RH Bill Dilemma - A Call for the Laity

The RH bill that is a hot issue now has awakened the age old debate regarding contraceptives. Ever since my seminary days, this dillema has been discussed. The signs of the times, especially pertaining to the economy and population, call for more radical stands. The Church, however, taking from the standpoint of morality and life-theology, advocates conservatism.

It is a great debate among Vatican theologians, in the USA and other Western countries, where the number of Catholics are dwindling. But take the discussion in a country, where majority of the population is Catholics, with an influential clergy, and a new administration that is trying to please all sectors, the result can be equivalent to a hurricane.

That is exactly what happened days ago when a protester disturbed a Holy Mass in the Manila Cathedral. Despite his message, the means employed I found very offensive. It is not a civilized approach. But the event and similar others, poins to how hot this issue is right now, more than ever.

Debates about this can be endless. Each point of views will never reach their truthful finality. When the smoke clears, only one question remains...

What am I gonna do about it?

So what are my actions following all the words? I looked at myself and the answer is clear.

I am Catholic. I am part of the Church. It is my faith. To think apart from my Church would not be proper, as a person, as an individual.

So does this mean I agree with the stand of the clergy and the bishops?

The answer to that is... not necessarily. Sure they may have spent a lot of time studying the doctrines and the traditions. In this regard I acknowledge their authority.

But they are not perfect. It is possible that they are committing a mistake with their stand right now. The thing is, as a Catholic, disagreeing with the clergy is not necessarily wrong. These priests and bishops are also human. And I'm sure they will not deny the limitation of the experience in speaking about family life. A bunch of celibates, for me, does not have and will not have the authority to talk about the intimacy of the sexual life, no matter how bright they are.

So they are limited. But that is why we are here, the laity. We non-priests are also part of the Church, and part of the Church's teachings. And what the clergy lack, we can complete.

So with the RH Bill dilemma, the question for Catholics like me is not whether the Church is wrong with her stand. It's how the Church's teachings can guide the RH Bill so it can be right, so it will have a moral dimension. And at the same time address the economic signs of the times.

Wondering at the Future

I'm sitting at my desktop on a Monday morning. Still glad and thankful for the holiday. I initially planned to be out of town. Somehow, it didn't materialized due to a number of factors. But I'm still glad that today there's no work.

But not for long. As the clock ticks, the day will end. And tomorrow, it's work day. There's no escaping it, isn't it?

I read somewhere that US stats show that most of the heart attacks and strokes happen between 8 to 10 in the morning, on a Monday! I don't know what that means, but the author humurously commented that that is the effect of work on the modern man.

More and more people dread coming to work. And that just struck me.

Maybe the profession to which I belong, Human Resources, have been doing a lousy job in terms of employee motivation. But then again, it is not be expected that it is solely HR's job. Statistics also show that the primary reason for employees leaving a company, especially the high potential ones, are not HR, nor the company's compensation. It is their direct superiors.

Lots of arguments and discussions can be made about this, but in the end, the feeling that comes during the first day of the work week remains. Maybe this is what it feels to be in the rat race, as they call it.

You don't love your job anymore. But you keep doing it anyway because it puts food on the table, for you and your family. You don't love some of the people at work. But you work with them anyway because you don't have a choice. And so the wondering continues. Is there a better way?

It takes a hero to break through this barrier of emotion, and to accept things as they are, not because you like them but because you have to. Meanwhile, one has to keep convincing himself or herself that you like what you do, that you enjoy being where you are, until that heroism dawns on you.

Work is such a funny thing. Maybe that's why they call it labor. It's not supposed to be enjoyed...

Corporate Manicure

I almost fell off my chair when I heard it. Actually, I first read it in an editorial column in STAR under the Bondoc column. GMA's manicurist will be made board member of Pag-Ibig Fund. This is too much, I thought. I cannot be true. Imagine my shock when I learned this morning that it actually is.

Enter Ms. Anita Carpon. A vitual unknown before this news. Probably an honest worker. All she wants may be just to have an honest wage to provide her family with the skill she knows how - manicuring. Only that in her case, she is a high profile manicurist. She only do the President's precious little nails.

