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Mabuhay
LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980
ISSN–1655-3853 • JUNE 19 - 25, 2009 • VOL. 30, NO. 25 • 8 PAHINA • P10.00
Marami pa ringtakot kahit okay na ang 10 may 
A H1N1 
AH1N1
sa Bulacan 
saBulacan
Mutya ng Ilog Angatsi Laica Joy Jimenez
 
Pahina 6
F 
F
ace mask, alcogel 
acemask,alcogel
ubos sa mga botika 
ubossamgabotika
N
I
D
INO
B
ALABO
LUNGSOD NG MALOLOS— Gumaling na ang 10Bulakenyong positibo sa swine flu o Influenza  AH1N1, ayon sa mataas na opisyal ng kalusugan sa lalawigan. Ngunit, maramipa rin ang nangangamba,ani Dr. Joycelyn Gomez, ta-gapagsalita ng Bulacanhinggil sa A H1N1.Marami pa rin ang na-ngangamba sa nakakaha-wang sakit katulad ng mga taga-San Miguel kung saanay 132 mag-aaral ang ki-nakitaan ng sintomas ng swine flu, ani Dr. Gomez. Ang patuloy na paglaganapng swine flu ay nauwi na-man sa pakaubos ng mga facemask, alcogel at vitaminC sa mga botika sa lala-wigan. Walo sa 10 Bulakenyong nagpositibo ay mula sa bayan ng Bulakan, at tig-isa sa bayan ng Hagonoy at ng Guiguinto ay gumaling na,sabi ni Dr. Gomez nang makapanayam sa teleponong 
Mabuhay 
noong Hunyo19. Ang walong nagpositibosa bayan ng Bulakan aypawang mga mag-aaral na nasa ikalawang taon ng Donya Candelaria MenesesDuque High School(DCMDHS) sa BarangayBambang. Ang nagpositibo sa Ha-gonoy ay isang lalaking balikbayan na 35 taong gulang, samantalang ang 
sundan sa pahina 6
Pasahero sa DMIA dumaramikahit may flu pandemic – Luciano
 VICTOR JOSE LUCIANO
Thr
hr
oat swab sample pasusuri na rin
atswabsamplepasusurinarin
sa laborator
alaborator
 yo ng pribadong ospital
ongpribadongospital
HAGONOY, Bulacan —May oportunidad kahitsa panahon ng kalami-dad.Ito ang karaniwang sinasabi ng mga eko-nomista at negosyantena nagkakatotoo maging sa panahong ito na ang mundo ay nahaharap sa kalamidad dulot ng In-fluenza A H1N1 o swineflu pandemic.Isang halimbawa ayang bayang ito na mata-tagpuan sa baybayin ng Bulacan at may kabuuang populasyong 126,329 kataobatay sa resulta ng censusna isinagawa noong 2007.Kumalat ang balita sa pamamagitan ng text mes-sage noong Hunyo 10 na may isang estudyante na kinakitaan ng sintomas ng  AH1N1 virus.Ilang araw lamang ang nakalipas, halos wala nang mabiling face mask sa Ha-gonoy. Ang huling dalawa nito ay nabili ng 
Mabuhay 
noong Hunyo 16. Ayon sa mga tindera sa mga botika, ilang araw lamang mataposkumalat ang balita na may kinakitaan ng sin-tomas ng Influenza A H1N1, marami na ang bumili ng face mask sa kanila. Maging alcogel,alkohol at vitamin C aymarami ang bumili.“Paisa-isa lang ang bili ng mga bumibili ng face mask, pero halossunod-sunod naman ka-
sundan sa pahina 6
BULAKAN, Bulacan — Bibigyan ng ac-creditation o kapangyarihan ng Depart-ment of Health (DOH) ang mga la-boratoryo sa iba’t ibang pribadong ospital sa bansa upang makatulong sa pagsusuri ng mga isinusumiteng na-kulektang “throat swab samples”.Ito ay bilang tugon sa pagtaas ng bilang ng mga taong kinakakitaan ng sintomas ng Influenza A H1N1 katuladsa bayan ng San Miguel, Bulacan kung saan ay 132 mag-aaral ang nasipon,inubo at nilagnat simula Hunyo 11.
