the Philippines. So two months later, I sold my BMW and flew back to Manila. And in June of that year, I made a decision to stay in the Philippines and work for GK for seven more years.

Bo: Wow.

Dylan: I've decided to invest in the poor of the Philippines. Not in stocks or bonds. If I can help in uplifting the poor of this country, I can say that I spent my life well.

Bo: I presume your family wasn't too crazy about that decision.

Dylan: No! They thought I was brainwashed by a religious cult! (Laughs.) So my mother came and spied on me. But she was soon convinced of the beautiful work we were doing and went back home and told my sister about it. And my sister said, "Oh no, they brainwashed you too!" (Laughs.) But today, all of them support what I do.

Bo: You've made a decision to give up your wealth for the Filipino poor.

Dylan: I don't see it as a sacrifice. When you give charity out of pity, you feel pain parting with your money. But when you give charity because you love, you don't feel that pain. You only feel the joy of giving to someone you love. That's what I feel.

Bo: I hear you built an entire village for GK in Bulacan.

Dylan: I don't see it as my village. I just provided the materials. Architects, engineers, volunteers gave their labor. Together, we built 63 houses for the poor.

Bo: Amazing. What else do you do?

Dylan: I go around the world telling everyone that Filipinos are heroic. Because I work with them every day... the volunteers of GK.

Bo: What do you see in the Filipino that we take for granted?

Dylan: You're hardworking. You're always laughing, always eating, always singing. Even in your problems. You're loyal. And honest. Sure, there are exceptions, but generally, that's been my experience. And you have the bayanihan spirit. The pyramids of Egypt are beautiful but they were built by slavery. GK villages are more beautiful because they're made through the bayanihan spirit of the Filipino. It's especially this bayanihan and love of family and community that makes the Filipino more valuable than gold. If you take a golden nugget and kick it on the floor for 400 years, afterwards you won't be able to see much gold, just mud. This was what happened to the Filipino... for 400 years you were slaves and then you suffered under dictatorship and corruption. This is where the crab mentality came from; I don't think it's a natural Filipino quality because every day I see the gold under the surface of ordinary Filipinos. If we wipe away the mud by bringing hope and being brothers to one another in bayanihan, the gold will shine through and the world will see it.

Bo: Let me get personal here. I hear that you don't only love the Filipinos, but you've fallen for a particular Filipina.

Dylan: (Smiles.) Two months ago, I married Anna Meloto, the eldest daughter of Tony Meloto. She grew up with the GK work, so we're totally one in our mission. And yes, I'll be having Filipino children. The best way I can secure a future for my kids is to continue to help raise this country from poverty. Instead of building high walls in an exclusive subdivision to protect us from thieves and kidnappers, I will go to the breeding ground of thieves and kidnappers and help transform their lives.

Bo: Thank you for this interview. You don't know how much you inspired me.

Dylan: Thank you for being our partner in GK. I read KERYGMA every month and I'm happy to see GK stories in every issue.

Bo: It's our immense privilege to tell the world about it and ask others to join the miracle.

Dylan: To me, GK isn't just Gawad Kalinga. It is a part of "God's Kingdom" in this world. Thank you.

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Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently: having been reborn, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever. Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, you also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:22-23, 2:1,5).

Our Nation Is Birthing A New Hope

2010-06-30T16:22:00.008+08:00

Our country is birthing a new hope of a new beginning. In the seasons ahead, our new set of leaders will surely need our support more than ever.

In our individual spirits, every once in a while, let us lift our leaders to the Lord so that they will be able to fulfill the tasks the Lord has anointed them to accomplish.

God bless the Philippines.

Araw Ng Pagsilang Ng Bagong Pag-asa

2010-06-30T03:48:00.004+08:00

Kapag naghihirap na ang isang babaing manganganak, siya'y nahahapis, sapagkat dumating na ang oras ng kanyang paghihirap. Ngunit pagkapanganak niya, hindi na niya naaalala ang hirap; nagagalak siya dahil sa pagsilang ng isang sanggol sa sanlibutan. -Juan 16:21

Ang sarap pakinggan ang unang iyak ng bagong-silang na sanggol.

Ngayon ay ang araw ng pagsilang ng ating bagong pag-asa. Huwag na sanang mangyari pa na ang batang ito ay lalaking palaboy sa lansangan dahil sa kapabayaan nating mga mamayan. Anak ng buong sambayang Pilipino itong bagong pag-asa na ito. Mahalin at arugain natin tulad ng isang tunay na anak, at ang ating bagong Presidente ay siyang mangunguna sa atin sa pagtuyod ng pag-asang ito tungo sa ating matagal ng minimithing pagbabago at kaunlaran.

Next Time, How About Logically Clustering The Prencincts?

2010-05-10T15:05:00.014+08:00

The clustering of the precincts proved to be a major cause of the system's poor overall efficiency. Since one big cluster comprises about 8 to 10 precincts or about 700 to 1,000 voters, one standard-sized public school classroom with one set of election workers and other authorized personnel are 8 to 10 times over-capacitated or overloaded, and thus resulted the inefficiency of the AES that is being experienced today by the voters all over the country.

The previously published time and motion test conducted by the concerned authorities involved in the AES project estimated the time it will take for a voter to finish voting to be between 8 to 10 minutes. But the actual real time proved to be longer than ten minutes. This is where the system's bottleneck occurs.

In the entire election day, the PCOS machine only uses a very small fraction of the entire election time to read all the ballots in a particular cluster of precincts. Most of the time it is sitting idle waiting for a batch of voters to finish shading their ballots. This setup has a very low rate of system throughput of about 30 to 40 voters per hour per one cluster of precincts. If the system throughput rate can be increased 5 to 8 times, the system's overall efficiency could greatly improve.

One possible solution is "Logical Clustering". That is, using the same original precincts configuration in the polling places as it was in the manual elections before. The variation to this configuration is that the precincts are clustered logically in such a way that they share one PCOS machine for every group of 8 to 10 precincts as clustered today. In this setup, every precinct has the original set of election workers and authorized personnel as in the manual elections before. But in this setup, voters (of not more than say 400 voters per precinct) do the very time-consuming manual steps or portions of the AES (including the shading of the ballot) in their uncongested precinct space (one classroom per precinct) and under the care and supervision of the not overloaded set of election workers. The PCOS machine is place in a secured common area managed and guarded by a special set of authorized election workers.

So, in a logical cluster of 8 to 10 precincts, the number of voters finishing the shading of their ballots in one hour is increased 8 to 10 times. In this case, one logical cluster of say a total number of 1,000 voters would only take about 3 to 4 hours to finish voting.

Sample Calculation:

Say;

20 minutes = voting time per voter
1 batch = 10 voters

And say;

1 logical cluster = 8 precincts

So roughly;

Every 20 minutes, 8 precincts will yeild a total of 80 voters who finish voting

Therefore:

1,000 voters / (80 voters every 20 minutes) = 250 minutes (or about 4 hours)

A Glimpse At A Local Voting Center

2010-05-10T10:02:00.013+08:00

My Personal Choice of National Leaders for 2010 Elections

2010-05-09T22:47:00.004+08:00

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President: Aquino, Benigno III
Vice-president : Roxas, Mar

Senators:

* Tamano, Adel (Nacionalista Party)
* Estrada, Jinggoy (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino)
* Biazon, Ruffy (Liberal Party)
* Drilon, Frank (Liberal Party)
* Recto, Ralph (Liberal Party)
* Ocampo, Satur (Bayan Muna)
* Baraquel, Ana Theresa (Liberal Party)
* Enrile, Juan Ponce (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino)
* De Venecia, Joey (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino)
* Osmeña, Sergio III (Independent)
* Defensor-Santiago, Miriam (People's Reform Party)
* Tatad, Francisco (Grand Alliance for Democracy)

Party List: BUHAY
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5 Madaling Hakbang sa Makabagong Paraan ng Pagboto

2010-05-09T21:47:00.003+08:00

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Magtulong-tulong Tayo Upang Maiwasan Ang "Overvoting"

2010-05-09T20:06:00.016+08:00

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Dahil sa uri ng ating Automated Election System (AES) na gumagamit ng mahabang balota kung saan nakasulat ang mga pangalan ng lahat ng mga kandidato sa iba't-ibang posisyon, napakadali ng isang botante na magkamaling sumubra ang pagboto.

Halimbawa sa pagboto ng senador, imbis na 12 lamang ang dapat piliin, dahil napakarami ang pangalan na nakasulat sa balota para senador, napakadali ng isang first-time AES voter na magkamali at makapili ng lampas 12 kandidato.

Sa local level naman, lalong mas madaling magkamali ang isang botante dahil karamihan sa kanila ay hindi alam kung ilang bilang ng konsehal ang dapat iboto sa kanilang partikular na lugar. Sinubokan ko ang aking mga kamag-anak at kaibigan sa pagboto. Sa mahigit sampong bomoto, dalawa lamang sa kanila ang hindi nag-overvote, tatlo ang nag-undervote. Kayo mismo, subokan ninyong bomoto gamit ang sample ballot para sa inyong lugar, malamang mag-overvote din kayo.

Habang may kaunting oras pa, kailangan sigurong paulit-ulit itong ipapa-alala ng mga taga-medya sa taong bayan. Serbisyo publiko nila sa kanilang mga hintilan sa telebisyon simula ngayong oras na ito hanggang bukas ng eleksyon. At sa mga voting precincts kailangan paulit-ulit din ipa-alala ng mga kinaukulan at mga volunteers ang tungkol sa bagay na ito.

Napakahalagang malaman ng taombayan ang tungkol sa over-voting dahil napakadali para sa mga first-time voters ng AES na magkamali dahil sa uri ng ating bagong sistema na napakahaba ng balota at napakarami ng mga pangalan na nakasulat.

Helping Comelec Ensure the Credibility of the A.E.S.

2010-04-26T11:30:00.005+08:00

"Our proposal is a most reasonable request. It is a simple and most logical solution to the uncertainties in the coming election." - Multi-sectoral Group for Honest and Credible Election

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[Colossians 3:23-25] And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.

