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Mabuhay
LINGGUHANG PILIPINO MULA PA NOONG 1980
ISSN–1655-3853 • OKTUBRE 24 – 30, 2008 • VOL. 29, NO. 43 • 8 PAHINA • P10.00
Tuloy ang pagkalbo sa Angatdam at Ipo dam watershed
Napangiwi si GMA sa nakitang larawan ng kalbong kabundukan
 
 Basahin ang ulat ni Dino Balabo sa Pahina 6
MAKIKITA sa larawan si Bro. Martin Francisco (kanan) at mga kasapi ng SSMMSChabang ini-inspeksyon ang inabutan nilang pinagputulan ng mga troso at ang mgatablang tinistis mula sa trosong pinutol sa loob ng kabundukan ng Ipo watershedsa Norzagaraya, Bulacan.
— Kuha ng SSMMSC
ITINUTURO ng isang sundalo (kaliwa) ang dambuhalang trosong inabutan nilangnakabuwal sa kabundukan ng Ipo Watershed noong Agosto. Ang lawarang ito aykuha ng mga kasapi ng SSMMSC na nagsagawa ng dokumentasyon sa pagkasirang kabundukan sa pamamagitan ng pag-akyat sa bundok.
— Kuha ng SSMMSC
NAKAKALBONG WATERSHED
— Malinaw na makikita sa larawang itona kuha mula sa himpapawid ang bahagi ng Ipo Dam sa Norzagaray, Bulacanna patuloy na nakakalbo. Ang larawang ito ay hinango ng Sagip Sierra MadreMulti-sectoral Council (SSMMSC) sa internet kung saan ito ay pansaman-talang inilagay ng mga kagawad ng Department of Evironment and NaturalResources (DENR).
— P
HOTO
 
COURTESY 
 
OF
SSMMSC
 
2
OKTUBRE 24 – 30, 2008
EDITORIAL
Alfredo M. Roxas, Jose Romulo Q. Pavia, JoseGerardo Q. Pavia, Joey N. Pavia , Jose Visitacion Q.Pavia, Carminia L. Pavia, Perfecto Raymundo Jr.,Dino Balabo
PRODUCTION
Jose Antonio Q. Pavia, Jose Ricardo Q. Pavia,Mark F. Mata, Maricel P. Dayag
PHOTOGRAPHY / ART
Eden Uy, Allan Peñaredondo, Joseph Ryan S.Pavia
BUSINESS / ADMINISTRATION
Loreto Q. Pavia, Marilyn L. Ramirez, Peñaflor Crystal,J. Victorina P. Vergara, Cecile S. Pavia, LuisFrancisco, Domingo Ungria, Harold T. Raymundo,Jennifer T. Raymundo, Rhoderick T. Raymundo
CIRCULATION
Robert T. Raymundo, Armando M. Arellano,Jess Camaro, Fred LopezThe
Mabuhay
is published weekly by theMABUHAY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
—
DTI Permit No. 00075266, March 6, 2006 to March6, 2011, Malolos, Bulacan.The
Mabuhay
is entered as Second Class MailMatter at the San Fernando, Pampanga Post Officeon April 30, 1987 under Permit No. 490; and asThird Class Mail Matter at the Manila Central PostOffice under permit No. 1281-99-NCR dated Nov.15, 1999. ISSN 1655-3853Principal Office: 626 San Pascual, Obando,Bulacan
 
 
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Jose L. Pavia
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Managing Editore-mail
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Buntot Pagé
P
ERFECTO
V. R
 AYMUNDO
Ilegal na pagawaan ng paputok
BAGAMAT may kalayuan pa ang Pasko at Bagong Taon, maraminang pagawaan ng paputok sa lalawigan ng Bulacan, lalong-lalona sa bayan ng Bocaue, ang kasa-lukuyang gumagawa ng paputok.Halos kalahati ng mga paga-waan ng paputok sa nasabing ba- yan ay ilegal. Sa madaling salita,hindi rehistrado o hindi lisensya-dong gumawa ng paputok.Kalimitan sa mga ilegal na itonagmumula ang aksidente na nagiging sanhi ng pagsabog ng pagawaan, na kadalasan ay pinag-bubuwisan ng buhay.Nito lamang nakaraang araway naaresto ng pulisya ang isang negosyante at dalawang tauhannito sa isang ilegal na pagawaanng paputok sa Barangay Batya,Bocaue.Dahil sa pagkakahuli sa negos- yante at mga tauhan nito, sa-sampahan ng kasong paglabag sa R.A. 7183 o ang Illegal Manufac-turing of Pyrotechnic Productsang mga ito.Marami namang pagkakaki-
Kastigo
B
IENVENIDO
A. R
 AMOS
Kung kailan bumabagyo na
Promdi
D
INO
B
 ALABO
Citizens’ Press Council
PATULOY ang pagsusulong ng Center for Media Freedom andResponsibility (CMFR) sa pagta-tayo ng mga Citizen’s Press Coun-cil (CPC) sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa.Pangunahing layunin ng pag-tatayo ng mga CPC katulad sa Cebu, Palawan, Baguio at Gitnang Luzon ang ipagtanggol ang ma-layang pamamahayag sa pama-magitan ng responsableng pama-mahayag.
