What does Easter mean to Filipinos?

Despite of the influence of the globalized consumerist and materialist culture of the West, Filipinos commemorate the Passion of Christ in deep personal and communal reflections.

The Holy Week ends with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection may mean many things to different people but Christians are unanimous in the belief that it is the sum of all teachings regarding redemption and salvation. Easter Sunday is a joyous day for Filipinos. However, it is less festive and pompous than Christmas and town fiesta celebrations.  

The feast of the Risen Christ is the most solemn feast among the festivities in the Philippines. Catholic churches all over the country start the Easter morning celebration with the pre-dawn ritual called Salubong which re-enacts the meeting between Risen Christ and His Mother. And before this pre-dawn re-enactment, the faithful await the resurrection of the Crucified Christ by attending the Easter vigil.

                                                                                                                                     

            Other religious denominations also hold festivities in the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In spite of their disagreements on traditions and practices, the different Christian churches in the Philippines seem to have a consensus that resurrection should be celebrated on the same day—Easter Sunday.  Indeed, Christ’s resurrection unifies humankind with His great love and sacrifice.

             Resurrection has deep personal meaning to people who suffer from different physical and mental afflictions. It signifies hope for those who suffer from physical and mental pain. It deepens their faith to the Savior whose death in the Cross gives meaning to the pain and suffering that they endure. It heals and delivers them from hopelessness and void. It refreshes the weary hearts and gives clarity to the confuse minds. It lightens the burden of those who have been psychologically beaten by the weight of the world.

            Resurrection has a deep communal meaning in the lives of people who suffered from extreme calamities and misfortunes. One can still feel the grief and loss of those who survived when super typhoon Yolanda flattened the Visayan soil. The insanity and bleakness of the void that engulf the lives of the survivors are simply senseless. The pain and hopelessness were everywhere and seemed endless. How could anyone survive the curse of coming out alive when all others around them have died?

Life would still be meaningless up to this day for those survivors if Christ had not risen from the dead thousand years ago. The resurrection of Jesus deepens their faith in a God who knows all and assures them of bright future in spite of calamities and deaths.  

Resurrection inspires us to act communally so that we could rise together from deprivation and isolation. Christ has risen. We are called to rise with Him and work for the salvation of humankind.

Will there be peace in Mindanao, Part 2

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Will there be peace in Mindanao, Part 1

Will there be peace in Mindanao?

(First of a series)

Will there be peace in Mindanao? The question has been asked many times in the past. It is still being asked unto this day.

Mindanao is majestic and enchanting. It is a paradise. Anyone who goes there cannot help falling in love with the region. Abundant with natural resources, it is known as the food basket of the Philippines. It is said that Mindanao can feed the whole Philippines. It can provide the country with sufficient capital assets for national progress. Its potentials are beyond question.

            Mindanao is the seat of the Philippines’ rich cultural heritage. It is home to many of indigenous communities. It has been reported that there are at least 18 different indigenous groups island which are collectively known as the “Lumad”. The Lumad does not belong to the much numerous Muslim or Moros (see ). Their presence enriches the cultural heritage of the region and provides the evidence of the cultural roots of the Filipinos.   

However, it is also home to different Moro insurgents. The armed conflicts in Mindanao traced their history in the 1900s with the coming of the Americans which used armed violence to suppress what they considered as moro banditry. Subsequent Philippine administrations are said to have followed the lead of their foreign predecessor in their pacification campaigns in the Moro homeland.

Separatist movements began in the late 60s. Nur Misuari, a young idealistic Moro intellectual from University of the Philippines, founded the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1969. The MNLF declared war against the Philippine government in its bid to establish an independent Bangsa Moro Republic (see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro_National_Liberation_Front>). 

The armed conflict in Mindanao has resulted to untold miseries to the people in the region. An international conflict monitoring websites estimated that at least 6, 015 people were killed from 1989 to 2012 because of the armed conflict between the government and the Moro armed groups Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsa Moro Freedom Movement (BIFM) and the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG) (see ).  Like the MNLF, these other groups claimed to wage a war of national liberation according to their different interpretations of the right to self-determination of the people of Mindanao.   

Peace efforts have not been lacking. Religious groups and non-government organizations have been promoting peace dialogues to ease the tensions in the region and to get the parties to the conflict into the negotiating tables. These peace advocates advance peace by working with the parties carry out development initiatives in the region.  Foremost of these advocates is the Bishop-Ulama Conference composed of Catholic Bishops, Protestant pastors and Muslim Ulamas. They provide religious justification in the search for peace and understanding between contending groups in the conflict (see ). 

The government had engaged the MNLF and the MILF in the peace tables. Because the ASG and the BIFM are considered as purely (kidnapped for ransom) terrorist groups, it engages them with full military might.

