Kun Magin Dahilan nin Pagkasala

 

Giya sa Prayer-Meeting nin mga Saradit na Komunidad nin Pagtubod (SAKOP) para sa semana kan Septiembre 26 – Octobre 2, 2021. Basahon an Evangelio gikan sa Marcos 9,38-43.45.47-48 (Ika-26 na Domingo sa Ordinariong Panahon – B).

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Kaniguan an mga tataramon ni Jesu Cristo sa evangelio: kun an saimong kamot magin dahilan nin pagkasalà, putolá! Kun an saimong bitis, putolá! Kun an saimong mata, hulwatá! An tawong magin dahilan nin pagkasalà sa saro kaining mga saradit na nagtutubod, gakudán nin gapóng-gilingan sa liog dangan itapok sa lawód!

Linawon ta na bako ini literal na kasuguan ni Jesus. Sa literatura, an apod kaini hyperbolé o pagmamalabis. Ini an lohikal na padumanan kan Saiyang pangapodan sa Marcos 1,15: “Uya na an Kahadean nin Dios! Magbaklê kamo asin magtubod sa Marhay na Bareta!” 

Boot nin Dios na kita maligtas, magkaigwa nin buhay, asin makalaog sa Saiyang Kahadean. Alagad tanganing maakò ta ini, kaipuhan man an satong pagtalikod sa kasàlan. Pinapatanidan kita ni Jesus kan puedeng magin dahilan kan satong pagkasalà asin magdara sato sa infierno: an labi-labing pagpaorog sa sadiri.

An satong buhay, marhay na salud, mga kakayahan, patin mga kinabanon na karahayan, gabos tinatao sato nin Dios. Alagad kun dai ta gamiton an mga ini sa tama asin kita magin makasadiri,  an mga ini magigin dahilan kan satong pagkasalà asin kaulangan sa  pagkamit kan buhay na daing kasagkoran.

An tawong makasadiri asin labí an pagpaorog sa sadiri, nagigin menos an paghiling sa kapwa. Pwedeng tàwan niya nin pagpahalaga an sadiring pamilya, barkada, o mga kaugos, bilang extension kan saiyang sadiri. Alagad dai siyang pakiarám o sinisikwal pa nganì an mga nasa luwás kan saiyang circulo.

Sa evangelio, kan binaretà ki Jesus na sinawáy kan Saiyang mga disipulos an sarong lalaki na bako ninda kaibahan alagad nagpapaluwas nin mga demonio sa Ngaran Niya, sinda an sinagwê ni Jesus asin sinabihan na dai pagsawayon an lalaki.

Sa katunayan, sa Saiyang ministerio publico, nagsaksi si Jesus sainda kun pâno magraní asin mag-ako kan mga sinisikwal nin sociedad. An mga Fariseos asin escribas, na mahilig mansikwal sa mga parakasalà, sinabihan Niya sa Mateo 9,13: “Pagkaherak an màwot Ko, bako atang. Dai Ako napadigdi sa pag-apod kan mga banal kundi kan mga parakasalà.”

An patanid na ini orog na kaipuhan madangog asin masabotan sa panahon ngonian na an mga naghahade-hadean sa satong sociedad, linalanse an mga tawo na magin butá asin púla sa mga panggagadan asin pag-abuso nin derechos sa mga pinagsususpetsaran na kriminal o adik sa ilegal na droga – sa ngaran nin kaligtasan nin sadiri, pamilya, asin publiko.  

Sa sainda, may patanid an Mga Talinhaga (Proverbs) 6,16-19: “Anom na bagay an ikinakauyam nin Kagurangnan, pito an Saiyang ikinakaongis: matang mapaabaw-abaw, dilang putikon, mga kamot na nanggagadan nin mga daing salà, pusong nagpaplano nin mga maraot, mga bitis na naghihidalì sa paggibo nin karàtan, an nagsasaksing-putik, asin an tawong dahilan nin pag-iriwal nin mga magkaratood.”

Sa huri, si Jesu Cristo man giraray an nagsaksi sato kan pagpaorog sa kabòtan kan Ama bako kan sadiri, asin tunay na pagkamoot sa kapwa. Sabi Niya sa Juan 6, 37-38: “An siisay man na magdulok Sako dai ko isisikwal, huli ta naghilig Ako hale sa langit nganing gibohon an kabòtan kan nagsugò Sako, bako an kabòtan Ko.”

