GREATNESS IN BAD TIMES

The harrowing difficulties that the Filipino people are suffering from right now -- from Luzon, the flooding, drowning, hunger, homelessness, -- and Mindanao -- kidnapping of priest, insecurity amid plenty of natural resources -- all these are signs of a very badly run government. The people's patience and sense of understanding are now under trial : should we allow the present government to exist or shall we boot out the officials without due process anymore?

Actually, it is easy to blame the environment, to claim that God is punishing us for our sins. But through all these, we know very well that the fault lies in governance. And to top it all, people are being given loans instead of grants to rebuild their homes, to restore their health, to create a new life so that we may survive all kinds of onslaughts again.

But we know that the Filipino people are always there to stand strong and believing in our capacity to pull through all kinds of crises. We can cry, laugh and joke among ourselves and still come out whole. The people I would pity are those aged 20 and below because they could be suffering now from culture shock, as to why of all countries should they exist here. Yet slowly, they will learn to dance with the music, whether rock, tango or just plain boogie-woogie. For after all, life is like that isn't it? We need not take it seriously, because we know there is a cycle that we must follow, that cycle of changing officials. So come 2010, we know what to do already.

Maybe those who plotted the flooding -- for isn't it horrible that 5000+ cubic meters of water per second should be released from San Roque Dam, and all of its gateways opened? Only a sick mind would do that, and those engineers who did that, should be made to pay -- incarcerate them for not using their brains. They are being paid by the people to perform professionally, but instead of that, they had chosen to drown the people. Didn't they admit that -- that they knew that many people would drown if they opened the dam gates? Only a retarded would say "No, I did not think of that."

Through all these, let us pray, not only to stop the storms from coming, but to free us from all these bad-intentioned officials whose loyalties are highly questionable until now. Let us also meditate on the just outcome of all investigations of those floodings so that truth shall prevail and punishment be made of the flood-plotters.

HAIL TO THE GREATNESS OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE!