Photo of our Muslim sisters were taken during the #MillionPeopleMarch. Shukran Jazilan!
Moving forward beyond ideology, political affiliation and religion!
Joining our Muslim “kababayans” reflecting at the eve of Eid ul-Adha was most relevant for me.
If it was a test of faith for Ibrahim/Abraham to surrender a beloved son, whose birth came to him when he was more than 80 years old; For Filipinos, it’s been the most trying months for our country devasted by insurgency, calamity, corruption and impunity.
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It’s just been one national problem after another. The wait for sustainable development and accountability is protracted while Mother Nature has been smacking our landscape relentlessly. Nothing but redundant knee-jerk solutions are delivered, the impatience of the people is percolating.
But Eid ul-Adha reminds us, regardless of religion, of the serene submission of Ibrahim/Abraham to the will of God and, allowing God to work THROUGH him.
Despite the calamitous earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu, a blessed Eid ul-Adha it still was, for we are being comforted with the promise that through all the trials, no matter how insurmountable and incomprehensible it may seem to limited human understanding, God’s love is always greater than our fears and His plans always better than our dreams.
We are not asked to be blind and leave all to God but we are being challenged to be stronger in our faith and steadfast in our actions. We should push on doing away with the myopia, FINALLY learn from the insults that are almost forgotten and DEMAND what is due for our country and our people. Be reminded that in the:
’70s:
Coco Levy Fund scam–
Marcos, Danding and Enrile conspired to tax coconut farmers, promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share of the investments, but on the contrary were used for personal profit particularly in the purchase of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and majority stake in San Miguel Corporation (SMC), to name a few.
’80s:
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Debt –
protracted from Marcos, Aquino, Ramos to Arroyo governments that costs the nation $US2.3 billion in construction and an IOU of 4.2 billion from NAPOCOR for maintenance. Maintenance cost per year: 40 million a year.
Operation Big Bird –
The Cory admin’s failed effort to pursue the Marcos Swiss accounts worth US$ 7.5B in hidden accounts and assets. Only US$ 540 Million was recovered. Over time it grew to US$ 683 Million. The money was supposed to be awarded to an agrarian reform program, and the remaining part to compensate the victims of Martial law. Unfortunately, when it was transferred to the Department of Agrarian Reform, it was allegedly used for the 2004 presidential election.
Of the recent, the ’90s PEA Amari Scam (Ramos Administration), Textbook Scam (Estrada Administration)
2000’s:
Fertilizer Fund scam, NBN/ZTE deal, Euro Generals scandal (Arroyo Administration), and under the second Aquino Administration are the issues on PDAF, DAP, the exorbitant bonuses of the boards of GOCC and the overspending of line agencies are headlines of late.
While a few bask in the taxpayer’s Billions, Millions are defenseless, hungry and uneducated! Our people are relegated to nothing but casualties of the Filipinos’ ubiquitous short term memory.
A strong testament of bad stewardship and low regard for our country’s rich heritage. The bold caption: FORESIGHT HAS NEVER BEEN INTEGRAL to a fiesta nation.
The century old churches of Bohol, now diminished to rubble, are painful wake up calls. It is a strong testament of bad stewardship and low regard for our country’s rich heritage. The bold caption: FORESIGHT HAS NEVER BEEN INTEGRAL to a fiesta nation.
Pity that with all the billions that went to the pockets of the greedy, no million was spent to fortify the antique structures, no inspiration drawn from the regard for the Roman Coliseum. Dilapidated public schools and hospitals, antiquated military hardware, pathetic government services and the apathetic majority screams of a country built on a house of cards, which is more than an insult to a beautiful land abundantly blessed by God.
The real tragedy of the Philippines is that despite the resiliency of many FILIPINOS, who rise from the worst of trials is that, MOST DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO SERVE and GIVE BACK! Most of the have’s seldom bother, all the more do a huge number of the have-not’s.
Through all that has recently happened to our country, our people are once again reminded that God does not work FOR us. We already know that our system sucks yet SELF-ENTITLEMENT takes precedence in a selfie society.
