ATTY. BATAS

Graft probe vs. Arroyo goes to freezer in the meantime

2010-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 54TH ANNIVERSARY, DADDY, MOMMY: July 8, 2010 marked the 54th wedding anniversary of my parents, and I thank God, in the name of Jesus, that despite the problems and rigors of daily living, the two of them---Melanio Pauco Mauricio Sr., 78, of Tarlac and Salvacion Haber Lazo, 76, of Ilocos Sur---continue to be together and, mercifully, living happily ever after. Once again, salamat sa Diyos sa ngalan ni Jesus.

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GRAFT PROBE VS. ARROYO GOES TO THE FREEZER IN THE MEANTIME: I guess that, indeed, the Department of Justice order holding in abeyance the required preliminary investigation of the graft charges against former President Arroyo on account of the failure of the Truth Commission to come up with its guidelines yet confirms what we have written here just this week.

The investigation and, if warranted, the prosecution of Mrs. Arroyo and her family, official and personal, will have to be in the freezer for now, because, legally, there is now a bar to that investigation and prosecution, and this bar is the Hilario Davide Truth Commission. For how long? Only the commission can tell us that.

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DECRIMINALIZE LIBEL TO PROTECT MEDIAMEN NOW: Arming journalists and other mediamen supposedly to protect them from attacks from determined assassins is no protection at all. There is no one---and there is nothing---here on earth that can stop killers and their masterminds from injuring or killing newsmen who are outspoken.

If we really want to protect mediamen, we must teach them first of all to be godly, subjecting themselves to God and His Word, obeying His commands and decrees, for that is the real protection for everyone. Then, we can decriminalize our laws on libel and remove it as a threat against press freedom.

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LORENZO OFFER TO BECOME STATE WITNESS PREMATURE: Luis “Chito” Lorenzo, the former secretary of the Department of Agriculture who has returned from a five-year exile, may soon realize that it may have been too early for him to be even considering to offer himself as a state witness in the P728 million fertilizer fund scam being attributed to the Arroyo administration.

The fact is that, under Section 9 of Republic Act 6981 (or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act) and Sections 9 and 10 of Rule 119 of the Revised Rule on Criminal Procedure, there could be a state witness only if the appropriate criminal charges have already been filed in court. Here, there are even no court cases yet, so where is Lorenzo going to be a witness?

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THE LORD DETESTS LYING LIPS: And, while we are on the issue of witnesses, I guess it is appropriate to see what the Holy Bible, particularly its Book of Proverbs, says about witnessing, testifying and about witnesses in general.

Here are some of them: A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies (Proverbs 12: 17). Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment (Proverbs 12:19). The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful (Proverbs 12:22).

What kind of witness are you? Email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

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Imbestigasyon vs. Arroyo mapi-freezer muna

MALIGAYANG IKA-54 NA ANIBERSARYO, DADDY, MOMMY: Salamat sa Diyos, sa ngalan ni Jesus, ginunita ng aking mga magulang ang kanilang ika-54 na anibersaryo ng kasal noong Julio 8, 2010. Nagpapasalamat kami ng lubos na sa kabila ng mga problema sa buhay, silang dalawa---si G. Melanio Pauco Mauricio, Sr., 78, ng Tarlac at Salvacion Haber Lazo, 76, ng Ilocos Sur---ay patuloy sa maligayang pagsasama. Minsan pa, salamat sa Diyos sa ngalan ni Jesus.

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IMBESTIGASYON VS. ARROYO MAPI-FREEZER AT TITIGILAN MUNA: Sa aking palagay, ang utos ng Department of Justice na pumipigil pansamantala sa imbestigasyon ng mga kasong katiwalian o graft and corruption laban sa dating Pangulong Arroyo dahil sa hindi pa nailalabas ng Truth Commission ang kanyang mga alintuntunin ay kumumkupirma sa ating isinulat dito nito lamang linggong ito.

Ang imbestigasyon at ang posibleng paglilitis ni Gng. Arroyo at ng kanyang mga kapamilya at mga opisyales ay mapi-freezer at titigilan na muna sa ngayon, sapagkat, batay sa batas, mayroon ng legal na pagbabawal laban sa nasabing imbestigasyon at pag-uusig, at ito nga ay ang Truth Commission ni Hilario Davide. Kung gaano katagal ang pagtigil na ito ay tanging ang komisyon lamang ang makakapagsabi.

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ALISIN ANG LIBELO BILANG KRIMEN: Ang pagbibigay ng baril o armas sa mga peryodista at iba pang mga nasa media upang protektahan sila laban sa mga nagnanais silang saktan o patayin ay hindi totoo at tunay na proteksiyon para sa kanila. Walang sinuman---at walang anuman---sa mundong ito na makakapigil sa isang mamamatay-tao at ang mga nag-utos sa kanila sa kanila na saktan o patayin nga ang mga mamamahayag.

Kung nais nating bigyan ng tunay na proteksiyon ang mga nasa media, kailangang turuan natin silang maging maka-Diyos sa lahat ng sandali at nagpapasakop sa Diyos at sa Kanyang Salita, at sumusunod sa Kanyang mg autos at tuntunin, sapagkat iyan lamang ang tunay na proteksiyon para sa lahat. Tapos, alisin na natin ang libelo bilang krimen, upang maaalis na din ito bilang banta sa kalayaan sa pamamahayag.

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ALOK NI LORENZO PARA MAGING STATE WITNESS DI PA NAPAPANAHON: Tila yata naging maaga masyado ang pagsasabi ni Luis “Chito” Lorenzo, ang dating kalihim ng Kagawaran ng Agrikulta na nakabalik na mula sa limang taong pamamalagi sa ibang bansa, na nais niyang maging testigo ng gobyerno sa kaso ng P728 milyong fertilizer fund mess na ibinabato sa Arroyo administration.

Sa totoo lang kasi, sa ilalim ng Section 9 ng Republic Act 6981 (o ang Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act) at ng Sections 9 and 10 ng Rule 119 ng Revised Rule on Criminal Procedure, papayagan lamang ang isang tao na maging testigo ng gobyerno kung may kaso ng nakabimbin sa husgado. Sa kaso ng fertilizer scam, wala pa namang naisasampang kaso, kaya saan magiging state witness si Lorenzo?

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GALIT ANG DIYOS SA MGA MAPAGSINUNGALING NA MGA LABI: At, habang nasa isyu tayo ng mga testigo, magiging maganda kung alamin natin ngayon kung ano ang sinasabi ng Bibliya, lalo na sa kanyang mga Aklat ng Kawikaan, ukol sa mga testigo at saksi, at pagte-testigo.

Naririto ang ilan sa kanila: Ang isang makakatotohanang saksi ay nagbibigay ng tapat na salaysay, subalit ang tiwaling saksi ay nagsasabi ng kasinungalingan (Kawikaan 12:17). Ang mga makakatotohanang-labi ay nabubuhay hanggang sa walang hanggan, subalit ang nagsisinungaling na dila ay nawawala kapagdaka (Kawikaan 12:19). Galit ang Diyos sa mga sinungaling, subalit nagagalak Siya sa mga taong tapat (Kawikaan 12:22).

Anong klaseng saksi kayo? Paki-email po ako sa batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

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BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

One day media seminar not enough

2010-07-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

ONE DAY MEDIA SEMINAR NOT ENOUGH: Did Malacanang think that giving its Cabinet secretaries a one-day seminar on how to “handle” media would already be sufficient to enable officials of the Aquino administration to have good relations with those working in newspapers and those in radio and TV? Of course not.

Having good relations with other people, whether from the media or not, is something that does not come from seminars, much less a one-day seminar. It comes from the natural goodness of the heart, the purposeful righteousness of the mind, and a decidedly-godly upbringing.

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PNOY AND OTHER OFFICIALS MUST HEED MARK 10:43-44 OF THE BIBLE: I suggest that what President Benigno Aquino III should now endeavor to do is to give some sort of “continuing education” to his secretaries not only on how to deal with the press, but on how to deal with governance in general, and what it will take to truly serve the people well.

For starters, all officials of the land, from PNoy down to the lowliest employee of government, must read and re-read the admonition of Jesus Christ, contained in Mark 10:43-44 of the Holy Bible, which says: “anyone who wishes to lead must first become the slave of the people.” Then, they can proceed to study other parts of the Bible dealing with leaders thereafter.

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FRAT VIOLENCE: EVERY MEMBER IS A FAIR GAME: Here’s an update on the indefinite suspension imposed by the University of the Philippines against its students who are members of two warring fraternities: it appears that the mauling incident perpetrated by four or five masked men inside the UP Diliman campus against a frat member was preceded by a similar mauling incident involving a member of a rival fraternity.

What revolted many in all these was that the frat member mauled by the masked men at the campus was reported to be spearheading a peace covenant among the fraternities in the state university, including his frat’s rival frat. Based on my own experience, though, whenever there is a frat war in UP, everybody becomes a fair game and subject to physical abuse.

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STUDENTS ENGAGED IN VIOLENCE NO LONGER HAVE GOD IN THEIR HEARTS: Why is this happening? Many reasons have already been advanced by many quarters to explain fraternity violence, not only in the State University but in all other schools and colleges now, but nothing seems to be more compelling than the fact that many of our students nowadays engage in violence because they no longer have any strong Biblical or spiritual moorings.

Since many of these students no longer read the Bible, or are no longer given sustained spiritual teachings, they no longer view God as having the power to punish them here in this world and in eternity, that God is just another word or entity that does not have any relevance in their lives, someone who can be ignored by them. This is pathetic and dangerous at the same time.

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DEATH AWAITS THOSE WHO IGNORE GOD: Romans 1:18-32 has this to say about this failure of men to acknowledge God in their lives: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men…

“…For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him… they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them… those who do such things deserve death…”

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Clarifications needed re: Davide’s Truth Commission

2010-07-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

LAWMAKERS AND FORMER PRESIDENTS ARE TO BLAME FOR FATAL ROAD ACCIDENTS: Why are there so many road accidents happening around us today, killing scores and scores of passengers and even mere innocent by-standers?

The simple reason is that our congressmen and senators and all our previous presidents were remiss in their performance of their duty as protectors of the people.

You see, in all the years that they have been in power, they talked almost about everything, but they did not see it fit to amend, modify or revise the country’s archaic laws on road accidents which do not have any capacity to send to prison any erring driver.

I am sure all of them knew that under current laws, a driver found responsible for the death of one person---or even a hundred---will be sentenced to only four years of imprisonment, which means he need not be detained because of probation. Why then did not our lawmakers and presidents do anything about this?

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CLARIFICATIONS NEEDED RE: DAVIDE’S TRUTH COMMISSION: The Aquino administration must clarify immediately whether the criminal cases that many groups already filed against former President (and now Pampanga Rep.) Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should await the outcome of the investigations of Hilario Davide’s Truth Commission before they can be acted upon.

I think that, under the law, Mrs. Arroyo can ask that the criminal cases against her, directly filed with the justice department right after she stepped down from the presidency, be suspended in the meantime that the Truth Commission is still investigating her.

This is under the “prejudicial question” doctrine, which says that when the issue of the guilt of innocence of someone being accused of a crime is already being tackled in another forum, the criminal cases that have been filed against him should be suspended or held in abeyance in the interim.

In line with this, the Davide Commission must likewise clarify how much time it will take to investigate Mrs. Arroyo and the Arroyo family. It must also clarify what would be the nature of its proceedings, as well as what would be the effect of any its reports, conclusions and findings.

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WEDDING AT CANA, AND MARY’S ROLE AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN MAN AND JESUS: The Bible’s account of the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine as narrated in John 2:1-11, now forms part of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians as its Second Luminous Mystery (or Second Mystery of Light).

Among many Christian believers, this part of Jesus’s life is often unknown or is little heard of, although it should occupy a place of importance because, as the Bible itself in John 2:11says: “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana, in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”

Being the very first miracle of Jesus, it is significant to note that the Bible appears to have portrayed Him as a little hesitant in performing it, considering His refusal to do anything when Mary, His mother, first approached Him when wine had run out during the wedding banquet. Jesus told Mary: “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”

But it was only because of Mary’s persistence---she told the servants, “do as He says” even when she was already rebuffed by her Son---that Jesus relented and, as the Bible itself emphasizes, this became His first ever recorded miracle, the very first revelation of His glory.

If anything at all, therefore, this wedding totally justifies the Roman Catholic Christians’ giving of importance to Mary and calling her, among others, as the “mediatrix of all grace”.

Indeed, it is conceded that the only mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ. But, as shown by the wedding at Cana and the turning of the water into wine, Mary is the most effective mediator between Jesus and man.

Media `restless’ over PNoy’s team

2010-07-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

PNOY SHOULD BE BOTHERED WITH MEDIA’S RESTLESSNESS WITH HIS TEAM: If I were President Benigno Aquino III, I will be greatly bothered by media’s increasing restlessness with the Malacanang team that has just been installed to help in running the affairs of the nation

To avert further deterioration of the President’s relationship with the press, he must tell Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, for instance, to go easy as it were on blaming the media as being part of the problems confronting the Aquino administration, conscious as the President and everyone should be of the great help that media gave to project him while he was still “candidate Noynoy”.

The President should also make it a point to tell all incumbent Cabinet secretaries to be more patient and understanding of media, even if many of its members are at times bellicose and too-insistent on getting the secretaries’ attention, pressured as they are for deadlines to report what is going on in this one week-old administration.

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PNOY SHOULD DO SOMETHING TO PATCH UP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEDIA AND HIS OFFICERS: If this matter is not addressed properly and seasonably, it could create an early and evidently unwanted friction between the President and the media, which is supposed to be his partner in effectively running the government, but which is fast turning out to be a formidable adversary even at this early stage of his governance.

As it is, stories are now being written and printed, published and read over radio-TV newscasts and public affairs programs, depicting the Aquino administration as a mere shadow of the Arroyo administration when it comes to efficiency and common-sense savvy in discharging presidential duties and responsibilities.

The Aquino administration is just one week old, and it certainly does not need the battering it is now receiving from those who wrote good stories about “candidate Noynoy” during the election campaign. Aquino’s officials must understand that media is a friend, not an opposition group.

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ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The fourth “Glorious Mystery” in the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians is the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which deals with the taking up into heaven of Mary, body and soul.

Even among Christians though, this is a controversial issue, with many of the so-called believers outside of the Catholic faith insisting that the assumption of Mary into heaven did not happen.

But the teachings of Roman Catholic Christians point to the occurrence of the event, and Catholic popes and leaders from the 3rd century on actually cite many portions of the Bible to justify this belief.

In Wikipedia, an item on the assumption of Mary contains this explanation: “All these passages – John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9-17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1-2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists.”

The prevailing thought is that these Biblical references show that Jesus would not have allowed His own mother to have died and her flesh to have degenerated to dust.

Also, considering Mary’s role in giving birth to the “seed” (Jesus) that will crush Satan, it is believed that the fate of Jesus in ascending to heaven body and soul is the same fate that happened to Mary.

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Media, may gusot sa PNoy team

PNOY, DAPAT MABAHALA SA MAAGANG DISGUSTO NG MEDIA SA KANYANG MGA ITINALAGA: Kung ako ang Pangulong Benigno Aquino III, sasakit ang ulo ko dahil lumalaki ang problema ko sa lumalalang disgusto ng media sa mga itinalaga ko sa Gabinete sa Malacanang upang tumulong sa pagpapatakbo ng bansa.

Kaya nga upang maiwasan ang mas maigting na pagbagsak ng relasyon ng Pangulo sa mga mamamahayag, kailangang sabihan niya itong si Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro halimbawa na maghinay-hinay lamang sa paninisi sa media bilang bahagi ng mga suliranin ng Aquino administration, at alalalahanin nitong malaki ang naitulong ng media sa Pangulo noong siya ay kumakandidato pa lamang.

Kailangang sabihan din ng Pangulo ang mga nakaupo ngayon bilang mga kalihim sa Gabinete na dapat silang maging mas pasensiyoso at maunawain sa media, bagamat marami sa kanila ang madalas na tila pala-away at mataray sa kanilang mga pagpupumilit na makausap ang mga kalihim dahil na rin sa kanilang mga deadlines upang makapag-ulat sa mga nangyayari sa administrasyong ito na halos ay isang lingo pa lamang tumatakbo.

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PNOY, DAPAT AYUSIN ANG GUSOT SA PAGITAN NG MEDIA AT NG KANYANG MGA ITINALAGANG OPISYALES: Kung hindi ito mareremedyuhan ng maayos habang ito ay nag-uumpisa pa lamang, maaari itong magdulot ng maaga at di-kanais-nais na gusot sa pagitan ng Pangulo at ng media, na dapat ay katuwang nito sa pagpapatakbo ng maayos sa gobyerno (pero sa ngayon ay nakikita ng nagiging mabigat na kaaway ng administrasyon).

Sa ngayon, marami na ang mga balitang naisulat, nailimbag at nabasa sa radyo at telebisyon na bumabatikos sa Aquino administration bilang anino lamang ng nakalipas na Arroyo administration kung kahusayan sa pagtatatrabaho sa Malacanang ang pag-uusapan.

Isang linggo pa lamang halos ang Aquino administration, at siguradong hindi pa nito kailangan sa ngayon ang mga pambubogbog na nararanasan na nito sa media, lalo na sa mga mamamahayag na sumulat ng mga magagandang balita ukol kay Noynoy noong kampanya. Kailangang intindihin ng mga opisyales ni Aquino na ang media ay kaibigan, hindi oposisyon.

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MISTERIO SA ILAW NAG-UUMPISA SA BINYAG NI JESUS: Pagkatapos ng mga Misterio sa Tuwa sa Banal na Rosaryo ng mga Kristiyanong Romano Katoliko, sumusunod naman ang mga Misterio sa Ilaw upang isalarawan ang isa pang aspeto ng buhay ni Jesus mula sa kanyang pagbibinyag o bautismo hanggang sa Huling Hapunan.

Kung ating papansinin, ang lahat ng mga Evangelio nina Mateo, Marcos, Lucas at Juan ay naglalaman ng kuwento ng binyag o bautismo ni Jesus. Sa Mateo, makikita natin ito sa Capitulo 3, bersikulo 13 hanggang 17.

Sa Marcos naman, mababasa natin ito sa Capitulo 1, bersikulo 9 hanggang 13, samantalang sa Lucas, ang kuwento ay matatagpuan sa Capitulo 3, bersikulo 21 hanggang 22.

Sa Juan, makikita natin ang kuwentong ito sa Capitulo 1, bersikulo 29 hanggang 34, bagamat hindi kasing-liwanag ang kuwento ni Juan ukol dito kumpara sa mga naunang mga kuwento.

Magkaganunman, ang bautismo o binyag ni Jesus, na isinakatuparan ng Kanyang pinsang si Juan Bautista sa Ilog ng Jordan, ay nagpapatuloy sa pagpapatotoo sa pagiging maka-langit ni Jesus, at sa kanyang katayuan bilang Anak ng Diyos.

Sa lahat ng mga Evangeliong ito, ikinukuwento doon na matapos mabinyagan si Jesus, nagbukas ang langit at ang Espiritu Santo ay bumaba sa Kanya sa anyo ng kalapati at kidlat, kasabay ng isang tinig mula sa langit na nagsasabing “Ito ang aking Anak, na minamahal Ko. Sa Kanya, Ako ay lubos na nalulugod.”

Kung ating wawariin ang buong kasaysayan ng mundo, makikita nating walang iba pang tinawag ang Diyos bilang Kanyang Anak, na Kanyang minamahal at kinalulugdan, maliban kay Jesus.

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BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

PNoy, the Pinoys’ President

2010-06-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

PNOY, THE PINOYS’ PRESIDENT: The greatest highlight of the inaugural speech of President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday, as far as I am concerned, was his deliberate identification of himself and, by express implication, of his government, with the needs and concerns of the Filipino people.

That was a master stroke, a genuinely genius strategy that will surely endear him all the more with his “boss”, who, he said in his inauguration, are the masses who literally cleaved unto him and catapulted him to the presidency with the greatest and biggest number of votes ever for a Philippine president.

