The true state of the nation

By Isagani CruzInquirerLast updated 02:01am (Mla time) 03/31/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- When I look around me in the elite areas of the political units comprising Metro Manila, I can’t avoid being amazed and impressed by the magnificent physical improvements we have achieved during the past several decades after the ordeal and stagnation under martial law.
To the casual observer, and certainly the gawking tourist, the towering new buildings glimmering in the sun, the infrastructures crisscrossing the busy traffic, the many commercial shops cheerfully selling all kinds of wares from expensive jewelry to pirated DVDs, the thousands of vehicles from the air-conditioned SUVs to the ubiquitous jeepneys -- all of these symbolize the tremendous progress of the country despite the many problems confronting our people.
I remember the time I visited Australia in 1971 and a friendly stranger said to me without offense, “I’d like to know more about your country and intend to visit it some day. Do you have TV in the Philippines?”
I was happy for the opportunity to give him a brief but proud report about our land and told him we were among the most advanced countries in Asia, with a viable democracy, a flourishing economy, the highest literacy rate in the whole continent, a hip-hop young generation sporting bell-bottom pants and miniskirts, and yes, of course, several television stations offering mostly American programs in addition to the local shows.
But that glowing report was good only up to Sept. 21, 1972, when the direction of the country turned the other way under Ferdinand Marcos and his accomplices in the Armed Forces of the Philippines -- now cynically understood as the Armed Forces of the President. Our once respected country rose to the top but only among the most corrupt governments in Asia and dropped to the bottom as the least developed, with fertile farm lands fallowing, factories closing and foreign investors leaving for our neighboring countries that had before looked up to us as their envied model.
The worst consequence of the Marcos dictatorship was the exploitation and demoralization of the people. The shibboleths of republicanism disappeared in the forbidding shadow of Marcos’ political party KBL. The Constitution was defaced and desecrated. Human rights were debased, and enemies of the new regime were imprisoned, murdered, disappeared and otherwise terrorized. Entertainers in general became the toadying drumbeaters of the dictator and his confederates as they embezzled the nation’s wealth and deposited it in secret Swiss bank accounts.
The poor to whom Marcos had promised a belated redemption from the injustices of the past were the most afflicted. They became poorer and have remained so to date mainly because of the depredations of the untouchable despot and his still unpunished henchmen. Many of those who oppressed and robbed the people before are still oppressing and robbing them now as reinvented innocent leaders under the present government. Some of them are running in the coming elections and are likely to win with the paid support of the deceived but indulgent voters.
So how are those abandoned derelicts of social justice faring now after the villainies foisted on them by the departed Marcos and his still arrogant accomplices who continue to lord it over in the supposedly sanitized pinnacles of power? Are the victims freer and richer today, released at last from the misery of the past that has imprisoned their hopes for a better future? Have they won at last the “music and the dream” of the small plot of earth promised them by the mendacious government or the decent status of the factory worker as an equal partner of the industrialist in their common struggle for a more prosperous country?
The gleaming skyscrapers in the exclusive precincts of the rich and famous are a false description of the State of the Nation airbrushed by the President of the Philippines every year. The classy condominiums and the swimming pools and tennis courts in the estates of the rich and famous belie the ugliness of the slums along the railroad tracks. The fancy restaurants, the fashion salons and the BMWs along millionaires’ row are a mere façade. They do not reveal the utter hopelessness of the millions of our people who barely exist without the joy of living and cannot enjoy the beauty of the sunset as they search for the lamp to light their lives as the darkness closes in.
And so, let not our leaders gloat with their accustomed duplicity that all is great with the Philippine Republic as the centers of power and affluence in Metro Manila vividly suggest. We are rich in ostentation but braggadocio cannot feed the millions of our starving people. We cannot close our eyes to the hovels in the deprived communities, the threadbare public schools and the congested jails, the medicines the patients in charity hospitals have to beg to stay alive, the crooked politicians buying public office as a clandestine investment for future or continued graft. These and other dark auguries reveal to us the true and sad state of the desperate Filipino nation.

