PamagCUSA Blog

Sharing with you Bishop Ambo David's speech during the launching of the LUID KA! coffeetable book in Trinoma, March 29.

Among Ed & the Future of the Kapampangan People Power
Bishop Ambo S. David

Contrary to the belief of many, Among Ed did not win as governor of Pampanga because he received the full backing of the archdiocese of San Fernando , Pampanga. What he actually received from our archbishop were three formal admonitions and a final suspension of his priestly faculties, as well as a list of reasons from our Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council why he should reconsider his decision up to the last moment before he actually filed his candidacy. He also received a set of guidelines instructing him that he was not allowed to use any Church resources, venues, and personnel for his political campaign, to which Fr. Ed complied. How Fr. Ed Panlilio won at all as governor despite all odds not just with the Pinedas and Lapids but also with the Church, is part of the mystery behind the so-called “Kapampangan people power.”

Prior to his entry into politics, upon the invitation of our social action center, a group of lay people in Pampanga conducted a series of multi-sectoral consultations, seriously analyzing the current state of Pampanga politics, noting the sorry state in which we were in—namely, that we were left with practically no choice for governor. (Two high-profile personalities had announced their intentions of running for governor of Pampanga: one known publicly to be the wife of the jueteng lord Mr. Bong Pineda, and the other, the son of quarry lord & former governor Lito Lapid. Every Kapampangan knew it was crazy to even dare to challenge these two candidates because they had both the money and the machinery for traditional elections, and the backing, loyalty & support of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In the absence of a choice, people started talking about just choosing the “lesser evil”. It was this pastoral situation that motivated the three bishops of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga, upon the prodding of our Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council, to write a pastoral letter on the then-coming elections. Inspired by Isa 1:16-17, we entitled it “Reject evil, choose the good.”) During one of those consultations, the laity asked the priests and bishops present if we could spare one of our priests, and if they could present him as an their alternative candidate. They had singled out Fr. Ed as their last prospective candidate (after all other lay prospects, had declined nomination), noting his reputation as an exemplary priest, his track record as a consistently pro-poor pastor, as former director of the best organized social action center in the country, as silent co-founder of the most successful Grameen Bank style of micro-financing in Pampanga, as the low-profile profile and soft-spoken priest who was more conspicuous than our local government officials in leading the Kapampangans to recovery after the Pinatubo eruption, and as the then-current parish priest of my hometown Betis, Pampanga. The clerics of course resisted this move, insisting that politics was a task of the laity. To their great surprise however, Fr. Ed responded positively to the invitation, after a lot of prayer and discernment, and dared to face whatever consequence went with it. His fellow priests reminded him that politics was a dirty affair and that he risked the prospect of getting himself and the rest of the Catholic Church smeared by the grime of the usual mudslinging that goes with political campaigns. A few days before he filed his candidacy, Fr. Ed was joined by his parishioners in an overnight prayer vigil. The vigil ended with a Eucharistic celebration with him as celebrant. He had decided to run for governor so his parishioners knew it was going to be his last Mass with them. It became more tearful than a funeral Mass. It was also the last time he wore his priestly garb.

Several days later, at the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass when we renewed our priestly vows before the archbishop, Among Ed stood quietly by the San Fernando metropolitan cathedral door amongst the crowd, in lay clothes. As we processed to the altar, each priest greeted him with a subdued smile, a slight wave, or a nod, in respect for the brother we felt we had lost. It was a moving sight. An active lay Church worker approached me after that Mass and whispered to me, “Among Ed is one of our best priests. Now he is suspended from his priestly duties for making a sacrifice for us. It is so painful to accept that.”

Fr. Ed’s bold move so touched the imagination of the Kapampangans, the rest that was to happen was totally unprecedented in the history of our province. People from all walks of life united in support of his candidacy, produced all sorts of creative posters and streamers, contributed money, even bought campaign materials and volunteered for all tasks imaginable to make him win. They guarded his votes like they protected their own lives, and spent many sleepless nights in vigil. They stayed at the Pampanga Convention Center to monitor the canvassing of votes, praying the rosary, cheering whenever Among Ed led by a few votes, and weeping whenever he lagged behind by a few votes. The rest, as they say, is history.

Believe it or not, most of our traditional parishes were not in forefront of that crusade. Traditional parishioners still cannot act without the blessing & approval of parish priests. It was rather the transparochial Catholic movements led by non-clerics—like the Couples for Christ, and various other charismatic communities like the Immaculate Heart, the Spirit of Love, the El Shaddai and even non-Catholic groups like members of the Born-Again & other Evangelical Christian groups, the Jesus is Lord Movement, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the Methodists, the Philippine Independent Church, as well as the non-government & peoples’ organizations and civil society groups—that went out in full support of Among Ed, not minding all the talk about Among Ed’s suspension from priestly office. It was the non-parochial laity that was unencumbered by clericalistic leadership that ironically supported the crusade of the suspended cleric. Several of our own parishes (often with their parish priest included) have been under the patronage either of the Pinedas or the Lapids, and hence did not support Fr. Ed. Those who supported him had to do it in the most discreet way possible.

I think of the Among Ed phenomenon of Pampanga as an experience that is replete with lessons worth sharing to people like yourselves who seem to take people power seriously. To elaborate my point, allow me to draw some thoughts from a recent book by Ronald Rolheiser, entitled Secularity and the Gospel (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2006, pp. 19-21.)

Rolheiser tells us in this book how the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate carried out a series of symposia with the objective of drawing up a new missiology, and with four basic aspirations in mind. Among them he cites the belief that “what is most needed right now to inspire us as missionaries within secularity is a re-inflaming of the romantic imagination within religion.” I think that is exactly what Among Ed has done for the faith in Pampanga. Strangely, his defiance of Church law did not strike a negative chord at all in people because they were also aware of the more serious defiance that he had dared to take up vis-à-vis the powerful political patrons of Pampanga. Even his removal of the priestly garb was seen by some—not as an act of disobedience but rather—as a reminder of Jesus removing his cloak to wash the dirty feet of his disciples. In short, his heroic courage bore with it a strongly romantic character we haven’t seen or experienced for a very long time now.

It is one thing for priests to get people to express their zeal for the faith at Mass and parish activities, and another thing to get people to act it out in a political exercise intended at fighting corruption and getting a good candidate to win and to set an example in good governance. Fr. Ed succeeded in doing both.

Prior to Among Ed’s crusade, priests in Pampanga were generally perceived as pro-jueteng, despite the fact that only about 25 out of 124 priests openly flaunted their friendship with—and support for—the Pinedas of Lubao. This should explain to you why Archbishop Cruz gripes about the absence of a Pampanga chapter for his Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng. Perhaps the good former archbishop of Pampanga suspects that we have all been bribed by the jueteng lord. He does not know of course, about the extent of our own underground crusade against jueteng in our province, which happens to be the jueteng capital of the country (and where an anti-jueteng crusade is a matter of life and death, not just a matter of media publicity). And so we did not even find it necessary to argue with Archbishop Cruz over the matter.

Rolheiser says—and I hope you don’t mind that I quote him at length, because I cannot say it better than he does—“Good theology stimulates and inflames the intellect. Thomas Aquinas and Bernard Lonergan add that it also helps to move the will. The heart needs to have some intellectual vision. Good ideas play no small part in any healthy change. Thus, the Christian community is always in need of good academics. As history shows, every time the Church has compromised on its intellectual tradition, seeing it as unimportant, it has paid a heavy price. Good, sound, abstract, academic theology is perennially the great corrective within church life and spirituality.”

“More recently,” he continues, “we have been blessed with an abundance of good theology. It is hardly the academy of theology that is weak at the present moment. The last thirty to forty years have produced (literally) libraries full of wonderful books on scripture, church history, liturgy, dogmatics, moral theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice. We are not lacking for solid ideas.” he says.

What Rolheiser thinks we are lacking however, is “fire, romance, aesthetics, as these pertain to our faith and ecclesial lives. What needs to be inflamed today inside religion is its romantic imagination…” He insists that “solid ideas and solid programs alone are… not enough. We need someone to re-inflame the romantic imagination of Christianity, a new Francis, a new Clare, a new Augustine, a new Thomas More, a new Ignatius, a new Therese of Lisieux.”

Rolheiser also says the same thing about vocations to the priesthood and religious life. He says, “More than strategies of recruitment, we need new romantic fire.” He proceeds to cite romantic figures among the religious of the past few decades like Thomas Merton, Mother Teresa, and Sister Helen Prejean and asks why one stirs up vocational romance more than another. Rolheiser also cites the explanations proposed by both conservatives and progressives over the graying and the emptying of Churches in the western world. He recognizes that there is some truth in all the reasons they propose but insists that “Among other things, we lack a romantic ideal for our faith and church lives. We have too little idealistic fire left…. We need to re-romanticize faith, religion, and church and give people something beautiful with which to fall in love.”