For the first time, our countrymen heard a president who is undergoing whatever they are undergoing, experiences the same inconveniences the people are experiencing, and who, because of this first-hand knowledge of what the people are going through, can respond directly and more effectively. Indeed, PNoy is now the Pinoys’ president.

All of us must therefore pray to God the Almighty Creator of the heavens and the earth that the country’s 15th president will not be sidetracked from this direction and that coupled with a sincere desire to govern using God’s Word, guidance and direction, his promises to transform this nation and our people will be achieved in the next years.

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PNOY GETS A FIRM GRIP OF THE NEEDS OF FILIPINOS: Of course, there were references to the legacy of his mother, President Cory Aquino, and of his father and namesake, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., in pursuing his task as chief executive, but it is undeniable that President Noynoy himself appears to have already obtained, this early, a firm grip of what Filipinos wanted for themselves, at least in their ordinary, day to day living.

He knows for instance that many of our countrymen no longer want the “tong” system to continue (or the system of paying or bribing government authorities for an easy way out of a transaction or problem), so President Noynoy says there is no more “tong” in any transaction under his administration.

He knows, too, that our countrymen are sick and tired of privileges bandied about by the high and mighty, most especially in the use of sirens and alarms (or “wang-wangs” as we refer to them), and in allowing traffic counterflows or stopping other motorists just to enable the privileged individual easy travel, so he has stopped all of these altogether.

Many would think the presidency should no longer be involved in mundane matters like this, but I understand the concern of the President to show an immediate impact on our countrymen, by a change in behavioral patterns most exposed to the public’s view. This is good, if you ask me.

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PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS AT THE TEMPLE: The fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, as prayed by devout Roman Catholic Christians worldwide, pertains to the presentation of the Child Jesus at the Temple, a story that is found in Luke 2:21 to 40 of the Bible.

At first glance, the account of how Jesus was presented at the Temple seemed to indicate concern merely for the completion of the then existing purification process for males as mandated by the law of Moses, but, when one looks closer, it becomes apparent that this story of the presentation is actually another Biblical confirmation about who Jesus really is and what He is destined to do.

Thus, we can see two individuals, one man (the righteous and devout Simeon) and one woman (the prophetess Anna, then 84 years of age), prophesying about Jesus as Someone who will cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and as Someone who will redeem God’s people.

Simeon in particular confirmed that he had received a revelation that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. When Simeon saw Jesus, the Holy Spirit came over him, and he said he was ready to die in peace, since he already saw the Lord.

Anna on the other hand who was widowed after being married for only seven years, spent the rest of her life, until she was 84 years old, worshipping, fasting and praying at the temple. When she saw Jesus, she spoke about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

What is Makati City Rep. Locsin up to?

2010-06-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

THE JAMES-KRIS BREAK-UP COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED: The James Yap-Kris Aquino break-up sure looks to be something that could have been prevented from happening, if only the parties involved tried to bite their lips harder when they were quarelling and having a spat.

As it is, Filipino husbands and wives---and this includes James and Kris, obviously---do not really know how to control emotions and, worst of all, their tounges in times of trouble, saying many things that would scar them forever, even if they did not really mean what have been said.

Perhaps, Filipino husbands and wives---and this again includes James and Kris---should try to read what the Bible says about controlling the tounge, and thereby profit from it immensely.

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JAMES 3:3-12 OF THE BIBLE SAYS WE MUST CONTROL OUR TOUNGES: The Bible, in its James 3:3-12, has this to say about controlling the tounge: “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

“Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.

“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water....”

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WHAT IS REP. LOCSIN UP TO IN DISCREDING THE MAY ELECTIONS?Just what is former Makati City Rep. Teodoro “Boy” Locsin up to, in his recent remarks that theMay 2010 elections was marred by fraud and cheating, and that he would oppose the use of automation in the coming elections if loopholes in the computerized system are not remedied?

Surely, an accusation coming from him that the recent political exercise was tainted by computerized fraud can only raise doubts about the election of President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay, and all those who have been proclaimed by the Commission on Elections and are starting their terms now.

Is Locsin saying that President Aquino should not be allowed to assume the presidency because the election in which he was voted upon lacks credibility?

Is he not the same Locsin that served President Aquino’s own mother in 1986 to 1992? Why is he trying to discredit the electoral exercise that allowed the son to follow in the footsteps of the mother that Locsin also served?

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P-Noy must invite ex-presidents and ex-presidentiables

2010-06-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

P-NOY SHOULD INVITE EX-PRESIDENTS AND 2010 PRESIDENTIABLES TO INAUGURAL: I do not know if it is too late for this, but I am urgently and earnestly proposing that all former presidents of this country who are still around---President Ramos, President Estrada and President Arroyo---and all the presidential candidates in the 2010 elections, should be invited to attend the inauguration of President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay on June 30, 2010, and then to regularly meet with them thereafter.

Regardless of political leanings and regardless of the acrimonious fight that characterized the 2010 electoral exercise, these former presidents and former presidentiables owe it to God, country and people, especially at this point in our national history, to shed off partisanship and divisiveness and aspire for unity so that, for once, the good of this country will be the overriding agenda of all leaders in the next six years.

Yes, there will be differences about what is good for the country and the people, and there will be differences about what course of action to take to achieve this good, but I am sure that a constant, regular, and open dialogue among all these leaders, initiated by President Aquino at least once a month, will go a long way in solidifying even our leaders and countrymen under one direction---to help this nation become great again.

-ooo-

AGRA SHOULD STOP RESOLVING PENDING CASES: I laud outgoing Justice SecretaryAlberto Agra for his last-minute efforts to expedite the resolution of criminal cases that have remained unresolved through the years with the Department of Justice National Prosecution Service, for indeed, justice delayed is still justice denied.

But then, if these cases could be resolved in the “last two minutes” of Agra’s term through a determined push, how come he did not resolve them when there was still plenty of time upon his appointment?

As it is, many of his own prosecutors and many lawyers practicing at the DOJ, are of the presumption that what Agra is doing is issue “midnight resolutions”, for one reason or another. I believe he should stop what he is doing now, and allow his successor to resolve the cases

-ooo-

VISIT OF MARY TO ELIZABETH CONFIRMS BLESSINGS TO MARY: “Visitation” is what Roman Catholic Christians call the second mystery in the Mysteries of Joy (or Joyful Mysteries) of the Holy Rosary, and it is an account of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus, visiting her ageing but pregnant cousin Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, just after Mary had an encounter with Gabriel, the Angel of God.

The account of the “Visitation” is narrated in Luke 1:39 to 45 of the Bible, and there we will see that upon Mary’s arrival at the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the baby which was in the womb of Elizabeth leaped inside her, with the Holy Spirit coming down upon mother and baby.

In a loud voice, Elizabeth exclaimed to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear”, confirming Mary’s status as someone blessed by God, as well as the holy status of her child.

Astronomers prove hell is real; Binay’s blessing in disguise

2010-06-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

VP BINAY’S BLESSING IN DISGUISE: If Vice President Jejomar Binay won’t be appointed to any Cabinet position under the term of President Benigno Aquino III, he would have more time to go around the country and prepare himself for bigger aspirations in the years to come.

Without any responsibilities other than the vice presidency, Binay can freely talk to all sorts of people in the four corners of the archipelago, help or assist them in one way or another with their concerns, and then galvanize their support for his future endeavors. Viewed this way, I think Jojo should consider his “alienation” from Aquino’s official family as a blessing in disguise, rather than a rebuke.

-ooo-

MICHAEL JACKSON COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED BY GOD: Indeed, turning to God and subjecting one’s self to His Word and obeying His commands and decrees will work wonders for everyone, not just for the late Michael Jackson, whose first death anniversary Friday, 25 June 2010, will be commemorated by his family and fans.

Michael’s brother, Jermaine, is actually correct in saying, during an interview with BBC Radio, that if the pop superstar only embraced God in his lifetime he would have been at peace and would not have died so soon. “God is so powerful,” Jermained said, and it is indeed true, regardless of what religious affiliation one may have, for God alone saves, not affiliations.

-ooo-

ASTRONOMERS PROVE HELL IS REAL: It was a shocking and revealing report that astronomers from the Netherlands’Leiden Observatory released the other day, confirming, as it were, that there is a place in the universe which approximates what Revelations 21:8 of the Holy Bible says is a “fiery lake of burning sulfur”---the place reserved for sinners, unbelievers, cowards, idolaters, murderers, sexually immoral, and liars.

The astronomers, led by one Ignas Snellen, identified the place as a planet named Osiris (ancient Egypt’s Lord of the Dead) in the constellation of Pegasus, 150 light years away from the Earth, and is officially named HD 209458b.
“On one side its surface is heated to a scorching 1,100 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit), although the other side is far cooler. The planet's atmosphere is laced with poisonous carbon monoxide and prey to storm winds that blow from 5,000 to 10,000 kph (3,100-6,200 mph), says the paper (as reported by the Philippine Inquirer).
This is a planet “where human beings would be simultaneously boiled, poisoned and ripped apart by superstorms”, the Inquirer said. Imagine if this is where you will be assigned for the rest of eternity?

-ooo-

LIFE OF JESUS RECOUNTED IN THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY: A keen study of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary will show that each of the mystery recited in praying it constitutes one important aspect of the life of Jesus.
In the Joyful Mysteries, for instance, what is recounted are the following events in the life of Christ: Annunciation, Visitation of Elizabeth by Mary, Birth of Christ, Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, and Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

In the Mysteries of Light, we find the following: Baptism of Jesus, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Transfiguration and Institution of the Holy Eucharist through the Last Supper.
The Sorrowful Mysteries narrate these events in the life of Jesus: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Jesus with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, and Crucifixion and Death of Christ.
Finally, the Glorious Mysteries make an account of the Resurrection, the Ascention, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary as Queeon of Heaven and Earth.
Anyone who prays the Holy Rosary, therefore, gets to remember Jesus Christ and is reminded all over again of His status as our God and Savior.

Pinoys helpless amidst violence: Why?

2010-06-22T20:19:00.001-07:00

PINOYS HELPLESS IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE---WHY? “What’s happening to our country, general?”---a question asked by former Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez to then Brig. Gen. Tomas Karingal after Pelaez survived an ambush in Quezon City years ago---should be the question uppermost in the minds of many Filipinos nowadays with the recent spate of killings and violence accross the country.

Mediamen being killed, businessmen being fatally ambushed, lawyers and politicians and ordinary citizens suffering violent death---these and more, and we appear helpless in doing something, we are unable to stop or at least minimize all of these. Why?

-ooo-

VIOLENCE REPRESENTS CURSES FROM GOD: The real reason is that all of these violence and chaos and sufferings actually represent punishment from God. They are, as it were, God’s curses, which were promised in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 of the Holy Bible, in this manner: if you no longer listen to God, and no longer obey His commands, laws and decrees, curses upon curses will come upon you and overtake you.

If you count just the verses between Deuteronomy 28:15 and Deuteronomy 28:68, it would seem that there are 53 curses that will be visited upon a people who have turned their back on God. Then again, some of the verses are composed of two or more verses, so that it is clear that there are hundreds of curses waiting to pounce on a recalcitrant nation.

-ooo-

VIOLENCE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE ARE DESTROYED: The sad reality is that all of these will not stop, and cannot be remedied by anyone, much less the politicians and our leaders. In promising the curses to those who will not listen to Him anymore, God also promised that these curses will cause all of us to perish completely. Not even a godly president like President Benigno Aquino III can help us.

Proof that these curses are designed to destroy us? Please read Deuteronomy 28:20 (which says in part “The Lord will send you (the curses) until you are destroyed and come to suden ruin), Deuteronomy 28:21 (“...until He has destroyed you...”), Deuteronomy 28:22 (“...which will plague you until you perish...”).

Deuteronomy 28: 45 says: “...All of these curses will come upon you. They will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you...”

-ooo-

PRAYING OF THE ROSARY IS BIBLE BASED: Roman Catholic Christians practice the praying of the Holy Rosary, which is something that is balked at by others who believe in Christianity on the argument that praying the Rosary is paganistic in origin.

I did some reading on the matter, and indeed, there is nothing in the Holy Bible that says Christians should pray the Rosary, as there is even no mention of the Rosary in any pages of that Book.

But when one looks at the mysteries of the Rosary, one begins to understand that whoever conceived and thought of this prayer, dedicated to Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ, actually was following the examples of many leaders of the Christian faith, enshrined in many pages of the Bible, where they resort to repeating the history of the Israelites, from their exodus to their arrival at the Promised Land, as a means to strengthen their faith.

Just look at the story of Gideon, in Judges 6 and 7 of the Bible, and you will see what I mean. Before Gideon finally relented to be used as God’s chosen one to deliver his people from the Midianites who were causing them sufferings, he had to recount Israel’s story all over again.

This is what is happening when a Roman Catholic prays the Rosary: he is actually repeating a tried and tested tradition of Christian leaders, for he is reminded of the full and entire story of Christ, from the announcement of his birth by the Angel Gabriel to his Ascention to Heaven, taken directly from the Bible itself.

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The truth in the Yusoph kidnapping

2010-06-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

WHAT IS THE TRUTH IN THE YUSOPH KIDNAPPING? I hope the authorities handling the kidnapping of Nuraldin Yusoph, the son of Commissioner Elias Yusoph of the Commission on Elections, and the good commissioner himself, would be more circumspect and careful in giving out information about the event, so that the public will not be confused.

Pardon the strong language here, but then, who would ever believe the yarn that the kidnapping was made to force Commissioner Yusoph to nullify the election results in the towns of Malabang, Pilong, Taraka and Masiu in Lanao Del Sur?

Even a grade one pupil in our elementary schools would know that Yusoph, alone by himself, cannot nullify any of the results in any town in Lanao del Sur or in any other area where he was the commissioner-in-charge. That would need a collegial decision of the entire poll body.

Now, I am imploring all those involved in this sordid incident: please tell us the truth about this abduction, no matter where it would lead us, no matter how it hurts. It is time that we be truthful, if not to the Filipino people, then to God the Almighty creator of the heavens and the earth.

-ooo-

PRESIDENT AQUINO’S MEDIA TEAM SHOULD MONITOR COMMENTS NOW: Perhaps, the media team of President Benigno Aquino III should now try to monitor radio programs dealing with news and public affairs and do something about the spate of negative commentaries that are now being sent to the media through text messaging or other modes which, indubitably, seems to indicate an erosion of the public’s fascination over Noynoy.

As I was writing this column, I chanced upon Karen Golfo (the now famous partner of the venerable Joe Taruc of DZRH, in their program “Damdaming Bayan”) reading a text message presumably, where Noynoy is pictured as creating division instead of unity among officials in government and even among the public.

What is more, this kind of a commentary seems to have become pervasive, because even in the programs of other broadcasters or anchormen in other stations, similar messages are now being publicly aired, and Noynoy has not even started his term yet!

The media team of the President must do something to counteract these commentaries, because if left unchecked, they could really escalate and could render the Aquino administration ineffective without really trying.

-ooo-

BIBLE TRIVIA, PART VIII: THE FIRST COMMANDS GIVEN BY GOD TO MAN: Do you know that God, after creating the first man and woman, gave well-defined commands that they must follow? Here are the commands, in the order that they were given, according to Genesis 1:28-30, and 2:16 of the Holy Bible.

The first command (Genesis 1:28): be fruitful, increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fist of the sea and the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

The second command (Genesis 1:29): eat only seed-bearing plants and every tree that has fruit with seed on it. The third command (Genesis 2:16): eat from any tree in the garden, but do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when man will eat from that tree, he will surely die.

Any comment? Please email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

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Readers’ reactions: God celebrated on the `seventh day’

2010-06-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

READERS’ REACTIONS ARE REALLY POURING IN: I yield the totality of this column today to reactions to what we have been writing here, as well as my own reply to our readers who emailed me their commentaries. I thank God, in the name of Jesus, that we are getting these reactions from our readers. All such reactions from any of our readers are welcome, and we promise to publish them in our subsequent issues likewise. Here goes:

-ooo-

NERIO CLOMA: GOD IS CELEBRATING ON THE “SEVENTH DAY”: “Hello Atty. Batas, God may also have intended to rest on the seventh day to `celebrate’ what He has done and to teach us to celebrate as well. A life devoid of celebration, enjoyment is a dull life. Its not the life that John 10:10 is suggesting...

“Communing with God on the rest day is good. But aren’t we suppose to commune with Him daily? What's so special with the 7th day communing? Communing to Him with the other believers might be special.

“God never rests. He celebrates when He is not creating... but He never stops creating... So what is God doing on the 7th day? Thats not for us to discover...what He revealed already is what we need to follow...just rest and celebrate! Thanks for allowing me to reply. God bless and happy resting and celebrating Father's Day! Nerio Cloma”. Thanks, too, Nerio.

-ooo-

CAN WE TAKE GOD AWAY FROM THE PROBLEMS OF FILIPINOS? Here is a part of my reaction to the email by “The other John, de Zamboanga” I posted here the other day: “20 June 2010; The other John, de Zamboanga: Thank God in the name of Jesus for this reaction. But let me share some of my insights on the points you raised:

“You said: `I wish that you would take God away from Filipino’s problems. If Filipinos are struggling, having hard times making things meet, maybe he should find out why instead of blaming it on God...’

“First and foremost, I am not blaming anything on God. I have no opinion on the matter, in fact. Please take note that I merely reiterated what the Bible said in Deuteronomy 28:15, in relation to the verses until 28:68, with respect to the curses that God will send to a people who no longer sincerely and truthfully listen to (or, more appropriately now, read) and obey, the Word of God.

“And so we will understand this a little better, here is what Deuteronomy 28:15 is saying: `However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you...’ More of this next time...

-ooo-

LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES AND HARDSHIPS BROUGHT ABOUT BY MAN’S GOING AWAY FROM GOD: “Clearly, therefore, based on this, if a people, like the Filipinos are having hard times making things meet, the first thing that they should try to do is ask, as you said: why is this happening to us?

“If they read the Bible good enough, they will understand that the poverty, confusion and rebuke they are experiencing, although traceable to some problems, actually are rooted with their having stopped reading the Bible, listening to the Word of God, and then with their having refused to obey Him truthfully and sincerely.

“Now, given this kind of an insight, no one can (or must) blame God---we must blame ourselves because, if we look at what the Bible is telling us in the foregoing verse, it is us who turned our backs on God, it is us who no longer read His Word, it is us who no longer obey Him.

“If things are becoming more difficult these days, it is because we are at fault, in the manner Deuteronomy 28:15 is saying....”

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“Anti-foreign sentiments”? Read again! (Part I)

2010-06-16T18:37:00.001-07:00

READER REACTS TO “ANTI-FOREIGNER SENTIMENTS” OF THIS COLUMN: I continually thank God, in the name of Jesus, that our columns here are being read by many people, and it is good to know that these columns even merit reactions from our readers.

Here is one such reaction, dwelling on our recent ideas about foreigners lording it over Filipinos. I changed the name of the writer and the places he mentioned (I put them in italics for purposes of this column today) for security reasons, and due to the writer’s own request:

“Dear Mr. Mauricio, My name is John, I am a foreigner, from abroad. I have lived here for 3 years, in Mindanao, and I have paid approximately $365.00 per year to be here, on a tourist Visa. I am married to a Philipina here, a Muslim, and a professional woman with a Masters degree that works in the service of her country.

“She has a family in Mindanao. She has an uncle that is a congressman, and an uncle that is a Supreme Court Justice.

“In the last 2 weeks you have cursed the days a foreigner set foot on the soil of the Philippines on numerous occasions. I can't help but wonder what it is that you have against the policy of the Philippine Government?

“The reason foreigners come here is because the government allows it. If you pay a fee, you can visit, if you pay a Big Fee you can stay forever. Foreigners are Commerce, just as OFW's are commerce.

“I am a poor, retired US Marine living on a meager retirement, I am not rich, I am not wanted by the police in any country.

“I have paid my taxes on a regular basis to the Philippine government (Visa Fees), Airport Passenger fees and so on. I am here because I want to be with my wife and her family, as I have no one else for family.

