Arroyo watch blog
Welcome to the Sun.Star blog on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s speech at 7 p.m. today on what her spokesman calls an issue of “vital concern”.
The announcement has set off speculations that the President would break her silence on politically explosive allegations that she rigged last year’s elections. Read the rest of the Sun.Star story on the announcement.
When I saw the new on the president statement, I look the event as a large picture… I think that people don’t realize that, while they judge the president on his action, It’s also the same with them.. all of us had lied. Forgiven or not, that does not improve the status of out country phils… One thing that I would like to share is that, eventhough all the bad things is happening(corruption,and other anomalies)… we should unite as one for the common good.(show some partiotism. Our country is not hopeless. Instead of tackling all these wiretapped issue, we should be more focus on the big problem that we are facing now… I’m not pro-arroyo, but I think that the president is more skillful on handling these current economy crisis on our country, compared to other former presidents and presidential candidates.
-I read an essay from a korean student: And I want to share it with you;
My Short Essay about the Philippines
By Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption
in the Philippines.
Do you really think the corruption is the
problem of the Philippines? I do not think so. I strongly
believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines.
Let me first talk about my country, Korea. It might help you
understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was one of
the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country was destroyed completely after
the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for Filipinos were very rich in Asia. We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father’s brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was awfully corrupt and is still very corrupt
beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the
common good with their heart burning with patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago, President Park took over the government to reform
Korea. He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get a loan and attract a foreign investment because the economy situation of South Korea was so bad.
Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through a horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw the President Park. They asked to him, “President, when can we be well off?” That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President of Germany had the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea.
He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart. Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back
to Korea to help developing country because they wanted
their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did their best for
Korea. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church
when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And I have loved my neighborhood.
Have you cried for the Philippines? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people.
I have been to the New Bilibid prison. What made me sad in the
prison were the prisoners who do not have any love for their
country. They go to mass and work for Church. They pray everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum security compound, and both of them
said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are
released from the prison. They said that they would start a new
life in other countries and never come back to the
Philippines.
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to
share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and
company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so
that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.
When I was in Korea, I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a
priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many
unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday.
The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every
Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would fun.
However, they were not happy after taking a boat. They said that
they would not take the boat again because they were sympathized the boat men, for the boat men were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without
changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed.
Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God.
I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as
they love God so that the Philippines will be well off. I am sure
that love is the keyword which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person.
Love must start in everybody in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let’s put away our
prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes. I discover
that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world.
Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that
whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who are abused and abandoned.
There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love
others. That’s all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
Now i will second her/his curiousity. Is the Philippines worth
crying for…….
Who will shed tears for the Motherland?
Who will lend a hand to lift her spirit,
to hold the lonely Flag that symbolize her name?
———————————-
Remember that GOD is the supreme authority.
To forgive the president is never a problem to many Filipinos. To trust her after she has broken the trust given her by the people is another story. Lack of trust is one of the strongest basis for firing a person from work. How can she say and those people around her that we should move on and put it behind us. Will you walk with someone who once betrayed you. That is absorbed.
I think you mean “absurd”. Otherwise if it gets “absorbed” then we have to forget about it but your message indicates you don’t want to forget about it…
The question of, “Will you walk with someone who once betrayed you?”, is not a question if you are willing to forgive and forget someone’s fault. It’s a difficult thing to do but I think the best thing for all Filipinos (you and me) to do is to forgive and forget and move on.
Question to the anonymouses: do you trust the politicians to begin with? If your answer is no, then there was no loss of trust. If you answer yes, you are either naive or gullible.
Please enough of that Korean write-up about how the Philippines could improve like Korea. It just would not work.
Filipinos are simply too stupid, inherently-corrupt, blindly-arrogant, and extremely “swapang” to expect any improvement in values.
Sabas “Pro-Execution” Bangkilan
Sabas “Pro-Execution” Bangkilan said “Filipinos are simply too stupid, inherently-corrupt, blindly-arrogant, and extremely “swapang” to expect any improvement in values.”
I say, when you talk and describe your person please exclude the good Filipinos.
jonas
Jonas, by Sabas saying that, he probably meant that most Filipinos are either too stupid or too gullible. That’s a sad reality. Konti na lang ang me pakialam sa mga pangyayari sa bansa natin. Tsk tsk.
madcowdisease,
Konti na lang ang may pakialam? I don’t think so. Did you see those people and organizations demonstrating and calling for GMA’s resignation. Hindi konti ‘yon.
jonas
BAYAD NA YON. MAGKANO KAYA?