Taking God's gift of life

InquirerLast updated 05:51am (Mla time) 03/25/2007(Editor’s Note: The cases of extrajudicial killing, torture and illegal detention of church people featured here are from the “Let the Stones Cry Out: An Ecumenical Report on Human Rights in the Philippines and a Call to Action,” which the National Council of Churches in the Philippines released on March 15.The NCCP represents some 13 million people belonging to mainly Protestant churches.The report was presented to the US Senate foreign relations committee that conducted hearings on the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. More than 830 activists have been summarily executed since President Macapagal-Arroyo took power in 2001, according to a human rights group.Twenty-five church people—10 clergy, 6 workers of church-based programs, 7 members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and 2 members of the United Methodist Church—have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings.The NCCP says the report is an expression of the churches’ decision to join the people in calling attention to the senselessness of the killings and in “let [ting] the stones cry out” [cf. Habakkuk 2:11] for justice and for peace to reign.)Alberto B. RamentoFormer Supreme BishopPhilippine Independent ChurchONE of the most prominent church people killed was Bishop Alberto B. Ramento, the former Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop) of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), or the Philippine Independent Church. Unlike the other murders in which the victims were shot, Bishop Ramento was stabbed several times inside his rectory on Oct. 3, 2006 in Tarlac City. Police said it was a case of robbery with homicide, but the bishop’s family, the IFI and a number of organizations, including the NCCP, have called for an independent investigation citing the bishop’s social involvement as a possible motive for his murder. Bishop Ramento was an active supporter of the striking workers of Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI) in Tarlac and an outspoken peace and human rights advocate.Moreover, according to his eldest son, Alberto Ramento II, the bishop had told him about receiving death threats through text messages. At one point, the bishop was quoted as saying:I know they (the military) are going to kill me next. But never will I abandon my duty to God and my ministry to the people.Alberto II further relates: My father had been receiving death threats for a long time especially after the incident in Hacienda Luisita in 2004, and after the death of Fr. William Tadena of the IFI in April 2005… He told me that he had been receiving different kinds of text messages that were threatening like: “Don’t get involved in HL (Hacienda Luisita), you will be next.” And “After Fr. Tadena, you will be next.” And “You are too much of a meddler, you will be next.”He confided in me that he suspected that the military was behind the threats ... that he noticed different people tailing him and who were often in front of the church to observe him … and that “After the president (Macapagal-Arroyo) declared an all-out war [on New People’s Army (NPA) rebels], I began to notice unfamiliar cars suspiciously circling the vicinity.”His other son, Alberto III, adds:It was also odd that there were no street children sleeping in front of the church on the day my father was killed. The street children often slept in front of the church. They were close to my father because he had a feeding program for them. I tried to talk to them during my father’s wake but I noticed that they were evasive.Isaias Sta. RosaPastor, United Methodist ChurchPASTOR Sta. Rosa was a member of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in Legazpi City. A freelance writer, he was also a project consultant for nongovernment organizations and the executive director of the Farmers’ Assistance for Rural Management Education and Rehabilitation Inc.A fact-finding mission organized by the UMC on Aug. 3, 2006 found that Pastor Sta. Rosa was abducted and murdered in Barangay Malobago in Daraga, Albay by armed men wearing bonnets. His body was recovered at a nearby creek along with a dead soldier. Witnesses identified the soldier as part of the group that abducted the pastor.The pastor’s youngest brother, Jonathan, has this account on the killing:I was watching the news on TV by myself when Ray Sun (my brother) arrived ...When he was taking off his shoes I turned and saw a bonnet-wearing man barged into the house. The man aimed a gun at Ray Sun and ordered him to lie face down. After which, he aimed the gun at me. There were two or three of them who entered our hut.They were wearing bonnets and their eyes and mouths were visible.They were all wearing black long sleeves, fatigue pants and combat shoes. One of them who was giving the orders was also wearing a bonnet but his upper garment was maroon that had sleeves folded like a polo shirt, black short pants and a pair of rubber shoes.All of them were carrying short firearms.They were insisting that we are members of the NPA and they searched the whole house. They took the tools for Ray Sun’s motorcycle. They also made us take our shirts off so that they can ascertain that we (carried) no guns...We were led outside the house to an unlit area and there, they forced us to admit that we are NPAs and they kept asking for “Ver.” When I accidentally gazed upward, they hit me near my eyebrow with the butt of a gun.The person in maroon and black short pants ordered one of his companions, “Take one of them and make him knock at the door.”There was nothing else I could do but to follow their orders. While I was knocking at the pastor’s door, the armed men wearing bonnets positioned themselves near the shrubbery next to the house’s gate.The pastor’s wife answered the door and the armed men barged into the house after hearing Pastor Sta. Rosa’s voice. Everyone, including the children, was ordered to lie on their