“Are you aware that I as a foreigner cannot even own the land I am building a house on?
Even with this lack of consideration, I still choose to stay in the Philippines. I employ a housemaid and a yard boy, I pay them cash every week.

“My payroll here in the Philippines is 52000 peso per year, and my wife's household allowance for all the bills and her pocket money is 35000 peso per month.

“My Point, what is it you have against my kind, be I American, Chinese, Korean, African, Russian, Japanese? Are you a closet Racist? or are you against Commerce? You better take a long look in the mirror of life, your past, your present.

“You quote the scripture on a regular basis. May I bring your attention to the 10 Commandments? This one comes to mind, Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Keep up the good work and stimulating wisdom you send to All of us. Even us foreigners.

“Respectfully, John.” I already responded to this, and, God willing, I am going to print it tomorrow. Abangan (or, for our reader and other foreigners out there, watch out for it)!!!

-ooo-

BIBLE TRIVIA, PART IV: MAN WAS INTENDED TO BE VEGETARIAN? I don’t know if you noticed but, in Genesis 1:29 of the Holy Bible, there is an indication that God wanted man to be a vegetarian, not carnivorous, and not an eater of fish either.

Here is what Genesis 1:29 says as God’s instruction to man, after he had created the first male and female: “Then God said, `I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food...”

Interestingly, it would also appear that God intended even “the beasts of the earth”---all animals, if you may---to be vegetarian likewise, eathing nothing but plants. This is what we see in Genesis 1:30, which says “And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground---everything that has the breath of life in it---I give every green plant for food. And it was so.”

Does this mean that the meat-eaters among us (and even the fish-eaters likewise) have been violating God’s laws because of our predilection for meat? Agree? Disagree? Email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

-ooo-

BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Notice to lawmakers: God does not want population control

2010-06-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

FINALLY, GOOD DEEDS ARE BEING RECOGNIZED: There is a positive message in President Benigno Aquino III’s announcement that he is likely to appoint outgoing Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo as the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government---that good deeds and dedication to duty, coupled with a heart overflowing with concern for others, will sooner or later be rewarded.

Now, other local executives and officials and employees will have a reason to perform well, do good and strive for excellence---someone is watching and ready to give recognition. I hope President Aquino can develop a system of regularly rewarding those who are going out of their way to serve, to encourage better service to the public.

As for the rest of the Philippine bureaucracy who may not be noticed at all even if they are doing good, what they can do is to do everything for God, as the Bible said, in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”.

-ooo-

GAYS AND LESBIANS, THE BIBLE HAS A MESSAGE FOR YOU: Indeed, gays and lesbians should not be discriminated against as Chairman Francisco Duque III of the Civil Service Commission clarified, but there is something in the Bible which seems to indicate that there is a very strict rule when it comes to members of the “third” sex.

It would seem to me that, based on its Romans 1:18-32, the Bible is saying that being a gay or a lesbian is some sort of an indication of God’s wrath, against people, men and women, who do not give thanks and who do not glorify God.

Here is a part of that Biblical passage: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men... For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him...”

“...Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another....”

-ooo-

TO KILLERS OF MEDIAMEN: STOP YOUR SINFUL WAYS: It seems journalists and broadcasters and mediamen have become fair game once again, with the gangland-style killings of DZJC Laoag City anchorman Joselito Agustin and Sunrise FM Mati, Davao Oriental disc jockey Jessie Camanan happening one after the other.

There is no doubt Agustin and Camanan were killed because of their work as media personalities drumbeating negative commentaries against certain local personalities. But then, the real question here is, can the killings serve any good purpose for the killers and the masterminds aside from temporarily silencing their critics?

For one mediaman that is killed because of the exercise of his profession, there will be a host of others who will take his place, and continue the crusade against the bad guys. The real remedy here is for those who are being criticized to mend their ways and stop committing acts that invite criticism.

-ooo-

BIBLE TRIVIA, PART III: GOD DID NOT ENVISION FAMILY PLANNING OR POPULATION CONTROL: Here is one trivia from the Bible that Filipino lawmakers who are intent on passing the abortion-laced Reproductive Health Bill should always remember: God did not envision man to be undertaking family planning or population control.

Genesis 1:28 says, after man was created: “God blessed them and said to them, `Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground...”

We should note that there is no doubt at all that God wanted man to propagate himself in all of the earth. He used four phrases to underscore this point: “be fruitful”, “increase in number”, “fill the earth” and “subdue it”.

If God intended to say that man should increase in number only to a certain point or up to a certain limit only, He should have said so in the same clear manner. Therefore, anyone saying that man should limit his number by family planning or population control is going against God’s laws.

Agree? Disagree? Email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

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Cebu tragedy bares ills in RP foreign residency training

2010-06-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

TWO MOONS IN THE SKIES IN AUGUST 2010: Rolando Marasigan, a fellow Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Intramuros, Manila, under District 3810 of Rotary International, shared this exciting email with me on the appearance of two moons gracing the evening skies of the whole world on August 27, 2010.

The email reads: “27th August the whole world is waiting for...Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting August. It will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. This will culminate on August 27 when Mars comes within 34.65 million miles off earth.

“Be sure to watch the sky on August 27, 12:30 am. It will look like the earth has two moons. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Share this with your friends as NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again...”

-ooo-

CEBU ACCIDENT EXPOSES DISCRIMINATION IN RP MEDICAL RESIDENCY TRAINING FOR FOREIGNERS: The accident in Balamban, Cebu that claimed the lives of about 22 Iranian doctors and medical practitioners should be a cause for alarm among Filipinos not only on the sorry state of roads and highways in the country but more on the manner by which the government, particularly the Department of Health, has been flip-flopping on the entry of foreign doctors to undergo residency training in the Philippines.

Why a cause for alarm? Well, the sheer number of Iranian doctors who died in that Cebu tragedy shows that while some foreigners are liberally and generously allowed to come into the Philippines and then undergo residency training among our doctors here, some other foreign nationals are inexplicably not allowed to do so.

I shudder and refuse to think that some divine intervention caused the accident to happen, perhaps to focus our attention on this shameful malady in foreign residency training in this country at this point. Why is there a discrimination in the training program such that some foreigners are accepted while others are not? What gives? Or, perhaps, what takes?

-ooo-

BI CHIEF LIBANAN: WHY ARE THERE MANY FOREIGNERS IN RP? I have asked literally the same question already before, in this same column: why is it that there appears to be too many South Koreans, Indian nationals, and other foreigners now in this country of ours?

What, really, is the official policy now of the government, through the Bureau of Immigration, when it comes to allowing foreigners to come here and, from all indications, live in this country permanently?

Whether Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan is aware of it or not, the entry of so many foreigners to the Philippines under his watch confirms a Biblical prophesy for people who no longer listen to God and no longer obey His commands and decrees---a nation whose language we do not know will descend upon us, live an economically superior life, lend to us, and then lead us, even in politics (Deuteronomy 28:43-44 and 47, Holy Bible).

-ooo-

BIBLE TRIVIA, PART II: WATER ABOVE THE SKY? If you are a Bible reader, you will not fail to notice that under its Genesis 1:6-8, there is a part of creation which indicates that there is a place higher than the sky, which is actually water.

Here is what that part of the Bible says: “And God said, `Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse `sky’. And there was evening, and there was morning---the second day.”

Clearly, there is water below (evidently the water here on earth), and there is water beyond the sky. We must note that the sky seems to be a “middle section” separating the water below and the water above. Given this information from the Bible, is it right to say that God’s dwelling place up there beyond the sky is water?

Do you agree, or disagree? Please email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

Pinoys must give Noynoy a “honeymoon” of 2,190 days

2010-06-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

PRESIDENT AQUINO MUST RELY ON THE BIBLE ALL THE TIME: While, indeed, President Benigno Aquino III cannot impose his religious beliefs on Filipinos, he can nevertheless be a living example, not only of a prayerful person, but of someone whose trust and confidence in God is strengthened by his constant and consistent referral to, and reliance on, His Word, the Bible, in his presidency.

This kind of reliance on the Bible on the part of the President cuts accross all religions, nourishes and instills righteousness not only on his person, but even on the persons of his officials, supporters and followers, and even of the whole citizenry as well.

In fact, that is the reason why, when President Aquino takes his oath as the 15th president of the Philippines on June 30, 2010 (just like what the other presidents before him had done), one of his hands will be resting on the Bible---as this Book is---or, should be---the one and only source of wisdom for him as he leads a nation wracked by poverty, confusion, dissension and failures.

If only Mr.Aquino will actively seek support and enlightenment from the Scriptures while he is President, he will not only make a difference as the President who followed the Bible earnestly---he will be the only President that will truly make this nation great again, for it is only God and His Word who can make a nation great and exalted (Deuteronomy 28:1 and Proverbs 14:34 Holy Bible).

-ooo-

AQUINO OFFICIALS MUST “FEAR GOD AND HATE DISHONEST GAIN”: For starters, he must carefully choose the people who will help him carry the burden of running this country for the next six years, and choose them according to what the Bible says---not according to how they helped him in his campaign, even if the pressure for him to do so is great.
What does the Bible say about choosing officials? In Exodus 18:17-26, here is how officials should be chosen: “...The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people... When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, `...Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?’
“Moses answered him, `Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws.’
“Moses' father-in-law replied, `What you are doing is not good... Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens....”

-ooo-

PRESIDENT AQUINO, THE LEADER GIVEN BY GOD, MUST HAVE A “HONEYMOON” OF 2,190 DAYS : On the other hand, Filipinos must likewise start following in earnest what the Holy Bible is saying about obedience to their leaders---even if the leaders are perceived to be no longer effective and responsive to the people’s needs.

In this light, we must not only give President Aquino a 100-day-honeymoon period---or the period during which we, in media, in particular, and we, the people, in general, should not be criticizing and contesting his actions as chief executive.

We must, as a matter of obedience to what the Bible says, give him a honeymoon period of 2,190 days, or the entirety of his six year term---for as Romans 13:1-2 says, we must always obey the authorities at all times, because there is no authority that God Himself did not establish.

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God...” is how Romans actually puts it.

NGO wants review of the automated election system

2010-06-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

NON-GOVERMENTAL ORGANIZATION ASKS FOR REVIEW OF THE AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM: The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (or CenPEG) seems not about ready yet to simply throw in the towel over allegations that, at the very least, computer errors may have affected the results of the May 2010 elections.

Here is a press release from CenPEG that I thought would interest many of us: “The policy research institution, Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), is seeking the release of at least 22 documents related to the Automated Election System (AES) prepared and implemented for the May 10, 2010 national synchronized polls.

“CenPEG said `various stakeholders (need) to help find answers to many questions that affect the credibility of the elections, especially with regard to some unusual incidences occurring with the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines of the Smartmatic-propelled automated system.’

“ `An objective study can only be done if pertinent data and information, relevant to the study at hand, shall be accessible and available to researchers and scholars, so that a no-nonsense body of knowledge can be developed in the interest of public service and good governance,’ CenPEG added, as it also pledged confidentiality and a copy of the final draft of the study and recommendations.

-ooo-

CENPEG WROTE CONGRESS TO ASK FOR 22 DOCUMENTS ON THE COMPUTERIZED POLLS: “On May 21, CenPEG wrote the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) to help it gain access to needed information on the AES and to form an independent, non-partisan, and impartial citizens' body to review and assess the conduct of the May 10, 2010 automated elections, including the processes and procedures undertaken for the May 10 election.

“CenPEG and AES Watch, a multisectoral coalition of poll watchdogs, are active citizen resource groups in the JCOC.

“The documents CenPEG is asking for are: SysTest full report; source code walkthrough plan; source code of the PCOS program; source code of the CCS programs; file formats of all data files used or produced by the PCOS program; file formats of all data files used or produced by the CCS program; public keys used by all the PCOS computers.

“It is also seeking the public keys used by all the CCS computers; user manual of the PCOS program; user manual of the CCS program; Smartmatic-Comelec contract with the complete annexes; finance and budget plan of the AES-Smartmatic; copy of the Smartmatic Voters’ Education contract; contract between Smartmatic and the Dominion Voting Systems and contract on transmission and deployment plan of the transmission facilities.

-ooo-

WHAT IS COMELEC’S REACTION? “CenPEG wants also a copy of the report on the PCOS transmission on May 10 and thereafter; report on the customization; old ballot faces (national and local) matching the faulty CF cards; new ballot faces (national and local) actually used for the May 10 elections; report on the training of BEIs and technicians; inventory of compact flash cards used in the final testing and sealing; and the re-configured CF cards for May 10.

“CenPEG’s request letter was signed by Evi-Ta L. Jimenez, executive director and noted by Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, chair of its Board of Directors.” Has the Commission on Elections, Smartmatic-TIM and all other affected parties have anything to say on this? What did Congress do to CenPEG’s request to be given copies of the foregoing documents?

About truth and its beneficial effects, let us listen to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in John 8:31-32 of the Holy Bible. This part of the Holy Book says: Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Will the Filipino people want to be free from misgivings about the credibility and accuracy and honesty of the May 2010 elections?

So, how did Sen. Roxas lose?

2010-06-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

So, how did Sen. Roxas lose?

“BINAY, WITH HIS GODLY NAME, COULD NOT HAVE LOST”: Congratulations are now in order for Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, who may have already been proclaimed as the country’s new vice president as you are reading this, on Wednesday, June 8, 2010.

There is no more doubt that he won, considering his lead of over 600,000 votes over his closest rival, and considering that only about 370,000 votes have not been officially canvassed as of Tuesday night.

Many actually prayed for his victory, and for many reasons. But for a Born Again Christian named Jun Kintanar, a member of the One Vote Movement, he prayed for Binay for a very peculiar reason, which he sent me by text message.

Here is that text message: “The main reason Binay won is God Himself made sure he wins. Binay’s first name is JEsus, JOseph, MARy (Jejomar). If he lost, Christianity will no longer be respected and Jesus will not allow it. Faith to understand this...”

-ooo-

SEN. MAR ROXAS: TIME FOR SELF-EXAMINATION: So how did Sen. Manuel Roxas II lose, when, all along he was the man to beat, and he enjoyed a wide lead over his vice presidential rivals at the start of the campaign for the 2010 elections?

Many also prayed for his victory, and for many reasons, too, but then the Biblical injunction is that, only the prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective. Let us hear it from James 5:16 of the Holy Bible: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Perhaps, Roxas should now re-examine what he and his coterie of advisers and planners have done in his quest for the presidency and the vice presidency, and see if, in his desire to become president or vice president, he, or the people around him, did things that were not acceptable to God, and then, in all humility, make amends and atonement.

No matter what his advisers will tell him now, it is undeniable that God’s hand was in this election, and that there is no denying that there is a message from God in his defeat, the first-ever in his career as a politician, a stunning defeat indeed for a Philippine political Goliath in the hands of a political David.

-ooo-

RP’S NEW LEADERS MUST UPHOLD GOD FIRST AND FOREMOST ALL THE TIME: And now that the Philippines will be entering a new period in its history where its new leaders are facing grave and insurmountable problems, it would be wise for President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jojo Binay to be always conscious about God in discharging their awesome duties and responsibilities.

They must try to make God a partner, as it were, in their governance, using His Word, commands, laws and decrees in every act, statement or decision they will have to make.

Paying mere lip service to God and His commands and decrees would not be enough. Indeed, God in His great power and omniscience can see through anyone’s heart or soul, and can immediately know whether there is complete trust and confidence in Him.

Aquino and Binay must always remember Proverbs 3:5-6 of the Holy Bible which says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”

There will be times when even their best decisions and the best of their intentions would not be enough to solve the country’s ills and problems, for, as human beings even presidents and vice presidents will have limitations, but if they upheld God right from the start in arriving at their decisions and in their intentions, He will be there to make sure everything is alright.

-ooo-

BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

DOH under President Noynoy: bring in the foreign doctors

2010-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

DOH under President Noynoy: bring in the foreign doctors

BY ATTY. MELANIO "BATAS" MAURICIO JR.

THANKS FOR APPOINTMENTS AS PR TEAM MEMBER: I am greatly appreciative of incoming Rotary International District 3810 Gov. Tranquil Salvador, who is also the incumbent president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Quezon City chapter, for his having appointed me as “deputy governor” for District 3810, for Rotary Year 2010-2011.

DG Tranquil told me he designated me as “deputy governor” to help him in the District’s public imaging campaign during his reign, in charge of doing TV specials for District 3810 and for the other nine Philippine Rotary districts as well, depending on the agreement of his fellow governors.

Certainly, this is a terrific job, especially because I have also been designated in a concurrent capacity as a member of the public relations team of Rotary International’s South Pacific Zone composed of the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, courtesy of the South Pacific Zone coordinator, Ms. Lyne Abanilla of the Manila Bulletin and three-time Zone 7 (Philippines and Indonesia ) chairman of RI for public relations.

My readers here will please pardon my having set modesty aside, but then, I am just very excited by the prospect of doing public relations job for both District 3810 and the other Philippine RI districts and for the entire South Pacific Region as well, especially because Lyne and I have already collaborated for the last three years on doing PR work for RI for Zone 7.

-ooo-

BRING IN FOREIGN DOCTORS, DR. GALVEZ TAN: If incoming Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan would want an unsolicited advice on how to fight the “brain drain” among doctors and other medical practitioners who are leaving the Philippines for greener pastures abroad, he must allow doctors from other countries to come in and undertake their residency training here.

This is the only way to assure the supply, as it were, of doctors and medical practitioners in far-flung barrios and unreachable places in the country, especially because foreign doctors who are usually left out of residency trainings in their own countries would be just too willing to be assigned anywhere in the Philippines.

If he wants to, I can arrange a meeting between him and groups that even now are already engaged in bringing in foreign doctors here in the Philippines, but which are being subjected to absurd conditions by some people at the Department of Health and even from the Professional Regulations Commission.

I am sure an honest-to-goodness discussion can bring about a ready and effective solution to the on-going lack of doctors in our rural areas, a problem already causing prejudice to a lot of our countrymen, as noted by Galvez Tan himself in previous statements, and as noted by Dr. Jose S. Pujalte, Jr. last June 5, 2010.

-ooo-

SIX OF 10 PINOYS DIE WITHOUT SEEING A DOCTOR: Here is a part of Dr. Pujalte’s article, circulated in the Internet the other day: “Our beloved Philippines is in a health quagmire. Some facts: Six out of 10 Filipinos die without seeing a doctor; four out of 10 Filipino babies are delivered by untrained hands; 29 million Filipinos have no access to safe sanitation.

“Add to these the mass migration of our health professionals: Doctors, doctors as nurses, nurses, physical therapists and other allied health workers. Also our next President, Noynoy Aquino, did not mince words in his campaign ad that corruption affects the delivery of health services too. What can be done?

“ Now to make sense of where Department of Health/Philhealth efforts should be directed, we must be reminded of this country’s commitment of attaining millenium development goals (MDGs) by 2015 as reiterated by the United Nations.

“We have barely five years to achieve most of these and there are five goals that touch on health: MDG #1: End extreme poverty and hunger; MDG#4: Reduce child mortality and MDG# 5: Improve materal health; MDG#6: Combat TB, malaria, HIV/AIDS; and MDG#7: Ensure environmental sustainability....”

-ooo-

BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Poll cheating is still very possible, computer expert warns!

2010-01-31T05:37:00.000-08:00

COMPUTER EXPERT WARNS: POLL CHEATING STILL POSSIBLE: Yes, Engr. Jun Lozada, cheating and manipulation of the results of the May 2010 computerized elections can still possibly happen, but, no, it is not going to be in the source code of the computers, nor in the software or any other aspect of programming for the automated machines.

According to a computer expert who came to personally see me the other week, if ever anyone wanted to cheat and ensure victory in the May 2010 elections for any position (not just the presidency or the vice presidency), they will not tamper with the source code, nor with the software or any other aspect of computer programming, for those can be easily detected, verified, and thereafter corrected.