“We are planning to give accredita-tion to private laboratories as additionaltesting centers,”
ani Health SecretaryFrancisco Duque sa 
Mabuhay 
nang siya ay makapanayam sa kanyang pagdalaw sa bayang ito noong Hunyo17. Ayon kay Secretary Duque, tanging 
sundan sa pahina 6
LUNGSOD NG MALOLOS — Patuloyang pagtaas ng bilang ng mga pasaherosa Diosdado Macapagal International Air-port (DMIA) sa Clark Freeport sa Pampanga sa kabila ng pandaigdigang krisis sa ekonomiya at pagtaas ng WorldHealth Organization (WHO) sa stage sixng swine flu pandemic. Ayon kay Victor Jose Luciano, pangulong Clark International Airport Corpora-tion (CIAC), umabot sa 29 na porsiyentoang itinaas ng bilang ng mga pasaherong dumaan sa DMIA sa unang apat na buwan ng taon kumpara sa katulad na panahon noong nakaraang taon.“Hindi pa namin nararandaman ang recession at flu pandemic,” ani Lucianomatapos ang isinagawang product updateroadshow ng DMIA sa BarCIE Hotel ditosa Malolos noong Hunyo 18.Sa nakaraang buwan ng Mayo, ipi-nagmalaki niya na tumaas ng 26 na porsiyento ang bilang ng pasahero sa DMIA, ngunit wala siyang ibinigay na eksaktong bilang.
“We expect at least 650,000 passengersat DMIA this year,”
aniya at binigyang diin na nagsimula lamang sila sa 7,500pasahero sa unang taon ng DMIA mayapat na taon na ang nakakaraan.Isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit tumaasang bilang ng pasahero sa DMIA ay dahildaw sa nagiging paborito ito ng Overseas
sundan sa pahina 5
 
2
Mabuhay
LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980
JUNE 19 - 25, 2009
EDITORIAL
Alfredo M. Roxas, Jose Romulo Q. Pavia, JoseGerardo Q. Pavia, Joey N. Pavia , Jose VisitacionQ. Pavia, Carminia L. Pavia, Perfecto RaymundoJr., Dino Balabo
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CIRCULATION
Robert T. Raymundo, Armando M. Arellano,Rhoderick T. RaymundoThe
Mabuhay
is published weekly by theMABUHAY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
—
DTI Permit No. 00075266, March 6, 2006 toMarch 6, 2011, Malolos, Bulacan.The
Mabuhay
is entered as Second Class MailMatter at the San Fernando, Pampanga PostOffice on April 30, 1987 under Permit No. 490;and as Third Class Mail Matter at the ManilaCentral Post Office under permit No. 1281-99-NCR dated Nov. 15, 1999. ISSN 1655-3853Principal Office: 626 San Pascual, Obando,Bulacan
 
 
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Mabuhay
LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980
Jose L. Pavia
Publisher/Editor
Perfecto V. Raymundo
 Associate Editor
 Anthony L. Pavia
Managing Editore-mail
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NABAWASAN ang pangamba ng 
Promdi
sa kumakalat na Influ-enza A H1N1 virus mataposlinawin ni Dr. Joycelyn Gomez,provincial public health officer ng Bulacan na hindi iyon airborne.Ibig sabihin, hindi natatangayng hangin ang nasabing virus.Haay, salamat!
***
 Ayon kay Gomez, ang na-sabing virus ay maaaring ma-kahawa kung ang taong may dala nito ay bumahing at natalsikanka ng laway. O kaya’y ang bagayna nahawakan ng nasabing taoay iyo ring nahawakan, pag-katapos ay naipahid mo sa iyong ilong o bibig ang iyong kamay.Ibig sabihin nito, kailangan pa rin natin ang dagdag na pag-iingat.
