Catanduanes Forum

Sensibilities, particularly those where Church and State are involved, are easy to offend.

On the one hand, you can't consider a battered Nissan Pathfinder or a Mitsubishi L-300 to be a "luxury car." Compared to the vehicles some of our "public servants" are driving, the vehicles attributed to - and returned by - the embattled monsignors of the CBCP are austere, and not exactly in top condition. Who are we to deny them vehicles like these if their functions in their missions depend on them?

On the other hand, in a religion founded on the humility of charity, bishops don't ask for sports-utility vehicles as birthday gifts in return for unwavering support. Bishop Pueblos' "lapse in judgment" may be well-intentioned, but the road to Hell is paved by precisely those things. What we have here is a case of a lack of discretion that erodes people's faith in their religious organizations.

On the one hand, you would need more than a jeepney to traverse the terrain of far-flung missions. Let's face it: an expensive SUV can get the job done better than an old utility vehicle. It's not even a necessary evil: cars of that build and quality are necessary for transporting medicines and goods and supplies to the poor and indigent.

On the other hand, money made from fund-raising, Church properties, and collection plates all over the country should be more than enough to purchase vehicles for that purpose. One can imagine that the generosity of the faithful, the donations solicited from churchgoers, and the enterprises of the diocese would be enough to meet the ends of a vehicle without having to curry favor from the State, or contradict teachings of taking things from gambling money.

The Dutertes defy Catholic bishops
AMADO P. MACASAET

‘There is no law that stops local politicians like Duterte and his daughter from implementing a population program.’

FOR the first time in my life, I have heard of father-and-daughter politicians who dare defy the Catholic bishops on the critical question of slowing down the birth rate in the Philippines.

Rodrigo Duterte who has served out three terms as Davao City mayor term and was succeeded by his own daughter (he is now the vice mayor) valiantly declared that the City of Davao has enough funds to buy contraceptives to be given to those who are willing to use them but not informing them about the advantages (or disadvantages, unrelated to scarcity of food, rising criminality, ignorance, and the pressure exerted on scare resources by a bloated population).

Ni Kristian Cruz

Hoy Noynoy,

Kamusta na bro? What’s going on?

Eto, winter sa New York. Sobrang lamig, dude. As in, hindi siya sexy in a Sex & the City kind of way. Lamig in a running nose kind of way. As in, gross. For some reason though, kahit malamig, nagkaroon ako ng craving for Wendy’s Float. Pero dahil naka-diet ako to prepare to fit into my Speedo swimming trunks for summer, I ordered the Diet Coke kind. Medyo ironic siya, dahil ang soda ay Diet Coke pero may fattening ice cream mixed on top. Weird di ba? Pero, you have to give me credit, dahil may 50% attempt pa rin to diet. And besides, lunch time pa naman. I have all the time throughout the day to burn it.

Dahil ngayon ay panahon ng mga survey, magsimula tayo sa mga datos na ibinibigay sa atin ng mga nakaraang “survey” tungkol sa ating mga bayani. Ayon sa isang survey na isinagawa ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, unang-una pa rin si Rizal sa mga hanay ng mga bayani. Siyetenta’y singko porsyento ng mga “respondents” ay sumagot na si Rizal ang karapat-dapat na ituring na pinakamakabayan sa ating mga bayani. Ngunit ayon sa isang survey na lumabas sa pahayagang Philippine Daily Inquirer, hindi kilala ng lahat ng Pilipino si Rizal. Sa aking natatandaan, umabot sa diyes hanggang kinse porsyento ng mga respondents ang umamin na hindi nila alam kung sino si Jose Rizal. Kaya una sa lahat, kailangan nating kilalanin ang mga sumusunod na mga bagay. Una, sa nakakarami, nangunguna pa rin sa survey si Rizal, ngunit ikalawa, may malaking bahagi ng ating mga mamamayan na walang kamalayan tungkol sa kanya.

Corruption thrives in this country because we do not punish the criminals. Most of us know how corrupt officials get away with their thievery, yet we either ignore the existence of these schemes, or accept them as a way of life. Let me illustrate the point that we do know how they do it.

by Estanislao Albano, Jr.

It will not only be a risen-from-the-dead Dr. Jose Rizal that the Padre Damasos in our midst will try to run out of town. If the origin of Christianity itself, Jesus Christ, and his disciples were to come back and live among us, they and their minions will do all within their powers to banish them

After going to the extent of dying on the cross to establish a kingdom that is “not of this world,” I do not think Jesus Christ if he comes back to live among men now will be interested in temporal power. He will still say “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) He will still recognize and respect the existence of the state as distinct from the church. He will not approve of making threats and moving heaven and earth to abort the RH bill.