* * *
Sa simpleng pananalita, ang mga CPC ay magsisilbi ring sum-bungan ng mamamayan sa pag-abuso ng ilang mamamahayag.Sabi naman ng ilang mama-mahayag sa Gitnang Luzon,” Para pala itong batong ipupukpok na-tin sa ating mga ulo.”Tanong ng 
Promdi
sa mga nasabing mamamahayag,” Bakit,umaabuso ba kayo?”
* * *
sabing batas, ani Vergel Santos,ang chairman ng CMFR dahillabag ito sa isinasaad ng Kons-titusyon na nagsasabing “No lawshall be passed abridging the free-dom of speech, of expression, or of the press ...”
(Article III, Section 4)
* * *
Batay sa paglalarawan ng mga beteranong mamamahayag tuladni Juan Mercado, isa sa mga ko-lumnista ng 
Mabuhay 
, kapag natuloy ang isinusulong na batasna Right of Reply ni Puentevella,lalabas na ang gobyerno na ang magdidikta kung ano ang puwedeat hindi puwedeng ilathala.Ito ay nangangahulugan na ang gobyerno na ang magsisilbing edi-tor ng mga pahayagan dahil ang responsibilidad ng pagdedesisyonkung aling artikulo ang maaari atdi maaaring ilathala ay nakaatang sa balikat ng mga editor.
* * *
sundan sa pahina 7
 Ayon kay Professor Luis Teo-doro, ang deputy director ng CMFR, ang mga CPC ay magsi-silbi ring “self-regulatory body”ng mga mamamahayag o ang pagkakaroon ng pagtutuwid sa mga pagkakamali, pagkukulang at maging pag-abuso.Ito ay nangangahulugan ng pagdisiplina sa sarili sa pama-magitan ng responsable o mataasna antas ng pamamahayag.
