Manila, the Unloved

Let us suppose we are confronted with a desperate thing -- say Pimlico. If we think what is really best for Pimlico we shall find the thread of thought leads to the throne or the mystic and the arbitrary. It is not enough for a man to disapprove of Pimlico: in that case he will merely cut his throat or move to Chelsea. Nor, certainly, is it enough for a man to approve of Pimlico: for then it will remain Pimlico, which would be awful. The only way out of it seems to be for somebody to love Pimlico: to love it with a transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there arose a man who loved Pimlico, then Pimlico would rise into ivory towers and golden pinnacles; Pimlico would attire herself as a woman does when she is loved. For decoration is not given to hide horrible things: but to decorate things already adorable.

- G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

As a visitor in Thailand, one remarkable thing that I noticed in the capital City of Bangkok is its cleanliness. I'm not saying that Bangkok is squeaky clean but this city is cleaner than my  nation's capital City of Manila.

Bangkok and Manila are relatively similar. Both cities have a big river passing through their centers. Bangkok have pick-ups converted into public utility vehicles while Manila have jeepneys. Bangkok have the tuktuk while Manila have the kuliglig. I can mention plenty of similarities between these cities but what doesn't match is the the way their citizens deal with trash.

I never saw any heap of garbage during my short visits in Bangkok. I passed through their main highway, I checked less luxurious parts of the city, I rode trains at several train stations but there was no garbage heap. In Manila, these disgusting heaps are everywhere. On the highway, near the church, beside the LRT stations, and in front of the palengkes (markets). Plastic bags, cartons, diapers, dog poop, human poop, and many more litter the sidewalks.

The government should be blamed for misnamagement but the much greater blame should be with the residents (and the people who go to Manila to work, study, and shop) because they don't love their city.

A man in-love gives the most precious stones and the most beautiful roses that he can afford to his beloved. His goal is to please her and make her a better, more beautiful person.

The same is true with Manila. If Manileños really love their city, then they will do their best to make their place truly beautiful.

Hatred of Spanish Heritage is Manila's Demise

We are taught to look at the three-century Spanish rule of the Philippines as the Dark Age. We are told, not only by historians but by the media, that our ancestors we're all slaves by the Spaniards. That all friars are harsh and they rape pious women.

Never mind the fact that it is the Spaniards who unified the warring tribes of the archipelago and brought stability. That these colonists gave us the laws, justice system, medical knowledge, engineering expertise, and many more things that improved the lives of many people. That missionaries defended the natives from pirates but also from the evil people of the colonial government.

The continued tirade against our Spanish past affects our identity as Filipinos. We cannot love our identity, and our nation, because we hate a part of ourselves. This lack of love translates on the way we treat the heritage we received our ancestors. It is not surprising, then, that Filipinos simply don't care about Manila or any other towns in the country.

As our Lord said, the truth shall set us free. Let us then face the truth and from there we can learn how to love good part of our identity, and improving the bad parts. Hopefully, from there Manila will rise as the queen that she really is.

Happy 443rd Year Manila, my Manila.

A Lesson from Jayme Jalandoni

(Source: PhilNews.ph)

It seems that Christianity and Philippine showbiz are incompatible with each other. The former uphold the dignity of women while the latter is more concerned about money and fame to the point that women are peddled like commodity.

The recent controversy in ABS-CBN’s show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) illustrates this fact. In this show, the contestant Jayme Jalandoni was dared to pose nude for a painting in exchange for their weekly budget.

Jayme, a devout Christian from a conservative family, was torn with this challenge since it goes against her faith. She cried (a lot) while trying to explain why she didn’t want to do the challenge. Kuya tried to convince her by showing testimonials from models of nude paintings. Her firm decision only came when her father told her to say “no” to the challenge.

There are plenty of lessons that can be gleaned from the controversy. One is about the dignity of women. Another lesson is about the morality (or the lack of it) in the Philippine showbiz. But one aspect that I found interesting is how a contestant’s faith played (or was played at) during the controversy.

