International Women’s Day: Their Day or Ours?

By ADOR LEANDA HURTADO, WARAYA/FPOP, UNFPA YAP/Y-Peer Pilipinas
March 8, 2010

Almost all significant elements in our society are commemorated. Numerous celebrations are being recognized annually to honor women, mothers, fathers, teachers, youth, the earth, animals, the environment, and the list goes on. Even shortening the event to hours or extending it to weeks, months or even whole year round. But what is so significant about these “day” celebrations or commemorative schedules when most people are not aware of it and some doesn’t even care.

Well, I do; and some do.

The United Nations in 1977, two years after the International Women's Year celebration, adopted a resolution during the General Assembly proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace as it has been first observed on March 8 of 1975. Since then, the 8th of March has been known as the International Women’s Day.

So why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world's women? In adopting its resolution on the observance of Women's Day, the General Assembly cited two reasons. One was to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women. Second was to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.

For the women of the world, the Day's symbolism has a bigger meaning. Apart from the sole recognition, it is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. And an opportunity as well to unite, network and mobilize for a meaningful change.

This year’s theme for the International Women’s Day is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”. As shared by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, “Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the United Nations to achieve equal rights and dignity for all... But equality for women and girls is also an economic and social imperative. Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals – peace, security, sustainable development – stand in jeopardy."

Indeed, women are facing developmental and societal issues in parts of the world. Mothers, young ladies, girls, and women are struggling for equality and equity over opportunities and meaning that hinders their development as well as ours. Until we do not respect their identity, their roles, and their significance in our society and in our lives, we have not fully attained the true meaning of progress and development. Be it in our communities or in our society, in our employment or in our families, we must treat them with respect and with dignity much as we do with ourselves.

As a youth advocate and a person of respect, I am one with the many who acknowledges this day not just as the International Women’s Day but a day for change! Equal rights, Equal Opportunities so as to achieve progress for all!

So, is it their day or ours?

“A woman without love wilts like a flower without sun.” Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, 2001

Statement of Senator Pia S. Cayetano

Issue: Awarding of Bronze Cross Medal to Col. Aurelio Baladad of the Army’s 202nd brigade, and Lt. Col. Jaime Abawag, Commander, 16th Infantry Battalion, who led the illegal arrest and detention of 43 health workers attending a seminar in Morong, Rizal
February 23, 2010

“There’s something seriously wrong when a government institution commends its personnel for committing an illegal act, in this case, the two military officers who led the illegal arrest and detention of the Morong 43. I’m appalled at how the military keeps announcing mere membership or affiliation with the NPA constitutes a crime.

Let me remind them the Anti-Subversion Law has long been repealed. Membership in a Leftist organization in itself is not a crime. But what is punished is the act of rebellion or overthrowing government thru violent means, and other acts defined in the Revised Penal Code. Doesn’t the Department of National Defense (DND) leadership realize it’s the AFP which commits a crime in wantonly tagging as criminals activists and NPA suspects?

The illegal arrest can’t be treated as a purely military action because it involves a Constitutional issue and there was no gunfight or military encounter involved. Sec. Norberto Gonzales must invoke supremacy of civilian laws over military affairs. He should subject the two erring officers (Col. Aurelio Baladad and Lt. Col. Jaime Abawag) to a human rights refreshment course instead.”

How to deal with the energy crisis and drought in the Philippines!

By DANIEL ESCUREL OCCENO
February 21, 2010

It will not help the immediate problem, but to prevent future power shortages: We can use CANDLE WAX BOILERS to replace burning diesel or buying coal or starting nuclear power plants.

We can do steam energy using the candle wax boiler. The price of diesel would drop.

As hydroelectric plants’ reservoirs decrease to critical levels in Mindanao, we are told by worldwide agencies dealing with Climate Change we will have future flooding from rising coastlines.

Drought from tropical radiation one season is followed by possible flooding weeks later, another year in paradise.

Drought is expected and so is flooding

Consuming the water with steam energy using rainfall collected by rooftops of buildings and Pacific Ocean water during overflow of high tide to stockpile in water tankers would lessen the chances of flooding. The idea of stockpiling water in tankers would prevent water shortages and crop damage from lack of water.

When I saw PETRON Corporation’s tankers of stockpiled gasoline to supply the country, I imagined the tankers filled with rainwater to prevent millions of dollars of crop damage from drought and no more power blackouts because a dam was low on water, candle wax boilers.

The semi trucks delivering diesel to gas stations could have stockpiled rainwater being delivered to areas stricken by drought. Wake me up when it happens. I am tired of reading about disasters that have solutions and nothing is done.

Ocean water purified by layers and layers of ceramic pebble beds might prove to be a better way to provide drinking water than WASTE WATER Recycling Treatment Plants with all the urine, solid waste, detergents, cleansers, illegal drugs, harsh chemicals, toilet paper, smoked cigarettes, and everything else dumped into a toilet seat to recycle the water to be acceptable drinking water with a wastewater treatment plant and chemical additives so the water will be good enough to drink.

Soy wax candles are safe for the environment

An experiment you can do to witness an energy source we have for the future, but please be careful and have adult supervision. Take an empty steel can like a cylindrical can of sardines or canned corn and melt candles inside or one-fourth filled with wax.

Then drop drops of kerosene and drop a lit burning crumpled into a ball of paper inside to ignite the wax to liquid. See how long the fire last and how hot it gets, but be careful because the steel can will get hot so make sure the bottom was placed in a safe location.

You can extinguish the fire by placing a cover on top to choke the fire that can be used to boil collected rainwater for controlled and safer steam energy for unlimited electricity in the future.

Magnify the candle wax boiler to produce the same energy of a nuclear power plant, but candle wax has no nuclear waste. We might need to grow more soy beans and sugar cane nationally. But I know how to irrigate the crops all year even during drought seasons.

Low population causes recession?

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA
February 12, 2010

THAT was the drift of an article I read recently. The president of the Institute for the Works of Religion, aka Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, claimed that bankers are not the cause of the current global economic crisis, but rather the low birth rate obtaining in many countries these days.

“The true cause of the crisis is the decline in the birth rate,” he said. The cause is ordinary people who do not “believe in the future,” and have few or no children. The bankers and other economic players are only agents and tools of an ailing social structure that needs to be transformed.

The Vatican economist said that since people are not anymore interested in having children, we are creating a negative economic context that can only lead to recession.

He noted that in Western developed countries, the birth rate has fallen to 0%, i.e., 2 children or less per family. This can only mean impending disaster to said countries.

I personally feel there is at least a correlation between low birth rate and recession. I won’t go so far as to affirm a cause-and-effect link, since there are just so many factors affecting the dynamics to isolate low birth rate as the cause of recession.

But I also believe that low birth rate is a significant factor, if not the defining one. We in the end are the ultimate resource responsible for our economic growth. Of course, it’s not just numbers that matter, but also the quality. Just the same, all things considered equal, the more we are the better we are going to be.

