GLADIATOR SPORT

I watched a Manny Pacquiao match just once. I had never seen the Filipino whom the whole world had been admiring do what he is famous for – boxing. By the second round, Pacquiao knocked out his British opponent. Everyone in the house of my friend where I watched roared with excitement along with a myriad of spectators in the arena where the fight was held and from where it was telecast. Actually, I was already watching a replay. Earlier that day, privileged Filipinos watched the fight live on cable television through a pay-per-view arrangement, the first time that I had heard of such a telecast arrangement. I was in my friend’s house to rehearse a song that I had composed, and not to watch a Pacquiao match. But everyone in the house dropped what he or she was doing, including my friend, who was my pianist, and rushed to the television to watch the replay of Pacquiao’s phenomenal win.

Before this Pacquiao fight, the last time that I saw a real boxing match was when I was 11 years old, when the whole country was excited over the “Thrilla in Manila” match of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Although we lived near the Araneta Center, where that monumental match was held, my parents, brother, and I just watched the replay of that boxing match on television, which then was still black-and-white. I watched a “Rocky” movie. I watched “Cinderella Man.” I watched “Million-Dollar Baby.” Gripping movies where the lead stars played the role of being boxers, but still I knew that the boxing fights in these movies were staged and no one was really hurt in the making of the film and the stories were more on the drama rather than on boxing. But watching a real boxing match, now that I am a parent, gave me the feeling that there was something wrong as people cheered while one human inflicted physical pain on another human. For people to be jubilant when a person is knocked down after hard fist blows on his skull, eyes, and ribs is, and I know millions of people will disagree with me, inhuman.

Being a mother, I know how precious life is. How can countless millions of people bet on the life of a person through a sport that inflicts violence? “He’s okay. He earned millions of dollars even though he lost,” said my friend, the host of the house, as I shook my head perplexed at the values that modern-day humans have that haven’t changed since the days of gladiators fighting to their death and Christians being fed to the lions as forms of entertainment. Although popular boxing has rules to ensure that the boxers don’t make fatal blows on their opponents, still the sport of boxing, which has become one of the sports where the Philippines has emerged as the very best in the world, is a sport hinged on inflicting violence on another human.

But Pacquiao is considered a national hero, the Pambansang Kamao, meaning, “the national fist,” honored by the highest officials of the country. He is the pride of the Filipinos, especially after that recent 2-round boxing match when the whole world started calling him “the pound for pound best boxer in the world.” He is really an amazing fighter; his body reflects his disciplined training. Even the most God-fearing among Filipinos admire this man, never mind the violence, which seems to be a non-issue to his admirers.

I see him in commercials endorsing health and family-oriented brands, and more commercials with him as the endorser come out after each win. Children emulate him and go around bouncing and pouncing, imagining themselves as their idol Pacquiao. But is this really the sport that we want our children to watch, get excited about, and imagine themselves to be good at? I wonder.

Sensitizing – Desensitizing Pinoys on Human Sexuality

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

January 19, 2009

There is a certain age when sexuality has to be understood so as to avoid the misuse of it.  I would say that 13 is the appropriate age to begin to understand what human sexuality is. The pedagogy for the young must not be oriented toward how to avoid pregnancy, but rather how human life is formed and why it takes mature responsibility to nurture human life.

The pedagogy must also include what artificial contraception honestly does to the female body, so as to let the young be aware that when artificial contraception is used, they open themselves to being stripped of their very sexuality, since the purpose of artificial contraception is to inhibit ovulation, and ovulation is what makes a woman experience the fullness of her womanhood.

It is during ovulation when the female’s sex drive, or desire for sexual intimacy, is highest.  Animals who are in this period are said to be “in heat.”  It is when conception has the highest probability, and so by nature it is when a woman desires a man the most.  With artificial contraception, ovulation is inhibited through hormonal manipulation, which, first of all, is dangerous to do on the human body as it greatly increases your chances of developing cancer (especially breast cancer), blood clots, as well as emotional irritability and bone degradation.  The injectable Depo Provera, which was pulled out of the market several years ago, and the artificial estrogens used in hormone replacement therapy for menopausal and postmenopausal women, are known to cause cancer.  Artificial estrogen is the working component of artificial contraception. In taking artificial contraception, particularly those with an estrogen component, women are actually taking into their bodies a daily dose of a carcinogen. Moreover, since artificial contraception is designed to inhibit ovulation, the female’s sex drive is lessened. Compounding the lessening of a woman’s libido is the heightening of her emotional irritability. In the name of sexual freedom, artificial contraception is being pushed; however, both women and men actually lose out in enjoying sex in the most deeply satisfying way and their relationship suffers because the woman’s libido is dampened and her temper shoots uncontrollably and unexpectedly because of artificial contraception.

Medical studies have also revealed that IUDs and hormonal contraceptives can interfere with the implantation of the fertilized egg — a newly-conceived person — leading to early chemical abortions.

True sexual freedom, in my opinion, means understanding fully one’s sexuality and managing it in such as way as one’s health is not jeopardized, secure loving relationships are built, and human life is not aborted because of a reckless use of one’s sexuality.

I think that creating a national curriculum on human sexuality is essential but must be watched over and approved by a consortium of religious, ethical, and moral leaders.  The curriculum must also be age-appropriate. I think that the State cannot disregard the Church and the ethical and moral leaders of the land in developing such a national curriculum on human sexuality and reproductive health.  Understanding human sexuality must be grounded solidly on moral values so that human sexuality can be enjoyed to the fullest and managed responsibly.  For the young, enjoying human sexuality means being able to say “No” to sexual intercourse because they want to guarantee for themselves a happy future.

To keep the young and adults ignorant of their sexuality is also a dangerous thing. There is a better chance for the young and the unmarried adults to postpone sex if they understand their sexuality better.  A study has been conducted that confirms this.

The argument, I believe, is not on whether or not to teach human sexuality and reproductive health to the young and to adults, but rather how to develop a national curriculum on human sexuality and reproductive health that reflects the core values of the Filipino nation.  The goal is to build a morally strong nation that enjoys freedom because its people fully understand what it means to be human.

Artificial contraception merely places human life in the laboratory of scientists who still have to discover the ill effects of their pharmaceutical creation and who aren’t totally open to revealing the ill effects that they already know about.  One thing for sure, manipulating human hormonal levels through artificial means is one of the most dangerous things to do on the human body.  If manipulating hormonal levels can make a woman turn into a man and a man turn into a woman, think how powerful hormonal functions are in our bodies, and think again what taking artificial contraception can do.

To indiscriminately give access to artificial contraception without regard to the age of the individual will indeed open the very young to fornication.  Just as a driver’s license can only be given to individuals aged 16 and above, and alcoholic drinks cannot be legally sold to minors, defined as below the age of 18, and participation in barangay elections are open to those 15 and above, because such are the ages when a youth can cope with the challenges that come with the access given them, I believe that there should also be a legal age limit for the access to artificial contraception, since a degree of maturity is needed for the responsible use of artificial contraception.  Specifically, I believe artificial contraception should not be made available to minors, that is, those below 18.

But this is not to exclude minors from having access to medical services when they have need for it in the event that they, for example, contract sexually transmitted diseases or need prenatal care.

A national curriculum on human sexuality and reproductive health must help open the eyes of the youth on what the irresponsible use of human sexuality can lead to.  It must not be left open-ended wherein teaching the use of one’s sex organs and contraception is the only objective.  Such pedagogy grounded merely on medical and scientific facts without supporting it with moral values will desensitize the young on the moral issues involved in the use of human sexuality.

In international schools, there is a high school subject that is introduced at Grade 9 called “Wellness,” wherein human sexuality is taught.  However, since this is developed by secular educators, abortion is listed as among the “choices” available.  This is the danger of having reproductive health and human sexuality classes that are not founded on moral values — what is sin or violation of a human person is considered a mere choice, a deadly choice at that.

This is not to say that we should not have “Wellness” classes in Philippine schools.  On the contrary, Filipino educators and moral vanguards can extract what is good from developed international “Wellness” curricula and inject into them the moral values we uphold as a Filipino nation. We can then produce a national curriculum on reproductive health and human sexuality that preserves the sanctity of human life and encourages our youth and adults to harness their sexuality not merely based on their consciences, which are relative, but rather on a clear understanding of the full effects on their bodies of the misuse and proper management of their sexuality.

Finally, I think for the youth and the Filipino general public to listen, the Church needs to tone down on being forcefully dogmatic in tackling the issues on the Reproductive Health Bill.  We want the youth to listen to our country’s moral vanguards.  We want the Filipino general public not to be turned off by the advocates of pro-life and anti-artificial contraception.  Thus, I think it is time for those with the stand of opposing the Reproductive Health Bill to speak calmly, inviting everyone to listen without making them feel condemned and threatened, so that we can have more people on the side of experiencing the fullness of life.  After all, the fullness of life is what the Messiah came down to earth for, and so I believe centering our arguments on how the RH Bill will deprive both women and men of experiencing the fullness of life will attract more Pinoys to listen to our stand for life.

READING and A SENSE OF NATION

A speech by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo delivered on the morning of June 25, 2005 to the parents of home-schooled students. On that same morning, the first street rally protesting the results of the 2004 National Elections was taking place in Ayala Avenue, Makati City led by the wife of the late leading opposition candidate, and there was a looming feeling of uncertainty about the Philippines. Amidst the heavy political dark cloud, this message of hope was delivered.

Good morning, parents.

Last night, I spent four hours with our national artist F. Sionil Jose. He’s 81 years old and he’s still writing, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Prize, and mostly likely he will be Asia’s first Nobel Prize winner for Literature, and he’s a Filipino.

So we asked him how did he get into writing, how did he start and how early did he start. His answer was so interesting. He said, “As soon as I started reading.”

He was born in Pangasinan, in a very small town there. He comes from a very poor family. And at that time there was electricity only for the street lamps. So he would go under the street lamp and read, at 10 years old, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

He said, “I remember crying when I read the story of the two boys.” Then his mother would call him and say, “It’s too late already.” So he could not wait for the morning to read.

So he was reading. And he was reading classics at 10 years old. After Noli and Fili, he read Don Quixote, then My Antonia. And that started him writing.

When I asked him, “What was the most important education that you ever received?”, he gave me a vague answer. He said, “I’ve had many.” And I talked to his wife. I said, “What training did he have for him to be a great writer?” And his wife answered, “Just like NVM Gonzales and Nick Joaquin, he actually did not finish college.”