 In 1976, the Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos signed a peace agreement with the MNLF in Tripoli, Libya. The Tripoli Agreement intended to place 13 provinces in Mindanao under the administration of a local autonomous authority. However, the agreement did not come into fruition. According to newspaper accounts, the government reneged in its commitments and attacked the MNLF camps (see ).  

In 1996, the government under President Fidel Ramos and the MNLF signed a Final Peace Agreement. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was a landmark in the implementation of the said Final Peace Agreement.

However, the Final Peace Agreement resulted to a temporary peace only. The Islamic Command Council, a splinter group of the MNLF, immediately declared that it would continue waging war against the national government to pursue its bid for a separate state (see ).

Sometime later, Nur Misuari, then governor of the ARMM, went underground with his followers. He blamed the government for its alleged failure to implement the terms of the Final Peace Agreement. He was arrested for rebellion during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007.  His eventual release from prison did not restore him to his former clout in Mindanao.  On January 23, 2012, he declared the establishment of the Independent Bangsa Moro Republic in Mindanao. In September 2013, he called on to the Philippine government to implement the terms of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement. Thereafter, his followers attacked Zamboanga City. The bloody siege resulted in the deaths of many civilians and combatants and in the destruction of properties worth millions (see ). (End for first part)

Who are the wealthiest people in the Philippines?

The 2014 Forbes Billionaires List disclosed that there are at least 1,645 billionaires around the world today whose aggregate net worth is $6.4 trilion. On top of the list is Bill Gates with $76 billion worth followed by Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico with $72 billion worth. 

SM magnate Henry Sy made it to the list with an estimated $11.4 billion worth according to reports. He also topped the list of the wealthiest persons in the Philippines followed by Lucio Tan with a reported net worth of $6.1 billion. Andrew Tan of Mega World and Alliance Global Group and Enrique Razon, Jr. with estimated net worth of $4.7 billion and $4.2 billion respectively. John Gokongwei Jr made it fifth in the list with a net worth of $3.9 billion (see: <http://business.inquirer.net/165345/businessman-henry-sy-crashes-into-forbes-100-richest-people-in-the-world#ixzz2v8M9G9hf>).

The list of the wealthiest people in the Philippines does not change much for the past few years. Today, it is Henry Sy who comes first. Tomorrow, Lucio Tan may come ahead of him. The year after, it may be Enrique Razon, Jr., or some other rich fellow down the scale. Indeed, it is like a classroom competition among the few gifted students who are all in for the challenge to be on top of the class. No new names join the list in the last few years. These gifted few continue to rake bountiful harvests regardless of what is happening in the world around them.   

Most of these rare individuals did not come from the traditionally known “Hacienda clans” in the Philippines. They are generally regarded as business patriarch who made names in their respective industry. Notably, many of them have Chinese lineage. They were assimilated immigrants who came to the Philippines to make a living.   Now, it seems that more than three-fourth of what could be termed as “gross domestic product” refers to the gross receipts that they turn in every year. They are the richest in the country and the most economically powerful. Their influence in public affairs cannot be quantified even if they have to disclose the digits that they contribute to politicians’ chests during elections. 

The listing was made not for the benefit of the public of course. Aside from those whose names appear and those aspiring to be included therein, only the tax authority may find the list relevant.  To us who become billionaires only in our nightmares, the list is not but trash—it cannot make us rich or make our life better. But what it implies is more than what we know about the present state of our country.  Looking at the names and putting them in the context of widespread deprivation and poverty would reveal the truth that while more than seventy-percent of our people are suffering from lack of food, shelter, medical care and education, a less than one-percent of our population enjoys more than eighty-percent of the wealth and resources of the society.  This is the sad truth that the list of the wealthiest and the most powerful implies.   

Oh, if the wealthiest can have the magnanimity of the most righteous and benevolent of all, then, the world will be better place to live in. With all the resources and power in the hands of those who are considered the wealthiest, they can change the course of history and make the lives of other people better. They can shape the patterns of society to make it more equitable and humane. They can stop the decay of civilization and reboot the engine of social progress. This is the awesome possibility of wealth with conscience--the noblest mission that any person of wealth can have!

To the Graduates of 2014

Dear Graduates:

Years ago,   you have embarked in a journey with great hope and enthusiasm. You believed that there is nothing that you could not conquer. With the energy and idealism flowing in your veins, you surmised that the world was too small to spread your wings over.

However, the passage of time has withered your hope and enthusiasm. The weight of responsibilities which were imposed upon your shoulders dried up the energy and idealism in your veins. This is to be expected since you have chosen a field of endeavour which demands more than what an ordinary human being could give—an adventure where the lukewarm and timid would not last half of the journey. But despite of this, you persevered until the race is finished.