We just have to make the necessary investment, the necessary sacrifice, trying to make it effective and productive, so that we can put everyone in his best condition to be assets not liabilities to our economic development, as well as in the other aspects of our growth. Education and continuing formation should be a prime concern.

My exposure to different families leads me to conclude that the bigger family more than the smaller one is better able to fend off all sorts of difficulties and to tackle all sorts of challenges.

Of course, this is easier said than done. In real time, the dynamics can be so complicated to dare to simplify it with some theoretical guidelines. For sure, there are moments, when a smaller family would have the advantage over the bigger one.

But we can’t stop there. There are short-term and long-term considerations to be made, and a proper blending and scheduling of these aspects is important. In any event, some amount of sacrifice is unavoidable, and we should be ready for it.

To me this question of the relationship between population level and our economic status should not be framed only within purely economic and financial terms. That would impoverish the analysis of the issue.

We always have to consider the moral and spiritual dimension, since we are not only economic entities, but firstly and lastly, moral and spiritual persons. Much of the economic crisis we are suffering can be traced to moral and spiritual causes – vices, laziness, greed, lack of care for the others, and worse, lack of faith and charity.

There are now many studies that reinforce the thesis that in the end the main cause of our current global crisis is precisely our crisis in the spiritual and moral life. We are spending more than we earn. There’s a lot of imprudence in our spending behavior, focusing more on instant comfort and pleasure than on productive investments, on self-seeking than on solidarity.

What happened in the States regarding the sub-prime crisis, what is happening in Dubai and in Greece now, are all indicative of a lifestyle that is more wasteful than productive. Perhaps, we can say they are getting what they deserve, a comeuppance they have been building up themselves.

It’s a lifestyle that is afraid of the authentic responsibilities and sacrifices in life. It tends to create a fictional world, its own version of the land of milk and honey. It luxuriates in consumerism and all forms of hedonism and intemperance. It is allergic to having children, to caring and bringing children up to maturity. They even kill babies.

It is this sick mindset that needs to be broken and replaced with a healthy one. Now, do we like to get into that anti-life culture? Let’s be very careful with things like the RH bill. Let’s elect leaders who are truly competent, with integrity and pro-life, pro-God, pro-country.

The bigger picture of sexuality

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA
February 5, 2010

OUR main problem with respect to our understanding and attitude toward human sexuality is that this has been reduced to a purely biological and human aspect of hormones, passions, urges, instincts, sensual stimuli and genital activity, and a naturalistic sense of decency and nothing more.

This is giving it an incomplete, inadequate if not distorted and dangerous treatment. We need to bring it to the terra firma of its true nature and character, its authentic beginning, purpose and end, away from the swamps and marshes of the sensually, if not genitally, dominated aspect.

Sexuality is reduced to sex. Worse, sex is made the climax and end-all of our sexuality. All other considerations are made secondary, and even ignored, ridiculed and finally rejected. Thus, there is that growing, headlong drift toward an erotic and pornographic culture, at first hidden and later open.

Because of this phenomenon, sexuality is not anymore inspired by reason, let alone, by faith and love. Instead the savagery of the passions and urges is given free rein, with the matching fruits of all kinds of anomalies and perversions.

Many people are abandoning even the basic natural idea of masculinity and femininity. That our sexuality is first of all a gift from God, meant to enable men and women to complement each other not only for human development but ultimately for the final communion among ourselves and with God, is forgotten.

Our sexuality is a necessary condition of our humanity. Since we are not pure spirits, since we are what may be called as body-persons, our nature has been endowed with sexuality for a variety of reasons and purposes.

Among them would be the obvious differences between the masculine and feminine qualities in their varying degrees and levels that are meant to enrich everyone’s development and growth to maturity in the human and Christian sense, in the material and spiritual sense, etc.

For example, one can see the differences between masculinity and femininity in the way a room is cleaned, the food is cooked, the car is driven, clothes are worn, etc. And yet, in all these differences everyone can always derive something for his own good.

Truth is we all need both toughness and gentleness, action and contemplation, farm and home, etc., and these are contributed in different ways by the masculinity and femininity of our sexuality.

Of course, given our subjectivity, we can also get wrong in our understanding of our sexuality and misuse or abuse it, with the corresponding evil effects. That’s why we have to be vigilant and help one another live our sexuality properly.

One time in a family reunion, a sister of mine, in her 50s, said that she found it odd that when she visited a place frequented by call center agents, she found the girls quite dressed up like “kikays” while their male companions were kind of rugged, unkempt with beard and all, and she could not figure out how they could be together and even quite cozy with each other.

I kept my thoughts to myself, but in my mind, with what I’ve read, seen and heard, what sprang was the suspicion that these youngsters are playing a game very different from what youngsters of our generation played. I just told my sister to pray.

Among the big challenges in this area is the spreading of the bigger, if not the full picture of sexuality to everyone. It’s a delicate topic, I know, but it simply cannot be marginalized, especially given its character of immediacy, vulnerability and obstinacy.

This has to be handled with utmost care, relying first of all on spiritual and supernatural means of prayer, sacrifice, penance, sacraments, devotions, etc., without neglecting the appropriate human means of discipline, self-control, work, the art of sublimation, etc.

A lot of clarification need to be done, especially on the doctrinal level. The theology of the body has to be explained well, giving both its temporal and eternal dimensions. But the practical aspects of developing chastity, modesty, prudence, self-giving, etc. should not be neglected. This is the real challenge.

Besides, we really need to do a lot of cleaning up in our environment—in the media, the billboards, entertainment centers, malls, internet cafes, sport facilities, wellness hubs, etc. We have to break down the wall of biases that prevent us from giving ethical considerations to sexual matters.

With these things done, we can hope that more people understand the true meaning of virginity and marriage, and that in the end, we all are meant to be celibate in heaven.

Rooftop Hydroelectric Power Generation

By DANIEL ESCUREL OCCENO
January 29, 2010

It will be almost impossible to provide all the people with food, water, and a living standard acceptable for human dignity unless an energy source that every country can generate cost efficiently and effectively as the world’s developing countries with rates of natural increase continue to struggle because of the growth of population.

Rooftop Hydroelectric Generation is the scheme of rainwater channels on the roof of buildings for carrying away water to turbines coupled to a generator that will convert the falling or running water into electricity with the water eventually flowing to tankers to be stockpiled and vacuum pumped back to the roof during non rainy days, instead of pipes carrying water to the sewage, with the excess stockpiled rainwater to be used to irrigate plants and gardens.

Successfully proven with the appropriate architectural engineering design, rooftop hydroelectric power will save the world from the potential of devastation or at least reduce human suffering.

Rooftop hydroelectric generation, which can be designed with a water cycle continuous loop, is a perpetual energy source that will meet the future of unlimited demands even with overpopulated developing countries in the billions.

Normally, hydroelectricity depends on large natural water storage. Reservoirs upstream of dams or rivers flowing down from mountain tops where the water flow can be controlled to have constant water level to assure power provided for a populated community.