“But how did he become a great writer?!”

And his wife said, “Through reading.”

I asked him to write a dedication on the book for my son, who was with me, a three-year old. He’s here. He’s (over) there. He kept awake for all the four hours that F. Sionil Jose talked to our group of writers. And he wrote – the name of my son is Kairos – “For Kairos, May you be interested in literature.”

The whole point is this – this is what he believes in – he said, “Literature and art have a very important function. They help us have a sense of nation.”

He said, “Literature teaches ethics. It’s not psychology. It’s not all of those other courses. It’s literature, because there you can see good and bad and make a decision.”

And when we asked him for an important message for us at this time, he said, “Nation is what its culture has built.”

And what’s important about culture are literature and art.

So he just kept on encouraging us to read, read great classics. While I was listening to him, I was encouraged, because I’ve been doing Reading Workshops.

And why I started doing Reading Workshops is because some parents in the school where my other child is attending had noticed how my child would just quietly sit down, read a book, and she would finish it quickly and get another one. It’s easy for her to finish three full books in a day just during her spare time, waiting for her dad, or at night.

And a number of parents had noticed it, and they were saying, “Sana gan’un yung anak namin.” (How we wish our child is like your child.)

And I told them, “She’s doing some techniques.”

“Techniques?! Meron bang techniques sa reading?” (Are there techniques in reading?)

“Yes, there are.”

And so the Directress of that school asked me to do a Reading Workshop. And that was the first time – last year. I did a 3-hour workshop. I tested on them things that I had done with my children. And, they worked. The techniques worked.

This summer, I was asked to conduct workshops as well, Reading Workshops. And these were with children who were average or below-average. They would read less than 30 words per minute. And if I asked them what they remembered, they could not remember!

They would spend about 20 minutes on one page. That’s how I started the workshop, just to test them. I asked them, “What do you remember?” They couldn’t remember. But within a day, just teaching them some techniques, right away from 30 it became 110. And the next day, 245. The next day, 260, and with a comprehension of 70 to 80 percent.

For each level, lower elementary, upper elementary, I did different techniques. And then for the parents I shared techniques for adults, and their rate was 500 percent improvement, from 200 words per minute to 700 words per minute with a 90 percent comprehension.

These are techniques that I learned over the years.

When I was 9 years old, I had my first poem published and that encouraged me. By the time I was 11, continuing my creative writing, I felt I couldn’t write as much as I wanted to because I didn’t have enough inside. So I said, “I must read.” So I forced myself to read anything – labels…everything.

At 12 years old, my father enrolled me in a reading program. So I had all of those techniques. But later on I realized these were all external techniques. I’m sure you’ve heard of them, these things (demo the speedy zigzag finger-pointing technique), and all of that. These are external.

When I became a parent, my first child, who is a student of TMA, was born three pounds. While she was in my womb, the doctor said she would always be delayed mentally and physically. And I told myself, “That will not happen.”

I prepared for her birth. I read How To Teach Your Babies How To Read. I read many things. And so at 6 months, I was teaching her doodling. At 5 months, we were teaching her how to swim. At 6 months, I was doing sight reading to her. By the time she started toddling at 10 months, she could read, she could identify words, she could read before she could speak – and it’s possible – and I continued to read to her, read with her, everyday, not knowing that these were techniques, which I will share with you.

By the time she was 5 years old, she said to me, “Mommy, give me a real Bible.”

“Hmm?! You have many Bibles. You’ve read them many times. The Children’s Bible and several versions.”

“No, no, no, I want a real Bible. The one without pictures. Small print.”

Because her imagination was so much, she did not anymore need pictures. Pictures were even a hindrance to her own imagination.

I gave her a real Bible! And she was reading it at 5 years old. She could read like any college graduate at 5 years old.

I read the Bible from cover to cover. It took me actually two years – from age 33 to 35. Two years to read the Bible from cover to cover. It changed my life.

When she was 7 years old, I told my daughter, “Why don’t you also start reading the Bible from cover to cover.” And she read from Genesis to Matthew in two months, at 7 years old.

At 7 years old, my daughter went with me when I had my routine check-up for my eyes, and she said, “Mommy! Mommy! Me too! Me too!” So I said, “Okay.” And there I discovered that all that time my daughter was doing all those feats as a child reading, she only had one good eye.

Because of her premature condition, something happened with her left eye – it did not develop like her right eye. And so I thought, “If my daughter who has one good eye can read that way, what more a normal child – a child with two good eyes.”

And so I had this thing with reading. My second, she’s a reader – the one who is in the other school. And we have our third – he’s now in Ateneo Prep – and although he couldn’t read like his sister at 5 years old, because he would see in our house we’re all reading, always reading, there’s a culture of reading in our house, he also loves books.

So I’ve seen that this is something that we could share. It’s not all of those “external” (demo the speedy zigzag finger-pointing technique again). It’s something about the heart, and a whole attitude about reading.

Recently, an NGO invited me to share the reading techniques. The NGO is called BASA. It’s just a small group headed by a Jesuit priest, Fr. Ted Gonzales. And their vision is so large scale, nationwide. They want to create a culture of reading in our nation by creating public libraries. And so they asked me to share.

And the first project we had was in a Makati public school near the race station. These are children poorest of the poor who live with horses, because their parents take care of horses. And it was told me later on that the children that I handled were remedial children from Grades 1 to 6, meaning, they’re delayed academically. But that was not my consideration when I taught them. As far as I know, they’re students.

But just the same, the techniques worked on them. That 500 percent, they achieved it within an hour. So the four hours was because of activities, building up, building up, so they knew whatever were the obstacles in their minds about reading, they were taken out. And they started enjoying reading.

And so when TMA asked me to share the Reading Workshop with the parents and with the students, it is with great joy that I’d like to share these techniques.

And all the more I was inspired when I heard F. Sionil say, “Literature can help build a sense of nation. And if we have a sense of nation, we will have a sense of obligation to our nation, a sense of sacrifice for our nation so that we can build a strong people.”

Thank you very much.

Evangelizing Philippine Politics

The CENTERPIECE feature of BIZNEWS ASIA for its January 2007 issue

New Politics, New Methods, New Fervor

By Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

The late Jaime Cardinal Sin declared, “Politics is not dirty. It’s good.  It is ordained for the common good of the people.  It is the people who practice politics who make it dirty.”  

It was the Cardinal’s voice that called on the Filipinos to go to EDSA in February 1986 to protect the military and government men who were defecting from the dictator.  The late Church leader made his mark in Philippine politics.

What is politics, after all?  It is good governance and authentic public service – this is its truest definition.  It is not a dirty thing to be avoided.  It is what we need to put order in our society.  “The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics,” Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his first encyclical. 

The Pope further stated, “A just society must be the achievement of politics, not the Church.”  The Pope has called on the laity to take up the cause of a just society by participating in politics.  He wrote, “The direct duty to work for the just ordering of society… is proper to the lay faithful.”  This is the gospel of politics.

Responding to the call of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, which urged the Catholic lay faithful “to participate actively and lead in the renewing of politics in accordance with the values of the Good News of Jesus,” a band of ordinary Catholic lay faithful led by Nandy Pacheco and on fire to put their faith into action started a new political movement. 

The primary aim of the movement is the common good. The two major components of the movement are political education and political action. 

The vision of the movement is a new Philippines as a nation of character, enjoying a politics of virtue, good citizenship, duty, transparency, and accountability, and where every Filipino is living life to the fullest.

Soon, Filipinos of other faiths, like the Evangelicals, joined the movement, and in August 2002, this interfaith, nonpartisan, nonviolent, and communitarian political movement was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Kapatiran sa Pangkalahatang Kabutihan (KPK). 

It is on a mission to evangelize politics and awaken the laity and the rest of the citizenry to their duty to be vanguards of politics and good governance. 

New Politics 

KPK drew up a list of aspirations, but no political party took up its aspirations.  As a consequence, some KPK leaders led by Pacheco formed a new political party adapting the movement’s principles and aspirations as the party’s founding principles and political platform. The party will field candidates that fully believe in and live by its aspirations. 

On May 8, 2004, two days before the last national elections, the Commission on Elections accredited KPK’s political party, Ang Kapatiran, as a national political party. 

The party’s platform is open-ended and the party welcomes specific proposals that are consistent with its principles and that enhance the common good.

Ang Kapatiran’s new politics is focused more on moral principles than on political expediency, more on the needs of the poor and the vulnerable than on the interests of the rich and powerful, more on the pursuit of the common good than on the demands of special interests, and more on the culture of life and peace than on the culture of death and violence.

The party is anchored on universal moral principles like belief in God Almighty, the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person, preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, solidarity, commitment to the common good on all levels: in local communities, in our nation, in the community of nations; rights and responsibilities, care for God’s creation, people empowerment, and peace and active nonviolence.

“There is no way to escape politics,” declares Nandy Pacheco, founder and former president of both the political movement KPK and the political party Ang Kapatiran.  “Politics is like air. Without air we will die; unfortunately, we ourselves pollute the air. That’s why people develop respiratory ailments,” he says. Since 1989, Nandy has been fighting for a gun-less society.  “Let buy guns be bygones,” was a catchphrase he coined that used to be on a prominent billboard on EDSA.   

In 1995, when Pope John Paul II was going to visit the Philippines, a 21-gun salute was planned as a welcome for His Holiness, but Nandy, who was a member of the welcome and arrival committee, opposed that plan and the Vatican’s representative seconded it.

Nandy was a former international civil servant who served in high positions in the United Nations Information Center and the Asian Development Bank.  When he opted to take an early retirement in 1990, he was the highest-ranking Filipino in ADB.

Like cleaning polluted air, the task of cleaning up Philippine politics is gargantuan. But Ang Kapatiran is undaunted.

“We are evangelizing Philippine politics,” says Nandy, who now serves as the Secretary-General of the party.  He boldly declares, “We are the David’s, the trapos (traditional politicians) are the Goliaths.”   

The Ang Kapatiran party may be small like a David, but it charges with a sure aim with its clear and specific platform.  It is not intimidated by the political Goliaths with their machineries of guns, goons, and gold. 

