I am for peace

That we as a nation have a choice for peace 

while other nations struggling as we are

may not or can not have this choice 

is itself a constant wonder to me. 

It is something I think about often 

that we - in the here and now - 

are able to desire peace...

It is a truth I never take for granted.

It means the favorable time for peace is now.

This is the most apolitical picture I can post... I think it fits right in.

Peace may also be won by a contest of arms. 

However, let us remember to consider the field upon which these battles shall be fought and won.

Nation-States have been shaped by wars fought among themselves. These wars are common in our history. But those wars fought from within a Nation-State are different. These internal divides do not shape destiny, they predicate destiny. The longer it happens, the darker that destiny becomes.

If a contest of arms were the solution to peace reform in our Philippines, why is it taking us so long to arrive at a decisive outcome? Our internal conflict have been the longest running in the history of the world. And so much pain and loss it has cost this nation, across the generations.

How easily some of us dismiss the blessings a season of peace might afford our nation's children. How easily some of us would rather trust in the power of arms than believe in the power of peace.

When shall we ever tire of killing our fellow Filipinos in defense of the very Republic sworn forever to our common defense?

Among ourselves, where individuals seem to kill others without responsibility, is it not because the very presence of war ultimately allows it?

As a nation where we seem to view all these individual tragedies as obscure, being without a sense of common accountability, is it not because the absence of peace ultimately precludes it?

Those who advocate a course of war do not understand the cost of war. Nor its nature in particular that we must everyday contend against here within our Republic of the Philippines.

No, I am for peace. 

I am for a just, meaningful and durable peace in Mindanao and across the whole of our Philippines; peace as a cornerstone of the national success.

I am for a peace gained through faith in God and unity through Country; peace that serves and defends all Filipinos with virtue, humanity, and maturity of remembrance.

I think we have suffered enough to merit this peace, I think it is within reach of our memory, and by grace of God and love of our people, we shall have it.
---<--@

Today, we commemorate the miracle of 1986. I was 13 years old then and even then, I had an idea that something big was happening... something bold.

I think many things happened to allow for that miracle in EDSA to occur. God did not just bless us with a miracle from out of the blue in 1986.

If the Gospel has taught my own heart anything, it is that miracles had to be owned first before it is owed to us by God - that faith is always first before fruition.

Today, I remember that truly peaceful revolution our nation was empowered by God to pull from out of the blue through our collective faith and unity as a people... a real crossing of a threshold.

I say it is one of a kind... and I respect it as such... unique. It is special not only in the memory of this nation but in the history of our family of nations. A great movement in the soul of a people... ours.

Salutation #13

The difference between a monarch and a president is one of election.

The similarity is that both of them still have to make the surrender of kings - an acceptance of a life of service to the nation as a rule above all rules.

(Completing our EDSA)

To all our national communities, Peace -

A significant part of the peace of the times, my people,

as it concerns our nation, the Philippines,

involves bridging the gap between generations

and between administrations.

There are specific moments in our history

that we need to re-examine in light of these times.

And we shall do this not to scatter

either our belongings to each other

or our remembrances together

but to more fully gather them together

in and amidst ourselves.

For if we know ourselves as ourselves,

we can no longer be a nation

swayed hither tither by a dark night.

If we find confusion in our hearts about the past -

especially from 1986,

now is the time to re-examine these pivotal events.

And we shall do this with a view to establish the facts

upon more familiar grounds of fundamental truths

we have now re-discovered about ourselves as a nation

as well as about our nation in the context of its God-given right

to prosper and advance

under the peace of a Republic undertaking of Country.

Look upon these present times yourselves, my honorable compatriots,

and see the coincidences for what they are - signal graces.

My intention here is to guide you -

but you have to let yourself be led.

And not by me.

- selah -

All our Presidents have had something to give to our Country.

It is up to us to discern what good there is

that we have inherited from past Presidencies.

For if we remember only the problems,

we shall fail to build on the strength

of previous administrations.

It is only natural for every generation

to inherit a degree of evil

(to test their strength and commitment to the truth)

but sufficient for this evil - always -

is the good of the prevailing day.

We have come to remember

the faults of our Presidents

and may God allow it to serve our vigilance well.