With hydroelectric power generation from rooftops of buildings the Philippines, a country with an average rainfall of more than 80 inches or more than 2000 mm of rain each year, can have a perpetual energy source simply by designing a Rooftop Hydroelectric Power Generator emplaced in structures of high rises, schools, and homes providing the possibility of electricity in all the provinces with (barangays) villages of people currently living without power.

The individual buildings, depending on the square area of the rooftops and gravitational flow of the rainwater, will be classified as small to mini or micro hydro in capacity of providing the energy.

An industrial rooftop hydroelectric power generation to provide electricity in metropolises, entire provinces, or new developments that can have the infrastructure of poles and wires will provide electricity in a world worried about Climate Change and Global Warming destruction with no worries of accidental flooding associated with existing hydroelectric power plants, but the idea of individual buildings can provided wireless electricity in a planned community and independent from the problems linked with power plants like during typhoon seasons of uprooted poles and dislodged wires.

For the duration of dry seasons or non rainy days, vacuumed pumped to the rooftop from stockpiled rainwater in tankers on ground level can produce electricity even during high peak demands instead of a loop, but during tropical storms electricity will be naturally created from raindrops and gravity for an energy source provided by Mother Nature, every rainy day perpetually.

If President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo needs a suggestion on how to spend the $310 million worth of funds for “green projects”, how about ROOFTOP HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATORS with the turbines for buildings in the poor provinces with barangay elementary and national high schools like in Gubat.

Coins for the future vanishing?

By CHITO DELA TORRE
January 24, 2010

The title for today’s entry here is taken from my own blog at Yahoo.  I posted it last January 17 as my second attempt at blogging on Yahoo.  My first attempt runs under the title “Pasuway Tikang Anay” by which I wanted to convey my first trial at blogging.  My attempts between March and June last year failed, because I wasn’t anymore able to locate them on different blog hosting sites.  Actually, even with my current successful blog attempts, I still find it difficult to access my own entries in the Yahoo blog service.  Thus, I copied them to another bank on my desktop as at once as I got an access to them via My Profile.

Let me share with you what I entered in that blog 7 days ago: Fifteen minutes ago, I got the last information I wanted. "P1,283.00!", said Jasmin.  Jasmin, a recently promoted teacher in Kapangian central school in Tacloban highly urbanized city, just finished counting the coins that she shelled out from the pink plastic piggy bank of her 2-year-4-month old only child, Joschine. Joschine at first helped "count" the one-, five- and ten-peso coins that were rolling out of the "pig's" mouth. She soon turned her back upon noticing a first communion medallion that came out with the coins, picked it up and began playing with it. At 4 p.m. yesterday (Jan. 16, 2010), Niño, Jasmin's big brother-in-law, came to tell me that her older daughter Gladys (5 years 2 months 15 days old) amassed P1,864.00 from her yellow plastic piggy bank while her younger daughter Faith (2 yrs 8 months old) had P1,482.00 in her own white plastic piggy bank.

There was a fourth blue plastic piggy bank, belonging to Lee-an (older than Joschine), only child of Charisse, younger first cousin of Niño. I just surmised it contained much fewer coins than those of Joschine's. Joschine started first dropping coins in February, 2009. Gladys and Faith began simultaneously in April. Lee-an started late, in June.   Everyone thought that Joschine's bank would have more coins saved when it would have been opened by January 16, 2010, not only because the chinese-faced little girl was the earliest starter of the four cute little kids, but also because her three single titas were taking turns in inserting coins each time they would notice her piggy bank. The parents and relatives of her cousins very seldom turned up to drop coins.

All the four piggy banks were kept in the house of their Grammy Cione. Monthly, they were weighed. Weighing spurred excitement among all those witnessing. Weights were recorded and compared against the previous month's to estimate the difference. The kids just didn't bother about the weighing. They just loved inserting their saved coins. Often, each would drop her own coin into her cousins' banks, and everyone would roar into laughter. Gladys and Faith have their own tube banks in their own homes, almost full, like their previous year's. Their mommy Gay kept them aside for their future. The original rule which elders set was to drop only the ten and five peso coins that looked brand new. Soon they realized that other elders in other families in Leyte and Samar were also saving the same pieces and dropping them into their children's or grandchildren's banks which came in various forms and makes - tubes, coconut shells, bamboo shells, cans, dolls, etcetera. This meant, these coins were now vanishing in Tacloban.

Then, like them, others had already been noticing that even small, medium and big stores in the HUC were not anymore as keen as in 2008 to give change in coins. Some cashiers were even taking out from their drawers or cash registers the 5- and 10-peso coins and making long rolls out of them then bringing them to another container elsewhere. This more than confirmed suspicions that these Philippine currencies were destined to disappear slowly, at least in the HUC.

Were the businesses also keeping their own piggy banks? Between mid-2004 and mid-2006, only 10-peso coins - whether old or new - were losing out from circulation in Eastern Visayas. Ladies used to save them. One explanation for that practice: there was "gold" in the coin and there were buyers who would pay between P25.00 and P100.00 for each coin. I was skeptic about it. By July, 2006, some of the ladies told me they never were able to sell their coins, as there were no buyers. So, it was hoax? They believed it was.

Since my assignment back to Catbalogan, Samar more than five years before it got its citihood status, I made it a habit to save my brand new P5 and P10 coins. By 6 p.m. of each December 24 since then, until 2008, I would turn them over to my one and only wife as my wedding anniversary present. Over the years, found out that each year, I could keep between P1,800 and P2,500. No, I didn't maintain a piggy bank or a coco shell bank. I just kept my coins in places where no one would suspect some valuables were there. I stopped saving for my lovely better half when I became one of the depositors of my granddaughters' piggy banks. This year, the four lovely girls want a new piggy bank and more coins. The problem now begins. How could we plow in the coins that are vanishing?

* * * * * * * * * *

Just to give you an inkling as to how I went about with my first attempt at blogging, here are some excerpts of my post for that:

Anyway, Engr. Ray P. Gaspay told me sometime in 2005 that he had prepared a blog site for me, for inclusion in his website, the world-accessed www.samarnews.com. I told him I didn't know anything about it. He said I just needed to encode my day-to-day observations, experiences, thoughts, and others, on the Microsoft Word and he would take care of the rest. I had not been able to produce any for that blog site, yes, despite his proddings. Not only had I weird imaginations about blogging, I also lacked material time. I was engrossed in other activities most of which entailed either thinking and writing, or traveling. That lack had in fact slowly and gradually pulled me out of my commitment to the Waray-Waray La cable television mini-magazine format program which the Service Cooperative of Media Practitioners originally put out as one of its special projects – thanks to SCMP chairman Justenry Mendoza Lagrimas for his active and full support that lasted for quite a time besides getting it realized, together with his having baptized the program as such. Waray-Waray La was being shown on the local community channel of Decobeam Cable TV in Catbalogan, Samar, an outfit of which Engr. Gaspay himself was chief of operations.

Until I learned how to use the internet sometime only last year (2008), I was actually still having a nebulous background about maintaining a blog site. Not long ago, I did try at one, through Yahoo!Mail's assistance, but I was only wondering what I could get out of that try. In fact, I didn't know how to access that myself. Thus, I have no idea whatever was sent to that, if any, from anybody who could have possibly read it. I didn't care. I wasn't ready for it. Perhaps, it would be all right if I can just request any one who can make himself or herself into this site to suggest what else should this contain and display.