Jayme is admirable for publicly professing her Christian faith but it is a risky move since she is in a show known for its shallowness and gimmicks for the sake of ratings. It should be obvious to her, especially before she entered the house, that the show’s director will shake her faith for the sake of ratings.

Jayme’s religiosity is like a nail sticking out the woodwork and it is very tempting to hammer it down. And the hammer indeed came down and that is the nude painting challenge.

 This incident in the PBB house is a good lesson for those who publicly profess their Christian faith. Saying that you are a follower of our Lord is very easy but doing so gives you more responsibility in standing up for the faith. The Devil hates those who are very public in professing their faith. He will do his best to make you fall and spit out everything you said. Your fall will cause scandal and scandal will shake the faith of many.

Just look at the many “Christian” (specifically “Catholic Christians”) government officials, media personalities, and even priests and bishops who are not ashamed to say that they’re disciples of Jesus Christ but do the opposite of what He teaches. See how many people these public personalities brought to spiritual destruction. I will not be surprised if these “Christians” are the Devil’s favourite crowd.

The lesson from Jayme Jalandoni is this: if you are very public in professing your Christian faith then you have the responsibility to be more firm because the Enemy will come harder against you. Your fall means the fall of many but your victory means being the inspiration for many, and of course the victory of Christ.

Contraceptive Irony: When "Safe" Means "Unsafe"

We are now in the era where decadent things are not just tolerated but even promoted. Take, for example, the case of lying. In theory, lying is still wrong and some people may even be sent to prison because of this sin. However, in practice, lying is promoted, particularity, in the advertising world.

Do you want to increase your sales? Just tell the consumers partial truth or even the total untruth. Show them a burger that looks so yummy and big and then give them the total opposite. Promise them a fast Internet and then make them pay for a pathetic service (and yes I'm speaking from experience).

Manufacturers of modern contraceptive tools lead the way in lying to consumers. To reap multimillion profits, they promote plenty of lies, the worst of which are about the adverse effects of their products to women's health.

I found an empty box of Trust Pill in a trash bin in front of a Mercury Drug branch. As expected, the pill's information sheet was left in the box. What I read in that sheet of paper somewhat amusing, particularly this part:

Spot the contradiction.

It said that “oral contraceptive is the most researched product in the history of modern medicine, and its safety has long been established”. It then narrated the adverse effects of oral contraceptive pills to “some women”, such as headaches, gastric upsets, nausea, vomiting, impaired appetite, breast tenderness, slight changes in body weight, slight changes in libido, depressive moods, and impaired liver functions.

The contradiction is very obvious and that it revealed the manufacturer's great lie.

The mere fact that there are adverse effects makes Trust Pill, and other contraceptive pills, truly unsafe not only for women's health but also to their relationships. Depressive episodes caused by pills may cause a rift between the user of this pill and her husband. Slight change libido, which was not mentioned how slight, may prevent women to have satisfting sex (which was declared by Senator Pia Cayetano as a “right” of Filipinas).

Their defense, of course, is that these adverse effects are only experienced by “some women” only. The problem is that they didn't quantify it. “Some women” may range from two women to one million or more.

There are other precautions for Trust Pill like its contraindications for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and those who have liver disorders, clotting disorders, breast and cervical cancer, sickle-cell anemia, hormone active tumors, hyperlipidemia, severe cardiovascular diseases, previous or existing thromboembolic diseases, and idiopathic jaundice.

Another adverse effect that the Trust Pill manufacturer conveniently ignored is the fact that the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (IARC-WHO) considered contraceptive pills, particularly estrogen - progestogen, as Level 1 carcinogens.

According to the IARC monograph for their research on Combined Estrogen–Progestogen Contraceptives:

There is sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of combined estrogen–progestogen oral contraceptives. Combined estrogen–progestogen oral contraceptives cause cancer of the breast, in-situ and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix, and cancer of the liver.