Indeed, Ang Kapatiran is moving forward fearlessly like a David charging a Goliath. “We will surely topple down the Goliaths if we work together,” Nandy said confidently during the November 4, 2006 General Assembly when the new set of Ang Kapatiran officers and national committee chairpersons were presented and ratified.

“There can be no Easter Sunday without a Good Friday, no resurrection without the cross.  Right now, we are at the cross, but we will surely reach the resurrection,” Nandy declares passionately.

One of the original incorporators of the movement and the party, Mario Ongkiko, a prominent law practitioner, is back after taking leave and is now the new President of the party.  This is a welcomed development. Mario Ongkiko’s presence puts turbo power into the party as it prepares for the 2007 national elections.

The other incumbent officers of Ang Kapatiran are Manolo Dayrit as Chairman; David Lim as Vice-Chairman; Benny de Guzman as Vice President and Treasurer; Nonet Abellana as Vice President for Western Visayas; Feliciano Perater, Jr. as Vice President for Mindanao; Amador Astudillo and Rafael Enriquez as Deputy Secretary-Generals. 

Seventy-three years old and still going strong, Nandy is passionate about the cause of Ang Kapatiran and KPK.  “It is for our children, and their children, and their children’s children,” Nandy appeals.

Ang Kapatiran is now on an active search for principled Filipinos who will commit their futures to serving the Philippines and bringing it out of the bottom ranks.  It is possible to skyrocket the Philippines and make it catch up with the Asian tigers, but the prerequisite is good governance and a peaceful and just society.  “Ang Kapatiran is the antidote,” proposes Nandy.

New Methods 

What makes Ang Kapatiran unique?

First of all, Ang Kapatiran upholds a platform-based politics, in contrast to the personality-based, celebrity-driven politics that our countrymen have been subjected to election after election. 

Ang Kapatiran’s new method of campaigning includes a built-in education component that will promote basic political education, platform-based politics, and the politics of virtue and of duty, good citizenship, transparency and public accountability. 

Ang Kapatiran will accord the highest priority to projects and programs for the underprivileged, the homeless, the indigenous peoples, the elderly, the prisoners, the disabled, the veterans, and the youth. It will support nongovernmental organizations and communities whose projects and programs directly benefit the poor.

Ang Kapatiran is the only political party that will promote progressive disarmament nationally and internationally through the United Nations.  Ang Kapatiran promotes a “respect life” attitude in society and a consistent ethic of life. Thus, anyone running as a political candidate under Ang Kapatiran should not only be against abortion but also against anything that promotes violence in any form, even toy guns and violent movies. 

Ang Kapatiran will dismantle the social structures that glorify vices and immorality and the culture of death and violence and replace them with the structures of virtue, peace, responsibility, and achievement. 

Ang Kapatiran is for strict gun control in public places except for law enforcers who are in uniform and on duty.  It supports the abolition of the death penalty.  It is the only political party that is committed to abolish “pork barrel” and gambling, which discourages honest work and promotes poverty, fraud, and deceit.

Ang Kapatiran is for the immediate liquidation of cash advances of public servants.  Un-liquidated cash advances in the Philippine government already run in the billions.  It is against the unwholesome practice of setting up billboards in public places naming the public officials responsible for the project.  It will disallow elected and appointed public officials from writing regular columns, acting in movies, anchoring on radio, and appearing on television, commercials, and billboards.

As a preventive measure against corruption, Ang Kapatiran will do away with laws, rules, and regulations that give government personnel, like the BIR, the discretion to allow or disallow certain tax deductions and exemptions. 

Ang Kapatiran will limit future government borrowings within the growth levels of our exports, OFW remittances or GDP.  It will create micro-finance facilities harnessing OFW remittances and will encourage the development of new export products.

Ang Kapatiran is committed to protect God’s creation, the most important of which are people.  To protect people, Ang Kapatiran will promote a safe, clean, and wholesome environment – and that is environment in the broadest sense, which includes not only physical but also the social aspect.

New Fervor

A new fervor is rising for a new way of doing politics in thePhilippines.  KPK and Ang Kapatiran will go to the parishes and the dioceses to educate the laity about their responsibility to ensure the just ordering of society and to inject moral sense in the political process. It is now creating chapters all over the country and even abroad, wherever there are Filipinos.  As long as there are at least 10 members meeting regularly in a locality, that will comprise a chapter. 

Ang Kapatiran calls on all Filipinos, regardless of religious affiliation, to support its campaign for a new politics and help bring the good news that a newPhilippines is possible.  Don’t give up on the Philippines just yet.  It is time to stop complaining and for those with moral courage to step forward and run for public office.  

Consider the platform of Ang Kapatiran, and if you support it, join the party, help evangelize Philippine politics, and if you know anyone who wants to run under the banner of Ang Kapatiran, encourage him/her to contact the party. Website: www.angkapatiran.org  Telefax: (02) 635-27-96 Email: angkapatiranparty@yahoo.com Mobile: 0917-8826700. 

Return From Heaven

My dear friends, 

In May 2006, my 6-year-old son David suffered the fatal Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. David suffered beyond what any human can endure and he reached the point of death, but God powerfully intervened.  

The events surrounding David’s story are dramatic.  On June 8, 2006, 20 days after David crossed over to Heaven and then was brought back by the LORD to his mortal life, I made a synopsis of what took place and mentioned that there was more to the story that led to the miraculous revival of David.  

I burn with the desire to write the miracle story of David into a book, for it is a story needed by our generation, which has been thrown into confusion with claims against the divinity, the holiness, and the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.   

David was about to be wrapped by the nurse-aid with a post-mortem blanket, but I stormed the charity pedia ICU where David laid white, frigid and lifeless and I stormed the gates of Heaven, fell prostrate on the ICU floor, and declared the power and might of God with violent prayers and impassioned cries of worship. I did not stop praying and worshipping with loud acclamations until I felt that I had saturated the heavenlies with prayers and God was about to bring David back to life.  As soon as I thanked the LORD for bringing David back to life, David came back to life – his first breath came with such force that his torso was lifted up as though a machine lifted it, but all that time he was being pumped by hand by a resident while the attending resident did “ambu-bagging” and another resident and two nurses assisted.  No machine was used to revive David.  That first breath came after at least 45 minutes from the time I stormed the ICU.  If there were no miracle, David would have been brain-dead if he were revived after 5 or 6 minutes. But David is fully alive, completely healthy, back to Ateneo, in Grade 1, and very energetic and gregarious again!  Dear friends, he did reach death, and he speaks about his experience of Heaven, angels, and the LORD Jesus Christ.  What David has now is a totally brand new life recreated through the resurrection power of the LORD Jesus Christ.    

On September 21, 2006, David will turn 7, a birthday he almost would not have had.  Please remember our dear little David in your prayers on that very special day.  David asked me just some weeks ago, “Why didn’t Jesus take me?”  I was touched by his question.  It was as though he was trying to tell me that he was already happy in the presence of the LORD and there was no need to have come back to earth. I hugged him tightly and answered him, “Because you still have a purpose to fulfill on earth, David.”  

Whatever that purpose is, I know that it is precious and significant in the plans of God.  

I also know that my firstborn son came back to life because I asked the LORD for his life.  I asked knowing that WITH GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.  HE is the Resurrection and the Life.  God answered a mother’s fervent prayer.  In life, I experience not being heard, not being minded, not being taken seriously. But the EVERLASTING GOD, HE HEARD ME.  HE listened to my cries.  HE did not turn HIS face away from me.  HE believed me when I uttered my praises of HIM.  I totally trusted HIM and HE moved according to my level of faith in HIM which is complete. I completely trust the LORD, and HE proved Himself to me worthy of my complete trust. I held on to all the truths written in the Holy Scriptures about GOD and called forth these truths about His NAME, and HE demonstrated that HE IS everything that HE ever said HE IS.   

I will never stop thanking God for giving David back.  Just to be able to love David still, converse with him, look at him, embrace him, laugh with him, play with him, do his Ateneo homework with him, carry him … such moments I cherish with unspeakable awe.  And having experienced nearly losing a child, I have learned to cherish even more every moment with my four other children. How blessed I am to have all my five children still with me, and I am still with them.  God is good.  

God proved Himself true to the name that we gave David, a name derived from God’s manifold Names.  David’s full first name is David Elyon Shammah, which means ”Beloved of the Most High Who Is Always There.”  GOD made good HIS powerful Name to David and our family.  And HE can do the same for you, my friends.  He is our loving God, whose power is above all powers in heaven and on earth, and HE wants you to know that HE is always there for you. 

Ruby

Public Administration in the Philippines

In Dire Need Of A New Public Management Model 

By Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo  

 

Different Levels of Public Administration in the Philippines

             The Philippine Government is a presidential form with a Senate and a Congress and departments that rely on elected officials, i.e., the politicians, for their budget allocations.              

             Pork barrels have not been abolished; thus, public administration in our country is subject to whatever is the prevailing political climate among the Senate, Congress, and the Chief Executive’s office.  

 

Market Segmentation of Philippine Consumers

             My people, the Filipinos, are mostly poor.  Only 1% of our population are rich, or what marketers call Class AB.  Among the rich, there are three sub-classes, namely, the Established Rich like the Ayala family who owns the Makati Business District – the financial hub of the Philippines, the Smart Rich like rags-to-riches Manuel V. Pangilinan who rose from being poor to becoming an Asian oligarch through diligence and scholarships and a successful climb up the corporate ladder, and the Nouveau Rich who suddenly become rich usually through corrupt means or through large winnings like our phenomenal world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, who used to be a bakery worker. 

              The Upper C or Upwardly Mobile Middle Class, that is, those among the middle class who have received good education and have landed in occupations that may enable them to climb out of the middle class segment and possibly join the smart rich sub-class of Class AB, is only 9%.   

              The Broad C Class, who are characterized as downwardly mobile, meaning, they are getting poorer and poorer as a result of the economic and political instability in our country, is a big 45%.  They are the ones who rely on luck to better their lot.  Their class are the ones who queue in long lines to make lottery bets and who give the television networks their big bucks as those networks present game shows that thrive on the hopes of the majority of the Filipinos to become sudden millionaires and end their downwardly mobile lives. 

              We, thus, have a thinning middle class, which is supposed to be the backbone of an economy. 

              Low-income families and the poor, also called Class DE, comprise the remaining 45% of the Philippines’ consumer population.  Class D are the families of salesladies and domestic helpers. Class E are the ones seen on international television features as living off garbage dumps.  They are also found living on the precarious sides of railroads and squatting on unused lands.   