Yes, I do have several ideas in my mind. But I don't know how to pick them up from the viewpoint of blog searchers and readers. In fact, too, I've also been thinking of posting here some of the photographs that I have taken – mostly in my hometown of Basey in the province of Samar, here in the Philippines. Yes, I did just open the website of my admired spelunker, Joni Abesamis Bonifacio of Catbalogan, and mused whether I was viewing his website. It contained photographs of the Langun-Gobingob cave system in Calbiga, Samar, personal travelogue of Howie Severino who made his first trek into that mountain-nestling cave solitarily distant from the town proper, and Joni's reproduction of my own article on Howie's adventure to the depths of the cave, plus comments or reactions. I wondered how I could do the way Joni did for an international public audience.

Tim Smith ducked the Pacquiao-Clottey press conference

By RYAN ARGUELLES / PNS
January 23, 2010

Tim Smith, the sports columnist of The New York Daily News was a no-show at the Pacquiao-Clottey press conference this week in New York at Madison Square Garden.

Filipino mediamen and press are looking for a chance to get an answer from Tim Smith about his article on Dec.25, 2009 where he wrote that he has a source familiar to the talks that a Pacquiao representative asked what penalties Pacquiao would face if he tested dirty and also if dirty results could be kept secret so that the integrity of the sport wouldn’t be ruined in the public eye.

Reporters are also eager to get some answers from Tim Smith about where did he get his information that Manny Pacquiao is afraid of needles. There is no interview where Manny Pacquiao said that he is afraid of needles except from the press release coming from the Golden Boy Promotion, where they put words in the mouth of Manny Pacquiao.

A number of Filipino press, including myself, were looking around if there was a visibility of the noted columnist of The New York Daily News since the press conference is in his backyard and he writes for one of the biggest newspapers in New York City and the United States. Instead, Tim Smith was nowhere to be found within the surroundings of the WAMU Theatre where the press conference took place.

Tim Smith, until now, has not produced facts even with the request and challenge coming from Manny Pacquiao himself in his own Kumbinasyon column titled, “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” posted at Philippine Boxing.com. Together with Teddy Atlas and ESPN, Tim Smith was issued a challenge coming from the number one pound-for-pound champion in the world – to show facts about a certain representative from within the Pacquiao camp, to show facts before you write something false.

That Wednesday afternoon at the Pacquiao-Clottey press conference was the chance for a respected journalist and columnist like Tim Smith to actually gather his facts and evidence and SHOW IT, because Manny Pacquiao came to visit his home territory in New York City. Manny Pacquiao was ready to face the facts.

Tim Smith backed down. Tim Smith didn’t show up for this kind of conference to obtain facts from Pacquiao himself, instead he relied on a source for his facts. And what I can’t fathom on this is that Smith writes for a major newspaper in New York that has a large readership in the tri-state area. New York readers deserve to be told the story with the truth accompanied by facts.

Does Tim Smith underestimate Manny Pacquiao because he came from Philippines and Pacquiao is not an American, so that’s why he can write things in his article without facts? Does Tim Smith have the superior ego because he is a New York sports columnist and that he can write without basis and facts to a person who is not American like Manny Pacquiao? Are you trying to bully a Filipino like what the Mayweathers and Golden Boy Promotion is trying to do to Manny Pacquiao? These are the words from Bob Arum in his introduction of Manny Pacquiao. Are you a bully Tim Smith?

Manny Pacquiao refused to be bullied as Bob Arum suggested, “Filipinos refused to be bullied by the Japanese Occupation Forces in World War II”. We also refused to be bullied by a writer like you Tim Smith, who does not present facts.

He knows writing against an individual is accepted as long as you present your facts, what is not proper conduct from a writer is when you do write against a person without presenting real facts because you happen to write for the Dailly News newpaper in New York.

Tim Smith could have all the excuses by not attending the press conference, such as he is on vacation, he has an important meeting, he has to interview a Jets player, he is attending another more important press conference, his dog is sick, it’s too cold to go out, he’s not feeling well on that day, he had a doctor’s appointment. Whatever it is, he should be right there in that press conference, studiously and objectively taking notes from Manny Pacquiao if he still believes in the real value of journalism. FACTS are required in a career of proper journalism – not relying on some source that never existed or some fraudulent source that came from the Mayweather camp.

By not coming to the press conference of the Pacquaio-Clottey fight, Tim Smith ducked and avoided to see Manny Pacquaio eye to eye, because he is guilty of fabrication, like Bob Arum stated. Because if Tim Smith is not guilty of fabrication, then he could have and should have shown Manny Pacquiao and the fight fans across the globe, his source and the facts that are related to it. Tim Smith has failed to do so.

Movie making from Waray’s olden history should begin now

By CHITO DELA TORRE
January 20, 2010

Marinel Cruz of the Inquirer entertainment staff dished out late afternoon of January 11, 2010 an information on ABS-CBN’s intensive preparations to unleash soap opera teleserye series sans cowering under an earlier announcement by TV5 that it would go heavy with “more films than ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema and GMA Films combined”. Said ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya network Channel head Cory Vidanes in Cruz’s feature story, “We are ready to compete.

Even before Manny Pangilinan took over TV5, we’ve already lined up new projects for 2010”.  Pangilinan, whose Media Quest recently took over the management of TV5, was quoted as saying that TV5’s goal for 2010 is to “provide the best content for everyone, everywhere, anytime.

ABS-CBN, through business unit head Deo Endrinal, told the Inquirer entertainment staff that it will make sure its products address all the markets that it wants to penetrate.  “When we compete, we go where we are strong” and “(w)e have content inspires the viewers.”  Soap operas are dramas which originate from scripts written for the radio, originally in the United States of America and later on in the Philippines (according to Endrinal: “In April 1949, P&G brought in the very first Pinoy soap, “Gulong ng Palad,” which aired on dzRH. It was written by Lina Flor and directed by Lucas Paredes.”) and were voice-acted to give life to the script’s characters, without the actors being seen by radio listeners composed mostly of female launderers.

Well, for that plan, I say, good luck to ABS-CBN. Well, too, that plan doesn’t put aside GMA7 which Cruz said “GMA7 has positioned itself as the fantaserye network”. On this note, it happens that I am one of the avid watchers of GMA7’s fantasy serials like those of the love-team Dingdong and Marian and Richard’s.