Ours is a Church of saints and martyrs, of great prophets and visionaries, of poets and artists, of healers and mystics, preachers and adventurous missionaries always breaking new frontiers. Ours is a movement that began with a motley group of Galilean fishermen who abandoned their boats and their nets to become “people-fishers” and to follow a romantic dreamer who made them believe in a world better than the one we’re living in, and which he called the reign of God. Ours is a religion that crosses the great divide between the human and the divine, the profane and the sacred, between the world and God, drawing its deepest convictions from the belief that life can be lived “on earth, as in heaven” (in Tagalog: Dito sa lupa, para nang sa langit…).

On that fateful night before he was arrested, our founder ate his last meal with his friends, asking them to do it again “in memory of him.” And look, it has been close to two thousand years now and we’re still doing the same romantic gesture over and over again, gathering together around that subversive memory until “kingdom come”.

I find it utterly strange that we should feel a sense of inadequacy before professionals who make us feel so outdated and irrelevant when they speak about their corporate managerial experience forgetting that we have existed as a corporation for the past twenty centuries now, relying, not on paid employees but on sheer volunteerism. At the end of the day, if the Church is to survive and carry on with her mission as a corporate Christ to a world that is still paralyzed by the madness of sin and death, what we need are men and women who share in the opposite madness of our romantic messiah, dreamers whose passion and idealism is as unquenchable as the burning bush that drove Moses to confront the Pharaoh of Egypt. And the educators, the formators, the teachers, and the mentors must make sure that what they give to their students are not harmless concepts or ideas but the same subversive memory of Christ. What we are to give are not cold and lifeless dogmas but fire, a profoundly erotic love, romantic ideals to live for, and above all, a person to die for.

Among Ed gave up the “institutional priesthood” to give way to a more romantic expression of the priesthood. He acceded to what I often call a kenosis (or a self-emptying act) which is at the core of our Biblical understanding of the “priesthood” of Christ. (People often forget that Jesus of Nazareth was a layman who was even very critical of the institutionalized temple priesthood of first century Judaism. The only NT writing that refers to him as a “priest” is the letter to the Hebrews, and only in the allegorical sense.) I am therefore not surprised when I hear Among Ed being interviewed on TV and saying that as far as he is concerned—even in his state of suspension from priestly faculties, he remains very much a priest and considers what he is doing as no less priestly.

If you ask me now, how, in my opinion, I would describe or characterize what my brother priest, Among Ed, has embarked on; I have only this to say. Among Ed has gone into the uncharted waters of a very unique kind of mission or apostolate. I call it “the evangelization of politics”. Is it possible at all?

This, by the way, is the central concern of the new political party founded by Nandy Pacheco called Ang Kapatiran. In the terrain of contemporary Philippine politics, they remain as a voice in the wilderness. Among the candidates for any electoral position they’ve fielded so far, only one has won—a city councilor in Olongapo named John Carlos De los Reyes. The reasons are of course very obvious—is it possible at all to reconfigure Philippine politics from within? Can advocates of a new kind of politics push for their advocacies by infiltrating a political system that is totally configured to the old paradigm of patronage politics? Are they not bound to just get eaten up by the system?

Fr. Ed has succeeded in getting in, thanks to people power. I’d like to believe that people who rallied behind him are themselves advocates of a new kind of politics. You will read about many of them in that coffee table book. They have even formed a broad coalition of civil society groups called the Kapampangan Coalition Inc., whose own understanding of politics has been challenged by many factors and recent developments. Among them, let me just cite the following challenges:

1) The fact that Among Ed is there all right, but all by his lonesome—totally isolated from the provincial board and the League of Pampanga Mayors (who are in a head-on collision course with Among Ed’s kind of politics.)
2) The fact that the moves to unseat him through recall, recount, or requiem remain real.
3) The fact that despite Among Ed, jueteng continues to thrive in Pampanga, and Among Ed is practically helpless about it. His own request for an anti-jueteng provincial police chief has remained unheeded.
4) The fact that even Among Ed’s efforts to safeguard quarry revenues from corruption so as to get them to be utilized for the common good have been thwarted by the provincial board’s unanimous move to the contrary.
5) The fact that Among Ed is practically rendered as a lameduck governor by a provincial board that refuses to approve his budget and the appointment his staff.
6) The fact that Among Ed does not have the political machinery nor the political party that can realistically back up his reform program.
7) The fact that Among Ed enjoys the support only of some in the national media, and hardly any in the local media.
8) The fact that Among Ed’s own supporters among the civil society have been bogged down by issues having to do with the wisdom of keeping some controversial members of his staff.
9) The fact that the unresolved bribery issue involving the money bag with 500K given to Among Ed at Malacanang has put Among Ed in a direct collision course with GMA, and specifically, with Congressman Mikey Arroyo who has all the Pampanga mayors at his beck and call.

The Bible tells us, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins." (Mark 2:22) The most that Among Ed can do is really to get the wineskins of old politics to burst so that we are left with no choice but to produce new wineskins that can contain new wine. Let me end with that parable and leave its application to the Pampango civil society—that alone can take the initiative of producing the new wineskins of new politics after the old wineskins have burst. Thank you.

Posted by pamagcusa at 11:58 AM | Permalink

Countries which have for a long time been colonies of western powers are like young children who are beginning to walk on their own. In Latin America Banana Republics were built. The Philippines was not like a banana republic, although its Constitution was almost entirely similar to that of the United States. For eleven years a Commonwealth prepared it for self-government. The interruption by Japan upon the American brothers and sisters of the Filipinos in running their own government was a bit made minimal by having a Republic with Filipino officials in the helm as leaders. This Philippine government established by the United States have always been beset by corruption.

The most maligned of the early presidents, Elpidio Quirino was criticized for his golden arinola. Since then there have not been a president who became free of many criticisms including petty but distracting ones. Corruption have always been rampant.The local governments appeared to be free from exposures, although almost nothing are being visibly achieved by most of the local officials. Only a number of them get in trouble and that happens only when they get the ire of someone more powerful than them.

Should people not be concerned with politics? Or is their lukewarm attitude towards politics and their indifference to problems caused by politicians the reasons why the Philippines lost its status as a leading political and economic Republic among the Asian nations?

Filipinos at home and abroad still have that fear of an impending civil war. In his recent speech Governor Among Ed asked who will do it? People have no arms? F. Sionil Jose and many more believe only a Revolution can change the Philippine system of governing. A major change is a Revolution, it need not be bloody. But it is surely political. Writing and verifying my thoughts on GMA's words and actuations, a conclusion is revealing and forming itself with out my intention. It is up to every human being to not only discern but ACT.

Ali nala buring makyabe king politika deng pulis Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Pansinan king ing salitang politics meyakwa ya king salitang Greku, king polis, buri nang sabyan balayan o kaya ding tau. Makananu kayang gawan ing buri nang Gloria? Kasakit ing mag-pules. Panakit ku karing salita na ampo pa karing aliwa menibatan anyang mebilug nalang panbansa, balamu militar ne ing kapulisan.

Kanita ing pitakutan da ya pin ing ding pamamaala karing balen ilang magpakalalu king gamit da ding pulis. Dapot neng mipunta nala king Panbangsang Upaya, antimo anyang megumpisa ini anyang panaun nang Marcos, (nung e ku magkamali) balamu ing sasabyan dang imperialismu o pamanyakup ning Pamaalan Menila karing malating pamaalan mayayakit yang lakwas kanini. Sukat lang mayingat deng taung atiyu upaya karing karelang yapse salita. Lakwas na karing mawa at magpakabiyasa pa, kayabe la naman ding mabelwan na. Karing minuna malili la o magi lang monu, ding tawli mimwa la, lumaban la, at/o kaya mipitna-pitna la. Deng pulis ampon militar pagaralan dana man siguru king ing katungkulan da ila pin ding tau, king Balen. Ing kakayap nini ya ing nasa ra. Masampat king lawen yang masipat ing curriculum ding eskwelang pulis at militar.

Nanu ya pin mo ing salitang politics agpang karing pantas ampon batikan. Marok ya pin at e sukat pakyabayan o katulran de ini ding tau?
• The word politics comes from the Greek word "polis", meaning the state or community as a whole. The concept of the "polis" was an ideal state and came from the writings of great political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. In his novel "The Republic", Plato describes the ideal state and the means to achieve it. Hence, the word politics originally has connotations in the ways in which to create the ideal society. An ideal society is in practice a rather difficult aim and even an impossible aim to achieve. Politics implies measures which could and should, in the views of their devisor, be implemented in the hope to create a better society, than that which is already present. The very fact that Plato and Aristotle saw imperfections in the societies in which they lived, prompted them to write their political philosophies. These philosophies provided the first written recognition of politics. In his writings his "The Politics", Aristotle states that "Man is by nature a political animal"(The Politics, 1) in another words, it lies deep within the instinct of man. It is almost primal. Due to his nature man should consider and realise his role within the "polis". So according to Aristotle Politics is not a dreamt up concept, but rather an inherent feature of mankind.http://www.allfreeessays.com/student/What_Is_Politics.html