***
 Ang Influenza A H1N1 virusay maaaring pumasok sa bibig,ilong o kaya ay sa sugat na 
Promdi
D
INO
B
 ALABO
Dagdag ingat, bawas pangamba
Buntot Pagé
P
ERFECTO
V. R
 AYMUNDO
Araw ng Kalayaan ginunita
LIBU-LIBONG Bulakenyo sa pangunguna ni Gob. Joselito‘Jon-jon’ Mendoza at mga lokalna opisyal sa Bulacan ang nag-sama-sama sa paggunita sa ika-111 taon ng Araw ng Kalayaansa makasaysayang simbahan ng Barasoain sa Malolos.Naging masigla ang pagdi-riwang sa pamamagitan ng por-mal na pagbubukas ng LivelihoodFairs at pagsasanay sa kabu-hayan para sa manggagawa. Ang paggunita ay may temang “Kagitingan, Kagalingan at Ka-sipagan: Tungo sa Tunay na Kalayaan” ay sinimulan sa pa-mamagitan ng isang motorcadena nagsimula mula sa CapitolCompound hanggang sa maka-saysayang simbahan ng Bara-soain.Naging panauhing pandangalsa naturang okasyon si EducationSecretary Jesli Lapus. Sa kan- yang pagsasalita sinabi ni Lapusna, “
 It is high time that every Fili- pino should work hand in handand unite to fight poverty and glo-bal crisis and strive for develop-ment as well as creation of more jobs.”
Pinaalalahanan din niya ang buong sambayanan na laging sariwain sa isip ang ginawang pagtatanggol sa ating bayan ng mga bayaning nangabuwal sa 
Kastigo
B
IENVENIDO
A. R
 AMOS
Kapit-tuko sa poder
MULA sa rehimeng Marcos, ma-liban kay Cory Aquino, lahat ng naluklok na Pangulo o Punong Tagapagpaganap ay naghangadna manatili sa poder—sa iba’t-ibang paraan—pero nakasentrosa pagbabago o pagpapalit ng Konstitusyon. Hindi dahil sa maydepekto ang Konstitusyon ng 1987 (gaya ng idinadahilan ng nakaupong Pangulo o ng ka-nilang alipuris), kundi dahilitinatak ng kasalukuyang kons-titusyon ang isang prubisyon na ang isang halal na Pangulo aymaglilingkod lamang sa loob ng 6 na taon—nang walang re-eleksiyon.Kasama ring tinakdaan ng Konstitusyong ito—sa 3 sunud-sunod na tigatlong taong pa-nunungkulan ang mga opisyal na lokal—mula sa kinatawan ng distrito, gobernador, bise go-bernador, mga kagawad ng sang-guniang panlalawigan, alkalde,bise alkalde at ang mga kagawad
Ang kalayaanat pananagutan
Sa ika-111 taon ay ginunita ang Araw ng Pagpapahayag ng Kalayaanng Pilipinas nitong nagdaang Hunyo 12.At katulad sa mga nagdaang taon, nananatili at nagsusumamopa rin sa kasagutan ang katanungang tunay nga ba tayong malaya?“Depende,” ang maikling sagot ng karaniwang Bulakenyo nanangangahulugan na hindi buo ang kalayaan ng mga Pilipino.Para sa mga dalubhasa sa kasaysayan, ang kalayaang natamonatin noong Hunyo 12, 1898 ay kalayaan lamang sa larangan ngpulitika kung saan pinutol ng pag-aaklas ng mga rebolusyunaryoang halos 400-taong paghahari ng mga Kastila sa Pilipinas.Batay na rin sa ating kasaysayan, ang kalayaang iyon ay hindiagad nagkaroon ng kahulugan dahil sa pananakop ng Amerikanoat mga Hapon sa bansa. May mga bahagi ng ating kasaysayanmula sa panahon ng digmaan hanggang sa kasalukuyan kung saanay nagkaroon tayo bilang isang bansa na angkinin ang tunay nakalayaan at bigyan ito ng higit na kahulugan, ngunit napabayaanat hindi natin inalaagaan ang kalayaang iyon na tinubos ng dugong mga ninunong rebolusyunaryo.Hindi namin sinisisi ang bawat isa sa pananaw ito. Nais lamangnaming bigyang diin na bilang isang Pilipino, Bulakenyo man oKapampangan