Ash Wednesday and the UNA rally
-A A +AWednesday, February 13, 2013
TODAY is Ash Wednesday. In the Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is moveable, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as Feb. 4 or as late as March 10.
According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a reminder and celebration of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.
This practice is common in much of Christendom and is being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and some Baptist denominations. Sa ato pa ni, Miyerkules sa Badlis.
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Today, the campaign period for the senatorial election in May also goes into full gear. Last night, the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) headed by Vice President Jejomar Binay launched its opening salvo here with the proclamation of its senatorial slate.
(Three of its bets in Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero and Grace Poe are, however, also included in the lineup of the administration Liberal Party. They did not show up in UNA’s proclamation rally.)
The opposition chose Cebu as its launching pad because the island has the biggest voting population among all the provinces in the country next to the National Capital Region. Cebu has 2.5 million registered voters. The so-called “three kings” in Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and ousted president Joseph Estrada, who is seeking a mayoralty seat in the City of Manila, graced the occasion.
UNA's local political affiliates, Team Rama headed Mayor Michael Rama and One Cebu headed by suspended Gov. Gwen Garcia, attended the activity, which was held at Plaza Independencia, together with an estimated 50,000 “hakot crowd.” I said “hakot crowd” because no voter nowadays would attend a political rally without getting something in return, like money, food and free transportation.
Kinsa goy ganahan maninaw anang mga diskurso sa mga pulitiko nga ang uban nagbalik-balik lang sa ilang estoya. Unya katugon ka maminaw. Maayo og pareho sila ni anhing Talyux Bacalso motabi nga mawala imong duka kung mao na toy modiskurso.
I don't know how much the group paid each participant. The scenario will be the same once the Liberal Party and its local affiliate, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) hold its political rally here. Ingna kog bakakon.
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I thank Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 headed by Chief Supt. Marcelo Garbo for the award I received during the 22nd anniversary of the Philippine National Police (PNP) ceremonies held last Saturday at the PRO 7 headquarters. No less than PNP Director General Alan Purisima, who was the guest speaker, handed to me the award.
I was awarded for supporting the PNP's various programs, especially its anti-criminality campaign, through information dissemination and public awareness. Salamat.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 13, 2013.
Opinion
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