Ibat karing Salita nang PGMA, agpang kening Balita:
" Tulad ng kanyang paalala sa mga nagtapos sa PMA kamakailan, inihayag ni Arroyo sa mga nagtapos sa PNPA ang kahalagahan ng disiplina sa sarili at pagsuko sa ilan nilang karapatan.
• "In return for your guns, there are certain civil rights you have to give up and that is the right to speak politically. So 'yun, kasama doon ang disiplina," sabi niya.
• Hindi rin umano dapat kalimutan ng mga nagtapos na ang pangunahin nilang tungkulin ay panatilihin ang kaayusan, katahimikan at katatagan ng ekonomiya sa bansa.
• "Bagama't 'di kayo makapagsasalita sa pulitika maging halimbawa ng bagong sibol ng kapulisan na nag-aalaga sa kaligtasan at katahimikan ng ating bansa," idinagdag ng Pangulo." http://www.gmanews.tv/story/86520/Huwag-kayo-makisali-sa-pulitika-sabi-ni-Arroyo-sa-PNPA-graduates

Balamu ing laman ding salita mangabaldugan militar nala ding pulis. Balamu bayad la ding baril king pamaglako pilan a politikang katuliran da ding migpulis. E wari atin lugal a ding pulis ali la tatalan baril? Agyang Hongkong mu yata a maralas dang pupuntalan ding pilan a matas mamaala, makanyan. Ay, ninu naman ing ginawa king talumpati nang PGMA? Leko danala katuliran ding kayanakan a pules? Ali nala kasi "pagasa ning Balen"? Masakit ya bili ing bansa. Balamu i Gloria ali ne political leader, makanyan ing lalto. Lalala neng ali na arapan ing kutang ning Balayan.
In his definition of politics in the "Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought" Miller advocates this view, stating that if "people (were to) agree spontaneously on a course of action...they (would) have no need to engage in politics."(Miller, 1987, p.390)(Added) Thus, politics exists due to the broad spectrum of ideas and opinions within any society. To resolve conflicting opinions, a consensus must be agreed upon by all parties affected. Also in "The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought", Miller cites three methods which are a feature of politics when resolving disagreements within society, these three elements are "persuasion, bargaining and a mechanism for reaching a final decision"(Miller, 1987, p.390). This means that politics tries to act as a peacemaker by offering solution(s) to conflict to the parties involved by means of discussion with them. The outcome will most probably require the yielding of at least one of the parties implicated in order to meet at a compromise. The mechanism is the way in which the parties make their final decisions based on the scenarios with which they have been provided. This may take the form of a vote.
http://www.allfreeessays.com/student/What_Is_Politics.html

Karing eskwela at karing pibalebale sana e mipapakarok ing katuturan ning salitang politika. Nung dakal a politikung e na makatau gawa. ali sa maging buring sabyan a ing politika ali ne map at kaylangan. Nung lalako la belwan at masabal ding tau kanini anti nala naman lalako pangatau. Anti lang de-dehumanize. Balamu lalako la pamakyabe king biye ra anting taung dake ning lipunan.
"In the process of establishing the core concepts of this affair called politics, it is plain to see that a brief definition is virtually impossible. Politics is not simply an object or a single stranded idea. It is not a concise term but rather a complicated notion, which embraces premises, opinions, and qualities of human nature, actions and institutions. It seems to arise in those situations where humans live in coexistence whether that be by choice or otherwise. Any attempt at a definition would be to confine and customise politics to suit ones own particular views. Nevertheless, in fitting with the title of this essay an attempt at a definition shall be made.
• Lawen ya ing ulaga ning politika:
Politics is the means to creating a more organised and peaceful society, by providing methods to resolve conflict that naturally occurs between men, by means of civil discussion and rational compromise. It thus stems the need for violence in tense situations and ultimately looks to avoid the degradation of a community into utter chaos. Authority is the underlying feature of politics and ensures its enforceability. Power underpins its very existence; it is a prerequisite for politics exist. Without authority, politics simply is not feasible. The most visible and widely accepted example of politics is the workings of the governmental institutions. However, although at first glance one may not be aware of it, politics in its various forms is present wherever and whenever humans form a community. Referring back to the views of Aristotle, politics is an intrinsic feature of mankind."
• Ali mayakwa kanini king ing sukat marapat ya pin ing arapan la ding pisasabyan? E makanining miligtas ing maragul nang kutang ning Bangsa king Pamaalan nang PGMA? E la makanining mipasno agyang bagyu mu ding tao, lakwas na i Gloria?
•
• Makalunus mu king ding mayayaus a governmental institutions mengayana nala ata. Patye reni mimina la at metung ya mu ing sisikan, mate ne ing Demokrasya, ing pamaalan da ding tau. Ali sukat paburen ing ding mismung telakaran areni masilu la at payna king sarili ra at kulkul king kamatayan da. Ini yang papalbug king Gabun Ming Tibwan a Pilipinas !
Ing pangalako ning Timbang a Upaya, ding Atlung Sanga ning Gubyernu pauli ning pangasolu ning Upaya king Metung mung Sanga, ing pangawala ning Checks and Balances - Mitwag ya ing Pilipinas. Makanyan la kaulaga ding balang metung a sanga. Ing Balance and Separation of Powers. Tutu mu naman ini kening kaluguran ming Amerika, sukat yang sikan pa ing demokrasya, sukat lang maramdam ding tau. Ila ding upaya.

Posted by pamagcusa at 06:16 PM | Permalink

PRESS RELEASE
March 24, 2008

GOV. PANLILIO TO MEET PROVINCIAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL; 2008 ANNUAL INVESTMENT PLAN TO BE TACKLED

Governor Eddie T. Panlilio will convene the Provincial Development Council on March 28, 2008 at the Executive Hose of the Provincial Capitol at 2:00 PM to finalize and approve the 2008 Annual Investment Plan (2008 AIP) of the province.

The meeting shall be attended by various stakeholders in Pampanga, including Non-Government Organizations, municipal and city chief executives, as well as officers of the provincial capitol.

The approval of the 2008 AIP is a crucial step in the acquisition from the national government of PhP 181.23 million development fund, representing 20% of the Internal Revenue Allotment of the province, which is projected to be at PhP906.19 Million. It shall then be forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for its final approval.

On board are proposals for livelihood improvement and promotion, social amelioration, health intervention, and infrastructure development.

“These proposed projects will harmoniously complement the other programs already included in the general fund,” according to the governor. “The senior citizens, for example, have five million pesos earmarked for 2008. this allows us a greater flexibility in distributing services to all sectors of our province.”

Aside from the 2008 AIP, Gov. Panlilio will also present to the attendees his proposal to have a Provincial Farm Summit in order to address the impending food crisis in our nation. Pampanga being one of the major rice producers and ranking high in fish production as well, the governor would like to se a more coordinated approach to multi-term solutions of various agencies, offices, cooperatives, local government units and farming communities. He sees the strong contribution that the province of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can provide in her effort to answer the market needs of the people. Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Mario Mangiliman remarked that the rice production of Pampanga has been more than adequate, with a brighter prospect in the coming harvest months. However, with the early onset of the rainy season and the predicted coming of La Nina, he batted for greater preparedness for the farming sector.

The following are the Provincial Government Mandates included among the Priority Development Projects earmarked in the Annual Investment Plan:

Construction and Repair of Roads and Bridges 60.00M
Construction and Repair of Government Buildings and Facilities 41.82M
Provision for Construction Materials for Construction and Repair
Of Governement Facilities 12.50M
Construction/Rehabilitation/Fabrication of Artresian Wells and
Water System 3.00M
Maintenance and Improvement of Capitol Grounds and Park 1.00M

Other Priority Development Projects include:
General Revision and Tax Mapping 15.00M
In compliance with Sec. 219 of the Local Government Code
mandating regular general revisions of real property
assessments and to rationalize provincial real property records
PHILHEALTH Program 10.00M
PhilHealth Card to be issued to indigents provincewide
Purchase of Hospital Equipment and Fixtures 10.00M
Purchase of medicines and fixtures for the 9 District Hospitals
and one Provincial Hospital
Aku ing Bayung Entrepreneur Livelihood Program 8.40M
Micro-finance program for micro-enterprises designed
for the uplift of the poor and to transform labor resources
into income by building capacity
Bamboo Development Program 3.00M
Propagation of bamboo in the municipalities of Candaba,
Sasmuan, Bacolor, San Luis, Apalit, Arayat, Mexico,
Sta. Ana, Guagua and Lubao
Early Childhood Care and Development 2.40M
Representation of 30% provincial share of the funds for the
National Council for the Welfare of Children
Provincial Plant and Vegetable Seedling Nurseries 2.00M
Distribution of free plants and vegetables
Solid Waste Management and Sanitation Program 2.00M
Implementation of RA 9003, or the Solid Waste Act
Skills and Manpower Training Center 1.50M
Implementation of Provincial Training Center programs,
involving capacity building activities for employment and
industry coordination and consultation
Tourism Development Promotion 1.50M
Promotion of Kapampangan culture
Provincial Tilapia Hatchery 1.50M
Culture and dispersal of fingerlings
Trade Promotion 1.50M
Promotion of Kapampangan products through CDs and
brochures, and participation in activities like trade fairs
Artificial Insemination Program 1.01M
Program to increase animal production
Population and Gender Development Program 1.00M
Programs on pre-marriage counseling, drug abuse, STDs,
Violence against women and children, family planning,
Child survival program, pap smear
Clean and Green Beautification Program 1.00M
Generation of multi-sectoral advocacy, recognition and
support towards the nurture of nature and environment,
and in implementation of EO 113.
Cooperative Development .80M
Direct technical assistance like trainings on cooperatives
project development and packaging capital build-up/
savings
Development Planning .30M
Acquisition of essential materials and other expenses for
the conduct of feasibility studies of development programs
and projects, land use planning activities and production of
planning documents

Posted by pamagcusa at 07:19 PM | Permalink

The Lent season is supposed to be a call for Christians to grow into spiritual maturity through self-denial but in a world which flaunts self-centeredness, self-glorification and ostentatious styles of worldly existence so gregarious as to offend one’s sense of propriety and decency, this concept of self-sacrifice is considered outdated/passe by many so-called "Christian" political leaders of our country. For example, Pres. GMA should realize, hopefully sooner than later, that whatever power/authority has been reposed in her as President at one time or the other, should not be treated as a personal possession which she should hang on to by hook or by crook. Unfortunately, with regards to recent and incessant calls for her to step down and resign, she is "Kapit-tuko", as the former Senate President Senator Jovito Salonga said a few days ago.

