Noynoy Aquino it is! Lacson for Senator!

Lambanog was a little boy when he heard about a man surnamed Marcos. He was a great man. He was feared and he was respected. They said, Marcos made Philippines a great country. Philippines was on top of the list in everything.
Lambanog asked: "What makes a great leader?"
They answered: "What makes a great leader is his ability to dictate what would make our country on top of everything!" Lambanog, in his early longing to be great did his best to rise above anybody--in playing, not knowing that he has trampled on some of his friends. There were times when he made his friends cry.
Lambanog was no longer a little boy when he heard the name Cory. Cory, they said was a simple housewife. She is the wife of the martyred Ninoy who fought Marcos. She fought Marcos too.
Lambanog asked: "Why fight a great man?"
They said: "A greater cause is worth fighting for."
"What is the greater cause?", asked Lambanog.
"The freedom of the people is the greater cause", they said.
Then on, Lambanog appreciated freedom because his friends liked him again. He made his friends talked and decide on how they do things.
Years later, Lambanog heard of the name Ramos. They said, Ramos was a general who loved democracy. He is firm and at the same time open-minded.
Lambanog asked: "What would make him a good president?"
They answered: "There will be peace and order and he can stop insurgency. In that way, there will be investors in our country and our economy will go up." Lambanog valued order and peace. He entered the seminary for 7 years. He spent these years studying, praying and discerning.
Lambanog heard of Erap running for Presidency. He did not find him wise. But Erap won the seat.
Lambanog asked: "Why did he win?"
They said: "The masses loved him so much!"
"Why do they love him?", Lambanog retorted.
"Because he made himself one of them...in movies and in real life. They saw him sincere", they said.
Lambanog, though doubtful of Erap's competence, proved that sincerity outweighs "talino".
Two years and a half, Erap was ousted. He may be sincere, but people did not find it enough to make our country back on top. Lambanog saw glory in Gloria. She was installed president of the Philippines. Gloria failed miserably...She got drunk with power that she cannot get away from it... Lambanog now is in pain seeing everything still in bad shape...he was young when he wanted to be great, living in a great country. He looks 24 years back to his question..."What makes a great leader?" Is it making it on top of the list? Is it sincerity? Is it "talino"?
Lambanog discerns: "To be a leader is not only a question of intelligence and sincerity. Leadership is an attitude towards power. There is a great power that a leader of the country holds. We say that power corrupts. That is true. Money is power, so they say. So we ask, "What is this presidentiable's attitude towards money? What kind of lifestyle does the person have? Does he spend too much? Does he value money? Has this person tried to influence somebody from the government to get the project done to gain money? etc. etc...Intelligence is power. This is also true. Marcos was intelligent. Arroyo is intelligent. But, what happened?
So who is Lambanog going to vote? He is going to vote for Noynoy Aquino.
They ask: "Why Aquino?"
Lambanog answers: "because Aquino's got the character, the right attitude to get us back on top."
Lambanog also will vote for Alex Lacson for senator. Atty. Alex also has the right character and attitude to serve our country. His book 12 Little Things Every Filipino can do to Help our Country is more than enough to know the character of this person.

The Church and State: Rendering what is Due

The Church and the State are two different institutions with different job descriptions. Religious leaders should never impose things concerning the State. Their only obligation is to take care of their flock. While the government takes charge of running the country, the religious leaders are concerned on how they affect the moral lives of their flock. Running the country is far different from running a Church. The government needs all the wealth they could get to improve the economy while religious leaders do not rely, ideally, on financial stakes to improve what is called a dogma.
In the Philippine setting, separation of the Church and State is clearly stipulated. Ideally, the Church must not intervene in the affairs of the State and vice-versa. However, there seem to be blockages on why this has never been followed. A clear example is the EDSA 1 where the famous Cardinal Sin called on all the faithful to go to Edsa. While it is obviously an exercise of every citizen to participate in the affairs of the state, it wouldn’t have happened without the cardinal’s call over the radio. Another example was the calling of the same Cardinal to former president Erap to relinquish his post. It was another political affair but without him, we could have witnessed a genuine political exercise not affected and infected by a voice from a church. With these and all the other infected affairs of the State, did we achieve the “good” that we wanted? Did we feel the “better” that we longed for?
Among Ed Panlilio’s stint was “phenomenal” as it is always described on papers. His being a Governor brought about an obvious change to his constituents. However, he was only effective as far as turning down bribes from the Palace and other illegal sectors is concerned and in bringing morality back in governance. However, he can only be effective as long as he is the leader but, he cannot be a leader forever. There are more ministrant and constituent functions to be done by a government official.
Religious leaders have a chance to help the State. It is their duty and responsibility to teach their flock of honest and morally founded governance. It is their obligation to teach their people the basic obedience and concern for others. They should be the teachers of the future leaders of the State so that the time will come that the Church needs not to intervene in the affairs of the State because they have done their duty early on.
What we see now should be a measure on how the Church is fulfilling her duty. What we see now reflects the unfinished business of Church.

Nuclear or Extended?

Considering the economic situation that we are in today, living in a nuclear family is the most practical way. More than the economic crisis, decision-making and responsibility add up to the potential problems in having an extended family.

Economics
This is simple mathematics. If there are more heads in the family, there are more mouths to feed too. If there are more people in the family, there must be more resources needed to sustain a decent living. More than electricity and water consumption, basic personal belonging for hygiene and other purposes have also to be considered.
There are still other things not to be taken for granted. Economics also considers the atmosphere and lifestyle of each of the family members. Questions on how the house must be set up also spell financial outcome. An example is the way the house should be ventilated is different according to the need of each member of the family. A grandfather may need a more relax and breezy ventilation while the other might need a cooler one. This requires an added air-conditioning unit to consider each need. Also another example is the family’s food. The different members of the family have specific diets. Each member of the family has special needs.

