20110611

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!

---<--@

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.

---<--@

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.

---<--@

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.

---<--@

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.

---<--@

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

20110503

A Man in White

I had a dream last night of a man in white.

I was sitting in a classroom-like environment, distracted. He came up to me like a strong, strong embrace. I instantly came back to focus - feeling embarrassed for a moment. Then I felt this surge of utter amazement upon realizing that this man touched my person. I was dumbfounded.

It was the Pope of my youth - Blessed John Paul II. And he had the indefatigable vitality of a Saint of God!

The Lord Christ is giving the world a new friend, alleluia to the LORD! A new star appears upon the firmament of our heaven, alleluia to God - Amen.

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

The man in white said to me, "be strong"...

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

Son of Poland and Son of Holy Mother Church: Friend of the youth, friend of workers, friend of nations, friend of freedom, friend of peace...

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.

Glorified be God in all His Holy Angels and in all His Saints!

---<--@

The 3rd Cause: The Cause of Justice - Harmony

Justice would seem as love to those who are familiar with her but to those whose hearts are far away from her, she is their chief terror.

Two things the heart of Mankind needs: Love and Justice.

The original state of Man is one of unadulterated goodness. In this original state, Man knows neither good nor evil but is wholly submissive to the nurture and protection of God, his Creator.

In this original state, the promise (human potential) of Man is completely in harmony with his freedom and his dignity constantly preserved by the golden Presence of the LORD, his Eternal Provider and Holy Sustainer, in all of living creation whether seen or unseen.

The root of all that is evil lies in understanding Man's departure (exile) from this original state since that most primordial of evil was a sin that was inflicted upon him by another.

For the fall of Man was an act initiated by the serpent of Eden.

Man was offered a knowledge to command all things, a knowledge over and beyond God Himself so that Man might become like God and therefore, apart from Him.

By this lie Man was deceived. Because none may offer this knowledge but the LORD God alone.

And no creature whether in heaven or on earth may ask this of the LORD without sin. For the serpent offered Man the knowledge of God Himself.

It was this lie that caused Man to break away from his original lineage of life and of light.

It was this evil that have caused the heart of Man to become divided, necessitating his departure from this original state.

Man came to exile grief and time itself was torn asunder. Heaven was grieved and its gates was shut at the autumnal dusk of faded Eden. S

o began the long march of the nations of Mankind.

Now, that which caused this departure was disobedience of which Man is guilty. But that which caused this disobedience was not of Man. It was of the serpent.

Justice is a result of this first principle.

The creative ideal is an expression of this original state.

It is the timeless expression of the absolute good longed for by every human heart.

It is as an unspoken promise understood by the heart of all Mankind and duly expressed in the Ideals of the States that legally govern the nations to whom this creative ideal is entrusted by God.

Justice primarily concerns itself with the creative ideal. What concerns Justice is the restoration of Man. Therefore, all meritorious acts of Justice as a virtue must be that which serve to restore Man to his original state.

In this way, Spiritual Justice is a pursuit.

For Spiritual Justice must concern itself with the human community as a whole. It is always vigilant, it is always in motion.

It drives the juridical sciences according to the needs of the good in the context of the realities of every present time.

What seeks to banish the evils in human society,

what seeks to redress the legitimate grievances of the community,

what seeks to safeguard the individual good and the common good,

what seeks to fulfill the requirements of the creative ideal expressed by the hopes of every nation and mandated by the ideals vested in each its Responsible States,

all of these are acts of Spiritual Justice.

It is what imparts force of truth to the individual will to preserve through human institutions, the peace and the order of civil society.

From Spiritual Justice spring Temporal Justice.

Now, Temporal Justice is a remedy of law. Its merits are derived from the prevailing judgments of the law courts which are always relative to the needs of the present realities it has been called to serve and redress.

Its proximity to the realities of these needs in time and its efficacy according to Spiritual Justice is always underpinned by its faithfulness to the creative ideal.

Thus, it is never anger nor the spirit of revenge that drives Justice but Justice itself.

Its relationship to the 4th Cause (Benignity, the Cause of Minorities) is not incidental.

For what concerns Justice is the total defense of the good - even the ideal good.

It is law that seeks to bind what evil there is.

---<--@

A Nation in Motion

We are a nation in constant motion.

As a people together, we are travelers.

The open way and the journey whether by air, land or sea, are important considerations in everyday Filipino life.

The Filipino is a traveler. Our soul is a pilgrim soul.

There is no part of the world where we are not represented by our own compatriots in diaspora. These present days, not a lot of Filipinos may express surprise at the fact that we have been to almost every nation on earth.

Mobility is part of our nature. And this is true in more sense than one.

Whether for business, work, family or pleasure, we are a people constantly on the move.

Here in the Philippines, we are beginning to re-discover anew our inherent passion for discovery and exploration.

Whether by air, land, or sea, we are as a nation stretching forth to encompass all 7,107 islands we call home where a thousand destinations await us.

We are a maritime nation. But a

ll our movements as a people together are centered and guided by our attachments to the land.

Therefore, t

he hub that connects all air and sea movement is land movement.

Land movement means roads, traffic and transportation management facilities and similar infrastructure.

When we should build, we should always build outward with this foundation in mind.

My honorable compatriots, how we see the open way and the journey is important. Because through individual perspective, we come to understand what our national mobility require as a means to our own common good.

For the open way and the journey is a kind of freedom. Without it, the Filipino soul will shrink.

Therefore, the more open the way, the freer the journey, the more joyous the Filipino dream.

The way we view the world at large and our own place in this world is influenced by how far and how deeply we are able to imagine ourselves able to penetrate into its regions.

This view must always begin at here at home.

For we are not only opening up to the world, more importantly, we are opening up to each other.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY is a right of every Filipino citizen.

I

t is therefore, every Filipino's duty to make sure that our roads remain open and safe for all - both for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Obey the rules of the road!