There is such a growing perception that the social, political and economic situation in the Philippines will only get worse before it gets better. It is becoming even more evident that there is an increasing polarization of the Filipino people and neither the pro-administration nor opposition forces are inclined to give up an inch, clearly showing the other that they are not about to just fold and ran away from the fight. The precarious status quo is poising itself to be such a hotly contentious battle of the nerves. Indeed, the latest inter-faith rallies for Truth by many religious leaders headed by no less than Bishop Ted Bacani, the Spiritual Director of no less than the E L Shaddai DWXI-PPFI Catholic community and Bro. E ddie Villanueva of the JIL Movement complemented by students from different universities, prominent members of the so-called "Civil Society" group as well as the leftist-leaning elements of Philippine society may very well lead to more radical and perhaps, violent, bloodier resistance from military-based opposition forces which may have simply gone underground to re-strategize their next moves. There are even persistent rumors that Pres. GMA may, out of frustration/desperation, be assassinated by military personnel aligned with the detained Sen. Trillanes and Gen. Lim.

About a year ago, a non-Christian, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand resigned his position for the sake of his country’s peace, unity and stability. A few days ago, Governor E lliot Spitzer of New York resigned amidst allegations of a paid tryst with a highly-paid call girl. If Thailand’s Prime Minister resigned for a purported offense of tax avoidance (which is probably committed by many of our incumbent politicians) which may have been perfectly legal under Thailand’s tax laws but which nonetheless, was perceived as an abuse of executive power…or a Governor who has allegedly committed what is definitely a way of life for many of our politicians, how much more a President whose moral ascendancy, credibility and integrity, so foundational to her ability to govern is seriously in question due to, among others, scandalous allegations of massive graft and corruption in the ZT E -NBN deal involving no less than the First Couple themselves? Lest I be misunderstood, I have nothing personal against President GMA. I am just concerned that the myriad of problems she is facing are simply not going to fade in time but will only get worse to the obvious detriment of the Filipino people’s general welfare. If she really has the best interests of the nation in mind then, she should best heed E phesians 4:17 in which St. Paul solemnly declares…"You must no longer live as the pagans do, their minds empty and their understanding darkened. They live a life separated from God due to their ignorance and stubbornness. Without remorse, they live a life of lust and indulge in every sort of lewd conduct. That is not what you learned when you learned Christ. I suppose that He was taught to you in accord with the truth that is in Christ Jesus, namely, that you should lay aside your old self and your former way of life which deteriorates through illusion and desire and acquire a fresh spiritual way of thinking. You must put on that new man (woman), created in the image and likeness of God, one whose justice and holiness are based on truth. "

The perpetrators of these shameful shenanigans may be able to muddle up the truth with their counter-lies/psyche warfare as well as intimidate the people into submission by their military might. However, it is written that we have a God from whom nothing is ever hidden. All lies bare and exposed to the eyes of Him to Whom Pres. GMA, the First Gentleman, Chairman Abalos, Commissioner Neri and others will render an account of what really happened in the ZT E -NBN deal and other similar graft-tainted government deals. If only they will realize that it is and will be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, perhaps the truth and nothing but the truth will eventually come out. However, it is easily said than done…Di ba?

Atty. Ramoncito "Bro. Mon" Ocampo, a licensed attorney in CA and a lay Catholic/Christian preacher, welcomes your comments at ocampolawusa@yahoo.com.

Posted by pamagcusa at 02:18 PM | Permalink

ROTARY
15 March

For the record, this will be my third appearance before a rotary district since last month. A few days from now, the Rotarians of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga will host me, and next month I am scheduled to meet with the Angeles City Chapter. As I have told your fellow members from Subic, at the rate I’m going, I might as well be a member already, although probably not as governor. I have so much on my hands already.

We live in what the Chinese call interesting times. Interesting, in the sense that all the events that have transpired in the past few weeks have given us pause to examine what the signs of the times are telling us. Once again, people are re-examining their options and are deliberating on the different sides of every issue being presented to them. Those who have been previously focused on strictly personal matters are beginning to listen to the stirrings of consent and dissent. There is now is an opportunity to raise the level of our collective and individual consciousness to a higher level that affords us a more expansive background on which our choices may be determined.

The last time I came over here at the SMX Convention Center, it was to address the members of the Philippine export furniture industry. Aside from my thoughts on home furnishings, the attendees wanted to know more about the crusade for good governance and responsible citizenship that we have been espousing in Pampanga. I felt heartened by the fact that even such a specialized business sector has been very interested to know more about our activities. It is not only the Rotarians anymore who are keen on templates and paradigms that are signs of contradiction to the alarming trend of runaway corruption in government and in daily life.

On the other hand, there are those who would seek to have the people stay silent and happily oblivious to current events. They would rather entrench the people in some dark corner, feeding them with ghost stories of economic crisis and even civil war, should the democratic space of the nation continue to expand. I ask, who is capable of fomenting armed conflict, if not the armed ones themselves? You and I have no guns; we do not even have slingshots. We cannot overthrow the government through violent means. Realizing that this path will only lead to greater oppression for the people, I have categorically rejected time and again the violent overthrow of the government.

We can cause change, sometimes in the most surprising way. Nobody expected us to win, but we did. There were those who said that we would last only until December, but still be are here, not out of hubris, but out of the grace of God, for whose glory we strive to make a difference in our province.

I believe that the Pampanga experience has been a shining example of how modern democracy can be practiced here in our country, following the other examples in the mold of Nueva Viscaya and Nueva Ecija. The vision of Davids doing battle with Goliaths has always captured the imagination of people, but in its essence, that is democracy: small persons like you and me, banding together to determine our future in the face of a few Goliaths seeking to impose their will upon us by force of arms or money.

Democracy must flourish. And for this to happen, the truth in all the controversies must be revealed. And as the good bishops admonished, we must continue to winnow the chaff from the grain. Democracy is the rule of the majority, and not the rule of the mob, which can come from both sides of the political fence. We have laws of the land, fundamental among which is the Constitution, that cannot be ignored or desecrated just because a few people happened to gather together and make some noise. On the other hand, the legitimate grievances of the people must be addressed. Failure to do so is a denial of the dictum that power resides in the people.

People have been asking me, why have I not joined the solidarity walk of governors with the president? Of all people, the governor of her hometown should be at the helm of any vessel of support that might be launched in her defense, or so the conventional wisdom of many would say.

Let me be very clear about this. President Arroyo may be the best thing that has ever happened to Pampanga, in terms of infrastructure development and economic impetus. Through her, our airport in Clark has undergone so many improvements that can position it to rival its Metro Manila counterparts. The completion of the Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressway has redrawn the map of economic opportunities in the province. Schools and health centers have been built with her directives. The projects she has implemented in our province are undeniable. Personally, I have sent my grateful appreciation to her for the proactive instructions to General Razon for my security and safety when word reached her that there were two contracts on my head.

But for me to express defense for the president in such terms as “unquestioning, wholehearted, unequivocal, all the way,” is for me an unexamined position that denies the possibility of mistakes in the person. It is almost like ascribing total holiness on a human person, which to put it mildly is a form of idolatry. Even in a family, a parent will not tolerate the wrongdoings of a child. This is not some sort of a left-handed compliment, but my respect for the president to her humanity shall always be there. And allow me to reiterate my position: I shall give my full support to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo insofar as good governance and responsible citizenship is concerned. I also make my appeal to the president to help us make Pampanga the template for transparency and accountability in the country.

In the same manner, I do not wish you to accept me hook, line and sinker. Our administration has yet to implement a highly efficient delivery system, because the superstructure is not yet in place. Our accounting and budget departments combined have less number of computers than a medium-sized private school. We have to redesign our social service system; with so many people walking in and asking for all kinds of help, it takes time before the assistance is received by the indigent.

I have my share of faults, not excluding a perceived stubbornness. By refusing to follow the usual political practices, such as patronage and unprincipled alliance-building, I have been seen as an ignorant neophyte and a false messiah. By pushing for consensus-building, I have been accused of being slow in my decisions. By following strictly the procurement and bidding rules, the cutting of corners that breed corruption have been prevented.