But to the point that we tend to almost always forget their virtues,

we are consigning ourselves to a labor of unending beginnings.

For it is these virtues that connect our lineages together

and it is by the strength of these connections that we prosper.

If we are wise, my people,

and if the LORD, our God, blesses us,

even what darkness there is may lead us to the light.

Only those who are without remembrance remain in the dark.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

(produced 20110613)

20110613

The Spratly Dispute

Our one Filipino nation has intimate cultural ties with the one Chinese nation. These historical ties are built upon the strength of common blood ties as well as by the pull of national necessities that flow naturally from the geography of our growing region.

Because of this, it is very difficult (but not impossible) for me to visualize our one Republic in open armed conflict with the People's Republic of China (PRC). And I am reasonably sure that the PRC feels the same way.

Armed conflict between any nation is truly an option of last resort and one not to be entered into lightly.

Therefore, what we must guard against is the unnecessary escalation of tension.

It is vital that reporting (from all sources) on the Spratly dispute respects and represents this fact of our national life - peace is our prerogative. No one in his or her right mind would want our whole region to descend into open war.

This is our first and foremost consideration - War serves no nation.

We are duty-bound both by honor and charity, to repel all threats that impugn the sovereignty of our one Republic however - and this consideration above all is what must drive our will to see to it that this issue is resolved - properly and using all available means.

Indeed, every citizen of every nation is bound to the common defense of their Country from every and all elements that threaten their peace and good will both internal as well as external.

Defense is a reaction. So what are we reacting to in the case of the Spratly issue?

There really is only one worthwhile cause for a shooting war - a clear, imminent and direct threat to the life of our nation i.e. our population and its posterity. This cause above all other causes absolutely compel the conduct of the defense. For it is the very cause of our existence as a nation.

Everything else must lie squarely within the realm of statecraft and diplomacy - until it fails and we have to go to war. God-forbid this should happen but it has happened before in the history of our nations - and many, many times.

Personally speaking, I am not convinced that we are presently reacting to a clear, imminent and direct threat to the life of our nation.

But if we remain confused or undecided about how we might as a Republic react to this threat, it might come to pass that we shall find ourselves treading a path we did not set out to take. Fear is only good if it keeps us alert to the truth.

What is in our hearts, my honorable compatriots, matter. We can not react passionately about this issue. Nor can we allow vague sentimentalism to rule our love of Country.

The Republic we serve is real, the people it shelters is all too real. As regards to the Spratly issue, there exists also a real threat - but the conclusion most favorable to our nation (and therefore, to all nations in the long-term) depends on how well we are able to penetrate today the confusion that must surround it.

Defense is a reaction. How well we handle ourselves matter above all because how well we handle ourselves (especially in the midst of adversity) is a reflection of how well we know ourselves both as a nation and as a Republic whole. And according to how much we know ourselves, we are able to glimpse also into the humanity of other nations as well.

Here is my analysis on the matter:

There are in reality two States that serve the one Chinese nation. For our intents and purposes, we shall refer to them as the elder and the younger States i.e. the mainland and the island ones.

The elder State is authoritarian in form. Her language therefore, will reflect this form. She is a Republic and therefore, very protective of her own. But so are we.

Though she does not always represent the actual desire of her nation - fact is, the elder State is still representative of the authority to represent that desire. If we know ourselves, we know to understand what this desire is.

But since we are a fully functional emerging democracy - the way by which we intend to achieve the end for which this desire exists in our people is very distinct though not different from her.

Where this desire intersects is where the common ground for the Spratly dispute may be found not in its distinctions.

Since this is a dispute, we can not meet her at her language. We have to stay with our own. We must reiterate the facts without inflaming the passions that underlie the tension. We must agree to use a common terminology that is neutral.

We have to consolidate our own collective will to preserve our peace and use this opportunity to press forward with our own internal national reconciliation processes strategically synchronizing these with our national development agendas (their tactical requirements as it were, including the modernization of our AFP, PNP, BFP, BJMP, etc.) without which our Republic can not obtain to its fullest potential.