o Ilocano o Cebuano, ang bawat isa ay mayresponsibilidad hindi lamang sa sarili at sa pamilya kungdi para sabuong bayan.Ang responsibilidad na ito ay hindi nangangahulugan na tayoay muling hahawak ng armas para sa isang madugong digmaan,sa halip, ito ay isang paalala at panawagan sa bawat isa na gawinang tama at nararapat bilang isang mamamayang Pilipino.Hindi dapat ipagkibit-balikat ang personal na responsibilidadnatin bilang mamamayan sapagkat dito nakasalig ang iba pangkalayaang dapat nating makamtan. Kabilang dito ay kalayaangmamuhay ng payapa, kalayaang magpahayag, kalayaang umunlad,kalayaang kumain ng sapat, kalayaan sa mga sakit tulad ng Influ-enza A H1N1, kalayaan sa pagsamba, kalayaan sa kamangmangan,kalayaan na magkaroon ng sariling tahanan, kalayaan na itaguyodang isang pamilyang nagmamahal sa kapwa, may pananalig saDiyos at nagtitiwala sa pamahalaan, at iba pa.Sa madaling salita, ang kalayaan ng bawat isa sa atin aynakadepende sa ating pagiging responsableng mamamayan nasiyang susi sa tunay na pagbabago.Sa pamamagitan nito, higit nating mapatatatag ang atingpamilya, bayan at bansa.Simulan natin ang pagbabago ngayon sa pamamagitan ngpagiging isang responsableng mamamayan para sa mas malayangkinabukasan.
dilim ng gabi.
“Let us not forget our heroes who fought for our in-dependence, because they serve as our inspiration for a more pro- gressive country,”
pagwawakasniya.Dumalo rin sa nasabing oka-syon sina Central Luzon RegionalPolice Chief Supt. Leon Nilo A.dela Cruz, gayon din ang kata-talagang Bulacan Acting PoliceDirector S/Supt. Diosdado Ra-mos.Kasama ring dumalo sina BiseGob. Willy Sy-Alvarado, Kint.Marivic Sy-Alvarado ng unang distrito, Malolos City MayorDanilo Domingo, Christian Na-tividad, Engr. Romeo Castro atmga barangay opisyal mula sa iba’t ibang bayan ng Bulacan.
Pulitika sa Malolos
MAHIGIT na sampung buwan na lamang at halalan na sa darating na Mayo ng susunod na taon. Sa lungsod ng Malolos ay tatlo ang kasalukuyang may hangaring pumalit kay Mayor Danilo Do-mingo, na tatlong termino nang ama ng lungsod.Unang nagpahayag ng kan- yang layuning maglingkod bilang punong lungsod ng Malolos siGng. Carol Mangawang. Sa ka-salukuyan ay lumulutang din ang pangalan ni dating Bise Alkalde Al Tengco.Isa pang may hangaring ma-ging mayor ng Malolos ay siBoard Member Christian Nati-vidad, anak ng tinaguriang ‘Agila’ ng Bulacan na si nasirang Kint. Teodulo Natividad.Sa kanilang tatlo ay wala kang itulak-kabigin, dahil pare-parehosilang taga sa panahon.Sinuman sa kanilang tatlo ang palarin ay tiyak na ang kaun-laran ng lungsod ng Malolos ang siyang pangunahing gagawin.
Pagwasak sa Kalikasan
NANGANGAMBA ang mga Bu-lakenyo sa pangunguna ni Gob. Joselito Mendoza sa patuloy na pagwasak sa makasaysayang bundok ng Biak-na-Bato sa bayanng San Miguel.Hindi mapigilan ang pagmi-mina sa nasabing lugar dahildiumano sa pagbibigay ng pahin-tulot ng Department of Environ-ment and National Resources(DENR) sa Roosemoor Mining and Development Corporation.Binalewala ang utos ni Gob.Mendoza na itigil ang gina-gawang pagmimina dahil diu-mano sa pahintulot ng DENR. Ano ba yan! Winawasak na ang kalikasan, may pahintulotpang ibinibigay.Sta. Banana!ng sangguniang-bayan o sang-guniang lunsod.