We should move the Philippines forward with hope to power us on and allow for God to work THROUGH each of us! A proud Filipino should SERVE and GIVE BACK!
Mike is the author of “Minsan may Isang Puta”, an allegory which has been circulating since 2004 and with over 50,000 likes and shares in social media alone. It won a film grant in 2010 to be included in the multi-narrative Indie film “Ganap na Babae” (International title: Garden of Eve). The teaser, reviews and commentaries are here. The movie was honored as Cinemalaya 2010’s opening film and has won international and local recognition.
The royalties from the initial 150 copies of Mike’s first sole-authored book, The Dove Files, went to a Project Malasakit scholar who graduated Cum Laude in April 2013, the rest was also paid forward to baby Mark who underwent a liver transplant in March 2013.
Part of the royalties of the “Minsan may Isang Puta” book at Barnes and Noble Online goes to support the education of a young Yolanda survivor taking up B.S. Accounting at U.P. Tacloban.
Why believe in an invisible being? Why believe that a virgin can give birth? This is nonsense of the highest order.
Nonsense is when faith has no bearing in one’s life. Religion is different from spirituality.
Faith should not have a bearing in one’s life. It is anchored on ignorance and superstition. It is not result oriented………”The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” – Benjamin Franklin
Everyone has faith in something, even atheists can be said to have faith that there is no God. Even the corrupt politicians have faith that their corruption will bring them more money. And that money will bring them their happiness. Now people can tell which faith is right and which is wrong.
Faith is but part and parcel of the human condition. From this “ignorance and superstition” lies the seeds of trust.
“Even if you disavow the existence of a supreme being, you still have faith–how else can it be possible for you to trust your neighbor? How else can it be possible for you to believe that you are loved, that you are not alone in this dark world?”
To renounce faith in all its forms is to shed a little more of our own humanity; those who claim to progress as a result of this renunciation deserve pity, for what point is there in success if you have to dehumanize yourself to attain it?
so you you do not believe that you have lever,heart,intestine and etcr because you can not see it.
wow that’s the most stupid argument that I’ve ever read in my life. Even theists would think that you’re so stupid
The truths of logic are immaterial, or shall I say, invisible. Just because you cannot verify them in your five senses doesn’t mean that they’re not real.
Again, do you agree that laws of logic exist or not, based on your “reasoning”?
What you are posing now is a little outdated. Even scientists today wouldn’t limit themselves anymore to what they can’t perceive from their five senses.
It helps when you study philosophy to learn more of the dynamics on how we reason out things that are or are not.
Enjoy the search for truth.
Indeed. If the world ran solely on reason, on rationality, it would probably have had a slower rate of progress. Change comes from those willing to go beyond the conventions of the era, those who do not restrict themselves to what their five senses can perceive. One has to think outside the box–it is difficult for change to come from those who simply build a bigger box. In other words, change comes from the mad, the crazy, the colorfully insane.
the government has already allocated P28M for repairs of the churches
An ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure. Here’s hoping that all that 28M will go to repairs and not to the vultures around.
in our times now, earthquakes cannot be predicted so prevention is almost impossible. let us also remove in our minds that corruption could happen here because almost all of the big fishes are in jail now.
Blah blah blah, again with the stupid yellow propaganda bullshit.
Is that really all you can post here?
I know for a fact that you wont answer me but the thing is that nobody (but you) here will listen to your propaganda.
So why do you persist in this insanity of yours?
Corruption is still around, signs are obvious, trolls like you are blinding yourselves.
…
(Then congratulations because the Aquinos are next to be jailed. Arroyo wasn’t even in jail,
actually).
(Of course, you won’t bother since you’re a paid hack, am I right?) 😛
corruption maybe around, but it has lessened.
fyi, gloria is on hospital arrest so that means she is in jail.
…
(Hospital arrest =/= behind bars. Nice logic you have there.)
(Lies. Corruption is still there and it wasn’t lessened. Chino is right, you’re a TROLL.) 😀
(Bravo for your sheer idiocy and ignorance. Sorry if I’m not drinking the Yellow Kool-aide like you do.)