Character Above Other Else

2010-04-07T12:04:00.010+08:00

[...] "Against these issues, you may be tempted to fall back on the more visible markers of success... the choice of form over substance, fame over character, short-term gain over long-term goal is precisely what your generation needs to end."

"Coming from the Ateneo, I know that the pressure to succeed is immense. In fact, your biggest liability is the need to succeed." [...]

"... when you stand on the threshold of what is called ― real life, it is – ironically – the best time to talk about failure. Nobody‘s life is seamless or smooth. We all stumble." [...]

Read Manny Pangilinan's speech
Ateneo De Manila University graduation rites

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Read also: Moving target by Manuel L. Quezon III

Repentance: The First Act of Righteousness

2010-04-03T09:25:00.001+08:00

2010 Lenten Message
+Nereo P. Odchimar
Bishop of Tandag
CBCP President

The journey through the season of Lent into the Holy Week once again accords us an opportunity conducive to a sincere review of our life in the light of the teachings of the Gospel. Jesus’ compelling challenge: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel (Mark 1:15)” cohesively capsulates the true spirit of this season. Through the traditional practices of fasting and abstinence, we are reminded of a deep and lasting abandonment of our sinful ways so that we can enter into a living relationship with Christ, who alone offers true freedom, happiness, and fulfillment. By our prayers and reflections on the suffering and death of Christ , we intensify our awareness of the movement of evil and its devastating effects to ourselves and others. And more importantly, our discernments leads us to a continuous movement toward personal conversion and genuine social transformation as we look forward to Christ’s resurrection and salvific action on Easter Sunday.

How are we challenged individually and collectively as a community by this season of repentance and renewal? Rightly so, if we are to examine the very core of our being, we realize that our hearts innately crave for power, are attached to material wealth, content to maintain the status quo, and inclined to worldly allurements and other forms of selfish desires. All these have outward manifestations through the increasing cases of graft and corruption in many institutions, poverty, violation of human rights, vote buying-and-selling and other forms of electoral fraud, abuse of natural resources, land grabbing, and all forms of injustices.

The pursuit for good is a fundamental option among individuals. Our efforts of deep concern for the members of the family apparently show our yearning to provide them good and quality life. In fact, we advocate good governance and seek responsible leaders in view of establishing a just and peaceful society—where all may enjoy a fuller life. But above anything else, we take heed to this crucial call to conversion because God, the Creator and Ultimate Origin of all Good, has drawn us to Himself through His death and resurrection.

A transformed society is built of renewed individual citizens. Our Lenten journey leads us to that total personal renewal which has two decisive movements: the first crucial step is repentance. In his homily during Ash Wednesday, the Holy Father Benedict XVI said: “The first act of righteousness, therefore, is to recognize one's own iniquity; it is to recognize that it (sin) is rooted in the ‘heart’, in the very center of the human person.” This initial act, more than mere recognition, requires us to renounce our inordinate attachments, obsessions, addictions, and rebelliousness. We begin to empty ourselves of empty lavishness. The second step is believing in the Gospel—a necessary consequence of our remorseful rejection of sin. This subsequent step brings us to a new direction of life. At this point, we do not act according to mere impulse and human tendencies but illumined by the Gospel, we practice justice, we become peacemakers, and we love in a manner that the Lord Jesus Christ loves. We therefore set our eyes completely to Christ the very Person we encounter intimately in the sacraments especially the Holy Eucharist, the Living Word in the Gospel we preach, and the Paschal Christ we follow in this journey toward Integral Renewal.

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Awake! The Day is at hand.

A Matter of Leadership Ethics

2010-03-26T13:32:00.003+08:00

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Isang Gabay Sa Pagboto

2010-03-18T02:08:00.015+08:00

Halalan 2010
Pastoral Letter of the Archbishop and Bishops
Manila Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Province

Sa darating na ika-10 ng Mayo 2010, malayang pipili ang mga Pilipino ng mga pinuno na inaasahang maglilingkod sa bayan at magkakaroon ng pananagutang paglingkuran ang mga mamamayan ng Republika ng Pilpinas. Ang isang malayang halalan ay nangangahulugang walang marahas na pamimilit, pagbabanta at panunuhol upang manghikayat at bumili ng boto. Napatunayan ng natin na ang labis na paggugol ng salapi sa pangangampanya ay hindi katiyakan ng mabuti at tapat na pamamahala.

Sa pagpili ng mga pinuno, kailangan pag-aralan, suriin at paghambingin ang mga katangian ng mga kandidato at isaalang-alang ang mga pangangailangan at mga isyu na bumabagabag sa ating bansa ngayon. Ang kahirapan at katiwalian sa pamahalaan ang dalawang pinakamatinding isyu ng matagal ng sumisira sa ating bayan. Ang dalawang ito’y magkatambal na pumpipinsala sa ating bayan. Habang lumalabis ang pagnanakaw sa kaban ng bayan, lumalala naman ang karukhaan.

Nagsisimula ang responsableng pagboto sa pagsasama-sama ng mga mamamayan upang talakaying ang mga kinakailangang katangian para sa tapat na pamamahala at suriin and karangalan ng mga kumakandidato sa halalan.

Kabilang sa mga kandidatong susuriin ng mga grupong ito ay mga taong may takot sa Diyos, matuwid ang pamumuhay, hindi lulong sa bisyo, nagtataguyod sa buhay at kabanalan nito, pampalagian at tunay na kaibigan ng mga dukha, nakikiisa sa pag-iingat ng kalikasan, payak at mapagkumbaba, at halimbawa ng pagiging mabuting Pilipino.

Hindi lamang tungkulin ng mga tapat na mamamayang ito ang pagsusuri ng mga kandidato at pagtimbang sa kanilang mga pansariling pasya. Kailangan di nilang magkaisa sa panalanging upang hilingin sa Panginoon na gabayan sila sa knailang pagpili at pagpapasya. Kailangan nating manalangin para sa mapayapang halalan at nagkakaisang bayan bago, habang at pagkatapos ng halalan.

Pagpalain at patnubayan nawa ng Panginoon at ng Mahal na Ina an gating byan sapagkat batid nily na bilang isang bayang may takot sa Diyos, mahal natin ang ating mga kababayan.

Sumaating nawa lagi ang pag-ibig at pagpapala ng Panginoon?

Ika-14 ng Marso 2010, Ika-apat ng Linggo ng Kuwaresma.

Nilagdaan ng Arsobispo at mga Obispo ng Manila Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Province.

Read also:

* Who is the big spender Cardinal Rosales and the Bishops referred to?
* Ang Isa Sa Pinakapangunahing Mga Sanhi Ng Kurapsyon

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Ang talamak na bilihan at bentahan ng boto sa mismong iilang mga araw bago ang takdang araw ng eleksyon ay ang pinakamahirap pa ring pigilin pagdating sa mga sari-saring sakit ng ating lipunan na may kinalaman sa mga panglalamang at pandaraya sa eleksyon na nakasanayan na at ugali na ng walang-konsensyang mga politiko at makasariling mga botante.

Alalahanin na kahit gaano pa kaayos at kagaling na "Automated Election System" ang maaaring maipapatupad ng Comelec, hindi pa rin kaya nitong mapigil ang "vote buying/bribery". Hindi makabagong sistema ng pagboto ang makapagpigil nito kundi tamang moralidad na dulot ng tunay na "reverence" sa kadikalaan at pag-ibig ng Diyos. Ang bagay na ito (ang pagbabago sa puso at isipan ng tao) ay pangunahing nasa kamay ng mga alagad ng simbahan ang responsibilidad.

Baka kung hindi lang sana nagkulang at nagpabaya ang mga alagad ng simbahan (Ke katoliko man o hindi), baka hindi na sana kailangang mangyari pa na may mga iilan sa kanilang hanay ang makaisip tumakbo sa mga eleksyon. At baka hindi na rin kailangan pa nila mismong makialam at makisawsaw sa bawat isyu na may kinalaman sa tunay na moralidad dahil kaya na ng mga mamamayan hawakan at ipagtanggol ang kung ano ang dapat at tamang mga bagay.

Halos dalawang buwan pa bago ang nakatakdang araw ng pabgoto. May panahon pa para maituwid ang maling nakasanayang ugali at pag-iisip ng ating lipunan.

Sana hindi mangyari ang mga ganito sa ating unang subok sa A.E.S.

2010-03-12T22:21:00.012+08:00

There is vulnerability in any electronic voting machine's internal operation of being taken over and controlled by some malicious computer code that may be successfully introduced into the system through some unexpected or unseen possible breach in its security features, or through an inside job cheating motivated by dishonest interested group(s).

See also: A Voting Machine Security Vulnerability Analysis

VoterGate

Kumusta na kaya ang pagsusuri ng mga dalubhasa sa computer sa "source code" na gagamitin sa mga makinang PCOS para sa ating kauna-unahang A.E.S. (Automated Election System)?

Kumusta na rin kaya ang unresolved issue tungkol sa system audit na itinanong ni Ricky Carandang sa Comelec noong isinagawang election automation forum sa ABS-CBN noong nakaraang buwan?

Ang Isa Sa Pinakapangunahing Mga Sanhi Ng Kurapsyon

2010-03-08T14:46:00.018+08:00

Advertisement spending from Nov. 1, 2009 to Feb 8, 2010
Candidate	Ad Spending
Senator Manuel Villar	P 1.20 Billion
Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro	P 472.80 Million
Senator Benigno Aquino III	P 357.58 Million
Senator Richard Gordon	P 245.90 Million
Brother Eduardo Villanueva	P 103.00 Million
Former President Joseph Estrada	P 92.70 Million
Total of all candidates	P 2.50 Billion
Source: Pera't Pulitika, AGB Nielsen media research group

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A comment from a reader of PhilStar.com:

"wala yatang limit kabayan sa tv adds kasi so far sky is the limit sa isang kandidato...at wala namang umaangal sa mga kalaban...kaya nga kung meron kang pera sa pinas you can buy a post sa gobyerno (kasama na ang president post)...iniisip ko nga iyon kahit na gaano sya kayaman kung half of that money ay gagastusin sa loob lang ng 6 months (hard earned money ito (sana)) masakit na rin sa bulsa ito pag tapos ng kampanya..okay lang kung matalo dahil that is the end of it eh paano kung manalo... dahil pwedeng bumalik ang nagastos sa paraan na hindi maganda...only FOOL can beleive na hindi nya babawiin ang mga nagastos nya sa eleksyon kapag nanalo sya...sabi nya gusto nyang tulungan ang mga pinoy his campaign expenses can pay for 40,000 classrooms to solve the shortage plus, create a micro lending fund that can generate 3.2 million jobs. I know it's his money pero....wasting billions in just couple of months is alarming..."

