The Best and the Worst in Us

"When everything else is taken away, broken, battered, soaked, raw, stripped, bare, you see things, you see people as they really are. This week in Tacloban, Samar and Cebu, amidst the hunger and thirst, the chaos and confusion, we've seen the best in the Filipino people, their strength, and their courage. I can't get it out of my mind. Imagine the strength it takes for a mother to search alone for her missing kids, the strength to sleep on the street near the body of her child. We've seen people with every reason to despair, every right to be angry, (but) instead find ways to laugh, to love, to stand up, to move forward.  A storm breaks wood and bone, brings hurt and heartbreak. In the end, the wind, the water, the horror it brings is not the end of the story. With aid and assistance, compassion and care, this place, these people...they will make it through. They already survived the worst." 

These were the words of CNN Anchorman Anderson Cooper who was in Tacloban following the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda.  Indeed, the help coming from the 4 corners of the world has been overwhelming.  At the Closing Mass for the Year of Faith this Sunday, a special collection will be held for the typhoon victims. According to the Vatican, this is the first of its kind in a papal Mass.  Grazie, Papa Francesco! For me, this is ending the holy year in style!

Apart from the help the country has received or will be receiving from other countries and charities, we've all witnessed that indomitable spirit of the Filipino.  I was watching BBC News a few days after typhoon Yolanda made a landfall.  A woman was being interviewed.  Devastation was all over the place and yet there she was smiling.  Just a while ago, I saw on Facebook photos of young men playing basketball amidst the rubble.  

These are our best moments!

However, the typhoon has sadly become an occasion for some quarters to be, well, repulsive. Cooper, as many netizens would know by now, crossed swords with ABS-CBN Anchorwoman Korina Sanchez.  Sanchez, who is the wife of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, mentioned in a blind item a blonde CNN reporter who doesn't know what he was saying.  Cooper challenged her to go to Tacloban.  Sanchez got the ire of netizens for her arrogance.  As of this writing, she took a week's leave of absence although rumor has it that she was actually suspended.  

Sanchez's husband came under fire too for allegedly bullying Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez. There were reports that Roxas wanted Romualdez to write a letter to President Aquino informing him that he can no longer act as hizzoner of the ravaged city.  A mere political appointee trying to unseat someone who got his mandate from the people?  My favorite Inquirer Columnist Conrado de Quiros wrote an article entitled "Get him (Roxas) out of there".

Apart from politicizing at the wrong place and at the wrong time, we've heard too that aid that should have gone to the victims were intercepted by insurgents.  There was also looting of groceries.  I could, in a way, understand the fight for survival, but what surprised me was that even policemen joined in the fray.

Trials and tribulations could make or break us.  They can be occasions for us to shine or to stink.  They can bring the best or the worst in us.

***

Meanwhile, in Manila, the Supreme Court has declared the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) unconstitutional last Tuesday November 19.  I'm glad that the High Court has gave its verdict on this. Furthermore, that this third branch of our country's government has lived to its true self as the people's last resort.  As Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago puts it "There is a God, after all".  

Legal expert Fr Joaquin Bernas, SJ, in his latest column in the Inquirer, wrote "The decision Tuesday of the Supreme Court restores the normal constitutional order of handling public money. The first destination of money coming in for the public, either as taxes or other forms of income, is the public treasury. And such money stays in the treasury until Congress determines how it is to be used. As the Constitution says, “No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.” The appropriation can be either through the general appropriations law or through special appropriations. This provision prevents members of Congress, and the President, from indiscriminately spending unappropriated money."

With this ruling, politicians and political wannabes alike should think twice: Is government service really for me? Will running for the presidency be my right move?  How can I work with Congress if I don't have any pork barrel to dangle them with? Will a position in government be an opportunity for me to serve or an occasion of sin?

***

At the House of Representatives, the anti-dynasty bill has been approved - at committee level.  How this will make its way to the plenary session of both houses of Congress (fully packed by  legislators belonging to same affinity) is something that remains to be seen.  Senator Nancy Binay has already criticized such bill - for very obvious reasons.    Abangan ang susunod na kabanata!