Pinutol ang sobrang pamumulitika
HINDI ako abugado o constitu-tionalist, pero bilang manunulatat peryodista, alam kong sinadya ng mga umakda at nagpatibay ng kasalukuyang Konstitusyon—na putulin ang sobrang pamumu-litika ng mga pinunong-bayan, attakdaan ang kasakiman sa poderng sino mang pulitiko. Naging lubos sana ang ganitong layuninng Saligambatas na ito—kung tuwirang ibinabawal ang di-nastiyang pampulitika—at hindiipinaubaya sa Kongreso ang pag-akda ng isang enabling law obatas na magpapatupad ng tad-hanang nagbabawal sa dinas-tiyang pampulitika.Ito ang butas sa Konstitusyon,na sinamantala ng mga tuso atgahaman sa kapangyarihan, atpatuloy na pamamayani ng iilang pamilya sa palingkurang-ba- yan—ang sabay-sabay na panu-nungkulan ng mag-iina, mag-aama, magkakapatid—sa Kaga-warang Ehekutibo, Lehislatura,at Hudikatura. Ang takdang 3sunud-sunod na termino ng panunungkulan ay nagawang palusutan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapalit-palit ng pusisyon atng kumakandidato na mula sa iisang pamilya. Kung tapos na ang 9 na taong panunungkulanng kongrerista, gobernador omayor, maaaring ikandidatonaman ang asawa, kapatid, oanak nito. Ang isang malaking butas ng takdang termino ng panunung-kulan, at ang di pagpapatupad sa prubisyong anti-dynasty sa Kons-titusyon, ay makikita sa kaso niPangulong Macapagal-Arroyo.Para mapatalsik nang legal siGMA, ang kailanga’y sa 
 camarade respresentantes
maghain ng impeachment complainst. Nga-
sundan sa pahina 7
walang takip.Payo ng mga doktor, ugaliing maggtakip ng bibig kapag uuboo babahing. Dapat ding ugaliinang paghuhugas ng kamay.
***
Ugaliin, isabuhay, lagi. Ito ang mga mahahalagang salita sa paalala ng mga doktor upang hindi makumpromiso ang ating kalusugan.Palagi rin nating isa-isip ang mga katagang iyan dahil ang vi-rus na ating kalaban at hindinakikita, bukod pa sa hindi iyontumitigil sa pagpapadami. Ibig sabihin, 24-oras ang pagdami ng virus sa loob ng katawan ng taong nadapuan nito. Dagdag ingattalaga ang dapat.
***
Hindi lang ang 
Promdi
ang mamamahayag sa Bulacan na nakaramdam ng pangamba sa influenza A H1N1 virus.Sabi nga nila, “sino ang mag-kokober kung mahawa at mag-kasakit tayo?”
***
Totoo. Kaya, maging mama-mahayag ay nag-iingat din. Dahildito, laging abala o busy ang kanilang mga telepono.Iyan ang tinatawag na cover-age by phone. Mahirap kasing mahawa, katulad ng napa-ulatna dalawang empleyado ng ABS-CBN ang diumano’y nahawa na.
***
Hindi po biro ang maaaring sitwasyon kung mga mamama-hayag ang mahawa sa sakit.Una, hindi sila makakapag-sagawa ng coverage o hindimakakapagbalita.Ikalawa, paano kung mahawa sa mga mamamahayag ang mga taong kanilang kinakapanayam?Posible iyan dahil ilang araw dinang incubation period ng virus sa katawan ng tao kaya’t hindi agad
sundan sa pahina 7
EDITORYAL
 
JUNE 19 - 25, 2009
Mabuhay
LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980
3
Depthnews
J
UAN
L. M
ERCADO
‘Hey Dad!’