During the so-called dialogue between me and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, I was asked by the Vice Governor why we have not been able to implement infrastructure projects according to a schedule they expected, when all other provinces in Central Luzon have been able to accomplish so much, despite the fact that we are all covered by the same laws. My reply was sincere: I don’t know. I didn’t know how the others did it, but this is what I do know, that in the province of Pampanga today, the following are banned: advance payment of SOP, construction without the necessary program of work, padrino system in bidding, unregulated and unsupervised construction. I have stated time and again to the contractors and suppliers that any act to the contrary shall be severely dealt with.

As a proof that I mean to uphold the law and preside over a level playing field, we have imposed fines and penalties on violators, even those who have been our staunchest supporters during the campaign, and yes, even mayors and other public officials. Commenting on our moves, some have shaken their heads and accused us of committing political suicide.

I have been scorned and laughed at because at certain periods of the month I do not have any more money to give to those who come the Capitol begging for a bit of a relief. Why? Because I do not steal from the treasury, or receive payola from vice lords. The twenty-seven thousand pesos or so that I receive as salary mostly go to financial assistance. When it runs out, I have nothing to give anymore, and my only recourse is to steal, or to take bribes, which I will not do. I see those who are perceived as Robin Hoods to be purveyors of patronage that keeps our poor people dependent on them, thus depriving them of their dignity. Let’s face it. Those public officials who accept bribes and grease money in the name of public service have become richer than before, by pocketing most of the money and giving a pittance to the poor they claim to serve.

Why are we so strident in effecting a new kind of politics in Pampanga? Do we have a template that we desire to follow and even improve on? I am first to admit that ours has not been the first effort to redraw the political landscape of our land. There are others we admire, like Mayor Jess Robredo of Naga City and our own Mayor Oscar Rodriguez of the City of San Fernando. Given the fact that we command a greater territorial responsibility, we have to tweak the machinery here and there. But the motivation remains the same.

How do we realize this inner change? Marikina, Subic and Clark and even the city-state of Singapoore have shown us the first step. There must be a political will to uphold the majesty of the law. The people must realize that an infraction will be met with penalty. The leadership must have the sincerity and purpose to forge ahead, no matter what opposition comes, for there will certainly come one, most probably in the guise of embedded culture, especially our culture of taking the easy way out. Both the citizen and the civil servant must be held liable for their action, implying a swift justice system that favors no one.

But beyond the external force of the law, the internal conversion of every citizen must happen. This is where churches and civic organizations can come and help. The crusade in Pampanga does not only involve civic consciousness; it also includes a change in character that is founded on ethical and moral convictions.

How then shall we assure its chances of success? This is why I come to you today. We need your help. All forms of assistance to Pampanga are surely welcome, of course. But in the same manner that the campaign and the elections last year were an out-of-the-box event, I propose another unique way of helping us realize the crusade, most fittingly for the Rotarians. I now ask you to help us by inaugurating your own crusades in your respective communities and government units.

Let us make a common cause for an internal change, and I call on yhou Rotarians, because you have been in possession of an ideal that transcends faith and culture, but which strengthens national character though the transformation of an individual. This ideal hits the issue of good governance straight through, because you have so many public officials in your ranks. At the same time, it solidifies the aspirations for responsible citizenship, because among you are private citizens of great influence to the community. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, it has been with you all along, not only in your logo.

At the instance of a possible breaking of the law, at the moment of temptation to offer or take a bribe, at the time of being tested for your moral fortitude, when the chance for easy money presents itself, before you throw that piece of candy wrapper to the sidewalk or run through that red light, when the chance to cheat on your taxes is so enticing, ask yourselves your four questions. Can you imagine the ethical revolution you will be creating?

If only you can convince every Rotarian to take to heart and heed your ideal, then I believe that this country will be headed in the right direction, and you will be helping us realize our dream of transparent and accountable governance matched with responsible and .

Will the crusade for good governance and responsible citizenship in Pampanga be successful? I don’t know. I was told of a rumor that I will be holding office until the end of June, at the latest. If God allows it, I am but his servant. But I am firmly convinced that for this crusade to succeed, it needs the synergy of every Filipino who has had enough, and who is now willing to stand up and do something about it in his own province, in his own town, in his own backyard, in his own heart. I ask, is that you, Rotarian?

Posted by pamagcusa at 09:24 PM | Permalink

‘Why we can’t support call for GMA to resign’
POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual Jr.
As published in Philippine Star
Sunday, March 16, 2008

THIS Sunday, I share a piece by Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, dean of the Graduate School of Law of San Beda College (Mendio-la) on calls for President Gloria Arroyo to resign. He says, and I concur:

“I am not an apologist for President Arroyo. I have received no favors from her. I believe that she is a competent President and I also believe in the Rule of Law, no matter that the law may, in several respects, be infirm. And by the precepts of the Rule of Law to which I adhere, pressuring the President into resigning by swaying public opinion away from her and alienating the allegiance of the military is anathema.

“My own reflections on the moral dimensions of the problems confirm me in the legal position I have so far taken.

“1. I have followed with keen attention the proceedings in the Senate. Joey de Venecia’s testimony clearly implicates the First Gentleman. Under the current legal doctrine of individual responsibility, there is no justification to impute to the President whatever wrongdoings the First Gentleman may be guilty of. I am not yet conceding that he is guilty.

“2. The testimony of Jun Lozada, while rich in many details, contains not a single incriminatory statement against the President. There are innuendos that the NBN deal was known to, if not brokered, by some Malacañang personalities, but innuendo is never evidence, and when we take such a serious move as urging the people to press for the resignation of the President, such a call must, by all moral precepts, rest on moral certitude!

“3. Much of the testimony of Lozada in the Senate would fail the test of judicial admissibility. The Senate does not adhere to the Rules of Evidence. It is not required to, because its task is not judicial.

“4. The Senators are not the impartial investigators and judges that judicial proceedings call for. Most of the Senators are political adversaries of PGMA. The witness answers as he is led by the questions. In court, most of these questions are characterized as ‘leading,’ and are disallowed in direct examinations because they lead the witness to the kind of answer the proponent of the question — in this case, the senators — wish to elicit from the witness.

“5. Section 15 (1) of Republic Act 6770 vests in the Ombudsman the power to investigate ‘any public officer or employee, office or agency’ when an act or omission complained of appears to be illegal or even merely improper. I do not read, nor is there reason to read, the exclusion of the President from the power of the Ombudsman to investigate. Section 22 is in fact express about its power to investigate impeachable officials. I would like to hear the Ombudsman tell us whether or not there is probable cause in the first place because this, the Senate of its own cannot determine, nor does it possess the power to do so!

“6. What shocks me is the irresponsibility with which a lawyer and a Senator of the Republic should prejudice the Ombudsman and dissuade the public from lending credence to the Ombudsman. Why should he? The reason is not too difficult to fathom: Since this particular senator has always wanted the President ousted, he wants public attention focused on the Senate, majority of whose members are having a heyday with the investigations at which they get the chance to bash the President. Proceedings before the Ombudsman should be more sedate, more orderly, more rational.

“7. The contention that the Ombudsman and the Justice Secretary cannot conduct credible investigations because they are presidential appointees is specious! Were that so, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the associate justices of the High Court, the justices of all superior courts, judges of courts, members of the Constitutional Commissions — all would lack credibility because all are presidential appointees. Is it then our sad fate in this blighted Republic that only the Senators are to be trusted? All the clowning that has taken place in the Senate thus far convinces me otherwise: That it is one of the least credible institutions in this country.

“8. Is it really the truth we seek? I have the sickening feeling that the President’s foes have already decided what the ‘truth’ is — that she is guilty. If the Ombudsman were to find no probable cause against the President or reason to indict the President in the Lower House (that is tasked with filing the articles of impeachment) after a thorough investigation, would the members of the opposition and the media be willing to accept this as ‘true’? I have my serious doubts. But that is exactly the trouble: If they have decided beforehand what ‘true’ is, then all investigations are unavailing.

“9. When one protests his earnestness in search of the truth and at the same time presses for the resignation of the President, one is guilty of a ‘performative contradiction.’ If you search for the truth, you do not yet know whether or not she is guilty. But if you do not know this yet, what reason is there to ask her to resign?

“10. Asking for the President’s resignation gives now the military the signal to shift allegiances: From following the chain of command to breaking it. I find pathetic and ludicrous Jose Ma. Sison’s call to the military to shift allegiances.

“11. When did all these coup attempts disruptive of civil government start? They all started with the politicization of the military. While we lauded their role in the first EDSA People Power revolution, we also opened a Pandora’s Box — the ugly prospect of the military dictating upon civilian government and making the latter hostage to it. How shall we ever have a government that truly subjects military authority to civilian rule if we court military support for the ouster of civilian government?

“11. The two EDSA People Power exercises we have gone through got us the results we wanted THEN — the ouster of Marcos, the ouster of Erap. But have these resulted in the strengthening of democratic institutions? They definitely have not. And when the institutions of democracy and justice are weakened by extra-systemic measures like people power, snap elections, premature departures from office of duly constituted authorities, we deter the maturing of our democracy.