             No longer counted in the consumer classification of the Philippines are the hundreds of thousands of extremely poor who cannot anymore purchase anything.  They beg in the streets, rely on the wastes of fast food restaurants for their meals, and live and sleep under bridges or on pavements in sub-human conditions.  

 

Feasting on the Masses as a Revenue Source

              The consumer behavior of the Broad C, Class D, and even Class E segments have been fully exploited by the private sector and even by the Philippine Government.  After all, these segments comprise 90% of our population. The Government, for example, has made betting a way of life for the Filipinos through lotto, where winnings can go higher than the winnings of world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao.   

              Even the controversial illegal numbers game called “jueteng,” which has been a major source of campaign funds of several political candidates in the country since the last century, has recently crossed over to becoming legal since it cannot be stopped anyway and it is a sure moneymaking machinery for the Government. 

             Thus, on a significant scale, our Government earns for its upkeep from feasting on our nation’s poor, low-income, and downwardly mobile citizens whose sheer number in a population of 82 million can turn habitual bets of ten pesos or twenty pesos into millions and billions of pesos. 

             Our Government and economy are also kept afloat by the billion-dollar remittances of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), many of whom are doing servile tasks in difficult situations in other nations.  Again, sustaining the operations of public administration in our country are sourced from those who are already poor, oppressed, and desperate.  

 

Cost for Public Service

             Nationwide, there are public elementary schools and public high schools and public hospitals, but the state of public education and public health services in our country is pathetic in most areas. Only 2% of Grade Six public school students pass the national exams for entry into high school and only 1% of public high school students pass for entry into college.             

             Our poor die unnecessarily in public hospitals because of inadequate hospital equipment and medical materials.  A typical scene in public pediatric wards, for example, are two to four sick babies or children in one dilapidated pediatric bed with the parents sitting on a wooden bench side-by-side watching over their young ones.  And this scene happens in infectious wards where there should be quarantined areas and sanitation.           

             Thus, there may be free education and free hospital service in our country but the high cost is on the lives and futures of our citizens, who suffer bleak futures because of poor public education and unnecessary deaths because of inadequate public health and hospital service.             

 

National Debt

             The figures vary depending on the sources, but all things considered, our national debt figure has gone as high as 6 trillion pesos (US Dollar to Philippine Pesos currency exchange rates these days fluctuate between Php 51 to 52 to US$ 1).            

             Much of what our Government earns, thus, goes to debt servicing, with little left for public education and public health services.            

             We have come to a point wherein debt pardon is necessary, at least for the debts incurred dubiously, for example, during corrupt administrations, just so we can channel our budgets more for public service rather than for debt service.  

 

Main Problems

             From the point of view of the citizens, the main problem is the dirty politics of traditional politicians.  There is no end to election fraud and accusations of election fraud. Until now, the Commission on Elections is unable to get a clean contract to computerize elections, and so vote rigging is rampant. Then there are also politicians in power who bicker and accuse endlessly. Thus, our nation is in a constant mode of being destabilized from all sides – from those in power and those who are not in power. 

             From the point of view of entrepreneurs or the market, the main problem is graft and corruption in government offices.  It has become abnormal not to pay “under-the-table” to get a business permit or a government clearance.           

             From the point of view of politicians, the main problem is a personality-based politics wherein celebrities without any platform nor preparation for public service win by a landslide at the polls and end up mismanaging their public office and public funds.           

             From the point of view of public administration employees or civil servants, the main problem is low pay such that they need to earn extra from extortions and sideline-selling to adequately provide for their families.

Relevant Government Statements about Planned Reforms 

              In the President’s 2006 State of the Nation Address (SONA), she said that the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) has allowed the Government to make medium-term plans of building more roads to connect the many islands of the Philippine archipelago and thereby enhance commerce nationwide.  Her reforms have been more in the area of tax collection and public works and highways.

             However, the Government still plays an imposing role on the Filipino citizens with the EVAT reform, and this reform is more a stopgap measure rather than a total transformation in public service with a long-term effect.

Successful Example 

              I have seen an exemplary city, Makati City, which is well run by its mayor, lawyer Jejomar Binay.  But because he is vocal about his issues against the incumbent President, he is painted more as an opposition leader rather than a stalwart public servant whose public administration should be emulated.

              I have researched on the public school system of Makati City and have encountered up close the management of Mayor Binay’s office and the Makati City Hall, and I can say that the Makati public administration is a beacon in public service.

             The Makati senior citizens, for example, are called “seniorito citizens” as they are given more privileges than other senior citizens in the Philippines, like free movie viewing in any theater in Makati City. For Mayor Binay to think of serving in a special way the least of his constituents, the elderly, “the least” in the sense that they are no longer economically productive, shows the mayor’s intent to use his public office for genuine public service.

             Top in the priorities of Mayor Binay is public education.

             The Makati public schools are laced with IBM computers and audio-visual rooms and are actively involved in community development and the promotion of good citizenship in their respective communities. Also, the Makati public schools are regularly engaged in citywide academic competitions that challenge both the students and the teachers to strive for academic excellence.

             So important is public education in Makati that there is a public city college, which has now evolved into a university.  Note that this is not a state university but a city-initiated public college.  Makati, under the leadership of Mayor Jejomar Binay, is a trailblazer in public education and has not allowed the national state of public education to bring down its own standard in public education.

Key Success Factors           

            A key success factor in Makati City is a no-nonsense mayor who engages the thriving business sector of his city in sponsoring the development of the Makati public schools, who immediately stamps out corrupt police and engages media in his campaign to rid his city of corrupt civil servants, and who immediately rehabilitated and renovated the Makati City Hall so that it can serve his constituency with the same professionalism as the business sector that operate in his city.

             Most importantly, Mayor Binay does not make the poor his main source of city funds and revenues. His city earns enough from the city taxes of the business sector and the rich residents. Instead, he genuinely serves the poor in his city by giving them the best possible public education so that they can have more success climbing out of poverty when they enter the labor force.

           

            

              

How Do We Eradicate Poverty?

By Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

 

 

1. Housing for the Poor

It starts with having a home.

A family must have first and foremost a home from which to plan and strategize their move out of poverty, a home where they can feel safe, secure, and free from the fear of eviction or demolition.

I suggest, therefore, making as a top priority for poverty eradication projects of housing for the poor and relocation of the squatter communities out of urban places where they wallow in filth and diseases and haplessness and succumb to the temptations of crime and prostitution.

Urban planning is necessary where the leverages of slumlords for political gain must once and for all be disregarded. In fact, slumlords themselves have to face the law and be stopped from further exploiting the poor and they being exploited by politicians.

Professional squatters have to be identified and those families who are truly in the greatest need for permanent homes have to be given priority in the housing program.

We need to tap funding for housing beyond what the Government can supply. In our nation, housing for the poor is not progressing as fast as the proliferation of slums and slum dwellers, so private and non-government initiatives must be intensified.

2. Early Childhood Literacy Programs for the Poor

Next, we need literacy programs for the poor.

Quality education is the only permanent solution that we can give the poor so that they can help themselves climb out of poverty. Houses can be taken away by disaster or financial loss, but education cannot.

There must be educational interventions given to children aged 6 and below so that they can have a head start at learning, develop good study habits, and thus have a greater chance to survive the elementary, high school, and college years.

What children learn before the age of 12, especially before the age of 6, stay in their minds and hearts the longest and thus shape their characters and personalities the most.

There needs to be a link-up with private educators and with the Department of Education in starting literacy programs for preschool-aged children.

3. Medical and Health Programs for the Poor

Medical and health programs for the poor have to be improved.

Poor families become more destitute when an adult member who contributes to the family’s total income becomes ill.

Medicines and hospitalization are elusive for the poor. Some die or become permanently disabled needlessly because of dire poverty.

If the poor could have themselves confined in a public hospital, they usually have to share beds. In a pediatric infectious ward of a labor hospital, for example, it is a common sight to have two up to four children lying down on one pediatric bed. Sick babies, children, and adults die unnecessarily in public hospitals because of the lack of medical equipment and facilities.

We thus must ensure that the poor have access to medicines and medical help to ensure that they stay able-bodied and healthy enough to work and their children grow up healthy, able to go to school, and eventually become productive citizens.

4. Debt Pardon

If there are those who have become poor because of debts with the banks, there must be also a debt pardon and assets of these bankrupt families must be returned to them so that they can start anew.

The Government, therefore, needs to order the banks to review their roster of acquired assets and release back to their debtors their assets.

The LORD Himself commands this debt pardon to the Jews as their way to honor the Sabbath year and the Jubilee – there must be a pardon of debts and a return of acquired properties to those who had been indebted.

We cannot expect debt pardon from nations and foreign financial institutions if our country’s local banks themselves cannot pardon those among our people who have become poor and unable to pay their debts. Let us begin with our people, then I believe grace will also be shown our country when we as a Government and as a nation seek the pardon of our unbelievably enormous foreign debts.

A debt pardon to our nation will release more funds for education and social services which are fundamental tools to eradicate poverty.

5. Migration

Migration is always an alternative to look into when certain areas are no longer fit for the survival of a certain population.

I would like to suggest the movement of poor communities from crowded urban areas to underdeveloped regions of our country and simultaneously our Government and development organizations directing investments, development assistance, and infrastructure development to these areas of relocation. This ties up with my first suggestion of housing for the poor as a top priority to take in the agenda of halving the poverty incidence in the Philippines by 2015.

Livelihood opportunities have to be near or within the houses of these relocated communities. Financial stewardship and entrepreneurship must be part of the public education system and public training programs to equip the poor in handling microfinance assistance.

6. Righteous Leadership

What is a righteous leader?

The most straightforward way that I can define a “righteous leader” is a shepherd after God’s own heart who will shepherd a people with knowledge and understanding. The Scripture passage on which I have based this definition is found in Jeremiah 3:15.

Jeremiah 3:12-15

12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt– you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you–one from a town and two from a clan–and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

All the programs that I have suggested can be carried out when we have a nation led by leaders who are after God’s own heart, not compromising virtue and duty for favors. The Creator of all things promises to give such leaders to a nation that acknowledges its guilt and returns to Him.