Regarding Henry
H
ENRYLITO
D. T
 ACIO
Cebu Calling
F
R
. R
OY 
C
IMAGALA
Aspirations in schoolA matter of destiny
“WHEN I was a boy of 14, my fa-ther was so ignorant I couldhardly stand to have the old manaround,” Mark Twain wrote.“But when I got to be 21, I wasastonished at how much helearned in seven years.”Twain’s wisecrack appearedfirst in “Atlantic Monthly” of 1874. Without fail, this joke nowbobs up on “Father’s Day”. The“old man” finds himself isswamped with greetings, specialdinner, outings, etc.The day is one of the newerkids on the block. Mother’s Daycame much earlier. A simplechurch rite, in West Virgina,launched Father’s Day in 1908.US president Lyndon Johnsonelevated it a federal holiday onlyin 1966.Today, 52 countries mark“Father’s Day” on third Sundayof June. That includes Japan, thePhilippines, Panama to Switzer-land and Malaysia. Portuguesecelebrate “Dia do Pai”. Italiansmark “Festa del Papa”. Thais linkFather’s Day to the December 5birthday of reigning King Bhumibol . ANOTHER school year has justbegun. In the papers, the focus ishow to contain the spread of thedreaded H1N1 virus. Also the glutin the public schools is noted, dueto transfers from and closure of private schools that in turn maybe due to the global recession, al-ready biting in the US, but not yetthat bad here.It looked like, for amusement,the papers were one in splashing pictures of little boys having theirhaircut accompanied mostly bymothers. Their faces betrayedtraces of little suffering as theynow have to interrupt their sum-mer fun and go back to some seri-ous business.Everyone, I suppose, is nowtrying to fulfill his duties towardthe never-ending task of educat-ing children. Government, NGOs,parents, school management and,of course, the students themselveshave to do their part.In my case, as chaplain of a technical school I’ve been throughseveral meetings to lay out ourplans and programs for the school year. I had to coordinate closelywith the personal formation office JIGSY listened attentively to sis-ter Philomena. Sister was prepar-ing them for their first commun-ion and teaching them what to doupon entering the chapel.“Now, listen children,” sisterwaved her hands in the air to gettheir attention. “What is the firstthing you do before entering thechapel?”“Dip you finger in the Holy Water font and make the Sign of the Cross!” the children answeredin chorus.“Good!” sister Philomena waspleased to see that they remem-bered what she taught. “Now, re-member, don’t make the Sign of the Cross hurriedly, okay?”“Yes, sister Philomena,” she allreplied.“Sister?” Edmund raised hishand.“Yes, Edmund?”“What about Jigsy?”“What about him, Edmund?”
Forward to Basics
F
R
. F
RANCIS
B. O
NGKINGCO
The sign of crossing
MANY Filipinos are in business,but they could hardly be calledbusinessmen in the real sense.Many of them have no access toformal credit, and because of that, they become victims of loansharks, some of them being caught in that trap for severalgenerations. This is a sad realityin a country where no one can goto jail for usury, because it is nolonger illegal here. Although they are hard work-ing, they are hardly able to makeends meet, because interest costsare too high, and they are unableto make more sales by increasing their inventories. This is also thesad reality among farmers, whowork very hard all their lives, butwho are practically just working for the middle men who eat theirprofits by way of high lending costs. Working as vendors or farm-ers, they are really just working to survive the days that pass, butthey could not look forward to a brighter future since they are notbuilding something that theycould own in the long term, andperhaps bequeath to their chil-dren. If only they could gain ac-cess to formal credit, they wouldperhaps be able to build compa-nies that would not only beef up
Fair & Square
I
KE
S
EÑERES