But she was given the highest tip in recorded Philippine history, a critical position as board member in the State-owned Pag-ibig Fund. Generous President, she should be elevated in the hall of fame as one of the magnanimous tippers in world history.

Only that this particular news smacks of despicability that it cannot be described in words. Ms. Carpon is probably intelligent. We cannot make a judgement about that. She is probably capable. But even the "smart" spokespeople of Malacanang did not hype on it when they tried to defend another in a series of stupid decisions of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. They only said that there is nothing wrong with the appointment. She is, after all, a government worker.

But so is a lot of highly capable government employees, who can better represent the interest of government workers and the government itself in the State-owned housing institution. They should have probably shifted their college and university masteral courses from Public Administration to Cosmetology, considering how crucial such a course is if you are serving the Gloria Presidency.

Poor Ms. Carpon. She should have just been given a P500 tip and she could've been happier. But this is not about her. This is about her tipper, who has once again insulted the very institutions that holds the backbone of our society. What the hell does she care about Pag-Ibig Fund when she has lots of mansions which she bought out of the 9 years of corrupt practices in the government? She even takes money from the Fund, as if her resources for corruption is not enough, to fund her political machineries, leaving Juan Dela Cruz little option to get a house of his own for his wife and brooding kids.

For the everyday employee, the Pag-Ibig Fund is a big deal. It may be their only hope of getting a house, a source of pride for any family. A capable Board Member will go a long way in representing their interests. But Gloria Arroyo just spits on that with her latest whim. We are not stupid to believe that the Carpon selection is due to her "lowly status." If you're doing the President's nails, your status is nothing lowly, even if you're only a manicurist.

Hell, why Gloria's at it, she can appoint her driver as the next DPWH Secretary, her gardener as DENR Secretary, her "yaya" as official in DPWH, and of course, may be her pet poodle can do a better job than the current Secretary of Justice.

An Atrocity On Top Of...

Justice Secretary Agra may be just doing his job. But it's a job that will change his life. Because his decision on the Maguindanao Massacre outcome will be judged in history.

Malacanang is at it again. Another Secretary is again at the center of a controversy for having made a decision to dismiss the primary suspects of the Maguindanao Massacre. And they are quick to point out innocence on the decision, saying it is entirely the conclusion of Secretary Agra. This line of action is not surprising. For the past 9 years, the Arroyo government has had a solid track record of using its loyal Cabinet members as henchmen for its grand designs. This kind of thing is consistent - from Recto to Neri, Devanedera, Gonzales, and all the other poor souls who allowed themselves to be used in the name of loyalty, corrupting their very spirit in the process. It is like literally selling their souls to the Devil.

In that scenario, like a scene lifted from Dante's Inferno, we all know the henchmen are victims. And that the true source of evil, is the one who manipulates. So suffice it to say, it is really this govenrment's hand working. Isn't it obvious that with the election getting near, and the Ampatuans unique skills of delivering an absolute landslide vote for this government's candidate, that such an event is inevitable? It is a predictable script.

The real tragedy here is the stupidity and false loyalty of the good secretary. Agra is virtually no one. But he seems intent in making a name for himself as the most stupid Justice Secretary in Philippine History. He not only is making obvious how he is a mindless follower of political loyalties of this administration, he did it in a fashion that would attract the most notice.

With less than a month going into the election, does he really expect that such a stunt will not draw attention? Is he, like probably this government, making a paranoid anticipation that if their candidate didn't win the election, the loyal Ampatuans will really get the justice they deserve? Perhaps they have reason to be scared, the closest rival of their candidate just appeared in Time Magazine.

The result is people going out to the streets again to condemn the heinous decision. And now the media, the Senate, and no less than the people themselves are watching. I do not really know if Agra can still salvage himself from this. No amount of legal parodies can protect him. His stupidity was revealed early. History may not be sympathetic with it.

I hope the story does not end here. Despite all that we experienced in this country, despite this government, I want to believe that truth always wins, even if it is stupidly bastardized.