Decision-making - Who is the head of the family?
Another potent problem is decision-making. A nuclear family has the father to decide about family affairs most often. It is simple and if ever there is someone else to question the decision, it is the better half. However, what could have been an easy power structure in a family is made complicated in extended families. The father maybe the head of the family but he has to recognized the needs, wants and opinion of someone of his age, say for example an auntie or an uncle, or someone older than he is, i.e. grandparents.
For an extended family, the children will grow very close to whoever is in the family aside from their parents and siblings. This will further enhance close family ties. But there would be cases that children will be closer to grandparents than to their parents. This will create a rift that can be petty or serious between family members and elders or even among the young.

Responsibility
Connected to decision-making is the responsibility of the family members. In a nuclear family, job description is simple. Often, the father is the provider and the mother takes care of the household chores or the other way around. Another possibility is both the parents work for economic reasons and the children are left to the care of a house helper. However, in an extended family, the whole household’s responsibilities get mixed up, as it gets complicated on who is going to provide and take charge of the chores. There is the question on who is going to work and the different tasks given to each one.

Today’s financial crisis is really hitting the basic unit of the society, the family. A nuclear family has the better chance of balancing the lever of finances, as it does not have extended responsibilities outside the procreated family. Financial assistance to relatives or to his/her family of orientation is highly encouraged but not obligatory.

In an Anthropological Perspective: Same Sex Marriage

The legalization of gay/ lesbian cohabitation is not marriage. They have their rights to live together in places where they are blessed by the court, but it cannot be called as marriage even if the rite of blessing has been performed.
In anthropology, marriage is a transaction with the end of having a contract between a woman and a man, with a continuing sexual access in which the woman shall bear child/ children. From this definition, I will show two important points why it is impossible to call gay cohabitation as marriage. First, a marriage is a transaction between a woman and a man. Obviously, there can be a transaction between homosexuals but outside the context of marriage. Strictly, any given blessing between homosexuals cannot be called marriage even if it is aimed at living together under one roof and even with the end of forming a family through adoption.
Second, the end of marriage is procreation. From a family of orientation, the woman and a man decide to form a family of procreation. It is only in this union that procreation is possible. Formation of family is possible between gays and lesbians but not procreation. Procreation requires an intercourse with the end of having child/ children. Even intercourse is not possible between two gays, only erotic and other sexual activities. Creating a family is possible for them since they can adopt children and bring them home. It is “family” in a general sense. But then again, a family must have three elements: mother, father and children and not the role of being a mother, a father and children. There has to be an authentic human body of a mother and a father before motherly and fatherly acts.
I am not in favor of the so-called “gay/lesbian marriage”. It diminishes the concept of marriage to a mere companionship and partnership. Each one has the right to choose his/ her partner but no one has the right to relegate a universal concept such as marriage into something that can be flexed for his or her own motive and intention.

Am I in favor then of homosexual cohabitation, a marriage blessed by the courts? I cannot favor that which I do not see to be normal in a formation of a family. However, if it is only partnership or companionship that is intended by both parties, I think that it is their right to do so.

Anak by F. Aguilar

The song Anak by Freddie Aguilar is a reflection of real life family situation. It is a picture of children’s wanting to be free and parents’ forever love and care for them. The song is very instrumental in making people realize what has been going on to children and parents alike as they grow in age. This song, translated in 27 languages in over 53 countries, captures the hard reality of leaving and going back, caring and indifference, and stubbornness and remorse. The song is also a reflection of the composer’s/ singer’s life.

More than the emotional lyrics is the relevance of the song during the time it was first sang and performed. In the 70’s and 80’s, Filipino folk musicians were at its peak in performing, at the same time using the stage as a venue to protest against the current regime and other social maladies. These entertainers captured the moods of other people to come up and present their own contributions for the industry and for the country. Freddie Aguilar was one of those who used the stage. It was this hit song Anak, a ballad centered on family values that catapulted him to being a star and gave Filipinos another realization of the importance of family. According to Felipe De Leon Jr., an authority in Philippine music, despite the Anak’s western form, the song has a pasyon-like quality with which the Filipinos could easily identify.

Having stated that the song has been translated to 27 languages proves that its context is not limited to Filipino culture alone. This meant the international appreciation on this verbal art. And it is not simply an expression of liking to Anak’s western form but more on the reality captured in the song. This manifests the general feeling and emotion of peoples when confronted with the situation pictured in the song.

It is noteworthy that the song is more than just an additional product to the music industry. It has touched and transformed the lives of people unlike some other songs we hear now. It suggests deep emotional understanding penetrating the core of the families. It also reflects the filial culture of care regardless of unfortunate events.

just musing...

When love has come to play


Undaunted you should be


Only in a fantasy


You are always free




Though fantasy it is


Beginnings are made to be


The thought of it resides


In heart and mind you’ll see




Isn’t love a fantasy


At first you dream and feel


To hope and pray it is


And soon it will be


But when the seed of love


Has grown intense and clear


Has fantasy been achieved


Shall fantasy now subside




If it is an achievement


Great it is to know


But shall it be the end


Of fantasies with no worth

Makipot, Makirot Malikot

Makipot, makirot, malikot

Samperang umiikot

Tanging kayamanan

Walang mapaggamitan




Sa bulsang walang laman

Isang pilak tanging tangan

Sa rangya daa’y makipot

Buhay sadyang masalimuot




Maraming kahig, puro kahig

Isang tuka, isang tinga

Kirot ng tiyan at kalamnan

Nangungunang sakit ni Juan




Bayang sadlak sa hahirapan

Di malaman saan ang kaban

Kamay na malikot, nangungurakot

Kahit sampera nilimas ng salot