We know what we are guilty of as a nation – prostitution on all levels of our society. We sell what is sacred, like the votes we cast or our positions of influence or the very lives and future of our children, for unrighteous gain. It is time we return to God, clear our conscience, and on the next national and local elections, vote wisely for men and women who can shepherd us after God’s own heart and who will lead us with knowledge, understanding, and a clear and specific platform that upholds moral and creational norms that are aligned with the standard of a holy God.

Kalungkutan

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

Walang kalungkutang mas sisidhi pa kaysa kalungkutang dulot ng pagiging malayo sa asawa, anak, o magulang. Minsan, nakalilimot sa sarili ang isang taong malungkot na malungkot. Nagagawa niya tuloy ang di niya akalaing magagawa niya tulad ng pakikiapid, pagkalulong sa bisyo, at sa kung anu-ano pang magbibigay ng pansamantalang ligaya.

Kasalanan man ayon sa Salita ng Diyos ang kanyang ginagawa, hindi pa rin niya mapigilan ang sarili na gawin ito. Madalas, tila hindi naman ito mali dahil nawawala ang kanyang lungkot at nakatutulong pa nga para mas maging produktibo siya o mahusay sa trabaho, dahil ito ang nagiging inspirasyon niya o libangan.

Minsan, gusto nating mapag-isa, marahil dahil masyadong maingay at magulo ang mundong ating ginagalawan. Minsan, nalulungkot tayo dahil hindi natin kayang matupad ang ating ninanais. Minsan, malungkot tayo dahil ganyan lamang ang takbo ng ating mood sa araw na iyon. Hindi ganitong kalungkutan ang tinutukoy ko.

Ang kalungkutan na aking isinasalaysay ay ang pagiging mag-isa, walang minamahal na kasama hindi lang sa isang araw o isa o dalawang linggo kundi isa o dalawang taon o higit pa. Hindi mabigkas na lungkot – malawak, malalim, at masidhing kalungkutan na kayang tumulak sa isang lalaki or babae na gumawa ng imoralidad.

Minsan, nakaranas ako ng ganitong kalungkutan. Tumagal nang apat ng buwan. Hindi ako OFW nang nangyari ito kundi young professional na gustong mamuhay na independente sa magulang. Excited akong kumuha ng sarili kong condominium unit at mga kasangkapang pambahay at makaalis mula sa aming bahay. Ngunit nang makamit ko ang tinatamasang pag-iisa, nadama ko ang kakaibang pagkawala. “Ganito pala,” naisip ko, “ganito pala ang tunay na kalungkutan.” Ang sugat na dala ng panahon na iyon sa akin ay malalim. Sa aming bahay, dahil sa labis na kalungkutan ng aking ama nang nawalay ako sa piling niya, nagkaroon ng komplikasyon ang kanyang diabetes hanggang ito’y umabot sa kanyang kamatayan. Nayakap ko ang aking ama bago siya pumanaw, ngunit huli na.

Nakamamatay ang labis na kalungkutan.

Naiisip ko si Jesus. Wala nang makahihigit pa sa kalungkutan ni Jesus nang Siya’y nakapako sa krus upang bayaran ang ating mga kasalanan at sa oras na iyon Siya’y wala sa presensiya ng Kanyang Ama. Sa Mateo 27:46 nakasulat, “Nang mag-iikasiyam na ang oras, si Hesus ay sumigaw nang may malakas na tinig. Sinabi niya: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? Ang ibig sabihin nito ay: Diyos ko, Diyos ko, bakit mo ako pinabayaan?”

Naiintindihan ng Panginoong Hesus ang ating kalungkutan.

Kung sakaling nadarama mo ang masidhing kalungkutan at pangungulila, lapitan mo ang Panginoon at lalapit Siya sa iyo. Talikdan mo ang kasalanang nakapagpapalayo sa iyo sa Diyos. Iwasan mo ang kaaway ng iyong kaluluwa at lalayo ito sa iyo. At ang kapayapaan ni Kristo na hindi di-malirip ang siyang pupuno at mag-iingat sa iyong puso’t kaisipan. (Filipos 4:7)

Labing-limang taon na ang nakalilipas mula nang binigyan ng Diyos ng kapahingahang walang hanggan ang aking ama. Sa nangyayaring krisis sa ating bansang Pilipinas ngayon, malakas ang pagnanasa kong maging-OFW. Ngunit laging naaalala ko kung paano mawalay sa isang minamahal at hindi ko magawang iwanan ang aking asawa at mga anak para maging-OFW. Kaya’t para sa ating mga OFW, alam kong matindi ang tinitiis ninyong pag-iisa at alam kong madalas kinakailangan ninyong maging manhid para maituloy ang inyong buhay at trabaho sa ibang bansa. Dakila ang inyong pagsasakripisyo. At kung saan man kayo ngayon, alalahanin ninyo na si Kristo ay sapat upang ihilom ang inyong kalungkutan.

Freedom to Write and Be Heard

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

Ideas shape destiny. Ideas change nations. What Mahatma Gandhi said is tested and true: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

The written word has the power to transform. It carries the feature of being binding, as with a contract, and being transcendent, as with a published work read across nations and by generations yet to come.

From the cuneiform of the Sumerians to blogging, 3000 years of writing has made humans more human.

What makes us human after all? Isn’t it the ability to imagine and remember? Isn’t is the capacity to reflect? Writing has given avenue for these human capacities to be developed.

Now, writing has taken a quatum leap through the global phenomenon of blogging.

What is blogging?

Simply defined, blogging is writing unlimited, publishing immediate. It is giving a writer and thinker the absolute freedom to write and be read and be written back to right away.

Blogging is the ultimate experience of “expressing yourself” without the danger of other self-expressions, like in extreme sports. It is the best avenue so far to influence the thinking of other people. It sets you completely free to tell others what you think. It is uncensored global publication.

How about podcasting?

Within a blog, you can also podcast, which is an audible program distributed through the Internet.

Unlike radio and television programs, podcasts can be heard anytime and anywhere. Podcasts have intensified the power of the spoken word and music.

Together, blogging and podcasting are bringing humanity closer to its aspiration of full freedom for the human spirit.

Hands-On Workshop on Blogging and Podcasting

From July 4 to 6, 2006, the Manila office of the Friedrich Nuamann Foundation (FNF) conducted a blogging and podcasting workshop called Express Yourself! Reloaded. The workshop transformed 18 communicators selected by FNF from various sectors and three Asian nations (Philippines, Indonesia, and Korea) into adept bloggers and podcasters.

Top bloggers Manuel Quezon III, Abe Olandres, and Angelo Racoma share their valuable skills and insights into the most phenomenal new media thus far to unleash the full power of the written and spoken word – blogging and podcasting.

Spearheading the workshop is Dr. Ronald Meinardus, who is the FNF country representative. FNF is a German-sponsored political organization dedicated to the promotion of liberalism.

To know more about “Express Yourself! Reloaded” and FNF, visit www.fnf.org.ph

Workshop Outputs

This post “Freedom to Write and Be Heard” is my output in the blogging session held on Day One of the workshop. Here I applied blogging techniques and styles which I did not know before. For example, I learned how to improve the scanability of my posts and blog by using breaks, pictures, captions, and subheadings with boldfaced fonts.

On Day Two, we learned how to podcast. If you want to listen to my group’s podcast, click here. The material that we used for the podcast was based on my article “A Government Under God,” which you can find in this blog that I created during the workshop, pinay@heart.

Day Three was spent listening to and critiquing the podcasts created by our class. Listen to another interesting podcast produced during our workshop, and take note of the identity of my male classmate who was interviewed in that podcast (a former senior government official). I find his views very enlightening and informative.

In the final session of Day Three, Abe and Angelo talked about how to increase the marketability of your blogs and podcasts.

If you want to experience the well-produced podcasts of FNF, click here.

Ang Diaspora Ng Mga Filipino

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

Sabi ko sa aking mga anak, “Mag-o-OFW na lang ako, mga anak. Dalawang taon lang. Tiyak kong makaiipon ako kung mag-o-OFW ako. Dito sa ating bansa, hindi tayo makaipon, hindi tayo makaahon sa hirap… Habang malakas pa ako at bata pa.”

Ilang beses ko nang nasabi ito sa aking mga anak. Alam nila ang ibig sabihin ng kanilang ina dahil ilang taon na rin silang nakararanas na hindi sigurado kung sila’y makakakain pa, makaaaral pa, makakatira pa rin sa bahay na may ilaw o’ muli na namang gagamit ng kandila at kung darating na ang mga tauhan ng bangko upang palayasin kami sa aming bahay na foreclosed.

Walong taon na ang nakalilipas nang ginawa kong kolateral para sa negosyo ang tahanan na namana ko mula sa aking mga magulang. At nang hindi na nakaya ng aking negosyo ang pataas nang pataas na interes ng bangko at renta sa puwestong komersyal habang may malawakang krisis sa Asya, nagsara na lamang ako ng negosyo, isang popular na domestic ticketing office. Noong mga panahon na iyon, may kanser ang aking ina at nalumpo ng arthritis at gout ang aking asawa. Kasasara pa lamang ng aking negosyo nang namatay ang aking ina. Himalang nakalakad naman ang aking asawa. At sa disenyo ng Panginoon, kami’y nagkaroon ng dalawa pang anak.

Ngayon ay lima na ang aking mga anak. Isang taong gulang pa lamang ang bunso ko at labing-tatlong taong gulang ang aking panganay. Habang sinusulat ko ito, nakaratay muli ang aking asawa nang ilang linggo dahil sa arthritis at gout. Sa palagay niya ay hindi na siya makalalakad pa. Mahinang-mahina na siya. Malambot na’t payat ang dati niyang maskuladong katawan. Natural medicines lamang ang naibibigay ko sa kanya, dahil ito lamang ang aking kayang bilhin. Libre man ang doktor, hindi ko kaya ang mga gastusin para sa medical examinations at pagpapa-ospital, di tulad nang dati.

Kamakailan lamang, natanggap ko ang kopya ng sulat ng bangko na humihingi ng writ of possession mula sa korte upang magkaroon sila ng karapatang lusubin ang aming tahanan at palayasin kami. Araw na lamang ang binibilang ko bago kunin ng bangko ang aming nag-iisang tahanan. Napakaliit pa ng aking mga anak at nag-iisa lamang ako sa pag-aalaga sa kanila at sa aking may-sakit na asawa.