On top of all these, I’d suggest that the Philippines’ top television drama and commercial movie producers now start producing history-based films and biographies of adventurers of fellow Filipinos many of whom have been recognized for their heroism, and epic adventures.  The Juan Tamad had been one of the contemporary examples along this line, although perhaps Juan “Johnny” Pusong of Leyte and Samar may prove just as worthy.  We also have a rich history of the pulahan rebel warriors.  That, too, could make for a vivid movie and tv presentation, more particularly if the actors and actresses are chosen from among the Waray talents, of which we have a preponderance.  Calbayog City alone continues to produce new casts for stage plays that make a long list of stage players since short plays had unwound in the guerrilla campaign against the Japanese soldiers.  Colorful history-allied legends could likewise be portrayed, like the Bungansakit of Basey, Samar (although newfound archives reveal that Basey did not actually get its name from the word baysay, native term for beauty, from an explorer who bore the surname “Basey”, and although Bungansakit was actually not an incanto’s daughter but that of a woman abused by a Spanish priest assigned to Basey).

That done, our own local history would help much in educating our youth, and re-educating our adults on their distant and most remote past. The world-famed Balangiga Massacre had gone into video documentaries, but a full movie on that massacre need be produced, with compact disc copies reproduced for circulation, as should other similar history-recounting movies, and deposited in schools and public libraries.  Perhaps, too, there should be a cinematographic revivification of the Philippine rediscovery of Fernando de Magalhaes via Homonhon island of Guiuan (the southernmost tip town in Samar island.  A friend based in Makati City – a highly urbanized city boasted of by its mayor, now vice-presidential candidate Atty. Jejomar Binay – sent a message asking if the idea is good that a former education regional director (Maximo Alibe, Nacionalista Party of presidential candidate senator Manny Villar) from Eastern Samar who is now a candidate for congressman in that lone district would promote historical revivifications.

Along this vein, Mao Tse Tung had this thought to teach:  “No political party can possibly lead a great revolutionary movement to victory unless it possesses revolutionary theory and knowledge of history and has a profound grasp of the practical movement. – (The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War" [October 1938], Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 208.)

Spiritual childhood and maturity

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA
January 15, 2010

PIT Senyor! Cebu now is abuzz with the celebration of the feast of the Holy Child, Senyor Santo Niňo. I find it very gratifying to note that in spite of the complications of the world today, we still can find simple and spontaneous popular piety throbbing vigorously in this little island province.

This is actually true in many places in our country, thank God, but Cebu iconizes this phenomenon beyond compare. Let’s continue to derive precious lessons from this celebration, avoiding casting pearls before swines. For precious lessons, there truly are a lot!

The image of the Santo Niňo reminds us of two seemingly contrasting qualities that we need to blend properly in each one of us and in our society. They can generally be termed as the qualities of spiritual childhood and spiritual maturity.

That’s what we can immediately see in the Santo Niňo. He is at once a child and a king, the ruled and the ruler, helpless and in control of the world, asking to be taken care of yet he actually takes care of us…

It’s the same combination that we hear St. Paul once said about Christ’s ministers: “Let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God…as dying, and behold we live; as chastised, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as needy, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.” (2 Cor 6,9-10)

Of course, earlier we hear our Lord telling us in no unclear terms: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves.” (Mt 10,16) Our human condition, limited compared to its supernatural goal and weakened further by sin, conflicts these qualities that are meant to be consistent in the mind of God for us.

We have to find a way to achieve this Christian fusion. Especially now when we are plunging deeper into more pluralistic cultures, usually accompanied by complications, we urgently need to develop the pertinent attitudes and skills to combine charity with truth, mercy with justice, tolerance and convictions…

Pluralism is part of God’s will for us. That’s because he gave us freedom that has to be exercised in the context of our human condition, both material and spiritual, temporal and eternal, mundane and sacred… We cannot avoid this.

In fact, pluralism has to be fostered, and not only to be put up with. Depending on how we use our freedom, pluralism is the inevitable way to either our development or our destruction.

Thus, we need to have a certain openness of mind and outlook, even to the extent of suffering the evil consequences of such openness. This is what we see in the life of Christ. He was open to all the twists and turns of our freedom, but he also managed to carry out the will of his Father.

This is the challenge we have – how to be both accommodatingly open and tolerant, on the one hand, and demandingly faithful and loyal, on the other. Truth is we often get lost along the way, ending up by being either too lax or too strict.

Obviously, this combination can only be lived in Christ, who said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the Father except through me.” This is something we have to remember always. Only in Christ, and Christ on the Cross, is this blend of qualities possible.

Christ precisely gave us the new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” That means, all the way, up to death, a love that knows how to suffer, how to respect our freedom however it is used or misused, a love that drowns evil with an abundance of good.

It surely is not just a sentimental kind of love. It’s full of tenderness, all right, but it’s definitely a strong and mature love, full of daring and prudence, generosity and wisdom, magnanimity and determination.

It’s a love that lives out to the hilt Christ’s command even to “love your enemies, do good to them that hate you and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you…for if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? Do not even the publicans do this?” (Mt 5,44-46)

We have to be wary of our tendency to fall into complacency, on the one hand, and self-righteousness and bitter zeal, on the other. We have to have a universal heart to fit all. With God’s grace and our efforts, this is always possible.

This is what Senyor Santo Niňo is teaching us!

Newest good tidings: fund grant from PDTF

By CHITO DELA TORRE
January 10, 2010

There’s the likelihood that the town of Basey in Samar will make it to the top list, in Region VIII, at least, as the first town with duly registered organizations who wish to be the first to qualify for the government’s People’s Development Trust Fund or PDTF, for short.  Basey has a good number of non-bank organizations that engage in micro-financing.  Among them are the millionaire cooperatives among teachers and government employees, including that in barrio San Antonio. The Basey local government unit itself will most likely qualify.  In fact, it is eager to become one of the first LGUs in this part of the country to get enough attention from the PDTF.

Make no mistake about it.  This government funding program is open to all qualified applicants, many of whom may come from other towns and cities in the Eastern Visayas region, if they will be interested to avail of it, including all interested towns and cities.  The PDTF offers a maximum contribution of P500,000 – to be euphemistic, half a million pesos – per mincrofinance institution.  The amount contributed in is about 75% of the total cost of the proposed project, but the proponent-organization must shell in 25% in terms of direct cost (consisting of the equivalent value of the contribution in kind – example, human resources and materials)

The good tidings about the PDTF reached Basey during the last week of year 2009.  Manager Maria Carmen S. Apuli of the resource development and management department, People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC) introduced the PDTF to the Basey local government unit thru town administrator Balbino Estorninos. Apuli must have marvelled at some of the good points about my hometown which Pare Balbin revealed to her.

According to manager Apuli, the PCFC is a government-controlled corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  It was created in accordance with Administrative Order No. 148 and Memorandum Order No. 261.  The PCFC serves as a vehicle for the delivery of microfinance services for the exclusive use of the poor.  As a government-owned and controlled corporation, it is the lead government entity specifically tasked to mobilize financial resources from both local and international funding sources for microfinance services for the exclusive use of the poor.

A brochure left by Apuli in the office of the municipal administrator of Basey says: The People’s Development Trust Fund is a fund created under the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (Republic Act No. 8425) of the Republic of the Philippines, for the development of a nationwide network of viable and sustainable microfinance institutions and micro-enterprise business development service groups that are able to deliver effective and efficient microfinance services to the poor and help them develop enterprises. The corpus of the PDTF (that is, non-disbursable portion) consists of the amount to be provided by the government over a 10 year period and other additional amounts mobilized through voluntary contributions, grants and gifts from local and foreign sources.  The disbursable portion consists of the earnings of the PDTF corpus and other additional amounts expressly donated, contributed or granted as part of the disbursable portion.