stomachs. The armed men bound the pastor’s hands and took him to a room. Jonathan, the pastor’s wife and the children were then herded into another room.We could hear them beating up my brother ... After a few minutes they took Ray Sun inside the house and I saw them taking the pastor outside. When no one was left guarding us, we went outside the house and shouted for help.In an instant, we heard gunshots. Then three more gunshots followed.With Ray Sun, a few of our neighbors and some town officials, we went to the place where the sounds came.We saw the pastor beside the stream not too far from his house. He was already dead, bloodied, lying face down. His head was tilted and his body bore gunshot wounds. About five meters from the stream, we saw another dead person. He was wearing a bonnet, black short pants and black pair of rubber shoes. We saw his body on top of a shallow well. We saw a .45 caliber pistol facing him.The other body was identified as that of Pfc. Lordger Pastrana. He had with him a Philippine Army identification card that was valid until Dec. 9, 2008, and a mission order issued by the 9th Military Intelligence Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, based in Camp Weene Martillana in Pili, Camarines Sur. The mission order dated July 11, 2006 was to expire on Sept. 30, 2006 and was signed by Maj. Ernest Marc Rosal.Issuing its preliminary investigation report on Aug. 24, 2006, the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights, said:It is evident that there is legal ground to prosecute the Army soldiers in the company of Cpl. Lordger Pastrana for murder as this case would not [indicate] robbery with homicide, but one of murder in view of the mission order found in Pastrana’s possession and the prior incident of assault upon the household of Sta. Rosa’s neighbor, Alwin Mirabuna. These armed suspects inquired about the whereabouts of Isaias Sta. Rosa, a person (who was the) possible subject of the secret mission.Since the identity of the suspects cannot be ascertained, it is recommended that the commanding officer in the above-cited mission order be legally made answerable under the principle of command responsibility governing military conduct.The Philippine Army has denied investigators access to records, such as the names of members of Pastrana’s unit. Moreover, the military declared that Pastrana was on “absence without leave.”The police described the killing as a simple case of robbery with homicide.Andy PawicanPastorUnited Church of Christ in the PhilippinesHE was known to be active in his community, Barangay Fatima, Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, especially in addressing the concerns of his church members.Testimonies from witnesses gathered by a UCCP fact-finding team aver that Pastor Pawican was taken and shot by soldiers from the Army’s 48th IB Delta Company on May 21, 2006. The story of his murder is narrated by his father-in-law, Blacio Binlingan:Surrounding our home was a large number of military men. I noticed that our house was in disarray. My wife told me that the military ransacked our things and took the P500 I gave her. They also took the cough medicines for the children ... The military wore uniforms and were from the 48th infantry battalion.My daughter, Dominga, was at home when I arrived. She was worried because her husband, Pastor Andy Pawican, had not yet arrived. She mentioned that, as they were going home from church after Pastor Andy held a church service, the military went up to them and said that they wanted to speak with Pastor Andy. Because Pastor Andy had not broken any law and they were told that it would only take a while, she went home ahead. Pastor Andy was left with the military with their eight-month child.At around three in the afternoon, we heard gunshots some 100 meters away from our house, (from) where Pastor Andy was left to talk with the military. We wondered who the military shot because we did not see any of their enemies.A few moments later, military men arrived, shouting, “The one carrying a child was shot.” When my son, Roger, heard what the military had said, he exclaimed, “That’s my brother-in-law.” We tried to go to Pastor Andy but the military prevented us...My wife pleaded with the military to bring the eight-month-old child of Pastor Andy ... A few moments later, they brought the eight-month-old child of Pastor Andy to our house with the baby’s clothes tainted with blood and a gash on the face.Police versionThe local police told the pastor’s kin at the police station that Pawican died in an armed encounter in Sitio Lomboy in Barangay Tayabo, San Jose at dawn that same day. The relatives refused to believe the police version, insisting that Pastor Pawican was killed in the afternoon when they heard gunshots not far from their community.The following day, some of the villagers chanced upon the body of Pastor Pawican being cordoned off by about 60 soldiers led by Lieutenants Ariel Galado and Freddie Lobusta of the Army’s 48th IB, 7th Infantry Division. Upon the soldiers’ orders, the villagers brought the pastor’s body to the town center in Tayabo.At the town proper, they put the victim’s remains onto a military truck. Thereafter, the soldiers ordered Blacio Binlingan, Mempe Ruiz and Marvin Palting to bring the corpse to Funeraria Ilagan in San Jose City. Except for Fidel Palting and Ruel Marcial, the residents were ordered to go home. The remaining two were taken separately to what Marcial later learned was the Sto. Niño Camp of the military in San Jose.TorturedMarcial, a farmer from Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya and a UCCP member, testified later that he was interrogated and tortured by the military, which also forced him to admit that he was a member of the NPA. Here is his account of his ordeal:I was told to lie face down and the soldiers accused me that I was a member of the NPA. They asked me to tell them where I was hiding my gun. They also asked me if Pastor Andy was an NPA