The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) issued a word of wisdom address to all Filipinos in connection to the recent national issue.
Speaking Truth, Seeking Justice
Setting Things Right
CEAP on the Events of our Time
February 14, 2008
“No lie can live forever,” said Carlyle. “Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again,” added William Cullen Bryant. And forty years ago, Martin Luther King cried:
On some positions,
Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?”
Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?”
Vanity asks the question, “Is it popular?”
But Conscience asks the question, “Is it right?”
There comes a time when one must take a position
that is neither safe nor politic nor popular;
but one must take it
because Conscience says, “It is right.”
Following his conscience, Rodolfo Lozada Jr. these days has revealed possible corruption in the handling of government contracts. His confession has stirred memories of other allegations by other people of graft and greed in government, and is shaking the souls of many to speak and act in response.
What of us, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), an association of 1,252 schools, colleges, and universities with at least 2 million students and around 120,000 school personnel and faculty?
We too must speak, we too must act. For, as the same Martin Luther King continued, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter.”
Silent then we must not be or must no longer be, if once we were. May not our lives end but rather begin in a special way this Valentine’s Day. Beyond the love we are expected to declare for the persons of our hearts, is the love for the people of our country that we are invited to express in this time of crisis in our land. Mere bystanders we cannot just be but active participants in the continuous task of shaping our nation’s life. In the words of Vaclav Havel, “By perceiving ourselves as part of the river, we take responsibility for the river as a whole.”
For those of us who know the truth, we pray for the courage to speak it. For those who seek justice, we pray for humility in the pursuit, personal integrity in the quest, respect for others involved in the search. For those of us who must judge and act on what we see and hear, we pray for fairness and the will to make the good triumph over evil in a way that removes the bad, without the act leading to what is even worse.
In tandem with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) we invite our member schools and their constituents, our alumni and friends individually and communally to pray for guidance on what to do in these times of tension and difficulty. We ask our administrators, faculty, and students to bring to the fore the issues of the day, discuss in humility and decide in fortitude and love what we must do together as a people in the different parts of the country where we are.
We must seek to discover the educative moment and the lesson for life in the investigation sessions and in the rallies and other mass actions we may join. To our country and the world we must show and say that we will not allow dishonesty, corruption, indifference or neglect to rule our lives. We must look into ourselves and ensure that what we decry in others we do not do ourselves.
We should pledge to continue to teach and live truth, honesty and integrity in our own schools so that when our graduates leave us they bring with them not just skills and knowledge but wisdom and love to inspire and change the world.
To this end, we link up with other groups sincerely searching for truth and justice. We encourage the establishment of truth centers in our schools so that our students, teachers, and staff are led to continuing awareness, reflection, and formation toward social-political engagement. We invite our members to support the sanctuary fund set up by the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP). We support the signature campaign demanding the implementation of the Supreme Court's decision junking Executive Order 464 so that the search for truth is not hindered or compromised.
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life we shall continue to ask to lead us, accompany and comfort us in all we need to do. It is He, after all, who will truly set us free. The Holy Spirit we ask to enlighten us so that our external actions flow from inner harmony of heart. We remember the words of Will Durant: “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.” So we ask our Heavenly Father for the grace that we never neglect but ever firm up the moral fiber of our souls.
Our anger at the wrong and sinful things in and around us may we not allow to make of ourselves men and women of violence. We take to heart the thought of Martin Luther King: “The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence, you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
May our light dispel our darkness, may our love melt whatever hatred may lurk within. But in this Kairos moment, this time of grace, we, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, with all men and women of good will, in our nation and in the world, in the name of the Lord, by the grace of His Spirit, in concert and in communion call on ourselves and one another to -- speak the truth, seek justice and work to set things right.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
ANG IMONG PAGPAKABANA
Ang pakigbatok sa kahiwian sa pamunu-ang gobyerno usa ka paagi nga ikaw tawo nagpakabana. Ang uban dili gustong mangilabot tungod kai para nila napuno na sila, gikapoy na sila, ug nawagtangan na sila sa pagsalig ug paglaum. Ang uban sab mi ingun nga wla nay laing maayo nga mamuno ning nasura. Samthang aduna say naglibog kon kinsa ang anggay tuohan. Ang uban nagpaka buta bunggol lang. Para nila ang sukaranan sa usa ka maayo nga lider mao ang iyang track records ang iyang mga maayo nga nabuhat, ang mga kausaban nga iyang nahimo mao nga gi salikway nila ang kahiwi-an ni anang maong tao. Apan dili sab tingali maayo nga padayon natong sabton, padayon natong piyunggan ang grabe ug pinilo pilo na nga kahi-wian sa gobyerno. unta kitang ordinaryong tawo ning katilingbang Pilipinhon maningkamot sab sa pagtuman niining panumpa.