* * *
 Ayon pa kay Teodoro, kung hin-di didisiplinahin ng mga mama-mahayag ang sarili, ang gobyernoang didisiplina sa mga mamama-hayag sa pamamagitan ng batasna Right of Reply na isinusulong sa Kongreso ni Kint. MonicoPuentevella ng Bacolod, na ang katapat na batas ay isinulong sa Senado nina Senador NenePimentel, Ramon Revilla Jr., atChiz Escudero.“Stupid and wrong” ang na-
EDITORYAL
Lahok ng mamamayan
NAMUMUKOD tangi ang pagsisikap ng pamahalaanglungsod ng Malolos sa pagsisinop ng basura bilangisang hakbang sa pangangalaga ng kalikasan atpaghahanda para sa isang malinis na pamayanan ngmalulusog at produktibong mamamayan.Ang pagsisikap ng Malolos ay nagbunga ng pag-tatayo sa Barangay Mambog ng isang Material RecoveryFacility (MRF) kung saan ang halos 100 metrong toneladang basurang nakukulekta bawat araw ay pinaghihiwalay.Ang nabubulok ay ginigiling at ipinamamahagi samga magsasaka na siyang nagpapahinog nito upangmaging abono sa mga halaman; at ang di-nabubulok tuladng mga plastic ay hinuhugasan, pinatutuyo, kinukulektaat ginagamit na alternatibong panggatong ng Holcim Ce-ment Corporation sa produksyon ng semento.Tunay na malayo na ang narating ng Malolos sa animna taong programa sa pagsisinop ng basura at mapa-natiling malinis ang kapaligiran na isang mabisang hak-bang sa pangangalaga sa kalikasan at natural na yamantulad ng katubigan na bahagi ng patuloy na kaunlaranng lungsod.Ngunit ang patuloy na tagumpay sa pagsisikap naito ay nakasalalay sa pakikiisa ng bawat mamamayan ngmakasaysayang lungsod na magagawa sa pamamagitanng personal na paglilinis ng kanilang mga bakuran atpagsisinop ng sariling basura.Ito ay isang natural na bunga ng bawat polisiyangipinatutupad ng bawat pamahalaan, pangnasyunal mano lokal — ang makumbinsi at mahubog ang bawat mama-mayan na makiisa dahil ang layunin nito ay ang kabutihanat kaunlaran di lamang ng mamamayan sa kasalukuyangpanahon kungdi pati ng susunod na henerasyon.Totoo ang aral na ulit-ulit na ipinaaalala ng mata-tanda: ang kalikasang ating pinagkukunan ng yamanngayon ay hiram natin sa susunod na henerasyon, atkailangang pangalagaan upang iyon ay kanilang mapaki-nabangan at masustinihan ang kanilang pangangailanganbilang isang lahi.Walang dapat pagtalunan sa pangaral na ito ngmatatanda dahil malinaw na ang kinabukasan ng bawatpamayanan ay nakasalalay sa pagiging responsable ngbawat isa sa kasalukuyan.Kaibigan, pagsisinop ng basura’y ating tungkulin.Huwag natin itong ipagpabukas dahil ang kinabukasanay hindi atin, sa halip ay hiram lamang natin sa atingmga anak.
taan ng legal, bakit kaya sa ilegalpa nais na pumasok ang iba na-ting mga kababayan?Nagtatanong po lamang kami!
Kolorum na ipinamamasada
SA kasalukuyan ay may ilang kolorum na sasakyan ang puma-pasada mula sa Meycauayanhanggang sa Malolos. Ang tanong ay bakit kaya hindi nila gawing legal ang mga sasakyang kani-lang ipinanghahanap-buhay?Karamihan sa namamasada ng kolorum ay mga FX na walang prangkisa mula sa Land Trans-portation Franchising and Regu-latory Board o LTFRB.Multang P6,000 ang ipapatawsa mahuhuling kolorum na sasak- yang ipinamamasada.May karagdagang P1,000 ka-da araw sa unang paglabag hang-gang sa hindi natutubos ang lisensya. Sa ikalawang paglabag,P1,500 bawat araw at sa ikatlong paglabag ay P2,000 bawat araw.Sa mga driver na nakiki-boundary lamang ng kanilang ipinamamasadang kolorum, ma-rahil ay tumigil na lamang kayosa pamamasada at humanap ng ibang mapagkakakitaan.Mahirap mamasada na kolo-rum ang iyong dinadalang sasak- yan. Lagi ka na lamang nag-aagam-agam.