ASEAN has a large part to play in this, of course. I am mystified as to why the knee-jerk reaction is to fly to the US and not to our partners in the region first. Our region is important enough to consider and one that is collectively possessed of interests of its own - more importantly, these interests are shared interests and they must be represented by our ASEAN.

The US is an ally (and a valuable one too) but she is not the only one. We have to learn to place a real value on our friendships with other nations as a matter of completing our remembrances.

The US is in principle an ally of the defense - and so are all the other nations (each to its own degree) of our one family of nations in the United Nations, China included. Our own worst enemy here at the moment is the perceptions we create in ourselves and therefore in other nations.

We must be clear and we must be resolute, above all we must base our thinking about the matter on relevant facts and our understanding of its favorable resolution on the force of law.

We must take to the side of the defense and undertake to properly understand it and the peace that it serves.

War serves no nation. I am not saying that fighting for the defense of our nation is not good, I am meaning precisely that. Fighting for the defense is good and when it is, it ultimately leads its nation to victory.

What we presently need here is an order of business not an order of battle.

The contested areas are not viable population centers in the near to mid-term therefore, the core of the dispute is really and specifically economic in nature.

There is a great possibility that the area is rich in petrochemical resources. I am of the conviction that diplomatic tact and business acumen not military force will best serve the national interests of all parties concerned as well as preserve the stability of the greater region.

We must specifically and strictly confine the Spratley dispute into the realm of strategic, regional economics. We may ask ourselves, "what regional economic goals may it serve?"

And this strategy must be geared towards the eventual de-militarization of the region.

Owing to the times, the actual causus belli of the Spratly issue - i.e. the resources - is limited by time itself so that the further we remain indecisive on the matter, the less and less probable that any nation will succeed in harnessing and therefore, profiting from the true potential of the area.

Research is parallel to available information and in the age of information, sans the paradigm of War, research will only go exponentially fast. And all research is driven by necessity.

My thinking here is that if we sit on this issue long enough without actually going to war, it will probably go away (at least in terms of significance).

And it is most likely that this is the outcome, disadvantageous though it may be (in terms of economic gain for the entire region), that is most advantageous to all parties concerned, if the region remains indecisive.

If we remain divided on the issue - the best outcome is to prevent an open, armed conflict. If we are to find some common ground on the issue - the best outcome is an economic one. Therefore, the less politics involved the better it shall be.

---<--@

The Culture of Death

A famous saying goes, "home is where the heart is." This is true because a house is not always a home.

Now, the culture of death is like a house built on four foundations.

1. Heretical Materialism - the social doctrine that both the goal and the substance of life is purely material because the physical universe is really all there is.
2. Atheistic Secularism - the religion that imposes the belief that there is no God because Man is independent and self-sufficient by himself alone.
3. Moral Relativism - the lie that believes that justice is arbitrary because there are no moral absolutes as both good and evil come in convenient shades of gray.
4. Social Darwinism - the lie that believes that brute force is the singular social requirement, in the absence of virtue and truth, that measure the excellence of nations or individuals.

A culture of death is a culture of contempt for Sacred Life. This is the house that breeds the darkness that sustains the Beast of War.

It is a house that must rely on division being held up purely by its opposition to the truth. It is therefore, a house built invariably on persecution of whatever form and spirit.

It harbors a great disregard for our common humanity.

It must necessarily hold the universal spirit of Mankind in utter contempt, disrespecting the virtues embodied in its heroes - all our patriarchs, prophets, judges, kings, queens, apostles, bishops, martyrs, virgins, doctors, saints, holy personages, leaders and teachers - from all times and from all peoples, known and known to God alone, all those who are particularly beloved of every honorable religion, and therefore, to one Creator of all Sacred Life in all His revealed mystery.

It abhors wisdom in all its forms and seeks to scandalize the common people and undo the peace of the nations.

This is not our house.

Another thing about the culture of death, this house is parasitic. We only have to return to our original foundations and work to reverse its lies in ourselves to find our home (away from Home) once again.

---<--@

Sheltering Wings

The difference between a monarch and a president is one of election. The similarity is that both of them still have to make the surrender of kings - an acceptance of a life of service to the nation as a rule above all rules.

