WE have to be clear about this aspect of our Christian life. Yes, we need to suffer and die, just like Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, suffered and died for us, for our sins.

In other words, we need to suffer and die with Christ, assuming the same reason and intention Christ had when he had to suffer and die for us. Only then can our suffering and death acquire a redemptive value. Only then can we be liberated from our sinful selves. Only then can we truly be identified with Christ.

We are reminded of this aspect of our Christian life in that gospel episode where Christ predicted his passion and death and moved forward to face it. (cfr. Mt 16,21-27) That was also when Christ told his disciples what they had to do to be able to follow him all the way to the end. And that is for them, and for us, to deny ourselves and to carry the cross.

We all know that suffering and death are unavoidable in our life. They are the consequences of our sins, starting with those of our first parents and then those of our own. But Christ has shown us how to deal with them so as to convert them into a way of our own redemption. And that is to suffer and die with Christ.

Remember what St. Paul said about death when it would happen to us with Christ? “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15,55-57)

For this to happen, we obviously need to meditate closely on the life and death of Christ. Everyday there should be some progress in our growing identification with him. Thus, we have to realize that our life should be a life of constant prayer and sacrifice, supported by an appropriate plan of life that would keep that lifestyle going.

It should be an integral part of our daily life to have some practices of self-denial and mortification. It could be in matters of food and drinks, in the way we use the things of our work, especially these days when we are strongly charmed by gadgets and other powerful technologies, It could be in the way we guard our senses, our thoughts, desires and intentions, our imagination, etc.

Of course, this life of self-denial and mortification is lived when we wage a life-long ascetical struggle, knowing how to handle our weaknesses, temptations and sin, and growing in the virtues. We need to convince ourselves that it is when we live this kind of life that we can attain true joy and peace even while here on earth. That may sound incredible, but we have the Christ’s clear words to assure us of this truth.

For this, we also need to adjust our ideas of what is true joy and peace. We often peg them according to worldly standards alone that give us only so much but cannot go the distance. Let’s remember that Christian life, in spite of its sacrificial dimension, is a truly joyful life.
We need to overcome whatever fear of suffering and death we have.

The show is back once more as the senate embarks into another investigation for another murder of another teenager by another group of alleged police murderers. It would be recalled that the committee had not even concluded its previous investigation and is now busying as if doing anything. The new group of alleged police officers under investigation are being accused of murdering a teenager and ensuring that the victim will not survive by preventing any rescue.

The alleged police murderers acted in unison under the command of an officer whose team was tasked to nab a lawless suspect. The operation failed as they pointed their firearms to the helpless victim who they claimed to be their target in their operation.

The senate probe purportedly in aid of legislation had been a circus that showcases the dramatic prowess of the probers. Repetitive questions were so appalling that the police murderers were effectively parrying them by outright denials that irk the senators. Clearly, the line of questions were telegraphed that the answers were quickly given by the alleged police murderers without difficulty.

Unable to eke out the desired answers, the probers were forced to make conclusions that the alleged police murderers were lying and were reminded that the could be cited in contempt. Unfazed, the alleged police murderers continued with their seemingly effective strategy of just denying all accusations. In the end, the senators went with their threats of citing the alleged police murderers in contempt and apparently for lying and jailing them in the senate detention cell.

comments to alellema@yahoo.com

(This is the speech given by this Public Servant as the President Association of Local Community Colleges and Universities Region 8 in the CHED -ASEAN Month Closing Ceremonies. The Speech is an illustration of how Community Colleges compliments ASEAN in becoming Epicentrum of Growth in the Region).

GUEST of Honor, Honorable Maximo C. Aljibe , SUC Presidents and OFFICIALS, President and Officials of the Private HEIs, our Host St Paul School of Professional Studies …

Education is a powerful transformative force in the lives of ASEAN peoples. Thus inclusive and quality education is key to the sustainable development of the region. Quality education leads to better health outcomes, higher social capital, peaceful and gender-equal societies, and decent work opportunities. It prepares ASEAN’s human resources to be resilient, competitive and ready to face an ever-changing future.