Sino-sino Kaya Ang Mga Dapat Unang Sumagot Sa Katanungang Ito?

2010-03-07T00:48:00.035+08:00

Di kaya mas dapat ang unang sumagot nito ay yaon mismong mga pinagsimulan ng katanungang ito? Hindi ba nila naisip na nailagay nila ang sarili nila sa isang "awkward" na kalagayan dahil sa pagtatanong nila sa katanungang ito?

Bago maniwala ang taombayan sa sinseridad ng kilusang "Ako Ang Simula", siguro dapat patunayan muna sa mga tagapasimuno nito na wala silang kinakatigan na kandidato. Sa tuno ng kanilang katanungan, hindi ba na [parang] may partikular na kandidato silang pinatatamaan? Hindi bali na may tunong patama ang kanilang katanungan kung sana noong una pa bago pa nagsimula ang opisyal na yugto ng pangangampanya ay sila mismo noon pa lang ay di na sana nila pinayagan sa kanilang mga hintilan ang mga politikal "posters, ads and other propaganda" ng mga kandidato dahil bawal pa noon kasi wala pa sa tamang panahon.

Oo, hindi nga illegal (bagama't hindi tama) ang gawaing ito na nakasanayan na ng mapagsamantalang tradisyonal na mga politiko at mga organisasyon ng medya dahil iniikutan lamang nila ang kahinaan ng batas. Oo, naiintindihan nating lahat na kailangang kumita ang mga media organizations dahil ang mga ito ay negosyo at ang mga "posters, ads and other propaganda" ng mga kandidatong ito ay malaking pagkakataon ng kanilang mga negosyo na kumita ng husto. Peru baka ang hindi na-realize ng karamihan sa mga medya organizations na ito ay ang masamang katumbas sa kanilang ginawa, ang unti-unting pagkalagas ng kanilang pinakamahalagang "asset" -- ang kanilang kredibilidad na nagmula sa kanilang "moral ascendancy" bilang bantay ng bayan.

May pinasisimunoan silang isang adbokasiya para sa pagbabago ng bayan na magsisimula sa mga sari-sarili ng bawat mamayan. Kabilang nito ay ang pagbabago laban sa pangunahing suliranin ng mga numumuno sa ating bansa, ang korupsyon. Kabahagi ng kanilang pangunahing mensahe ay ang pagbabago sa sarili, na dapat bawat sarili ay iwaksi ang mentalidad ng korupsyon.

Ngunit ngayon, anong klaseng "moral ascendancy" mayroon kaya silang natitirang pwede pa nilang mapanghawakan para kapanipaniwala silang makapagtanong sa taombayan sa uri ng katanungang kanilang binitiwan? Sa katanungang kanilang itinanong, hindi ba nagmukha silang parang hipokrito?

Ang kredibilidad ng isang media institution, ay dapat hindi ipagbili sa kikitain ng mga "posters, ads and other propaganda" sa hindi tamang paraan at panahon -- lalo na kung ang kanilang kikitain ay galing sa [mga] politikong kanila palang kailangang patatamaan ng [mga] katanungan sa bandang huli.

Ako Ang Simula... Hmmm... Simula kaya ng ano?

Basahin din:

* Ang medya, e sino'ng "iihaw" nito?
* Ano Na Ngayon?
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Absolution In Public?

2010-02-05T22:18:00.026+08:00

Archbishop says Lacson's flight justifiable
By Roy Lagarde
CBCP News

MANILA, February 5, 2010—The authorities will surely disagree but for a Catholic bishop, Senator Panfilo Lacson’s decision to leave the country is ‘justifiable’.

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz on Friday admitted he knew that Lacson was fleeing not due to his double murder charges but to avoid being a victim of evil conspiracy.

“I knew Lacson was leaving. We met two or three days before he left (the country) but I don’t know where he was going,” said Cruz.

But the prelate believes the senator has nothing to do with the twin killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

Cruz said Lacson left the country because the Arroyo administration has not stopped harassing him.

“He is not a coward. He just does not stand a chance, and would have difficulty in getting a just trial,” the archbishop said.

“I was listening to him. His decision to leave the country is justifiable,” he added.

Initial reports said Lacson flew to Hong Kong on Jan. 5, and then went to Australia.

The filing of double murder charges against Lacson, authorities said is the result of an investigation wherein he was given ample time to answer the allegations against him.

Government authorities also called on the senator to return to the country to face charges against him.

Cruz said he had already lost communication with Lacson ever since the latter flee. “He would only contact me when there is a major issue,” he said.

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“He is not a coward. He just does not stand a chance, and would have difficulty in getting a just trial.”

Isn't that statement no different than Senator Manuel Villar's excuse? It seems this lame cowardly excuse has started to become a standard among high profile probable cases in our country especially now that a man of the cloth seem to support it.

If Archbishop Oscar Cruz believes that his friend is truly innocent, then he should have tried harder to compel the Senator to fight his battle by facing the "false" accusation in the proper forum instead of seemingly showing support for the wrong move the senator is making.

"Sa mata ng mga bata, ang isang pagkakamali ay nagiging tama kapag ito ay ginagawa ng mga mas nakatatanda." So goes one television infomercial some time ago.

If we want to help restore the credibility of our nation's institutions, excuses like those made by Seneators Manny Villar and Panfilo Lacson (and especially if the move is publicly acknowledged by people of high moral authority) only add more insult to the already badly injured and ruined institutions of our land.

If a person accused is truly innocent of the charges, facing the charges even if it may be unfairly conducted is in itself already a great victory before the eyes of God -- this is how the Lord was treated while on earth, and who can fathom the wisdom behind such an act of submission to the authorities of an unfair worldly justice system?

As one dares to face an unfair trial (unfair if the accused is truly innocent and still get convicted), the person may experience undeserved suffering in the process, yet the ramifications of the action of a truly innocent sacrifice extends far beyond the realm of the present moment, for such an act is like those seeds that heroes plant. Though it takes some considerable length of time, yet there is hope of a new tree to grow than if there's no seed planted at all (or worse, bad seeds are planted).

People of authority, what kind of seeds are you planting?

On the other hand, submission to a fair trial (fair in the sense that the accused is truly guilty) is an act of admission to one's wrongdoing, and is in itself one's victory over his/her inner weakness - the fear of a just punishment. When the guilty submits himself to fair trial and eventually is justly accorded the right punishment, the nation's justice institution is strengthened and slowly regains back some credibility.

If Senator Lacson believes and still has respect for the institution that molded his class of discipline, he knows that overcoming his inner weakness and fear is the wisest thing for him to do. If he wins his inner battle and finally submits to the nation's [in]justice system, his act of submission will in effect judge and condemn before the justice of heaven the culture of impunity that is prevailing in high places of our society. (Read Luke 11:32 and take a glimpse of the justice of the Lord)

Same Old Rotten Politics! What Change Can The Nation Expect?

2010-02-03T18:37:00.093+08:00

Villar allies no-show in Senate, stall vote on ethics rap
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net

Allies of Senator Manny Villar were a no-show on Wednesday when the Senate resumed its session to discuss and probably vote on the ethics committee complaint that was filed against him.

Only 11 senators showed up at the session hall, not enough to conduct business.

Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, who presided over the session, said the absence of the opposition group in the Senate was an "attempt" to prevent the disposition of the C-5 road project controversy.

"Some members opted not to attend the session to prevent the disposition of this matter," he further said.

Because of lack of quorum, Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri then moved for the adjournment of the session but was stopped by Senator Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal.

Madrigal is the complainant in the ethics case filed against Villar, who allegedly used his position to benefit from the road project.

Madrigal invoked the rules of the committee, which would allow the Senate leader to order the arrest of the absent senators.

But Enrile rejected Madrigal's motion, saying he will like to be compassionate to colleagues.

Zubiri moved for the adjournment of the session.

Congress will resume session on May 31.

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E kung hanggang ngayon ay ganito pa rin ang uri ng bolok na politka ang ginagawa ng ating mga lideres sa senado, e anong klaseng pagbabago ang ating maasahan mula sa kanila? Ke minoriya man o mayoriya man ng senado, pare-pareho nilang nilapastangan ang institosyon ng senado sa kanilang ipinakitang bolok na pamumulitika.

Ginawa nilang walang silbi ang senado na saan inaasahan pa naman ng taombayan na siyang maging halimbawa sa bayan kung papaano ang maging isang mabuting alagad ng bayan. Kahit pa sa kahuli-hulihan sanang sesyon nila, kinaya pa ng kaninalang mga konsensya na isakripisyong hindi maipasa ang ibang mga nakabinbin pang mga panukala dahil lang nakatuon ang isipan nila sa pamumulitika.

Naaalala ko noong panahong iniimbistiga nila ang mga samo't saring alegasyon ng kuropsyon at katiwalian ng kasalokoyang administrasyong ito. Wow! ang gagaling at ang sisipag nilang mag-imbistiga. Bawat araw ng paglilitis halos lahat present, walang gustong umabsent o mag boycot. Galit na galit pa nga sila noon sa E.O. 464 dahil "stone walling" daw. Sabi naman ng mga tauhan ng administrasyon na pamumulitika at paninira lang daw ang ginawa ng mga senador. "In aid of legislation" lang daw, sabi naman ng mga senador -- yan kung hindi sila ang iniimbistigahan. Sabi pa nga nila noon sa mga "respondents" at mga taong sangkot na hindi sumipot sa mga paglilitis na ang gawaing hindi pagdalo sa imbistigasyon ay isang palatandaan ng "guilt", at sabi pa nila na kailangan ipa aresto ang mga ito.