commander.While they were asking questions, they thrust cogon grass into my genitals and poured water into my mouth. They grilled me for almost two hours about things I knew nothing about. Afterward, they handcuffed me and brought me to higher ground of the camp ... The soldiers continued to ask me questions and poured water into my mouth, burned my thigh with cigarettes and heated wire and poked my genitals with grass.They cut my hair with a big and long knife. They kicked me, punched me in the stomach and slapped my face. When my face was swollen, they put salt on it. The soldiers also peeled off my scalp until it bled and poked a gun at my head to make me confess that I was a member of the NPA. They also peeled off three of my toenails. They wanted me to be their decoy and lead them to NPA camps.While I was under torture, I could hear the shouts of Fidel (Palting) from another part of the camp.They tied my feet to a tree using a chain that looked like a dog leash. They hit my butt with a big long knife and hit my hands with a bamboo. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I said that I was willing to cooperate and show them the camps of the NPA so that they would stop torturing me. Only after I told them that I was willing to cooperate did they stop torturing me. I heard a soldier come in and asked the other soldiers, “Who is responsible for this?” The soldiers who stood guard answered, “The underlings of Palparan.”Marcial never saw Palting inside the camp but he surmised that the latter was inside one of the huts as he saw soldiers guarding and bringing food to the hut. Held and tortured by the military for nearly two months, Marcial managed to escape on July 7, 2006 and friends who found him took him to a sanctuary. Palting, for his part, remained in military custody but was later brought back to his family’s house.Until now, Marcial fears for his life and remains in hiding as do many of Pastor Pawican’s church members who have left their village to settle elsewhere.Noel Noli CapulongFormer NCCP staffHE was on his way home at around 6 p.m. on May 27, 2006, after a meeting with families facing eviction from a contested property, when motorcycle-riding men pumped four bullets into his body in Barangay Parian, Calamba City.Aside from his active involvement in church-related organizations as a lay-worker, he was the deputy secretary general of the Bayan Muna party-list in Southern Tagalog and the spokesperson of the Southern Tagalog Environmental Action Movement.The circumstances surrounding his slaying follows the pattern of many other cases of summary execution. Before he was killed, he was called a “communist” and “enemy of the state” by the military for being an outspoken critic. Doyette, his widow, spoke about her husband at a human rights and peace summit:Noli gave so much of his time to others. But unfortunately, while he was giving his time to others, he was branded a communist and an enemy of the state. Despite this, he lived out what he believed [in]. He never got tired of initiating programs for our brothers and sisters, especially those living in rural communities.The victim’s elder brother, lawyer Emilio Capulong, also said that the government could not hide the fact that military personnel were believed to be behind the killing of activists. He asked President Macapagal-Arroyo to show her authority and control as commander-in-chief of the police and military by bringing to justice the killers of his brother.Jose ‘Pepe’ Manegdeg IIILay missionaryAT the time of his death, Manegdeg, 37, was the coordinator for the Cordillera and Ilocos of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines. A former coordinator of the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordillera Region, he served as a volunteer for the NCCP’s Ecology and Environmental Protection Program.Gunmen pumped 22 bullets into his body as he was waiting for a bus ride to Manila on the national highway in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur at around 10 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2005. Manegdeg had just attended a paralegal training seminar sponsored by the Ilocos Human Rights Alliance-Karapatan at Ursa Major Resort in Apatot, San Esteban and was to meet his wife who would be arriving from Hong Kong.A tricycle driver, Fenio Caceres Sr., who drove him from the resort to the highway witnessed Manegdeg’s killing. He gave the following account to the San Esteban Police:When we reached the national highway, the passenger got off and told me to wait … There was a bus approaching and I told him to take the ride but he did not because he wanted (to take) the Partas bus. After that, a van approached and made a turnaround in front of my tricycle and then I saw a man go to the waiting shed behind us. He was talking on his cell phone and in an instant I saw him pocket the cell phone and draw his gun. He cocked it and aimed it toward us and… my passenger ran westward … toward Barangay Apatot and the man who fired the gun ran after (him).In my fear, I started (the engine of) my tricycle and while I was driving off … I heard one gunshot and after that I heard a loud shout and when I was at a distance, about 15 meters (away) I heard again a shot then I saw people hiding in the eastside of the north road of the chapel of the Jehovah’s Witness.According to colleagues, Manegdeg was under surveillance and had received death threats on his cell phone before the killing. It was also reported that the military had tagged him an “NPA supporter.”A newspaper report on Jan. 22, 2007 said that the San Esteban Police had identified a suspect in Manegdeg’s murder. A joint affidavit from the policemen investigating the case said an eyewitness had identified Joel Castro from their rouges’ gallery as one of the men who gunned down Manegdeg. Castro, a captain of the Philippine Army formerly detailed with the Military Intelligence Company, later issued a counter-affidavit denying any involvement in the shooting.