Re-post from http://propinoy.net

Submitted by Felicity on Sunday, 3 October 20108

That the RH Bill is simply about contraception. It is not. It seeks to provide better training to midwives, access to basic pre-natal care services, a range of family planning methods, post-birth maternity checks, education on and treatment for fatal sexually transmitted diseases, and other basic health care rights.

That the only contraception is artificial contraception. It is not. Sec 3a. specifically states “there should be no bias for either modern or natural methods of family planning.”

That sex is a sin. It is not. Otherwise you or I will not be here today. And not every Filipino believes in the concept of sin, and not every Filipino shares the same religious values.

Repost galing sa barriosiete.com gusto ko sanang palitan ang blog title pero wag nalang.

akda ni Mogli

Mahalaga na masarap ang sex upang gawin natin ito. Sa kasalukuyan, ito ang pinakamabisang paraan ng pagpapalaganap ng sangkatauhan (o ng anumang hayop na nakasalalay ang pag-iral sa sekswal na reproduksyon). Ang sex ay produkto ng napakahabang proseso ng ebolusyon. Sa madaling salita, ‘kumbaga sa sukang-paombong, pinasarap ito ng panahon.

Ni reynaelena

RP economy grows 7.3%, arangkada nang news today. It’s ‘Glorious ending’ for Arroyo presidency sabi ni Romulo Virola, secretary general of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). Andito na naman tayo sa lesson nang GDP which means, Gloria: Dinaya Pilipinas.

Election spending, kasama ba sa calculations? Alam ko, maraming infrastructure projects sa Pampanga hahaha!!! Pohta! Hindi man lang umabot sa barrio namen! Grabe!

H. Harry L. Roque Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

PRESUMPTIVE President-elect Noynoy Aquino has been emphatic: He will not recognize an Arroyo-appointed chief justice. Arroyo supporters have made this a casus belli against him.

Can the presumptive Chief Executive ignore an issue that has been ruled upon by the highest court of the land? His critics say this would be an impeachable offense for culpable violation of the Constitution. Why? Under our scheme of government, the judiciary is a co-equal branch of government and ignoring an Arroyo-appointed chief justice would be equivalent to an infringement of judicial power.

By Bum D. Tenorio, Jr.
The Philippine Star

Last Monday, I shaded black the circle opposite Sen. Noynoy Aquino’s name. That dark shade was meant to give light to a country whose people are thirsty for change. I gave my vote to Noynoy for no political reasons. Only personal ones. After all, the personal is also political.

April 29th, 2010
by Ligaya Solera

A lot of people I know have already made up their minds on who to vote as president. If you truly believe, as I do, that your choice for president is the best person to lead our nation, I respect your conviction. I would expect nothing less from Filipinos who truly care what happens to our country. If your choice is informed, if your heart is at peace, if the person you are voting for is someone you would follow to death should the need arise, then so be it. But for those who still have to make that choice, or for those who have made tentative picks but are still willing to entertain a small seed of doubt, I beg leave to present my case for the man I think is most deserving of my vote.

As the Election Day gets closer and closer (15 more days na lang po). Magayon siguro kung maicheck ta kung nakarehistro kita, – what precinct you are registered, where it is located, the district no., etc.

You can check online at this site:

http://www.comelec.gov.ph/precinctfinder/precinctfinder.aspx

DISCLAIMER from COMELEC:

Data is based on the submissions of our field election offices after the 16 November 2009 ERB hearing. If you applied for registration last December 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29, 2009 your record is not yet included here.

Posted on 08:41 PM, April 20, 2010
Grassroots & Governance -- By Teresa S. Abesamis

The only way presidential candidate Manny Villar could put his motley team together the way it is shaping up is to think "addition." How can you have Satur Ocampo, BongBong Marcos, Bong Revilla, Pia Cayetano, Adel Tamano, Gilbert Remulla, and Chavit Singson all in one camp unless you had a value-less, principle-free set of standards to guide you?

Share ko lang yung nangyari sa harapan last nyt April 18, 2010.
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abs-cbnNEWS.com | 04/19/2010 1:35 AM
MANILA, Philippines - ABS-CBN's Harapan: Mga Isyu ng Bayan debates among senatorial candidates used three parallel mechanisms to gauge audience reaction during the event.
The first two mechanisms were online and SMS polls, which allowed viewers to vote the "truthfulness" of the answers of the candidates during the event. The two polls were started only at the start of the debate, and the results tallied before the end of the show.