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GIYA SA PAGHIRAS SA SADIT NA KOMUNIDAD O FAMILIA • Maghiras nin experiencia na ika natentaran na paorogon an sadiri, bako an kabòtan nin Dios o karahayan nin kapwa. Pàno ka nagtalubò sa experienciang ini?

PASUNOD-SUNOD KAN WEEKLY SAKOP/FAMILY PRAYER-MEETING • Kumustahan/Pamiridbidan • Disposition to Prayer / Silence • Gathering Song • Opening Prayer • Gospel Reading • Reflection • Sharing • Scripture Response • Closing Prayer (Spontaneous and Our Father) • Closing Song

When the cure is worse than the disease

Extrajudicial killings in order to counter illegal drugs don't result to improved peace and order, they only escalate the violence.

When suspects' right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty is violated, justice isn't served and the rule of law is broken.

When trigger-happy law enforcers, murderous vigilante groups, and violent drug syndicates roam our streets, they aren't just killing each other, they also kill more innocents. Witnesses and advocates are eliminated, family members are used as leverage, war on drugs watch lists are exploited to settle non-drug related grudges, and deaths by mistaken identity or proximity to intended target abound.

In Defense of Davao City's Peace?

Below is my email response in our ehemplo group to a member who forwarded the email of one Salvador "Doy" Valbuena, a businessman from Davao City ranting against a Commission on Human Rights who should have better things to do other than minding Davao City and its popular mayor. His email "In Defense of Davao City Mayor Duterte" was thought-provoking and apparently indicative of the sentiments of a large segment, if not the majority, of the city. When another replied "well said", I was even more provoked. Thus...


.......

i wish to be understanding to somebody
who has witnessed a lifetime of killings,
but should his standards be also followed
by a whole city, or a nation, for that matter?
peace and a city's livability
may have different meanings to different people,
but truth and right, remains true and right
no matter whether a majority,
or a plurality vote, dictates otherwise.
it is understandable to defend a man
who has made his people enjoy a measure of peace.
but it also comes with a price -
it is not just the summary execution of suspected criminals,
it is how general apathy and tolerance for bigotry
is killing the soul of the city.
there is more to humanity than just settling
for lesser evils and moral evasions.
there ought to be room for dreaming
of better ways of waging peace.
and what good is there in dreaming
if it is only within your reach?

but hey, who am i to judge?
i am not from davao. i have not lived their history.
i am just a dreamer from faraway bicol
who has said masses to fallen soldiers
and to activists who fell victims to extrajudicial killings,
who has witnessed a whole unwilling island
sold out by their government to foreign miners,
who has seen failure after failure of our vote-ed campaigns
for people not to sell their votes,
who has lost our valiant efforts to clean-up our electric coop
to the machinations of corrupt politicians.
so, much as i wish to let the good people
who wish to represent davao remain in their peace,
i will also keep dreaming and working
that their kind of peace will not infect the whole nation,
and those in davao who still stand otherwise.


.......

IF YOU FEEL THAT MAYOR RODRIGO DUTERTE IS DOING A GOOD JOB IN DAVAO CITY, PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT OUR CITY IS INDEED A HAVEN FOR PEACE LOVING FILIPINOS AND I SHARE THE FEELINGS OF THIS WRITER.

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 10:54:16 +0800 (SGT), "Salvador Valbuena" salvador.valbuena@ yahoo.com> said:

DEAR EVERYBODY,

I WROTE THIS LETTER LAST WEEK AFTER THE INVESTIGATION OF THE CHR COMMISSIONER DE LIMA AND SENT IT TO SOME LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS AND TO FRIENDS AND CO AGENTS..YOU MIGHT NEED IT WHEN ONE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS ASK YOU ABOUT PEACE AND ORDER, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION ETC.

To the Editor,

I am Doy Valbuena, an Ilocano who happens to love Davao City so much, the most livable city in our country and in the world (this is my humble opinion). I love this city so much that it pains me to see outsiders come and tell us what to do with our very own Davao City. Imperial Manilans, Americans and Europeans come here and lecture us about morality, about what is right and wrong before God, about human rights, what is right and wrong governance.