That Korean essay by Jaeyoun Kim posted has important points that we Filipinos should take note of, to quote:
My Short Essay about the Philippines
By Jaeyoun Kim
Filipinos always complain about the corruption
in the Philippines.
Do you really think the corruption is the
problem of the Philippines? I do not think so. I strongly
believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one of
the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country was destroyed completely after
the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.
Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for Filipinos were very rich in Asia. We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father’s brother also died because of famine.
Korean government was awfully corrupt and is still very corrupt
beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the
common good with their heart burning with patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.
40 years ago … President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through a horrible experience.
In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw the President Park. They asked to him, “President, when can we be well off?” That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President of Germany had the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea.
He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart. Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back
to Korea to help developing country because they wanted
their country to be well off.
Though they received very small salary, they did their best for
Korea. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.
My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church
when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And I have loved my neighborhood.
Have you cried for the Philippines? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people.
I have been to the New Bilibid prison. What made me sad in the
prison were the prisoners who do not have any love for their
country. They go to mass and work for Church. They pray everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum security compound, and both of them
said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are
released from the prison. They said that they would start a new
life in other countries and never come back to the
Philippines.
Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to
share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and
company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so
that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.
When I was in Korea, I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a
priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many
unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday.
The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every
Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed.
My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would fun.
However, they were not happy after taking a boat. They said that
they would not take the boat again because they were sympathized the boat men, for the boat men were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.
My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without
changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed.
Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God.
I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as
they love God so that the Philippines will be well off. I am sure
that love is the keyword which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person.
Love must start in everybody in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let’s put away our
prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes. I discover
that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world.
Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that
whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who are abused and abandoned.
There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.
You already know that God also will be very happy if you love
others. That’s all I really want to ask you Filipinos.
IN OTHER WORDS, ALMOST ALL OF WHAT JAEYOUN KIM SAID AND WROTE IS TRUE! He has thus acted as an angel without fee to us Filipinos who have been guided by blind guides who are highly paid! Mr Kim is not like those hired to become our country’s consultant paid by the millions only to push the neck of our already drown country deeper into the quagmire!
But there is still hope… that is, if we listen to Jaeyoun Kim who acted as ‘consultant’ without fee because he is motivated with love for his fellowmen, we the ingrate Filipinos!
I have read one blogger who said something above to ungrateful and blindly reply Kim’s essay. No condemnation for that blogger. He is certainly showing all of us — he represents us! — He is just sayin in our behalf that WE CANNOT SEE THE VALUE OF IDEAS BASED ON LOVE.
Again, we have run — we have fulfilled - the Visayan song, BUTA (Blind)… Pagkadaghan sa nahigmata (Oh, so many have been awake already) nga nangandoy pang matulog (Yet who still desire to go back to sleep or to remain asleep) Kay nindot kunong magdamgo (For to them it is sweeter to dream) Sa butang dili tinuod (Of things which are not true) And saksi sa kamatuuran mopiyong lang kasagaran (The witness of the truth usually close their eyes) Ug motugot lang nga pasipad-an ang gugma ug ang kaangayan (And they allow love and justice to be suppressed). CHORUS: BUTA, BUTA KITA SA PAGPAKABANA (BLIND, BLIND, OH BLIND WE ARE TO CARE) BUTA KITA SA LUHA (WE ARE BLIND TO THEIR TEARS) UNSAY BILI NING ATONG DURUHA KA MGA MATA KUNG SA KASINGKASING MAGPABILIN TANG BUTA (WHAT VALUE ARE OUR TWO EYES, IF IN THE HEART WE REMAIN SO BLIND)….
ONE LAST THING I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO KIM’S ESSAY: Love is indeed like a seed. And as a seed, it is called LOVE OF SELF. But as a seed, it should germinate, grow and expand. That is the purpose of the seed: to grow and expand — here, it means that love has to become all-encompassing, all-embracing. That is why Jesus said, “You should love God and your neighbor as you love your self.”
He does not say ‘STOP LOVING YOURSELF” . HE just said, “AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF, PROCEED TO LOVE YOUR GOD AND YOUR NEIGHBOR.”