The region’s expanding demand for skilled workers is one important element highlighting the connection and relevance of community colleges in ASEAN. As ASEAN member countries strive for economic advancement and development, there is a growing demand for a skilled workforce with technical knowledge and manual abilities. Community colleges, with their emphasis on vocational and technical education, provide the training needed to meet this need. Through relevant programs in fields such as hospitality, information technology, and arts and sciences, criminology, community colleges provide students with practical skills that enable them to be competent, analytical, resilient, environmentally responsive, and service-oriented individuals (the Abuyog College mantra). Having said that, it immediately adds to the region’s workforce and economic growth. Together with Burauen Community College, Collegio de las Navas the new Catbalogan City College , Ormoc City College and other Community Colleges ably and competently answers the need of the people.

Community colleges provide an inclusive and accessible education pathway for students who may not have the financial or educational resources to attend major universities or may have been out of the quota numbers.

Perhaps what we in the Local Colleges can offer is an education pathway that is direct to the archipelagic roots, as our recent graduation vividly demonstrated. The hundred rough hands with which we shook hands were testament to the hard knocks of life they endured just to send their children to college. During my more than 200 days at Abuyog Community College, we hosted two Testimonial Dinners, both of which were attended by the Dynamic Regional Director Dr. Max Aljibe as our Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker . Hundreds of professionals and from all walks of life, some as old as 60, some single parents, persons with disabilities, and former persons deprived of liberty were honored. As Board Passers, they can be positive contributors to society’s welfare.

Notable among these are stories of triumph, despite the high expense of tuition because we are a paying college, but more than that, the Testimonials are also resonances of thankfulness because the college was also a member of UNIFAST for three years, and the recipients appreciate and redundantly acknowledges this fact.

Perhaps it is reasonable to say that our hearts, and perhaps our souls, are in the right place.

In all. Community Colleges like ours are united in our collaboration endeavors, CDN and BCC compare and the newly established Community Colleges allow free flow of expertise such as our librarian exchange and resources access both online and hard copy book holdings aside from forging real connections, just like the symbolic and real connection of ASEAN countries. As President Jett Quebec of Burauen Community College can attest, we are separated by locations but our hearts are intertwined, in service to our students, as my EVP Asuncion Villote frequently quotes we serve THE LAST, THE LEAST, and THE LOST, yet on the peripheral areas we are there catering too and assisting these persons accomplish their dreams nurturing their delicate caterpillars to become magnificent butterflies.

We give these people, strewn throughout a vast swath of unfavorable realities, the ability to dream and equip them with genuine skills and aptitude to achieve these ambitions. In saying this, it cannot be done without the capable assistance of our partners and regulators at the Commission on Higher Education our partners State Colleges and Universities . We will not jokingly request the COPC Issuance, we will toe the line and subject ourselves to the process and wait for the proper time and compliance state whenever it may come, we will comply and then it will be a victory that the thousands of our students and stakeholders we serve will savor .

After all, a quality assured college education is a right that every college student and we try our best every single day to provide nothing less than that .
Thank you very much and good day!!

ACEN Corp, a listed energy platform of the Ayala group, owing to higher generation output and strong revenues reported a net income pf P2 billion 5 times the P405 million recorded about the same time in 2022.

ACEN’s revenue jumped by 23 percent to P9.1 billion owing it to the commissioning of new power plants in the Philippines, stronger wind regime in Vietnam, Australia (New England Solar) and improved geothermal availability in Indonesia.

Currently, ACEN has about 4,200 megawatts of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India with renewable share of 98 percent, considered as the highest in Asia.

According to reliable sources ACEN was quoted “… as our renewable energy investments begin to bear fruit, ACEN is now on a stronger footing as we continue working towards our aspiration of reaching 20 GW of renewables by 2030.” Also, during the quarter last year (2022) “… renewable generation from Philippine operations increased by 1 percent to 310 GWh with the absence of the prior year’s curtailment in the Visayas, driven by new operating solar capacity and stronger wind regime in the north.”

MY COMMENT:
Definitely, the Ayala Group is among the best managed private firms evidenced by the encouraging report from ACEN. If profit is a barometer in concluding that an office, firm, company, etc. successful, the track record of ACEN is worth mentioning about.
ooo000ooo
NEXT TOPIC: “Lopez-Led energy company, PLDT supply Renewable Energy in Visayas”
SHARE S & T THOUGHTS through Email: drpacjr@yahoo.com