Twisted CBCP statement

Marahil nga hindi ito ang panahon ng pagbabago. Dahilan ng pagwawalang bahala ng karamihan. Maging ang mga pari ay nagbubulagbulagan. Wala nang saysay ang katotohanan. Kayang kayang bilugin ng gobyerno ang utak ng mga tao. Kung hindi sa paikot-ikot na rason na hindi magtugma-tugma, sa pamamagitan ng pera na ni hindi ko kikitain sa isang taon o sa pamamagitan ng pagpatay ng laya sa pagsasalita at laya ng mabuhay.

Masarap mangarap na magkaroon ng maraming pera. Sana nga ganoon kadali kumita ng pera nang hindi pinaghihirapan. Noong bata ako parati akong sinasabihan na mahirap kumita ng pera. Hindi ko ito napagisipang mabuti noon dahil lahat ng aking kailangan ay agad agad naibibigay.

Subalit sa aking paglaki ay sabay din ang paghirap ng buhay. Bumaba ang halaga ng piso. At kung dati ay hindi mo papakialaman ang mga balita sa telebisyon, biglang lahat ng aspeto ng buhay mo ay para bang apektado ng pinapalabas sa news. Pagtaas ng presyo ng gas. Pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin. Pagpapataw ng VAT. Sunod-sunod na sakuna lindol, baha, landslide.

Sa gitna nito, binubuno pa rin ang araw araw na gawain para mabuhay. Mayroon bang pagbabago?

Sometimes, I pity myself for having to work for free. I labor sleepless nights to keep my patients alive. I try to do my best. Some live. Some die. But in all of these cases I give the best I could. Its just that a third of them cannot pay me in the end. I do not grudge on this matter. It is my service. For those patients who pay me I give 3% monthly to the government. I get charged 10% immediately at the hospital aside from the VAT. And everything gets computed at the end of the year for my tax. I never get more than 500,000 in a year for working in a place where I am the only specialist in my field. Subtract from that the tax I pay to the government.

Nakakainis lang para bang walang kwenta ang pera para sa mg opisyal ng gobyerno at parang isang kibot lang para matikom ang bibig katapat ay 500,000 pesos. I envy them that for nothing they get that much money. For sitting all day long doing nothing except to help perpetuate a system of corruption, the president, cabinet members, senators and congressmen live on the fat of the our taxes while we ordinary citizens try to build this country from the ravages and havoc of their doing.

Hindi ko pinangarap maging opisyal ng gobyerno. Hindi ko pinagrap na maging sundalo. Dahil ang mga ito sa mga panahong ako ay lumalaki ay hindi naging magagadang example para sa akin. Noon gusto kong mag-pari. Lalong lalo na nung ang aking mga gurong La Sallian brothers ang nagmulat sa akin ng importansya ng paghahanap sa katotohanan. At hindi lang basta paghahanap, maging ang ipaglaban ang katotohanan. Bumalik si Brother Armin Luistro pagkatapos ng tatlong araw na pagkawala. Nakatawa at nagkwento tungkol sa pagtulog nila ng iba pang guro namin sa malamig na semento ng EDSA noong Pebrero 1986. Noon humanga ako sa kanila. Hangang ngayon pinahanga pa rin niya ako ng pagiging convenor ng Black and white movement at sa pagkakandili kay Jun Lozada.

Pero isa si Brother Armin sa mga natitirang tunay na kawal ng simbahan. Ang simbahan ay tila yata nawalan ng saysay sa mga bagong usapin. Mukhang ang korupsyon ay pumasok na rin sa mga sagradong lugar at nabulag na rin ang mga obispo at paring mahihina ang loob. Tao lang. Pero ang tunay na alagad ng Diyos ay nasa panig ng katotohanan.

Sa ngayon nagpapasalamat ako na pinigilan ako ng tatay ko na pumasok ng seminaryo. Mukhang walang natutuhang magaling sa loob lalong lalo na sa seminaryo na pinasukan ni Sec. Gaite. Siguro karamihan ng obispo ay gradweyt din ng seminaryong pinangalingan ni Sec. Gaite.

Katotohanan lamang ang hanap ko. Siguro sa pagbabayad ko ng tax may karapatan akong malaman ang katotohanan. Katotohanan lamang. Walng bawas. Walang kulang.

ZTE: Deal or No Deal

Is this the reason why they axed Kris aquino's show? Maybe the network saw that the ratings of Jun Lozada testifying in the senate was higher than the game show.

But going to more serious matters. Seeing how the issues were laid and the personalities involved, it is my stand that people in government should tell the truth and if they dont want to resign or leave their post, I recommend that at least they confess to their mistakes, face the consequences and change their ways.

It seems like I have lived a hundred lifetimes if again we will have to resort to the street to topple an inefficient and corrupt government. To see three revolutions in a lifetime is bordering on insanity. It only proves that we as a country have not learned anything from our actions. It is good that people are involved one way or another in this debate of wheter we should change our society right now. And everyone is entitled to their opinion. What I am afraid of is that when all of these is over and we settle back to how we all live we will forget all about the runnings of the government and let it be corrupted again by the evil hand of politics.

Why can't we be more vigilant with how the government is run? Why can't we demand from government that transparency? Why can't we demand how our taxes are being spent?

Somebody opined that the change that the country needs will not come from big things but from small and insignificant changes we make with our lives. I agree up to a certain point. We should make our lives more productive to help the country. But a body with cancer cannot survive with low doses of medicines. Cancer cells multiply so fast that if you want cure, a good dose is needed to kill all these cells to prevent them from multiplying.

Dr. Jose Rizal have diagnosed what ails this country a hundred years ago. Up to now with new advances in medicine, we never get the cure we badly need. The stop gap measures of people power have made us hopeful once in a while but the prognosis is not changing. Maybe what we need is to consent to chemotherapy which will get rid of all those cancer cells and aim for cure nothing less.

I am for the truth. And if the truth hurts a lot of people then they have to take it. We deserve nothing less since we pay our taxes.

The Plot Thickens

It is like a good thriller although the bad guys always win. The recent Lozada expose only makes you crave for more. The writers of soap operas should take a cue from this mess. A very good subject for a high brow read or a suspense thriller.