Mubong Pagpasabot mahitungod sa Simbahan ug sa Politika

Angay ba nga manginlabot ang simbahan sa politika sa nasod?

          

Bayan ko, maging matalino ka. Huwag kaagad sasang-ayon.

Kung ang anino ng kapangyarihan ay hindi inilalantad sa tapat ng mesa-aregluhan, ang mga pakikipag-ayos ay nagiging isang salin-salita lamang sa pagsasang-ayon na maamo.

Baka marahil ang sintomas na ating nasasaksihan ngayon ay isang uri ng pampapigil na pagsasang-ayon: Kung baga, dudurogin na mismo natin ang ating konsensya bago pa tayo maunahan nila, at wala na silang madudurog pa.

O Bayan ko! Huwag ka sanang bibigay kaagad nang di man lang inaasahan at baka ika'y patihayang mapatumba, at wala ka man lang kahit anong makakapitan. Pag nangyari yon, ang silakbo sa loob mo ay kataka-takang titiwasay, na animo'y nasa kinahinatnang dulot ng isang buhawi -- awit ng ibon, sikat ng araw, sobrang puspos na mga kulay, wasak na paligid, at... ang iyong sarili, tuliro at paikod-ikod.

Bayan ko, huwag mo sana'ng simulang sabihin kung ano'ng gagawin mo pag di ka magtagumpay sa nais mo, dahil sa pinakasaglit pa lang na sabihin mo ito, ay nagpapahiwatig lamang na sang-ayon ka na sa kahihinatnan mo sa umpisa pa lang.

Bayan ko, ano man ang ibahagi mo sa iba, subalit ingatan mo at pangalagaan mo ang biyayang nakalaan para sa mga anak mo at sa mga anak ng mga anak mo.

       

Why not teach our own native languages instead?

Instead of teaching foreign languages such as Korean, Chinese, or Japanese, why not prioritize teaching our own native languages in addition to the Filipino language in our school curriculum?

For instance, consider our very own Visayan language. Over 30 languages constitute the Visayan language family. The Visayan language with the most speakers is Cebuano, spoken by over 30 million people as a native language in Central Visayas, parts of Eastern Visayas, and most of Mindanao.

Just think of the countless positive developments that could result when the young Tagalog pinoys of today and the next generations of the Tagalog-speaking regions of our country would someday be no longer linguistically alienated from the Visayan-speaking regions -- just as how the Bisaya-speaking pinoys learned Tagalog early in school making them not linguistically alienated from the Tagalog-speaking pinoys.

A huge percentage of the language barrier between Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao would significantly be reduced just by adding the Visayan language in our school curriculum! Isn't that amazing?! There would be a linguistically united Philippines when that happens!

Image, Courtesy To The Owner (CTTO). Personal addition of red punctuation marks and symbols are for added emphasis.

Wage hike is not just a question of competitiveness

Wage hike is not just a question of competitiveness, but also it is a matter of cost of living and much more. Honest and good business people do not just stop at considering only one factor to justify wage hike because raising the compensation of their employees is also a matter of cost of living which is very much directly related to the inflation level of basic commodities.

When inflation rate gets above normal level (normal inflation rate level is about 2% to 3%), the delicate relationship of the costs of goods, wages, and services get thrown out of balance.

The economic balance scale is a multi-arm multi-factor weighing device.

On the employee side of the economic balance scale: How many workers could and would continue to endure for long working at their best when their compensations are not able to meet their cost of living?

On the employer side of the balance scale: When an inflation is caused by a government's poor economic management, why are the employers always the ones made to shoulder for the adjustments in the workers' compensations? How many of the employers are able to sustain their operations without laying off workers or increasing the cost of their products and services?

On the consumer side of the balance scale: How many low income families are able to cope with the high cost of basic commodities without resorting to illegal means of earning something just to survive?

On the government side of the balance scale: Where should the point of balance justly lie, and where should it fairly be placed? Who should be responsible for setting the balance back to normal? Who should be held liable for upsetting the balance?