Executive Privilege, Decorum, & Congressional Circus

By The WindChime

Aren't we grateful we still have a senate, or do we regret we still have a bicameral legislature?

These recent days, it is "unusually" busy for both the lower house and the senate because aside from conducting budget hearings, they are also conducting a probe into the "alleged" irregularities surrounding the multibillion-peso national communication infrastructure project called the National Broadband Network (NBN) "entered into" between the Philippine government and the Chinese government. Aside from the NBN probe, the senate is also reopening the investigation on the illegal wire tapping operation involving the ISAFP (Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines), which some people likened to the Watergate scandal in the United States. These two investigations now add to the congress' regular burden of law making.

While this "heavy" workload on the shoulders of congress is "good" training for the neophyte lawmakers (which come "appropriately" at the relatively early days in their term of office), this workload could also be a potential stress generator to at least some of the senior legislators. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why some of them are maybe "unaware" that their level of decorum lowered significantly as they lost appropriate tact in their verbal exchange with the respondents and witnesses during long stressful hours of congressional hearings (as being televised nationwide). Some observers considered those behaviors amusing, but in congressional inquiries where most of the participants are professionals, it should be deemed improper.

If congressional inquiries are conducted for the purpose of aiding legislation, then it should not be used for political purposes or for ventilating personal grudges between legislators and respondents. Otherwise respondents and witnesses will continue to be indifferent and ignore or evade congressional hearing invitations or summons. If there is such a thing as "intellectual arrogance", legislators should have none of that, or at least suppress it.

We hope our legislators will be tactful enough in dealing with the respondents and witnesses. Congressional inquiries are not court of law hearings. Perhaps it will help if once in a while legislators will put themselves in the shoes of the respondents; won't they desire for a little dignity at least? If in a democracy "One is presumed innocent until proven guilty", then let it be so -- especially in congressional inquiries.

To the respondents and to the witnesses, please be respectful of the authority of our legislators. How else can the truth be ferret out completely if you keep invoking executive privileges when some specific questions are asked? This would only increase the people's suspicion and fuels their desire to take matters into their own hands if a deadlock develops out of this non-disclosure of information.

Do we want our legislators to be crafting inadequate laws based on wrong or insufficient information? Do we want them to file charges against wrong individuals based on inaccurate or insufficient congressional inquiry findings? If we believe that the truth shall set people free, then why hide the truth? If the truth does not involve national security, then why not disclose it? If it is self-incriminating, humbly admit it and be free of self-condemnation brought about by guilt. If you truly care for the nation, then disclosing those information that need to be disclosed is the only right thing you can do -- not just disclosing only those information that you want (or other people want you) to disclose.

We all make mistakes, but only very few of us are willing to repent and face the correction of justice. If justice is God's idea, then we can be sure He instituted it for our good in the long run. Unwillingness to submit to justice is a manifestation of spiritual immaturity. Do we think we can escape God's correction when we sin? If not, then what do you think is the best and most logical thing to do? The harder we refuse to submit to God's correction, the harder the chastening will become. The longer we resist, the longer we suffer.

Can we afford that the nation be forced (because of frustration) to try to resort once again to the wrong and ugly extra-constitutional means of settling major national issues? Have we not learned our lesson yet? Perhaps some people in the top levels of government are still in denial concerning how silently tense the nation already is because of these major issues besetting the nation. But before it is too late, the nation begs you to please do the right thing.

The Filipino people are so sick and so tired of corruption especially when it is happening in the government. We cannot afford anymore to have our public officials of high ranks be charged of plunder (like what happened to our former president). But perhaps everything is not yet too late. Who knows that (instead of withholding the truth by "abusing" the executive privilege) a "sacrificial disclosure" by some of the key witnesses and respondents in the investigations might spare the nation from another possible major political instability (even if the disclosure has unpleasant consequences for a few persons -- but which are more preferable than that of a major national political crisis like Edsa II or Edsa III)?

The entire nation wants to find out the truth, and we hope the investigations would not be wasted and degenerate into some kind of a "congressional circus" as what happened to many of the major congressional investigations done in the past (including that of the impeachment proceeding of the former president).

Responsible leadership does not consist only of the ability to lead the people when things are going well, but it also includes the humility to be accountable to the people when mistakes are made. No amount of economic progress will ever quench a nation's thirst for truth. In fact, there can be no real enjoyment of progress while on the other hand there is truth that is being suppressed.