“12. It has been repeatedly argued that the President’s resignation is not unconstitutional. But forcing her to by inviting the military for example to disavow obedience to their Commander-in-Chief and the civilian population not to submit to authority is certainly unconstitutional.”

Posted by pamagcusa at 06:43 PM | Permalink

Will Pres. GMA And/or Her Closest Aides E ver Be Held Accountable For NBN-ZT E Deal?...Newspaper Article 3/12/08

The Lent season is a time of reflection and hopefully, a deeper appreciation of the very essence of the Christian faith. If we are to adhere to the teachings of Christianity and its message of love in the midst of a violent environment beset with anger and outbursts of rage; its message of forgiveness in the face of deep-seated animosities and personal grudges; its message of truth/hope in the midst of an ever-increasing atmosphere of lies and deception, despair on the part of the poor and sheer indifference/apathy on the part of those with the resources/authority to remedy the same… it just doesn’t make sense/logic in more ways than one, does it? After all, who can, in his/her worldly/secular mind, truly love ones’ enemies, do good to those who hate them, pray for those who maltreat them or bless those who curse them? Is it really possible in a macho-oriented society to turn the right cheek when someone slaps you at the left? Can one really be inclined to forgive and indeed, not avenge oneself for an intolerable, abominable injustice committed by an abusive offender and in so doing, not repay evil with evil but instead, conquer evil with good? Would anyone truly lend money to another without expecting repayment in return? What I have just enumerated may sound too utopian and quixotic, indeed. And yet amazingly enough, these are the very exhortations/commands of Jesus who is recognized by Christians as the Son of the living God. We need to realize, once and for all, that those who believe in Him, must and should, by the grace/indwelling power of His Spirit, live/be like Him, leading an unselfish, God-centered life exemplifying His benevolent teachings.

This season is a time of fasting, of self-sacrifice, of dying to oneself…not such a hot idea/concept to a self-indulgent society many of us live in. For example, Catholics are exhorted to abstain from meat and fast on Fridays. Some people would give up soda, sweets, movies and such other desires of the mortal flesh if only to get into the spirit of self-sacrifice. In the Philippines, there will be even be the spectacle of men as part of their "panata" or annual Lenten pledge, flogging themselves with metal whips to commemorate Jesus’ torturous walk towards Calvary. A select few would even go to the extreme of having themselves nailed on a wooden cross. And yet, as written in Isaiah 58:5-7, "Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly; untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the poor; sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them and not turning your back on your own."

At a TFC/TV expose’ which I recently watched, I cannot believe it when I saw girls as young as 13 in Naic, Cavite, the hometown of my late mother, who due to sheer poverty, sell their souls/respective bodies for sex for a measly few pieces of fish if only to feed their respective families. Indeed, the nagging issue confronting the Filipino people today is…How can our current breed of political/military leaders in the highest echelons of local/national government, possibly heed the above exhortations of Isaiah with regards to the alleviation of the plight of the poor and the oppressed when they themselves are the most likely perpetrators of graft and corruption and personal beneficiaries of millions of pesos/dollars in kick-backs?…How can the yoke of injustice be untied and those bound unjustly be released when the few principled people such as Sen. Trillanes and other military officers, who dared to expose and fight for truth, justice and installation of morally upright leadership in our country, end up in chains themselves, bound by the very perpetrators of the injustice and corruption they sought to redress? Indeed, it appears increasingly that Pres. GMA has weathered the storm, so to speak, and will likely remain in office until 2010, never to be prosecuted or held accountable for the blatant graft and corruption she and/or her closest aides have allegedly committed. Would the next President who will replace her in 2010, have the guts, moral resolve and political will to give her a dose of her own medicine much like what she and her henchmen did to Pres. Erap? After all, doesn’t one reap what he/she supposedly sows? I guess we just have to wait and see...Di ba?

Atty. "Bro. Mon" Ramoncito Poblete Ocampo, a licensed attorney in CA/Phil. and Catholic/Christian preacher, welcomes your comments: ocampolawusa@yahoo.com.

Posted by pamagcusa at 06:41 PM | Permalink

The roots of our eyes are in the heart
Rolando V. de la Rosa, O.P.
University of Santo Tomas

***Homily of the Very Rev. Rolando V. de la Rosa, OP, UST Rector Magnificus, in the Mass for Truth with former President Corazon Aquino and ZTE witness Rodolfo Lozada, at the UST Santissimo Rosario Church last March 2, 2008.***

"If you look at something for the 100th time, you are in danger of seeing it for the first time." G.K. Chesterton wrote this enigmatic line to remind us that familiar things become strange when we look at these intently. The most ordinary thing can reveal an extraordinary significance that we can grasp only when we focus on it with attention.

Perhaps this is the reason why we say: "Pay attention." Why not give, or share, or spare our attention? We say "pay attention" because attention is the price we pay in order to capture, even only in part, the superabundant meaning of reality.

Paying attention entails, not only the use of our eyes. Something monopolizes our attention when it captures our heart. That is why lovers say: "I only have eyes for you." In a very real sense, we only see those things that we want to see, and our way of seeing is determined, not so much by the clarity of our eyesight, but by the disposition of our heart. The way we see things reveal, not the way things are, but the way we are. A person with a clean heart will see beauty and peace around him. A person whose heart is clouded by suspicion and mistrust will see nothing but betrayal and deception. The roots of our eyes are in the heart.

In the first reading, God warned the prophet Samuel who was examining the candidates for the kingship of Israel: "Do not judge by his looks or by his stature. Yahweh does not judge as men judge. For human beings see with their eyes; Yahweh sees with the heart." Despite the fact that David was barely a teenager, inexperienced and lacking in worldly wisdom, God chose him to rule over Israel. He saw something in David that made him fit to be a king. And even when he committed abominable sins that cried to heaven for justice, David remained "close to God's heart." What did God see in David? It must be David's humility. In moments of triumph, he would glorify God in songs and uninhibited dancing. In moments of defeat and utter failure, he would cry to God for mercy and pardon. Even when David was deserted by his army, cursed by his friends, and abandoned by his children, David had the humility to seek refuge in God. David had taught us this lesson: It is only in utter humility that we realize God is all we need because, after all, God is all we have.

The blind man in the Gospel who was healed by Jesus had the same human quality that David had. He was humble. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that "humility is truth". Humility comes from the word "humus", which means soil or ground. A humble person has his feet set firmly on the ground of his being. A humble person accepts the truth about himself; he does not pretend to be somebody else. He does not wear a mask, unlike the Pharisees whom Jesus called "hypocrites" and "whitened sepulchers".

After he was healed, the blind man declared without equivocation: "I am the one". Take me for who I am: "This is me." When he was brought to the Pharisees, and was asked to testify about his healing, he simply stated the truth, without adornment or exaggeration. He said: "He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see." And when the Pharisees, the experts in the law subjected him to cross-examination, asking him: "What do you think of this man who opened your eyes?" His answer was straightforward: "He is a prophet."

It was his humility that made the truth of his statement unassailable. His humility also allowed him to see Jesus no longer as a man, or a healer, but as God. He exclaimed before the very human Jesus: "Lord, I believe." Not only did Jesus heal his blindness; he also led him to faith and conversion. From that moment on, he learned to see, no longer with his eyes, but with his heart. Like King David, the blind man had taught us a lesson: God chooses people to witness to the truth, not because they are blameless but because something has happened to them.

We can see the truth only if we first have it in our hearts. Let us offer this mass for ourselves: to make us humble, truthful, honest, like David and the blind man whose sight was restored. If there is one word that can contain these three qualities, the word would be INTEGRITY. The word comes from integer which means "whole". A person with integrity has a sense of wholeness or consistency within him. His thought is consistent with his words, which in turn are consistent with his actions. Truth must be true in all its part. A half-truth is a whole lie. We cannot be warriors of truth if we are not men and women of integrity.

It would be simplistic and hypocritical to say the problem of our country is the President and the men and women who are behind her. This is, a dangerous misunderstanding of the crisis we are facing today. The integrity crisis involves not just the President and the men and women behind her. The integrity crisis involves us all.-In the body of Christ, we belong to one another, we affect one another, and we cannot escape one another. St. Paul wrote: "If one member of the body suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." Whether we like it or not, for better or for worse, we are all connected. Sin, even the most private, eventually destroys society.

The crisis of integrity involves us all. Who of us have a corner on virtue that we can say we have never lied to other people? Or worse, lied to ourselves? Jesus said: Do not judge. His command is not against making a true and righteous judgment. It asks us to beware, lest in our haste to judge others, we might be like the hypocrites: judging others as absolutely corrupt simply because we are blinded by our exaggerated piety and moral smugness. It is easy to tell the truth; but the next easiest is to believe our own lie. Self-deception is easy especially for people who know that the discovery of their bad deeds can be devastating to their self-image and sense of well-being. Self-deception is the most abominable species of lying. Why? Because a person can become so submerged in the intricate details and implications of the lie, that the continuation of the lie becomes second nature.

If we want to restore truth and integrity in society, government, and the churches, we must stop looking for scapegoats to ease our burden of guilt and failure. We seem to have a penchant for putting the blame on just one person or a group of persons in order to take the heat off ourselves. We tend to shift attention away from our inability to govern ourselves to our self-appointed role as a social critic and reformer.