(PFO) and the student affairs of-fice (SAO). We reviewed these plans andprograms, pruning those elementsthat now seem irrelevant and add-ing others that appear to beneeded. I was impressed by thecollegial discussions and decision-making process.It’s nice to know that the young staffers can give fresh insights andnew readings to current develop-ments affecting students. I feelupdated, and quietly take note of the subtle changes taking placeamong the young. Yes, there arechanges, and some of them lookmajor even if they are not in theopen yet. We have both expanded andtightened our network of personaltutorials and mentoring. Each stu-dent will be assigned a tutor, andgroups of tutors will be trainedand supervised by mentors.So it seems that the structuresand calendar of activities are al-ready in place. We have consideredthe requirements of the differentaspects of formation: human,spiritual, religious-doctrinal, pro-fessional, and apostolic. Nowcomes the harder part, the task of implementing, of converting ideasand goals into tangible effects.This, I think, is where the heartof education lies. It is in the spiritthat inspires one to carry out histask and the energy he exerts topursue that task. Education is not just a mechanical transmission of ideas. It is taking care of souls,nourishing them with their properfood that ultimately is God.I saw the other day a mothercarrying in her arms her two-year-old little girl. They were walking by the road when I passed by inmy car. The mother was talking to her daughter, smiling, and thelittle girl was expressionless, butwith her little arms around hermother’s neck.I, of course, did not hear whatthe mother was saying, but I wassure that whatever it was, therewas already a very intimate bond-ing between the mother and child,an invisible interflow of spiritualloving.To me, it was an eloquent im-age of how education ought to bedone. I like to imagine that in that
continued on page 7
“Who’s going to cross him?”“Would you like to do the hon-ors of crossing him?” sisterPhilomena smiled at Edmund.“Of course!” was Edmund’sdelighted reply. He turned aroundand winked at Jigsy who was hisbest friend.“Any more questions, class?”sister asked.“Yes,” Kathy asked with a con-cerned face. “I’m wondering how Jigsy does the Sign of the Corsswhen no one crosses it for him?”“Jigsy?” sister looked at the boywho was born without both arms.“Why don’t you tell what FatherElliot taught you the other day?”“Yes, sister Philomena,” Jigsysaid as he stood up. All eyes wereturned towards him.He walked confidently in frontof the class. Once in front, hecalmly faced his classmates. Then,he took a long deep breath andbegan explaining.“Father, Elliot taught me tomake the Sign of the Cross thisway: ‘God the Father is in Heaven,and so when I say IN THE NAMEOF THE FATHER, I raise myhead and look up to Heaven. Thenwhen I say AND OF THE SON, Ilook at the ground, because Jesuswas born on earth, and OF THEHOLY SPIRIT, I then take a deepbreath because the Spirit is likethe air that gives us life.”The entire class became quietfor a few seconds, and Edmundstood up and started applauding his friend. Then everyone, includ-ing sister Philomena applauded Jigsy’s unique Sign of the Cross.* * *How many lessons we can learnfrom Jigsy’s childlike faith? Thesign of the Cross is not simply a gesture to mark ourselves withhastily as we begin our meals, takean exam or enter the playing field.
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their own household economy,but would also strengthen thenational economy as well.Looking back in history, it wasactually the small farmers andshop keepers that built the Brit-ish economy, laying the ground-work for an industrial economythat came later on. There is a say-ing that Britain is a nation of shop keepers, and it is that real-ity that actually made theireconomy very strong up to now.Going now into the practicalrealm, our own shop keepers andfarmers could only graduate andbuild their companies if they reg-ister their businesses, if theyopen bank accounts, if they keepaccounting records, if they estab-lish a credit history, if they pro-tect themselves with insurancecoverage and if they pay theirtaxes properly. These are the sixrequisites that they have to havein order to graduate from theunderground economy.In reality, they could only getaccess to formal credit if theyhave a registered business, if theyhave a bank account for refer-ence, if they could present theirfinancial statements, if theycould show their proof of goodcredit, if they show their insur-
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Underground economy
Macao picked March 19: feastof the foster father of the Mes-siah. The carpenter Joseph fitsMark Twain’s portrait of an or-dinary man who proved extraor-dinary..Scriptures don’t record a single word from Joseph..Yet,when crisis struck, he took swiftdecisive action. He protectedMary and her son during Herod’sslaughter of the innocents andexile into Egypt. And he cared forthem in the “hidden years.”