Todos Los Santos
SA DARATING na Sabado, unang araw ng Nobyembre ang TodosLos Santos o Araw ng mga Patay.Bawat isa sa atin ay magsisi-tungo sa puntod ng ating mga  yumaong mahal sa buhay. Tutu-lusan ng kandila at pag-uukulanng mga piping dalangin para sa kanilang kaluluwa.Huwag sanang samantalahinng mga masasamang loob ang pagsisiksikan sa mga semen-teryo.Sana sa araw na ito ay mapag-ukulan natin ng pag-aalaala ang ating mga yumaong mahal sa buhay. Sa aking mga magulang na nagsiyao na, sana’y nasa ka-linga kayo ng ating Panginoon.ng Sulpicio Lines ang Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Adminis-tration (PAG-ASA). Atrasado na raw ang senyal ng bagyo na ipi-nalabas nito. Atrasado man o hindi ang ipinalabas na senyal ng PAG-ASA,ang nalantad dito ay ang kaku-langan ng makabagong gamit sa pagtunton sa namumuong sama ng panahon. Maging ang PHIL- VOCS ay luma na ang mga gamitsa pagmomonitor sa mga nag-aalborotong bulkan.Sa maraming malalayong lala-wigan o tiwalag na mga bayan, niwalang trak ng bumbero. Mara-ming tulay at lansangang naubosang pondo ay naiwang nakati-wangwang.Mula’t sapul, ang ekonomya ng Pilipinas ay nakabatay na sa pagsasaka. May isang panahong na sa halip na umaangkat aynagluluwas tayo ng bigas sa ibang bansa.Ngayong nakangisi ang tag-gutom sa daigdig, saka lamang naalaala ng magagaling na lidernatin na bigyan ng pansin ang napabayaang industriya ng pag-sasaka. Ang mga nababawing mga nakaw na yaman ng mga Marcosat kanilang mga crony na dapatsanang mapunta sa Comprehen-sive Land Reform Program aynaukol sa “farm to pocket road”. Ang mga lupang sakahan na dat-ing malalakas pag-anihan ng palay at iba pang pananim aybiglang naging malalaking sub-dibisyon o golf course. At ang P728 milyon para sa abono ayipinamudmod pero hindi sa mga magsasaka!Hindi baleng kapusin tayo sa bigas, umangkat tayo ng sibuyasat bawang — maganyak lamang natin ang mga dayuhang kapi-talista at turista upang sila ang magpasasa sa mga likas na yamanng Pilipinas, at wasakin nila ang kalikasan at kapaligiran, gawing tambakan tayo ng mga pagkaing may Melamine at iba pang lason.Kulang sa mga tauhan ateksperto ang Bureau of Food andDrugs (BFAD) dahil kapiranggotang pondo, habang nagpapasasa ang mga taga-Customs at Bureauof Immigration sa mga produk-tong may lason at mga taong ipinupuslit papasok o papalabassa bansa sa pamamagitan ng milyong suhol. Ang nakakatawa, panahon pa ni Presidente Fidel Ramos ay
sundan sa pahina 4
 ANGKOP na angkop sa nagsisi-pormang umano’y mga lider, lalona sa mga kagawad ng 
 camara derepresentantes
, ang palasak na kasabihang, “Kung kailan buma-bagyo na ay saka lamang mag-susuhay.”Taun-taon ay palaki nang pala-ki ang pinagtitibay na pamban-sang budget at kung saan-saanlang ito napapaukol. Alam ng lahat na ang Pilipinas(na ipinagmamalaki nating Per-las ng Silangan) ay niloob ng tadhana na mapalagay sa landasng lindol, at maging pugad na namimisa ng mga bagyo na kada-lasan ay lumilikha ng malalaking pagbaha, pagguho ng lupa at iba pang kaakibat na sakuna.Totoo, hindi natin mapipigilang paghampas ng ano mang li-kas na kalamidad, pero maiiwa-san natin o mapaghahandaannatin ang pagdating, mapaliliitang lilikhaing pinsala at mapa-kokonti ang mabubuwis na buhay.Ilang pangyayari lamang ang babanggitin ko na nagpapatotoosa kasabihang, “Kung kailanbumabagyo na ay saka nagkuku-mahog na magsuhay tayo.”Sa nakaraang paghampas ng bagyong Frank na ikinalubog ng MV Princess of the Stars, sinisisi
 
OKTUBRE 24 – 30, 2008
3
Depthnews
J
UAN
L. M
ERCADO
‘A love story-kuno’
Regarding Henry
H
ENRYLITO
D. T
 ACIO
Cebu Calling
F
R
. R
OY 
C
IMAGALA
Why don’t they get it?
