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A
leading prelate of the Catholic Church, Bishop Leonardo
Medrosa, chairman of the CBCP (Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines) Episcopal Commission on
Canon Law, expressed what should be the sentiment of the
CBCP: that priests should not meddle, much more take
active part, in partisan political activities.
The good
bishop is correct in saying that the mission of the
Church is to bring to all peoples the evangelical wealth
found in the gospel, not take part in the topsy-turvy
world of politics.
In fact,
reports today indicate that Gov. Ed Panlilio appears to
be inadequate in running the affairs of Pampanga. I
remember back in the 1980s, a leading member of the
Catholic Church in the USA was elected congressman but
he was asked by the
Vatican
to resign and go back to his duties of tending to his
flock. I am not aware if the Vatican has changed its
mind insofar as priests in the
Philippines
are concerned, considering that not a few of them are
acting more like trapos than priests .
Economists in the country foresee our country’s economic
growth to be from 7 percent to 8 percent in 2008. This
is another clear manifestation that President Arroyo’s
economic policies are on target. Today all economic
indicators point toward a better year for Filipinos in
2008 and even the usually critical SWS surveys have
acknowledged that today, fewer Filipinos go hungry.
These are the kind of things that should accentuate
factual news reports. Sadly, there are those in the
media who have a penchant for painting a dismal picture
of the country, reflecting their defeatist mindset in
the face of the rapid inflow of positive economic and
social breakthroughs that are now dominating the
Philippine scene.
For
instance, for the first time, our foreign reserves hit a
record of $33.7 billion, compared with the previous
year’s $22.9 billion. The central bank in fact,
anticipates that our foreign reserves would reach $435
billion to $437 billion in 2008. In keeping with this
ambivalent forecasts, strategists at Standard Chartered
Bank are suggesting “investors should buy the Philippine
peso against the
Taiwan
dollar in the offshore forward market to profit from the
peso’s relative strength.” Reports underline the fact
that the Philippine peso is
Asia’s top currency performer against the US dollar in 2007. We
would like to emphasize that no Philippine president has
attained this very favorable position for the peso
except Mrs. Arroyo.
****
According to a newspaper item, a PNP task force reported
that so-called extrajudicial killings dropped by as much
as 83 percent in 2007 as compared with the figures in
2006. Is this an indication that there is truth to the
claims of the military that the reported spate of
extra-judicial killings may have been padded by names of
so-called victims who were killed for purely personal
rather than political reasons and whose deaths were
lumped with those falling under the term
“extrajudicial?” This also shows the degree of success
in the government’s drive against such atrocities and in
the fight against criminality. It would be a great loss
to this administration’s detractors to run out of
slaughtered bodies to blame on the government.
Peace-loving citizens may rejoice over the reduction of
such killings, but the doomsayer and the local coroner
will mourn the government’s gain.
****
One
morning while fiddling with the television
remote-control device, I came across a local program
featuring young boys diving in the filthy waters of
Manila Bay for meager catches of shells and small fish
to help feed their families and to sell whatever they
can spare. It’s a hard life and the young boys are
exposed early to the harshness of life and their plight
is reflected in their eyes and their timid voices. When
interviewed, one boy looked at the distant skyline of
Manila and said he wished to finish a college degree
someday so he could support his siblings and send them
to school and leave the filth of the bay behind. But
most of all, his wish was to be a soldier when he is old
enough.
A
soldier, the hero in a young boy’s eyes, an icon of
fearless machismo and dependability, one who can conquer
all hardships and face all challenges with the bravado
of a TV hero. The soldier on whom the nation relies to
defend it from the raging emotions of protesters, and to
calm the tempest of discord among our people. The
soldier who offers a reachable dream for those whose
needs are simple, and whose dreams are simpler still.
And lest we forget, he is that soldier, who, with his
brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces, makes sure
that this nation will continue to live free - and
peaceful.
****
Thousands of birds flock to the Candaba swamps in
Pampanga for their annual migratory ritual to ensure
that their species will continue to prosper. Some 17,000
birds of some 80 species presented a stunning spectacle
to bird-watchers last Saturday which officials of the
Wild Bird Club of the Philippines reported as a “record”
for the country. Watchers noted several species of
migratory and local birds including the Shrenck’s
Bittern which comes all the way from Siberia. It is a
wonder how their unerring instincts steer them to come
this way from all points of the globe to congregate on
that small speck of swampy land in Candaba. Are we
missing something here? |