Peru ngayon na nagkataong sila naman mismo ang iniimbistigahan sa kapwa nila ng alegasyon ng katiwalian, sabi "In aid of politics" lang daw ang lahat ng ito dahil may darating na eleksyon. Ke may eleksyon man na darating o wala, totoo man o hindi ang mga daan-daang ibidensyang dokomento, hindi ba ang alegasyon ay nararapat lamang na harapin upang maayos na maiimbistigahan at ng ang taombayan ay malaman ang katutuhanan at magkaroon ng wakas ang lahat ng ito upang tuloyan ng mailagay sa tahimik ang seryosong isyo na ito? Sa mga kinaukulan, diba maituturing na isang "double standard" ang kanilang hindi pagpapasailalim sa mga pagtatanong at paglilitis? Bakit? Hindi ba sila marunong lumulok sa sarili nilang gamot? Hindi ba dapat pantay-pantay na hustisya ang dapat ipaiiral dito ke senador ka man o ordinaryong akusado ka lamang? Kaya marami sa mga kaso ng korapsyon at katiwalian sa ating bansa ang hindi nalulutas at hindi malulutas, ay dahil pare-pareho lang lahat ang nangyayari sa mga imbistigasyon diyan sa senado. Puro lang walang kinahinatnan ang mga imbistigasyong ginawa nila at walang ibang totoong makabolohang naidulot kundi ang pagkaantala lamang sa mga mas mahalagang panukalang matagal ng nakabinbin. Bukod sa eskandalo at abala, malaki pang aksaya sa panahon at pera ng bayan ang dagdag pang naidulot ng ating mga senador.

Sa lahat na mga walang kaboluhang pamumulitikang nakasanayan na ng ating mga senador , e ano pa kayang uri ng pagbabago ang maasahan na mangyayari sa ating bansa kahit pa pagkatapos nitong darating na eleksyon?

Ang ugali ng nakararami sa ating mga lideres at mga politiko na handang isakripisyo ang kanilang prinsipyo para sa kanilang pansariling kapakanan, ay bunga ng kanilang bolok na tradisyonal na pamumulitika na kung hindi magbabago sa bawat isa ng ating mga ihahalal na mga lideres ay ang itong magiging dahilan pa rin ng pagpapatuloy ng korupsyon at katiwalian sa ating bansa.

Totoo at tunay na pagbabago sa sarili. Ito ay ang hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin natin makikita sa ating mga sarili.

Uulitin ko ang sinabi ko sa aking nakaraang mensahe:

"While maintaining a good character is especially necessary when in public service, it is foolish to underestimate one's own dark side. Leaders don't fail because of the enormities of the frontiers without; they fail because they lost the battle within. The inner battle is a never ending struggle and must be overcome every time in order to achieve significance and effect positive change on the challenges outside."

Sa kasalukoyang nangyayari sa senado, lumalabas ang "dark side" ng ating mga senador. Baka hindi lang nila siguro na-realize kung gaano pala talaga kamakapangyarihan ang madilim na bahagi ng kanilang (o sa bawat tao) pangloob na katauhan, at ito baka ang dahilan na ina-underestimate lamang nila ang kakayahan nilang maging hindi mabuting halimbawa sa bayan minsan.

Everyone has a dark side within. Even priests and pastors, or wise kings and good rulers, all have their own individual inner weakness which can not be underestimated. Remember David the giant-slayer who's known to have a heart after the Lord's own heart? When he ruled as king, his strength that killed giants was no match against his inner weakness when a time came where it was put to a test which started with a beautiful woman named Batsheeba and ended up in a situation where David found himself secretly masterminding the death in the battlefield of his trusted general who was the husband of Batsheeba in a desperate attempt to cover up and legitimize his adulterous affair with Batsheeba. His inner strength failed aginst his inner weakness because he underestimated his dark side. This is why Proverbs 4:23 admonishes everyone to "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it flow the issues of life."

Ito ang uri ng pagbabago sa sarili na hindi pa rin natin makikita sa ating mga sari-sarili lalo na sa karamihan sa mga lider (at sa nais maging lider) ng ating bansa. Katulad na lang nitong nakikita nating kasalukoyang nangyayari sa ating senado na tuloyang winasak nila ang kredibilidad nito at ginawang iwan nilang halos wala ng silbi. Sa ginawa nilang ito, sa araw pa naman ng kahuli-hulihang sesyon ng senado, di malayong maaalala sila ng taombayan na parang mga "suicide bombers" at "institution killers" dahil winawasak nila ang sarili nila na isa pa naman sa mga napaka-importante at napakahalagang haliging institosyon ng ating bansa. At ang lahat ng ito ay dahil isinakrispisyo nila ang kanilang mga prinsipyo alang-alang sa mga pansariling kapakanang natatamasa nila mula sa pagiging tapat sa matagal ng nakasanayang bolok na politika.

"You do not wake up one morning a bad person. It happens by a thousand tiny surrenders of self-respect to self-interest." - Robert Brault

Idolatry: A Long Proliferating RCC Generational Failure

2010-01-25T01:06:00.010+08:00

Cardinal laments ‘excess’ devotion to Black Nazarene
By Roy Lagarde
CBCP News

Manila, Jan. 9, 2009—Many of devotees of the Black Nazarene are taking their devotion way too far, the head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church said.

Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said the way atonement is manifested by many of those who attended Saturday’s procession is “excessive.”

“Some of what we saw today was excess expression of faith. There are many impurities that need cleansing,” Rosales told reporters.

At least two people, however, died and scores were injured in the yearly tumultuous procession of the Black Nazarene from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church.

Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) secretary general Gwen Pang identified the fatalities as 42-year-old Rodrigo Ocampo and 40-year-old Bernardo Basilio.

Ocampo succumbed to cardiac arrest at the Ospital ng Maynila while Basilio died at the Jose Reyes Hospital due to multiple injuries in the head and body.

Tens of thousands of barefoot devotees surged forward to try to touch the statue, which they believe could bring miracles or good luck.

As of 4 p.m., the PNRC reported that some 350 people who had joined the procession were injured and provided first aid treatment.

Some of the devotees also experienced various health conditions like dizziness, high blood pressure, and lack of oxygen.

Rosales said these problems happen when devotees get too emotional.

When the emotion gets too high, he said, it takes over the reason, the holiness of the feast and the devotion.

The church officials said devotion is good but seeing a lot of people getting hurt is contrary to the purpose of the celebration.

“Another way of excess of faith is when you do it for yourself only which should not be,” he said.

Rosales instead called on devotees to practice simplicity and selflessness, traits he said Black Nazarene shares with most common Filipinos.

“That is the real devotion,” he added.

Cardinal Rosales also said that devotees should learn that Black Nazarene is a symbol of sacrifice and repentance.

“We still have a long way to go and there are many things to purify even in religious matters because there are excesses,” Rosales said.

Tens of thousands of barefoot devotees surged forward to try to touch the statue, which they believe could bring miracles or good luck.

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As in the government, a wrong practice when generally tolerated and patronized by those in authority and by the people, it eventually becomes a bad tradition which is very hard to break that corrupts the culture of a society such that it becomes as if a norm for the next generations.

Soon when you serve, forget not your own words

2010-01-24T19:47:00.020+08:00

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Officers and members of the Makati Business Club, Your Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, ladies and gentlemen, my friends and countrymen.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to address you. I trust your asking me first is not based on alphabetical order, or based on age, but perhaps, based on who you think will most likely win the coming election.

As managers, you recognize that one of the necessary skills of an effective manager is time management. Is it possible that you have invited me to determine if there is still a necessity to spend time with the others?

Baka naman inuna niyo ako upang malaman kung sapat na ako at hindi na kailangang pansinin yung iba?

I think we are all aware of the problems facing our country. We share the same statistics. We probably even share the same conclusions about the need for better governance. To rehash all of these problems at this forum would be a waste of your time. But what we have now is an opportunity for you to get to know me, to find out the advocacies that I champion, the perspective and philosophies I bring to the equation and some of my proposed solutions to give an insight into my inner persona.

Levity aside, the political exercise that we will engage in this May is a crucial one. It will be, as it is for every fledgling democracy, a test of the strength of our political institutions. The peaceful transition of power has become a symbol of political maturity across the world, with many still failing to achieve the credibility that is the cornerstone of a genuine political mandate. With the electoral scandals that have stalled our democratic progress as of late, it is not a test that we can afford to fail.

We have an administration whose mandate is clouded in doubt and overshadowed by allegations of fraud because it refused every opportunity to clear the air and be held to account. Its choices have limited its decision-making to seeking ways to ensure day-to-day political survival and self-interest. We must now become a government committed to accountability. A government that works with the people in achieving long-term change.

We must make the shift from bare economic survival to robust economic growth. We must make the change from treading water to keep afloat, to reaching that promised shore where we can all stand tall as healthy, happy, educated and responsible fellow citizens.

But why does transformation seem like such an impossible dream?

Isa sa mga tema ng ating kalaban, yung “ang pagbabago, madaling sabihin yan pero mahirap gawin,” is probably echoed by a lot of Filipinos. The oft-repeated question is, why can’t we advance? Why can’t we progress? What is it in us that limits or prohibits our growth as a people and as a country?

All of you are aware that most of the contenders have had years, possibly even decades, of preparation for this electoral exercise. I had no such ambitions to run in the 2010 elections but I responded to the people’s clamor. I am but the face of what we believe is the overwhelming demand of our people to repudiate everything wrong in the current administration.

Given that I only announced my decision to seek the presidency on September 9, and I only came to that decision the day before, I have not had material time comparable to our opponents. What is perplexing is that viewing the same problems, and having access to the same data for the most part, we believe the solutions have been there all along, and necessitate only clear political will to execute. But most of our opponents seem to indicate the contrary opinion that there is very little that we can do to change the situation. One has to wonder: did they overstudy the problem, or are they committed to preserving the status quo?