IT’S a question whose answer Ireally do not know. I guess onehas to plumb deep into the heartsof the people concerned to get a glimpse of the reason.I’m referring to why, in spiteof all the explanations on the sub- ject given by the Church magis-terium, even highly placed priest-professors in seminaries and otherecclesiastical centers of learning do not understand the true na-ture and role of conscience in ourlife.It would be very easy to brandthem as incorrigible modernistsand relativists whose congenitaldefect is their overpowering self-confidence that they hold the ul-timate key to the answers of ourfaith’s mysteries and moral ques-tions. But that, I’m afraid, wouldstill be off the mark.By the way, wonder of wonders,there are quite a number of themdangerously lodged in these for-mation centers, giving rise to fearsthat the training of our futurepriests and other religious men
(A UN economist-friend forwardedthe feature below. Tongue-in cheek,he explained: “This simple love storyis told in Taglish.” He did not, how- ever, send the author’s name. A pity. How do you thank someone forlaughter? Read this howler and en- joy— JLM ) ‘ 
IT was jazz an ordinary day. Theskies were clear and birds werechirping ... Nasa SM ako noon atkatatapos ko lang mamili ng gro-ceries sa food core. Si AngelLocsin, nagpro-provoke ng movieniya. Pull-packed talaga! Nakipila na rin ako.Then suddenly, out of the loo,may bumulong sa akin ng:“Indaaayyyyy ...” Huh? It soundedlike a familiar sound. Who can itbe now? “Dodong!” sigaw ko.Napalakas yata ang voice ko.Kasi, the other fans turned theirbacks to their behind. At napa-tingin sa amin. Sabi ko: “Sorry: Ididn’t mean to be loud andproud.”Hinawakan na lang ni Dodong ang kamay ko. At lumayo kamifrom the crowd. “Kamusta na In-and women could be seriouslycompromised.In many published papers andcommentaries, posted even in theInternet, they affirm that con-science is our ultimate arbiter toknow what is right and wrong inour actions.They can go so far as to admitthat we can consider and makeinputs from other sources, evenfrom the Church teaching, but inthe end, it’s our conscience thatmakes our actions moral or im-moral.They understand consciencenot only as the ultimate judge of the moral quality of our actions.It is also an independent and su-preme judge who makes its judg-ments alone and no authority canquestion it. That’s how they un-derstand the freedom of con-science.In this setup, it would seemthat even God has to defer to the judgment of one’s conscience. Asto the Church authority over it,one better has to forget it. In theirmind, our conscience is supremeand infallible.Thus, they tend to flaunt thereasoning that in spite of howwrong their action is if judged ac-cording to Church-taught moralprinciples, they still would feel itwas right, since it’s their con-science that said so. No questioncan be asked, period. You havereached the end of the line!This is really strange, becauseever since I became aware of theexistence of conscience, I alwaysunderstood it as a judgment Imake about the morality of myactions according to a law that isnot mine. It’s a law written in myheart, definitely not by me, butby someone else.Later, I was convinced that thislaw must have come from my cre-ator, God. I understood conscienceas a judgment I make always withGod, no matter how poorly I per-ceive him.Even if I read him wrongly, itcan never be a judgment arrived
continued on page 7
day? Do you come here open?”tanong nya.“Bihira lang, Dodong. I’m justdroppings by. Ethnic ang sched-ule ko eh,” sabi ko.“How can I forget to remem-ber Dodong? Siya na may mata niPiolo, dimple ni Aga, at bigote niRex Cortez. He’s every woman’sdreamboat. I was just starting mytour of duty kay ate noon nang unang makilala ko si Dodong.Contraction worker siya sa gina-gawang bahay sa tapat namin.Naging kami for a while. Thenafter that we were not an itemanymore.“Tanghali na, Inday. What did you say we have lunch together?”tanong ni Dodong. “I don’t mine,”sagot ko.Sa restaurant, sabi ng waiter:“What’s your odor sir?” “Do youhave porkshop?” tanong ni Do-dong.