The Lion of the Sea
I saw a city,
a city by the bay
and the throne of a Lion -
the Lion of the Sea.
I saw you, O city,
all covered in grime
like a widow weeping
the victim of a crime.
Return again, O Lion,
thou great lover of brav'ry,
reclaim again thy city
let thy justice roam free.
- selah -
I saw a nation,
a nation by the sea -
a poor and forlorn people
awaiting for thee.
O saw you, O nation,
despairing in the darkness
like an orphaned son -
alone amidst the madness.
Awaken then, O Lion,
O ruler of the free -
reclaim again thy spirit
and let thy glory be!
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The Lion of the Sea is the Office of the President of the one Republic of the Philippines.
The spirit of the Lion is its one whole lineage spread across persons, individual and unique, freely elected by a democratic quorum of the people and therefore by the LORD, the one Sovereign of our nation, across our generations to the last of our generations.
The Throne of the Lion is the Seat of the Office of the President of the one Republic of the Philippines.
The city by the bay is Manila - Premier City of the one Filipino nation, the home of the Lion as Defender of the one Filipino people, and the Capital City of the one Republic of the Philippines.
The nation, of course is - we, the one Filipino people - arrayed according to our generations in time and ordered according to our families, tribes and national communities across dimensional space.
We, the people, united in heart and will as citizens to each other and maintained in our individualities and human distinctions by the choice traditions of our liberal democracy, our dignity preserved by rule of Law and the spirit of Liberty, our promise sustained by the Justice of our Peace, and our common hopes rightfully represented in the forums of our Republic undertaking of Country by our elected peers in the nation and before the Throne of the Eternal God by the living Memory of our generations.
As the enduring strength of the Lion is founded in the presence of its truth in the heart, the roots of Manila is likewise perennially founded in the sea because, we are a maritime nation.
Our destiny is intimately linked to the sea.
And as all of these are part of the Filipino identity as a whole, our one Republic to become nearer to its original lineage must therefore reflect all these in itself that the peace of our people may be better served by it.
For this Lion is for the lambs... a shepherd true and true.
Let this nation therefore, be blessed with many lions (and lionesses).
*Shipbuilding as a heavy industry (recently brought up by PNoy) is something I have also been thinking of for some time now.
This is only possible however, after a durable, meaningful, sustainable peace is obtained as well as absorbed in Mindanao and consequently all across our one Republic whole. A space port is another thing.
These heavy industries are to be strategically built from a tier of pre-requisite industries. But all of these must be built from a sound local agricultural base to make it less vulnerable to undesirable market forces.
This is impossible to begin if we remain unemerged - stillborn, as it were - as a Country in our ages in time.
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Carry On, President Noy
The Catholic bishop of Butuan was reported in a major newspaper today to have called for the resignation of President Noy. While I must submit myself to the rightful authority of my Holy Mother Church, I must also respectfully disagree with him.
I think it is very irresponsible and reckless to call on our President to resign for any reason other than having openly and irreconcilably turned hostile against his own people - against the very Nation served by the Responsible State. But our PNoy is not a Quadaffi by a long shot.
We can not demand perfection from the State anymore than God can demand perfection from ourselves without His aid and His authority.
The life of the State is derived from the life of Nation.
Its authority is a divine authority granted by will of Providence out of the necessity of the people themselves to be governed either by the original line of their kings and rulers (as in a Monarchy) or by their peers (as in a Republic).
It is therefore, composed of human beings - no more, no less. The real power of the Responsible State lies in its ability to unify its peace with the peace of its own Nation - this synergy builds up the Common Market, preserves the peace of civil society, prospers the people and blesses the generations of the people.
This is the labor of our own particular Republic undertaking of Country and is something we must gradually learn from our own common experience as a people united in time and in eternity under the peace of our Republic vision.
It is something that we gradually grow into like a tree growing under the Light of the LORD, our God, and one Sovereign; Almighty God Whose pruning and guidance we must also pay close attention to as a nation entire.
Furthermore, before the promised time of the LORD, it is an imperfect peace and keeps every nation of our one family of the nations of Mankind walking in humility before God always - and for our own good.
There may be many undertakings of Country upon this earth but there is no one undertaking of Country like our own. Neither can this Country be built by any nation other than ourselves.
Hence short of a mature tyranny, it serves not one of us, my father bishop included, to try and subvert the very laws and processes that hold our Republic undertaking together.
Indeed, I was really shocked about this particular headline about a bishop of the Church no less. It makes me sad just to think about it. I would have expected more from our Catholic leadership especially at this crucial time - when unity above all is wanting in our beloved, suffering nation.
It would not have been a headline worthy article to me, by the way, in the first instance. My own opinion is that it is simply too sensationalist and therefore, counter-intuitive to have allowed this to print as is.
With August coming up, I think it only right for us common folk to expect that tabloid-mentality like this would soon be on the wane especially with our major newspapers like the Manila Times.
With all the other things happening in and around our Country at this particular point in the life of our nation, quite frankly, I would have expected (and with good reason) for more productive material to dominate our national conversation - like the peace process, for one.
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DOTC
Congratulations to our new DOTC Secretary, Mar Roxas. This vital department is made even more crucial in this present age. To be honest, transportation and communication together seems to me awfully broad for a single department. But then again, maybe not.
Don't be jaded by rumors, Kuya Mar. In the long run, it's not position that counts, it's what you do with it - lateral hierarchy is all about function and precedes horizontal authority: Command can not be demanded, it must be earned.
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Education as a Source of Prosperity
Of the root sources of poverty in our Country, I have mentioned four - corruption, geography, division, ecological depletion. Some might ask - what about education?
Education, even the most rudimentary of forms, is never a source of poverty - according to how efficiently we develop our own system of education in this Country, we only stand to gain from our efforts.
Learning is a thing that is like starlight, received and therefore, a system of education - properly dedicated - facilitates learning.
There is much to improve on in the realm of learning... always. Because truth be told, learning is forever.
But as regards to those root sources of poverty, all of them have at their heart, a corruption of first principles. This corruption is like a truth which is being obscured - eclipsed as it were, by a darkness that lingers to keep us in confusion.
From this darkness, we must emerge.
My honorable compatriots, let us pause to think and to pray about these things this 113th year of our independence bearing always in mind and heart today that the ages of Country in time are a measure not of the length of intervening years but of the brightness of our remembrance.
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Mabuhay ang Republika ng Pilipinas at mabuhay ring nawa ang ating mahal na Pangulo at Pangalawang Pangulo! May God bless all Filipinos with a peaceful, meaningful, and blessed 113th Independence Day.
Excalibur and the Paradox of Power