(Mandaluyong) IN THEORY there would be more people betting on the lotto prize of more than Php500,000,000.00 today but interestingly no one has won it yet. In comparison, I was told that during President Arroyo's time Malacañang Palace officials would win it more than one time. How true is this? If this is true, did PCSO had itself used for the wrong purpose? I'm researching this right now and it would be a heinous crime to fool the citizens of this nation. Just a (creepy) thought.
Let's say the Roman Catholic church continues with its excommunication of the president, what would happen next? Below are five thoughts (serious and farcical) that proves this move is counter-productive:
1. The church will be in danger of becoming irrelevant - At the end of the day, the government will continue to function and the president can convert to another Jesus-centered denomination? Will the government disenfranchise the Roman Catholic church? Interesting.
2. Jesus never excommunicated - Though the bible hinted on excluding a person out of the body of Christ, Jesus never said a message that a sinner can never repent and be part of the church once again. Did Jesus ever send fireballs from heaven to kill the Pharisees and those who condemned him? He teaches us to love our enemies right?
3. Excommunication is just on paper - The word means to suspend or to be deprived or to be out of communion. What does the Roman Catholic faith mean by this? It's just a paper. The person can just move on with his life and still believe in Jesus.
4. The Roman Catholic church will be sending the wrong signal - The church will cast fear on its members and it will be counter-productive. It could even mean excommunicating majority of its members. Why? Who follows the teachings the Roman Catholics give faithfully? Lately, there are twenty-one incidents of excommunication in the 21st Century alone. See if the following things fall under the society's category.
5. We'll be included in the Guinness World Records (again!) for the first president to ever get excommunicated while in office.
So will excommunication ever prosper in light of this situation with the Philippines' birth control? I don't agree with abortion as well but I agree to President Aquino's point that the husband-and-wife should decide on matters like this. The only danger here is if the Roman Catholic church never taught its laity on the best possible decision that they will never regret. Abstention may be good but to stop short of telling them why is not progressive. Now, teaching faith that God will provide the kids' and parents' needs are best option to go. It's now up to the parents to decide for themselves but yes, never abort a kid when it's conceived.
If you want to know my initial thoughts about this whole deal between the government and the Roman Catholic church when the news became big, read it here.
Photo Credits: Pope, President Aquino
By now, the government is bent in curbing the rising population that it believes contributes to the poverty of this nation. On the clergy side, it's the issue of abortion that they go against. So what can anybody do about this situation?
I think the Roman Catholic church is missing the point in this matter. It is the duty of the government to impose laws that will help the state deal with economic issues. It may not be the proverbial silver bullet that will end poverty - the government knows that - but it will be doing something to give the choice directly in the hands of the laity. The church on the other hand has the golden opportunity to reveal the message of faith and grace to which the gospel clearly says about such problems we face as a society. The church is not doing enough, however, and this is causing much support to the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.
So what if the church excommunicated the president? Would that change the scenario? It's one bullying tactic after another between the government and the Roman Catholic church and this does not solve anything.
“The 15th Congress has a unique opportunity to make a concrete contribution to our efforts to regain lost glory in international competitions,'' said Puno.
A congressman from Antipolo, Rizal filed a bill and attempt to make two foreign basketball athletes become Filipinos. The move is legit and there probably aren't any laws to bar the said legislator from doing what he did. If the law is passed and we become champions, he is definitely putting every Filipinos dream to capture the crown a reality. But he is also causing a dent to capture the crown legitimately. Here's why: (1) We're sending a signal that we really can't do it (win the basketball crown in Asia) without these foreigners - great as they are; (2) The congressman is showing a bad example to children that if you can't win it - you can change the rules - as you please; (3) It will show the world that we win contests by technicalities (FIBA rules), using loopholes to win contests.
What kind of culture are we teaching kids who are playing sports? What kind of culture are we teaching our children by passing House Bill No. 2307?
To describe my utter disgust with this lawmaker's reason for filing this bill, here's what he commented to the media, "The 15th Congress has a unique opportunity to make a concrete contribution to our efforts to regain lost glory in international competitions."
Frankly, congressman, I'm not desperate to giveaway passports in exchange for trophies and "lost glory." If you're Filipino - you're Filipino. Period.
"I wish that those coming in to govern in the coming weeks will understand, as they start engaging bureaucracy and the people in government, that they’re there to support. They should not look at our brothers and sisters in government as just people sitting around, and using their position for their own personal interest." - Donald Dee, PCCI Member
I wonder what he and Sec. Bautista-Horn means when they said to be fair with President Arroyo. Their statements want me to ask two questions: If they have nothing to hide, why fear? and Is President-elect Aquino that vindictive and blood-thirsty to put outgoing President Arroyo behind bars?
For Sec. Bautista-Horn's part, I think she got it all wrong if she thinks all the Filipinos ever want to have are infrastructures. I think it's wrong to surmise that all we want are tall buildings, modern trains, and tough bridges. In my opinion, the good secretary should've just be humble enough that the Arroyo Administration has all these to offer and we hope the incoming administration could just further help the Filipinos in their plight until 2016. Something like that. But to suggest what people should feel is not within their rights. Unsolved social injustices, railroading congress, and unaccountable system of governance does not even merit a grade of "good." It's poor and it's compromising the moral fibers of our nation. Lastly, I don't like what Sec. Bautista-Horn said, ". . .I am very hopeful that the next President will further build on our achievements for the greater good of our people." "Our achievements," Ms. Horn? As far as I'm concerned, I think you should've just termed it as "these achievements" because you sound like somebody owes something to this administration. I think the Filipino people do not appreciate tangible progress without the intangible progress.