“Yes, sir” sabi nito. “Our pork-shop with a resistance to the teethof boast of our chef. Domestic care-ful selection of pork with littlefat of female liking is used. Theexquisite cooking, which repeatedtrial and error and was com-pleted,” dagdag pa niya. “It alsohas healthy vegetables with saladfeeling fully”“And you, maam?” sabi niya attingin naman sa akin. Hmmm…mukhang masarap yung pork-shop. Pero I’m cutting down onmy carbon. Kaya pinigilan ko. “I’ll just have water. Thanks. Liqui-date diet ako ngayon eh,” sagotko.Pagkatapos kumain, nagyaya siDodong manood ng sine. “Teka,teka, this is going too far. Besides,it’s a long, long, way to run.”“Reality chess, Dodong. Mayasawa na ako. Si Jay. As a motherof fact, I’m happily married,”pagmamalaki ko.“Di na pwede yung tulad ng dati. Sorry. Pero I didn’t expect you still have more feelings thanI expected. I don’t want you get-ting the way. Past is fast. There-fore, cause and defect,” dagdag kopa.Tumahimik sya. Parang maylanguage barrel na namagitan sa amin. The seconds that passed
continued on page 7
 YOU never know what happenwhen you attend a workshop. I wasattending a workshop for agricul-tural reporting in Los Baños, La-guna when I met veteran JuanMercado (who would later on be-come one of my mentors as a jour-nalist). But the most surprising event (at least to me) was whenorganizer Vicente Tirol of PressFoundation of Asia asked me if Ihad already a passport.I answered him affirmatively(although I had not traveled out-side of the country yet, I thoughtof getting a passport because I washoping that one day someonewould invite me). I asked himwhy. “Would you like to attendanother workshop for Asian jour-nalists in Bangkok?”It was my first travel abroad. Iwas excited not knowing what todo when I get there. How differ-ent is another country? What kindof people are Thais and what kindof food do they eat? How will Icommunicate with them?I did learn so many things fromthat trip. My idea of what theworld is broadens. My perspectiveabout Asia and its culture waswidened. I was able to understandwhy people do and what makethem do those weird things to usbut normal to them.I also had the pleasure of meet-ing Patrick Durst, a forestry of-ficer who used to work in Bohol asPeace Corps volunteer, for the firsttime. Years later, we would worktogether as editors of one of mostsuccessful books to come out fromthe regional office of UN Food and Agriculture Organization entitled
 In Search of Excellence: Exem- plary Forest Management in Asiaand the Pacific Region
.“I travel not to go anywhere,but to go,” Robert LouisStevenson once said. “I travel fortravel’s sake. The great affair isto move.” Saint Augustine com-pared the world to a book. “Andthose who do not travel read onlya page,” he said.Travel lengthens the conver-sation. “Don’t tell me how edu-cated you are, tell me how much you have traveled,” Mohammedurged. “I should like to spend thewhole of my in life traveling abroad, if I could anywhere bor-row another life to spend after-wards at home,” William Hazlittpointed out. Anything happens when youtravel abroad. You may lose yourluggage or lost your way. You havea hard time having a conversationwith the locals (especially if theydon’t know how to speak English). You may be rip-offed or getmugged.There are moments of excite-ments and thrills. If you planning to go to China for a vacation, besure to read the signs posted inhotels or malls. For instance,don’t laugh if you read in an el-evator with this information:“Press up to go up and press downto go down.”In some malls, you may readthis sign: “Having fun prohib-ited.” When riding an escalator, you may come across this warn-ing: “Bump the head carefully.”Or when you get to a restaurant,don’t mess the table and chairs.One sign urges: “Keep chair onposition and keep table cleanedafter dying. Thanks for your cor-poration.” No, I am not making this up.Traveling is also boring – es-pecially when you are confined inan airplane for more than 12hours (like when you are flying from Tokyo, Japan to Detroit,United States). “There are onlytwo emotions in a plane: boredomand terror,” Orson Welles said.But air travel can be exciting –especially if you hear those cabinannouncements. All too rarely, air-line attendants make an effort tomake the in flight “safety lecture”and announcements a bit moreentertaining. Here are some realexamples that have been heardor reported:On a Continental Flight witha very “senior” flight attendantcrew, the pilot said, “Ladies andgentlemen, we’ve reached cruis
continued on page 7
ing altitude and will be turning 
So you enjoy traveling?