Ethinyl Estradiol is considered as estrogen and Levonorgestrel as, which are the ingredients of Trust Pill, are considered as estrogen & progestin. (see these Wikipedia entries for Ethinyl Estradiol and Levonorgestrel for details) This means that this Trust Pill may cause cancer in the breast, uterine cervix and liver. Even ex-DOH Secretary Esperanza Cabral accidentally admitted in a radio interview that birth control pills cause breast cancer.

I agree that oral contraceptive pill is the most researched medical product. The glaring lie is the claim that this pill's “safety” was established.

Birth control pills are not safe. It is dangerous to women's health. Those who promote its government-funded distribution is bringing plenty of Filipinas in danger.

Yet another Word-twisting from Bishop-haters and Church-bashers

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles is under attack due to his alleged comment that the destruction brought by Typhoon Yolanda was caused by the RH Law.

Admins and supporters of the One Million Voices Against CBCP Facebook Page (which should actually named as 3000+ little voices against CBCP) are spreading this poster:

Their poster claimed that Archbishop Arguelles said the following:

“Yung nangyayari sa atin, lindol, baha, super typhoon is God's message to people. It is the result of "ungodly" laws such as the Reproductive Health (RH) Law”

I almost believed their poster until I read the news article in ABS-CBNnews.com where they “copied” the quote. The quote in their poster is nowhere to be found in the news article! What they did is to string words in the news article and then present them as one quote.

I gave the poster-makers the benefit of the doubt and googled the made-up quote. This is the result:

It is obvious that they have no other source for their made-up quote. The Google search even exposed their lies.

I even posted my objective research to the  One Million Voices Against CBCP FB Page but this what I got:

It seems like these people are allergic to the truth, especially if the truth is against their hate-filled beliefs.

Well, at least I learned a lesson and that is to be more careful in dealing with Church-haters because they will lie and lie just to justify their hate.

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UPDATE: It seems like the admin of  One Million Voices Against CBCP FB Page blocked my comment. This is another proof that they are lying.

Girl Power #368: Standing Inside a Moving Bus

One wonderful gift that the modern feminists (a.k.a. Femi-nazis) gave to women is the power not be offered by men their seats inside a moving vehicle. Thanks to these feminists, women need not to deal with gentlemen and take the comfort of standing inside the very cramped and zigzagging bus for the whole duration of journey.

A feminist office mate once complained about the rarity of gentlemen in the Philippines. People, or men in particular, already forgot good manners like offering their seat to ladies and waiting for women to offer their hand before the handshake.

What my feminist office mate forgot to note is that the feminism that she trumpets about is the cause of her complaints. Most modern feminists declare that women can do whatever men can do. Some even say that women can do better than men.

It is not only women who have such feminist ideas imprinted on their brains. Men too have the same thoughts, which is the result of the relentless battering of feminism in our minds in the mainstream media. There was time when I told a girl friend not to wish for men to offer their seat for her because she is a strong woman thus she don't need the help of any man.

Men stopped being gentlemen not because their good manners are gone. The real reason is that real ladies, the natural partners of gentlemen, are gone. What we have are women who were told to become like men for the sake of equality.

And because of this “equality” men all over the Philippines (especially in the urban areas) let the women exercise the right to do whatever men can do. So thus we have ladies who are empowered to stand inside the speeding bus.

This is women empowerment and we thank the femi-nazis for this.

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This post was made for Filipinos for Life's October Blogging Event - Girl Power: Upholding the Dignity of Women, Shunning Feminism 

Sunday Reflections: If You Don't Believe in Moses and the Prophets then You Won't Believe in Jesus

Lazarus and the Rich Man by Gustave Dore.

Today's Gospel reading is about two kinds of people. One is an unnamed rich man. The other is the poor man named Lazarus who just filled himself with the scraps coming from the table of the rich man. Lazarus' condition is so bad that dogs come to lick the sores that cover his whole body. The two eventually died and Lazarus was taken to the “bosom of Abraham” and the other was taken to eternal torment.