For Mr. Dee's remarks, it makes me want to ask why people would think that everyone inside the administration are just "sitting around, and using their position for their own personal interest." Are you saying exactly what people thinks? If that was so then you hit the bull's eye. Your statements should be answered with, "if there's smoke, there must be fire." And you just admitted that there is something hugely wrong with this administration's branding and system of governance.
To the men and women of President Arroyo's administration, "Thank you." You guys did your best under the circumstances. But never dictate what those you serve should think about this administration. Allow the people to reap what you worked on and just agree with the statement said once before to allow history decide on what Pres. Arroyo and her administration did. If you think you did enough then that's probably good for you but let us think for ourselves.
It sounds funny to actually imagine that Australia will be bombarded by buckets full of water but that imagery does not bode well for those who will be affected by the continuous downpour of rain. Because of trash, clogged drainage, and undisciplined neighbors of ours - we are bound to suffer more than our neighbors down under. What is the government doing about it right now? Who's overseeing the progress of taking out the clogged sewer system we have in the city? Are we planting more than we should? The hot summer months killed most of the trees that's supposed to hold rain water from the highlands. What are we doing to remedy the situation? What are we doing to prevent disastrous problems?
I am taking the Rio Largo, Brazil flood as a warning to our country and I can't just sit down and pray that something changes. Though I do not discount the power of prayer - it is also my duty to act in my faith to remind my countrymen to do something about the flood that we've seen destroyed homes, properties, and even lives.
What are we doing, as a people, to prevent this?
This is the second time I will say it in my blogs. These floods are a warning to all of us who will soon be naming the next destructive storm that will precede Ondoy. I'm being sarcastic. Why wait? Let's do something about it and prepare for the heavy rains as much as the oath-taking of the next president. While we're on that topic, why not pray for President-elect Noynoy.
After knowing what Noynoy plans to do if he wins the election, I wonder what role Chiz will play if Mayor Jejomar Binay wins the Vice Presidential spot. Does he know what will happen if an Aquino-Binay administration becomes a reality? I feel that if Binay wins, he will put Noynoy to the corner and compromise him and his administration.
A party insider said the new offer of power-sharing was Aquino’s way of appeasing his running mate, who was surprised at the offer he had made to Binay.
As if the news that Aquino will share 80% of his powers with Mar is not bad enough, out comes this news that cracks are showing between the much vaunted team tandem of Noynoy and Mar.
Aquino will share most of his powers as president to Mar making it a first in any politics. If that was an irresponsible statement, then it would only mean that this is a preview of what Noynoy can say during his term, which will be refuted by his cabinet - especially his powerful VP.
The National election is a day away and Noynoy-Mar voters don't know about this. They wouldn't know that they've been had should this happen because they're hoping for a leader that turned out to be a figurine, a statue, a front. (To read the article in full, click on manilastandardtoday.com link above.)
“Who are you going to vote on May 10?”
“Noynoy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to waste my vote.”
This is the common phrase I hear now. I dug deeper and got these answers (you are probably one of either two profiles): they have a “losing” candidate who never topped a survey or they don’t want Sen. Villar to win.
I wrote in earlier blogs that people seem to choose Noynoy because of he’s an “Aquino.” He is the son of the well-loved former president Cory Aquino and assassinated Sen. Ninoy Aquino. So what? We don’t seem to know the consequences of our actions? To many, it’s like a pageant where you bet for the more popular candidate. But will popularity put food on our table?
Others will vote “Aquino” because they don’t want Sen. Villar to win. The latter has unanswered allegations of corrupt practices reminiscent of President Marcos and President Arroyo.
Seriously, isn’t our family’s interest more important? Which of the nine candidates want a better health care system, or one who cares for the environment? Which of them wants to strengthen food security and promote free education?
Don’t vote for Sen. Villar – good! Why Sen. Aquino? What has he done as a senator? Check the Senate website and look for bills he authored. And people who will vote for him said they don’t want to waste their vote. It’s already wasted the moment they vote for him for the wrong reasons.
Sources
Sen. Aquino’s accomplishment record: http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/sen_bio/aquino_noynoy_bio.asp#iframe_height=300
His campaign platform of governance: http://www.noynoy.ph/v3/platform.php
Sen. Villar's accomplishment record: http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/sen_bio/villar_bio.asp
Sen. Villar’s unanswered allegations in congress: C-5 road scandal and Vista Land scandal
His campaign platform of governance: found on Philippine Online Chronicle, but not in his campaign website
Acknowledgement: Noynoy photo
If you read Senator Aquino's biography, a good fifty percent talks about his parents, their legacy, and their vision. If you read Senator Aquino's biography, you will think that you're reading his campaign website - not his resume. Where's his accomplishments? I don't understand why this website's administrators allow this material to be published here in this context? (click link above to read his biography)
Does the Philippines, which has a 90M population (2008), have 19,000 soldiers only? That's what this news is trying to reflect in today's issue of the Philippine Star. That's only .02 of 1% or 1 soldier per 4,736 people if you think about it. That's crazy. If that's not reflective of the total number of soldiers this country has then what is? Also, if that is the case, then how come there's not a lot of soldiers voting?
This number is not encouraging and it's just reflecting how bad our national security is. There should be more respect in this type of profession and we should give more premium in our personal security in this season of terrorism and extremism.
Source: Philippine population: http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:PHL&dl=en&hl=en&q=philippines+population
