SMB

"The world cries for men who are strong—strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. I pray that you will be that kind of man—glad that God made you a man, glad to shoulder the burden of manliness in a time when to do so will often bring contempt." (taken from "The Mark of a Man" by Elisabeth Elliot)

SFC CENTRAL-B

SARAP MAGING BRO

April 19-20, 2008 (Sat-Sun)
Falcon Crest, Norzagaray, Bulacan

"A real woman understands that man was created to be the initiator, and she operates on that premise. This is primarily a matter of attitude. I am convinced that the woman who understands and accepts with gladness the difference between masculine and feminine will be, without pretense or self-consciousness, womanly."(taken from "Let Me Be a Woman" by Elisabeth Elliot)


SFC CENTRAL-B

SARAP MAGING BABAE

April 19-20, 2008 (Sat-Sun)
Falcon Crest, Norzagaray, Bulacan

Big Girls Don't Cry

It's one of those songs that I frequently hear whenever I ride public transport- it's almost always what's being played on the radio. It can't be helped that it lingers in my head. Last song syndrome. I was humming it this morning. Disturbed not knowing the details of the song, I asked Ate about it. She said it's fairly new. It was sung by the girl in Black-Eyed Peas. Fergie, her name is. And yeah, Ate uploaded it in my ipod! For that, it's gonna be staying in my head for quite a while more- securing the lss crown until fad fades. Hehe. Or so long as I can relate to it. :P

The smell of your skin lingers on me now
You're probably on your flight back to your home town
I need some shelter of my own protection baby
To be with myself and Center, ClarityPeace, Serenity

I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, myself and I
We've got some straightening out to do
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses her blanket
But I've got to get a move on with my life
It's time to be a big girl now
And big girls don't cry

The path that I'm walkingI must go alone
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay

Like the little school mate in the school yard
We'll play jackstone and UNO cards
I'll be your best friend and you'll be mine Valentine
Yes you can hold my hand if you want to
'Cause I want to hold yours too
We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds
But it's time for me to go home

It's getting late, dark outside

sinakulo sa ugong

MAKING ONE'S CALLING AND ELECTION SURE

Found inspiration in this passage today:

"3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

2 Peter 1:3-10

TUNGKOL sa SOUTHRAIL

Recent events in the country were desecrated with scandalous reports of cases of corruption concerning high-ranking government officials resulting to public agitation manifested in a number of mass actions participated in by various sectors of society.

Most recently, the country was shaken by the NBN ZTE controversy- the populace ablazed anew by the testimony of Rodolfo Noel Lozada in the Senate who corroborated the purported $130 million overprice in the said project, further alleging a 22% overprice in all government projects, which he claimed was the standard operating procedure in government to payoff public officials, contrary to law.

During the Senate investigation, Lozada mentioned another project entered into by the government which was grossly overpriced: the Southrail project.

According to Lozada, the Southrail Project stinks of corruption worth $70 million, which is abominable especially in the face of the national government’s constraints in the budget, while the entire populace suffers in dire poverty and shrinking allocation for social services, particularly for health and education.

In the pursuit of honesty, integrity, and transparency in public service, Senate investigation into the matter is compelling. It is after all the Senate’s mandate to check the executive branch of its excesses and to legislate remedial measures, if necessary.

With the above end in view, a copy of the MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL RAILWAYS (PNR) AND CHINA NATIONAL TECHNICAL IMPORT-EXPORT COOPERATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTHRAIL PROJECT signed on 27 April 2005, was requested from PNR General Manager Jose Ma. I. Sarasola II. Communication was sent to PNR General Manager Sarasola for the purpose, to which Sarasola unconvincingly denied capacity to produce the document.

The document being requested is a matter of public concern which our Constitution guarantees the people to have access to as promulgated in Article II which clearly states that:

Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.

Section 28. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.

To tolerate this denial is to tolerate purported corrupt acts.

The Senate must rise to the challenge of the time, assert its authority to look into scrupulous government dealings and at all times uphold its mandate.

>> bakit ba hindi pinaniwalaan si Hesus na siya ang Messiah?
At bakit patuloy tayong naniniwala sa ganitong mga denials kung pwede namang sagutin sa proper forum ang mga akusasyon ng korupsyon?

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Done with the briefers kaya I had the chance to attend the ZTE hearing today. I wasn’t exactly there the entire time but I was able to catch most of the deliberations and their substance.

Ang daming mga bagong testimony at sa mga sumusubaybay, masyado nang nagiging intricate ang istorya nitong NBN ZTE controversy.

Mr. Lito Banayo, Senator Lacson’s staff who attended a meeting with Secretary Neri and Jun Lozada, corroborated the latter’s testimony that Secretary Neri (in that December 7, 2007 meeting at Shangri la) called President Arroyo evil.

The testimony has weight in the sense that it supports Lozada’s previous statements about Neri’s disclosures to him.