May isang matalik na kaibigan ang aking asawa. Filipino rin siya. Australia ang oportunidad na inihahandog niya sa amin. Sabi niya ay may gustong kumuha sa akin bilang manunulat para sa isang bagong Filipino magazine sa Australia. Ito na yata ang pagkakataong hinihintay ko. Mahal na mahal ko man ang bansa ng aking lahi at nais kong patuloy na pagsilbihan ito, hirap na hirap na ang aking pamilya sa Pilipinas. Ngunit sa kabutihan ng Diyos, hindi ko kailangang iwanan pa ang aking pamilya. Sasama sila sa akin.

Sasama ako sa anod ng aking lahi

Lalayo sa bansang sinisinta

Dito, sa Perlas ng Silangan, ako idinuyan

Ng aking ina’t ama

At dito ko rin sila huling niyakap bago sila’y nahimlay

Ngayo’y mga anak ko ang aking yakap-yakap

Kinabukasan nila ang aking inaalala

Nag-iisa na lamang ako, ulila; asawa’y nanghihina

Tahanan nami’y acquired asset na lamang ng bangko

Sasama na ako sa anod ng aking lahi

Kung saan may bukang-liwayway

Sabi ng maraming Filipino

Sa mga bansang kung saan sila’y dayuhan

At ang tinig nila’y naiiba

Doo’y puso nila’y muling umaalab na may pag-asa

Buhay sumasagana

Di ko akalain, ako rin pala

Sasama sa Diaspora ng mga Filipino

 

 

 

David’s Story

When You Storm The Gates Of Heaven

My 6-year old son David came out from the hospital on May 25, 2006, miraculously surviving the worst state of Dengue 4, also called Dengue Shock Syndrome, which is the terminal stage of the hemorrhagic fever and which only a handful survive. The miracle that David received is a story of the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ who rescued David from death in an extraordinary way. I cannot put the event into a few words. I must write a book about it and a film script to capture the incredible drama that only the Author of the parting of the Red Sea and Author of life itself can weave.

As God rescued David, HE mobilized an outpouring of help in funds and blood donations and non-stop mighty prayers and vigils from the Christ Commission Fellowship and its home school The Master’s Academy from where my eldest child Nicole just recently graduated, from the Ateneo community and the amazing networks of people connected with the Ateneo Grade School and Ateneo High School parents in Metro Manila, in the provinces, and in other countries, from Centro Montessori where my husband Syd is the P.E. Coach and our second daughter Jireh is a student, from WordCom – the church to which my husband’s friend Jojo Lastimosa and the pediatrician who attended to David in Cardinal Santos Hospital belong, from the families and coaches of the Alaska Basketball Power Camps and the players and coaches of the Alaska Aces PBA team, and from close relatives. Jojo Lastimosa played a most crucial role in the rescue of David, and this I will fully relate in the book and the film script. David was a Prep student of the Ateneo Grade School in the last school year and incoming Grade 1 this June. Cardinal Santos Hospital was overwhelmed by the number of visitors and blood-donor volunteers that went to aid David during the days when he was in the Cardinal Santos ICU.

On May 23, my birthday, David finally came back to full life, after having been in the ICU for several days. David’s life is the greatest birthday gift that I had ever received. Yet, God still granted me one more wonderful birthday gift — one Ateneo High School co-parent generously offered us her vacant house in Xavierville I so that David could have the best environment to recover well and be near the Ateneo de Manila University. We brought David home to Xavierville I in Loyola Heights, Quezon City on May 25.

In the morning of May 18 when David died and was resurrected by the LORD, Metrobank took over our home in Cubao. My husband left David and me the night before David’s unexpected death to evacuate our four other children who were left by themselves in our Cubao home. I was all alone in the first hospital to which a colleague in a political movement that I was part of took us.  Only when I was walking on the Ateneo soccer field where David and his little brothers and older sisters were happily running and enjoying a wonderful late afternoon, as they had always done, did I understand the role this man played in the whole dramatic rescue of David from the grave. Not having funds to have David hospitalized, we went with this rich colleague when he offered to bring David to the hospital not knowing that he would bring us to the charity hospital Quirino Memorial Medical Center until it was within my sight from his chauffered car, which we were riding in. After he left us in that hospital, the agony of David began. By our second early morning in Quirino, David had a cardiac arrest and was about to be wrapped in a post-mortem blanket when I stormed into the charity ICU and fell prostrate on the floor, facing David and the three residents and two nurses who were attempting to revive him, and I stormed the gates of heaven. “I WILL STORM THE GATES OF HEAVEN, LORD!” I declared and wailed with all my might and I prayed like I had never prayed before, declaring who God is and all His miracles in the Bible and His Will for David, which I knew was for a full and long life on earth.

My friends, the story is much more. Pray for me as I write this true story of God’s resurrection power. I am the only witness who can tell the story as it fully happened, particularly those 45 minutes when David laid lifeless on a three-and-a-half foot bed, his legs sticking out of the bars of his tiny bed, his whole body lying on a thin cushion white and frigid, and his eyes protruding out of their sockets and those 20 more minutes when a mechanical vent was forced into his throat to aid him in breathing after his first breath finally came out. The CPR was done by hand by the residents. There were no equipment used to help bring David come back to life except for a green plastic bag connected to David through his nose and manually pumped by the attending resident to supply air into David’s lungs. Quirino denies that David had a cardiac arrest and was given CPR. Why the Quirino residents who attended to David are denying, I can only speculate, giving them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps they are thinking that they cannot report something which they cannot explain, for what happened during those 45 minutes and the 20 minutes that followed right after David had his first breath was supernatural. Or perhaps their reason for denying is different and selfishly ignoble, like the fear of losing their residency and their chance to be doctors. I will leave that to the medical community to handle, for I will also furnish the exemplary doctors of Cardinal Santos Hospital my narrative of David’s story for them to be able to act on the state of medical services that Quirino, which is a government hospital, renders its patients, many of whom, as I witnessed, die unnecessarily, including my beloved David.

My friends, God has honored all my “widow’s mite” and has opened the floodgates of heaven to bless my family right now. The LORD did not allow us to be homeless, and HE turned my sorrow into joy, my mourning into celebration, when HE gave David back to me, back to this world among the living. In our family’s new life, I now have this chance to write a book and a film script to permanently record the magnificent power of God over death. Please continue to wrap us with your prayers. We are living on the grace of God, who is supplying our needs faithfully as we live out our new life.

David is back to full life, and even a greater life than he ever had. There is no damage to his brain, eyes, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, and any other vital organ nor to his senses. This is the answer to my cry to God when I was on the floor of the Quirino ICU violently pleading God for David to come back to life, and not only life but full life and a greater life than he ever had. If you see David now, it is as though nothing happened, but he still has his “nail marks” like peeling skin because he bloated with blood and water which escaped from his cells at the height of his Dengue 4 – his torso from scrotum upward and his brain had water and his skin was stretched to the maximum, he still has wounds from the needles recklessly stuck into him at Quirino and a slightly bloated abdomen because the base of his lungs still has water. On June 5, 2006, I walked David to the Ateneo Grade School for his first day of Grade 1 class. He was the first to stand in the Grade 1 line. He arrived in school early, and full of new hope. His Prep teachers, who saw him in the Cardinal Santos ICU, were so happy to see him back to the Ateneo. By the time David turns 7 years old on September 21, 2006, he will be fully well. Oh, my son, when I look at him, I remember his lifeless body, his lifeless face with his eyes staring upward, and the immense suffering his body underwent in Quirino, but when I see his face now, his smile, his beaming innocent eyes, I can only praise God, and I will praise HIM forever for my son was dead and now he is alive again, and he is living life to the fullest!

When I write the book, the title that I have in mind is the very first statement spoken to me by David’s attending physician at Cardinal Santos Hospital when she arrived in ICU # 12. She did not know what I did at the ICU of Quirino six hours earlier nor, as I came to know later on, was it reported to her by Quirino that David arrived in Cardinal Santos post-arrest. While standing beside David, who was unconscious and was lying on a large push-button ICU bed getting the best ICU care with high-tech equipment attached to him but whose vital signs were all at the edge of death, pediatrician Dr. Dolly Bustamante said to me, “WHEN YOU STORM THE GATES OF HEAVEN, HOW CAN GOD NOT ANSWER!” When she said this, I knew that David was already in the very hands of the LORD GOD Almighty, and HE Himself had just answered me. It was as though God Himself said to me, “WHEN YOU STORM THE GATES OF HEAVEN, HOW CAN I NOT ANSWER?!” The hours and days ahead were full of miracles, moment by moment, each improvement was a miracle, and David’s speedy recovery amazed the doctors and the medical staff of Cardinal Santos. When David was finally out of danger and the role of the intensivist, who took care of David for four days at the Cardinal Santos ICU, was over, I thank him repeatedly. As I held his hand, my tears flowed, and his eyes also turned bleary, and he pointed upward and said, “The LORD!” For truly, David surviving was all in the hands of God, even when he was finally placed in the care of the best doctors and one of the very best hospitals in our country. I asked God while in Quirino, when David came back to life, “LORD, give David doctors who fear You,” for I knew that the little amount of life that David had when God restored him in Quirino had to be nurtured with compassion, so when I heard Dr. Dolly speak with faith and saw how skillfully the intensivist Dr. William Bayhon handled David, I knew God answered my prayer. And even when the intensivist said to me that David had less than 50% chance to survive, I took that “less than 50%” with hope, for I had seen David come from zero – from no life – and I knew that through the mighty prayers and the continual storming of the gates of heaven by the many who had come to know about David’s condition, God would answer and make David recover miraculously. In Quirino while lying prostrate on the floor lifting up my voice to God with violent passion, I had a vision of the Spirit of Jesus carrying the spirit of David back toward life, but I saw only the LORD’s footprints as HE walked on the sand. It was Jesus, the Son of the living God, who was in-charge now, and HE was using every one who came to David in the Name of the LORD to restore David to full life – this I knew.

If I communicated with you by text or conversation, or a text about David’s condition reached you during those days in May, or you visited David at the ICU and/or donated blood and hospital funds for him, please write me back. Let me thank you for being part of God’s miracle in David’s life and let me know your end of this amazing story. I want to reconstruct those days in the book and the film script. I know that many, many people were involved in this miracle. David’s story is also a story of the unity of the Body of Christ. Please email me at rubycalo@yahoo.com or rubycalo@gmail.com. Let your stories be woven into this story of the resurrection power of the living God and together let us testify to the whole world that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and HIS resurrection was for real, and HE reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo
Mother of David Elyon Shammah Calo (David’s name literally means, “Beloved of the Most High Who Is Always There”)

Not Personalities, But Character and Platform

 

By Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

A CALL FOR SERVANT-LEADERS willing to run for national and local public office has been launched by Ang Kapatiran.