If the leader is not convinced that change is not only necessary, but extremely possible, how does he lead us to the promised land?

What is it that we want to change?

We want to repair the damage that has been wrought on our democratic institutions by those who have sought to manipulate them for their own selfish ends.

We want to improve the situation of our people, who have suffered years of neglect because of a self-absorbed leadership obsessed with political survival.

They are poor. Many of them are homeless. Each year, we add some 2.5 million mouths to feed to our already hungry population. Of these new additions, one third were the result of unplanned pregnancies. We have a growing underclass that statistics tell us have given up looking for work. A permanent underclass that includes the five million of our countrymen that are illiterate, which means their opportunities in life will always be limited to living hand-to-mouth.

We want to give our young the opportunity and means to improve their lot in life.

It can only begin if our children and their parents are assured that money spent on education is money well spent. Unfortunately, students are at the mercy of our decrepit education system that allows double shifting, erroneous textbooks and substandard nursing schools to exist. No less than DepEd officials admitted that students in Grade 1 take three subjects in one class period. We have a procurement program so heedless of the need for excellence that it doesn’t care if it produces a textbook series riddled with 500 factual errors. For every hundred kids that start grade school with the hope of achieving their dreams, only fourteen will graduate from college and possess a tangible means to materially improve their lives.

To my mind, the crucial, lacking element in all these is a government committed to a transformation: from a society overwhelmingly poor to one overwhelmingly middle class.In every developed, progressive, prosperous democracy, it is the middle class that is the biggest class. Government, for one, has failed to make the conceptual leap from patronage to development. Efforts at feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing basic care to the sick, and offering a quality education aren’t only the people’s rights; they are the essential tools for individual self-improvement.

In 1998, when I first campaigned for office, one lady bluntly told me that regardless of who is elected, things would remain the same for her.

What did she mean?

That she was poor to begin with; that she would remain poor, and in fact, she would be lucky if she didn’t end up poorer, after the candidates leave office.

This brings up the question at the forefront of the minds of our countrymen still undecided on whom to vote for, and pursued by my critics. If this is a time that calls for national transformation, am I qualified to be that transformative leader? Having answered the call of duty, can I ask you or anyone to entrust me with your vote, on faith alone? Never having sought the presidency, I preferred to do my duty and not seek the limelight. Now that I have been thrust in the limelight, it is only fair to answer the question: before you tell us what we can do, what have you done?

I have always believed that the job of an effective legislator goes beyond merely proposing laws, for what are laws but written agreements entered into by members of society on how to harmonize their mutual relations? In fact, I do not believe that we suffer from the problem of too few laws. One of my proposed measures was the recodification of laws, in response to an appeal from the legal community to put some order into our laws, their amendments and those that have been repealed, because even our lawyers are at times confused.

Consider the recent controversy over who gets to appoint the next Chief Justice. We maintain that there are no ifs and buts in Article 7 Section 15 of the Constitution where it states that the current President cannot appoint anybody within two months prior to a presidential election up to the end of her term. An exemption exists, but it applies only for positions in the Executive Department. Yet you have two retired justices arguing exactly the opposite. How can former justices of the Supreme Court be so seemingly confused, when the fact is that the provision regarding presidential appointments is stated clearly in the law?

Our problem is the lack of political will to faithfully implement the many world-class laws that our legislature has passed. A preference for ambiguity even when times call for clarity, leads to artificial controversies. Insecure or overly ambitious leaders need to create a climate of doubt, because it’s in the grey areas that its ambitions thrive.

It is in addressing this problem that I focused on the fiscalizing aspect of a legislator’s job – on Congress’ oversight and investigative functions.

Consider intelligence funds. In the proposed 2010 budget, a total of 1.4 billion was allocated to confidential and intelligence funds.

Woodrow Wilson once wrote that oversight is always preferable to investigation, which is like putting out a fire instead of preventing one. We proposed that if the Executive wants orderly transactions, at least a few members of Congress should be privy to all of the details to determine if they were spent properly. However, this proposal was dismissed out of hand without even a single hearing for the reason that they undermined the Executive’s privileges.

And yes, the investigations were a vital part of my functions, too. I don’t think anyone will begrudge me my efforts in this regard. From Hello Garci and the impeachments, to NBN-ZTE and the fertilizer scam, I did my duty at the forefront of these issues.

The original design of the NBN-ZTE project required a BOT agreement between government and the supplier, not a government loan. But during the NBN-ZTE hearings, we learned that the project was entered into through a government loan despite instructions to the contrary from no less than the President herself. The cost of the intended government loan was P40 billion, (in which P16 billion was for the backbone and P24 billion was for the CyberEd project.) Jun Lozada belied this when he cited P5 billion as the actual cost of the entire project. Ito yung sinasabi niyang kalakaran ng gobyerno, kung saan sa sobrang laki ng patong, bubukol na.

SCTEx took around 8 years to construct before it finally opened. Projects of this scale normally require two years to complete. Furthermore, when SCTEx finally became operational, it was found that the central hub, which was Clark, did not have an exit, excluding Clark from the Subic Clark Tarlac expressway itself. How can one justify these kinds of delays where opportunities are lost, costs have escalated and the people’s burdens, instead of being reduced, end up being compounded?

My active role in these congressional hearings has put me at odds with the administration. In 2005, it cost me my post as Deputy Speaker. It continues to put me at odds with the coalition of self-interest that currently holds power. It puts me at odds with other candidates for the presidency.

To lead transformation, you cannot be part of the problem. As I said when I accepted the people’s draft, the job of chief executive is about the efficient allocation of resources. If you have hogged those resources for yourself, if you have lied, cheated, and stolen to gain power, how can you be trusted to lead the transformation our country needs?

Going back on the issue of appointing a Chief Justice prior to the forthcoming elections. If we are to transform the country, it begins with doing what we can, now, to limit the damage and give our people a fighting chance to rebuild our damaged institutions. The Constitution imposes a blanket prohibition with few exceptions concerning midnight appointments. A candidate cannot ask for the people’s mandate, pledging to improve the situation tomorrow, if he becomes complicit in worsening the situation today.

Hindi naman mahirap gawin ang tama. Alam naman ng lahat yan eh. Wala namang magic, wala namang sikreto. Pero bakit pilit pa ring ginagawa ang mali?

There is a widespread perception that success in the business milieu can almost be directly correlated to your closeness to the powers-that-be. Because of this, some players in the industry are forced to focus their activities on maintaining relationships in order to retain the favors that they receive in exchange for cultivating that relationship. This has fostered the wrong kind of competitiveness. While it may work, locally, for now, it has not enabled these players to become competitive in the world market, where the rules of the game do not take special relationships into consideration.

We will encourage free and fair competition in a level playing field. One not need be a crony in order to succeed in the field of business. More importantly, government will not compete with business. Nor will government use its regulatory powers to extort, intimidate and harass.

We will transform our systems to foster service to the public instead of making citizens jump through hoops. We will streamline the approval process, not only for setting up new businesses but also in the regular day-to-day transactions with government, such as the payment of taxes. We will do this on a national as well as the local level.

In 2010, our next President will inherit a continually bloating deficit. As of November 2009, the deficit of the national government already reached P272.5 billion, or 4.1% of GDP.

In addressing the looming fiscal crisis, good governance and the drive against corruption are critical components in our strategy. We will refrain from imposing new taxes or increasing tax rates.

I strongly believe that we can collect more taxes at the BIR and higher duties at Customs if we become more serious in curbing and punishing tax evasion and smuggling. The BIR’s collection dropped by 5.5%, while that of Customs declined by 16.6%. This is the first time in recent history that absolute revenues have actually declined.

Our initial focus then will be to capture a good part of the revenue leaks caused by smuggling and evasion. In this effort, we will not be starting from zero. Be assured that those smugglers and evaders are not faceless and unknown entities. The ideas to improve tax administration and to control smuggling have been there for some time and some programs have been initiated in the past. One of these successful programs was the RATE or Run After Tax Evaders. In fact, some of the people at the Department of Finance and the BIR who have tried to implement reforms before are with us now, and together with reform-minded career executives, we intend to put their commitment and talents to good use under my administration.

My vision is to transform our country into one where we have lower tax rates enjoyed by all, rather than have some enjoy absolute tax exemptions while we burden the rest of the economy with very high tax rates. I believe that markets are better than government in spotting where the growth opportunities are, and, with universal low tax rates, we will encourage entrepreneurs and enterprises to invest and create jobs in any industry. We will, therefore, pursue the rationalization of fiscal incentives early in my administration.

There is a lot of room for our revenue base to grow. Our tax effort has gone down from 17% at its peak to a worrisome 13% today. If we can only bring this back even to just the 15% level, that will translate to P150 billion in additional revenues, which would make a significant dent in cutting our deficit.

My budget team estimates that for 2009 alone, around P280 billion of our national budget was lost to corruption. If we take the years 2002 to 2009 the total estimates exceed one trillion. Estimates vary, but everyone agrees that the numbers are huge.

If we agree that change is necessary, how can a Presidential aspirant, whose own financial and political ethics are questionable, be effective in leading transformation as the head of the bureaucracy? How can a leader, who is benefiting from the status quo, be able to restore a civic sense and pride in our citizenry? The leader, who has used public office for private gain, will always be the most committed enemy of change.

Rich or poor alike, we have a tangible experience of the sorry state of public infrastructure at present: traffic, which eats up time, which as the saying goes, is money. Railways are built at bloated cost; urban transport is constructed, but not enough trains are on track. Our people are the first to experience the effect of something that works and conversely, something that is badly done because bad intentions handicapped the project from the start.

It is time that our infrastructure agencies and LGUs transform into cooperative ventures with the private sector by bringing forth an agreed public infrastructure program, based on a cohesive plan that optimizes the value of the entire network. In our conversations with members of the private sector, there has been a lot of positive feedback about possibly working with government on this endeavor.

To transform infrastructure projects from sources of waste and scandal into examples of cooperation and efficiency, we will set objective criteria for different types of projects and develop a scorecard that will assess various projects against benchmarks transparent to the public.