Of the many things that can be gleaned from this parable, what caught my attention is these words of our Lord: “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

The parable refers to Lazarus but it can also interpreted to refer to Jesus Christ, he who actually rose from the dead.

Our Church teaches that the Old Testament, which includes the law established by Moses and the writings of the Prophets, “is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 121). That we cannot do away with the “old scripture” because it is Divinely inspired.

In today's Gospel, it can be said that those who don't believe in the teachings found in the Old Testament will find it uneasy to believe in the teachings of the Resurrected One. “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

Many people, nowadays, want to do away with the teachings found in the Old Testament. These people, in turn, separates Jesus Christ (who they incorrectly label as “very” forgiving, “very” tolerant, peace loving God) from the God in the Old Testament (who they erroneously believe always chastises and punishes people).

Today's Gospel reminds us that Jesus Christ said that he came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Let us then be reminded not to diminish the Old Testament nor throw it away. The Law and Prophets are indispensable parts of the Christ's teachings. For what God has taught in the age of the Patriarchs, or of Moses, or the Prophets is still true until today and for eternity.

Aquino and Cabinet Should Quit - Tatad

In connection to the issue of the Pork Barrel Scam that is still raging in our country, let me post the press release of former Senator Francisco Tatad regarding the dare of presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

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Tatad VS Lacierda

I am extremely flattered by the special attention Malacanang continues to give me for exposing the reported luncheon meeting between President Aquino and Janet Lim Napoles on August 28, hours before she “surrendered” to the President. The presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda has promised to quit if I am able to name my sources and prove what they have revealed. I don’t believe he is offering enough: he should say Aquino himself would quit if Malacanang is unable to disprove my sources.

No threat, coercion, intimidation, cajoling or provocation will tempt me to betray my sources. If my sources decide to come out on their own and tell Mr. Lacierda what they have shared with me in the highest confidence, I will not stand in their way. But I will not ask them to make martyrs of themselves.

The tragedy here is that Mr. Lacierda has failed to deny the story with any demonstrable competence. He never denied that he accompanied Napoles to Malacanang at 10:30 am of August 28, and he never denied that she had lunch with Aquino and other Cabinet members inside the Music Room before he escorted her out at 4:30 pm, and back again at 9:27 pm when she formally “surrendered” to the President.

He tried to show that Aquino was not in Malacanang at 10 am, and at 1:30 pm. Respectively, which is beside the point. This was never in issue, and it does not contradict the story from my sources. Lacierda could have shown a film recording of the Music Room without anybody there from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm, but that could not be done, and he did not do it. Instead he chose to call me names while my articles online have since ended being linked to a pornographic website.

Lacierda fails to grasp the fact that the issue has grown far beyond the unexplained and inexplicable reported secret lunch. That is now but one small detail of a much bigger picture that has since emerged.

Given Aquino’s state-guest treatment of Napoles when she “surrendered” and his acting as her chief security officer when she was transferred to Camp Crame, and the recent revelations of her having acted as conduit for the massive transfer of “pork barrel” funds to induce members of Congress to impeach and remove then Chief Justice Renato Corona, and to railroad the widely-opposed anti-Catholic Reproductive Health bill in 2012—which has been partly confirmed by Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.--- the real issue now is what is the actual relationship between Napoles and Aquino and some members of his Cabinet, Lacierda himself included?

Malacanang’s inability to disprove the web of evidence showing a deep and hitherto hidden relationship between Aquino and Napoles calls for something much bigger than the resignation of Malacanang’s mouthpiece. It calls for the resignation of the President and his entire Cabinet, to say the least.

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Image sources:

Francisco Tatad's picture came from his blog, First Things First. Edwin Lacierda's picture came from Philippine Daily Inquirer's website.