Ka Iking Reports
I
KE
S
EÑERES
IT does not make us happy to livein an underdeveloped country, butif we try to look at the good sideof our predicament, we could behappy with the thought that in a country with many needs andproblems, there are many oppor-tunities for the “not so needy”people like us to help and servethe many people around us whoare more needy than we are.How would you like to take a  journey with me, on board a SHIPthat will take us to a better coun-try? No, we are not going to leavethe Philippines, we are just going to set sail on this SHIP, so thatour country will become a betterplace to live in, where the needywill have more access to the basicservices that could improve thequality of their life.Sickness, Hunger, Illiteracyand Poverty (or SHIP for short)have always been with mankindsince the beginning of civiliza-tion. As a matter of fact, even thedeveloped countries still sufferfrom the collective effects of SHIP,except that they are probably do-ing a better job in keeping it atbay.I understand that in the Phil-ippines there are many otherproblems that are confronting us,but going down to the bottom linethe four problems of this SHIPare perhaps the most pervasive,and are the most pressing, to saythe least. Not that the other prob-lems can wait, it is just a matterof relative importance.I do not propose anything new,except for the idea of convergenceand concentration, meaning tosay that we should converge andconcentrate our resources and en-ergies on these four problems, sothat we get these out of the way,in such a way that we could beginto face our other problems. As a matter of policy and strat-egy, the Inter-Charity Network(ICN) will now focus on address-ing these four problems head on. With new possibilities of receiv-ing donations for charitable pur-poses, ICN will now invest in so-cial enterprises that would hope-fully help us win the war againstthese four social enemies. As I have written in my previ-ous articles, we need to build spe-cific infrastructure to address oursocial needs, within a frameworkof development that is both do-able and sustainable. Without
continued on page 7
A war on four fronts
Forward to Basics
F
R
. F
RANCIS
B. O
NGKINGCO
The dash of life
EVERY time November comesaround, I would recall the storyabout two intelligent adorableand outgoing little boys whowould visit the cemetery withtheir parents. After praying overthe graves of their grandparents,they both spend the rest of theday exploring the park.The older boy challenged his younger brother, “Let’s see whocan find the people who lived theshortest!”The other boy eagerly took thechallenge and dashed off to thenearest tombstone. “I’ll combthis half of the park and youcomb the other,” he tells his olderbrother. After an hour or so they bothreturned to the same spot theystarted and excitedly beganboasting about what they found.“I bet you’re not going to beatmy find.”“Oh, yeah?” the older youngerone said confidently. “You’re notgoing to win over the figures I’veseen!”“Okay, then. What are yourbest bets.”“There’s one who lived onlyfor a year, another for one monthand here’s my winner: one wholived only for a day! Now beatthat!”“That’s nothing,” the otherreplied to his older brother’ssurprise. “I also found one wholived for a year, another a littlelonger than a month ’coz onelived for three, but here’s mywinner: one whose tombstonehas no dates!”“Hey, that’s not fair. I don’t be-lieve you unless you show it tome!”The younger one ran off to thespot where the unique grave was.They arrived and saw a gardenercleaning off the weeds from theedges of the marble slab.“Why doesn’t this one have a date?” the older boy asked.“Oh, I think from what Iheard,” wiping the sweat from hisforehead, the gardener said, “theowner believed that dates aren’tas important as the dash of lifethat one has lived.”
* * *
Indeed, what matters after wedie isn’t so much
how long
wehave lived, but
how well
we havelived out of love for God and ourneighbor. A long life is certainlyalways a blessing because it im-plies that one had the chance toinvest a lot of time to do a lot of good loving God and serving one’sneighbor, but it can also meanhaving spent it sadly for oneself.Thus, we know that living long lives isn’t enough to gain the Lifepromised us by God. But whetherone has lived long or not, isn’tmy main concern for now. Rather,it is the lesson that the dash be-tween our birth and the day weare called before God’s presencehas for us.First, it illustrates the brev-ity of life —
tempus breve
est, asSt. Paul would put it — and thatwe can never naively think thatwe have all the time in the worldto live. Second, all men will be“holding” the same dash beforeGod. This means there will be no
continued on page 4
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