It is not about winning

By Jose Ma. MontelibanoINQUIRER.netLast updated 01:00am (Mla time) 03/30/2007MANILA, Philippines -- Charging into the political arena like lambs entering a lions' den, the three senatorial candidates of Ang Kapatiran [The Brotherhood] party present themselves like animals about to be slaughtered. They make no dent in the opinion polls and the candidates of the major parties consider them as no threat. The truth is, Martin Bautista, Adrian Sison and Zosimo Jesus Paredes represent the tip of the spear that will draw first blood from the monster called traditional politics.Sacrificial lambs do not win battles. They are offerings that purify a crusade and ennoble what could be an ordinary human struggle. As such, Bautista, Sison and Paredes must understand deeply their role in the emergence of new politics. They must understand that they are not candidates but symbols of purity, as only the pure and virgin can please the gods who are being asked to slay the Goliaths of Philippine politics. It is not about the winning because it never has been.What confronts any well-intentioned candidate in a national electoral exercise is the impenetrable armor of dirty politics. It is the ugly monster of "trapo" politics, by now a cesspool of people and mindsets that breaks or corrupts anyone daring to reform it. "Trapo" politics is not traditional politics. Trapo politics has nothing clean or honorable in it, and Philippine tradition did host clean and honorable politicians who tried to be statesmen. It is against trapo-ism that Bautista, Sison and Paredes are pitted. They are not meant to win. They are meant to set up the stage where Filipinos will realize what "trapo" means, and how many of us have contributed to what we are being to hate today.The "trapos" are not there governing us from just their personal effort, no matter now rich or powerful they may have been from the beginning. They are there lording it over us, and making a mockery of everything we deem decent and honorable, because we lowered the bar of purity, of cleanliness, of nobility. As we did so, we became tolerant of what is wrong, the white lie that has grown to become completely black but acceptable nonetheless from our surrender to the false "principle of the lesser evil."Ang Kapatiran cannot be the lesser evil. They must not be a mere alternative; they must be the total opposite of the compromise and the corruption out there. To be less is to be drawn to the lesser evil as an alternative to the greater evil, and greater evil was only yesterday the lesser one. Bautista, Sison and Paredes cannot fight the dragons thinking that they have what it takes to slay them. They must stay in the fight knowing from the beginning all the way to the end that it is they who will be slain. It is not about the winning; it is about purity and being the light in our sea of darkness. It is about presenting virtue, not as an alternative, but as the non-negotiable character of the proud and the brave.Awakening to the harsh and dark reality of the times, Filipinos consciously search for alternatives. But their deeper selves, the uncontaminated portion of their collective soul, seek not only for alternatives but purity itself, goodness itself, nobility itself. To seek for an alternative also means still retaining what is as one of those alternatives. What Filipinos need today is not an alternative but a total rejection of wrongdoing, a total rejection of corruption, a total rejection of poverty, a total rejection of violence.The lure of the lesser-evil bait is a deadly one. Politicians and businessmen have not been the only victims, just the worst hit. The religious, the charismatic, the academe have fallen as well, unable to resist the seeming inevitability of the lesser evil as the only other choice for the greater evil that threatens. Those who have recovered from their fall did so only after realizing that they cannot play with the acceptability of the lesser evil and get away with it.Ang Kapatiran candidates cannot be an alternative to "trapo" politics. Their being in a contest where very arena is trapo-ism is already a compromise to lesser evil if for a moment they forget that they are not supposed to play at all, that their presence there is an intelligent gambit, a deliberate strategy, to gain attention or build bridges to the minds of the public they otherwise could not have reached. It is not about winning because victory is already assured by their simple adherence to virtue and their being candle lights in the darkness.I know Filipinos will also vote for Bautista, Sison and Paredes. The number of those that will, in the face of certain electoral defeat, will indicate the level of frustration with "trapo" politics. Those who will vote of them, knowing full well the three will lose, represent the spirit that will rebuild integrity and honor in Philippine society. They will not be many, especially since the majority poor may never even know about Ang Kapatiran and their three sacrificial lambs. But they will be strong -- the few who, like the 300 of Sparta, will trigger many more to actively give expression to their higher aspirations.It is not about winning, Messrs. Bautista, Sison and Paredes, because you have already won. When you rose above the risk of being seen as crazy. When you left your comfort zones to be one with what is true and noble in Filipinos, knowing you most probably be laughed at, you already won. It is a won game, and you cannot do anything more but share the victory. Or, you may lose what you have already won by thinking you have not won yet, and try to in a most silly and compromising way.When the election smoke clears, when Filipinos have to return to a modicum of normalcy in the most abnormal, distasteful and shameful environment we call corruption, poverty and violence, you may believe that it was all for naught. If you do, you will be wrong, dead wrong, and you will have dishonored your sacrifice. Your qualitative triumph already adds on to the small and almost unnoticeable triumphs that good Filipinos achieve by the day. Not long from now, there will be obvious quantitative triumphs, too, the kinds that will strike fear among the Goliaths.Hold the course, then, brothers of the light. Keep a keen eye on compromise, keep a sharp nose for the lesser evil, and through it all, keep your minds clear and your hearts brave.