The power of Mayor Duterte emanates from the people who elected him. It is just but proper that the people of Davao City must have the first chance to judge him. But have we not judged him by electing him for the longest time as Mayor of this city for about two decades now? Is this not the best indication that the will and the voice of the people have spoken? That the people of Davao City approve of his way of governance?

Why doesn't the Commission on Human Rights conduct a survey or referendum whether we, the people of Davao City as a whole, like how the mayor conduct himself on the issue peace and order and even specifically on the issue on human rights? I am very sure that majority of Davaoenos will come out voting yes in affirmation that will shame people from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) or shall I say Commission on Hypocritical Rectitude (CHR) masquerading as saviors of the people of Davao City . To tell us that we do not approve how Mayor Duterte runs Davao City is a great insult to the intelligence and courage of Davaoenos. If the Mayor is truly abusive of his power and has no respect for the rule of law and the right to peace and decency, I should be one of those who should be on the streets leading a rally of protesters as we wont to do during the First Quarter Storm when we fought the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos whom we thought then was the worst president this country ever had, only to find out that the worst were still to follow. (I led several street protests when we complained against the DPWH and the Union Cement when I was president of the Davao Constructors Association Center Inc.)

I heard the Mayor mentioned many times over, that Davao City is a city for peace loving citizens. If you are not a peace loving citizen, this place is not for you because you will not last long to enjoy living in our city. His paradigm of drug pushers and drug addicts are people who can rape their sister or mother or an 18 month old baby girl or kill their father or brother or friend or neighbor in wild abandon. Now, I myself ask the question, why do these people who have no regard for the life of others continue to live or how can these so called human rights advocates even favor their existence over that of peace loving citizens?

Am I saying that I favor summary executions? Of course not, this is against the commandment of God “Thou shall not kill”. How I wish we can all live in peace altogether living in pursuit of the summum bonum, the highest good for all. But alas, we are now left to choose by force of circumstance and select between lesser evils, whether to allow people who have no respect for life and the right of others to live and do it in wild abandon or to allow them to rest in peace forever and let peaceful loving citizens live happily ever after..

Now am I accusing the Mayor to be behind the killings? Of course not! That is for the court to determine. What I know is Davao City is the most peaceful and livable city I have seen on Planet Earth. (I have also traveled in several countries and continents of the world.) On the other hand, I am one among the many who believe that the Mayor is doing extremely and exceedingly well in the conduct of his duty in which he was elected for.

Madame Chairperson De Lima, you need not have traveled far. You should have looked around and you would have your hands full investigating cases of human rights violations in Manila . Aren’t you not the proverbial character in the bible that the Lord would have aptly put, "why can you see the mote in your brother's eye and not see the log in your own eye”. The truth of the matter is, you just wasted valuable public money by coming here to Davao City to investigate and tell us what is good for us… Is this not the height of self righteousness and presumptuousness? Is it not stealing from the budget of education and printing misspelled books resulting to higher rate of illiteracy and lack of good education, a higher form of violation of human rights? Is it not dipping one’s fingers on the coffers of government finances depriving people of food, medicines, basic necessities and other social services; teachers of their rightful pay and soldiers of their shoes, combat allowance and guns to fight insurgency, a higher form of human rights violation? Is it not the inability of government to provide employment for its people and allowing Filipinos to work abroad as slaves of the first world countries who often times maltreat them and who sacrifice their own well being, just so they can provide for the needs of their loved ones, resulting in the breakdown and disintegration of the basic unit of society - the family an institution we value so dearly, a higher form of violation of human rights? Is it not the promotion of government officials with dubious and proven record of malfeasance and wrongdoing because of loyalty and subservience, so that they can deliver the goods to the powers that be, a higher form of human rights violation?

For a young man who grew up and seen almost daily killings during my elementary years in Badoc, Ilocos Norte and having witnessed blood flowing down in my direction and with dead people all around during a town fiesta at a very young age of 11 when somebody sprayed 3 banana type magazines of his carbine rifle and emptying them all at the people in the auditorium…For a college student during the First Quarter Storm to have witnessed summary killings like that of my fraternity brod Billy Begg riddled with bullets from one whole Armalite magazine emptied in his lifeless body and street demonstrations from 1969 to 1973, culminating in the so called BARIKADA in 1971….. For a new college graduate to have worked in the hinterlands and logging areas of Mindanao in the 1970’s at the height of the operations of the MNLF, Ilagas and Bangsamoro Movement and having experienced being attacked from land and sea, and knowing a life of killing and being
killed almost on a daily basis…..

