My two centavos worth...

I believe in the personal sincerity of President Noynoy. I do not think him to be himself in any way corrupt.

I am more concerned about motives concealed by less obvious people around him.

I think motions to impeach him is a waste of time; a political distraction that may cost our Republic more in terms of time qualitatively.

As regards to a term extension, I believe he himself should make up his mind, weigh his own personal and political considerations, and not leave it up to the people to decide.

If the President goes ahead with it, succeeds in convincing Congress to amend the Constitution, and receives in 2016 from the Filipino electorate a second mandate in affirmation of the popular efficacy of his platform and policies, he will come out with a much stronger mandate than allowing us to choose it for him today.

This will at least preserve continuity and momentum in the Republic by giving him much political capital to spend at the beginning of that second term.

Personally, I do not think it advisable to amend the Constitution for reasons short of a moral imperative or an ethical crisis - political dictates and its cohort tendencies must never be allowed to override ANY prevailing Constitutional wisdom - whether we at present fully understand it, somehow understand it, or not at all.

Many things in this Republic is built on trust, if we must know. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, even the roofs above our heads are built on trust.

Our Constitution above all we must trust and trust in the Republic to duly interpret: Vigilant Trust.

I myself have fallen in love with its Preamble and often find myself trying to penetrate its words to discover their meaning - arising, seemingly ever new.


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20110708

Salutation #32

(One Heart, One People, One Destiny)

Peace be with you.

My fellow Filipino compatriots,

in the Final Accounting of all things,

it shall be shown and made known to to All

that

we are a nation distinct

but not apart from all our other kindred nations -

a human nation, allied to the kindred peace

of all the other nations of our one family of nations.

We are a nation,

my brothers and sisters of the Promise,

and so it is as a nation

that we shall be held responsible

by both heaven and earth before the God of all heaven and earth.

As a nation, O my people,

we are by our individualities, families, tribes, communities and generations

bound by one heart, one labor, and one destiny.

We are thus called, as citizens to each other,

according to our fidelity to the truths of our nationhood,

to make a shelter for our generations -

the shelter of Country - a home away from Home for all living beings.

As a nation,

we shall rise or fall upon the void of the unknown earth

according to the one peace of our peoples

and the one economy of our generations

to the very last of our generations.

As a nation,

we shall build upon this world,

the kindred peace of Country

to the glory of Almighty God in heaven,

and fill it with living lights

or lay it to waste

by our refusal to

subdue the darkness

in and amidst ourselves - the evil in all evil things.

As a nation without its peace, we shall fail -

a defeated Country, desolate and empty of promise,

of broken, shattered skies,

we shall remain in the dread embrace of this maddening darkness,

falling forever into the void.

As a nation in possession of our peace, we shall persevere.

Victory shall in its time be restored to each of us by God Himself

where w

e shall together with our own eyes

behold

the triumph of an unimaginable abundance.

As a nation,

we are called by weight of our history

and by the call of our destiny

to rise above our differences.

And to do so with courage and tenacity -

for h

ow else is peace to be defended?

Indeed, my honorable compatriots,

it matters most what unites us than what divides us.

Our differences are diverse

and the cause of many valid concerns,

but they are temporal.

Unity is eternal.

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There is no honor in PARTISAN POLITICS if it is utterly disloyal to the singular cause for which it exists.

Partisanship in politics is good but only if it encourages a unity of decision that promotes wisdom in legislation, and therefore, as a constant exercise in one's strength of political judgment.

But if it encourages indecision, paralysis, and reckless action in the Republic for which it is called to serve in responsible government, if it bestows upon its nation no sense of common guidance and unity - partisanship, it may be said, is not politics at all, it is simply plunder.

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The Nation and the Responsible State -

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 the 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.

Therefore, let us build like natives, live like pilgrims, and love like Christians.

Prosper the Peace. Prosper the People.

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Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

Healing Work

The Shattering