Let's face it. We delude ourselves if we think that by driving Gloria Arroyo away from Malacanang, as we did with Marcos and Erap, integrity and honesty will be restored. The two previous People Power events have not produced this desired result.

It is true, we can now boast of our democratic institutions. Last Thursday, a successful Chinese businessman told me how fortunate we Filipinos are. "People in China are progressing by leaps and bounds" he said, "but they do not enjoy the freedom that Filipinos have." Ah, freedom. I muttered to myself: "We are so free, that's why we are so lost."

Democracy exists where reciprocal bonds, governed by truth and justice, link people to one another. Democracy exhibits the belief that human beings are capable of making correct judgments and responsible human decisions. But take a look at our elections. This process is supposed to be our most palpable way of manifesting to the world that we are indeed a democracy. But Gore Vidal's criticism of the American election also applies to ours: "Our system of electing politicians to office is rotten and corrupted to its core, because organized money has long since replaced organized and enlightened public opinion. And most of it comes from rich people and -corporations, who now own our political process --lock, stock, and pork barrel."

Many present-day elected officials are mere surrogates of hidden power-brokers who, after election, take back what they had invested in. This deeply entrenched system of patronage easily lures honest officials into the despicable practice of graft and corruption.

If we want to restore integrity and honesty in government, the best way is not through a rigodon of leaders who are forcibly removed through People Power, but through an enlightened, educated, and conscientious electoral process. WE HAVE 26 MONTHS BEFORE THE NEXT ELECTION. We have enough time TO PREPARE OURSELVES SO WE CAN VOTE WISELY. Let us use People Power during election time, not only before or after. It has happened in the past, in Pampanga, in Isabela, and in other less known places in our country. We can make it happen again.

As early as now, schools, colleges, and universities, and conscientious government officials as well as churches, NGO's, and the rest of civil society can adopt this as their advocacy going into 2010.

You may object: The present government leadership will not allow us to do that. Well, this happens only because our brand of democracy is obsessed with leadership. We idolize our government leaders and place our destinies in their hands. In truth, democracy will not work without conscientious constituents. We have to discard that model of democracy which portrays government leaders as the active molders, and we their constituents as the passive clay. Our task as voters is not only to elect our officials but to keep them in their proper place, which is to be our SERVANTS, not our lords and masters. We have to make them aware that they are accountable to us.

What our country needs at this crucial stage of our history are voters with an enlightened will, voters who will not elect officials who will treat them like doormats, citizens who will not exchange their conscience for convenience, nor their principles for monetary gain.

Bertrand Russell once wrote that democracy, the leader cannot be more stupid than his constituents. For, the more stupid he is, the more stupid still are his constituents for electing him.

People may again raise this objection: "The next election is still too far ahead. We have to settle this corruption mess immediately. We have to bring to the light those who are guilty right now." Indeed, we have to do that. But it seems that People Power appears to be our way of saying: We want it bad and we want it now, not sooner or later, but NOW. We are obsessed with speed. We want everything quickly and instantaneously. Even our prayers are done in a fast forward mode to save time. We become impatient when we don't get what we want. Don't you notice? We are always in a hurry but always late. Life is not a matter of speed but depth. The faster we go through life, the shallower our understanding of it becomes. Quick successes usually are a fluke. Real and lasting victories take time.

Finally, why do we march for truth? What motivates us? Is it love for truth or are we simply furious at the people whom we want to punish? We must remember that prolonged and habitual anger can be very exhausting. Anger can turn even the most reasonable man into a fanatic. Fanatics are hopelessly one-sided. They are filled with an almost infallible certainty of their rectitude, and an equally infallible certainty of the iniquity of those whom they think are evil.

Unrequited anger festers into hatred. This is even more destructive because hatred makes it almost impossible for us to forgive. Contrary to what we think, forgiveness is not the prerogative of all. Not everyone can forgive. A cockroach cannot pardon a horse for trampling it to death. The power to forgive is correlative with the capacity to punish. We exercise our ability to forgive when, even if we have the right and the power to inflict punishment, we show the strength of will to control our desire to destroy and humiliate our opponent.

Gandhi once asked: "What is victory if it is measured by the gauge of destruction? " Victory does not consist in conquering the enemy, but in conquering ourselves. As he beautifully puts it: "Strength does not come from physical power, but from an indomitable will to control our desire to retaliate."

As we continue with this Eucharistic celebration, it is good to remember the beautiful lines of Maya Angelou: History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived. And if faced with courage, need not be lived again ... Hereon the pulse of this new day, you may have the grace to Look up and out; And into your sister's eyes, into your brother's face, your country And say simply, very simply with hope: Good Morning.

Good morning. It means a good beginning. In humility, honesty, and integrity, let us ask God to make this beginning happen to us and in our country, through his unending grace.

Amen.

Posted by pamagcusa at 08:58 PM | Permalink

In Our Present Political Crisis, In Whom Does "Authority" Reside?...Newspaper Article 3/3/08

It is quite apparent that we do have a worsening political leadership crisis with the legitimacy/moral ascendancy of the current administration very much at issue with incessant and increasingly hostile calls for Pres. Macapagal’s resignation echoing ever louder in the various sectors of our society. However, it is quite clear that the present dispensation has no immediate intentions of heeding the cry of the Filipino people and with the cabinet members/senior military establishment with their well-orchestrated "unity walk" seemingly behind her come what may, we may be in for the long haul. Indeed, she has proven beyond any doubt that she has no qualms about using harsh/coercive, even violent dispersal methods to quell any increasingly widespread unrest if only to keep her in office. Unless Divine Providence intervenes, many fear that a bloody, violent showdown short of a civil war, may just be looming in the horizon in the near future. In this situation, one may be tempted to invoke what is written in Romans 13:1-7 which states, "Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities for there is no authority except from God and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority, opposes what God has appointed and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good conduct but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for he is a servant of God for your own good."

With all of these massive graft and corruption charges hurled against the First Couple at this time, taking into consideration, among others, the still controversial "Hello Garci" tapes, unresolved "misuse" of the "Bolante" P3 Billion Agricultural "Fertilizer" Fund for electioneering purposes, the unexplained P500,000 received by Gov. Panlilio in a plain brown paper bag complicated by her continuous refusal to allow her cabinet members to bare the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then it is quite obvious that her so-called "authority" is arguably, no longer ordained by a holy God who is beyond the grasp of any and all semblance or taint of evil. Come to think of it, in a democracy like the Philippines, does the sovereign will belong to President GMA and the military or with the majority of the Filipino people, about 70-75% of whom lost their trust and confidence in GMA’s authority? If the sovereign will resides with the people, then, the higher authority as ordained by God lies with the people, right? After all, isn’t Pres. GMA supposed to be the highest servant of the people? If that is the case, then, as exemplified in the above biblical exhortations, Pres. GMA is therefore, resisting the higher authorities (the Filipino people) and as such, opposes what God has anointed (the Filipino people) and will bring judgment upon herself. If she does not want to fear the people, then, all she had to do was to do good, i.e., be honest, transparent/accountable, tell the truth and she will definitely receive approval from the people, right?

As for those cabinet members/military officers, mayors, governors who are propping her administration out of blind loyalty and ostensibly, for self-serving interests but in clear defiance of the sovereign will of the greater majority of the Filipino people at this time, it behooves them to ponder Acts 4:19 when St. Peter and St. John, confronted by the then ruling authorities who ordered them not to speak the truth as they knew it, remarked…"Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey men/women rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have heard and seen." Needless to say, whether those in "authority" would heed these spiritual convictions, whether convenient or inconvenient, in our country remains to be seen indeed…Di ba?

Atty. Ramoncito P. Ocampo, "Bro. Mon", a licensed attorney in CA/Philippines, is also a lay preacher of the Word of God for more than 15 years. He welcomes your comments. Please e-mail him ocampolawusa@yahoo.com.

Posted by pamagcusa at 01:31 PM | Permalink

Best Opportunity To Make A Legacy

Megaral ku UST. Karing dakal la tirung belwan keng kasalpantayanan, king Dios, keng Biblia, king Santa Iglesia Katolika. I Gobernador Among Ed megaral ya naman ata king Seminaryu karin. Dapot meko ya. Map namu. Pota nung karin ya meyari alang Among Ed a sinagip Kapampangan. Pekamatwa yang eskwela ing UST Filipinas ampo karin pilan bangsa Aslagan. Dapot nung ali ya misara ita king Lubao a mitalakad banwang 1590 magi yang kadwa king ketwan ing Santo Tomas. Lon ye ing Lubao ne, makasalesayan ya. Lugal yang panutak kanita. Pilan la naman libru ding milimbag karin ketang panaun ning Kastila, kutnan taya man i Patnugut Robby Tantingco.