Now, the peace of the Responsible State are like sheltering wings - everybody is engaged from the center in a lateral hierarchy that embraces the nation.

This is a liberating embrace - one that both preserves the dignity of the individual citizen as well as unleashes their promise in the service of the national good - everybody ascends with but one ascending to the vision of Country being in itself true to the first principles of nationhood.

The opposite is the grip of a tyrant. And we all know this from common experience.

This is the shelter we are presently trying to obtain for our nation - not for winter's sake but for the spring. This is the cause of our allied generations begun in 2009 (prior to 2009 there was no choice and after 2012, this choice will be no more).

---<--@

Salutation #13

(Completing our EDSA)

To all our national communities, Peace -

A significant part of the peace of the times, my people,

as it concerns our nation, the Philippines,

involves bridging the gap between generations

and between administrations.

There are specific moments in our history

that we need to re-examine in light of these times.

And we shall do this not to scatter

either our belongings to each other

or our remembrances together

but to more fully gather them together

in and amidst ourselves.

For if we know ourselves as ourselves,

we can no longer be a nation

swayed hither tither by a dark night.

If we find confusion in our hearts about the past -

especially from 1986,

now is the time to re-examine these pivotal events.

And we shall do this with a view to establish the facts

upon more familiar grounds of fundamental truths

we have now re-discovered about ourselves as a nation

as well as about our nation in the context of its God-given right

to prosper and advance

under the peace of a Republic undertaking of Country.

Look upon these present times yourselves, my honorable compatriots,

and see the coincidences for what they are - signal graces.

My intention here is to guide you -

but you have to let yourself be led.

And not by me.

- selah -

All our Presidents have had something to give to our Country.

It is up to us to discern what good there is

that we have inherited from past Presidencies.

For if we remember only the problems,

we shall fail to build on the strength

of previous administrations.

It is only natural for every generation

to inherit a degree of evil

(to test their strength and commitment to the truth)

but sufficient for this evil - always -

is the good of the prevailing day.

We have come to remember

the faults of our Presidents

and may God allow it to serve our vigilance well.

But to the point that we tend to almost always forget their virtues,

we are consigning ourselves to a labor of unending beginnings.

For it is these virtues that connect our lineages together

and it is by the strength of these connections that we prosper.

If we are wise, my people,

and if the LORD, our God, blesses us,

even what darkness there is may lead us to the light.

Only those who are without remembrance remain in the dark.

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Sheltering Wings

The Circular Relationship of the Four Causes

20110225

Completing our EDSA

"How long ago is 25 years?"

This question seems to ask something more from within itself, something else more existential than a mere passage of time:

"How much of it have we forgot?"

Brother and sister Filipinos, let us never again forget our nation's potential for good in this world. For just as all human beings are equal both in dignity (being) and potential (becoming) so too are all human nations thus endowed with a just equality. From this equality we all must begin. From this equality we all must return.

In sharp contrast to the national movements seizing the consciousness of other Countries, ours still stand out as a truly well-inspired, grace-filled transition into our own better selves; a truly remarkable feat of nationhood.

Our EDSA is exceptional in its non-violent character.

For what revolution truly is is a willing disintegration of a Country into violence and uncertainty. All revolution being a measured descent into fire and shadow.

What tempers the violence however, is the discipline of the nation but what makes the uncertain certain may be decided only by God without Whom no nation may survive this descent.

We should indeed be thankful and properly proud of our faith both in God and in our people.

This is not to say however, that this transition is anywhere complete. For the work of our nations is never complete until we have all arrived. So while we are yet here we must always make due provision for the generations that are yet to come - their songs must not remain unsung.

EDSA is EDSA. There are no sequels to this, our timeless coming together. Every other lesser movement that our EDSA has thus far inspired in ourselves is both enhanced as well as embraced by it. So that what we are always desiring to obtain out of our EDSA is not another EDSA but the completion of our first and only one.

This labor to complete our EDSA, all its signal graces and its right season under the sky, now lies before our hearts and before our hands - right here, right now - in this present time.

This is no time to dwell on past mistakes but on the wisdom that those trials have produced in our people. This is no time to argue what void there is but what we can do - together this time - to help steer our one Republic clear of the impending perils that clearer understandings now perceive.