PANUNUMPA NG KAWANI NG GOBYERNO
Ako'y kawani ng gobyerno, tungkulin ko ang maglingkod ng tapat at mahusay.
Dahil dito, ako'y papasok ng maaga at mag tatrabaho ng lampas sa takdang
oras kung kinakailangan.
Magsisilbi akong ng magalang at mabilis sa lahat ng nangangailangan.
Pangangalagaan ko ang mga gamit, kasangkapan at iba pang pag-aari ng pamahalaan. Magiging pantay at makatarungan ang pakikitungo ko sa mga lumalapit
sa aming tanggapan. Magsasalita ako laban sa katiwalian at pagsasamantala.
Hindi ko gagamitin ang aking panunungkulan sa sarili kong kapakanan.
Hindi ako hihingi o tatanggap ng suhol, sisikapin kong madagdagan ang
aking talino at kakayahan upang ang antas ng paglilingkod sa bayan ay
patuloy na maitaas. Sapagkat ako'y isang kawani ng gobyerno at tungkulin
ko ang maglingkod ng tapat at mahusay, sa bayan ko at sa panahong ito,
ako at ang aking mga kapwa kawani ay kailangan tungo sa isang maunlad,
masagana at mapayapang pilipinas.
Sa harap ninyong lahat ako'y taos pusong nanunumpa.
PANUNUMPA NG KAWANI NG GOBYERNO
Ako'y kawani ng gobyerno, tungkulin ko ang maglingkod ng tapat at mahusay.
Dahil dito, ako'y papasok ng maaga at mag tatrabaho ng lampas sa takdang
oras kung kinakailangan.
Magsisilbi akong ng magalang at mabilis sa lahat ng nangangailangan.
Pangangalagaan ko ang mga gamit, kasangkapan at iba pang pag-aari ng pamahalaan. Magiging pantay at makatarungan ang pakikitungo ko sa mga lumalapit
sa aming tanggapan. Magsasalita ako laban sa katiwalian at pagsasamantala.
Hindi ko gagamitin ang aking panunungkulan sa sarili kong kapakanan.
Hindi ako hihingi o tatanggap ng suhol, sisikapin kong madagdagan ang
aking talino at kakayahan upang ang antas ng paglilingkod sa bayan ay
patuloy na maitaas. Sapagkat ako'y isang kawani ng gobyerno at tungkulin
ko ang maglingkod ng tapat at mahusay, sa bayan ko at sa panahong ito,
ako at ang aking mga kapwa kawani ay kailangan tungo sa isang maunlad,
masagana at mapayapang pilipinas.
Sa harap ninyong lahat ako'y taos pusong nanunumpa.
Friday, February 15, 2008
WHISTLEBLOWER
The term, "whistle-blower," refers to a person who exposes some type of abuse, wrongdoing, or worse. What some "whistle-blowers" expose are more mundane, such as government contractors over-billing the government. Then there are the those who report more serious matters. And then there are those whistleblowers who report hardcore criminal or corrupt activities that result in great harm, or death, to people or to national security, and who are then targeted and suffer grave personal and financial harm. This last group is ignored by the various whistleblower groups.
I The different categories of "whistleblowers" include, for instance:
Those who report abuses such as overcharges by corporations dealing with the government. They usually do it for profit, which results from receiving a part of the money the government retrieves back from the overcharging corporation. That would include Bunnatine Greenhouse who exposed the overcharging by defense contractor Halliburton.
Those who report product dangers, such as Jeffrey Wigand who exposed what was already well known for years the cover-up by tobacco companies of the smoking dangers.
Those "whistle-blowers" who object to being blocked from performing a duty as a government employee, who have a conscience. They might be complaining about poor performance of their superiors, waste in government. That would include people such as Marsha Coleman-Adebayo who exposed problems in the EPA.