Who are eligible as grantees of the fund?  Fund grantees include non-bank microfinance institutions (meaning non-government organizations, cooperatives, and people’s organizations); special sector organizations (which maybe NGOs, co-ops and POs that are about to start providing microfinance services to unserved and hard-to-reach areas; LGUs; other possible grantees (example, bank-microfinance institutions [MFIs]) which have poverty reduction as a primary objective in their microfinance endeavours upon evaluation and duly approved by PDTF executive committee; and service providers or promoters for microfinance and microenterprise development.

The pre-qualification criteria for an LGU to avail of the PDTF are only two: 1) provide microfinance and microenterprise programs to their constituents, provided that the Fund shall not be used for personal services and maintenance and other operating expenses as loanable fund; and 2) undertake self-help projects where at least 25% of the total fund earnings shall be used exclusively for the provision of materials and technical services.

A non-bank MFI must meet the 8 pre-qualification criteria, namely: 1) duly registered with the SEC (for NGOs, or Cooperative Development Authority (for co-ops); 2) a track record of at least 2 years continuous microfinance operations; 3) presence of credible, competent and qualified board of directors and key officers; 4) presence of accounting and cashiering services and internal control systems; 5) presence of savings mobilization for co-ops; 6) no material and adverse findings on the reputation and competence of the BOD and principal officers; 7) pass the financial criteria: past due rate is not more than 20% of total loan portfolio, total resources of at least P500,000, and has profitable operations for the last 1 year and has capital to risk asset ratio (CRAR) of at least 10% after PCFC and other creditors; and 8) an outreach of at least 100 borrowers.

A microfinance institution is simply defined as an organization that offers financial services to the very poor.  MFIs are NGOs, rural or thrift banks and cooperative committed to assisting low income households.

Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers and insurance products to the poor and low income household and other microenterprises.

The clients of microfinance are the economically active and entrepreneurial poor (e-poor).  The National Anti Poverty Commission considers as within this category the shopkeepers, ambulant vendors and household-based entrepreneurs, as they have stable economic activities and the NAPC believes they will be able to sustain and enhance such if they are provided with even small amounts of readily available funds.

The microfinance credit facility of NAPC has also what it terms as “microfinance plus plus”, a package of credit that includes several trainings that are deemed necessary to sustain the gains of microfinance.  Since clients are primarily women, the trainings include modules on gender empowerment, women’s health, and responsible parenthood.

To avail of loans or savings, or insurance from MFIs, go to a microfinance institution (NGO, cooperative, or rural/thrift bank) in your area; bring your identification card (ID), barangay clearance or community tax certificate; form a group (for group lending) or find a co-guarantor (for individual lending); go through interview or testing; and attend social preparation meeting or training.

Q&A: Journalist who escaped 'Maguindanao massacre' tells stories of survival

By Asian Human Rights Commission
January 5, 2010

HONG KONG  –  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is publishing below the full text of the interview made by a radio host with one of the three journalists who had escaped from the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

In December 2009, the AHRC has invited the person (name withheld for security reasons) for a meeting in Hong Kong to discuss matters regarding cooperation on monitoring and documenting the progress of the case in court to ensure that those responsible are held to account in court.

During his stay, we have also organized several meeting for him with several individual journalists and group of journalists based in Hong Kong.

The interview below conducted by Ms. Serenade Woo, host of the radio programme "Yun Liu Chat Room" of the Radio Free Asia (RFA). Only spelling mistakes and few grammatical errors were corrected but the rest were restored in its full sense during the transcription of the interview.

The AHRC hopes this could give the public an idea as to how community journalists in the Philippines struggle and survive daily in their journalism profession.

**FULL TEXT OF THE INTERVIEW: **

Q: First of all, can you tell what was happened in Mindanao? Because, I believe so all our audience know nothing what was happened in Mindanao.

A: Particularly the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province in the island of Mindanao on November 23, wherein among those killed were 30 journalist those slain journalist where suppose to cover the filing of candidacy of a candidate for governor of the province of Maguindanao together with the women members of the clan of Mangudadatu because one of the members of his family is running, the vice mayor of the small town in Maguindanao, which is Buluan is running for Governor of the province. While along their way, going to the Office of the Provincial Election officer, they were abducted by at least 100 armed militia men led by the Mayor of a certain town in Maguindanao, identified as Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who led this suspects in executing the victims. After their execution they were buried in shallow mass graves, in an outskirt village in Ampatuan town also in Maguindanao. They use a backhoe equipment to dig up the graves they buried all those victims together with their vehicles. But unfortunately, because of the immediate response from the military and the family of Mangudadatus not all the victims were buried and the vehicles and they were immediately located by the authorities. And the suspects especially Mayor Ampatuan was arrested after 3 days. They was charged for 25 counts of murder and some of the members of Ampatuan clan were also charged and arrested after the government declared State of Emergency in the province and subsequently Martial Law was declared.

Q: Why do you think the suspect, the culprit is the Mayor of that province?

A: It's because, it was for the first time that somebody challenge the Ampatuans in the forth coming gubernatorial elections in the province. The election as dated on May next year, but the filing of candidacy was done in November, so somebody from their rival political clan had challenge the Ampatuans who are considered political kingpins of the area. And sad to say, those suspects armed men, who participated in the killing are members of the militia forces in the area and they served as private armed groups of the Ampatuans. They used these militia forces to kill political rival who belongs to the Mangudadatu family.

Q: Is that mean that you believe that there are some linkage between the provincial government and central government, Arroyo government?

A: I don’t think so, in that way that the National government specially President Arroyo was in the cahoots with the Ampatuan in that massacre but, the national government could partly be blame on the incident because it tolerated the permission of the private armies in the area, specially serving as private armies for the Ampatuans and the government has been tolerant of the presence of these militia forces being use as private armies of the Ampatuans, its because the Ampatuans use to be close political allies of the president. That’s why in the past this private armed groups in the area, are not being checked shall we say it was been tolerated

Q: I've been heard many people were killed in Philippines, since the former president of Philippines. What was happened in the Philippines, why many people were killed?

A: I would say in that particular province in Maguindanao, a lot of stories about summary execution, summary killings perpetrated by this Ampatuans in the past. Even before November 23 massacre, but sad to say because they have established Ampatuans were able establish a reign of terror in their place and everybody was afraid to challenge them or to exposed these incidents otherwise they were get killed so until this incident on November 23 that the public knew and proved that there is really such gruesome activities, killings perpetrated of this Ampatuans in that Maguindanao province. Because, maybe they had able to established that culture of impunity, because in the past nobody checked had them. Nobody had investigated them. Of all this killings they had done in the past.

Q: Why was that nobody investigated the case? Are you suggesting the central government are not doing their job?