No longer shall past shadows hold sway that we shall not allow in our hearts this time. For the times are sufficiently changed. What we shall will to leave behind, shall now depend upon what we shall choose to freely and humanly embrace.

For the essence of EDSA is a transition to peace, the peace that prospers - our original peace, our one Republic peace. It is this work that shall define us, my honorable compatriots - this work of peace.

It is our work; the labor of these present times:

Now is the time to complete our EDSA.
---<--@

The Responsible State

Upon the Responsible State is vested the authority to govern the people. This authority is a divine authority.

For this authority is the right to govern your peers and therefore, belongs to God alone.

Upon this vital mandate is built the structure and the systems (Constitution or Ideals of State) from which the Offices of State derive both form and power.

And these Offices are served by their various national institutions.

These institutions when their purpose and design are directed toward the nation (not towards persons or personalities) are what safeguard the national good.

Duty is empowered and rights protected. Peace is preserved and prosperity assured. Hope is sustained and service made meaningful. Law is observed and justice is vigilant. Civil order is maintained and freedoms understood. Vision is perceived and the national destiny clear.

These proceed from a strong and empowered Responsible State.

"Verily, every living thing, above all every human being shall be accounted for - to the very last hair on their head."

---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Forward Thinking

20101116

The Lady

The military junta in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar has recently decided to free Aung San Suu Kyi after more than 7 years of house arrest. It was also further reported that it was an unconditional act, if you will, a gesture of good will from the state.

Like a breath of fresh air. That's how I feel about it:

What is good for Burma is good for ASEAN, my fellow Filipino compatriots.

But like all gestures of good will, this one will only remain significant for the Burmese nation as a whole if it is genuine. For history will record it so.

And it can only remain genuine if Aung San Suu Kyi remains in freedom to pursue a path of destiny with her own people. She herself has made it very clear that the path she chooses is a path of peace; a radical change, one of internal renewal leading to the transformation of the fabric of Burmese society - a peace that prospers.

In this crucial time in her history, the Burmese nation can look to the People Power experience of my own Filipino nation. Indeed, we still have a long way to go but we are as a nation better still for our souls being touched by our adherence to peace and non-violent social transformation as exemplified in the People Power revolution. Today we are as a people still coming full circle into a remembrance of the things that make us a nation and a Republic undertaking of Country. But that circle was begun in EDSA 1986.

For Burma, I believe that circle was begun a few days ago with the simple act of freeing a bird with a song to sing for her nation. That bird is "the Lady", Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Having said that, my fellow Filipino compatriots, isn't it high time we also consider the case of the Morong 43 and other detained political prisoners in our own Country?

---<--@

A Blessed and Meaningful Eid'l Adha to all my fellow Filipino Muslim compatriots and to all Muslims, peace.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

The Paradox of Power

20101013

"A smile that is missing is a smile that is lost forever. If you have caused this, O Man, how shall you account for it in eternity?"

The IIRC Review

It is the first prerogative of Justice to restore dignity to the human person and this is most especially true in cases of murder.

We do not live in an ideal world. In this world, sickness, deterioration, and war, relentlessly drive against the striving of Man to build and advance the cause of human civilization. And this is true both in the temporal and the spiritual sense.

The hostage-taking incident last August 23 claimed the lives of eight Hong Kong tourists the youngest of whom is Jessie Leung Song-yi. She was only 14.





It's tragedy stems from the fact that we can never bring them back. From their families, friends, to their nation and their generations, to ours, their promise has now been forever withheld from the totality of all human community - at this time.

The just equality of all human beings under God is a chief concern of spiritual Justice. And this equality is built upon two foundations: Human Dignity (who we are) and Human Promise or potential for good (what we are). From this equality we all must begin and unto this equality we all must return. A society that is just will intrinsically recognize and uphold a just equality and her temporal Justice will stand in defense of this good. She will be thus guided.

It must now also be noted that the effects of the tragedy, centered on the deaths that resulted from the murder of the eight Hong Kong tourists, is now poised to claim the lives of other people but not in the same sense. We must be careful not to further damage what good there is that must be for our own sake's preserved. It is from this underlying consideration that I believe the IIRC review findings drew its principal mitigating logic.