Name recall

By Ambeth OcampoInquirerLast updated 01:50am (Mla time) 03/30/2007MANILA, Philippines -- Every time someone makes the mistake of introducing me as “Ambet Antonio,” I flinch. It is no joke to be confused with a man with a criminal record.I used to think my professional name was quite unique and always laughed when, like Recah Trinidad, people who didn’t know me presumed that I was female. It must be the “h” but then some names like Bhoy or Bhen remain masculine despite the “h.”When the news broke out that Ambet Antonio had shot someone, journalists, especially those on radio, had a field day playing with our names. To make matters worse, the Inquirer committed the same mistake. When I came to collect my mail, some of the editors laughed as they apologized. One even consoled me with the thought that I could run for public office simply because I had name recall.When people go into the polling booth to vote next month, they will be provided with a ballot and a long list of official candidates from which they will draw a dozen senators. Looking at those names, the whole idea of name recall makes sense to me. Having a name with historical resonance, like Magsaysay on the 50th anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay’s death, should do the trick. This also explains why Teresita Aquino-Oreta and her nephew Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino had to sort out the issue of who would use the magic Aquino name.To complicate things further, voters will also have to navigate through an even longer and very wordy list of party-list groups. Some months back, before the Commission on Elections declared Danton Remoto a nuisance candidate, a friend was convincing us to support the gay, lesbian and transgender party-list Ladlad. Then we were informed that a similar group was being formed carrying the brand name of a popular lollipop. In an alphabetical listing of parties, Ladlad could not have competed with a rude word that begins with “C.” So Ladlad added a word and became “Ang Ladlad.” Trust an English professor to come up with that solution.The same strategy was used by Samahan ng mga Mangangalakal para sa Ikauunlad ng Local na Ekonomiya (SMILE), which would have been buried at the bottom. It renamed itself Ang Samahan ng mga Mangangalakal para sa Ikauunlad ng Local na Ekonomiya (A SMILE) and moved up significantly, but not enough to dislodge a transport coalition that would have been at the bottom of the list if they used United Transport Koalisyon, or UTAK, so it had to be renamed 1-UTAK and it now heads the list of party-list groups.More cunning were the AA-KASOSYO Party and Aangat Tayo (AT). Some people are indeed smarter than others. The teachers’ group formerly known as Advocates and Adherents of Social Justice for School Teachers and Allied Workers tried to get ahead by calling themselves ABAKADA GURO, but only ended up fourth on the list. Five notches below this you have Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms (A TEACHER). How corny can one get?If Abanse! Pinay rings a bell, what about Abante Ilongo? Or ABONO? I don’t know what marginalized group Abono represents, but if we go by its name, it can either mean fertilizer or those who advance money.There is a group that calls itself Action for Dynamic Development (ADD) whose ranking was stolen by Action for Democracy and Development for the Tribal People (ADD-TRIBAL).Then there are groups seeking to represent the handicapped like Advocates for Special Children and the Handicapped Movement (ASAHAN MO) and Alyansa ng may Kapansanang Pinoy (AKAPIN). If you need more hugs, you can try You Against Corruption and Poverty (YACAP), and if you want to fly, then try Youth League for Peace Advancement (LYPAD).The above reminds me of other acronyms like: National Artist Award (NAAWA), which has, for obvious reasons, since been changed to NAAW; Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), the now dormant Cultural Research Association of the Philippines (CRAP), and artist Roberto Chabet’s University of the Philippines Fine Arts Running Team (FART).Have you heard the story behind the naming of the theological school of the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University? Jesuits have a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so the school on the drawing board was originally called Sacred Heart Institute of Theology. But the acronym spelled something else, and thus was born the Loyola House of Studies (LHS).Back to straightforward party-list groups: Alyansa ng Sambayanan Para sa Pagbabago (ASAP); Anak Mindanao (AMIN); Association of the Philippines Electric cooperatives (APEC); Democratic Independent Workers Association (DIWA); Koalisyon ng Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI); Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA), and Hanay ng Aping Pinoy (HAPI). Then there are groups whose names have double meanings or sexual undertones like Barangay Association for National Advancement of Transparency (BANAT); Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC), Bagong Tao Movement (BTM), and Sandigang Maralita (SM).There are different shades and meanings to these seemingly innocent party-list names, so much resonance in the names that I can only wonder what a future historian, armed with hindsight and perspective, will see and conclude about the interesting times we live in.

The shadow....

Im here at the school's internet access area. This week is an exam week. I still have one more paper to pass for my final exam and a written exam on thursday. As usual, i would surf the internet and read articles that would suit my interest. I was reading some articles at the christianster.com and i came across an article entitled "The shadow". after reading it, i felt like i wanted to share it, but i remembered a good-college-friend of mine was very reluctant to read stuffs like those..about God...stuff about God...well, honestly, i was taken aback and very reluctant to post this but i felt rebuked by the attached bible verse.... and now i strongly feel that the message of this article is very significant...

In 1967 while taking a class in photography at the University of Cincinnati, I became acquainted with a young man named Charles Murray who also was a student at the school and training for the summer Olympics of 1968 as a highdiver.

Charles was very patient with me as I would speak to him for hours about Jesus Christ and how He had saved me. Charles was not raised in a home that attended any kind of church, so all that I had to tell him was a fascination to him. He even began to ask questions about forgiveness of sin.

Finally the day came that I put a question to him. I asked if he realized his own need of a Redeemer and if he was ready to trust Christ as his own Savior. I saw his countenance fall and the guilt in his face. But his reply was a strong "no."

