Category: Religion

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle should just shut up about the Yolanda victims

December 2, 2013 benign0 87 Comments

Recall the monstrous earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan back in 2011 causing untold death and suffering there. The stoicism and quiet grace with which the Japanese greeted the unimaginable destruction and loss of life, mobilised its forces to assess and respond, and reached out to the global community to receive assistance speaks volumes…

Civics, Religion, Society

McHeroes: Filipinos need to cure their addiction to disaster heroism

November 22, 2013 benign0 24 Comments

As what usually happens following another disaster, another tragedy, another “accident”, or another crisis, “heroism” is, yet again, the word of the month. Heroes are currently at work delivering relief, comforting the victims, counseling the hapless, and inspiring the desperate. We are told these “heroes” are also facing the “great battles ahead”. Presumably those “battles”…

Civics, Culture, Government, Religion, Society

Pinoy-style ambag-ambag not enough: You need military might and precision to manage the Yolanda disaster

November 12, 2013October 8, 2014 benign0 60 Comments

So was the disaster wreaked by Typhoon Yolanda God’s fault? That question and the whole topic of Filipinos’ faith in a Catholic god is of course a no-go-zone at the moment as we all need to be “positive” in the face of the appalling tragedy unfolding before us courtesy of “The Situation Room” set up…

Civics, Development, Environment, Government, Politics, Religion

No to Catholic Church Bailout!

October 23, 2013 Hector Gamboa 25 Comments

The aftermath of last week’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake resulted in unimaginable death and destruction in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Many lives were lost and properties were left in ruins. Amongst the many ruins are centuries-old Catholic churches that have been designated as “national cultural treasures”, “national historic landmarks”, or “heritage sites”. In Bohol…

Culture, Government, Politics, Religion

God does not work FOR us

October 17, 2013October 17, 2013 Ms. Mike Portes 33 Comments

Joining our Muslim “kababayans” reflecting at the eve of Eid ul-Adha was most relevant for me. If it was a test of faith for Ibrahim/Abraham to surrender a beloved son, whose birth came to him when he was more than 80 years old; For Filipinos, it’s been the most trying months for our country devasted…

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Culture, Environment, Government, Religion, Society

Filipinos need to develop a sense of shame or guilt

October 17, 2013February 14, 2014 Ilda 113 Comments

Japanese prime ministers resign every now and then, some of them for as little as the shame of breaking an election promise. One I remember from a couple years back won in a landslide victory but was forced to resign because of mounting criticism for his flip-flopping on the issues he promised to solve during…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Politics, Religion, Society

We need a new generation of innovative activists to fight pork barrel popularity using new approaches

October 16, 2013October 17, 2013 benign0 11 Comments

The trouble with democracy is that it is premised on the assumption that people know what is good for them — a sad reality that people like current Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III owe their victory at the polls to. In a democracy, majority rules as they say. As far as fundamentalist democracy…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Politics, Religion, Society

The REAL Million People March of Iglesia Ni Cristo

October 14, 2013 P. Farol 67 Comments

There are NO CLASSES today in pre-school, elementary, and high school in Manila, Quezon City, and in other component cities of Manila. It was something that caught me by surprise last night when my wife and I were scheduling activities this coming week. Apart from being a little relieved that my daily schedule today would…

Politics, Religion