Because what proceeds from the first prerogative of Justice is the preservation of the human promise. Notably not as a diminution of its first task but as a co-equal task.

It is a fact of this tragedy that the perpetrator of this crime has himself become a victim of his own evil intention.

It is also a fact of this tragedy that institutional weaknesses played a significant role in the undesired outcome of the rescue effort.

It is also a fact of this tragedy that anger and other unrelated motives still threaten the climate of objectivity in the bar of public opinion.

Evil must not be re-payed with evil. It must be repelled from the life of our common community. It must be deliberately excluded from our public peace.

And to do this, what good there is must be recognized, preserved and if necessary restored by the court of Justice, temporal and spiritual. And in this nation, this is the function of the juridical processes established across all the three independent branches of the Republic government - the executive, legislative and judiciary.

Therefore, that we all agree in quorum is crucial. Because it is very important for this Country of ours, my fellow Filipino compatriots, to move forward.



Personally speaking, and in defense of Mayor Lim, it must also be taken into consideration that the Mayor is an ex-cop and his service meritorious. He has accomplished a lot for the City of Manila as a member of the MPD. He has accomplished a lot more as Mayor.

That his sensitivity to the outfit and to the uniform might have reactively influenced his strategy can not be ruled out because the hostage-taker himself was an ex-cop albeit dishonorably discharged. If this is true, this weakness that in retrospect appear to be so might have appeared to many before the fact to be a strength.

Again, it must be pointed out that the effect of the person of Mayor Lim on the undesired outcome of the operation was only exacerbated by institutional failings that have been the cumulative effect of years of national decline.

The best way to reverse this is to move forward on all fronts. And I believe this is what the present Aquino administration is trying to get us all to do - and by example.

As regards to this tragedy in particular, I believe the best way to move forward is to learn from it and to become better prepared to defend the common good specifically in the effective rescue of hostages and to do this on behalf of all those innocents whose promise we are now left without.

We shall honor their deaths by restoring the dignity of their lives.

Because to remember them well, we should work to become better for their loss and not worse and work to preserve the memory of their promise for our own good sake in remembrance of their lives.
---<--@

People Power and Proclamation 50

I am carrying this post over from All to my All -

REVOLUTION, how must we understand it, O my nation?

LET US FIRST SEEK to know what revolution is not: Certain.

Time itself being so much fraught with uncertainty, like a chasm the depth of which no one knows, revolution yawns beneath the feet of those who seek to be defined by it.

It is like a throw of dice, entered only when the need is such that one must by destiny heed the call of random chance. And this need must be such great a need as to be placed upon its time by purposes that must transcend it, lest the will of the fight soon falter and fail, the faith of the people must burn that brightly, to set itself completely against the test.

This is why the People Power revolution of 1986 was such a great wonder.

It is a miracle of grace; our timeless pulling together for God and Country, and the measure of the quality of our people.

So let us remember People Power not as a falling apart but as a gathering together, in our hearts, in our lives, and in our times together as a one whole Filipino nation.

Let us not forget, my honorable compatriots, that to willingly surrender to chance is to court the Devil that we may from People Power learn to remember always the measure of our resolve to advance the cause of our one Republic, and to tempt never the Providence of the one Divine under Whose singular Standard of Truth the oppressed is liberated.
---<--@



I support Proclamation 50. I support this Amnesty because I am of a firm belief that we stand to become better unified as a Country through it.

I have always thought that the Magdalo group had in its heart the betterment of the nation specifically, the Filipino soldiery and the nobility of the Philippine profession of arms.

But not unlike our current Secretary of National Defense, Voltaire Gazmin, I am more personally inclined to err on the side of loyalty and disagree only with their method. I do not and never will support instability in all its forms including military adventurism.

In view of this, I believe we can all commonly draw our lessons from EDSA 1986, shed away the past, and become better as a nation for our coming together this time.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.



We must begin today
what no other generation can.
We must quicken to truths
that no lie can ever deny.
We must open doors
that lead to new horizons.
And we must shut the gates
so that no one may be left behind.