For an executive having seen Davao City during the time when Agdao was called Nicaragdao, during the height of NPA operations when policemen were killed in broad daylight and when a grenade was thrown at the inner sanctum of the San Pedro Cathedral wreaking havoc and causing the city populace to cower in fear… to name a few…..Madame Chair de Lima, I know from whence I speak. I know the difference between war and peace, between death and bliss. To consider Davao City as barbaric and a dangerous place to live in, is farthest from the truth. Davaoenos would be the first one to know. Leave us alone in peace in this place you abhor for I repeat it again, Davao City is the most livable and peaceful city in the world. To us, this is a place closest to paradise. A Paradise in the East.

Salvador "Doy" Valbuena

Opposition to US-RP Balikatan exercise snowballs

Not that I am nitpicking, but three things are inaccurate with this article:
1. My family name is misspelled. The post below already has the correction.
2. I didn't celebrate Mass during the rally. I don't even think a Mass was held there that time.
3. I am not the official spokesman of the diocese. I just, once in a while, repeat what my bishop says.
The views and opinions are just about right.
My take on a later blog.
.......

http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/7625

LEGAZPI CITY, February 27, 2009– Calls to consolidate efforts by multi-sectoral groups against the planned US-RP Balikatan military exercises this April, has snowballed following a three-day rally held here.

Diocese of Legazpi spokesman, Rev. Fr. Rex Paul Arjona said parishes will continue to document people’s reactions to Balikatan exercises and the possible human violations that go with it.

Arjona celebrated the Mass during a multi-sectoral rally that include militants and support groups called Oragon-Bikol; Kabataan Makabayan Laban sa Balikatan and Ban Balikatan organizations.

The protesters, who marched from Daet, Camarines Norte and Matnog, Sorsogon converged in Legazpi City’s historical land mark, The Battle of Legazpi.

Partylist Representative and Lower House Assistant Minority Leader, Liza Largoza Maza has expressed gratitude to Bishop Administrator Lucilo B. Quiambao for showing concerns about possible increase of prostitution of women as Balikatan Exercises is nearing.

Maza has earlier denounced the intensive military operations and grenade firing by the 901st Brigade of the Philippine Army in Barangay Balanac, Ligao City.

The Feb. 18 incident razed houses that left one-year and four-month old girl, Rafaela Polborido, and six other children, including three mothers injured.

Aside from Maza, militant representatives Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna, Rafael and Mariano of Anak Pawis, have also talked to Bishop Quiambao after joining the rally and pushed for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement. (Elmer James Bandol)

SOLID SUMILAO FACTS distorted or evaded by desperate paid ad

Posted by: "javieralpasa" javieralpasa@gmail.com javieralpasa

Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:16 am (PST)

In this David vs. Goliath struggle where the corporate giant can splurge hundreds of thousands for paid advertisements, all we can do is email blast the TRUTH. Please pass for the sake of the poor farmers who rely on our help.

============ ========= ========= =======

SOLID SUMILAO FACTS distorted or evaded by desperate paid advertisements

1) Sumilao farmers are LANDLESS as defined in RA 6657 "One is considered landless if he/she owns less than 3 hectares of agricultural land."

a. The 66-hectare Carlos Estate was distributed to 78 farmers belonging to the MAPALAD Multi-Purpose Cooperative who received between .4 to .9 hectares per family.

i. This means that those who benefited in the Carlos estate ARE STILL QUALIFIED to become beneficiaries under the agrarian reform program.

ii. The point of the agrarian reform program is to distribute lands to help landless farmers have sustainable livelihood. This is why the law provides that a family size farm which is around 3 hectares is necessary to fulfil the program's objective of improving the lives of farmer-beneficiaries. To say that the Sumilao farmers who own land sizes far less than what is provided by law are no longer qualified beneficiaries is to violate the very spirit of the agrarian reform law.

b. The other group that joined the Sumilao march is the San Vicente Landless Farmers Association (SALFA) and NOBODY IN THIS ORGANIZATION OWN ANY PARCEL OF LAND.