There is one other way to cheat, and it is apparently fool-proof: almost impossible to detect, can be smoothly carried out, and can result in a “dagdag-bawas” situation using computers and the other automated machines, the computer expert told me.

How can this cheating, resulting in a computerized “dagdag-bawas” situation, happen? Read how (or at least the explanation on the matter of the expert), in this same column, in our succeeding issues. Don’t dare miss this exciting piece of information.

-ooo-

ARROYO’S HOLD OVER PRESIDENCY, LEGALLY ALLOWED: I don’t know whether I should be happy or what, but my opinion in earlier columns that President Arroyo can continue being president even after May 2010 has just been confirmed and affirmed, as it were, by no less than former Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban Jr.

In his column at the Inquirer on Sunday, January 31, 2010, Panganiban wrote, in so many words, that indeed Arroyo can be a “hold-over” president, in the event of a failure of elections (which may happen for one reason or another), which was exactly what I had been writing about and contrary to what the other so-called Constitutionalists have been bandying about in various media fora.

With Panganiban’s learned disquisition on the legality of an Arroyo hold-over presidency, I am emboldened, once more, to predict: Arroyo will remain president of the Philippines after May 2010, and this is going to happen because it has a very sound Biblical basis, as far as my reading of the Bible goes.

Of course, many have already reacted to my earlier columns on this matter, saying that my Bible maybe a different Holy Book from the Bible of Christians worldwide and that my Bible maybe based on graft and corruption, abuse and plunder.

I don’t really mind, but let me reiterate: if you will read the Christian Bible more closely, Arroyo’s continuing with her presidency is clearly written there.

-ooo-

QUESTIONS FOR BOSS DANDING: Former Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, chairman of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and “The Boss” of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), must know something many Filipinos don’t, perhaps in the same fashion as Vice President Noli De Castro’s knowing something many of us don’t know either.

I mean, if Boss Danding really wants to continue the leadership and dominance of SMC in Philippine business and, by extension, the “relevance” of NPC in Philippine politics, there is no way for him to avoid supporting a presidential candidate in the May 2010 elections, as one of his sons is saying.

The undeniable truth is that, in the Philippines as elsewhere, one can only become a “big businessman” if he has become a “big politician”, and one can only be a “big politician” if he is also a “big businessman”. Being big in business means being big in politics and being big in politics means being big in business.

In the Philippines as elsewhere, the only way to protect one’s business, especially one as highly profitable as SMC, is to continue being in politics, in the way that NPC is doing it.

So, if, suddenly, we hear that Boss Danding isn’t supporting any presidential candidate at this point, which means, in any language, he is giving up being big in politics, does this mean that the Boss is also ready to give up being big in business? This is exciting, to say the least.

-ooo-

CORONATION OF MARY: The “Coronation of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth” is the fifth “Glorious Mystery” in the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians, and, despite attempts by non-believers to discredit this aspect of Mary’s life, Catholics continue to hold on to it as part of their Christian faith.

Catholic leaders justify their belief about the coronation of Mary as the “Queen of Heaven and Earth” in the following manner: “(Mary) is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Mary is the Mother of Christ, the Word incarnate...Elizabeth greeted the Blessed Virgin, pregnant with Jesus, as `the Mother of my Lord.’ [Luke 1:41-43]

“She is the perfect follower of Christ. The maid of Nazareth consented to God's plan; she journeyed on the pilgrimage of faith; she listened to God's word and kept it in her heart; she remained steadfastly in close union with her Son, all the way to the foot of the cross; she persevered in prayer with the Church.

“Thus in an eminent way she won the `crown of righteousness,’ [See 2 Timothy 4:8] the `crown of life,’ [See James 1:12; Revelation 2:10] the `crown of glory’ [See 1 Peter 5:4] that is promised to those who follow Christ…."

-ooo-

BATAS INTERNET TV, BATAS INTERNET RADIO: Please watch BATAS INTERNET TV and please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO through the website www.batasradio.com (click Batas ITV for tv, and BatasRadio.com for radio). We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Movie experts join BATAS INTERNET TV

2010-01-31T05:35:00.000-08:00

PETE AMPOLOQUIO, PETER LEDESMA JOIN BATAS TV: Famous movie columnists and talk show hosts Pete Ampoloquio and Peter Ledesma have agreed to do a daily show, also dealing with movies, films, radio, television, artists, and other related matters, at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO, both of which can be accessed at the Internet website www.batasradio.com.

The two will be featured four times a day: at 8:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.; 1:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.; 8:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.; and 12:00 midnight to 12:15 a.m. starting February 01, 2010.

They will be bringing to the show both their wealth of experience and their conceded and greatly-admired and, now, much envied, expertise on movies and radio-TV, as well as their imitated-but-never equalled style of hosting and handling shows and writing newspaper and magazine columns which will surely fire up much greater audience viewership and listenership for any media network.

Their assignment as hosts for the daily programs at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO at the Internet website www.batasradio.com would be in addition to their joint daily program over station DWIZ of the Aliw Broadcasting Station, and to the thrice a week program of Pete at TV 5.

I am sure the station where they started their team-up about four years ago will be green with envy about this latest show of the two, for that station knows deep in its heart that Pete Ampoloquio and Peter Ledesma were the gems that attracted people to watch it, and now that they are no longer there, no one is really interested to watch that station anymore.

-ooo-

“JUDICIARY, WEAKEST OF 3 BRANCHES OF GOV’T”: USA-based Filipino lawyer Marlowe Camello, a staunch advocate of adopting the jury system in the Philippines, sent the following article which he entitled: “Why the Judiciary is the Weakest Among the 3 Great Government Branches”. His unedited article reads:

“We have been told by our law professors in colleges and universities that the Judiciary is a co-equal branch of the legislature and the presidency but it is actually the weakest among the said 3 branches of the government. It is more of a subservient instrumentality to powerful public officials and politicians.

“If you ask why, the ready answer by every law professor is because all the judges and justices are mere recommendees and appointees (or `tutas’) of the highest officials of the legislature and the presidency. In a way, this is correct but it is not the ultimate reason.

“The fundamental reason why the judiciary is not, in fact, co-equal in power and prestige with its counter-parts in the other two branches is LACK OF THE DIRECT VOTING POWER AND SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE in the official function of judges and justices (as well as by fiscals) unlike the support of the people with their votes in electing their lawmakers in the legislature and the president.

-ooo-

“JUDICIARY, LAME DUCK INSTRUMENTALITY OF GOV’T”: “The judiciary is an ORPHAN branch of government with no voting foundation of its acts from and by the people. It is a lame duck instrumentality of the government. The same situation exists with respect to the Ombudsman, deputy ombudsmen, fiscals and government prosecutors.

“Their acts to investigate and prosecute are not anchored on the sovereign vote of the common people through the grand juries. Like those of judges and justices, the Ombudsman and other government prosecutors are like errand boys and girls by politicians.

“Adoption of the Jury System is the empowerment of the judiciary that will make it as a true and co-equal branch in the government. Once the Jury System is adopted, illegal intrusions in the functions of justice of judges and justices by lawmakers and the president will naturally stop.

“While judges and justices shall have the rightful and exclusive authority to directly instruct and supervise the jurors, the lawmakers and the presidency will have no business interfering in giving instruction to the jury. The buck stops with the people and not with the judges and justices or of the prosecutors.

“By the adoption of the jury system, judges, justices and prosecutors will no longer serve as proteges of politicians and of the president or of the warlords in the lower instrumentality of the government such as the warlords of local government units. Government corruption will be greatly minimized if not totally stopped....”

-ooo-

PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS AT THE TEMPLE: The fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, as prayed by devout Roman Catholic Christians worldwide, pertains to the presentation of the Child Jesus at the Temple, a story that is found in Luke 2:21 to 40 of the Bible.

At first glance, the account of how Jesus was presented at the Temple seemed to indicate concern merely for the completion of the then existing purification process for males as mandated by the law of Moses, but, when one looks closer, it becomes apparent that this story of the presentation is actually another Biblical confirmation about who Jesus really is and what He is destined to do.

Thus, we can see two individuals, one man (the righteous and devout Simeon) and one woman (the prophetess Anna, then 84 years of age), prophesying about Jesus as Someone who will cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and as Someone who will redeem God’s people.

Simeon in particular confirmed that he had received a revelation that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. When Simeon saw Jesus, the Holy Spirit came over him, and he said he was ready to die in peace, since he already saw the Lord.

Anna on the other hand who was widowed after being married for only seven years, spent the rest of her life, until she was 84 years old, worshipping, fasting and praying at the temple. When she saw Jesus, she spoke about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

-ooo-

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“Embassies On The Air” to go on the air soon

2010-01-31T05:34:00.000-08:00

“LIVING POWER CORPORATION” FOOD SUPPLEMENTS: Among the many food supplements that have been flooding the market nowadays, I am convinced that those produced by a company called “Living Power Corporation”, particularly its herbal coffee called “Power Blend 9-in-1”, can really contribute to one’s wellness and good health.

While the law and regulations from the Department of Health say that food supplements must be accompanied by a warning which, more or less, says “no therapeutic value guaranteed”, the products of “Living Power Corporation” do not need such warnings because their therapeutic value can be immediately felt.

At least, that was what I experienced Friday, January 29, 2010, when I drank one cup of “Power Blend 9-in-1” coffee before interviewing Chito Villegas, a friend of mine who happens to be promoting the products of “Living Power Corporation”, at the program “Batas Media Reports” at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (which can be watched and listened to through www.batasradio.com).

Before drinking the coffee, I felt sluggish because I woke up early for Chito’s interview although I stayed up late Thursday night. You know, people approaching their senior years must have enough sleep, or feel week the next day. When I partook of the coffee, I instantly felt I was wide awake, greatly attentive and alert, without the heart palpitations usually associated with coffee drinking. Wow!

-ooo-

“EMBASSIES ON THE AIR” TO GO ON AIR SOON: God willing, Chito, by the way, will be hosting a once-a-week, one-hour show at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), which will feature foreign embassies, their ambassadors and consuls or other officers, which are stationed in the Philippines.

The program is now tentatively titled “Embassies On The Air”, which is a take-off from a similarly-titled TV program which Chito had hosted when he was a lot younger, and which dealt with what ambassadors and consular officials are doing to protect their citizens in our country, and with what their respective countries are like or can offer to Filipinos.

When I first heard of this, I immediately got excited, because I instantly saw the beneficial effects of having such a TV program more particularly in relation to the 20 million or so Filipinos who are either working or residing abroad who, in recent years, have been encountering abusive employers or harsh migrant conditions.

Since it has become very difficult getting effective assistance from our own Department of Foreign Affairs and our own ambassadors or consular officers in the foreign countries where Filipinos are staying, having a good relationship or, at the very least, a nodding familiarity with ambassadors and consular officers in the Philippines of these foreign countries can do wonders to help our afflicted countrymen.

So watch out for “Embassies On The Air” over there at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), and, if you already have concerns about OFWs or Filipino migrants even at this point, you can now send them to us at 0917 984 24 68.

-ooo-

BATAS INTERNET TV/RADIO NOW ACCEPTING COMMERCIAL OR AD PLACEMENTS: To those who maybe interested, BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com) are now accepting commercials or ad placements from interested parties, either on an outright cash or x-deal (exchange deal) basis. We assure you we can give the best accommodating rates, comparable to rates between close friends.

The beauty of BATAS INTENET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO is that it is beamed nationally (entire Philippines) and internationally (whole world), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You may call us at 0917 984 24 68, 0922, 833 43 96, or 394 1191.

-ooo-

BIRTH OF JESUS IN THE MANGER: Easily one of the most fondly-remembered events in the Bible is now immortalized as the third Joyful Mystery in the Roman Catholic Christians’ Holy Rosary, and this is the birth of Jesus Christ.

Mainly because the event augurs good tidings and happy cheers as it ushers in gift-giving and camaraderie among believers worldwide, the birth of Jesus Christ has become one of the cornerstones of the Catholic Christians’ faith as it heralds the great love of God for man.

But completely different from this happy scenario is the account of the birth of Christ that is found in Luke 2:1 to 20, and in Matthew 1:18 to 25 of the Bible, both of which paint a very humble yet solemn and dignified occasion, befitting the Son of God.

This story starts with a census participated in by Joseph, the man who was pledged to marry Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ. During the census, Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The birth of Jesus was announced by an angel of the Lord to the shepherds who were watching their flocks at night. The angel said that the Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, had been born. Just then, a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

The shepherds then left their flocks, looked for the baby wrapped in clothes in a manger and, when they found him, started telling everyone about him, glorifying and praising God.

-ooo-

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Basilan congressional bet Sampang: business for progress

2010-01-31T05:32:00.000-08:00

EARTHQUAKES AND FAMINES, SIGNS OF THE END TIMES: Signs of the end times, as Jesus foretold them in Matthew 24:4-8: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming `I am the Christ’, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars...Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places...”

Are these signs happening now? And, are we doing anything to prepare for the end of times which Jesus said will definitely come?

-ooo-

JHULARAB H. SAMPANG, BASILAN CONGRESSIONAL BET: For Ustad Jhularab H. Sampang, a lawyer who is also a candidate for congressman for the lone district of Basilan, his various positions as of now will help him bring development and prosperity to a province which counts itself among the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.

When interviewed at the program “Batas Media Reports” Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), Jhul (as he prefers to be called) told me that because he is right now the regional chairman of the Muslim Congress of the Philippines, and chairman on political and religious affairs of KRK International, he has the contacts that will matter in improving Basilan.

What he intends to do, Jhul said, is to invite businessmen, whether foreigners or Filipinos, to invest in Basilan, put up companies in the province and therefore generate employment and satisfactory livelihood for its citizens and residents.

He said he will also mobilize his contacts, brought to him by his present positions and by his being a partner in the Millora, Zagado and Sampang Law Office, to establish lasting peace in the area which will conduce to more economic activity and more livelihood programs for Basilan.

-ooo-

FREE COLLEGE FOR BASILAN YOUTH: Jhul subscribes to the idea earlier broached by his cousin, Count Habib Adz Nikabulin of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo/Sabah, in the same interview at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com) on Wednesday, that free college education must be given to the youth of Basilan.

Jhul is also preacher of the Muslim faith (his title, “ustad”, means a learned teacher of the Koran), and so he knows the importance of educating the young, especially the Muslim youth, to open their minds and hearts to more opportunities and differing perspectives and points of view.

He also believes, as Bangon Pilipinas Party senatorial candidate Count Habib does, that in this election, there is a need to elect morally-upright and righteous leaders, especially those who fear and love God in their hearts, regardless of their faith or religious groups where they belong.

This is the reason why, despite his being a preacher, Jhul is running for a political office as congressman of Basilan, offering an agenda of hope for greater peace and development for a people and a province that had long been in the clutches of debilitating poverty as a result of neglect and continuing violence.

-ooo-

SENATORIABLES FROM “ANG KAPATIRAN PARTY” GUESTS AT BATAS INTERNET TV-RADIO: On February 1 and 2, 2010, “Ang Kapatiran Party” senatorial candidates Manny Valdehueza and Reggie Tamayo will be our special guests in our program “Batas Media Reports” at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com).

Their appearance was arranged by their coordinator by Lareica Rica Manalang. If you want to see them and ask them questions, you can log on to www.batasradio.com, and, when you are already there, you click either the words “Batas ITV” if you want to watch us, or “BatasRadio.com” if you simply want to hear us or if your PCs or laptops do not have video capability.

You can call us during the show through the following: 0922 833 4396, 02 496 8082, or if you are abroad and you wish to call without paying anything, through Skype (add batasradio first as your Skype contact and after we accept you, you can already call us for free wherever you maybe in the whole world).

-ooo-

VISIT OF MARY TO ELIZABETH CONFIRMS BLESSINGS TO MARY: “Visitation” is what Roman Catholic Christians call the second mystery in the Mysteries of Joy (or Joyful Mysteries) of the Holy Rosary, and it is an account of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Jesus, visiting her ageing but pregnant cousin Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah, just after Mary had an encounter with Gabriel, the Angel of God.

The account of the “Visitation” is narrated in Luke 1:39 to 45 of the Bible, and there we will see that upon Mary’s arrival at the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the baby which was in the womb of Elizabeth leaped inside her, with the Holy Spirit coming down upon mother and baby.

In a loud voice, Elizabeth exclaimed to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear”, confirming Mary’s status as someone blessed by God, as well as the holy status of her child.

Significantly, these words of Elizabeth are now enshrined in the Holy Rosary where the faithful intone: “Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

What is more, the greeting in that prayer, “hail Mary, full of grace”, is the very same greeting that Mary got from Gabriel, the Angel of God, when it was announced to her that she will be with a child who will be called Jesus (Luke 1:28).

Elizabeth then confirmed the blessings that would come to anyone who believes in God, when she said to Mary: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished…”

-30-

Sulu nobility running for senator under Bro. Eddie

2010-01-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

COUNT NIKABULIN OF THE SULU SULTANATE, RUNNING FOR SENATOR: Count Habib Adz Nikabulin of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (or Sabah, at present) is a candidate for senator under the Bangon Pilipinas Party of Bro. Eddie Villanueva who maybe the least known among our senatoriables for the May 2010 elections, but he thinks he has “a very simple---but very effective---solution” to the raging Mindanao conflict.

In an interview Wednesday, January 27, 2010, at the program “Batas Media Reports” over BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), Nikabulin told me that all that has to be done, to permanently stop the war in Mindanao, is for the national government in Manila to stop its military spending---and “adventures”, if I may add---in the region.

Instead, Nikabulin said, the money being used by the government to finance its military campaign in Southern Philippines should be channelled to putting up companies that will create employment among Mindanao natives and residents, and even schools where their children can study and obtain collegiate degrees.

“If we give jobs to Mindanao natives and residents, and if we empower their children to finish college courses that will ultimately give them good-paying jobs, the peace and order situation in the South will improve and stabilize, and all thoughts of war and violence will be forgotten,” Nikabulin added.

-ooo-

“TIME TO CHOOSE RIGHTEOUS AND MORAL LEADERS”: A certified Muslim, Nikabulin told me that he agreed to run for senator under the leadership of a Christian leader like Bro. Eddie Villanueva and the Bangon Pilipinas Party because he believes that the time has come to choose righteous and morally-upright leaders for our nation.

“This is what I saw in Brother Eddie, and in his party,” Nikabulin explained, saying that it appeared to him, despite their differences in matters of faith, that Villanueva will exhibit the required morality and integrity and righteousness in leading the country and in running the government.

He said Villanueva is also very much aware of what needs to be done in Mindanao, to enable it to claim, once and for all, the fulfilment of its status as a “promised land” that would propel the economic development of the whole country.

“We have to make Mindanao succeed, so that when its problems shall have been solved and economic prosperity will be attained by it, the problems of the whole country shall likewise be resolved and a better life for all Filipinos shall be realized,” Nikabulin explained.

-ooo-

“CLAIM OF SULU SULTANATE OVER SABAH AND SPRATLYS WILL BE PURSUED”: The count (who came to the interview with his lovely wife) added that one of his primary objectives would be pursuing the claim of the Sultanate over the Malaysian island of North Borneo or Sabah, as well as over the Spratlys Islands.

(His calling card says Nikabuli is the Home Minister and Minister for Sharif’s Affairs of the Sultanate of Sulu and carries a reference as “His Excellency Count Sharif Gen. Habib Adz Ganih Nikabulin”).

He said that the present Sultan of Sulu has expressed his conformity to pursuing this claim, and has in fact agreed to support his candidacy for senator under Bro. Eddie Villanueva. He plans to pursue this claim of the Sultanate of Sulu in the floors of Senate, principally, and through some other legal means, secondarily.

The records of the ownership of the Sultanate over these disputed islands remain intact, Nikabulin added, and he said these will be used to pursue this claim, which, when successfully resolved in favor of the Sultanate, can redound to the benefit of the entire country.

Those wishing to communicate with Nikabulin can call him through his cell number 0927 675 3545, or international phone number 63927 303 2805. He can be reached through email at the address count70@gmail.com. If anyone wants to send him letters, his official post office address is PO Box 150, Jolo, Sulu, Philippines.