The "whistle-blowers" that the public never hears about is the one who exposes matters of grave misconduct involving people in key government positions, and which has already made possible serious injuries or deaths, or harm to national security.
In my own opinion i consider Lozada and De Venecia as a whistle blowers of the weaknesses of the key leaders in Philippines government.
I The different categories of "whistleblowers" include, for instance:
Those who report abuses such as overcharges by corporations dealing with the government. They usually do it for profit, which results from receiving a part of the money the government retrieves back from the overcharging corporation. That would include Bunnatine Greenhouse who exposed the overcharging by defense contractor Halliburton.
Those who report product dangers, such as Jeffrey Wigand who exposed what was already well known for years the cover-up by tobacco companies of the smoking dangers.
Those "whistle-blowers" who object to being blocked from performing a duty as a government employee, who have a conscience. They might be complaining about poor performance of their superiors, waste in government. That would include people such as Marsha Coleman-Adebayo who exposed problems in the EPA.
The "whistle-blowers" that the public never hears about is the one who exposes matters of grave misconduct involving people in key government positions, and which has already made possible serious injuries or deaths, or harm to national security.
In my own opinion i consider Lozada and De Venecia as a whistle blowers of the weaknesses of the key leaders in Philippines government.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
BALAK CHALLENGE
Kagahapon naminaw ko sa DYAB Abante Bisaya ni Leo Lastimosa, usa sa iyang programa para karong Valentines Day mao ang pagpanghatag ug libreng ticket para sa concert ni Garry Valenciano karong adlawa. Ug tungod kai duha ra man ka ticket ang ipanghatag gi awhag ang mga suking tigpaminaw nga mo send pinaagi sa text ug usa ka balak nga ipahaum sa gisaulog nato karon. Ang mananaug mao ang pinakanindot nga balak. Tungod kai dili man ko kahibalo mo kulit ug balak mao nga wla nalang ko mo apil. Pero na hagit ko sa paghimo ug balak mao nga naningkamot ko nga maka mugna ug balak. Ug mao ni akong nahimo.
ikaw ang salampating nagdala ug himaya
bugtong kang nanag-iya ning akong dughan
sa tumang kamaya ikaw akong alagaran
ug sa tibuok kong kinabuhi ikaw pagaunongan
gihalad ko sa Diyos ang atong gugma
ug gipanghinaut nga iyang bendisyonan
way bisang unsang unos makatay-og
sa matam-is tang gugma
(pasensya na dili jud siya balak hahahhaah)
ikaw ang salampating nagdala ug himaya
bugtong kang nanag-iya ning akong dughan
sa tumang kamaya ikaw akong alagaran
ug sa tibuok kong kinabuhi ikaw pagaunongan
gihalad ko sa Diyos ang atong gugma
ug gipanghinaut nga iyang bendisyonan
way bisang unsang unos makatay-og
sa matam-is tang gugma
(pasensya na dili jud siya balak hahahhaah)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
ash wednesday
It is a funny paradox that this is one of the things the Church has to
say to us on Ash Wednesday, precisely the day when we all rise from our
seats and return to them only after having donned the ostentatious
ashes on our foreheads. Why? Precisely because this is not an act of piety
nor a boast. One might as well claim that a beggar wearing a barrel in
public was looking for applause. The ashes on our forehead betoken not
our splendor, but our poverty not our nobility, but our wretchedness
not our wonderfulness, but our need of a Savior from the ashes to which
we shall return. It is no boast to publicly acknowledge our need of a
Savior. It is simply sober common sense and the very first thing the
Church has to proclaim to the world. Today, wear the ashes with humility
and let people see what you are made of.
Just a Word of Encouragement from Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins.
say to us on Ash Wednesday, precisely the day when we all rise from our
seats and return to them only after having donned the ostentatious
ashes on our foreheads. Why? Precisely because this is not an act of piety
nor a boast. One might as well claim that a beggar wearing a barrel in
public was looking for applause. The ashes on our forehead betoken not
our splendor, but our poverty not our nobility, but our wretchedness
not our wonderfulness, but our need of a Savior from the ashes to which
we shall return. It is no boast to publicly acknowledge our need of a
Savior. It is simply sober common sense and the very first thing the
Church has to proclaim to the world. Today, wear the ashes with humility
and let people see what you are made of.
Just a Word of Encouragement from Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins.
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