 Nakilala sa gawa angtotohanang dakila
, the Pilipinoproverb says ( “He who is trulygreat is known by his deeds”)Universal values, however,under-gird Father’s Day wher-ever marked. All faiths accordhonor and respect for those whogave life. The Koran ( circa 651 AD) , for example, warns: “Does your prayer enjoin you to forsakewhat our fathers honored…”Confucius ( 551-479 BC )teaching on “filial piety” influ-enced Taiwan, Korea, Japan,Singapore, Vietnam, plus placeswhere Chinese migrants settled,as in parts of Indonesia and Ma-laysia. “The father who does notteach his son his duties,” the sagestressed, “is equally guilty withthe son who neglects his.”The Fourth of the 10 Com-mandments bear unique charac-teristics, the Jewish and Chris-tian faiths point out.First: The Fourth has a prom-ise attached. “Honor your fatherand your mother”, it says butadds: “:That your days may belong in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”Second: Nine of in that MountSinai Decalogue, address all men.The Fourth explicitly addresseschildren. It spells out duties to befulfilled in relation to parents.The peripatetic Paul lateramplified this instruction in oneof his letters: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for thisis right” That resonates in a prov-erb of Masbate.
 Isang sud-ongnang ama, tama na.
( “One wordfrom the father is enough “).Today, there’s hand wringing over the Fourth being watereddown. “The thing that impressesme about America is how parents
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“TO be president is destiny,” re-plied Chief Justice Reynato S.Puno when he was asked if he isconsidering himself to becomethe next president of the Philip-pines. (That is, if there is an elec-tion this coming May, 2010!)Puno’s response reminds meof the words of William JenningsBryan: “Destiny is not a matterof chance, it is a matter of choice;it is not a thing to be waited for,it is a thing to be achieved.”Leo F. Buscaglia notes, “I be-lieve that you control your des-tiny, that you can be what youwant to be. You can also stop andsay, No, I won’t do it, I won’t be-have his way anymore. I’m lonelyand I need people around me,maybe I have to change my meth-ods of behaving and then you doit.”To become a president, if wehave to believe the thought of Puno, is a matter of destiny. Af-ter all, if you are
the
president,everything you do and say isbound to be news – howevertrivial the situation. It’s a case of “damn if you and damn if youdon’t.” You have people to rallyfor you because of the things thatare in stake like businesses, privi-leges, fame, and more impor-tantly, power. There are alsothose who are against you andthey are called opposition.Of course, a president is notonly honored or revered but heor she is also ridiculed and criti-cized. When he was still the presi-dent of the United States, funnycaricatures of George W. Bushwere widespread. Who hasn’theard of former president BillClinton and the oral office? Ex-president Joseph Estrada is oftenthe subject of Erap jokes.Even the current resident of Malacanang is not spared frommockery. One of the most for-warded text messages was this: A Filipino died and on his way toheaven, Saint Peter asked him:“Where are you from?” When theman answered that he was fromthe Philippines, Peter replied,“Welcome to heaven. You havesuffered much from your presi-dent.”If that is what the presidencyis all about, you better think oth-erwise. There are other ways of becoming famous and successful– in your own way. However, theroad to success is oftentimes notoffered on a silver platter – ex-cept for the chosen few. You haveto do something to achieve it.Some in fact have to more thanothers.Of course, there are peoplewho become star overnight – be-cause of sheer luck or talent. Butnot everyone can have that kindof success. In most instances, tothose who become star overnight,fame is swift and fleeting. Some-where, sometime, a younger andeven more talented individualwill come along the way and takesthe limelight from the formerstar. But success based on hardwork and perseverance is difficultto be taken away from you.Thomas Alva Edison knewthis fact. “Genius is one percentinspiration and 99 percent per-spiration,” he said. “Accordinglya genius is often merely a tal-ented person who has done all of his or her homework.”Do your own homework. Don’trest on your laurels. Never settlefor anything less. But whatever you do, do your very best. Mar-tin Luther King, Jr. reminds: “Alllabor that uplifts humanity hasdignity and importance andshould be undertaken with pains-taking excellence. If a man iscalled to be a street sweeper, heshould sweep even asMichelangelo painted, orBeethoven composed music, orShakespeare wrote poetry. Heshould sweep streets so well thatall the host of heavens and earthwill pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”Successful people are people
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