-ooo-

BIRTH OF JESUS ANNOUNCED BY THE ANGEL GABRIEL: The Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary represent an account of how Jesus Christ started His life here on earth.

The first joyful mystery, the annunciation, is found in Luke 1:26 to 38, where the Angel Gabriel, “who stands in the presence of God”, came to Mary, a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.

Gabriel told Mary, who was greatly troubled by the angel’s statement that she was highly favored in the eyes of God and that “the Lord is with you”, that she will be with child and give birth to a son, whose name will be Jesus and will actually be called the Son of the Most High and will be given the throne of King David.

Mary was incredulous, and actually asked the angel how could she give birth when she had not known a man. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her “so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

The angel then assured Mary: “For nothing is impossible with God.” In reply, Mary uttered “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”

-ooo-

-30-

Rosales, spiritual leaders, must name “righteous” 2010 candidates

2010-01-26T23:23:00.000-08:00

IT WAS A SHAMEFUL DAY FOR THE LEGISLATURE LAST TUESDAY: With the way our senators and congressmen “performed” Tuesday, January 25, 2010, we cannot really blame our people if they persist in the thought that the Philippines would really be better off without the Senate and the House of Representatives.

While senators became the laughing stock of Filipinos as, like children fighting over spilled ice cream they battled, belittled and shamed one another on the C-5-Sen. Manny Villar issue, congressmen were nowhere to be found at the Batasang Pambansa, chosing to ignore their last session day.

And yet, all of them got paid their daily wage, from people’s taxes, just the same. Indeed, it was a shameful day for the legislative branch last Tuesday.

-ooo-

ROSALES AND SPIRITUAL LEADERS MUST NAME “RIGHTEOUS” CANDIDATES: I hope Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales and the rest of the Roman Catholic clergy all throughout the country will find the will to really go out of their pulpits and their churches and wage a campaign that would teach Catholic Filipinos who among the May 2010 candidates are really God-fearing and God-loving.

Indeed, that is the primordial challenge for the Philippines in the May 2010 elections---for the people to elect only those who have the fear and love of God in their hearts. But then, it is quite sad that many of those who are trying to pursue this line have actually fallen short of naming who are God-fearing and who are God-loving among the present aspirants for a political office.

If Rosales can only lead Catholic priests and leaders across the archipelago in educating the faithful on who these candidates are, then we can really say that the Holy Spirit will really intervene in the May 2010 elections, so that only the righteous before God and before men will be given the opportunity to serve.

I will repeat it here: if the next batch of government leaders will be God-fearing and God-loving, there will be no plunderers, no grafters, no corrupt and abusive officials. If this happens, this country will start moving forward, and the lives of Filipinos will definitely get better.

-ooo-

CHURCH LEADERS MUST INTERVENE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS: Many will say that this kind of a suggestion---for Rosales and other spiritual leaders to name names identifying who are God-fearing and who are God-loving---will only involve the Catholic hierarchy in the country in political wrangling and in-fighting, which maybe true.

But if this declaration of support is viewed from the point of view of the Bible, however, it is clear that endorsing those who are God-fearing and God-loving, while being considered involvement in politics, can really be categorized as obedience to the Word of God which requires the selection of upright, moral, and righteous leaders who will use the Word in their governance.

At this point of our collective lives as a Christian nation where poverty continues to hold in its grip millions and millions of believers and who are in the faith, living debased and morally-bankrupt lives simply because of poverty, there is a need for spiritual leaders to really intervene and participate in the electoral process to make sure that the proper political leaders are chosen and installed, and believers taken out of their desperate lives.

It would really be for the benefit of Christians and others in the faith if the righteous and moral leaders are elected, because these are the leaders that will not steal, will not plunder, will not commit graft and corruption, and will therefore rule with uprightness and righteousness.

-ooo-

LIFE OF JESUS RECOUNTED IN THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY: A keen study of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary will show that each of the mystery recited in praying it constitutes one important aspect of the life of Jesus.

In the Joyful Mysteries, for instance, what is recounted are the following events in the life of Christ: Annunciation, Visitation of Elizabeth by Mary, Birth of Christ, Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, and Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

In the Mysteries of Light, we find the following: Baptism of Jesus, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Transfiguration and Institution of the Holy Eucharist through the Last Supper.

The Sorrowful Mysteries narrate these events in the life of Jesus: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Jesus with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, and Crucifixion and Death of Christ.

Finally, the Glorious Mysteries make an account of the Resurrection, the Ascention, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary as Queeon of Heaven and Earth.

Anyone who prays the Holy Rosary, therefore, gets to remember Jesus Christ and is reminded all over again of His status as our God and Savior.

-ooo-

-30-

Yasay, vice presidential candidate, bats for God-fearing men

2010-01-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

JUN YASAY, VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, BATS FOR GOD-FEARING AND GOD-LOVING CANDIDATES: Only God-fearing and God-loving men who truthfully and sincerely obey His commands and decrees can help the Philippines and its people solve many, if not all, its debilitating problems, and these are the men that must be elected in the May 2010 elections, vice presidential candidate Perfecto “Jun” Yasay Jr. said Monday, January 25, 2010.

In an interview with me at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO at the Internet website www.batasradio.com, Yasay said problems about corruption, abuse and self-interest in government are generated by a lack of fear and love of God among those who are elected, because those who do not fear and love God can readily be corrupted, are prone to abuse, and are concerned only about their self-interest.

Responding to questions from Pastor Richard Tampus of Davao City, Pastor Jojo Julian of Tuguegarao City and Pastor Memit Genoves of San Miguel, Surigao del Sur, Yasay, who is himself a son of a pastor and a public school teacher, said Filipinos must now insist on choosing the candidates who are known to have the fear and love of God, because this, according to him, is the only way by which the Philippines and the people can really move forward.

Yasay, who is running under Bro. Eddie Villanueva’s Bangon Pilipinas Party, said only the men of God will not cheat, will not steal, and will not use their positions to further their self-interests, especially because they will be very much aware that God will impose severe punishment upon them if they turn their backs on Him.

-ooo-

VILLANUEVA-YASAY ADMINISTRATION TO DOUBLE BUDGET FOR EDUCATION AND SALARIES OF TEACHERS: Yasay also said that if, by the grace of God, he and Bro. Eddie will be installed as the country’s next vice president and president, respectively, by June 30, 2010, they will immediately double the annual budget of the Department of Education and of the Commission on Higher Education, specifically to provide free college education to poor but intelligent and deserving students.

A former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission who testified in the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada, Yasay explained that the country must learn to fully invest in the education of young Filipinos because they are the future of the country.

To complement this doubling of education budget under a Villanueva-Yasay administration, Yasay said they will also immediately implement a similar doubling of the salaries of all public school teachers nationwide, irrespective of their positions and ranks.

This should restore to them the dignity with which the teaching profession was greatly associated in the past as they would no longer engage in selling to their students during class hours, and would make them work harder to instil a good education among Filipino students, Yasay explained.

-ooo-

FILIPINOS NEED TO COOPERATE WITH GODLY LEADERS: Here are Yasay’s other concerns, if and when he wins as vice president in the May 2010 elections: One: Filipinos must be made to cooperate in the over-all efforts to clean-up the government of misfits, corrupt, and abusive officials and employees.

Two: Foreign capital will be allowed to liberally come in, so as to provide competition to the rich Filipino businessmen whose monopolies in certain businesses maybe challenged to make prices and quality of products more responsive to the needs of our countrymen.

Three: This should result in more employment opportunities in the country which will be at par with current jobs and work that are only available abroad at this point, to entice overseas Filipino workers to come home and make their families whole once again.,

Four: Spirituality among Filipinos will be greatly encouraged, and one initial step would be to look into how health, medical, educational, housing and other financial or material benefits could be extended to pastors, priests and other workers who are pushing the Word of God, in line with current governmental programs.

-ooo-

PRAYING OF THE ROSARY IS BIBLE BASED: Roman Catholic Christians practice the praying of the Holy Rosary, which is something that is balked at by others who believe in Christianity on the argument that praying the Rosary is paganistic in origin.

I did some reading on the matter, and indeed, there is nothing in the Holy Bible that says Christians should pray the Rosary, as there is even no mention of the Rosary in any pages of that Book.

But when one looks at the mysteries of the Rosary, one begins to understand that whoever conceived and thought of this prayer, dedicated to Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ, actually was following the examples of many leaders of the Christian faith, enshrined in many pages of the Bible, where they resort to repeating the history of the Israelites, from their exodus to their arrival at the Promised Land, as a means to strengthen their faith.

Just look at the story of Gideon, in Judges 6 and 7 of the Bible, and you will see what I mean. Before Gideon finally relented to be used as God’s chosen one to deliver his people from the Midianites who were causing them sufferings, he had to recount Israel’s story all over again.

This is what is happening when a Roman Catholic prays the Rosary: he is actually repeating a tried and tested tradition of Christian leaders, for he is reminded of the full and entire story of Christ, from the announcement of his birth by the Angel Gabriel to his Ascention to Heaven, taken directly from the Bible itself.

-30-

Daily media outlets of Atty. Batas Mauricio

2010-01-24T06:33:00.001-08:00

www.batasmauricio.com, www.batasradio.com, www.eradioportal.com
www.kiniray-a.com, www.mabuhaynews.com, www.youtube.com www.metacafe.com,
igoogle,www.philasiacareplansinc.ning.com, www.apocooperative.ning.com,
www.kakampimoangbatas.ning.com
www.facebook.com/batasmauricio, www.multiply.com/batasm
www.twitter.com/attybatas, www.blogger.com/batasmauricio
www.fanbox.com/batasmauricio

X-Files, Sapol, Periodico Dabaw, Sidlak, Daily Zamboanga Times, Gold Star Daily

Philippine Gazette, Tuldok Hotline

Edge Davao, Golden Chronicle, Mindanao Bulletin, Rapido News/Periodico Ini,
Mindanao Wall Street Journal

Western Visayas Newsbreak, Samar Weekly Express, Romblon Text

Ilocos Times, The Baguio Junction, People's Digest, Northern Forum Weekly, City
Star Weekly, Vizcaya Vanguard, Quirino Quest, Central Luzon Business Week,
Mabuhay, The Herald Group of Southern Luzon, The Fortress, Touchlife

BATAS INTERNET RADIO; DYKA CMN Antique; DYMS Aksiyon Radyo Catbalogan

Yahoo Groups: batasforum, ang bagong pinoy, electronicbarangay,
Filipinos-Worldwide , KAPAMPANGAN COMMUNITY WORLDWIDE, LeaderPresidents3810,
OFW-News, philjury, pinoybiznet, pinoydiaspora, RY0607, UPRhoSig, RCI Ilustres

Enrile can not become “acting president”, PGMA will!

2010-01-24T05:21:00.000-08:00

ENRILE CAN NOT BECOME “ACTING PRESIDENT”: “Much ado about nothing” is how I will want to describe the Inquirer January 24, 2010 headline “Enrile urged to stop down from top Senate post”.

The truth is that, if there is really going to be a failure of elections in May 2010 where Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will supposedly be catapulted as “acting president”, it is going to be President Arroyo who will be president, and no other.

In other words, if there is going to be a failure of elections in May, President Arroyo will continue in her job as a “hold-over” president. Enrile cannot become “acting president”.

I already wrote about this matter in previous columns, and I need not belabour my points on the matter again. But let me reiterate the scenario again: if there will be a failure of elections in May 2010, no new president, no new vice president, no new senators or new congressmen will be elected and will assume office by noon of June 30, 2010.

Since there will be no new president or vice president if there will be a failure of elections by that time, the rule on presidential succession is supposed to take place, so that, under that rule, either the new Senate president, or the new Speaker of the House of Representatives shall become the “acting president”.

-ooo-

PGMA WILL BECOME ACTING PRESIDENT IF...: But then, if there is going to be a failure of elections in May 2010, there will be no new Senators or new Congressmen who will constitute a quorum, to enable them to elect a new Senate president or a new Speaker.

There being no new Senate president, and no new Speaker, everybody will be required to continue with the positions being held by them prior to the elections, and this holds true even for the incumbent President and Vice President.

We must remember, in this regard, that the 1987 Constitution itself is very clear: the “old” President and Vice President (and in fact, all the other officials of the land, including our senators and congressmen) are required to continue discharging their duties and responsibilities until their supposed successors shall have qualified and entered into their respective offices.

When there are no successors that shall have qualified and entered into their duties and responsibilities, the “old” holders of the positions are required by law to continue serving, in a hold-over capacity. That is what is going to happen in June 30, 2010---Gloria will remain president---if there is a failure of elections.

-ooo-

CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH OF JESUS: The final mystery in the “Sorrowful Mysteries” of the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians is the “Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.” As this statement suggests, it is an account of how Jesus died through crucifixion.

               In Matthew, it can be found in its Chapter 27, verses 33 to 61. In Mark, it is written in its Chapter 15, verses 22 to 47, while in Luke, this story is told in its Chapter 23, verses 32 to 56. In John, it is narrated in its Chapter 19, verses 18 to 42.

               Despite its obvious defeatist stance because it portrays the death of Jesus, the “Crucifixion and Death of Jesus” actually represents a glorious victory for the Son of God and for all those who believe in Him.

               For this “death” is no death all. It is a victorious fulfillment of what Jesus had been saying all along, that He was going to die in the hands of sinners, so that the Scriptures will be fulfilled.

               Then, this death was a necessary process, as it were, so that sins could be forgiven, and its actual happening, in the full view of witnesses, confirms God’s forgiveness of everyone who believes in Jesus and for those who repent and turn from their wicked ways.

               The death of Jesus, therefore, signals a “defeat”, yes, but it is a defeat of sin and wickedness, and the triumph of God’s great love for man.

                                                             -30-

No legal bar vs. PGMA appointing next SC Chief

2010-01-24T05:19:00.001-08:00

FR. BERNAS’ COMMENTS “MISLEADING”: With due respect to Fr. Joaquin Bernas, it is highly misleading to say that the Supreme Court’s integrity and credibility will be undermined if its members are made to decide whether or not President Arroyo’s appointment of the next chief justice, to replace the retiring Reynato S. Puno, just a few days before her terms ends, is legal or Constitutional.

For one, it is the duty and responsibility, both under the Constitution and the laws, as well as under established jurisprudence which the court itself has already issued previously, to decide questions of law properly presented for its resolution. How can doing its duty then undermine the integrity and credibility of the Supreme Court?

For another, the issue of whether or not a President or Chief Executive whose term is ending can still appoint the next chief justice is a case of first impression, a novel issue as it were, which must be resolved by the Court by itself. Doing its duty to resolve this novel issue will in fact strengthen the high court’s role as the sole arbiter of all legal disputes all the more.

Finally, there is really no legal prohibition against President Arroyo appointing the next chief justice after Puno retires on May 17, 2010, even if that is just about forty four days from her own “retirement”, considering the interplay of Section 4 and Section 9, Article VIII of the Constitution.

-ooo-

NO LEGAL PROHIBITION VS. PGMA APPOINTING THE NEXT SC CJ: Why am I saying that there is no legal prohibition against President Arroyo’s appointing the next chief justice, on the basis of Sections 4 and 9? Well, one merely has to read the two provisions and you will see what I mean.

First, Section 4 requires that any vacancy in the Supreme Court shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof. We must understand that this is a mandatory provision, requiring the appointment under any and all circumstances, because it uses the word “shall”.

Second, while Section 9 says that the members of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy, it is quite clear that the requirement of a JBC list applies only to the “members”---not the chief justice---of the high tribunal.

If it was intention of the framers of the 1987 Constitution to limit, as it were, the power of the President to appoint the chief justice of the Supreme Court only to the nominees contained in the list from the JBC, Section 9 should have so clearly, by including there not only the “members” of the Court but even its “chief”.

That Section 9 limited only to the “members” of the Supreme Court the requirement of a JBC list clearly indicates the intent of the Constitution’s framers---only the members, not the chief, must be appointed from a list submitted by the JBC.

-ooo-

CARRYING OF THE CROSS: All of Christendom are aware that before Jesus was crucified, His tormentors greatly increased His suffering by compelling Him to carry the cross with which He will be crucified.

This part of Jesus’ life is called “Carrying of the Cross” and it is now the fourth mystery in the “Sorrowful Mysteries” of the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians. An account of it could be found in all the Gospels: Matthew 27:31-35, Mark 15:20-22, Luke 23:28-31 and John19:17.

Again, the rendering of the event by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John is relatively short and direct to the point.

What one sees is merely the act of the soldiers leading Jesus away from Pilate, ordering Him to carry the cross, and, along the way, compelling Simon from Cyrene to carry the cross, too.

In Luke, however, one notices the fact that while Jesus was carrying the cross, there were “a large number of people” following Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him.

When Jesus saw the mourners, He told them not to mourn for Him but that they should mourn for themselves instead, for a time was coming to them when they will wish that they were not born at all, in view of the grievousness of their sin against Him.

-ooo-

                                                                            -30-

Senatoriable Paredes seeks total “pork abolition”, free college education

2010-01-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

TOTAL “PORK” ABOLITION URGED BY SENATORIAL CANDIDATE PAREDES: Former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jess Paredes will work for the total abolition of the pork barrel system (or the allocation of government funds for the use of congressmen and senators of the Philippines for various infrastructure projects) if he wins as senator in the May 2010 elections.

Instead, the funds given to lawmakers as pork barrel will be used for other more worthwhile purposes like the giving of free college education to poor students nationwide, or for the construction of more classrooms, more hospitals, or more roads, or the development of business entrepreneurship among the people, Paredes said in an interview with BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com) Friday, January 22, 2010.

Paredes told me and Pastor Jojo Julian of the Church of the Living God in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, during the program “Batas Media Reports” (which goes on air Mondays to Fridays, 6:30 a.m to 8 a.m., Philippine time), that, as per his accounting, some Php380 billion is collectively given to senators and congressmen by way of pork barrel (or whatever other name it is known) within any particular six-year term of each of them.

“If this amount is used to pay off our foreign debt instead, we can wipe off the current US$1.5 trillion financial obligation we have in favour of foreign governments and entities in no time at all,” Paredes, who is a lawyer and a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (of the famous Class 1971), added.

-ooo-

RP NEEDS GOD-FEARING MEN AT THE HELM OF GOV’T: When queried by Pastor Jojo Julian (who was participating in the “Batas Media Reports” interview by long distance telephone call) as to whether or not he has a platform of spirituality, Paredes responded by reciting a poem he wrote and which he is now using as some kind of a “political creed”.

The poem reads: “Our country, to be great, direly needs at the helm of government: God-fearing men, able men, men of truth, men who hate dishonest gain. Posthaste, such worthy men must be found.

“Such worthy men must be empowered with: positions of trust, positions of confidence, positions of leadership. If we, the Filipino people, so now desire; so it shall be. If we, the Filipino people, so now trust God; so it shall be done.

“God save the Philippines! Humbly yours, Atty. Jess Paredes.”

-ooo-

“THE 14 MUSTS” OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL: Paredes, who resigned his chairmanship of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACOM) on January 31, 2007 because of differences of opinion with President Arroyo on the removal of a prisoner from a detention center ordered by the courts, also wrote a list of what a person working in government must do, or must have.

Calling it “The 14 Musts”, Paredes said a person in government: must be God-fearing, not insensitive, self-centered or devious; must espouse the Truth, not lies or propaganda; must possess INTEGRITY, not graft and corruption;

“Must work for the COMMON GOOD, not private good; must uphold public interest, not private interest, or private agenda; must render genuine public service, not personal or private, or family service business; must be a true public servant, or servant of the people, not lord, master or tyrant;

“Must be responsive, not uncaring, callous or indifferent; must be humble, not arrogant, abrasive or boastful; must be upright, not morally corrupt; must be just, not discriminatory, or biased or condescending; must be firm, not cruel, or insensitive, must be transparent, not scheming or secretive; must be strong, not abusive or dictatorial.”

-ooo-

CROWNING OF JESUS WITH THORNS: The Third Sorrowful Mystery of the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians talks about the crowning of Jesus with thorns, and the account of this event is found in Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2 of the Bible. There is no account of it in the Gospel of Luke.