Ang Kapatiran is a national political party accredited by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on May 8, 2004, two days before the last national elections. “I see it as God’s protection,” says Ang Kapatiran founding President Nandy Pacheco, who is known for his tireless campaign for a gun-less society. “We are able to start clean, free from any moral blemish, and not affected by the controversies of the last election.”

What exactly is a “servant leader”? Pacheco likens a servant leader with Christ, who washed the feet of His disciples. Pacheco explains, “To lead, one has to serve.” He echoes the teaching of Christ, “He who is first must be last.”

“This servant-leadership is quite unlike the behavior of many of our politicians today,” Pacheco continues. “There is so much wanton greed, so much lording over one’s followers, so much vanity, arrogance, deception, and hypocrisy. Moral principles are set aside in pursuit of power. Corruption and unethical practices abound.”

What makes Ang Kapatiran a different kind of political party?

“In Ang Kapatiran, principles and platform come first before personalities,” Pacheco states. “This is not so with traditional political parties, which promote personalities, patronage, and pay-off. The people have grown accustomed to focusing on celebrity politics or the politics of personality resulting in the wholesale failure of the people to express their collective aspirations, what they want to become, the kind of society they want to have, and how to move from the present condition to the condition they want to reach.”

Pacheco continues, “With common good as its ideology, Ang Kapatiran is founded on ‘rock’ made up of universal principles such as the dignity of human life, solidarity, preferential option for the poor, rights of workers, dignity of labor, peace, active nonviolence, and progressive disarmament. Ang Kapatiran plays the role of catalyst and broker for the people’s aspirations. The Filipino should be a stakeholder in the party and not a mere onlooker.

“Ang Kapatiran promotes the politics of virtue, duty, good citizenship, transparency, and public accountability. Our party believes that the cultivation of virtue makes individuals happy, wise, competent, and courageous. The result is a good person, responsible citizen, and trusted leader. Without a virtuous people, society cannot function well. Without a virtuous society, individuals cannot realize their own or the common good.”

“Ang Kapatiran is the antidote to trapo-ism,” adds Pacheco.

For those unfamiliar with Philippine politics, the coined term trapo-ism has a double meaning: trapo is a nickname for traditional politics, but at the same time trapo is a Filipino word that means dirty rags, a phrase that connotes all the negative aspects of traditional Philippine politics.

At the core of the tenets of Ang Kapatiran is the belief in non-violent change. “We want to change the politics of guns, goons, and gold. Non-violent change also means elections, whether snap or regular. A snap or special election may happen. No one is certain what’ll happen,” Pacheco says, referring to the current volatile situation in the Philippines.

The vision of Ang Kapatiran is a Philippine society where everyone can live life in its fullness; its mission is to build a nation of character. In Ang Kapatiran, the moral, intellectual, and physical fitness of the candidates and a platform with clear and specific policy objectives go together. “One without the other is useless,” states Pacheco.

The party is now actively recruiting members from which servant leaders will emerge. Individuals interested in joining the party and running for public office may log on to www.kpkcommongood.blogspot.com to know more about the party. Party membership is a condition precedent to becoming a candidate. A candidate must be a registered member of Ang Kapatiran, have all the qualifications required by the Constitution and the laws, believe in and live by the founding principles of the party, accept and pledge to implement the platform in its totality, accept the notion of servant-leader, be morally, physically and technically fit to serve, have a university or a college degree, have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, and observe the party’s code of conduct, rules, and regulations.

Interested potential candidates for national office (for the positions of President, Vice President, and Senator) are requested to submit their bio-data together with a recent photograph to the Qualification Committee of Ang Kapatiran at the following address: 377 Columbia Street, Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila. For inquiries, call or fax 6352796, or e-mail alliance_commongood@yahoo.com.

Those applying must indicate on the cover letter of their application the region they are from and the office(s) they are interested in ranked according to preference.

Ang Kapatiran invites all Filipinos of goodwill to become its members and make a difference. Pacheco states, “There is no socio-political transformation until the people themselves say what kind of society they want and how to pass from their present condition to the condition they want to reach.”

Pacheco appeals to every patriotic Filipino, “We can’t rebuild this nation without you.”

 

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo is a freelance writer, author, and book editor. She is a charter member of Ang Kapatiran. Email her at rubycalo@yahoo.com

 

Why Is Our Country What It Is Today?

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

IT SEEMED INNOCENTLY ASKED in a small group of “home-school mothers,” that is, mothers whose children are home-schooled and who are the teachers of their children, the question, “So why is our country what it is today?”

The subject being discussed was “teaching History.” I was part of that small group, having a home-schooled 13-year-old daughter in Grade 7 and that small group was comprised of parents of Grades 6 and 7 home-school students. The facilitator, a fellow home-school mother, happened to be looking at me when she asked, as though I had the ready answer to that enigmatic question.

“Well,” I said, a bit jolted out of my listening mode and now readying myself to share my nugget of insight, “I know you’ve heard this many times, but I think it’s really true: Corruption is the main reason for our poverty.”

I thought that they would find my answer a cliché not worth probing into, but there they were, ready to hear some more from me.

So I went on. “Consider how Israel has turned their deserts into productive lands,” I said. “The Philippines is so rich in natural resources, and yet we are so poor. Why? Because of corruption. Corruption has become endemic to the Philippines.”

At this point, a mother tried to reinforce my opinion by saying, “The Filipinos are really corrupt.” On hearing this, I clarified my point. “No, it’s not the Filipinos; it’s the system that has become entrenched in our country. Why is it that when you take the Filipinos out of this country, they thrive, they succeed?” That question made the mothers rethink their assessment of who we are as a people. It was like an “aha” or a “light bulb” experience. Our self-image as a people has certainly been trodden, and we need to see who we really are as a people.

“We have been slaves for centuries,” pointed out the facilitator.

“Oh, but you are looking at only our history during the Spanish times and onwards,” I answered.

Again, the mothers seemed to have been shaken out of a certain mode of thinking. They realized that indeed we Filipinos know very little of who we were before Spain colonized us. I pointed out to them that the Philippine History books that we use in schools go back only as far as our Hispanic times, but we had a “pre-Hispanic” past when our archipelago had great kingdoms and was an established destination for trade.

I shared with the home-school mothers some stories about our “pre-Hispanic” history like the little-known anecdotes about the greatness of Princess Urduja who ruled a pre-Hispanic northern kingdom in our archipelago. Also, being married to a Butuanon, I had a reservoir of stories about the Butuan Kingdom that I shared with them. “Before there was the Philippines, there was the Butuan Kingdom, Dr. Sonia Zaide wrote in her monograph Butuan: The First Kingdom,” I said to them. Just a few notes and samplings of our glorious past before we were subjugated by Spain were enough to inspire these women, who have taken upon themselves to personally educate their children.

I expressed to these mothers a conclusion. I said, “I believe that if we could go back to our roots before the Spanish came and realize that we are a great people, we would be able to rebuild our national identity and move forward better as a people.”

I quoted to them what I had heard from Filipino author and sociologist and President of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC), Dr. Melba Padilla Maggay, who in turn quoted from a book, “If you want to have an impact in history, you must first be rooted in a place.” Dr. Maggay further said, “When people are oppressed, they mal-adjust to the oppressive structures.” This is how she explained the negative traits that have developed in the Filipino since oppressive nations ruled our people.

We therefore should know our real roots as a race before nations came to rule over us so that we can define our true traits as a people before we mal-adjusted to oppressive structures. If we make the effort to discover our pre-Hispanic past, then we shall see that Filipinos are not intrinsically corrupt, otherwise we would not have been for a thousand years, before Spain arrived, a great trading destination; that we Filipinos are not meant to be in mere servitude to other nations for our islands and our forefathers were known for the gold they possessed. When we realize this, we can move ourselves out of the “we are a corrupt people” mode and “we are slaves” mode and say to ourselves instead, “I belong to a great and blest race and I will be part of making this nation great again.”

Ruby Ann Kagaoan-Calo is a contributing writer of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC, Tel. 922-9420) and member of the national movement Kapatiran Sa Pangkalahatang Kabutihan (KPK, also known as the Alliance For The Common Good, http://kpkcommongood.blogspot.com). Ruby’s daughter Nicole has been a student of The Master’s Academy Home School, http://www.tmahomeschool.ccf.org.ph). Send comments to rubycalo@yahoo.com.

A Government Under God

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

My search for understanding on the topic of democracy was triggered by the manuscript in-the-making of author-speaker Dave Magalong, who was writing a groundbreaking book on “Building A Nation Of Character.” Dave touched on democracy.

 

I wanted to find out if the ideals of democracy should really be what we should strive for, as Dave suggested in his early draft. In my research, I realized that the Greeks developed the idea of democracy, which is, as we know by rote, a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. It is a rule of the majority, who are represented by elected public officials.

 

Searching further, I pondered on the form of government the Hebrew people had before they asked for a king to rule over them like the nations around them had. It dawned on me that before the Hebrews had a king their form of government was a theocracy, wherein God directly guided the Hebrews through the prophets and judges. Samuel was the last judge of the Hebrews and he was also a prophet, and giving way to the clamor of the Hebrews for a king, the tall and stately Saul was anointed by Samuel to be the first king of Israel.

 

If the Hebrews did not insist on a change in their form of government, God’s form of government for His chosen nation would not have departed from theocracy. Later on, when the shepherd David ruled as king over the Hebrews, theocracy was in essence restored as the form of government of the Hebrews because King David ruled under the Lordship of God. Central to the governance of King David was the 24-hour daily praise and worship lifted up to the one true God. He assigned four thousand singers to praise and worship the LORD night and day. And King David’s reign became the greatest period of Israel’s history.

 

I concluded that a government under God is therefore the ideal form of government — a government whose officials are divinely guided.

 

I quickly reflected on the present state of the nations of the world and realized that my conclusion was not far-fetched.

