The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), speaking on behalf of the government, has assured the Filipino people that P21.5 billion is available as stand-by calamity fund. The fund can be used for various disaster relief operations for the current year (2023).

The DBM announced that only P1.68 billion has been released from the calamity fund better known as the national disaster and reduction and management fund (NDRRMF) from January to April 2023. Following the post -conflict needs assessment in Marawi City showed that for April 2023, the entire allocation was released to the Department of National Defense (DND) – thus P21.5 billion plus the P2.8 billion carry over from the 2022 budget, stand as the remaining calamity fund available for the current year.

It must be recalled that in 2022, a total of P18 billion in calamity fund were dispensed through other government agencies for disaster response purposes.

NDRRMF (calamity fund) funds are mostly used to cover the construction and rehabilitation of various infrastructure affected by natural disasters like typhoons and other man-made and/or other natural calamities. Also, the same funds are also used to replenish government agencies’ quick response funds (QRFs) as stated in the Law covering the NDRRMF operations. In some instances, the same funds are being used to provide relief to affected Filipinos, including distressed OFWs.

MY COMMENT:
Personally, I would support moves to increase the amount of appropriation for the NDRRMF or calamity funds, considering the regularity and volume of natural, mostly destructive calamities visiting the country such as typhoons.

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INDEED, everyone has a vocation! The idea of a vocation is not meant only for a few who may feel that they are called to the priesthood or to a consecrated religious life. It is not meant for those who may be generally regarded as inclined to do some missionary work.
We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where Christ, after a night of prayer, chose 12 persons to be his apostles. (cfr. Lk 6,12-19) Ever wondered why Christ chose his apostles practically randomly? He, for example, would just pass by Matthew in his tax collector’s table and say, “Come, follow me,” without as much checking on Matthew’s background.

Same with brothers Peter and Andrew, and James and John. Christ would just call them, and without asking any question they simply left their nets, for they were fishermen, and followed Christ.

In the end, he would also call Judas Iscariot who would later betray him. Christ, being God, would have known that Judas would turn him in. But that did not deter him. He called Judas to be one of his 12 apostles just the same.

The only reason I can find for this behavior of Christ is that he has the right to call anyone and everyone to follow him. And that’s simply because, as God, he has that right since all of us come from him and belong to him. As redeemer, he calls everyone to follow him.
Everyone has a vocation simply because God calls all of us to be holy, to be like him who created us in his image and likeness. Everyone is called to holiness. The call to holiness is universal!

That’s what a vocation is—it is a calling from God who puts us here on earth to be tested, to see if what God wants us to be is also what we would like ourselves to be. Thus, everyone should be aroused to develop a sense of vocation as early as possible, and pursue it with the strongest sense of commitment, since our vocation is the most basic commitment we ought to have.

We have to realize that our vocation is meant to cover all our life, in all its aspects, and not just some parts of our life. Our vocation gives meaning to our whole life, and projects us to our proper destiny.

Nothing is excluded from it, since God’s presence and interventions in our life are constant and abiding, and not just from time to time, nor from case to case. It covers our whole life, from beginning to end.

A person without a sense of vocation is actually an anomaly. He may be described as a freeloader who ignores a basic truth about himself and enjoys or suffers the many things in life without knowing what these things are really meant for.

Obviously, each one has to find out the specific vocation meant for him. Our common vocation lends itself to various specific vocations with their own spirituality and charism, supported by their corresponding way of life or culture. Each one of us should just study and see which one he is more suited.

There’s, of course, a vocation to the priesthood and the religious life. But for most of the people, their vocation is to remain in the secular world as lay faithful who use all the events and circumstances of his life as a way to live out his vocation. They, of course, would need a supporting plan of life that can sustain their sense of vocation.

Humbugging before the public as the strong servant of then president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the tough talking former police director has took an awkward summersault as a begging senator. He took off into conducting senate probes on alleged police officers who were caught red-handed into the lucrative drug business.

That same drama happened during the recent investigation of police officers who lost allegedly almost a ton of illegal drugs popularly known as shabu. The haul was already in custody by the officers who nabbed the contraband but got lost in mysterious circumstances that probers believed to be suspicious. The tales presented by the police officers were full of inconsistencies.

Those police officers held their ground that they have no part in the alleged wrongdoing being charged against them. Bereft of enough evidence to support their surmises, Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa begged for cooperation from the police officers, dropping on bended knees asking for mercy that the police officers tell the truth for the sake of the Filipino people and country.

Placed under an embarrassing setup where probers were given a run around the questions that the police officers had a good time evading the questions, the senators turned berserk by issuing threats of citing them in contempt. The antics had entertained the public who have the time to watch either face to face inside the senate halls or live coverage by radio and television or live streaming on various media platforms.

The brouhaha of the senate probe exposed the undeniable truth that the brutal drug war carried out by Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa was an utter failure. Lives were wasted in that bloody war and the drug menace still exists until now. The antics of kneeling in the hallowed halls of the senate was nothing but a clear act that he and his principal, then president Rodrigo Roa Duterte bloody drug war was a failure. The fact that police officers are in the drug business under probe is a statement that his failed drug war is admitted. A hard rock is now a softstone.

comments to alellema@yahoo.com

Many people today are unhappy with their lives. They face various problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, boredom, dissatisfaction, and lack of meaning. They often wish they could go back in time to a simpler and happier era, where they could enjoy the beauty of nature, the warmth of human relationships, the joy of creativity, and the peace of mind.

But is going back in time really a good idea? Would it make us live better and happier? In this essay, I will argue that going back in time is not a realistic or desirable solution for our current problems, and that we should instead focus on improving our present and future.
Going back in time is not a feasible possibility, to start with. Time travel is not proven to be conceivable by science, and even if it were, there would be several moral and intellectual contradictions. What would happen to history and our own life, for instance, if we could modify something in the past? Would we rewrite the timeline or would we just delete it? How would we handle the fallout from our actions? And traveling back in time wouldn’t necessarily make us happier. Diseases, wars, poverty, oppression, illiteracy, and violence are just a few of the potentially difficult issues we may encounter.

We might face different but equally challenging problems, such as diseases, wars, poverty, oppression, ignorance, and violence. We might also lose some of the benefits and comforts that we enjoy today, such as technology, education, health care, entertainment, and human rights. We might not even fit in with the people and culture of the past, and feel alienated and isolated.

Secondly, going back in time is not a desirable option. It implies that we are giving up on our present and future, and that we are not willing to face and solve our problems. It also implies that we are idealizing and romanticizing the past, and ignoring its flaws and drawbacks. The past was not perfect; it had its own share of hardships and sufferings.

Moreover, going back in time would mean that we are missing out on the opportunities and possibilities that the present and future offer. The present and future are not hopeless; they have their own share of beauty and goodness. There are still many things to learn, discover, create, enjoy, and improve in the world. There are still many people to love, help, inspire, and be inspired by. There are still many ways to grow, change, adapt, and overcome our challenges.

Therefore, I believe that going back in time to live better and happier is not a realistic or desirable solution for our current problems. Instead of escaping from reality or dwelling on nostalgia, we should embrace our present and future with optimism and courage. We should appreciate what we have and work for what we want. We should seek happiness not in the past but in the present moment. We should also strive to make the world a better place for ourselves and others. Going back in time might seem tempting but it is not the answer.

We can just create a better present and plan an even better future.