Harold you are here sprouting narrow minded falsehoods at the taxpayers expense. That is corruption.
…
(You must love being SICK, aren’t you?)
(Typical Malacanang paid hack troll post….)
😛
P28M taken from the middle class tax money? Why not take the expenses from the Catholic churches? There’s a lot of Catholic schools/ hospitals who make gazillion pesos every year.
these are national treasures so the national government is responsible.
…
(So national treasures are more important than the welfare of the people? If that is the case, they should less than P28 million.)
(Failed logic you got there.)
treasures?! hahaha! you filidiots doesnt care for anything, i mean isnt pinas not enough evidence yet? isnt pinas supposedly a treasure to the pinoys?
You lot have been wailing to God for the best part of 500 years. Today your country remains one of the poorest, corrupt, crime ridden disaster prone on the planet. Maybe in another 500 years time you will wake up.
I love how quick the government stepped up to get repairs done to damaged churches rather than get aid delivered to the thousands of victims of the earthquake.
Exactly. Why the churches first, of all things? Is it even humans anymore that these leaders serve? Even the pigs over there are more well-fed than the typical dirt poor filipino.
I understand Mike’s title this way: God is not a genie. He’s not there to serve our ends, we’re there to serve his.
Because humans can be such disrespectful, selfish and idiotic little pricks, that when they do things wrong, they even defend it. I think one problem is, people are trying to control the things they can’t control, but are not trying to control the things they can control.
My elementary teacher taught me a good lesson: “God help those, who help themselves.” We may differ in belief, religion cultures, etc…But, I still believe in giving your best, whatever, your position in life.
God is not an Elevator Boy, who pushes a button; so that you can go up.
We are too dependent on our religions. We progress, we call it , the will of God. We suffer, we call it the will of God.
@ Ms. Mike, it is not for me to opine on anything in the religious realm.
You mention all the scams and the failings of the gov’t. to re-patriate the funds of those scams.
Do you have any idea as to how the re-covered funds could be tracked and seen to be spent for the people’s benefit? or how to recover funds to begin with?
Some religions are scams. Their leaders grew rich. While they control their people to follow their order, or “matiwalag ka”…
Look at the heads of religions. They live in large houses and Palaces…
Faith without good works is dead after all.
“Everyone has faith in something, even atheists can be said to have faith that there is no God.”
Don’t get into this type of thinking. There are many different flavors of atheism ranging from weak atheism (merely lacking a belief) to strong atheism (positively affirming no gods exist). There are atheists who do not believe in any specific god/s but may consider the possibility as well as those who conclude that there are none. There are gnostic atheists as well as agnostic atheists. There are atheists who might be part of a religion as well as non religious atheists.
There’s a third choice between being an atheist and being a Christian/Muslim. And it’s being a Buddhist.
There’s no concept of a God in Buddhism– which actually makes sense. Looking at the last earthquake and seeing a child with its head flattened by concrete slabs makes the concept of an all-loving God and an almighty God monstrously ridiculous.
Anyone with half a brain will realize that there’s no universal loving and almighty big ghost or trinity of any kind that exists somewhere in heaven. Because if there was such a God, he’s be guilty of neglect and laying down on his job.
The Buddhist concept of Supreme Law, karma, past lives, reincarnation, etc., make much more sense, explain phenomena much better and are much more suitable for an Asian country like the PH with fundamentally Asian values and behavior.
Christianity, otoh makes Filipinos unnatural and stiff and does not suit them. Plus, since this is a Spanish/American variety of Christianity, it forever makes them feel like they need to act/be Western to live happy lives. But they can never become Western, so it frustrates them. In addition, there’s an obsession with American quotes ( to live by) and American culture- again unnatural and not indigenous to Pinoys. America is a dying country and following it may not lead the nation to success.
Otoh, Filipinos look very natural at a Buddhist temple, and very relaxed, and that is the way it should be. Buddhism ( of the correct kind) also works to change one’s karma and protect one and create good fortune for one and his/her family.
Just make sure you pick a successful Buddhist country and the right sect of it. Do not imitate Cambodia, for example.
A Buddhist Philippines will be a correct thing.