Why? Partly because you cannot continue to love YOURSELF if you do not proceed or learn to love God who alone holds the decision whether your life would be extended or not after you left this earth. If you displease God, then, he will not give you salvation and eternal life. Question: Is that proper love for the self to allow one’s self to get burned in hell?
Secondly, if we do not follow Christ who told us to love our neighbor, how can our neighbor (men, animals, nature) love us in return? Do you think Nature can love us if we denude its soil, or if we pollute its seas, or if we cut its trees? Are we loving ourselves then if NATURE returns with fury like the intensity and severity of the floods in Quezon Aurora and in Ormoc?
The conclusion is invevitable: SINCE WE ARE SHOWING THE MOST EVIDENCE THAN OTHER NATIONS DO WITH REGARDS TO SELFLOVE, THEN, WE MUST ALSO lead or excel in the command “LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL AND OUR NEIGHBOR”. FOR THAT IS HOW WE CAN AND SHOULD LOVE OURSELVES — WE SHOULD LOVE THOSE WHO CAN HELP US! And that is how we can love our selves — now and in the long term — even eternity.
For those who have nobler heart, OUR PURPOSE FOR LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR goes beyond selfish or personal reasons. We love God because He is the One who gave us life or existence; He is the One who sustained and sustains us; He is the One who came down, wore a flesh-body and called Himself Jesus to be able to die, shed blood and pay for our sins; He is our Savior and finally, He was, is and will always be our FAther. That is why His name is YWHH or pronounced as Yahweh by others and Jehovah by others, but the meaning is the same: Eternal Father. To Moses, YHWH said, This name YHWH [Eternal Father]shall be my name forever.
Time is near when we will come to comprehend the meaning of the name ETERNAL FATHER. It is so much different to the name GOD or DEITY!
Why then is the name Jesus? Jesus came from the Hebrew equivalent Yehosuah (spelling not sure) which means “YHWH is Savior”. Meaning, Jesus is the “Eternal Father who came to save us” because YHWH means Eternal Father!
We just did not notice it: He who came as Jesus was the very One who gave us life and who begot us to become His image — His children - God the Father!
Now, having a Father like Him, shall we continue to bite one another, devour one another, to finally destroy one another, because we do not decide to love one another? Paul had warned us about this dog-eat-dog, crab-pulling attitude of immature selfish children.
Plague No. 5 in Revelation 16 is called: GOVERNMENT CHAOS AND PANIC.
Now, see whether or not this plague has not befallen our country today!
If you say it hasn’t, then, woe unto us for the proverb has come true: For lack of vision (eyes who see) My people perish!
Monitoring the news here in UK, I could only conclude that we Filipinos are fools! Nobody was able to picture out the root cause of all these beckerings. We are the ones that encourages the negative publicity and bad images outside the country of who we really are through our media. Its very unfortunate nobody took a note how big a media business is. Imagine, all the people watching ABS-CBN or GMA adverts splice in every pinoy-chizmiz type issues such as these.And daily newspapers sold off like hot cakes because of our hunger for these particular news. No wonder, we Filipinos are getting behind from our asian neighbors for our troubles and the media getting richer for it. I hope everybody can get the picture. Its a media circus out there!
Remember the song?
“When you walk thru a storm keep your head up high,
And don’t be afraid of the facts….”
Sorry Jonas,
Those Filipinos WHO ARE NOT “simply too stupid, inherently-corrupt, blindly-arrogant, and extremely “swapang” to expect any improvement in values.”
…have either:
1.0 Left the country to assume other citizenship, or
2.0 Left the country to work hopefully until the end of their useful years intending to come back and retire only in their old days when any political scenario would not matter anymore anyway, or
3.0 Have assumed a “what do I care” attitude in a cynic “zombie-like” existence (in the Phil), or
4.0 Have simply died already…
In short, it’s ONLY YOU left now to forward your cause…
Sabas “Pro-Execution” Bangkilan
Sabas “Pro-Execution” Bangkilan
Well, your parochial views on things that are happening here and your name-calling game is another matter that we can engage later on.
For now, let’s go back on track and let’s talk of the CD/tapes and Gloria’s apology in defrauding the people.
jonas
Sorry Jonas,
Got to work to feed my family.
Just get on TALKING about your tapes/CD’s, apologies, non-apologies, etc. the whole day, the whole year round.
Please let me know though, when you have succeeded bringing the government down.
Sabas “Pro-Execution” Bangkilan