An Appeal for Dondon Celestino Lanuza

My national interest can be summed up in one word - you.

When the Providence of the LORD singles out one of our compatriots as in the case of Dondon Celestino Lanuza, our national leaders should listen, in fact, we should all listen.

Because these are the times when our sense of unity is tested not through the threats arrayed against it but through an opportunity to actually benefit from its merits.

For our sense of unity is further strengthened not only by our sense of repulsion from the things of War but also by our sense of attraction to the things of the Light.

To respond to this invitation to assist in obtaining the freedom of one of our own is an exercise of unity. And if we are successful in giving this needful brother of ours his life back, we are indeed further strengthened.

Let us now bear this first principle in mind - we are to love our own - in a hundred thousand ways, direct and indirect, if we become to each other, a keeper and a friend, a citizen though and through, we shall only heap blessings upon our nation.

Justice is not upheld through vengeance, my fellow Filipinos, nor is Justice served by anger.

Justice animated by Justice shall always be solicitous of our individual potential to bring in more good into this world despite the sins one is oft inclined to humanly commit, however grievous they may be.

In the case of the criminal, once the sanction of Law is applied, it is still the domain of Justice to restore the peace of the community and to the individuals concerned - repair and restitution.

With this in mind, I am now formally appealing to each one of you, my brothers and sisters of the Promise, the case of Dondon Celestino Lanuza.

Dondon was convicted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the murder of one of their citizens in 2000 and condemned to die by beheading.

He has always maintained that the act of killing of which he is convicted is an act of self-defense.

Forgiven by the kin of the victim in February of 2011, Dondon is now in need of the customary "blood money" to be paid to the aggrieved family to obtain his freedom and the relief of his own family.

Dondon is a father of two and has been supporting his family in jail through alms given to him by his friends. He has been awaiting execution for the past 11 years.

We need to help him raise the 35 million pesos (USD 800,000) required by the victim's family to secure his freedom. Through each our own gifts, in each our own ways, I want us to contribute toward the welfare of one of our own in the person of Dondon.

This is my formal appeal to you.

I especially would like to see prominent people in our society - politicians, movers and shakers, industry leaders - become more and more interested in the plight of this littlest Filipino. Citizens of other nations with a heart of common humanity are also welcome to help.

Please, I shall leave it to you to find out more about it. The same with everything I post on this blog, I shall likewise be following this issue.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen.

Mabuhay po tayong lahat!

---<--@

Think about it -

They say, my brothers and sisters of the Promise, famously - that a team only goes as fast as its slowest member.

This is not true. (Imagine if it were...)

A team only goes as fast as its willingness to act as a team.

Unit efficiency not individual weaknesses is the constant:

This shall be our mindset as well.

---<--@

NOTE: I usually do not openly disclose my humble material offerings to the LORD (my prayer life is not unlike my almsgiving - a deeply personal and private affair) but in this case, I shall have to make an exception. (20120123)

I am going start with a donation of P500.00 which I shall deposit to -

Account Name: Letty Lanuza

Bank: Metrobank Malolos McArthur Hi-Way Branch

Savings Account No.: 575-3-57501112-9

Bank Swift Code: MBTCPHMM

(20120124) Important: One has to bring up the fact that all Metrobank related fees are to be waived when donating through this channel (per the information on the helpdondon.com website).

The teller system does not automatically bring it up. I deposited my donation today and was asked to pay a fee of P50.00 (as the account opening branch is outside Metro Manila) to the Metrobank branch near SM Southmall - gladly.

I might come back another day to get my P50.00 back though. P50.00 is still P50.00, right? I'll just put it through to the account also and make sure it does not go to the bank.

(20120127) I went back to the branch to inform them of the fee waiver but was - in no uncertain terms - asked to "coordinate" it with the account opening branch. In other words, despite my explanations, the supervisor on duty decided in advance not to help me.

I can see through his poker face as he blew me off and as I am not ignorant of bank procedures this was doubly upsetting to me... so there. No matter, this is not about him. I pray for your freedom, Dondon!

(20121122) Responding to the call to be one of 1,500 donor, I deposited another 1000 today for Dondon's freedom account at the Metrobank near Starmall Las Pinas. I wasn't asked the P50.00 fee this time which was cool. Everything went smoothly. Inshalla, Dondon, God be with you to be your comfort and strength.

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!