You are here today ready to take up the rewards of your patience and perseverance. More than anything else, this day marks the rebirth of a new you. You are not the same person as before—you are now an offspring of your sacrifices and triumphs. You are the news of the day. To you belong the sunshine and the stars.

The past is expected to come back somehow. However, the past is not about your family, teachers, friends or enemies. The past is not about broken dreams and shattered spirit. It is not about the confusion and worries of the yesteryears. It is not about your parents, siblings or relatives—no matter how you love or avoid them. It is not about your teachers—no matter how amiable or awesome or wretched or wicked they are. It is not about your friends—no matter how faithful or consoling or conceited or treacherous they are, or no matter how they turned-out to be your best enemies.

The past is about you. It has always been about you. It is about how you dealt with your family, teachers, friends or enemies. Your memories of people depend on how you see and receive them in your life. They exist for themselves; you—your existence does not depend on theirs.

The days following your graduation will still be euphoric. You will continue to walk in “cloud nine” for a few more days. Don’t hurry up. Reflect for a while. Your new world will start to dawn upon you when you tread on the new path that you have chosen after leaving the one that you have traveled with your teachers.

Of course, there are certain lessons that you must always remember. After all, there are memories which could not be considered as prison. There are memories which bring you smiles and laughters. There are memories which make you feel proud and triumphant.

Sail on. Keep moving. Find new adventures. Make your life meaningful. Take risk.

Cry, if you must, but tell the world that you will never quit. Never quit—life is about advancing and challenging and conquering. Life is about not quitting!

Do not forget your roots. Always touch the ground no matter how high you soar. Do not forget the reason why you are here today. Be true to your words—make them your bond. Do not break the trust and confidence of your most loyal friends and love ones. Be true to yourself and you will always see the truth in others.

Be the best! The best is always the most upright and socially-committed to serve others—and if you are not the most upright and socially-committed to serve others, then you will not be the best. Do not forget the weak, the poor and the oppressed. Do everything to strengthen them, to improve their lot, to vindicate their rights.

Do not fear to hold power or to be entrusted with it—in your hands are the greatest potentials for good and as such, the greatest responsibility for humankind.

Remember this. Always bear this in your mind—the future is yours and every good thing that your heart desires if you remain true, good and beautiful no matter what. So keep calm and be true, good and beautiful always.

Godspeed!

Advance, don’t quit!

Sail on, companeros y   companeras!

   

Why have you forsaken me?

One of the most famous last words of Christ before He died on the cross was narrated in the Gospel of Matthew: Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)

The Lenten season is still two months away. Yet the question lingers this early throughout the land. When it is convenient to ignore the truth and forget one’s moral sense, the question fills the air like a crying hound.  

A presidential government prides itself with a built-in safeguard against official abuse: the principle of separation of powers. State powers are distributed to the three co-equal branches of government to prevent their concentration in the hands of a single person. Under the Constitution, the power to make laws is entrusted to the Legislative Department while the power to implement them belongs to the Executive Department. Of course, courts are independent to interpret the laws and dispense justice without fear or favor.

The essence of separation of powers is: Restraint! Yes, restraint so that nobody can have naked powers.

Ours is theoretically a limited government because powers corrupt and absolute powers corrupt absolutely! It was true in the past as unto this day.

President PNoy has no business interfering with the affairs of a co-equal branch of the government. This is basic in Constitutional Law.  And if Senator Revilla’s revelation is to be believed, then, there had been a gross violation of the Constitution. Any sensible citizen would know the gravity of the President’s indiscretion when he dipped his fingers in the internal affairs of the Senate: He tampered with the principle of separation of powers. He committed a culpable violation of the Constitution. He betrayed the public trust. He committed a mortal sin against the Constitution. Gravely, he wronged the Filipino People!   

But only few are sounding the alarm. Only Dean Fr. Ranhillo C. Aquino of San Beda Graduate School of Law had the balls to declare openly that what the President did is an impeachable offense. Self-proclaimed experts who inhabit the social networks and the mass media had fallen into deep slumber. Other whodunit scholars conveniently brushed aside the revelation as an unnecessary noise resorted to muddle gross corruption issues.      A conspiracy of silence camouflaged the gross violation of the fundamental principle of our constitutional democracy.  

Miserably, it seems that any act of indiscretion on the part of President Benigno C. Aquino III can pass unnoticed even to the most intelligent segment of the society. He is that popular—he can break the public will without anyone complaining about it.   

The question is not for President PNoy of course. The question is for us.

Have our ears gone deaf to the cries for righteous indignation?

Have we crucified the future with the callousness of our insensitivity to such moral evil?

Have we forsaken our people?

Have we forsaken our children?