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Now that a major controversy has risen out of the NBN project, some people considered it as a project that is in search of reasons why it is pursued. But on second thought, it could also be the other way around. Maybe some people are just seeking for reasons so that the project may not be continued. In my personal opinion, this project could have been a good project only if it was done honestly (had it not because of the very serious allegation of overpricing for kickbacks, allegation of "attempted" briberies, and allegation of illegal procedures).

This NBN project involves very high level of communication technology, and no wonder why most of the legislators have a hard time conversing on the deep technical aspects of it accurately. This situation could greatly prejudice the outcome of the investigation. How can the legislators accurately justify their opinion against the project when most of them lack the technical competence to evaluate it comprehensively? It is easy for the observing people of the nation to be influenced by the opinion of the legislators especially that this project is alleged to be anomalous.

The Greatest Want of Our Nation

By Eleazar M. Famorcan

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:9-11)

My editor and I once interviewed a man whose noteworthy features include his being short in height but long in wisdom.

You probably know who I'm talking about -- the popular former health secretary and now senator Juan Flavier, who once attempted to kiss a pretty lady on the cheek on the halls of the old Senate and found that all he could reach was her bellybutton.

Our visit with him in his government office was made years ago, and the details as well as the highlights of our hour-long conversation -- except those that found their way on the pages of our publication -- have blurred from memory.

During the quick interview I didn't have the chance to see much of his inner person. I didn't even have the occasion to catch his lower limbs dangle from his office chair as had been my amusing privilege with many other diminutive individuals whose feet, when they sit, don't reach the floor.

But I remember something I learned from this fellow who can straightforwardly claim he is a wee bit taller than 4 feet 11 inches. And who also is -- I must say -- short on earthly possessions (which some people find odd for one so well-positioned) but long on virtue. [Recently he was reported to be among the poorest of the present batch of solons.]

There is this interesting parable he wrote for a Manila broadsheet ["Barrio Breeze", Philippine Star]. The parable -- which could be about you and me--told of a person known throughout his locality and beyond for his honesty. He was extremely honest that people trusted him more than any other person, and even more than the bank and the church. People monikered him "the saint".

In time, as tribute to his integrity, this incorruptible man was handpicked by the governor to guard a roadside checkpoint which is famous -- rather, infamous -- for rampant bribery. The only way to clean up corruption was to put an honest person at the helm.

On his first day on the job, someone offered him a bribe of several thousand pesos to allow some cargo to pass without examination. A secret bank account would be established in his assumed name. He refused.

The next day and beyond, people visited his home in an attempt to corrupt him. He stood his ground. He rejected under-the-table money, and returned small token gifts because he didn't want to be influenced. Soon a new moniker was given to him: "walang lagay, walang lakad, walang lusot".

But the bribers would not give up. As months passed by, the bribe bait multiplied. Grease money doubled, tripled, quadrupled. The honest man, true to himself, consistently refused any and all offers.

Then one day, he appeared before the governor with a handwritten letter. He handed it to him saying, "I'm tendering my irrevocable resignation."

"How can you do that?" the surprised governor said. "You are doing well. Integrity and honesty have come back to our place. You are my most honest man. No one could buy you for a price. Why?"

With bowed head, the man replied, "They are about to reach my price!"

*******
Many years ago, a man who made his life a protest against what he thought of as a corrupt society, went about Athens with a lantern in the daytime, claiming to be looking for an honest man -- but never found one.

I'm no Greek philosopher like Diogenes, and I prefer to live in a house rather than in a large tub, but I like to think there are still honest persons hereabouts.

In my book, there are two kinds of honest people.

One, those who know when to flee from temptation, to get away before they get bought -- or caught in its clutches. They are those honest enough to accept that in certain situations, they may not be honest.

Then, there are those who resist temptation. According to a lady with extraordinary insights [Ellen G. White, Education], they are men and women

who will not be bought or sold,...
who in their inmost souls are true and honest,...
who do not fear to call sin by its right name,...
whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole,...
who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

The want of such men and women, she said, is "the greatest want of the world."

So be it.

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Eleazar M. Famorcan is the associate editor of Health & Home magazine, "the national journal for better living", a monthly publication in the Philippines.

"Guilty Beyond Reasonable Doubt"

By The WindChime

"Guilty beyond reasonable doubt." This is the verdict of the Sandigan Bayan on the plunder case charge against our nation's former president. It is the first time in the history of corruption in the Philippines that a highest ranking public official is convicted by a court of law of a crime that many of us may also be found guilty of if we too were in such public office.

