"Panonokhang" ng taombayan

Sa umpisa, taombayan ang tinutokhang nila. Subalit, taombayan na ngayon ang tumotokhang sa kanila. Ang dahilan nito ay ang mga pagmamalabis ng mga may kapangyarihan at ang mga pang-aaboso ng mga otoridad sa dangal at karapatan ng iilang mga mamayang itinuring nila na wala nang silbi sa lipunan. Ang mga bagay na ito ay ang silang unti-unting nakakapagpamulat sa dahan-dahan ng dumaraming bilang ng mga kababayang nag-aalab na ang mga damdamin laban sa nitong marahas at mapang-api na mga ginagawa ng mga nasa kapangyarihan na hindi na ayon sa tamang pamamaraan ng pagpapatupad at pagpapairal ng batas.

           

Sa mata ng ating kukote

Sa mga nabubulagan ng madilim na liwanag, subokan nyo rin kayang tumingin  paminsan-minsan gamit ang mata ng inyong kukote at baka makikita rin ninyo ang nakikita lang ng iilang iba na sa iyong akalang katotohanan ay kakaiba.

       

Ang himig natin, ating awitin

Tayo'y may kaibigan, Pilipinas ang pangalan. Handa na ba kayong lahat upang siya'y tulungan?

E kung ganon...

Ang himig natin, ating awitin...
          

Kababayan, saang sulok ka ba nakaluklok sa tatsulok?

Reform our criminal justice system to fight poverty

Lawlessness and impunity are a major hidden reason for poverty that our country needs to address now. Collective compassion has meant an overall decrease in global poverty since the 1980s, says civil rights lawyer Gary Haugen. Yet for all the world's aid money, there's a pervasive hidden problem keeping poverty alive. Haugen reveals the dark underlying cause we must recognize and act on now.

When the next generation of Filipinos would ask us: "Where were you when our poorest kababayans were drowning in a lawless chaos of everyday violence and impunity?" I hope that we can say, that we had compassion, that we raised our voice, and as a generation, we were moved to make the violence stop.

Out of compassion let us not just simply cry over what is going on in our country, but let us act to help reform our criminal justice system to fight poverty.

Father God, we rely on your guidance and strength; for you are our ever help in times of needs.

          

Senate, wake up! Stay focused! Don't get sidetracked by your weakness

Come on, honorable Senators of the Philippines, we know you are far better than this! We still believe that you all have the wisdom in you to reform the senate from being poorly productive due to being extremely politicized. The country needs leaders who are able to handle critical issues and tackle national concerns with genuine political maturity, professionalism, dedication, and effectiveness.

Please give the citizenry at least some concrete reasons to still follow and watch the important senate hearings and inquiries rather than causing them to snob and ignore senate hearings and inquiries because of your displayed political immaturity and unprofessional public demeanor in your session halls.

Wake up, our good senators! With your self-defeating conducts, where are you heading? Where are you leading us into? You have very important works to do. God has picked and called you for higher service, so don't be sidetracked by your weaknesses. Because He has called you, He has also equipped you with the inner strength and wisdom to overcome the frailties within each of you. Now it is time to use your inner strength and wisdom so that as one critical and an important institution of the nation, you will be able to carry out your mandated tasks despite [and in spite of] your individual weaknesses.

Our dear Senators, may God cause you to find your inner strength and wisdom.

Mga kababayan, let us pray for our leaders that they may awake to their godly sense; for the devil has blinded them and ensnared them with their weaknesses.

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Good Senators, may this words of the Spirit awaken your inner strength and wisdom:

Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]. (Proverbs 9:11)

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. (James 1:19-20)

Do to others as you would like them to do to you. (Luke 6:31)

Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.
(Psalm 4:4)

And don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27)

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper – it only leads to harm. (Psalm 37:8)

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:8, 12-13)

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God.

For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

says the Lord.

Instead, If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:17-21)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

       

Work according to the righteousness God has put in your heart

Are you someone or somebody in government who takes pride in addressing yourself as a public servant? Well, if it is your heart's genuine desire to be an effective and good public servant, then come to know what (or more aptly, "Who") is the powerful motivating force in the lives of public servants the likes of Jovie Espenido that enthusiastically drives their certain level of work dedication, professionalism, and effectiveness.

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"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-24)

       

How to win the war on drugs

Many nations have tried the war on drugs for many years and have failed.
(Video Published on March 1, 2016)

How to win the war on drugs

By Bernie V. Lopez

Thought Leaders, Rappler

Published August 31, 2017, 9:18 PM

Bernie V. Lopez is a seasoned columnist, writing in the last 20 years for various newspapers. He was a freelance director-scriptwriter of news documentaries for television too and was a Communications Professor at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. He is in the healing ministry of Sr. Raquel Reodica, RVM. You may email him at eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com.