In the days that followed he was quiet and often I felt that he was avoiding me, until I got a phone call and it was Charles. He wanted to know where to look in the New Testament for some verses that I had given him about salvation. I gave him the reference to several passages and asked if I could meet with him. He declined my offer and thanked me for the scripture. I could tell that he was greatly troubled, but I did not know where he was or how to help him.

Because he was training for the Olympic games, Charles had special privileges at the University pool facilities. Some time between 10:30 and 11:00 that evening he decided to go swim and practice a few dives. It was a clear night in October and the moon was big and bright. The University pool was housed under a ceiling of glass panes so the moon shone bright across the top of the wall in the pool area.

Charles climbed to the highest platform to take his first dive. At that moment the Spirit of God began to convict him of his sins. All the scripture he had read, all the occasions of witnessing to him about Christ flooded his mind.

He stood on the platform backwards to make his dive, spread his arms to gather his balance, looked up to the wall and saw his own shadow caused by the light of the moon. It was the shape of a cross. He could bear the burden of his sin no longer. His heart broke and he sat down on the platform and asked God to forgive him and save him. He trusted Jesus Christ twenty some feet in the air.

Suddenly, the lights in the pool area came on. The attendant had come in to check the pool. As Charles looked down from his platform he saw an empty pool which had been drained for repairs. He had almost plummeted to his death, but the cross had stopped him from disaster.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.



God will find you...

First sunday of the Year...

The morning was a good blow...my mom woke me up..well, i don't understand myself, i don't know how i instill the habit of giving thanks to God every morning..when my mom woke me up, i simply burst out with thanksgiving to God..then after minutes of doing that, i remembered my gurl...hehehe..agent "P" also woke up early, didn't rest a minute with its chaotic reminder of how damn our financial problem is at present time...but that didn't ruin my day...i strip that off without a second thought..well, i arrived 5 minits before the service starts...had a nice conversation with adriel bout some stuff before we start playing for the worship session..it was a good start...i don't quit get myself because although i've been playing the drums for about more or less a 4 years now, i still get butterflys all around me everytime i get to the stage to play....it was a great start...the first song was awesome...had some problem with keeping the tempo...because i find it hard to soul in to the song and scrap out my bothering thought at the same time..the guitar had a bit of a technical problem...but it all went good...up until the worship songs...it was somewhat empty...the four years of experience gave me something that can never be taught in any class, the wisdom and sensitiveness to the work of the holy spirit...but after a while, it was sweep away once again...i don't know how to put it into words but, it was awesome...

Philip,levi,driel and jireh went with me to the ffc for lunch...it was a good one...had a lot of talk about stuff, work, incentives..gosh...i don't know how we do it..keeps on talking and talking...hmm...well anyway...thats just about it...

today i;ve been thinking about doing this for the rest of the days of the year. i want to see what is in blogging...or writing everything about what had happened to me all day long...writing all out, everything...the truth and nothing but the truth...i hope this will work...

i think that is all for today...

TEN! FOUR!

Christians

Is Jesus Enough?

by Chip Brogden

"After they had eaten, Jesus asked Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these other things?'" (John 21:15).

If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Many precious believers are in love with the things of the Lord, but they are not in love with the Lord Himself. Many Christian workers and ministers are in love with the Lord's work. Almost without realizing it, the work of the Lord becomes more important than the Lord of the work.

There are prophets and teachers who hold words from God in higher esteem than the God Who speaks the words they attribute as being from Him. People seek these words and teachings. The more they receive, the more they want. Before one word is digested they are craving another. They are seeking "things" - words, prophecies, teachings, visions, dreams - but they are not seeking the Lord Himself.

Is Jesus enough?

When the saints gather together most of the activity is focused on "one another". This is important, but it is not the most important thing. Fellowship is good: but is Jesus enough? Gatherings are good: but is Jesus enough? Meetings are good: but is Jesus enough? Special speakers and special music are good: but is Jesus enough?

Even with praise and worship it is possible to sing "about" Jesus and not truly worship Jesus. With preaching and teaching it is possible to talk "about" Jesus and not truly meet Jesus in what is shared. In prayer it is possible to talk "about" our needs and never actually commune with Jesus Himself.

Among Christians I have discovered something. There is Jesus, and then there are all the things ABOUT Jesus that are NOT Jesus. Jesus Himself occupies only a small portion of what is said and done in Christian circles. Most of what is said and done is merely ABOUT Jesus, but it is NOT Jesus.

I have learned that stress, strife, disillusionment, dissatisfaction, bitterness, anger, hurt, misunderstanding, and confusion comes from everything said and done by religious people ABOUT the Lord, and IN THE NAME of the Lord, that does not, in fact, have anything to do with Jesus Himself.

How much of your focus is directed to the things of God, and not to God Himself? How much of your discussion centers on things about Jesus, and not Jesus Himself?