While it is unprecedented and historic, it must not be considered alone as a victory for the nation (as what some people proudly conveyed), but also it must be considered a loss for the nation because we have sentenced no less than a former president who could have been a better public servant if only some of us had been persistent and brave enough to confront him while he was yet in the verge of erring while he was still in office. Can we afford to have another case like this in the future? If not, then what should we citizens ought to be doing now before it would be too late?

Conviction is perhaps a good thing, but only to the ears of those who accuse. Pardon is perhaps a bad thing, but only to the ears of those who accuse. Aren't we glad that death penalty was abolished in our nation, or do you regret it has been removed? Should we place life and death under the power of the judge's tongue? Justice is one thing, vengeance is another thing. But too much adversarial politics is a worse thing.

Often we hear lawyers say, "It is better to wrongly free a guilty person than to wrongly convict an innocent man." In some similar sense, how very hard it is to defend and justify a person if he is truly guilty beyond any shadow of doubt. What could an advocate possibly do to justify his client? What could he give in exchange for his client's freedom? What possible motive will the advocate has just in order to even think of doing a noble service which is beyond his normal obligation or call of duty?

Genuine love of God that produces genuine love for fellowmen. This is the only motive that produces genuine zeal for the good of others. And this is exactly what Christ did to mankind before the court of heaven against the Devil's accusation. With mankind's sin of rebellion (the ultimate state of disobedience which the Devil caused -- just like his sin), mankind brought upon himself the inherent penalty of sin, which is spiritual death (a state of total ignorance and separation from God). Christ not only became mankind's advocate but also mankind's savior by taking upon Himself the penalty of sin, which is death, so that mankind will live. And because of Christ's deed, He turned mankind's fall into a great testimony of Love and in effect condemning the Devil of his sin that he so proudly refuse to repent of, because what the Devil is rebelling against God is God's absolute law of Love. After going through sin and all of its consequences and then experiencing the depth of God's love, mercy, & justice, what sinner would not walk the narrow Way of Life instead of straying in the wide way of death? Listen to this verse: Do you despise the riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

Nothing will ever separate us from God's love. Listen to Paul in his letter to the Romans:

For I [Paul] am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

And the following verse explains the root of corruption:

Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:5-11)

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We may be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt, but because of Christ's deed we are worthy of forgiveness beyond any reason, so that we may live our lives anew for the Lord -- and this is real victory.

Euphemism in the face of guilt is like taking poison hoping for a cure.

Human Brainpower Development

The Weekly Nation, July 18, 1966
By H.L. Neri

Ever since the publication in 1798 of An Essay On the Principle Of Population As It Affects The Future Improvement Of Society by Thomas Robert Malthus, English clergyman and economist, the problem of overpopulation has nagged the minds of thinking men all over the world. For how long can the limited resources of the earth support a humanity that does not seem to require too much prodding to heed the divine command, Increase and multiply? Certainly, it is thought, the time will come when the world's expanding population will outrun the food supply, "leading mankind to outbreed itself into starvation and poverty."

But have we ever paused to consider that population explosion also means human brainpower explosion? Every time a child is born into this world, it brings with it within its delicate cranium a mechanism the intricacy of which human science has never been able to unravel and the potentiality of which human science has never been able to measure.

What are the modern marvels of transportation and communication, or of automation and cybernetics, compared to the marvel of the human brain? They are all interior in their worth an potential, for they are but products and creatures of the human brain, the same human brain that is contained in the head of every child that is born into this world.

True Potential

Yet, it is said that, at most, only ten percent of the true potential of the human brain is utilized in even the most developed and educated human beings. And thee most developed and educated human beings comprise only an infinitesimal fraction of the human race - the handful of men who bear the burden of mankind's progress in science and technology; the handful of men who direct or misdirect the fate and destiny of this planet.

What about the brainpower of billions? It just withers away as unceremoniously as it comes. It comes as a liability, stays as a burden, and dies away as though it had never come to be at all. This, I think, is the essence of the problem of population explosion - the criminal and senseless wastage of the brainpower of billions.

The continued slavery of man to man which has persisted in varying forms throughout the ages has been basically due to inequality of brainpower development. Emerson said that "greatness thrives on the imbecility of the overwhelming majority." The only justification that can possibly be found for the subordination of one man to another lies in their unequal degree of human development, which means development not in muscle power but in brainpower.

Proper Development

It was the utilization of human brainpower that made man the king and master of the animal kingdom and enabled humanity to graduate from one stage of history and civilization to another. It is the utilization of human brainpower that has ushered humanity into this high stage of scientific and technological attainment and will enable it to continue its progress toward self-fulfillment as decreed by its Creator.