Initially we want our infrastructure program to transform from being the means to enrich a few, to being labor-intensive and biased for employment as a means to pump-prime the economy.

When I read about countries that have invested in their agriculture sectors and succeeded, it always pains me to find that these countries – Vietnam and Thailand, to name just a couple – had started by sending their experts to be educated in the Philippines. It seems that we cannot implement among ourselves the lessons we successfully imparted to experts from elsewhere. This will have to change. We must be able to harness our homegrown talent in order to further our local industries.

When we change administrations, there must be a complete review of all the programs in the Department of Agriculture. We can do a lot for our farmers given the present budget of the Department if we eliminate the leaks and focus on the efficient use of resources. For example, we must stop eating up millions in mere administrative costs as in the case of NABCOR, which charged our government P60 million because it served as a useless conduit to regional offices. We will also support efforts such as supply chain management that minimizes losses, creates jobs, consults with stakeholders, and capitalizes on our competitive advantage.

Our core belief is that the current approach to governance and power must change. That is why our terms of reference always begin with the present government, what it has done, and how different our institutions and our nation must be six years from June 30, 2010.

In a small-scale operation it is easy for everyone involved to visualize that entity as the combination of their collective efforts. As opposed to, say, when you are a bigger firm, and there is the management side and there is the labor side. In Tagalog, it’s even more dramatic. Kayo at kami, sa halip na tayo.

We must find a unity that transcends the divisions of today, based on a shared commitment to transforming our country into one that works: One where traffic flows well, garbage is collected efficiently, crimes are solved, justice is served, and our kids are educated properly. It works in the sense that you do not have to flee the country to move up in the world, improve your lot in life, and rise to the highest level your personal merits can achieve.

We are a nation of sacrifice, of diligence, dedication and, idealism, because we are a people imbued with compassion even when we have officials who lie, cheat, and steal. Our faith teaches us that we are our brother’s keeper. Our logic should tell us that in taking care of others, their growth equals our own.

In the movie “Invictus,” Nelson Mandela says, “In order to rebuild our nation, we must exceed our own expectations.” It requires us to insist, always, that we are not a nation of crooks, of thieves, of murderers who get off scot-free and where justice is won by the highest bidder.

In May, you will be asked to make a choice. Will you choose transformation and change or will you choose to uphold the status quo?

We have already made our choice. Ours is a journey towards transformation. I ask you today to join us in this journey now.

Thank you.

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If you yourself will also keep them in your own heart, your constructive criticism of the weaknesses of the present administration and of the other candidates will become your own protection against your own weaknesses during times of temptation when you will soon sit in authority.

While maintaining a good character is especially necessary when in public service, it is foolish to underestimate one's own dark side.

Leaders don't fail because of the enormities of the frontiers without; they fail because they lost the battle within. The inner battle is a never ending struggle and must be overcome every time in order to achieve significance and effect positive change on the challenges outside.

Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it flow the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

The Philippines' 490 Years

2010-01-05T01:29:00.004+08:00

Seizing Our Nation's Prophetic Destiny
By Bishop Dan A. Balais
National Chairman,
Intercessors for the Philippines

“Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.” (Psalm 102:13)

From the beginning of creation, the Lord ordained that the affairs of the earth will be governed measured and determined by seasons of time. King Solomon said: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclessiastes 3:1). The most recent prophetic pronouncements declare that the nation of the Philippines is entering into a new season in God’s prophetic purpose for her. This is our “Kairos” that we must seize, an opportunity that we must not allow to slip by us!

During the prophetic conference of the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM) On March 6-7, 2009 I received the impression from the Holy Spirit to count the number of years from the time the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan “discovered” the Philippines on March 16, 1521. As I was about to be called to the stage for the opening session in the packed 7,000 capacity San Juan Arena, I asked Pastor Ed de Guzman, my vice chairman in the Intercessors for the Philippines, to quickly find out from his cell phone calculator how many years transpired since Philippines was formally introduced to the world. Pastor Ed replied: 488 years! Immediately, revelation exploded in my spirit shouting: 490 years! 490 years! In two years time, we will complete the prophetic completion of seven sets of seventy years! As I was climbing to address the more than 6,000 people, my knees were trembling of the sudden unveiling of truth!

According to Daniel 9:24, 490 years was ordained by God for Israel to: 1) finish and put an end to transgression (rebellion), (2) to seal up and make full measure of sin (3) to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin (4) to bring in everlasting righteousness (5) to seal up vision and prophecy (6) to anoint a Holy of Holies.

“Seventy weeks [of years, or 490 years] are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish and put an end to transgression, to seal up and make full the measure of sin, to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness (permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) to seal up vision and prophecy and prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies.” (Daniel 9:24)

A new season was being opened by God for the nation of Israel. This was a “Kairos” moment that the prophet Daniel received through the Archangel Gabriel as a result of his intense prayers, intercessions and supplications.

Significance of 490 Years

We must understand that Israel was the Lord’s example to the nations on how He deals with other nations. 70 years is a prophetic time when the Lord completes the cleansing of a nation. In Daniel 9: 1,2, we could read the prophet Daniel came to an understanding that Israel has completed the number of years that the Lord has decreed for her to suffer captivity as a punishment to their disobedience to the Lord.

[Daniel 9:1] In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; [Daniel 9:2] In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 25:11,12)

It was at this time that the prophet Daniel set himself to fast and pray and make supplication to the Lord on behalf of his people. He fasted for 21 days and at the end of his fast, the Archangel Gabriel came to him saying to him: [Daniel 9:20] And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; [Daniel 9:21] Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

[Daniel 9:22] And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. [Daniel 9:23] At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. [Daniel 9:24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Archangel Gabriel revealed to Prophet Daniel that Israel is entering a new season of restoration after 7 sets of 70 years (490 years) of God’s dealing with her sins (Job 23:10; Psalm 12:6). It was like Israel, through the judgments of God has fully paid the consequences of their sins (Isaiah 40:1-2) and the time to comfort her has come (Psalm 102: 13). It was a time when the Lord is going to show His mercy and grace upon Zion, a time when the Lord would comfort her and restore her to her prophetic calling and destiny!

[Isiah 40:1] Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. [Isa 40:2] Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. [Psalm 102:13] Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.

The Philippines At The Gate of 490 Years

In the year 2009, we are at the very gate of 490 years! Through the nation’s “Chronos” history of some 488 years, the Philippines is a recipient of two glorious birth rights: the first Christian nation in Asia and the first democratic Republic in the region. Our people enjoyed the blessings of our Christian heritage reaching its peak in the 1930’s and the 50’s.

By the latter part of the 1960’s which is approximately, the past 40 years, the glory began to fade. From prosperity and progress unequaled in Asia, we declined precipitously to our terrible position now being known as the most corrupt and suffering worst social maladies among the family of nations in the region. The nation did not grasp the destiny and purpose of the birth rights: To be God’s banner, God’s witness and testimony to Asia and the rest of the world.

To bring us to that realization, the Lord brought us through the fire of affliction to purify us and raise a new generation of people who, through sufferings, will learn to obey God and walk in His righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).

[Isiah 26:9] With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

[Job 23:10] But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

[Psalm 12:6] The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Let Us Arise And Seize Our Destiny: Let Us Pray And Take Action

Through 488 years since we were “discovered” and our existence formally introduced to the world; and 488 years since the first cross was planted n our shores, the Lord has willed that this generation, our generation will give birth and witness the completion of God’s dealing with the sins of our people! 490 years is coming! The election in 2010 is not an ordinary election! It is one that shall open the gate of the 490th year (2011) that shall usher in the new season of God for our beloved land and people!

[Daniel 2:20] Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: [Daniel 2:21] And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: [Daniel 2:22] He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

We are the people tasked by the Lord to seize our nation’s prophetic destiny! Let us fast, pray and take action!

Sa Kabila Nito, Sana Ay Matoto Ka Pa Rin...

2009-12-19T17:22:00.008+08:00

Pacquiao joins Villar bandwagon
By Hannah L. Torregoza

Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has finally made up his mind and formally took his oath as the newest member of presidential candidate Senator Manuel Villar Jr.’s Nacionalista Party (NP).

Villar raised the hands of Manny Pacquiao in simple ceremonies at the boxer’s mansion in General Santos City early Friday morning.

The oath-taking coincided with Pacquiao’s celebration of his 31st birthday. Pacquiao is seeking a congressional seat in Saranggani, his wife Jinky Pacquiao’s home province.

Present during the ceremony was Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is running for senator under the NP in the May 2010 polls.

Villar swore in Pacquiao, along with his People’s Champ Movement local party slate, in the boxing icon’s mansion in General Santos following his 31st birthday celebration at the KCC Events and Convention Center attended by over 2,000 guests including Villar.

“Manny Pacquiao, who has thrown his best punches to hoist our country’s pride and honor, is a deeply valued partner in our campaign to help keep our people from being knocked out by extreme hardships,” Villar said. [...]

Click here to read full text.

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In his field of specialization, Manny have learned good strategies and developed great skills with the help of his mentors.

But it is highly doubtful that his learned strategies could work well in another arena under "clever" political game planners.

While he is treated like a son under his good coach in the field of boxing, contrastingly in the arena of politics, he seems being treated like a sacrificial chess piece by his supposed mentors who are trying hard to maximize their own gains from his heroism.

Manny is known to be a good administration ally, yet why is it now that he seems to have "suddenly" switched allegiance? Of course we understand that it is because of politics and we "know" that Manny has political ambitions, but can he not run as an independent and win? How much will he gain in his decision of changing allegiance and being allied with another group? Is it not the other way around? This group he is joining will gain some popularity because of his reputation while his political credibility decreases because of being possibly perceived as "balimbing" practicing TraPo.

I believe in Manny's intention to serve the poor. To the Filipinos he is an inspiration, but it is sad to see his sincere attempts at altruism only being manipulated by the big hairy hands of operators of traditional politics.

Manny, sometimes you must learn to say no to temptations. But you have made a choice, you must live with it for the duration of the season. Stand by what you have decided.