2) Tenancy is NOT a requirement to become a beneficiary under CARP. R.A. 6657 provides: "The lands covered by the CARP shall be distributed as much as possible to landless residents of the same barangay, or in the absence thereof, landless residents of the same municipality in the following order of priority: agricultural lessees and share tenants, regular farmworkers, seasonal farmworkers, other farmworkers, actual tillers or occupants of public lands, collectives or cooperatives of the above beneficiaries; and others directly working on the land.

a. Most of these farmers were already screened and named in the title/CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Award) that means they were already deemed rightful beneficiaries under the agrarian reform program in general and in the 144 hectares in particular.

b. Even so, we are still in the pre-coverage stage and who would become beneficiaries or the inclusion/exclusion process is still another step after the issuance of the Notice of Coverage. The Sumilao farmers are very much willing to undergo this process. Their more than 10 years of faithful and peaceful cooperation with the law
should be a glaring proof of that.

3) CLEAR VIOLATIONS OF SMFI rendering current operations as ILLEGAL:

a. From the Office of the President's Order (December 18, 2007): "Apparently, the unilateral development of subject landholdings into a hog farm by SMFI is NOT one of the purposes for which the conversion order has been issued. This clearly deviates from and constitutes a VIOLATION of the conversion order issued to the respondent NQSRMDC."

b. SMFI claims they made consultations but the resolution referred to by San Miguel Foods Incorporated was a bogus resolution. No such barangay council session favourably endorsing the piggery project happened. Assuming without conceding that the Sangguniang Barangay unanimously approved and endorsed the project, it cannot be denied that it remains to be in violation of the law because Local Government Units have NO POWER OF CONVERSION under the law as that prerogative solely belongs to the Department of Agrarian Reform.

4) 144-hectare land is CARPable:

a. Sec 4 of RA 6657 provides that "The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988 shall cover, regardless of tenurial arrangement and commodity produced, all public and private agricultural lands as provided in proclamation no. 131 and Executive Order no. 229, including other lands of the public domain suitable for agriculture.

b. The area is considered prime agricultural land that is traversed by an irrigation facility. (A basis for the Order denying the conversion from agricultural to agro-industrial issued by DAR Secretary Ernesto Garilao on Nov. 14, 1994).

c. 144-hectare land is adjacent to the constantly quoted Carlos Estate that was already CARPed. In fact, the 2 sections of the one big CARPable land are just divided by barbed wires.

5) 144-hectare land is Higaonons' ANCESTRAL LAND

a. The forefathers of the Higaonon Indigenous Cultural Communities led by tribal leaders Apo Manuagay Anlicao and Apo Mangganiahon were the early settlers.

b. The land was considered "balaang yuta" for the Higaonons, at the same time, the seat of the government for the tribal leaders where the traditional "pamuhat" and "paghusay" were conducted.

6) The Sumilao farmers are the LEGAL and MORAL OWNERS of the 144
hectares:

a. This is the first and foremost reality that should not be evaded by stating availability of other idle government lands. The 144-hectare land is their holy and ancestral land being Higaonons. Why should they be given other lands when they are the rightful owners of the 144-hectare land?

b. If SMFI knows that there are other lands available, why did it have to displace indigenous peoples who are qualified to claim the 144 hectares of land?

7) Strong support from CREDIBLE, INTELLIGENT, EXPERIENCED,
AUTHORITATIVE and HIGHLY RESPECTED individuals and institutions who
also studied the case:

a. Former DAR Secretaries and Undersecretaries. Sec. Abad even said that "DAR should always stand beside the farmers. In the case of Sumilao, the facts are very clear." (PDI, 12/08/07)

b. Legal luminaries, various lawyers' groups and law schools. Constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ said "The welfare of the underprivileged need not be achieved the big business way. Let the little people decide what is best for themselves and for their dignity
as human beings – especially since they have the law on their side! " (PDI, 12/24/07)

c. Church Authorities, several Bishops, Dioceses, religious organizations including Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, and countless others. Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales emphasized the higher moral principle that called for kindness, love, sympathy and compassion for the poor. (PDI, 12/21/07)

8) SMFI Legal Counsel is DAR's former Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs who knows too well that the 144-hectare land is CARPable, that the Sumilao farmers are qualified beneficiaries and that the Supreme Court's approval of the conversion is subject to conditions. Furthermore, one may also simply look at the following documents to see the truth:

a. Tax declaration clearly stating the land is AGRICULTURAL;

b. History of the title;

c. Deed of Sale .