Take away this human brainpower, and the world will revert to the untamed wilderness it was before the advent of man. Develop and utilize it in the heads of the billions of men that inhabit this earth, and man will rise to his proper height in the universe, to the summit which his Creator had reserved for him from the beginning of time.

The hope of the world lies in the proper development of human brainpower; the prospect of disaster lies in the possible failure of this brainpower in the handful of men who happen to hold and direct the destiny of all humanity.

The overwhelming majority of mankind live in darkness, the darkness of ignorance and its resultant degradation and economic want. The productivity of the overwhelming majority of mankind remains at a primitive level, a productivity based on mechanical muscle power which, with the advent of automation, is fast becoming obsolete. The majority of men live in misery and degradation because their ability to contribute to the common good has been held at a minimal, primitive stage by illiteracy and ignorance.

The Most Valuable Resource

Human brainpower is the most important and valuable natural resource of the world; it is the most important and valuable natural resource of our country. There can be no real progress in the world if the teeming brainpower of billions remain untapped; there can be no real progress in our country unless we see our way to the need for a sound and effective program of universal education designed to wipe out the blight of illiteracy and ignorance and bring about the proper development of our entire human brainpower resource.

More and more, East and West are enlarging their areas of agreement and narrowing their areas of conflict. Forced coexistence brought about by a balance of power and terror is gradually giving way to the hopeful beginnings of a détente. If East and West should finally realize the folly and senselessness of the current armaments race and agree at last to lay down their arms, the real contest between them will shift to the economic field, and this field, education will prove the final determination of who will emerge the victor. Have we ever paused to ponder how we shall fare in such a contest?

The literacy rate of the Soviet Union is 100 percent. The literacy rate of Japan is 99 percent. Red China has free universal education. The designers and architects of the US Great Society under the visionary leadership of President Lyndon Johnson premise and found their plans and projections on education. From the great educational programs of these and other advanced nations of the world will emerge the human gains of the future. How shall we stand among such men?

Educational Program

The miracles of modern transportation and communication have made the world shrink to a size which the generations of men before us never imagined to be possible. The time is not far off when men all over the world will be able to think of themselves as next-door neighbors. This will lead to rater international intercourse and understanding. It is not difficult to foresee that such increased international intercourse and understanding will one day enable men to overcome the psychological barriers of race, nationality, or creed, and bring them to a greater and fuller realization of their common humanity and of the fact hat the earth is their common heritage. This realization can be expected to break down the walls and boundaries that separate men from one another will be their individual personal attainments. I would like to know what will be the stature of our people in such a world. The answer lies in the kind of educational program we have for them.

We should expend a great part of our national energy on a crash program of universal education designed to produce after us a generation equal to the finest and the greatest in the world. Then and only then shall we be able to catch up with the peoples of the more advanced countries of the world within a single generation.

Equal Bounty

Talent has been sprinkled by God with equal bounty and generosity on all the various races of men. The children that we bring into this world are endowed with the same quality of intelligence possessed by the children of any other race in the world. Given the same educational opportunities, our children can very well hold their own among equals.

But can we afford to give the young generation the same educational opportunities afforded that of other nations? Should not education wait until our country is already sufficiently developed to shoulder the cost?

It depends on how we look at education. If we look at it as a mere consumption item, perhaps it can wait. But if we look at it as an essential investment without which we can have no real economic progress, it cannot wait. Education cannot wait for economic progress because there can be no real progress without it.

Education enhances the productiveness of the individual. The reason why an educated man earns more is that he is able to contribute more to the common good. Education for all will enable all to contribute in greater measure to the good of society.

The productivity of a country depends on the productivity of the citizens that live in it; the productivity of the citizens depends on the degree of their brainpower development; that is, on the kind of education they get. That is why John Kenneth Galbraith, renowned economist and former US ambassador to India, said in his book, Economic Development In Perspective, that "a dollar invested in the intellectual improvement of human beings will often bring a greater increase in national income than a dollar devoted to railways, dams, machine tools or other tangible capital goods."

It is not difficult to see that education benefits both the individual and society; and it is not difficult to see that the lack of it impoverishes both the individual and the community in which he lives. It is important therefore that we enable every Filipino, regardless of his financial condition, to obtain for himself an education up to any level to which his natural talents, industry and aptitude can bring him. This we can do only if we make education one giant national undertaking the cost of which should be cooperatively borne by all according to our individual ability to contribute to it.