 

Norway is one of the best countries in the world, all things considered, yet it is not a democracy. It is, in fact, a socialist country; not only that, it is still ruled by a monarchy but also has a constitution. Thus, Norway is a socialist, constitutional monarchy. Yet consider this, in terms of its economy it ranks always among the top 10 in the world. It has such a strong economy that it did not even have to join the European Union to secure its trade and labor amidst globalization. Norway does not have to be under the mercy of any other state or amalgamation of states. Even in the aspect of oil, it does not have to be, as with most nations, at the mercy of the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), the consortium of oil-producing Arab nations that supply most of the world with crude oil. Why? Well, God has blessed Norway with the discovery of ample fuel and energy source in the North Sea, which is west of Norway. Norway, in fact, supplies oil to the Scandinavian and northern European nations.

 

Not only is its economy blessed, its society is also blessed — with a well-preserved, majestic environment and people who value integrity and honesty. A few years back, Reader’s Digest did a study that tested and compared the degrees of honesty of peoples of different nations. That test entailed a wallet filled with money that would be intentionally left unattended. The wallet contained information where it could be returned. The nations whose people returned the wallet 100% were Norway and Denmark. The other more popular western and Asian countries had dismal results. One can conclude that Norway has a people of character.

 

Another positive aspect of the character of Norwegians is generosity. I remember former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said in a television feature, “For every dollar the U.S. gives to charity, Norway gives 20 dollars.” He was noting how the U.S., known for giving to the nations, actually still paled in comparison to Norway when it came to generosity.

 

Going back to the economy of Norway, it is highly diversified and balanced, meaning, unlike the Philippines which remains eighty-percent agricultural, Norway makes sure that no one industry or economic sector dominates and that it can generate wealth from its rich natural resources in many ways, not just from agriculture. The contribution of agriculture to Norway’s economy is 19%. Besides agriculture, Norway has a highly developed power and energy industry, a strong banking and finance sector, and world famous maritime and marine industries. Remember the legendary seafarers called the Vikings? Well, those Vikings were the predecessors of the Norwegians, and until now Norwegians have kept their maritime industry strong and superior. And how about the famous Norwegian salmon — nothing like it.

 

I can only surmise that the king of Norway must be just and benevolent. Although he is a king, he allowed his people to draft and ratify a constitution and he abides by this constitution. Because he is a leader of character, his government can carry out the true form of a socialist society, where wealth is equitably distributed and accessible to all. We can’t say the same for other socialist countries, which are characterized by oppression and abuses by those in power and by poverty and fear among the people.

 

I shared my conclusion with Dave. I said, “Our nation must strive not for democracy but for a righteous government, where our leaders govern with justice and benevolence and with the wisdom and guidance of God.” Dave agreed with my thesis.

 

A year after I gave my comments to Dave, the special end-of-the-year issue of Newsweek in 2003 ranked nations according to many categories, one of which was the quality of life. Rank #1 in the quality of life was Norway.

 

Having looked into the way Norway conducts itself as a nation, I had insight into why Norway topped the category of “quality of life.” First of all, it is a nation of character whose leader and people have within themselves noble values like honesty and generosity; they have harnessed with a sense of awe and responsibility the natural wonders of their environment; they staunchly kept their sovereignty amidst mounting pressures to join economic alliances. With only 4 million people, the Norwegians and their king have made a great nation out of Norway. Democracy was not the reason Norway is a rich and powerful and beautifully developed nation. The reason is the nation’s character.

 

How do we oppose corruption in our country? I heard a preacher declare in his Sunday sermon what I thought was a simple yet possibly the best solution that I had heard of in the quest to eradicate corruption in our country. He said, “Fight corruption with generosity.” How is that so? The Preacher explained, “Corruption is because of greed. The opposite of greed is generosity.” Ah, yes, it made sense. Norway gives much more to charity than does the most powerful nation of the world. Could it be that its trait of generosity makes its people incorruptible?

 

Scripture says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” How can a nation be ruled with wisdom so that it doesn’t falter and fail? The answer points back to God. How can one rule without wisdom, and how can wisdom characterize a ruler unless he fears the LORD?

 

What is our solution then to the heightening despair of our nation, which is so rich in natural resources just like Norway, an archipelago just like Norway, but unlike Norway is suffering from heartbreaking poverty, overwhelming foreign debt, proliferation of crime, and immorality in high and low places? Our country is among the nations with a low quality of life — we are ranked somewhere below 70 and going further down. Could it be that a government under God is what we should strive for so that we can rise from the mire and experience a fullness of life as we live in our country? Could it be that if we strive to build our character as individuals, starting with traits like honesty and generosity, we could then work toward mustering a force that can oppose the system of graft and corruption in our country — a force of people who stand for righteousness? Then with such a people, we can vote for leaders who fear God and who will allow themselves to be guided by God in governing our nation. If we build a nation of character and elect a government guided by God, the turnaround of our nation will begin.

 

 

 

 

Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo is a freelance writer-editor. She is a case writer and book editor of the Asian Institute of Management, contributing writer of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (ISACC), and member of the Alliance For The Common Good (Ang Kapatiran) and the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). For comments, write rubycalo@yahoo.com.

 

Sticks and Stones That Changed A Community

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

 

My volunteer work with the countryside poor continued as I raised my first baby. I was a fulltime homemaker when my family and I lived in a largely agricultural province at the outskirts of Metro Manila. Left alone with my baby while my husband worked in Metro Manila, I could hear from my home the children of the farmers fighting in the streets, their young mouths full of obscenities. The children were on their summer vacation and had the whole day to play, or rather, to argue with each other. I came to them one day and decided to teach them an old sticks and stones game that I used to play two decades earlier. They never knew this game, and so I got their attention.

From there, I engaged them in a contest. There was a vacant lot in our community where people pass through as a shortcut to town. That vacant lot had become dangerous as garbage, empty and broken bottles and opened empty cans were littered all over it through the years. No one did anything to clean up that vacant lot, which was centrally located in our community. I divided the children, 30 in all, into two groups. I said, “Ask your parents for empty rice sacks. We shall clean up that lot. The team that gathers the most litter wins. I shall give a volleyball to the winning team.” Within 10 minutes from the time the contest started, that vacant lot emerged clean, with the topsoil once more seen after years of being covered with litter. Then the community elected chairman came up to me to say that he would finally build the basketball court that had long been planned for that lot! Indeed, construction of the basketball court started right after our cleanup.

From playing wholesome games with the children, I decided to teach these 30 farmers’ children how to do business, with the construction workers as our target market. I gathered them in our family’s garage and used a little blackboard. Translating business terms such as working capital, sales, cost of goods sold, and profit margin to the familiar vernacular counterparts, I explained each business concept in a language that my young pupils, aged 7 to 14, could understand. Then I gave them seed money of one hundred twenty pesos (PhP120), which in a span of four weeks they grew to more than one thousand pesos (PhP1000) by selling cold and hot snacks to the construction workers. I taught them teamwork, service quality, division of labor, and how to save their retained earnings in a bank. At the end of the four weeks, just before the resumption of classes, the children split their savings and used their dividends to buy their school supplies.

Seven years later, I visited that rural community again, and the community chairman said that those children whom I taught never forgot the values and lessons that I taught them and that the older children have gone on to be successful professionals. What touched my heart further was that on that same lot – on which stood the basketball court, which became the venue of many inter-community tournaments over the years – a community health center and the community hall had also been built. That summer of 1993 with those 30 children forever changed a community, families, lives and futures, restored the environment, and empowered the poor and the youth!

I imagine that national development moves this way – starting from an individual, a family and a home that influence a community and that community in turn influences other communities, eventually touching a province. When a province shines, there is something that the rest of the nation can emulate. The hope of a nation, therefore, can begin with you and me. You and I may be as bare and simple as sticks and stones are, but we can make a difference, just like those sticks and stones that changed Dasmaville in Dasmariñas, Cavite. When you visit that bustling community, remember this story.

I Will Never Forget

by Ruby Ann Kagaoan – Calo

I am a mother of five children. I breast-fed all my five children. They did not experience drinking bottled formula milk. I made myself available to them on demand, as they needed me. I tell you, that’s not easy. I nursed my children as long as 2 ½ years to almost 4 years, each child. That takes a lot of love and sacrifice. Nine months of pregnancy, the delivery of the baby, then the nursing. Then it goes on – teaching each child how to talk, to walk, to read, to write… With my eldest now aged 13 and my youngest aged 1 ½, I still have 20 years of mothering before my last child finally reaches adulthood. I’ll be 60 years old by then. Even with my eldest now a teenager, I still remember the days when my milk saved her life. She was born premature weighing just a little over three pounds. She was the only child whom I wasn’t able to carry to full term. I nursed her to full size that by the time she was 2 months old, she was as big as her cousin who weighed 9 pounds at birth. The miracle of a mother’s love!

How can I ever forget my little ones whose total dependence was on me, not on a yaya (or nanny), not on a playpen, not on bottled milk, but on me? No, I can never forget any of my five children! This reminds me of God’s love.

Of all the human capacities, God singled out a mother’s love to help His people understand how much He loves them.

Isaiah 49:14-16 records the moment when God responded to Israel’s lament: But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?”

Remember, when God said those words of love and assurance to His people, a baby survived only on his or her mother’s milk. The mother cradled her child close to her breasts. There was no cesarean section, so childbirth was always natural: the mother is introduced to her infant with so much labor pains. Yet as soon as the baby is born, the pain is forgotten, and mother and child begin their bonding through the experience of nursing.

In the last forty years of the previous century, this phenomenon of nursing was replaced with high technology milk, bottles, and all sorts of equipment and instant food for the child, and so it is easy to think that a mother can forget her child, since another person can prepare her baby’s food, and things can seemingly replace her warmth and embrace.

But when God first spoke those words, presenting a question Can a mother forget the baby at her breast?, if you could just imagine those days, the answer would really be, “No! A mother cannot forget the baby at her breast!” And so, that would have been a sufficient comparison of God’s love. But in God’s eternal wisdom, He still extended His assurance, saying, Even though a mother may forget, I will not forget you! This verse finds relevance, it seems, to a people yet to come, a people who would find it more standard or a norm to feed their babies with instant milk rather than breast milk, to leave their babies in the care of others as they have to strive for a living. Such are the demands of modern living that it is no longer standard for a mother to raise an infant at her breast.

No stone was left unturned by God. God covered a time such as these modern times, when it is easy for a mother to forget her baby. God said, “Though a mother may forget, I will never forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.”