I hope President Duterte can read this.

Step 1 is to stop the supply, which flows from China, finished goods or raw materials. If they are gloating for stopping the recent "massive" smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu, they are in for a surprise. That is not a milestone. There are hundreds of ways to smuggle shabu. It may even be just the tip of the iceberg.

Cut shabu at the source with a bilateral agreement with China on an integrated coordinated intelligence, police, customs, coast guard, immigration effort. It may not work all the way, but halfway is good enough. Half of them may be bribed but the good guys can monitor the bad guys. Once the smuggling is checked, there is no need to run after shabu factories which will have no more raw materials to process. Once shabu reaches our shores, it is hard to contain. The thing is to let it not reach our shores.

Step 2 is to stop the LGUs into drugs. The Manila Times came up with an inventory of mayors and vice mayors suspected of involvement in shabu operations. Four killed, 4 arrested, 52 others in Duterte’s list (13 in Luzon, 14 in Visayas, 25 in Mindanao) as of July 2017. The profound effect of local government units (LGUs) on shabu proliferation is mind-boggling. LGUs into shabu are the biggest culprit. The bad policemen, private drug lords and financiers polarize toward the leadership of local government. When Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa and Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog were neutralized, the shabu empire in Leyte and Misamis must have shrunk dramatically for awhile. Maybe they are back.

The generals into shabu are also a problem. Duterte identified 5 generals. There may be more, as there is little intel. Good generals may not point at bad generals. They may be fewer but their clout is in the guns and armies to protect the shabu industry.

Why do you think the mayors did not stop even after reading about the killings and arrests of many mayors? Why did they ignore the warnings of Duterte that they may be next? The answer is simple – the money is so big, the temptation so great, that it is worth the risk for the greedy. They are super-confident as they hire large private armies which they easily can afford, or get protection from the generals, and they are "safe".

Step 3. Stop the killings of urban poor kids. Just run after the mayors, and half of the problem is solved. While the police are picking off addicts at the urban poor level by the hundreds, the drug lords still flood the place with ample supply. As the police sweep the garbage, they do not stop the people who scatter more garbage. Focus on pushers, suppliers, not users.

Step 4. Understand the true nature of [shabu] addiction to win the war on drugs. A stage 4 shabu addict is helpless to contain his own addiction. He will risk death to satisfy his unbearable desire. He will die for a high. Stage 5 addiction is psychosis or madness when shabu eventually destroys brain cells on a massive scale. It is easy to rape a sister or threaten a mother who refuses to give money. Shabu is directly related to heinous crimes.

Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong.
(Video Published on July 9, 2015)




Understanding addiction.
(Video Published on October 29, 2015)

The mayors do it out of greed, the urban poor kids do it out of sheer desire. Pushers are also addicts. It is easy to conclude that there are mayors and generals who are addicts, the pushers-ushers who are dangerous because they will get other addicts to finance their addiction. They are the catalyst to rapid shabu growth. They employ brinkmanship when they are high.

Finally, President Duterte’s rehab center in Nueva Ecija financed by China, which presently accommodates 35,000 is not a rehab center but a "soft jail". It is bigger than Bilibid by far. At the growth rate of even, say a pessimistic thousand a day, it will be congested very soon. It may even follow the footsteps of Bilibid to house secret shabu factories smuggled out as a major supply line. Money talks.

Step 5. Rehab centers are better run by gentle people like nuns rather than soldiers. And they should be decentralized, 1,000 scattered in different provinces, 10 to 30 addicts per center. The Church should have a big role in this, rehab centers at the parish level. Addicts need to be loved and treated gently as a solution to addiction, not punished or whipped. They need monastic ambience so they can pray for healing.

How far are we in winning the war on drugs? Very far, indeed, even as thousands have been killed and the United Nations and international human rights groups hound us? Many nations have tried for many years and have failed. Even in the US, which is resilient in containing the menace, has failed all these years.

They can only contain it but not eradicate it. Duterte corrected himself in his time frame to eradicate shabu. He will correct himself again. It is a never-ending endeavor. There is no such thing as total rehab. Many factors are irreversible. A friend at the gate can destroy a whole year of painstaking rehab. The thing is to stop 1) the supply coming in, and 2) its spread and growth thru the LGUs. That is the best Duterte can do. – Rappler.com


How Portugal successfully tackled its drug crisis.
(Video Published on April 19, 2017)

 



Is Portugal's extraordinary drug policy the answer?
(Video Published on January 21, 2008)