As regards development, The Church through the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued the official document last month (November 23, 2007) entitled "Towards a Better Distribution of Land: The Challenge of Agrarian Reform." Here are some salient points:

o Many developing countries have sought to modernize their economies as quickly as possible by basing themselves for the most part on the often unjustified belief that rapid industrialization can bring about an improvement in general economic well-being, even if
agriculture suffers in the process.

o Imbalances in the division of land ownership and the policies giving rise to and sustaining them are the source of serious obstacles to economic development. Such imbalances and policies can have economic consequences which affect the majority of the population.

o Agrarian reform is one of the most urgent reforms and cannot be delayed. In many situations, radical and urgent changes are therefore needed in order to restore to agriculture – and to rural people – their just value as the basis for a healthy economy, within the social community's development as a whole.

Furthermore, Economists from Ateneo de Manila University stated that "In economic development, it is widely recognized that effective land reform is a sine qua non of agricultural change and rapid economic growth. Countries that have undertaken effective land reform not only have had more robust agricultural growth and productivity, they also have enjoyed a better distribution of income and lower rates of poverty."

The effect on growth and development will be much greater if CARP was implemented more decisively.

We end with SALFA President Napoleon Merida, Jr.'s sentiments:

"The very point of our 1,700 kilometer walk was to make our rights of the land very compelling and difficult to ignore. We chose a very peaceful way of asserting our rights even if it meant a big sacrifice for us. We succeeded in gaining a recognition of our rightful claim over the land and the injustices that we have endured over the last decade. For once, the public, the Church and even the Office of the President have seen our side and have recognized that the law is on our side. Now, through their expensive full-page ad SMFI is trying to paint a picture of itself as the savior of the farmers of Bukidnon and that we have no right over our land. What is the price of justice then? Is it worth P2.4B in investments?"

Manalangin. Manindigan. Makialam.
SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN

4 violent deaths

about a week ago i was invited to say mass at the last night of the wake of s/sgt. gerardo licup . s/sgt. licup was one of 14 marines who were slain in an ambush in basilan. the incident was banner story in the media for several days. in a way, s/sgt. licup was more fortunate; he was one of the 4 among the slain who were not beheaded by alleged milf/abu sayyaf operatives. a comrade from libon, albay, was reportedly hacked in several places. amidst the swirl of relatives, neighbors and friends, the raucous drinking and petty gambling, the family of the deceased played gracious hosts and grieved. his mother and an aunt had their blood pressure constantly checked. they have much to cause them grief. a few months earlier, s/sgt. licup's father lost his life at the height of supertyphoon reming.

in april, deep into the election season, i was also called to say mass at the wake of 'tsip' enrique bausa, a retired police town chief & a candidate for municipal councilor of daraga. he was felled down by suspected npa rebels while attending a santacruzan katapusan in a barangay. at that time, the family was in doubt if it was really the npa who did the crime. the comelec though didn't want to call it technically as election-related. later, a daughter-in-law carried his name & won in that election. in june, police arrested 2 suspected npa rebels & charged them with the murder of tsip bausa.

sometime in march, an activist friend texted me with a request to say a wake mass for don imperial. don was 28 yrs old (same age as mine), a husband and father to a 1 yr-old son. don's death came about this way: one evening while his small family was having dinner at their home in castilla, sorsogon, several men in black military uniform, their faces masked by black bonnets, entered their home. in the presence of his wife and son, they accused him of being an npa member, manhandled him, then riddled his body with bullets from several high-powered rifles. don was a victim of what has come to be known as extrajudicial killing, another numbing number in the statistics of death.

entering the funeral home, i instantly felt a palpable mix of heady emotions among those present there - his family and friends. there was anger, like slow-burning coal. there was pain and mourning. there was a search for answers, a longing for meaning at the senseless death of a loved one. there was also much fear. don's extended family hails from castilla yet they chose to hold the wake at a funeral home in legazpi, far from other relatives and friends, in the hope that somehow there was safety, if not in number, then, at least, in distance.