If human brainpower is the most important and valuable natural resource of a country, it follows that its development will be its most important and profitable investment. Neglect it and we shall forever remain a poor and backward people; develop it as it should be developed and it will be for all of us a rich and inexhaustible source of he strength and power we need to scale the heights of true progress and national greatness.

The Prize to Win

Socrates saw that all sin is rooted in error.

And, on the cross, Jesus cried
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

All sin, all crime, all sorrow
Stems from ignorance of the way to happiness.

Ignorance is, therefore, the enemy to conquer;
Truth, the price to win - the truth which, Christ said,
"shall set men free": the Light that illumines the Way to the Life.

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We may think of the human body (in which inside of the head is a large mass of soft matter called the brain) as a powerful super computer with an ultra high-speed processor as brain. The computer without a software is just a piece of hardware of less significance. But with software running, it is a useful and a productive tool that can do efficiently what the program instructs it to do. In like manner, a human being without an "education" is "less significant" and is considered by most societies to be more of a "liability" than an "asset".

So therefore as software is required in the processor of a computer in order for the machine to function and be useful and productive, education is necessary to the brain of a human being in order for him to understand and respond and function more wisely in the world -- and in the interaction, benefiting him and the world.

But, like the software that can be infected by a computer virus, education can be corrupted. A computer running a clean software is a good instrument, but a computer run by a malicious software is a sinister tool. And so, a man with the "right education" is a force for good, but a person with a "wrong ideology" is a potential "challenge" to society.

The software is like the education the brain needs for a human being to perform useful and sensible things for mankind and for the world. But man's inherent higher level of intelligence (not found in any other physical creature) is what makes him capable of designing and creating a powerful complex computing machine -- including the extensively complicated logic of the software's program code that runs the machine (which other earthly creatures could not comprehend). Some creatures have larger brains than man, but why is man superior in intelligence? The answer is in the kind of spirit within the creatures.

A body without the spirit is a corpse. Man is a living soul that has a "special spirit". While other living things may have their own kind of spirits, it is only man that has the God-kind of spirit breathed into his nostrils by the Creator. While other living creatures were spoken of by God into existence thru mere fiat, it is only with man that God took the time to form with His hands out of the dust of the ground and made alive by blowing the breath of life into the clay formed.

Consider the following verse of the scripture:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)

This is the very reason why man has intelligence that is far above any other physical creature on earth. And this special superior intelligence cannot be attained by any other creature thru any natural means possible. No one can ever train or "educate" a chimpanzee or any other animal that it can be capable of designing or creating a powerful complex computing machine (which is so far man's greatest invention in the field of Information).

But what is the purpose of man's superior intelligence? Consider these verses:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28)

What an awesome task God has given to mankind! Do you think mankind could accomplish this great responsibility if God has not given them a superior intelligence?

If the development of the human brainpower is an important resource that promises great potentials to mankind and to the world, just imagine how much awesome it would be to develop with greater importance the spirit that gives life to the brain and which is the source of its superior intelligence. Man can achieve far greater things if his spirit power is developed, because more and more it unlocks the superior intelligence God has bestowed on him.

It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I [Jesus] speak to you are spirit, and are life. (John 6:63)

Education produces knowledge, but wisdom is of the intelligent spirit. God is a Spirit and His Intelligence is far more superior than any intelligence in the seen or the unseen worlds. Words are manifestations of intelligence and they produce tangible things by means of the body. No other earthly creatures can speak words besides man.

Have you ever wondered why there are more heavenly bodies in the universe (the seen world) than there are human bodies (all that ever existed including Adam and Eve)? It is because God's power is inexhaustible and nothing can ever diminish or deplete it.

So, what about the "insufficiency of resources brought about by overpopulation"? Is it preventable, is it manageable, or is it solvable? Is there any situation, condition, or circumstance that could make God caught by surprise? Certainly none; for in God's economy there are no surprises, He foreknew everything. Maybe we need to look at this "challenge" with some new set of ideas added to the old traditional paradigms.

Maybe few wild questions will stir up our thinking:

1. What if sex is a "painful" thing to do, rather than a pleasurable act to enjoy in marriage?
2. What if human birth is like that of the sea turtle, instead of having parents nurturing in the family?
3. What if humans reproduce asexually, instead of sexually?
4. What if normal life span is above a hundred or more?
5. What if man doesn't need to eat in order to live?

The questions above may sound strange but they may help us gain few insight into some of the basic elements involved in meeting the challenge of the so called "insufficiency of resources brought about by overpopulation".

Unless mankind's true intelligence is developed, we will continue to grope for some answers in the "darkness of ignorance" brought by the fall at Eden.