Just look around. This brother is focused on end-time events, and that sister is devoted to inner healing. This brother is primarily concerned with prophetic things, while another sister is keenly interested in spiritual warfare. That brother is deeply involved with theological discussions, while that sister is in love with Christian music. One movement emphasizes this particular thing, and another group stands for another thing.

There may be diversities of gifts and callings. There may be various and sundry things to be involved with. There may be many topics to study and discuss. Many things compete for our time, attention, affection, energy, and money.

But there is only one Lord Jesus.

Just as some people cannot see the forest for the trees, I believe most sinners cannot see Jesus for the Christians. And I believe most Christians cannot see Jesus for the "church".

Is Jesus enough?

Whenever I am ministering to pastors, whatever they think their calling is, I always have them turn to Mark 3:14:

"And he ordained twelve, that they should BE WITH HIM, and that He might send them forth to preach."

You are called to be with Jesus. That is your calling. That is the primary thing, the highest ministry. Going forth to preach or do anything else is of secondary importance. We should be with Jesus; after that, He might send us forth to preach. But before Jesus said, "Go into all the world" He said, "Be with Me."

The call of the Lord is not more important than the Lord of the call. The work of the Lord must not replace the Lord of the work. No amount of ministering FOR the Lord will make up for a lack of ministering TO the Lord. And knowing the Word of God does not necessarily mean that we know the God of the Word.

Everyone wants to go and do something for God, but few people are willing to stay and do "nothing" for Him.

Jesus asked Peter, "Am I enough for You? Do you love Me more than everything else? Do you love Me more than you love the things about Me?"

A few weeks later, when Peter stood with John before the religious rulers to explain the healing of a man who had never walked, "...they marveled; and they took knowledge of [Peter and John], that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS" (Acts 4:13b).

If we will be with Jesus, then Jesus will be with us.

The reason the New Testament church had power was not because they spoke in tongues, or held meetings in their living rooms, or had a certain system for planting churches. The secret was they had been with Jesus.

But some Christians are more in love with methods and ministries than they are in love with the Man.

The prophets and teachers in the church of Antioch were gathered together: not to have a house church conference, not to begin a new ministry, not to discuss the latest prophetic word or the newest teaching, not to exchange ideas on how to grow the church, not to fellowship, not to share a meal, not to minister to one another. But "as they ministered TO THE LORD, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said..." (Acts 13:2a).

Paul and his fellow workers had many souls to save, many disciples to make, many churches to plant, many places to visit, many messages to deliver, many letters to write. There were many needs to be met, many doors of opportunity before them.

But the work was suspended. Activity ceased. Ministry came to a standstill. Fellowship and food were forgotten. The prophets were there, but the prophets did not prophesy. The teachers were there, but the teachers did not teach.

Instead, they ministered to the Lord. The focus shifted from horizontal to vertical. The emphasis was directed away from man and man's needs, and onto the Lord and His Need. They were busy being with Jesus. They were at His feet.

So when the Holy Ghost finally spoke, they were ready to go forth. Thus began the first missionary journey of Paul.

When apostles love church planting and mission work more than Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When prophets love their prophecies, dreams, and visions more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When evangelists love traveling, preaching, and holding meetings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When pastors love their church services and building programs more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When teachers love their teachings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When preachers love their preaching more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When ministers love their ministry more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When musicians love their music more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

When writers love their writings more than they love Jesus, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

And when the simplest disciples grow tired of "just" being with Jesus, and begin to long for something bigger, something better, something greater, something more powerful, something other than what they have in Jesus already, then they are saying that Jesus is not enough.

If Jesus was all you had, would Jesus be enough for you? Or do you have to have all the "trappings" of Christianity, all the bells and whistles, all the toys and trinkets?

Make no mistake: there is no life in the things that are ABOUT Jesus. There is life only in Jesus Himself.

May I speak candidly? If you are dissatisfied and disappointed with your Christian walk today, it is only because of one thing: Jesus is not enough for you. Somewhere along the line, something else became more important than Jesus. Maybe you have become focused on the things ABOUT Jesus that are NOT Jesus.

There is only one solution. You do not need more of the Lord, because He has already given Himself completely to you already. You just need less of everything else.

Remember.

Remember what it was like to hear His Voice, to be so filled with passion and love for Him, that you wanted nothing more than to sit at His feet, and hear His Word.

Remember when you were so infatuated with Him that you did not want to do anything else.

Remember what it was like to just be with Jesus.

Go back to when Jesus first called you to be with Him.

Go back to the time when all you had was Him.

Go back to the time before you were planting churches, speaking prophetic words, preaching to the unsaved, pastoring the congregation, teaching the people, or leading worship.

Go back to the time when there was no work, no ministry, no vision, no special calling - except Jesus calling you to be with Him.

Remember when you said, "He's all I need!"

So what happened?

I pray the Lord will draw us after Himself and make us thoroughly sick and tired of things - especially the things that are ABOUT Him, but are NOT Him.

God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son, Jesus.

Well... is Jesus enough?