Panahon Na Na Ibalik Ang Parusang Kamatayan Sa Ating Bansa

2009-11-25T12:17:00.004+08:00

Maguindanao massacre death toll rises to 46—police
Inquirer.net

Bullet-ridden bodies were pulled out from shallow graves on Tuesday as troops hunted down the gunmen who massacred, according to the Philippine National Police, at least 46 people in one of the Philippines' most brutal explosions of political violence.

Police on Mindanao island pulled bullet-ridden bodies from shallow graves in this remote farming area after gunmen allegedly employed by a local political chief abducted then shot dead a group of rival politicians and journalists.

“Some bodies were strewn on the ground. Most were recovered from under lumps of earth which were stained with blood,” said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna, the regional police commander.

"They were piled on top of each other. It looked as if they were buried hurriedly," said Cataluna.

Twenty-two bodies had previously been found beside a dirt road nearby following Monday's killings by gunmen allegedly linked to the area's political kingpin.

The group abducted associates of a rival politician and at least 20 journalists from General Santos City and nearby provinces who were covering them.

“But we have yet to finalize our tally as we are still talking with the relatives of the victims,” Cataluna said.

Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman, said the bodies would be taken to Buluan town, Maguindanao province, after the police have conducted an autopsy on the bodies and conferred with the victims’ relatives.

Most of the victims bore gunshot wounds, Espina said.

National police chief Jesus Verzosa, who flew to the south to supervise the investigation, said he feared the death toll could rise with several other members of the kidnapped party of more than 40 people still missing.

"We still have to check one other suspected mass grave," he added.

"We expect more bodies from other areas," Cataluna said.

Journalists on the scene said a mechanical digger was emblazoned with the name of the Maguindanao provincial governor, Andal Ampatuan, whose bodyguards had been blamed by the military as being behind the massacre.

The victims were among a group of more than 40 people abducted by gunmen Monday linked to Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, head of a Muslim clan who is part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's ruling coalition.

The abducted group was made up of relatives and associates of Esmael Mangudadatu, the head of a rival Muslim clan in Maguindanao, plus a group of journalists, the military and police said.

The group was traveling in a convoy to accompany or report on Mangudadatu's wife as she went to an electoral office to register her husband to run for governor against Ampatuan's son in next year's national polls.

Authorities warned the death toll would climb higher as they sought to deal with the incident.

"It's a big area where these bodies were found. They are finding a couple of bodies every a couple of hours or so," Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said as he described a farming area covered in hastily dug graves.

Puno said the extra bodies being recovered were on top of the the official death toll, but he would not speculate on how many people in total had been murdered.

"They are still looking for some missing persons. A number of other bodies were found. I can't really reveal the details now. It's a large number," Puno said in a television interview.

Espina said Verzosa and other senior police officials flew to Maguindanao early Tuesday to personally check on the area and supervise the manhunt against the perpetrators of the killings.

He said Verzosa ordered the relief of Chief Inspector Sukarno Dicay, the deputy provincial police chief of Maguindanao, after he was supposedly seen with the armed men who abducted and killed the victims.

Additional police troops were also deployed in the area to prevent a possible rise of hostilities in the area.

Political violence is common in the Philippines – where more than one million unlicensed guns proliferate – and dozens of people are murdered each election season.

But the scale of Monday's massacre, as well as the targeting of apparently unrelated people, has shocked the country.

Fourteen of the victims were women and some of them were journalists with no apparent links to the clan war, the police and military said.

Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Romeo Brawner said the Ampatuans and their associates were believed to have been responsible for the massacre.

"The suspects are bodyguards of Ampatuan, local police aides and certain lawless elements," Brawner said.

As thousands of soldiers fanned out across the Ampatuans' stronghold in search of the gunmen on Tuesday, sickening details of the massacre emerged.

The military said about 100 armed men stopped the convoy of vehicles on a remote section of highway near the town of Ampatuan, which bears the same name as the political kingpin.

Police said the bodies of the victims were found a few kilometers (miles) away, with a bulldozer apparently used to dig the graves still on the scene.

Police said 15 of the victims appeared to have been shot inside their vehicles while one was believed to have been cut down by gunfire while fleeing.

"All were shot at close range," said one of the investigators on the scene, Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu.

Asked about the allegations by some of the victims' relatives that the murdered women were also raped, Khu said: "We cannot confirm that although all the women had their pants unzipped."

The Ampatuan clan is the longtime political kingpin of Maguindanao, a mainly Muslim section of Mindanao Island which has been wracked by a Muslim separatist rebellion for decades.

The Ampatuan patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr., has been governor for the past nine years and wants his son and namesake to succeed him.

The Ampatuan clan has been important in delivering votes to Arroyo's ruling Lakas Kampi-CMD coalition in recent elections. The Ampatuan father is the provincial chair of the coalition in Maguindanao.

Puno vowed the government would be impartial as it pursued justice.

"I just want to assure everybody that we are doing everything necessary here, that there will be no sacred cows," Puno said.

"This is going to be a direct investigation of the crimes that have been committed and we are going to hold the persons responsible for this."

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Panahon na na ibalik ang parusang kamatayan sa ating bansa para sa ganitong klaseng krimen. Hindi matatahimik ang Mindanao kung ang pamahalaang Pilipinas ay walang kakayahang magpapatupad ng ating batas doon. Umaaboso na ng husto ang mga taong may hawak na baril doon na hindi naman otorisado ng pamahalaan. Panahon na at kinakailangan na talaga na ipakita ng pamahalaan ang kanyang kamay na bakal sa lugar na iyon.

At any cost, dapat disarmahan na ang lahat na may "illegal weapons" doon. Babantayan ng militar ng maigi ang lahat ng mga "backdoors" na dinadaanan ng mga "illegal weapons" doon.

Totoo Ba Ang Lahat Na Ito?

2009-11-18T18:47:00.005+08:00

Why Chiz Left The Nationalist People’s Coalition: The Inside Story
by Fernando Gagelonia

[...] The "unprincipled deal-making left Seneator Escudero troubled and seriously disgusted", a 5th NPC source told this writer further.

Chiz believed Senator Legarda would abide by the earlier decision of the party that whoever was leading in the survey would be the standard bearer while the other one would slide down to VP. [...]

Click here to read the full article.

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Sana maipaliwanag ng maayos ng mga kinaukolan ang lahat ng ito. Maraming mga tao ang naniniwala sa integridad ng mga kinaukolang mga lider na ito ng ating bansa, dahilang sila'y nangunguna sa pagka-senador noong nakaraang eleksyon.

Haaay... ang politika talaga. Ang daming magandang relasyon ang nasusubokan at winawasak. Ang daming integridad ang nayoyogyog at bumibigay.

Bout against Cotto was a hard fight - Pacquiao

2009-11-16T12:36:00.006+08:00

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Cotto hails Pacquiao as one of the best

Manny Pacquiao admitted that he was pushed to the limit when he went against Miguel Cotto in their “Firepower” bout Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Sunday in Manila).

“It was a hard fight,” Pacquiao said in a televised ringside interview as quoted by Reuters. “This is the last weight division for me. This is history for me and more importantly a Filipino did it.”

Pacquiao became the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions after referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight in the 12th round.

The pound-for-pound king prevailed over Cotto via technical knockout to become the new WBO welterweight champion. In addition, he claimed the WBC diamond belt.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, with 38 knockouts) went the distance against Cotto (34-2 with 27 KOs), This is in contrast to his second round knockout win over Briton Ricky Hatton on May 2.

Wanted KO

The Filipino boxing sensation revealed that he was looking to score a KO punch, to no avail. He was able to show his edge early on as he knocked down Cotto in the 3rd and 4th rounds.

Pacquiao also disclosed that his team’s strategy was not to hurry because they knew that Cotto would counter.

“We were very careful in the early rounds because we don't know what will happen. I tried to test his power in the early rounds. That's why I wanted to get hit in the body and the head,” he explained as quoted by FightHype.com.

He said he wanted to try Cotto’s power because according to him, everybody was saying that the natural welterweight was bigger and stronger and stronger than him.

“When I control the fight, I got aggressive in the fight and make him pressure. In the early rounds, I was looking for a knockout shot that's why I didn't throw too many punches,” he added.

‘Manny too much for Miguel’

“I thought we were going to break him down, which we did. Early in the fight, he was kind of testing Miguel's power and laying on the ropes too much,” said Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach.

“Manny had to make the adjustments and once Manny used his feints and his movements, it was too much for him,” he stated.

Pacquiao said he was taken aback when the fight reached Round 12: “In the 11th round, I thought they were going to stop the fight. I was surprised he continued.”

“Manny dictated the fight and they should have stopped it three rounds sooner than they did after he (Cotto) began to run,” added Roach.

The American trainer also mentioned in an Associated Press (AP) report that he knew the bout was over “when Cotto started backing up.” [...]

One of the best

Cotto’s trainer, Joe Santiago, acknowledged that Pacquiao was the better fighter. “He hit harder than we expected and he was a lot stronger than we expected,” AP quoted Santiago.

Cotto, for his part, stated that he was not able to guard himself from Pacquiao’s flurry of punches.

“He jabs and throws. I didn't know from where the punches were coming and I didn't protect myself from the punches,” Cotto said in an Agence France-Presse article.

Cotto, who took a beating from the pound-for-pound king, declared: “I fought everybody and Manny is one of the best all time.”

Meantime, he assured his fans that he will continue fighting. “My health comes first. I just want to make sure I'm fine, but I feel great. I'm swollen but that's all.”

Click here to read full text.

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Tribute to Manny Pacquiao and to his whole team. In some way, Manny's humble beginnings may be likened to Michael Oher's story. Manny's coaches, trainers, guardians, family, and friends helped "The Pacman" become who he is today. Manny's whole team are not only grooming a hero, they are in a way taking care of our nation's honor too.

With Manny's remarkable determination and discipline teaming up with the dedication and discipline of his whole team to coach, train, guide and support him in his endeavors, victory is almost always inevitable. The teamwork, dedication, and discipline they showed bring great inspiration and hope to the entire nation. It carries a message that our country can resume and continue to change for the better any time if there is real change in our hearts and minds that brings teamwork, dedication, and discipline into our common goal of nation building.