According to these passages, Pilate had tried to release Jesus who, by then, was presented to Him after He was arrested, but the crowd instead asked for the release of another man, Barabbas, the convicted murderer, and insisted that Jesus be crucified.

Jesus was subsequently flogged, on orders of Pilate, and later was brought to the Praetorium in the company of many soldiers. The soldiers stripped Jesus of His clothes and put a scarlet robe on Him.

Then they twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head. Putting a staff in His hand, the soldiers then knelt in front of Him and mocked Him, saying “Hail, king of the Jews.”

After they mocked Him, they took off His robe and put on His own clothes on Him. The soldiers then led away to crucify Him, thus fulfilling His prophecies about His suffering in the hands of the Jews before His crucifixion.

-30-

Filipino natives, IPs, to get titles to .5 M hectares of land-Katutubo Party

2010-01-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

CATHOLIC PRIESTS TO GO ON A ONE-WEEK RETREAT: To the Catholic faithful, don’t be alarmed if you will not find the parish priests in your towns and cities from January 25-29, 2010 (Monday to Friday next week)---they have not resigned, and neither have they absconded from their duties.

According to Butch Unias of Palatiw, Pasig City, in his report to BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (both of which can be accessed at the Internet website www.batasradio.com) on Thursday, January 21, 2010, Catholic priests from every nook and cranny of the Philippine archipelago will go on a joint retreat at the World Trade Center in Pasay City for five days next week.

Butch (who is a lay minister of the Catholic Church in his barangay) told me that the retreat was authorized by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Hopefully, Butch said, the retreat will awaken a deeper understanding of Catholic doctrines among its priests and will make them more effective workers of God.

-ooo-

.5 M HECTARES OF LANDS WILL BE TITLED TO NATIVES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: KATUTUBO Party List, one of the first party list groups duly accredited by the Commission on Elections to participate in the May 2010 elections, will work to have some 500,000 hectares of lands all over the Philippines titled in the names of Filipino natives or indigenous peoples.

In an interview during the program “Batas Media Reports” over BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), Thursday, January 21, 2010, lawyer Jose “Jopet” Banghulot Jr., the secretary general of the Mindanao-based KATUTUBO Party List, said this is going to be the primary advocacy of KATUTUBO if it will win in May.

Banghulot said it is a sad commentary of Philippine society that, despite the fact that Filipino natives or indigenous peoples number about 12 million nationwide, they have no representatives in Congress that will protect their rights and address their needs, so that the benefits supposed to be enjoyed by them by existing laws are not reaching them at all.

“KATUTUBO will work for the interest of these natives,” Banghulot said.

-ooo-

TOURISM TO SUFFER IN SUBIC BAY GATE CLOSURE: Dan Steakley, a former US serviceman stationed in Subic who has decided to become a permanent resident in the Philippines, is greatly concerned that one of the gates being used by residents and citizens of Zambales, Olongapo City and Subic Bay will be closed by Subic Bay Metropolitan Bay Authority (SBMA) starting February 5, 2010, just to give way to the construction of a mall owned by the Ayala Group of Companies.

Well, Dan is not exactly worried that the gate will be closed. What he is really worried about is the seeming lack of concern on the part of the authorities from Olongapo City, Subic, Zambales and from Ayala about the adverse effect such closure will have not just on the flow of traffic in these places, but also on the chaos and disorder that a big number of vehicles suddenly crisscrossing Olongapo’s main thoroughfares will bring.

In reports Dan made during his broadcasts over BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (www.batasradio.com), he said there seems to be no plan at all as to how to redirect traffic on the site, to ease the expected convergence of many vehicles on Olongapo’s roads.

“This could also affect the tourism business of Subic, Olongapo City and Zambales, which, as per data from government agencies, is ranked number four when compared to other tourist destinations in the country,” Dan added.

-ooo-

SCOURGING OF JESUS AT THE PILLAR: The “Scourging of Jesus at the Pillar” is the second mystery in the “Sorrowful Mysteries” of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians. Unlike all the other mysteries of the Holy Rosary, however, this second Sorrowful Mystery is the only mystery which is very tersely depicted.

In the Gospels of Matthew (27:26), Mark (15:15), and John (19:1), the scourging of Jesus at the pillar is described in just one sentence: Pilate had Jesus flogged.

In the Gospel of Luke, there is even no direct reference to it whatsoever.

This makes one wonder: what then is the importance of the scourging of Jesus, so that it merited to be included as one of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians?

To me, the significance of this event is to show the wickedness which man could descend to, if he has become totally separated from God, unwilling to comply with His commands, laws and decrees.

While man is a dearly loved creation by God, he could become a beastly creation, rejecting even God and His Son the moment he stops believing and hardening his heart against God’s teachings and direction.

This situation is of course to be avoided, for it leads us to nowhere but hell.

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Senatorial bet urges voter assessment of candidates and parties

2010-01-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

SENATORIAL BET PURSUES VOTERS’ EDUCATION: Lawyer Adrian Sison, or Dado to his close friends and relatives, found another advocacy while pursuing a seat in the Senate of the Philippines as a senatorial candidate of the “Ang Kapatiran Party” in May---using his campaign time, Dado is simultaneously engaged in voters’ education, giving them lessons on choosing a candidate on the basis of issues and not on personalities.

When he was interviewed live Wednesday, January 20, 2010, over BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO at the Internet website www.batasradio.com, Dado said Filipinos must be taught to measure each candidate and each political party on what they have done, for or against, on the many burning issues of the day.

This way, Dado told me and my co-host Bishop Bert Mercado over the program “Batas Media Reports, which airs from 7 to 8 in the morning, Mondays to Fridays at www.batasradio.com, voters will see who among the candidates and the parties have already served the people, and how.

This will help the country move forward more expeditiously, Dado explained, on the theory that only candidates and political parties who have already performed well for the country and its people in the past would be expected to perform well again, especially after they shall have been elected during the May 2010 elections.

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CANDIDATES AND POLITICAL PARTIES MUST BE ASSESSED BY VOTERS: Dado, who was a classmate of mine at the UP College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City some years back, asked voters to come up with some kind of a “matrix”, which will contain a list of candidates and their parties, as well as a list of various issues which have affected the Philippines and Filipinos.

Then, using this matrix, the voters will rate the candidates and their parties, giving them a grade between 0 to 10, depending on how good, or how bad, they acted on each of the issues or problems appearing on the list. A poor performer gets a 1, or a 0, while a so-so performer could get a 3 or 4, while the good ones will be rated 6, or up to 10.

Based on these rates, or grades, if you will, voters will be able to assess each and every candidate, enabling them to decide to vote only for the best performers. In this manner, Dado told me, voting based on popularity, familiarity, or riches, will be minimized or altogether eliminated.

Come to think of it, this system (which conscientious Christians in US also resorted to in times past) can really revolutionize the manner of choosing our officials through elections, and will assure that only the best and the brightest will serve among our midst, which can only result in better governance.

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BISHOP ASKS SC TO ALLOW HIM TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT: Here is a press release which we received from the Internet Asia News and Features: “2010 Presidential Candidate Bishop Norberto L. Mercado, through his lawyers, has filed a certiorari (petition) with a request for a temporary restraining order or TRO / injunction at the Supreme Court.

“The case against the COMELEC is docketed SC G.R. No. 190786, for Certiorari with TRO/Injunction. Mercado's petition was received by the Supreme Court on January 19, 2010 at 3:48 PM, with a filing fee of P4,730.00 .

“The case he filed focuses on the culpable violation of the present Philippine Constitution by the COMELEC Chair and Commissioners. This matter is with regards to his qualifications as a presidential candidate in accordance with the Philippine Constitution as specifically enumerated in Article V11,Section 2, and the unconstitutionality of COMELEC Resolutions 8713 and 8743 .

" `... The COMELEC, likewise, violated due process as provided for by the present Philippine Constitution. As an aspiring candidate for the highest office of the land, and as a Filipino citizen, it is my duty to defend the Constitution from those who wilfully violate it because they are obsessed with power, and they think they can do anything, even culpably violating the nation's supreme law,’ Mercado said...”

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AGONY OF JESUS, AS THE FIRST SORROWFUL MYSTERY: After the Joyful Mysteries and the Mysteries of Light, the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians deal with the so-called “Sorrowful Mysteries”, which depict the parts of the life of Jesus that culminate in His death on the cross.

The first of these “Sorrowful Mysteries” is the “Agony of Jesus”, which is the story of Jesus agonizing at his impending crucifixion and death on the cross, and which is found in Matthew 26:36-45, Mark 14:32-42 and Luke 22:39-46 of the Bible.

In this story, Jesus is portrayed as being sorrowful and troubled, knowing as He did what was going to happen to him in just a few hours, even prompting Him to say “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”

Certainly, this is a powerful picture of Jesus in his human attributes, especially when this is viewed in the light of His subsequent statement, which shows Him placing completely His trust and confidence in the Father with the words “My Father, if it is possible, may this cub be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The question is, if Jesus is the Son of God, why would he be troubled, and why would he say that, if possible, “this cup be taken from me”?

The answer, I believe, is that, it is necessary to show that in his human attributes, Jesus could agonize just like ordinary men, so that humans will not really despair when problems come to them, no matter how great those problems maybe.

There is a solution to the agony that everyone feels, and the solution is precisely what Jesus did: placing complete trust and confidence in the will of God.

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Raul Lambino, a senatoriable eager to win

2010-01-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

SENATORIABLE POPULAR AMONG VOTERS: Raul Lambino, a lawyer who became famous principally because of his almost-singlehanded pursuit of effecting amendments to the 1987 Constitution via the so-called “people’s initiative” one or two years ago, believes that, by the grace of God, he will easily win in his bid to become a senator of the Republic during the May 2010 elections.

Interviewed live on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, over BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO at the program “Batas Media Reports”, Lambino said he is amazed that anywhere he goes now, people mob him, treating him like he is a movie star, to the extent that some are even asking for his autographs and requesting that he be photographed with them.

Lambino, the only Lakas-Kampi-CMD senatorial candidate who comes from the vote-rich province of Pangasinan, told me that this might be because of his involvement in past efforts to amend the Constitution which brought him in direct contact with many people from around the country, as well as in his having engaged in public service lawyering almost everywhere in the Philippines.

This is a sign that Filipinos have become aware of what a “Senator Lambino” can do if he is elected senator this May, the lawyer added.

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LAMBINO’S “ABAKADA NG PAGBABAGO”: Here are excerpts from Raul Lambino’s interview, featuring concepts from his website, raullambino.com, on the matter of his legislative priorities and platform of governance, which he has captioned “ABAKADA ng Pagbabago”.

“Change begins with you. The choice is yours to make. You can choose a candidate who can entertain with smooth talk, or a candidate with a clear vision of what needs to be done. You have the ability to transform your life and help transform the country—- and it all begins with your very own power of choice. Let the change begin—within!

“Bayan, higit sa lahat. We only have one country. Pangunahin nating tungkulin ang pangalagaan ito at ang kapakanang pambansa. Kabataan: We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. Dapat tayo mamuhunan sa ating kabataan.

“Demokrasya: A hungry Filipino is not a free Filipino. Hindi ganap ang kalayaan kung marami sa ating mga kababayan ang hindi nakakaahon mula sa pagkagutom, pangamba at karukhaan.

-ooo-

GOOD LUCK, SENATOR LAMBINO: “Edukasyon: When we open a school door, we close down a prison cell. Ang karunungan ay kayamanang hindi kailanman mananakaw. Our educational philosophy must consist of producing the right kind of graduates for jobs here and abroad.

“Gamot at Kalusugan: Health is the first of all liberties. Ang karapatan sa abot-kayang gamot at gamutan ay di dapat ipinagkakait ninuman. Hustisyang Panlipunan: There is no honorable peace where there is no social justice.

“Dapat makilahok ang karaniwang mamayan sa pagpapasya sa pulitika at ekonomiya upang mawasak ang diskriminasyon. Impormasyon: Information Technology (IT) is the great equalizer! Dahil sa makabagong teknolohiya, ang impormasyon ay nasa dulo na ng daliri ng bawat Filipino. Let us harness the power of IT to empower Filipinos.

“Lupa at Sakahan: True agrarian reform does not stop at land acquisition and distribution. It must improve the lives of our small farmers, and increase agricultural productivity. Makakamtan na rin ng magsasaka ang tunay na biyayang hatid ng lupa....”

Well, then, good luck “Senator” Raul Lambino. Godspeed!

-ooo-

LAST SUPPER AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST: The fifth and last mystery in the Mysteries of Light (or the Luminous Mysteries) of the Holy Rosary of Roman Catholic Christians is the “Institution of the Holy Eucharist through the Last Supper”, an event which is now being used as basis for the Catholics’ claim that Jesus Christ is present in all Catholic masses around the world.

Found in Matthew 26:17-29, Mark 14:12-25 and Luke 22:7-20, the story about the Last Supper contains an order from Jesus, which is significant as it is unique: “do this in remembrance of me”.

The question of course is: why would Jesus tell his disciples, who were having the Last Supper with Him, to break bread and drink wine “in remembrance of me” or “in memory of me”?

There could only be one answer and here lies the significance and the uniqueness of the Last Supper: Jesus wanted all those who believe in Him to remember Him every time they partook of food and drinks, to remember that all the grace and blessings that come to them who eat and drink actually come from the benevolence of God.

And since everything comes from the benevolence of God, we should always be thankful to Him, and recognize that without Him, we are nothing and we have nothing, and that whatever we are eating and drinking represents Jesus, so that Jesus actually is with us all the time.

Finally, the order of Jesus to break bread and drink wine “in remembrance of me” actually asks all of us to remember that Jesus allowed His body and blood to be offered for the forgiveness of our sins, thereby confirming that He is not only God, but our Savior.

-ooo-

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QC Rep. Defensor’s clamor for JBC CJ list raises Constitutional issue

2010-01-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

DEFENSOR CLAMOR FOR JBC LIST RE CJ APPOINTMENT RAISES CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE: Recently-retired Supreme Court Justice Leonardo A. Quisumbing is raising a legal issue that may put in serious doubt the legality (or, more appropriately, the Constitutionality) of the appointments of judges and justices of all courts in the Philippines where the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) allowed the representatives from the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote separately or individually.

In an informal discussion with members of the Rotary Club of Intramuros, District 3810, last January 14, 2010, Thursday, at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board office of Chairman Bert Suansing, Quisumbing said the current practise of allowing the Senator-representative of the Senate and the Congressman-Representative of the House to vote as if they have one vote each actually violates Section 8 (1) of the 1987 Constitution.

Quisumbing, elected as the president-nominee of the Rotary Club of Intramuros for Rotary Year 2011-2012, was actually reacting to the clamor aired by Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor calling on the JBC to already submit a list of possible nominees for the replacement of the retiring Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.

Quisumbing said Defensor does not have a right to air his clamor on his own, since, the former justice said, Defensor represents just the “50% part” of the Constitutionally-mandated representative coming from the Congress of the Philippines, so that, to be given any significance at all, Defensor’s clamor must be concurred first in by his counterpart from the Senate.

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JBC SHOULD HAVE ONLY ONE CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE? For our readers here to be able to appreciate what Quisumbing is saying, I am reproducing what Section 8 (1), Art. VIII of the 1987 Constitution provides.

This section says: “A Judicial and Bar Council is hereby created under the supervision of the Supreme Court, composed of the Chief Justice as ex-officio chairman, the Secretary of Justice, and a representative from Congress as ex-officio members, a representative of the Integrated Bar, a professor of law, a retired member of the Supreme Court, and a representative of the private sector...” (the highlighting is mine).

Quisumbing noted that this part of the charter clearly says the JBC shall only have one representative from Congress---which means, the House and the Senate must agree on this one, lone, or single representative, to represent the legislature in the JBC.

But then, the practise of allowing one congressman from the House and one senator from the Senate has evolved, which resulted in allowing the congressman and the senator to vote separately, as if they are entitled to one vote each.

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CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS LOOMS: But this is clearly violative of the Constitution, Quisumbing noted, and Defensor’s latest posturing may prompt someone to raise the issue of whether the congressman from Quezon City can legally do what he is doing---clamoring, on his own and without the concurrence of his counterpart from the Senate, for a list to be submitted by the JBC from which a chief justice can be appointed by President Arroyo.

This could ultimately result in questioning the appointments of the other judges and justices who were nominated by the JBC where the congressman-representative and the senator-representative voted separately, casting one vote each, he said.

If this happens, a serious Constitutional crisis can erupt and can divide the country further, the former magistrate told members of the Rotary Club of Intramuros.

Quisumbing did not actually say it, but if indeed the appointments of some judges and justices could be Constitutionally-defective precisely because of the problem of “over-voting” by the representatives of the legislature in the JBC, their salaries, allowances and other emoluments would have been erroneously paid.

Worse, even their official acts, represented in the decisions, rulings or other orders issued by them, could be attacked and re-opened, which can result in a larger---and more lethal---legal problem for the nation.

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THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS: In the life of Jesus, there are two incidents which are recounted in the Bible where God Himself confirms, directly and in no uncertain terms, that Jesus is, indeed, the Son of God.

The first incident is the baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan, and the second incident is the so-called “Transfiguration” on top of the mountain. In these two incidents, God announces, in the full view and hearing of many people: “This is my son, whom I am well pleased, whom I have chosen, listen to him.”

The “Transfiguration” now forms part of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians as its fourth mystery in its Mysteries of Light (or Luminous Mysteries), and is found in the Gospels of Matthew (17:1 to 13), Mark (9:2 to 13) and Luke (9:28 to 36).

Why is the Transfiguration an important part of Jesus’ life, aside from the fact that it is an event that, like other parts of the Bible pertaining to Him, confirms His divine status as the Son of God?

It is important because the narrations of the event by Matthew, Mark and Luke indicate, with precise uniformity, that there is a “connection”, as it were, between Jesus and the prophets of old, especially the important ones like Moses and Elijah, which connection on the other hand shows the continuity of God’s directions for the salvation of man.

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Ex-SC Justice warns about Constitutional crisis re CJ row

2010-01-17T06:15:00.000-08:00

KRIS AQUINO-MAYEN AUSTRIA BROUHAHA: POLITICIANS AND KIN MUST BE CAREFUL: The Kris Aquino-Mayen Austria “confrontation” is one good proof that politicians and their close relatives will have to be very careful about their conduct and behaviour especially during the campaign period, simply because whatever they say and do could boomerang and become a negative issue.

I am sure Kris meant well when she tried to talk to Mayen Austria about Mayen’s having confided with James Yap, Kris’ husband, that Mayen already broke-off with her own boyfriend, but creative and imaginative Filipinos will always see the event as “katarayan” or, loosely, a nasty show of superiority which could rub off negatively against Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III.

Of course, Kris had every reason to be nasty and “mataray” to preserve her family and her relationship with James (her having confronted Mayen showed that Kris was afraid that there is “something” between James and Mayen), but then people will always think that this will be the kind of conduct she will display if and when Noynoy becomes president, and this will only drive people away to other presidentiables.

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CAMPAIGNING ON ISSUES AND PLATFORMS OF GOVERNANCE IS BETTER: Really now, I do like what I have been hearing from Sen. Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party and former defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD everytime they speak before presidential fora seeking their views on what they will do when they become president.

They have been very eloquent about their plans and programs of action to improve the lives of Filipinos, giving us a sample of the kind of presidency they will uphold, and this is as it should be because it is time our leaders, particularly those aspiring to occupy Malacanang, must have a clear blue print of where they will want to lead us and what they will do to achieve this.

I hope the other presidentiables, who are still mired in the old-style of campaigning (which is principally waging a smear campaign against their opponents), will realize that Filipinos are now starting to be aware that only the candidates who have a vision of what they can do really merit their votes.

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CLAMOR TO APPOINT A CJ BY PGMA CAN RESULT IN A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: Former Supreme Court Justice Leonardo Quisumbing is saying Quezon City Rep. Mat Defensor’s latest clamor for the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to already submit a list of nominees for the next chief justice so President Arroyo can appoint the replacement of the retiring Reynato Puno may result in a Constitutional crisis.