A: Yeah, especially the authorities have been remised on their job. It is maybe because of the strong political connections of the Ampatuans before with the president and that’s why authorities become tolerant of all these things, of all these abuses, all these excesses, all of these wrong doings committed by the Ampatuans, they are considered as political warlords in that province of Maguindanao.

Q: I was told actually there is kind of witness protection in order to help the people to bring the culprit to the court to be prosecuted but the witness protection seems useless is that true?

A: In this case the Maguindanao massacre they were some witnesses overtaken to the custody of the witness protection program and so far the case is not yet on its trial so, we don’t know yet what gonna happen on the witnesses during the trial but we learned that there are some witnesses who are in the custody of the witness protection right now,

Because in the early stage of the filing of the case many witnesses are afraid to come in the open because they are still afraid of the vengeance of the Ampatuans only the, several members of the Ampatuan clans have been arrested, have been jailed, have been detained there are some willing witnesses who came out and testify and give their statements to the authorities.

Q: Did they were killed later?

A: I hope it will not happen because a lot of witnesses as what I’ve learned a lot of witnesses who are considered as vital in the prosecution of the case because there are some witnesses who belong to the armed groups who kidnapped but they were not part of the another group who executed, they served as look outs during the execution of all the victims, so they are very vital in the prosecution.

Q: But the government offer that kind of that protection to the witness because some witnesses were threatened, harass or even killed in the previous time, its that correct?

A: Yeah, in this case they really know that the authorities, the prosecutors now influence clout of the suspects specially the Ampatuans they have to be more cautious in the prosecution of the case and to secure all the witnesses and the evidence.

Q: I know that you are so lucky to escape from that massacre in November, Can you tell something more what happen on that day, why suddenly you did not proceed to your interview on that day?

A: Actually, I was supposed to be part of the group of journalist, who will cover the filing of candidacy of that candidate for governor. But I had decided to back off thinking that my life would be in danger if I would proceed to Maguindanao. Because in the past we had differences of the Ampatuans and the security arrangement for us going there was very uncertain, because the military and the police did not provide for the group of Mangudadatus and group of journalist who will covering that event and that gave me some reservations about my safety if I would go to Maguindanao with the group.

Q: If you are saying that you found your safety protection offer by the military, by the government or by the police was not enough why do you think they need to offer that kind of protection for the journalist? Was it because they were number of cases or incidents were happened in the past?

A: We see a conspiracy of among the local military and police authorities in this case because you know some of those suspects, who flagged down who stopped the convoy of the victims were police officials. They were present when Mayor Ampatuan sees the vehicle and herded to an outskirt village where they are executed so we presumed that they had conspired with the Ampatuans in the killing of the victims.

Q: Right now how many people were killed in November massacre?

A: All in all 57 bodies were recovered among those killed were more than 30 journalists

Q: So far how many people were killed since the former president of the Philippines?

A: Do you mean the incumbent president? I would say specifically from the case of media killings all in all more than 100 journalist have been killed since 2000 that is according to the official record of the national union of journalist including the recent murdered journalist.

Q: Can you share some of your experience to our audience because I knew that you also under threat because you think your job to report the news?

A: Yeah, because I worked as a journalist in our community. In Mindanao, we shall call our self community journalist we are more prone to harassment, vulnerable to threats. It's because those people we expose of their involvement in illegal activities, wrongdoings in government are coming also from our place. We concentrate in that small place in our community where we meet each other maybe some other day so the threats and risk are there maybe because maybe we have an immediate contacts those we hit on the paper or those we hit on the radio

Q: Can you specifically let our audience to understand what kind of harassment that you received previously?

A: There are a lot of threats I experienced but the greater risk I received when I exposed the unexplained wealth of this Ampatuans in 2004, wherein I wrote about their huge mansions worth millions and star contrast their constituents are living in small shanties in front of their huge mansions. And it's very fortunate that the province of Maguindanao is considered the second poorest province in the Philippines. And those local officials are living in luxurious life. So, they have all these big mansions, luxury cars, and it seems that they are doing nothing to improve the living condition of their people.

Q: But what kind of threats did you receive? Threatening you, kill you.

A: They plan to liquidate me. But, it so happen that many of my friends had caution me and informed me about their plan and they warned me to take extra precaution, they even advice me to lie low from my work as a journalist.

Q: But you are still working in the media industry, why?

A: Maybe, because of my calling. In the Philippines, shall we say, it's like a challenging task if you are a community journalist. I've been in this work for about 20 years now.

Q: Do you have to worry about your family members? Are do they worried? Do they pursue you to leave this industry?

A: Yeah, they are worried than me. I'm quite worried but they are more worried than me family, most specially my mother. But you know if it's your time to die it's your time you can't go away with it.

Q: So, right now how you are going to protect yourself?

A: You know I just maintain a low profile status in our community. I have a lot of friends from the military, from police, from other law enforcement agencies, who are helping me.

Q: I was told a lot of journalist because of they are working in a dangerous zone or dangerous area so most of them they were armed when they go out to do their job. Is that true?

A: It’s a common practice in our place in Mindanao for local journalist to arm themselves. Because they think that their personal safety could not be100 percent entrusted to the authorities and the only way to protect themselves is to armed is to carry firearms and at the same time to deter any would be assassin to kill them.

Q: Do you have any friends that, they were assassinate because they did their job?

A: I have some colleagues who were murdered in the past because of their hard commentaries against the local officials in our place so there are a lot of my colleagues some of them are my personal friends who have been killed while in the line in pursuit of their journalistic work.

Q: To be honest I think you are very brave because you had some of your friends, personal friends they were killed but because they did they job but it not make you live that industry, you are very brave. I was shocked because I believe most of the journalist will not do the same thing if they are situated in that situation.

A: I'm not really that brave maybe I just know how to secure myself and how protect myself against any threats.

Q: And what kind of armed you protect yourself, that kind what kind the weapon you protect yourself?

A: Although carry all the time my two .45 caliber pistols but it's not enough to be confident or to be complacent you must also assess the real situation, if there is an eminent danger. So, that’s not an excuse if you have firearm. In our case we trained ourselves about marksmanship, in combat pistol handling. Local journalist they are being trained.

Remark: So, impressive. Please take care of yourself. Thank you so much!

The interview was done by Ms Serenade Woo, host of the programme called "Yun Liu Chat Room" of the Radio Free Asia (RFA). Ms Woo is also a staff member of the International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) in Asia Pacific and member of the board member of Amnesty International - Hong Kong section.

Hello 2010

By DANIEL ESCUREL OCCENO
January 3, 2010

In the Chinese calendar the Year 2010 is the Year of the Tiger. The Chinese culture also believes in the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men. Wisdom is more important than gold, but I am forty-nine years old. I have plenty of wisdom but not one ounce of gold is in my possession.

King number one represents fortune.

I have heard many times and been sent E-mail responding to my articles with a similar repeating point: How can your country end your poverty? The government does not have that kind of money.