***

>>My own impression is, higit sa pagtawag sa pangulo as “evil,” mas mabigat ang pag-characterize ni Sec. Neri sa Philippine political economy. Pinapatunayan nito ang akusasyon at analysis ng national democratic movement tungkol sa katangian ng lipunang Pilipino. Ito rin ang dahilan ng pagkadismaya ng magdalo group / restive military sa pamahalaan. (Sa ganitong konteksto, mahirap na hindi makabig)

>>The meeting was confirmed by Secretary Neri himself when he had a press conference belying Lozada’s deposition that Neri called the president evil. Neri likewise affirmed his discussion of the “oligarchic Philippine society” except that Neri selectively denied calling the president evil in the meeting.

>>Sabi ni Banayo, nagbigay si Neri sa kanila (kasama si Atty. Gary Jimenez-we call him GTJ, certain Vic, and Lozada’s brother) ng handout na nagpapakita ng relasyon ng mga “movers” sa pulitika at kung papaano ini-impluwensyahan ng national oligarchy ang policy at implementation nito.

>>I must scan the diagram and post it here. Gagawin ko ‘yan kapag nakakuha ako ng kopya. For everyone’s consumption na rin.-- big if

>>May mga binanggit si Banayo na mga pangalan ng prominenteng tao. Kabilang ditto si TOM ALCANTARA na involved sa pag-smuggle ng langis that costs the government about P3 billion in revenue losses!

>>Manny Pangilinan is outside of the circle because he just toes the line. He’s really not close to the president. He is outside of their (oligarchs) league.

>>Neri said this is the problem of the economy because they (oligarchs) influence policy and implementation.

>>After the Hello Garci scandal, PGMA’s been only concerned with her political survival. She controls the House of Representatives through election campaign finance which are provided by the national oligarchs and the release of pork barrel funds.

>>The year 2005, “impeachment season,” was harrowing according to Neri. He was then Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management. There were plenty of calls. (kani-kanino kaya galing?)

>>Speaker Jose de Venecia is outside of the circle since he’s no longer consulted / not “chummy- chummy” with PGMA.

>>The Senate is either opposed to or independent of the president. Senators are either adversaries or independent.

>>The congressmen are in the president’s pocket.

>>The media, civil society and the church are also either adversarial or independent.

>>The church’s concerns are mainly anti-birth control or anti-mining. She doesn’t have to worry about the church since she has most of the bishops with her.

>>The president’s survival is dependent on local government units and local oligarchs.

>>Japan and China have 2 trillion dollars in reserve and therefore very generous in concessional loans to the country.

>>The US has not much to offer except military assistance.

>>All projects have to be assessed by the NEDA. DBM, which is in charge of releases of the budget through IRA and pork barrel funds.

>>The concern of businesses is purely stability.

>>The middle class and the poor are calm because of the OFW phenomenon.

>>As far as the president is concerned, she is so beholden to the national oligarchs.

***

“I don’t see how we can achieve a consensus given the present situation. Nothing will happen between now and 2010. Nothing can dismantle the oligarchy. She is merely concerned with her survival. She can do and will do anything to survive. She is evil. She is evil…”

-Secretary Romulo Neri,
As recounted by Mr. Lito Banayo in his testimony in the ZTE investigation in the Senate

Ate's new models

muy guapo!

Don't give up on love

In the absence of parents who will give advice on life, love and their complications, one can find wisdom in their daily reads. I found this one from today’s issue of the inquirer, contributed by Conchita Razon.

Lessons from my marriage

It’s not important to win every argument. There are no prizes after all. Being right is not really important. Issues do not get resolved if one party retreats to a corner.

Bite your tongue and do not let anger speak out. Words have a way of slipping out, doing irreparable damage and there’s no way to take them back. Wit and sarcasm are first cousins. When let loose, they create mortal wounds.

Talk to one another and learn to whisper. It brings you close.

Pray together. Let the third party be no one else but God.

There is no wrong time to apologize. Hang your pride on the door post. It is not true that love means never having to say you’re sorry. You would not want to miss the sweet tender moments of making up, even if the pillow is still soaked with tears.

Be patient. Two pieces of wood rubbed thoughtfully one against the other, produces a spark. With a gentle breath, it bursts into flame. Do not expect love to blaze with a flick.

Work at your marriage. There are no short cuts. There are bumps on the road but that’s no reason to get out of the car. Learn to travel over them, around them, if necessary take another route, but always together.

Tell each other secrets. Build on your trust for one another.

Love is important, but respect is even more so.

Share your dreams. Make plans. Help one another achieve your goals.

Do not give up on love. Love with all your might. There is no other way. Successful marriage begins when you marry the one you love and blossoms when you love the one you marry. The secret is to fall in love, over and over again, with the same person.

Think together. It is not important to think alike. It is not so much the dance, but that you move together to the same music.

Make a million memories. When the sun starts setting, when friends are few and nights are long, those precious memories will keep you company. No one and nothing can take them away from you. They are yours always.

I will certainly get back to all these, when I get married.
[For now… I will enjoy my freedom, with the company of my siblings. Make up for the lost two years.]