Speaking informally but clearly “on the record” (for I asked him whether what he had to say on the matter was “on the record” or “off the record”) to members of the Rotary Club of Intramuros who met at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board office of Chairman Bert Suansing, Quisumbing said Defensor’s clamor may prompt someone to question whether he had the right to even speak on the issue.

The reason, according to Quisumbing (a president-nominee of RC Intramuros who will serve for Rotary Year 2011-2012), was that Defensor could not legally make any clamor on his own since his membership in the JBC is merely as a representative of the Congress of the Philippines, which is composed of two houses---the House of Representatives and the Senate.

For any clamor, therefore, to be validly made by Defensor, it has to be concurred in by his counterpart from the Senate, which, Quisumbing said, has not happened yet, so that such clamor is “legally inexistent”!

Quisumbing has other points on this looming Constitutional crisis, but I will write about them next time, so keep reading this column everyday.

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PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: “Proclamation of the Kingdom of God” is the third mystery in the Mysteries of Light, or Luminous Mysteries, of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians, and an account of it is found in Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14 and Luke 4:15 of the Bible.

In Matthew 4:17, the story is told that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee, and then lived in Capernaum, by the lake in Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah said.

“From that on, Jesus began to preach,” the same Biblical verse says, and what Jesus started to preach was this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

In Mark 1:14, an almost identical account is found, thus: “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. `The time has come’, he said. `The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.’”

In Luke 4:15, on the other hand, this is what is written: “He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.” Luke however says that Jesus began to preach after he was tempted for forty days in the desert.

What is the lesson that we can derive from the third mystery of the Mysteries of Light?

It is that, there is a need for man, who has become wicked and mired in sin, to repent, stop sinning, and make the good news of God---the Bible nowadays---a necessary part of his life.

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BATAS Party List joining May polls in a coalition

2010-01-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

BATAS PARTY LIST JOINING MAY 2010 POLLS THRU A COALITION: The list of 144 accredited party list groups allowed to participate in the May 2010 elections for the party list system of representation at the House of Representatives does not contain the BATAS Party List (our party which won two seats in the May 2007 polls), but our supporters should not worry.

By the grace of God, even if BATAS was not included because it was earlier disqualified by the Commission on Elections, it is now a part of a coalition of a registered and accredited party list group, together with other groups that were not accredited by the Comelec for this year’s elections, enabling it to participate just the same.

What is the name of the registered and accredited party list group which is now a coalition partner of the BATAS Party List? Keep yourselves posted here in this column for the answer. Indeed, God is good, God is great.

When He closes a window, he opens not just another window, but even the big door, and, of course, other windows, particularly for those who want to work to push His Word. So, let us wait and allow God to direct our path, as we trust in Him with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding.

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BATAS ADVOCACY: PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD: Pushing the Word of God, particularly among the Filipino youth, is actually the principal advocacy of the BATAS Party List. In May 2007, we pursued the accreditation of BATAS, and its eventual election by the Filipino people, on this important advocacy.

We believed then, as we still believe now, that the reason why Filipinos are suffering from economic hardships, from gross dissension and confusion, and from failures in almost everything they do is because they have turned our backs on God, no longer listening to Him and no longer obeying His commands and laws.

According to the Bible of Christian believers, the only way to avoid all of these, and therefore avoid ultimate destruction for ourselves as a nation, is to listen to God’s Word again, and obey His commands, laws and decrees.

Then and only then will we find ourselves back in the good graces of God. Then and only then will we stop being poor and economically depressed, being enveloped by dissension and wrangling, being a failure in anything we do.

We believe that one great way of doing this is to make our children who are in schools---preparatory, kinder, primary, elementary, high school and college---read the Bible for those belonging to the Christian faith, and the Koran or any other Holy Book for those who are Muslims or followers of other religions.

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WEDDING AT CANA, AND MARY’S ROLE AS MEDIATOR BETWEEN MAN AND JESUS: The Bible’s account of the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine as narrated in John 2:1-11, now forms part of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians as its Second Luminous Mystery (or Second Mystery of Light).

Among many Christian believers, this part of Jesus’s life is often unknown or is little heard of, although it should occupy a place of importance because, as the Bible itself in John 2:11says: “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana, in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”

Being the very first miracle of Jesus, it is significant to note that the Bible appears to have portrayed Him as a little hesitant in performing it, considering His refusal to do anything when Mary, His mother, first approached Him when wine had run out during the wedding banquet. Jesus told Mary: “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”

But it was only because of Mary’s persistence---she told the servants, “do as He says” even when she was already rebuffed by her Son---that Jesus relented and, as the Bible itself emphasizes, this became His first ever recorded miracle, the very first revelation of His glory.

If anything at all, therefore, this wedding totally justifies the Roman Catholic Christians’ giving of importance to Mary and calling her, among others, as the “mediatrix of all grace”.

Indeed, it is conceded that the only mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ. But, as shown by the wedding at Cana and the turning of the water into wine, Mary is the most effective mediator between Jesus and man.

-ooo-

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School for the deaf gets solar water system

2010-01-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

ROTARIANS IN RP CONDUCT MID-YEAR REVIEW OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: If there is one good reason why Rotarians should be welcomed wholeheartedly in any community, it is because of the service, real and concrete, that they give the poor and the needy, just like what my own club (the Rotary Club of Intramuros) had done when it gave a Php1 Million solar-powered water system for a school for the deaf in Laguna Province.

This humanitarian project, pursued and completed under the term of Rotary Year 2009-2010 Visionary President Dr. Arthur V. Platon, is being reported by him to District 3810 Gov. Connie Beltran, during the district’s mid-year review which is being held in Batangas City from January 16-17, 2010.

Here are the other projects of the Rotary Club of Intramuros highlighted in Platon’s report:

-ooo-

ROTARIANS HOLD MEDIA CAMPAIGN: “On Club Administration: As of today, the Rotary Club of Intramuros has conducted 24 meetings. We have invited numerous Guest Speakers to grace these meetings, notable of which was then Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., who talked about what a president should accomplish once elected...

“On Club Membership: Last July 2, 2009, four (4) would be members joined our orientation. They were inducted as full-pledged Rotarians on July 3, 2009 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza...

“On Public Relations: Aside from the series of seminars we have attended in and out of District 3810, Public Relations is strongly marked by the Internet Based Radio-TV Program dubbed as “Rotary Moments” which hosted by none other than our Past President Batas Mauricio. We have also joined a series of public relations activities of RI Public Image Resource Group for Zone 7, with our very own PDG Lyne Abanilla, as Zone Coordinator...

-ooo-

VARIOUS IMPORTANT PROJECTS OF ROTARIANS LISTED: “On Rotary Foundation: Matching Grant Projects are the highlights. We have MATCHING GRANT PROJECT 65454, a Donation of Medical Equipment and Supplies to two (2) Zoto Kliniks at Dagat-dagatan, Navotas, and Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, which is now completed.

“MATCHING GRANT PROJECT 64220, called “School-in-a-box Project”, which resulted in the distribution of a total of 125 boxes containing reading, writing and other educational materials for pre-schoolers worth about TWENTY THOUSAND PESOS more or less for each box.

“For this Rotary Year, we added 14 more boxes with 600 pre-schoolers as beneficiaries. This was made successful via our club’s partnership with RC Kessenauma South and RC Kishiwada East, both of Japan, which is also now completed.

“MATCHING GRANT PROJECT 23140, Open Heart Surgery Project (for Pediatrics) at the Philippine General Hospital. Twenty patients have now been successfully operated on. For this Rotary Year, we have already operated on 4 patients as of December 2009, and the number doesn’t stop there. There are 4 more patients who are lined up for this Matching Grant Project, in partnership with RC Syosset-Woodbury, New York.

And finally, our FLAGSHIP PROJECT, which is the current pride of RCI…The Solar Powered Water System in Paowin, Cavinti Laguna. Deaf students of the DEAF EVANGELISTIC ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, INC., and the school’s employees, along with residents of the surrounding barangays are now benefiting from this project, which was made possible by the cooperation of RC Batemans Bay, Australia.

“Now, we take pride in reporting that this project is now completed....”

-ooo-

LUMINOUS MYSTERIES START WITH BAPTISM OF JESUS: After the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians, the Mysteries of Light, or the so-called Luminous Mysteries, come next, to narrate another aspect of the life of Jesus Christ starting from His baptism to the Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Significantly, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all contain an account of the baptism of Jesus Christ. In Matthew, we find the story in its Chapter 3, verses 13 to 17. In Mark, we find it in its Chapter 1, verses 9 to 13, while in Luke, the event is narrated in its Chapter 3, verses 21 to 22.

In John, the story is found in its Chapter 1, verses 29 to 34, although this account is not as specific about baptism as was written in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Be that as it may, the baptism of Jesus, performed by His cousin, John the Baptist at the Jordan River, continues to be a confirmation of Jesus’ divinity, and of His status as the Son of God.

In all the Gospels, the story is told that after He was baptized, the heavens parted and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove and lightning, with a voice from heaven saying “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Surely, in all history, there is no other person or being in this world whom God called as His Son, whom He loves and with whom He is well pleased except Jesus.

-ooo-

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LTFRB-Rotarians join hands to stop road accidents

2010-01-14T00:26:00.000-08:00

ROAD ACCIDENTS, NUMBER FOUR KILLER IN RP: Undeniably, one of the greatest killers among Filipinos nowadays, which claims a sizable number of lives daily, weekly, monthly and annually, are road accidents, often caused by gross negligence of drivers and their inexplicable refusal to be concerned about the safety of others.

In a report at the website of the media giant ABS CBN on November 7, 2008, road accidents have been ranked as the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines and, if things do not change, they are projected to be the number one leading cause of death among Filipinos in 2020.

Hopefully, this could be averted, especially because the government, through the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) under its present chairman, Alberto Suansing, is teaming up with thousands and thousands of members of Rotary International (RI) from the Philippines to curb, if not totally eliminate, road accidents.

As I am writing this column on January 14, 2010, the LTFRB and a number of Rotary organizations in the country will have already signed a document captioned as “Memorandum of Agreement: Disiplina sa Kalye, Kaligtasan Para sa Lahat” which will enable Rotarians, pursuing Rotary’s motto of “service above self”, to report, act on the spot, and thereafter help prosecute erring drivers and, in case of public utility vehicles, even their operators.

-ooo-

LTFRB-ROTARIANS JOIN HANDS TO STOP ROAD ACCIDENTS: Aside from the members of the Public Image Resource Group for Zone 7 (Philippines and Indonesia) under the chairmanship of Manila Bulletin Vice President Lyne Abanilla, the other participating Rotarians come from the Rotary Clubs of Intramuros (led by President Art Platon), Ermita (led by President Eugene Tan), Tondo (led by President Arlene Khoa), Pasay Gil Puyat (led by President Catherine Oyao) and Pasay Maharlika (led by President Agrifina Zafra), all of RI District 3810, under Visionary Gov. Connie Beltran.

Abanilla said other Rotary Clubs from the Philippines’ 10 Rotary districts, led by their respective district governors for Rotary Year 2009-2010, are to be asked to join this joint project with the LTFRB to give a nationwide effect.

The agreement, expected to be signed at the office of Suansing (himself a past president of the Rotary Club of Intramuros), provides, among others: “NOW, FOR AND IN CONSIDERATION of the foregoing, and of the terms and conditions hereunder set forth, the parties hereto agree, covenant and bind themselves as follows:

“First. Basically, pursuant to this memorandum of agreement, the LTFRB accepts the offer of collaboration and cooperation being extended by the Public Image Resource Group of the Rotary International for Zone 7 (for Philippines and Indonesia) and of the Rotary Clubs mentioned herein, for the further implementation and prosecution of “Oplan Isnabero”, and for the institutionalization of road discipline for the safety of all.

-ooo-

ROTARIANS TO REPORT ABUSIVE DRIVERS AND OPERATORS:“Second. Pursuant thereto, the LTFRB undertakes to accept and act immediately on any report of abuse or any other malfeasance or misfeasance on the part of any public utility operator or any of the operator’s agents, employees or personnel, that will be made, texted or otherwise submitted (in any other manner) by Rotarians...

“Third. To assure the authenticity of the reports submitted to the LTFRB as coming from Rotarians included in this project, the reports, text messages or any other accusations must contain the name of the club and the family name of its president, including the club’s ID number issued by RI.

“Fourth. In the event that further investigations maybe required to enable the LTFRB to proceed against erring public utility operators or any of its agents, employees or personnel, the reporting (Rotarians) will extend all possible assistance to prove the imputed violations, but the LTFRB must endeavour to keep the identity of the reporting Rotarian confidential and secret.

Fifth. It is understood that the participating Rotarians shall be performing the tasks assigned to them by virtue of this agreement voluntarily, freely, and without any expectation of any financial remuneration or compensation and solely because of their desire to lead the way in discharging the Rotary International motto “Service Above Self”, in line with the Rotary Theme for Rotary Year 2009-2010 “The Future of Rotary Is In Your Hands”, and any act of the participating Rotarians pursuant to this agreement shall not constitute them as agent, officer, employee or personnel of the LTFRB....”

-ooo-

FINDING OF THE CHILD JESUS AT THE TEMPLE: The fifth and the last Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, called “finding of the Child Jesus at the Temple”, depicts the joy of the greatly-bothered Joseph and Mary upon finding the boy Jesus, then aged 12 years old, at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Basically, Jesus was left behind by his parents who, not knowing that Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, proceeded to return home after their family attended the Feast of the Passover (an annual Jewish holiday that seeks to remind the Jews of how God freed them from their slavery in Egypt).

Realizing that Jesus was not with them while they were returning home, Joseph and Mary spent three days going back to Jerusalem and searching for Him.

Found in Luke 2:41 to 51 of the Bible, the account of this event in Jesus’ life shows once more the divinity of Jesus, and His having been in possession of a great amount of learning over and beyond what a boy of His age would normally have.

“Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers,” the Bible says, in effect confirming Jesus was not an ordinary man.

And when He told Joseph and Mary that they should not be searching for Him because He had to be in His Father’s house, it was a reaffirmation of His status as the Son of God, something that was already announced earlier by Gabriel, the angel who walks in the presence of God (Luke 1:35).

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Issues in appointing the next CJ: Sections 4 and 9

2010-01-14T00:23:00.001-08:00

COMELEC MUST REVERSE ITSELF RE: DISQUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES: So that the Commission on Elections will not face any delay in the printing of the ballots to be used in the automated elections in May 2010, it should now reconsider its earlier orders disqualifying candidates and party list groups, and allow everyone wanting to run to participate and run!

This is the only practicable solution to the fears which Comelec Chairman Jose Melo allegedly expressed in the National Security Council meeting in Malacanang on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

According to published reports, Melo is saying that ballot printing would be delayed (and hence the election itself would be delayed) if its orders disqualifying candidates and party list groups would be subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court, as what happened in the case of the “Ang Ladlad” party.

-ooo-

LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE ON DISQUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES: The concern allegedly was that, if the Supreme Court would order the inclusion of candidates already disqualified by the Comelec after the Comelec shall have already printed ballots which will no longer contain the names of the disqualified candidates, that would invalidate all the already-printed ballots and would require the printing of new ones.

To avoid this, what the Comelec should now do is set aside its orders previously issued in which it disqualified candidates and allow everyone to run.

This way, it could already print the ballots at this stage, with the names of all candidates and party list groups wanting to run already included. In fine, we should let the people themselves, in their sovereign capacity as voters, decide which candidate they would want to disqualify by not voting for them.

-ooo-

HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT SYNOMOUS TO GODLESSNESS, IMMORALITY: Right from the start, there was no doubt in my mind that the Supreme Court would overturn a Comelec resolution disqualifying the “Ang Ladlad” Party List.

Certainly, being a homosexual is not synonymous to immorality or sinfulness, in much the same way that being in a position of responsibility, in the private and public sectors, is no guarantee of moral uprightness or integrity.

It is not also a disqualification that would prevent a homosexual from being voted into office. Even the Bible, in fact, does not treat homosexuality as a sin, or as an aberration that disqualifies the homosexual from being considered as a child of God.

What is detested by God (and what we should detest likewise) is immorality, godlessness and impurity occasioned by homosexuality. But then, immorality, godlessness and impurity are not the monopoly of homosexuals, for there are many who are considered “straight” who are immoral, godless and impure.

-ooo-

ISSUES RE: CJ APPOINTMENT: SECTIONS 4 AND 9: Two crucial items that must be considered in resolving whether or not President Arroyo can still appoint a chief justice to replace the retiring Reynato Puno this May 2010 are Sections 4 and 9, Art. VIII of the 1987 Constitution.

Section 4, in part, says: “Any vacancy shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof.

Section 9, on the other hand, in part, says: “The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts shall be appointed by the President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such appointments need no confirmation.”

These are crucial Constitutional provisions, if you ask me, because they can be interpreted one way or the other, favouring or disfavouring President Arroyo’s right to appoint a chief justice even if she is already on her way out.

Expect a torrent of “learned discourses” on these provisions in the days to come.

-ooo-

-30-

CJ appointment brouhaha hinges on general and special laws

2010-01-11T23:36:00.000-08:00

CJ APPOINTMENT HINGES ON CLASH BETWEEN GENERAL LAW AND SPECIAL LAW: In the discussions on whether or not President Arroyo can legally appoint a chief justice of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Reynato Puno retires on May 10, 2010, which is about 50 days before she ends her presidency, we must not forget the rule which distinguishes which law will prevail when there is a clash between a general law and a special law.

We must not also forget what lawyers are taught, right from their very first day in law school, that the special law prevails over the general law in case of an irreconcilable conflict in their application.

Anyone wishing to give his two centavos’ worth in these discussions must therefore study what is the general law and what is the special law in this particularly interesting legal point.

Whatever it is, may God’s will prevail. God, certainly, is not sleeping, and would know who deserves to be chief justice or not.

-ooo-

88 OFWs STAGE HUNGER STRIKE IN RIYADH, KSA: I give way in this column to news stories emailed to me on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, so the senders will not tire sharing their press releases with me. Here they are:

From Migrante International: “A militant alliance of overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) groups today expressed solidarity with 88 OFWs who staged a hunger strike in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after calls for their repatriation were left unheeded by the Philippine post in the Middle Eastern city.

“The 88 OFWs were victims of contract substitution and unjust labor practices of construction firm Annasban Group. They stopped working on October 12 last year after they complained of salary reduction, illegal salary deduction and delayed payment of salary.

“November 3 last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that the Philippine Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh have been working for the workers’ repatriation `at the soonest possible time.’

“The promised repatriation, however, didn’t happen. `Migrante International salutes the Riyadh 88 for militantly standing up to assert their rights. OFWs the world over join them in their fight for justice,’ stated Garry Martinez, Chairperson of Migrante International.

-ooo-

ROTARIANS TO GIVE MORE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR FILIPINO KIDS: From Lyne Abanilla, chairman of the Public Imaging Group of Rotary International for Zone 7 (Philippines and Indonesia): “My dear All: Thanks again PP (Past President) Batas (Mauricio) for the beautiful write up and for your future news releases.

“Thanks too CP (Charter President) Blyth (Fielding) who is doing a feature too, hopefully for the PRM (Philippine Rotary Magazine) and others. Rotary International for sure has already read Batas’ column.

“After Benguet, we will now be distributing Gamit Aral (GA) Bags in Cavite (Noveleta), in La Union, Calumpit and Pulilan, Bulacan, San Pedro, Laguna, Tanay and Taytay Rizal, and some identified pre schools of Gawad Kalinga communities affected by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Ramil.

“Today, (January 12, 2010) District 3810 Governor Connie (Beltran) and DPRC (District Public Relations Chair) Cynthia (Evangelista) and our Rotary Club of Intramuros President Art (Platon) are in Calumpit and Pulilan, Bulacan distributing 600 GA Bags to our friends at District 3770 thru District Governor Ding San Diego…

“Again, thanks again for our PR Team members CP Blyth and PP Batas who joined the trip and making sure we have a good media mileage. Batas was non-stop broadcasting thru the internet and the use of Skype while we were on the road…”

-ooo-

The shepherds then left their flocks, looked for the baby wrapped in clothes in a manger and, when they found him, started telling everyone about him, glorifying and praising God.