Alay sa Mahal na Poong San Jose

Looking at this stampita-like photo above, one is by the glorious and fatherly gaze of St Joseph. This is actually the photo of the statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child which is located at the main altar of Gagalangin Church.

A few weeks ago, as we did our family shopping, I saw a little boy with long curly brown hair and blue eyes.  He was staring at me and later at Chiara.  I suddenly remembered the Holy Child in that church where I was baptized. I told this to Allan Dabu during one of our chats in Facebook. He told me that the Holy Child wants me to go home and visit Him.

Allan later recalled his visit to Manila this March.  The statue is in a sad state.  Ensconced ("Nakakulong" was Allan's exact description) in an urn made of glass, it has not been brought down for ages - even during town fiesta for the traditional prusisyon.   The statue has been damaged and parish leaders thought it best not to taken it down lest the damage gets worse.  Allan told Mang Mandy Cabarloc, the Sacristan Mayor, that the statue would deteriorate further because of the heat (I call it glasshouse effect!).  For Allan, proper restoration is needed asap.  Unfortunately,  as my good friend wrote "it seems that nobody is paying attention".

Just to give you an idea, here's a photo taken in last year's Fiesta celebration.  To your right you'll partially see a replica statue of St Joseph - this is now being used during processions.  The original is on the retablo just above the tabernacle and beneath the huge crucifix (partially seen).

Since its early beginnings, perhaps when Gagalangin was still a visita, our community already had this statue.  One priest once jokingly asked why our St Joseph was punggok (midget).  Small as the statue may be, it is a precious gem, a silent witness to Gagalangin's highs and lows.  So much so that when the parish had a bigger church in the late 50s, the statue was never changed!

To hear that this treasure is endangered is quite disturbing.  The desecration of La Muerte de San Jose (Death of St Joseph) statue way back in 1997 was something that cut a number of parishioners to the heart.  Ditto what happened to the statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in 2003.  Although it would be impossible for thieves to lay their hands on the original statue, still the need to look after it is very important.  I add my voice to that of Allan's.  Restore the statue to its former glory!

Preserving or, in the case of our Patron's statue, restoring it and other similar valuable objects ensures that we have something to pass on to our children and our children's children.  Othewise, our claim as parishioners/members of mandated organizations/devotees of St Joseph/etc. would be a farce. We are not far from the Israelites of old who live in beautiful houses while the Ark of the Covenant resided in a tent during the time of King David!

The Parish really needs to take the statue's condition seriously.  A fund raising to restore the statue is a step forward.  Another that comes to my mind, again and again, is the setting up a Cultural Heritage Committee which will spearhead activities that aims at preserving and enriching events, customs and traditions, and protects treasures (e.g. buildings, statues, etc.). This Committee can be complemented by a Gagalangin Historical Society which encompasses other aspects of our town outside the confines of religion.

During fiestas, we traditionally decorate streets with arches and banderitas. On these arches, there's an inscription which states Alay sa Mahal na Poong San Jose (This is offered to St Joseph).  Let's have a heart for our Patron, to whom we frequently pray "kami nawa'y laging kupkupin ng langit" (May we always be protected by heaven).

Maligayang pista, Gagalangin! Mabuhay si San Jose!

***  



Words couldn't express my disgust at how Erap got elected as Mayor of the (once) ever loyal and distinguished City of Manila.  (Fellow Gagalanginenos in Facebook were cursing!)It wasn't that long ago when he was booted out of power, tried, and found guilty.  Although I respect the voice of the people - badly informed as it may be- I just feel how people never learn from the past. That we have lost the sense of sin or the sense of justice.   That we have settled with the Puwede na yan mentality. 

I am also aghast with the likes of the unrepentant Marcoses being back into power as well as those candidates who don't have the qualification to be elected in a particular post. Take for example Nancy Binay, a 20 year old OJT, who obviously rode on the political cloud, I meant clout of her politician parents. Look too at the Ejercito half-brothers having seats at the upper chamber.  Has public service become a family business?

George Santayana once said "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it".  History and heritage go hand-in-hand.  If we don't value both, we'll surely lose the soul of the nation.  We'll go to the dogs!