this 3 august will be the anniversary of yet another victim of extrajudicial killing in albay, that of pastor isaias sta rosa. he was a methodist pastor involved in agrarian advocacies. one evening, his wife let in the his ashen-faced brother who was knocking at their door. it turned out, a gun was being pointed behind his back. when the pastor's brother entered their home, several armed men with face covered by bonnets came along too. they assaulted him, accused him of being an npa member, and terrorized his family. they tied his hands and shoved him inside one of the rooms where they proceeded to interrogate and beat him some more. the rest of the family were ushered into the adjoining room. after sometime, they led him out of the house, his hands still tied. a few minutes later, several gunshots were heard. when they came to venture out of their homes and looked for him, the neighbors and family of the pastor found his lifeless body by a nearby creek. a few meters away was another body, that of a man who was later identified as pvt1c pastrana of the phil army, via his wallet and mission order document. the pastor's family also identified him as one of the armed men who entered their home.

when the commission on human rights investigated, the extent of the phil army's cooperation consisted of declaring pvt1c pastrana as awol. they would not give anymore info on him or his mission order. to make things more interesting, the daraga pnp declared the crime as a simple case of robbery with homicide.

s/sgt. licup.
tsip bausa.
don imperial.
pastor sta. rosa.

soon their names, transcribed on official records, would melt into numbers, the building blocks of statistics. war deaths. election-related violence. extra-judicial killing. when a person's name and a lifetime's memory join the ranks of grim statistics another injustice is being committed.

on my part i will remember their names & their stories for as long as i can. for it is through their names and stories that their deaths retain that potent force to effect needed social change. only by a firm remembrance will they eventually achieve the earthly justice that they & their family's seek.

triple whammy! e.o.464, cpr, p.p.1017. but why the negativity?

three little pigs: e.o. 464, cpr, p.p. 1017. three little pigs housed on arguments of hay which the arroyo administration devised to suppress the search for truth and expression of legitimate dissent. three little pigs oinking their way to martial rule. until the supreme court (big bad wolf?) blew their house away and exposed them for what they are: the delusions of mad-persons corrupted by power and bent on self-preservation no matter what. laws of this country be damned, having discarded morals long ago. bernas calls them: palace adventurists. it seemed now, with the series of slamming the supreme court did several days ago to three of malacañang's prized weapons of suppression, the team arroyo adventure is about to come to an end. or is it?

the obvious good news aside, what is perhaps glaring is the degree of caution and trepidation, even cynicism and pessimism, from all over, which greeted the supreme court decisions. why all these negativity? need you ask?

consider: at may 1 eve, another supposed plot/s by the usual suspects, cpp/npa, was announced on national tv. as if on cue, the secretary of injustice promptly reminded/threatened the nation of their readiness to activate p.p. 1017 and the full coercive force of the state. you have to give it to these guys, they're slick, sleazy and tummy-churning wicked but slick.

so the supreme court has already decided. the first two got unanimous votes, the last, an overwhelming majority of 11-3. but what's stopping gloria and her minions from concocting yet another scheme to intimidate and oppress, and strengthen their hold to power? their smug dare: got complaint, charge us in court.

looks like this would be the way things work: they initiate, i.e., they'll organize a palace initiative for cha-cha, arrest and jail dissenters, harass the press, bribe the bishops, use all the machineries of gov't - police, military, comelec, pagcor, lgus - to pursue their agenda. and nobody can do anything but charge them in court, but place oneself at the mercy and wisdom of our justice system. scream 'unfair' all you want but, hey, they are ever careful to remind you, we are following due process.

so, those who see the sc's rulings as a hollow victory really do have a point. but i prefer to look at the glass as half-full. i'd like to think of them as incremental changes producing incremental reactions from a usually apathetic nation. little steps on the way to the holy grail of social movements - the 'tipping point'.

for now, let us enjoy and acknowledge them for what they are - victories little but victories still. otherwise having demolished houses of hays, you may just want to rush to the next best but useless thing: to huff and puff at gloria's impregnable (for now) brickhouse.