-30-

CHED-accreditors’ row: who is to blame?

2010-01-11T23:32:00.000-08:00

WHY ARE FILIPINOS SUFFERING DESPITE THEIR SUPPOSED FAITH AS CHRISTIANS? If you will try to find the reason why Filipinos are experiencing difficulties, hardships and failures in everything they do, you will certainly be directed to Deuteronomy 28:15 to 68 of the Bible, which contain a listing of the 53 curses which God promised to rain down upon a nation which no longer listens to His Word nor obeys His commands and decrees, and which now afflict all of us.

This must be totally jolting to many who think of themselves as devout and pious, and who usually take pride in the claim that the Philippines, as a result of its four-centuries long indoctrination by Spanish priests and friars on the Catholic faith, is the only Christian (Catholic) nation in the whole of Asia.

But, the real question that we must all answer is this: if we were indoctrinated for more than four hundred years by Spanish priests and friars on the Catholic faith on how to have a prosperous and healthy life, how come many of us are admittedly mired in the difficulties and hardships and failures and in the illnesses which the Bible promised in Deuteronomy?

What (or who?) went wrong?

-ooo-

CHED’S SIDE ON ACCREDITATION ROW: Chairman Emmanuel Angeles of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) sent me a letter he first sent to Fr. Joaquin Bernas, a former law dean of the Ateneo University and now a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in relation to his article regarding a conflict between the CHED and its Coordinating Council for Accreditation (CCA).

The CCA is an agency that, under an executive order issued by Malacanang, the CHED itself created for purposes of setting up accreditation standards for the operation and management of colleges and universities nationwide.

Here are parts of the letter of Chairman Angeles: “Dear Fr. Bernas: Peace be with you and may I wish you a happy and prosperous new year! Please allow me to clarify some of the issues that you raised in your article `CHED attempts ‘martial law’ over school accreditation’, which appeared in your column `Sounding Board’ of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on December 21, 2009.

“The public should know that in the Philippines, there are five (5) accrediting agencies, each operating on its own set of guidelines and procedures and all are accredited by CHED. The commitment of CHED on the usefulness and value of private accreditation cannot be questioned. For your information, close to PhP100M has been disbursed by CHED to support private accreditation over a number of years...

-ooo-

ACCREDITATIN G AGENCIES FAILED TO COME UP WITH POLICIES AND GUIDELINES: “I would like to clarify for the record that on April 10, 2008, four (4) months before I assumed the office of Chairman of CHED, Executive Order 705-A was issued by Malacanang. This Executive Order amended EO 705 and created the Coordinating Council for Accreditation (CCA) headed by the Commission on Higher Education....

“In compliance with this above provision, I created the CCA on November 27, 2008. It is composed of representatives from the five (5) accrediting agencies. To my knowledge, Father, to date, CHED has not issued any governing policies, guidelines and requirements on accreditation that mandates standardized fees, composition of accreditors, etc.

“Such guidelines, I hope, will be recommended to the Commission by the CCA in the very near future as I requested. I have met with the CCA twice and I have impressed on them the need to harmonize our policies on accreditation as mandated by EO 705-A. I have yet to hear from them on their proposal on the matter.

“Between the periods January to April 2008, I visited all seventeen (17) regions of our country and had the opportunity to gather first-hand the views and comments of heads of higher education institutions, both public and private, on problems they face in running their colleges and universities...” More of this next issue.

-ooo-

-30-

Not what a presidentiable did for anyone, but for God, that matters!

2010-01-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

WHAT HAS OUR PRESIDENTIABLES DONE TO SERVE GOD? Alright, so Sen. Manuel Villar and Sen. Richard Gordon wanted to know what Sen. Benigno Aquino III had done in the past to show that he has the necessary “it” to become the country’s president in 2010, but that is not the really important issue, for when one uses the past as a gauge, many of our presidentiables now will certainly fail the mark.

The more important issue, if you ask me, is what Villar, Gordon, Aquino, former Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., former President Joseph Estrada and the other presidential candidates had done, past and present, to serve God.

-ooo-

KUSOG MINDANAO PUSHES BELLO’S CANDIDACY FOR SENATOR: Kusog Mindanao, a multi-sectoral coalition created in 1994 which seeks to promote peace and development of the region, should take the lead in promoting the candidacy of former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III for the Senate in the May 2010 elections, if it is really convinced Bello will work for Mindanao once he is elected as senator.

I myself am supporting Bello’s aspirations to become a senator of the Republic. Not only is he academically-qualified. Bello, by now, is a tried and tested government official, having served in the Cabinet for a long time, and is only one of the few who is trusted by the right and the left, and who could therefore be depended upon to promote unity and understanding among our people.

-ooo-

IF THE PRESIDENTIABLES FAILED TO MAKE GOD HAPPY, CAN THEY MAKE US HAPPY? Can anyone of the May 2010 presidential candidates really say they have made God happy, even for just one moment, now and yesterday, because they were able to make one sinner repent and go back to God?

If the country’s presidentiables failed, or did not do anything, to make God happy, in one way or another, notwithstanding the fact that it was God who gave them life and the material riches that enabled them to run in May 2010, can they be expected to do something that will make Filipinos happy?

-ooo-

PLAZO FOR SENATOR? Lawyer Grace Rinoza Plazo is one other senatorial candidate of the “Ang Kapatiran Party” which deserves the support of the Filipino people. Already comfortable in life as a lawyer, she did not really have to join politics anymore just to prove a point, except that she is also obsessed with a desire to really help the masses with responsive legislation.

Grace is going to be a guest in my Internet radio-TV program “Batas Media Reports” at BATAS INTERNET TV and BATAS INTERNET RADIO (which could be accessed at the Internet website www.batasradio.com) on Tuesday, at 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., where we will discuss her legislative agenda. The interview will be replayed also on Tuesday at 8 to 9 pm. Join us by logging on to our website, www.batasradio.com.

-ooo-

CHANGE WITHOUT GOD IS USELESS: Even now, we have not heard from any of our presidential candidates if they have any platform of spirituality at all. In fact, to a man, they have been talking about change, but then there is no one among them who is saying that God has a role in the change they want to introduce.

And this is gravely dangerous, for, with due respect to the compassion, intelligence, money and mass appeal that our candidates are supposed to have, nothing and no one will ever really help the Filipino people in their quest for a better life at this point except God.

-ooo-

FILIPINOS MUST PRAY, FAST AND PROSTRATE THEMSELVES BEFORE GOD: If no one among our presidentiables in the May 2010 elections is even talking about the role of God in their administration, we must now, as a people, really pray hard, undergo fasting, and prostrate ourselves before God to seek His forgiveness and mercy, for destruction coming from God Himself is already at our doorsteps, just waiting to strike.

The truth is that, if the electorates will vote for someone who does not have God in his heart once more, then we will see more plunder, more graft and corruption, and more abuses in government, which will cause the certain downfall of this country and the destruction of our people.

-ooo-

BIRTH OF JESUS ANNOUNCED BY THE ANGEL GABRIEL: The Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary represent an account of how Jesus Christ started His life here on earth.

The angel then assured Mary: “For nothing is impossible with God.” In reply, Mary uttered “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”

-30-

Global effort up in helping kids victimized by killer typhoon

2010-01-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

BENGUET STUDENTS GIVEN NEW INTEREST IN STUDYING: The 1,000 or so students of Puguis Elementary School in Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet, refused to go to school for some time after 13 of their classmates were killed in the mud landslide that swept through their nearby village called Little Kibungan in the same town during the height of Typhoon Ramil in the last quarter of 2009.

The reason: for want of better facilities in the town and in Baguio City, their school plaza and playground were used as a temporary morgue for their 13 classmates, and for 62 or so other Little Kibungan residents who were killed in the same tragedy, traumatized as they were by the sight of so many dead people lying on the pavement, awaiting proper burial, for many days.

But hopefully and prayerfully, that should change by now, largely because of the efforts of local officials and other local, national and international non-governmental organizations and agencies to help them cope up with, and ultimately forget, the calamity that so mercilessly and without warning struck their town one nasty rainy night.

What came out of these selfless and disparate but highly collaborative efforts thereafter showed man’s generosity and compassion for his fellowmen beyond measure.

-ooo-

ROTARIANS IN THE FOREFRONT OF HELPING KIDS VICTIMIZED BY KILLER TYPHOON: Of course, I am tremendously glad that my own organization, Rotary International’s District 3810---particularly my own club, the Rotary Club of Intramuros, Manila, and its sister club, the Rotary Club of Ermita, and RI Public Image Resource Group for Zone 7 (for Philippines and Indonesia)---voluntarily placed themselves in the forefront of these humanitarian endeavours.

Specially significant was the aid given by RC Intramuros, RC Ermita and the Public Image Group led by its chairman, Lyne Abanilla who is the vice president for Classified Advertising of Manila Bulletin, which consists of 1,500 “Gamit Aral” Bags distributed Friday, January 8, 2010, to an equal number of elementary students from Puguis Elementary School, and from nearby Buyagan Elementary School and La Trinidad Central Elementary School.

The Gamit Aral Bags, which contain reading, writing and other education materials, had the effect of magic, as they did not fail to ignite the youthful eyes of the recipient-children with delight.

Upon receiving the bags, the students not only thoughtfully expressed their gratitude and appreciation by endless “thank you’s”, but, more importantly, they also collectively promised that, with the gift from Rotarians, they would study more, and be more diligent and persevering in their school work henceforth.

-ooo-

AUSTRALIAN-FILIPINOS GAVE THEIR HELP AND ASSISTANCE, TOO: The distribution of the Gamit Aral Bags to the Benguet school children was of course just a part of the story, a tip of the iceberg, as it were, which will not be completely told if we don’t mention here that the money used to buy them came from well-meaning Australian-Filipinos who wanted to help likewise.

Mention must be made of the Australian Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its Australian representative Robert Bock, Filipino representatives Arthur and Tess Sayas, Global Filipino Australia, Inc., and Blacktown City, Australia Mayor Charles Lowles and others whose names I cannot recall now.

Abanilla, who was responsible for soliciting their help, said their individual and collective contributions reached about Php800,000.00 more or less, and this was the money that bankrolled the purchase of the Gamit Aral Bags.

Then, mention must also be made of the help and assistance given by Rotarians from Rotary International District 3790 (which covers the Benguet-Baguio Rotary Clubs), under the leadership of District Gov. Ricardo “Oyan” Villanueva, who coordinated which schools the Gamit Aral Bags would be finally given.

Congratulations are likewise in order for RC Intramuros President Art Platon, RC Ermita President Eugene Tan and Spouse Jane, RC Ermita Past President Loy Cosico and Spouse Maricon, Charisse Abanilla, Lyne’s youngest daughter, and Past Presidents Blythe Fielding and Lilian Cruz, who, like me, are members of the Public Image Resource Group for Zone 7 of RI.

Their presence alone in the distribution of the Gamit Aral Bags made sure that global cooperation in helping the poor and the needy became a reality.

-ooo-

In the Mysteries of Light, we find the following: Baptism of Jesus, Wedding at Cana, Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Transfiguration and Institution of the Holy Eucharist through the Last Supper.

Finally, the Glorious Mysteries make an account of the Resurrection, the Ascention, Descent of the Holy Spirit, Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary as Queeon of Heaven and Earth.

Anyone who prays the Holy Rosary, therefore, gets to remember Jesus Christ and is reminded all over again of His status as our God and Savior.

-30-

Noynoy must answer raps of detractors

2010-01-07T00:46:00.001-08:00

SEN. NOYNOY MUST ANSWER ACCUSATIONS AGAINST HIM BY DETRACTORS: Election fever is starting to really grip the Philippines, and all sorts of propaganda, for or against a candidate, especially the frontrunners for the presidency, are flying thick and thin, and are raining down like cats and dogs.

It will be up to us to choose which to believe.

But then, the candidates subject of negative propaganda must try to answer the accusations against them, lest their silence be interpreted to mean as acceptance of what is being imputed to them, and this is precisely the advice I have for Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III.

Since September 2009, there is an email going the rounds of different Internet e-groups, allegedly coming from one “Papi”, which lists down reasons why he, Papi, will not vote for Sen. Aquino. From where I sit, just to set the record straight, Noynoy must answer the charges, some of which are the following:

“(1) His mediocre performance as congressman and a senator, and as a statesman in general. When you think of Noynoy, what really comes into your mind as far as his legislative performance is concerned? Nada. Mar Roxas has Cheaper Medicines Act to boast for; Gibo is a bar topnotcher; Villar has a classic rags-to-riches story.

-ooo-

“CLOSENESS TO NINOY NOT A GUARANTEE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE”: “But Noynoy? He is just the son of Ninoy and Cory, and nothing more — which brings me to my next reason why I will not vote for him.

“(2) He may be a son of Ninoy, but along with this feudalistic heritage is the Hacienda Luisita issue — wait, Hacienda Luisita Massacre (Google it!). I have no doubts in Ninoy’s capacity to lead the nation (he’s one of my idols, in fact).

“But look at what happened when we thought someone close to Ninoy will be a good replacement (Cory, that is): power shortage, coup attempts, executive-legislative deadlocks, CARP which didn’t apply to the Cojuangcos by the way, and of course, the Mendiola and Hacienda Luisita massacres. Yeah, massacres...

“ (3) His messianic complex (…a messiah complex is a state of mind in which the individual believes he/she is, or is destined to become, a savior). He is saying this is a battle of good and evil, and of course, he is the `good’ part of that equation. (Review #2 above.)

“If the 2010 election is a battle between something and something, well, it is at most a battle of evils and lesser evils. (Unless of course Willie Revillame joins the presidential race, in which case, this would become a battle among evils, lesser evils, and a comedian.)

-ooo-

GIVE ACCORDING TO WHAT ONE HAS: This is the final part of the article being circulated in the Internet by one “Bernardo Padua” (paduabd@drive communication.com), on why we should give financial and other material support to workers of God:

“{9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. {10} And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.

“{11} Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. {12} For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

“In Romans 12:6-8 Paul talks about the different gifts and one of these is contributing to the needs of others - with the command 'let him give generously'. (Rom 12:6-8 NIV) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

“{7} If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; {8} if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully....”

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I did some reading on the matter, and indeed, there is nothing in the Holy Bible that says Christians should pray the Rosary, as there is even no mention of the Rosary in any pages of that Book.

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Three-term-limit rule benefits local execs

2010-01-07T00:33:00.000-08:00

SC RULING ON THREE-TERM-LIMIT RULE BENEFITS LOCAL EXECS: Paging elected officials, this one is for you, in relation to your three-term-limit.

Much to the chagrin and dismay I am sure of his political foes, Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao “Peewee” Trinidad may yet remain his city’s chief executive until 2016, thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling clarifying the meaning of the “three-term-limit” rule as applied to elected officials.

In its reported decision involving a councilor of Lucena City in Quezon Province, the high tribunal is said to have clarified that the three-term limit rule for an elective official does not apply when the official was totally removed from office while serving any of his term.

What this means, the Supreme Court intoned, is that when an elected official is ousted, or divested of his title or office, the three-term-limit rule no longer applies, so that he is given a fresh three terms (or another nine-year term, if he wins) to serve.

In the case of Peewee, a fraternity brod of mine at the UP College of Law Sigma Rho Fraternity, he was given a fresh three term of nine years because in 2007, he was ousted and divested of his title when the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed him on charges of graft and corruption.

So, Mayor Peewee has his opponents who sued him for graft and the Ombudsman who ousted him to thank for his new three term of nine years starting 2010?

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HOW MUCH SHOULD ONE GIVE TO WORKERS OF GOD? Here is the second part of the article being circulated in the Internet by one “Bernardo Padua” (paduabd@drive communication.com), on why we should give financial and other material support to workers of God:

“(James 2:14-17 NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? {15} Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. {16} If one of you says to him, `Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

“(Luke 12:33-34 NIV) Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys... {34} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“How much should one give? Our Lord Jesus Himself did not specify the amount a Christian should give. If we give, it will be given back to us. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.

“(Luke 6:36-38 NIV) Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful... {37} `Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. {38} Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’

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WE MUST EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF GIVING: “However in 1 Timothy, Christians are encouraged to give generously. 1TIMOTHY 6:18 Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others. (6:19) In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.

“In 2 Corinthians Paul talks about the grace of giving. He is talking about making a gift to those Christians in Jerusalem who are suffering due to famine. He makes the point that the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

“(2 Cor 8:7-15 NIV) But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving. {8} I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others....”

More of this next issue!

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Gordon and Fernando: much more than women urinals

2010-01-07T00:30:00.000-08:00

CAN GORDON AND FERNANDO DWELL ON OTHER MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS? The reported bickering between presidential candidate Sen. Richard Gordon and his running mate, former Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority, over the use of urinals for women in public places in the Philippines is a good political gimmickry, but it is something that fails to impress.

I mean, it is indeed a healthy sign, if both Gordon and Fernando get elected in May 2010 as the country’s next president and vice president, that they could disagree and yet continue to be a team seeking the good of the country.

But, how I wish the two of them (and their handlers who are paid handsomely to make them look good at least until May 2010) would try to crack their a nuts a little harder, as it were, and find some more worthwhile subject matter (other than women’s urinals) to bicker about.

If the reported bickering between them over women’s urinals would be taken as a sign of their administration, I shudder to think what other more mundane things they could devote themselves to when they finally become president and vice president, the grave and destructive problems of the country and the people notwithstanding.

I am sure there is more to a Richard Gordon and to a Bayani Fernando aside from women’s urinals, right?

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LET US START GIVING IN 2010: A guy whose Internet name is “Bernardo Padua” and whose email address is paduabd@drive communication.com, is asking Christians (of whatever sect or denomination) to give more to people who work for God in an email sent worldwide on January3, 2010. Here is a part of this email:

“Let us start giving this year 2010! Blessings be upon us! But to whom do we give? According to our Lord Jesus and the New Testament, Christians should give to the preachers, brothers, sisters and the poor (needy).

“(1 Cor 9:11-14 NIV) If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? {12} If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

“{13} Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? {14}In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

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LOVE NOT IN WORDS AND TOUNGE BUT WITH ACTION: “Workers hundred-fold blessing: According to our Lord Jesus: (Mark 10:29-30 NIV) `I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, `no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel {30} will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

“In the parable of the sheep and goats we see that the Lord expects us to help our brothers who are hungry, thirsty, needing clothing, or sick or in prison. (Mat 25:37-40 NIV) `Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? {38} When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

“{39} When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' {40} `The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

“(1 John 3:17-18 NIV) If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? {18} Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth....”

More of this next issue, folks!!!

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ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: The fourth “Glorious Mystery” in the Holy Rosary of the Roman Catholic Christians is the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which deals with the taking up into heaven of Mary, body and soul.

Even among Christians though, this is a controversial issue, with many of the so-called believers outside of the Catholic faith insisting that the assumption of Mary into heaven did not happen.

But the teachings of Roman Catholic Christians point to the occurrence of the event, and Catholic popes and leaders from the 3^rd century on actually cite many portions of the Bible to justify this belief.

In Wikipedia, an item on the assumption of Mary contains this explanation: “All these passages – John 14:3, Isaiah 60:13, Luke 1:28, Song of Songs 8:5, 1st Corinthians 15:21-26, Psalms 132:8, Psalms 45:9-17, Song of Songs 3:6, 4:8, 6:9, Genesis 3:15, and Revelation 12:1-2 – are drawn upon as Scriptural support of the Assumption both in that original document, and today by Catholic apologists.”

The prevailing thought is that these Biblical references show that Jesus would not have allowed His own mother to have died and her flesh to have degenerated to dust, and that considering Mary’s role in giving birth to the “seed” (Jesus) that will crush Satan, it is believed that the fate of Jesus in ascending to heaven body and soul is the same fate that happened to Mary

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