I believe in the market economy not in Socialism. There are several men and women in the Philippines that already have the great wealth to end poverty in their properties. Many have large sums of money available to invest in more developments. You might say luck will be required to bring fortune to the poor, but it is our destiny to end our poverty like with domestic tourism and domestic trading, province to province, region to region, and island to island.

King number two represents prosperity.

Prosperity can be defined as success or the enjoyment of wealth.

By developing a working middle class, the Philippines can end poverty. The division of the rich and the poor will merge as one unit with a common goal of prosperity for all.

Education is just the first step. Jobs creation will be crucial, but it should be jobs that the native born Filipino children are capable of doing. The average height in the Philippines is with most of the working adults stand less than five-foot-seven inches tall so labor intensive jobs would not be recommended to create.

Jobs in construction will be plenty as the country continues to develop.

Intellectual, sedentary, and less labor demanding jobs would more likely meet the overpopulated human resources available in the Philippines.

Jobs in television, communications, and the movie industries would be examples of non-labor intensive careers; but it is more important to build studios similar to Pinewood Studios in England because of our rainy seasons. Outdoor filming would be limited as indoors would offer year around salaries and will improve success, being wise to be more profitable.

If industrialization is a must, then the need for intellectual assistance must coincide with the labor force such as robotics in the workplace and machinery to mass produce in making salad dressing bottled with 100% coconut cooking oil as just one example.

King number three represents long-life.

Bitter herbs are good for diabetics because it is natural diuretics that flush unneeded sugar and fat when we urinate. As we get older, however, your family doctor might recommend that you cut back on coffee and tea because of the caffeine.  It is more important to get plenty of natural sleep because digestion occurs during deep sleep.

Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is marketed as a food supplement in the Philippines with claims that a teaspoon a day is good for diabetics. Family doctors will worry that people will stop taking their diabetic medicine with such claims, but digestible protein is a preventive medicine for diabetics.

If you are healthy, may I recommend Philippine prawns (giant shrimps) and Blue Marlin steaks if you were told to avoid beef, pork, and chicken in your New Year’s diet. Blue Marlin steaks fried in 100% coconut cooking oil is excellent. No need to add salt to a deep saltwater fish. Egg battered Philippine prawns fried in 100% coconut cooking oil would ruin a New Year’s resolution diet. Do not forget to peel the skin and butterfly the prawns before dipping in egg batter. Use non-fat flour (rice flour) in the egg batter to thicken if you are worried about getting fat.

Of course the best preventive medicine to live a long-life or my fountain of youth is natural Vitamin C.

The Philippines does not have a 100% fresh squeezed Florida orange juice industry available. We can have a fresh pomelo (Chinese grapefruit) juice industry squeezed by a hydraulic press in the hundreds of thousands a day. We have plenty of 100% pineapple juice however. But medical doctors will tell you that the secret to a long-life is to poop regular, flush out solid waste from your colon and intestine.

If liquid refreshments are not for you, how about fresh papayas, fresh mangos, and vegetable roughage like lettuce or cabbages would also help. And I like adding a slice of fresh ginger root to my orange pekoe cup of hot tea. Fresh ginger aids in digestion. But the caffeine so pureed green papayas added to chicken noodle soup with sprinkled ginger powder for spice, then boil and simmer. Slurp when cool.  Just to poop and live longer. But get some deep sleep.

Exercise is needed to stay mentally and physically healthy. Standing toe touches can replace sit-ups for us with a couch potato stomach belly. Spread your legs wider with bended knees if that belly is a problem to do more toe touches or to touch the ground.

Some joggers will tell you that they jog not to be skinny but to shake loose the undigested waste in their intestine. I have asthma and crippling arthritis so power walking with leisurely-walking to control my breathing when needed is what I can handle.

May the Year of the Tiger bring you fortune, prosperity, and long-life!

Happy New Year and hello 2010.

Updating the family

By Fr. ROY CIMAGALA
December 28, 2009

CHRISTMAS time is obviously family time. Let’s thank God that in our country we still see this equation largely lived happily. Let’s pray that in other places, especially in developed countries, the same ideal can also take place. We cannot deny that it is not quite so in many of them, including parts of ours.

We see rising cases of dysfunctional families, with marriages defaced by infidelities and unrefreshed love and a sense of commitment unable to “Reset” when needed, children’s neglect, family life reduced to a minimum, etc.

The family always deserves our utmost attention. We should not be naïve to think that we can take our duties and responsibilities toward it for granted. Especially now, tricky and openly difficult challenges confront it. We have to be aware of them and try to do something about them.

We need to repair the damages, heal the wounds and plot out the paths to make the family healthy, vibrant and capable to do its sacred duty of nurturing persons and citizens.

Let’s remember that we can never outgrow the need for the family, no matter how old, mature and independent we can be. Even those who lead a prominently spiritual and celibate life need it.

It’s a requirement of our nature, given by God and not by some human consensus. The family is a divine creation, before it is a human institution.

With family life given a boost during this Christmas holidays, let’s take the time to see what we can do to reinforce the family, both in general and in individual cases. Let’s not waste the opportunity by spending it solely on having fun. It’s a time for discerning, anticipating, planning things for the family.

May it be that in every level of our life, this concern for the family is taken up seriously. For the Church, for example, there should be abiding diocesan and parochial efforts to help the family in some concrete way, an effort translated into continuing prayers, sacrifices and timely reminders.

For example, the preparation for couples for marriage should be attended to well. Effective programs to nourish couple’s conjugal love should be developed.

Prompters about the evil of contraception, the RH bill, etc. should be frequently made since this now constitutes clear and present danger to marriages.

The government and NGOs should also do the same, trying to figure out the issues families in general are now facing and tackling. There are many of them. It’s good to have a systematic and massive approach to this, monitoring the relevant developments closely and ever presenting solutions.

For one, it pains me to see some workers pressured to do overtime work at the expense of their family life. Stories I hear about inhuman pressures suffered by call center agents are really depressing. The problems involved should be addressed.

Also the environment, especially that part known also as the human ecology, should be continually cleaned and renewed to foster family life among the people. This area is often ignored, its challenges not taken up adequately.

There are situations that undermine the family’s vitality. Pornography, unregulated means of amusement and recreation, etc., are now going viral. People get unduly absorbed by new technologies at the expense of family life.

Obviously, the spouses and the other members of the family should do their part to enrich their family life. Quality time together should be fostered, planned and defended against factors that tend to undermine it. Affection, good manners should be shown in any weather.

Everyone should try his best to be generous in this area, always thinking of details that can brighten the home and warm the relationships among all the family members, heroically fighting against tiredness, attachments, personal preferences, selfishness, etc.

In this regard, the little things of everyday count a lot and are, in fact, the main ingredient to strengthen the bonds of the family. We need to take advantage of these little things in our family life to culture our love for God and for others. There’s actually no other way as basic as this one.

For this purpose, it might be good to realize the need for us to develop a devotion to the Holy Family. Our families should be a reflection, if not a participation in that family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, where everything good for us was lived to the max and continues to be lived.

We should never fail to realize the need to use spiritual and supernatural means, without neglecting the human instruments, to develop our families.

Last updated: 03/07/2010