Saguli namu miras neng 400 katwa ing UST. Keni la memagaral ding dakal tang bayaning Filipinu, manimuna ya i Doktor Jose Rizal. Karing Kapampangan pekatanyag ya mo i Diosdado P. Macapagal pauli ning megi yang Pamuntuk Bangsa. Asabi tamung bayani ya naman, uling pigmalasakitan ne ing Filipinas. Lekaran ne ing pamanagal ta Sabah. Pisanmetung nala't pesikanan pamiyutus ding Bangsang misipingsiping Mawling Aslagan kapamilatan ning pamanimuna nang milakad MAPHILINDO, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia ketang mika-sarili lang pamamaala ing Malaysia at Singapore. Ini yang pigmulan ning ASEAN antimong kayalili ning lakwas maka-militar a SEATO.

Yaku dakal ku abalu UST. Agyang apat kung banwa karin a makatuknang king kumbentung madre e la mipanpanan karing mata ku ding katuliran pantau. Kang Abogadu Jesus Zapanta, metung a kabalen a professor karin ampong kasaup ning Paring Pamunu ning Colegio ding Mag-Mestra apilasa keng mausta ing Political Science. Kang Doctora Mercedes Grau Santamaria, ing Amlat ning Filipinas ampon ing pamikaluguran at obra rang adwang Doktor Otley Beyer. Agiang sisitsit niya ing swala na tuturu ya pa i Doktora Santamaria kanita.

Kang Professora Minerva Gonzales abalu ko ding International Human Rights and Brotherhood at ding aliwa pang amlat ding kabyasnan yatu. Ketang panaun ayta lalakad de ing Pilipino Language di Doktora Antonia Villanueva, Doktora Panganiban at ing kayabe na ing Patnugut ning Surian ning Wikang Pangbansa. Matimid lang turu di Attorney Zapanta at Miss Gonzales dili karela. Kang Attorney Zapanta, parati nang gagawan pamamatula ing ding Vice-Presidents ala lang obra nung aliwa mu ing panayan deng mawala ing Presidenti. Mawala kapamilatan ning kamatayan, o pamaglako sarili na, panga-alang arapat nung sakit ya, o nung milako yang sapilitan.

Neng sasabyan da yan ding tuturung Government o kaya Political Science, deng magaral ali la darandaman magsalita, dapot ding mata ra ilang daramdaman kukutang o mimisip, " ala naman kayang salbaying bisi-presidentin maglako king presidenti bangkanita yang malili?" Ing Pun Batas ding Republican Democratic a gubyernu mikana yang pamagtiwala karing miyayalal. Deng Pun Batas ali la mangakaba, pauli ning dakal karing laman da mabitasa nala king maustang pamisip. Makalantad nang kapanwalan a ding Pun Batas ali la sukat pyalungan at ilili. Common and sense of righteousness, bangkanita ing kaburyan at kaberatan da ding ninu man e matuki, (whims and caprices of a few).

Ngening miraras neng apat a ralan a banwa katwa, 400 years old ing Royal and Pontifical University, ing Pamantasan kanakung pagmaragul at pasalamatan, ing keyang Rector Magnificus Rolando de la Rosa bebalan nala kanu ding taung gumamit king sikanan dang mawad king karelang pangmemalayan kimut at misanmetung a kosensiya, makapalub king Aklis ding Memalayan (o People Power, which embodies the Citizens' Communal Act and Collective Conscience). Metung nang pamana ning Filipinas king Yatu. Together with President Corazon Aquino, People Power is the Philippines Political Legacy to World Democracy.

Father Rector de la Rosa admonished the Filipinos to wait for two more years. (Meantime people should kneel down and pray hard that no more killings nor threat against anybody's life will happen. Coming from the mouth of a member of the academe and the religious, all must be assured that delaying justice is not denying it.)

Arapan ning 75 katwang Ninoy Live a Cory sinabi na ini. Mabye ing Demokrasya pauli nang Cory. Marakal a pamikatagun, kalupa ning sasabyan na pin Gobernador Among Ed a ing metung a Mamuntukan malyari yang matuksu bang maging binang masikanan. I Cory ikit tamu megi yang uliran ning katapatan. Pauli ning pangabalik demokrasya at king saup na megi yang Presidenti ing metung pang Kapampangan, i Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Datang ing panaun potang ding libru ning amlat abe ning World History, i Corazon C. Aquino, meging Presidenti at Lider ning People Power, Indu ning Demokrasya Filipinas, lakwas ya pang maragul a lugal king Meanguabie First Gentleman Ninoy Aquino, metung a Philippine National Hero.

I pray that Gloria will have the prudence and wisdom to decide her fate herself. I remember posting in her web site seven years ago an unsolicited advice: that it is the people who she can count on, on her success. After noticing that she was given appointive positions to people who served or were serving in the military and others who had a part in the culmination of Peple Power II. People have felt and seen a lot of militarism in her administration. Militarism is a sign of weak governance, it not only turns people off it also weakens civil governing. People based and motivated governance not only strengthens but also endures. I believe she should Act now and work towards a transition by calling a Council of Elders and Youngsters from the non-trapos, Civil Society, and all representatives of the people. She should use her remaining time as a period of transition, where this Council that should also include retired and active justices, ConCon delegates, student leaders, farmers. She should talk and face the people, it is time to face the music. This is the safest way for everybody's Redemption, so long as the vehicle of sincerity and honesty is the one taken. This is her last chance to make a lasting legacy to the country which her Late Father Tatang Dadong tried so hard to serve well. A sort of Truth and Reconciliation Entity shall set all people free and at the same time give birth to the much needed Radical Change in the country, radical as its etymology mean, from the roots.

Posted by pamagcusa at 07:17 PM | Permalink

I am still trying to understand why a majority of the members of the CBCP, especially supposedly the ones based in Mindanao , took their recent multi-ended albeit conciliatory stand amidst the increasing public clamor for the immediate resignation of Pres. GMA as a result of the explosive ZT E -NBN scandal. It appears that, for whatever reason, they are quite hesitant to trigger and/or endorse any E DSA-like upheaval which has toppled the well-entrenched Marcos dictatorship as well as the ill-fated E strada administration. It is indeed, kind of anti-climatic for the CBCP, as a group, to come up with this rather kid-fisted statement since a more admonishing one calling for her immediate resignation or perhaps, a demand for her voluntary "leave of absence" until the truth behind the scandals comes out, would definitely have given the "imprimatur" as to Pres. GMA’s lack of moral ascendancy to govern and could very well have been the proverbial straw which will break the camel’s back, so to speak. This reminds me of the scenario sometime ago when after the "Hyatt-10" incident which saw the mass resignation of several cabinet members due to similar allegations of graft and corruption, no less than former Pres. Ramos came into the scene in support of Pres. GMA, normalized an otherwise volatile situation and practically rescued her from the precipice of being booted out of office. And now this! Does she have some kind of talisma, luck or what? One thing is quite clear, she has no inclination or semblance of the time-honored Filipino traditional value of "delicadeza".

But lest Pres. GMA be lulled into any sense of complacency or relief, the CBCP also wielded a "sword of Damocles"-type position that she should, once and for all, no longer stifle the truth and not prevent her cabinet members from testifying freely in the Senate as to their knowledge as to the ZT E -NBN bribery scandal, the "Bolante" agri-scandal and other scandals which have so far been the trade-mark of this administration from its inception. Indeed, if she has nothing to hide and no one to protect, one has to wonder why she continues to invoke E xecutive Order 464 which effectively prevents and disallows her cabinet members from testifying in the Senate without her consent.

But alas, the accusing fingers/testimonies in the ZT E -NBN scandal point to no other than the First Couple themselves who, as Bishop Ted Bacani, amusingly referred to as presumptively guilty of "conjugal greed". With this scenario, what would prevent these GMA-beholden cabinet members, supposedly in obedience to the CBCP’s admonishment, from ceremoniously going to the Senate hearings and with a straight poker-face as former Chairman Abalos has so callously displayed, simply deny any gross improprieties and any and all allegations of graft and corruption. What if instead of being purveyors of the truth, they would simply lie to their teeth much like what Undersecretary Gaite is currently doing in the Senate hearings with regards to the P500,000 he allegedly gave as an unsecured gift to a practical stranger, Mr. Lozada, sacrificing his own family’s interests in the process? For anyone with a depraved conscience and warped sense of morality, would that be a surprising one? Then, what, if any, will the CBCP do?

As we always say in legal parlance, the Filipino people sorely deserves nothing but the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. However, in the midst of the De Venecia, Lozada/Madriaga allegations and the corresponding counter-denials and subtle psychological warfare being waged by Malacanang which visibly, still enjoys the unwavering/intimidating support of the military establishment, the truth, if at all, may not be revealed anytime soon. And yet, Jesus Himself said in John 8:31-32…"You are truly My disciples if you keep My commandments. Then, you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Indeed, there is no question that the truth, however and whomever it hurts, will set the Filipino people free. But in the absence of any clear-cut, non-compromising stand from the CBCP which undeniably wields such an influential voice in our predominantly Catholic society, Filipinos advocating morally upright leadership in government, may have, sad to say, unwittingly lost much-needed momentum in this constant battle/struggle between good and evil, between truth and lies…Di ba?

Atty. Ramoncito "Bro. Mon" Poblete Ocampo, is a licensed lawyer in CA and a lay Catholic/Christian preacher. For comments, e-mail ocampolawusa@yahoo.com

Posted by pamagcusa at 04:01 PM | Permalink