Kanus-a Pa Man Masumpo Ning Mga Buhat Nga Niloog?

2009-11-09T15:27:00.007+08:00

Kidnapped school principal beheaded in Sulu
PhilStar.com

A school principal abducted recently by suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu province was killed and beheaded by his captors, a military spokesman disclosed today.

The severed head of Gabriel Canizares, 36, was discovered near a gas station in downtown Jolo, Sulu, around 5:30 a.m. today (Nov. 9), according to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.

Brawner said Canizares' beheading might be a retaliation of a recent capture of an Abu Sayyaff leader involved in the beheading of Marines in 2006.

"There has been a demand for ransom but there had been several threats on his (Canizares) life he was kidnapped," Brawner added.

Around 12 heavily armed men abducted Canizares, a principal of the elementary school in Brgy. Kanague, Patikul town, around 4:20 p.m. last Oct. 19 at Kilometer 7 in Barangay Tanum.

The victim was on his way to Jolo on board a passenger jeep together with other teachers when he was forcibly taken by the bandits.

"He was really pinpointed by the kidnappers because he was the only one taken," Brawner noted.

Meanwhile, the militants, notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, were reportedly demanding a ransom of P2 million ($42,000) for his release.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaida, is believed to have about 400 fighters on Jolo and nearby Basilan Island. The group has been sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, the military says.

President Arroyo today ordered the military and police to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf's "heinous and inhumane atrocities," her spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said.

"We shall make them pay for the enormity of this savagery," Fajardo said.

Despite years of U.S. military training and assistance, Filipino troops have struggled to contain the militants, who have recently intensified attacks on Jolo, blowing up bridges, firing mortar shells and setting off roadside bombs.

A Sept. 29 land mine explosion under a military convoy carrying American troops killed two U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers — the first U.S. military deaths in the southern Philippines in seven years.

About 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed in the south for training and humanitarian missions, but are barred by Philippine law from engaging in direct combat.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus expressed shock at the teacher's killing, saying six other teachers who had been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf earlier this year had all been released despite threats to behead them.

He said his department was at a loss how to ensure security for public schoolteachers in high-risk areas and feared that the kidnappings would discourage others from teaching underprivileged youths in Muslim areas.

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Kamong mga Muslim nga nagpuyo diha sa Mindanao wala ba mo pul-e nga permi nalang dunay pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpang-lunggo ug ulo nga mahitabo diha sa inyong lugar? O tingale naanad nalang mo nianang klaseha sa krimen? Mura man gud ug ming kaging na nang inyong mga kasing-kasing sa inyong walay pagpakitag paningkamot nga mapahamtangan ug hustisya ug mahatagan ug kasulbaran ang mga kaso sa mga pagpamunggot ug ulo diha sa inyong lugar.

Kamong mga kadagkuan diha sa Mindanao, wala na ba lang gyud mo'y mahimo batok nianang mga walay puangod nga mga Abu Sayyaf? Kamong mga tarong nga mga pangulo sa mga nagkalain-laing hugpong sa mga Muslim diha sa Mindanao, unsa may inyong ikatabang alang sa kasulbaran niining suliran mahitungod sa mga kriminal nga grupong Abu Sayyaf? Kung gusto mo ug kalinaw sa inyong lugar, pwes, ipakita ninyo nga aduna mo'y mabuhat sa pagsumpo sa mga dautang binuhatan sa mga Abu Sayyaf ug sa uban pang mga grupo diha sa inyong lugar nga nagmugna niining mga pagpa-ngidnap ug pagpa-mutol ug ulo sa mga inosenteng mga biktima.

Ngadto sa mga MILF ug sa uban pang grupong mga Muslim: kung sa karon pa lang gani wa mo'y igong katakos nga tinuuray mosumpo niining mga buhat nga krimen sa grupong Abu Sayyaf, unsa'y rason nga makatoo ang tibook nasod nga Pilipinhon nga kaya ninyong mohawid ug gahom alang sa pagdumala sa inyong kaugalingong teritoryo?

Tama Ang Gawa, Mali Naman Ang Nasa

2009-10-04T04:33:00.008+08:00

Election Disaster
By Mon Casiple

Don’t bring politics into the disaster relief effort. This is basically the message Speaker Nograles wants politicians to get. Right message, wrong messenger. Just like Congressman Mikey Arroyo when he answered a Facebook entry which purportedly showed him shopping for wine in Katipunan C-5 road at the height of Ondoy’s flooding. The gentleman vehemently denied the act happened and threatened to censor Facebook and the Internet. He may be right in his indignation but his proposal is completely wrong–you don’t shoot the messenger.

In both cases, the spotlight is on behavior of traditional politicians during disasters. When Speaker Nograles speaks about politicians in this context, he was admonishing them not to put their names and other labels that may be misconstrued as election campaigning. When Congressman Arroyo was indignant, he was worried that his alleged act may be misconstrued as indifference and callousness to the plight of the flood victims who were drowning and dying during that time.

What all traditional politicians–in this runup to the 2010 elections–are expected to do is to make sure that they are always in the public mind. Their game is called name recall. Why do you think we have all these TV and radio infomercials and political ads this early? Why do you think local politicians and even national ones double-time to attend weddings, burials, baptisms, fiestas, ball games, rallies, game shows, and what have you?

Disasters are not spared. Their unpredictability is only matched by the predictability of the traditional politicians. Name-labeled relief goods, photo ops, and media releases are a politician’s dream during disaster.

Inevitably, they are present only when the disaster already had exacted its toll. They would not want to be there before the disaster strikes because the people will remember who forgot to ensure evacuation, give adequate and timely warnings, prepare the necessary rescue equipment, and organize the people for disaster handling. Worse, they may be remembered for pocketing or spending disaster funds on other things.

Disasters are difficult for traditional politicians to handle. In an election year, these may lead to an election disaster.

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Ang Pagtulong sa Nangangailangan
Mateo 6:1-4

Mag-ingat kayo na huwag gawing pakitang-tao lamang ang inyong pamamahagi sa mga kahabag-habag. Kung magkagayon ay hindi kayo tatanggap ng gantimpala sa inyong Ama sa langit.

Kaya nga, kapag ikaw ay namamahagi sa mga kahabag-habag, huwag mong hipan ang trumpeta na nasa harap mo, gaya ng ginagawa ng mga mapagpaimbabaw sa mga sinagoga at sa mga daan. Ginagawa nila ito upang sila ay luwalhatiin ng mga tao. Katotohanang sinasabi ko sa inyo: Tinanggap na nila ang kanilang gantimpala. Kung mamahagi ka sa mga kahabag-habag, huwag mo nang ipaalam sa iyong kaliwang kamay kung ano ang ginagawa ng iyong kanang kamay. Sa gayon, maililihim ang iyong pamamahagi sa mga kahabag-habag. Ang iyong Ama na nakakakita sa lihim ay magbibigay ng gantimpala sa iyo nang hayagan.

Hindi Ba Poseble na Liliko Pa Rin Si "Pepeng"?

2009-10-02T22:14:00.009+08:00

Pagasa belies reports Pepeng will hit Metro Manila Friday night

By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 20:02:00 10/02/2009

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has denied reports typhoon Pepeng (international codename: Parma) will hit Metro Manila Friday night.

“Definitely that will not happen,” said Pagasa director Prisco Nilo, referring to text messages saying that Pepeng will bear down on disaster-struck Metro Manila at 9 p.m.

But he advised residents to prepare as the typhoon was forecast to dump more rains.

As of 4 p.m., Pepeng was seen over 150 kilometers north northeast of Virac, Catanduanes packing maximum sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 230 kph.

It was forecast to move west northwest at 13 kph headed for northern Luzon.

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Bayan, talagang tunay ba ang iyong paniniwala at pananalig? Kailan at papaano ito masusubukan at mapatunayan? Ginagamit mo lang ba ito sa panahon ng paghihirap, ngunit binaliwala lamang sa ibang mga panahon?

Hindi emposeble na liliko si "Pepeng", pero saang direksyon?

Ano ba ang makapagbibigay ng lakas at makapagpatibay ng tao, ang pagsuong sa pagsubok o ang pag-iwas nito?

Ano ba ang makapagpatatag ng kanyang pananalig, ang matugonan ang kanyang pinapanalanging makaiwas sa paghihirap ng isang pagsubok, o ang mapaglampasan niya ang isang pagsubok kahit gaano man ang paghihirap na bigay nito?

Ang Nooy Munting Babala, Ngayo'y Malaki Nang Abala

2009-10-01T13:17:00.004+08:00

Garbage preventing floods from receding - Atienza
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Tons of non-biodegradable garbage and water lilies are keeping floodwaters contained in various areas in Metro Manila, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said Thursday, as he stressed the need to strictly implement the waste management law.

"This [effects of tropical storm Ondoy] should be a wake up call. We must change our ways. Dispose of your garbage properly," Atienza said in an interview with ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda.

He said drainage systems in Manila are clogged with non-biodegradable garbage. He added that water lilies from Laguna de Bay and Pasig River are also preventing floodwaters from receding.

"There are obstructions in the natural drainage. Water from Laguna de Bay is not flowing because of water lilies and fish pens. Technically, it should flow to Pasig River and then to Manila Bay and to the South China Sea," Atienza explained, adding that if garbage were only properly disposed, floodwaters could have receded as soon as rains stopped pouring last Saturday.

He said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is urging all local governments to strictly enforce Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

He added that he has ordered the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to prevent the reconstruction of fish cages in the Laguna de Bay that were destroyed during the storm's onslaught.

Officials said 90 percent of Pateros and 53 percent of Taguig remain in chest-deep floodwaters. Several areas near Pasig River, including Rizal and Pasig City, and areas in Laguna province were still flooded, as of posting.

The government's relief operations have also been hampered by stagnant floodwaters, particularly in Pasig City and Rizal towns.

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Basurang Itinapon Mo, Babalik Din Sa 'Yo - posted on 8/08/2009