Exactly half a year had passed since super typhoon Yolanda struck us all to the nadir of our being. We were saved by the grace of God and those who perished to the great beyond were the silent martyrs that served as the unwilling sacrifice for all that we are today. We mourn the passing of the multitude of casualties, both those who were found and the many more who remain missing. We who were given the second chance to continue this journey called life are confronted with the enormous challenge of rising from our great fall and rebuilding our lives better than where we were before the disaster. The great challenge for the victims of the super typhoon is to muster the strength and will power to bounce back and build back better. This has been the mantra among all agencies and non-government organizations, whether local, national or international. The church and other religious organizations had likewise espoused the idea of leaving the old a thing of the past and encouraging victims to build back better than where they were situated before the disaster. While there are a myriad of resources from various nooks across the globe, the task at hand is to ensure that there would be no duplication of assistance. This will optimize the use of available resources and serve those in dire need as assistance would be made available out of the excess from those who already had been given assistance. But above all the challenges people encounter as we go into transition from relief to recovery, this writer would like to posit his humble learning from the reportedly worst and gravest super typhoon in human history. Human law teaches us that: “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the law.” (article 3, section 1, Philippine Constitution.) Natural law taught us that: “Any person can be deprived of his life, liberty or property without due process of law, without any protection of the law or even without your notice and even against your will and consent.” (super typhoon Yolanda taught us so.) Divine law assures us that: “All persons can regain and recover his life, liberty or property and be afforded unconditional protection by the grace of our loving and merciful God.” personal reflection on my own lessons in life. The greatest lesson for us all is to live by the fundamental laws on human relations. Let us all acknowledge the basic tenet that before we can seek pardon and mercy, we must first accept our faults and be sorry by asking for apology. Before we can ask for forgiveness, we must first bare the truth and seek for justice. Comments to alellema@yahoo.com
Lessons learned
Lord and master of the Internet
THIS is what we ought to be. As much as possible we should avoid becoming slaves of the Internet, helplessly dependent on it, totally at its mercy, already losing effective dominion over our instincts, passions and our other weaknesses that this new technology can mindlessly if sweetly stimulate all the way to our destruction. This is now a major concern, since even a cursory look around can yield abundant pieces of evidence of men and women, boys and girls, young and old, healthy and sick, completely blown away by the dizzying freefall of its deceptive beauty and usefulness. One can see a sharp rise of couch potatoes, tied to laziness, idleness and complacency, swallowed up in a sinkhole of inanities and trivialities, willing victims of the urges of pride and vanity, self-seeking and self-assertion, lust and greed. There is some kind of addiction afflicting many of the people. Many are practically defenceless and clueless to the tricks and traps of the Internet. In its wake are left the debris of disorder, anguish, frustrations, conflicts, etc. To be sure, this new technology gives us a lot of advantages. For these, we have to be very thankful. But we should not forget that these good things always come with a price, and in fact, a high price, because if misused and abused, they can spoil us into a rotten pulp much more than what illicit drugs can cause. It can be a Trojan horse. The harm inflicted by its misuse is of the spiritual type, not just of the body. And if we believe that the spirit is the one that in the end gives life to the body, so once it is impaired if not rendered practically dead, then the body actually suffers tremendously, irrespective of how good and healthy it may look based on the appearance alone. We have to ring the alarm and warn everyone of this present and clear danger. More than this, we have to set about teaching and helping everyone on how to use the Internet properly. I believe this is an issue that cannot be handled by giving out platitudes alone or occasional reminders, etc. It has to be taken like the bull by the horns. We should not take it for granted, or lightly. This is a very serious issue that affects all of us irrespective of our political colors or socio-cultural conditions. The aim is to equip everyone adequately by clarifying the true nature of freedom and how it can be lived properly with respect to the use of the Internet. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful,” St. Paul warns. (1 Cor 6,12) “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.” Alas, not many realize the wisdom of this truth of faith. For many, freedom is, as they say, what comes naturally, that is, what their passions, feelings, curiosities, etc., urge them. We need to disabuse ourselves of this false and dangerous understanding of freedom. More than that, we need to acquire the appropriate attitude and skills to live the true nature of freedom and its consequences. A basic requirement for this is faith in God that is nourished through prayer, sacrifice or self-discipline, study of the doctrine of our faith, especially with respect to morality, recourse to the sacraments which are the ordinary channels of God’s grace, lifelong development of virtues, and the art of spiritual or interior struggle and warfare. There’s always a great and indispensable need for us to grow and mature spiritually. Now is the time to realize more deeply that this particular need has to be attended to first of all and always, and never to be sacrificed in exchange of some immediate, practical but very perishable benefits that the Internet and other worldly things can give us. We need to develop our spiritual or interior life, nourishing it always with the truths of our faith and the many and endless acts of hope and charity. Only in this way can we have dominion and mastery over our earthly affairs. For some practical guidelines, it might be helpful to determine and limit our time of going to the Internet. Let’s avoid going to it at the instance of our whims. Definitely, it should be made to compete with our time for meals, family gatherings, work, and especially our prayers and other spiritual activities. We need to practice temperance, restraint and moderation always. We have to keep close guarding of our senses, both the external and internal.
Group turned over 150 bancas to fishermen hit by Yolanda
BABATNGON, Leyte-Survivors of Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas received paddled bancas as livelihood assistance from the Marriage Encounter of the Philippines, Inc. (MEFP). In a simple ceremony held last May 13, 2014 at 9:30 in the morning, former presidential economic adviser Robert Aventajado, together with lawyers Jun Berto Dazo and Elmer Sy, both officers of MEFP, turned over to the Archdiocese of Palo 150 paddled bancas. Rev. Fr. Isagani Petilos represented archbishop John Du during the turn over ceremony held in Barangay Rizal, this town. Also present during the turnover of the bancas were town councilor Lenny Lugnasin, Joey Chan, representing Mayor Charita Chan and officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources led by its executive regional director, Leonardo Sibbaluca. The MEFP is the umbrella organization of ME (marriage encounter) community numbering around 100 communities whose apostolate is to strengthen marriage bonds among couples and to evangelize the same particularly on the knowledge of married life. Aventajado stressed that the project is the initiative of the MEFP as part of their social outreached projects to help especially those who were adversely affected by the super typhoon. The identification of the intended beneficiaries was made by the archdiocese of Palo through the parish priests of their respective parishes. The assistance given to the beneficiaries were bancas made of solid wood and marine plywood. (TOMAS CICERO C. MAYE)
Yolanda aftermath Climate change gathering set next week
PALO, Leyte- The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to conduct a massive campaign and lecture on climate change. The program, dubbed as Iba na ang Panahon, Science for a safer communities, is to be held on May 22-23 in Ormoc City, said Engr.Ramil Uy, senior science research specialist of DOST-8. Officials from Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Administration, Philippine Institute of Volcanology, Seismology and project Noah are among the invited lecturers of the two-day gathering. Speakers are from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The presence of OCD and DILG is very important especially that the Local Government Units or LGU are the front liners of climate change and disaster mitigation, Uy said. He said that they invited mayors, governors and congressmen for the gathering. “This is very important because through this lecture, they can come up with laws or local ordinances so that what happened in Yolanda will never happen again,” Uy said. (LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
Yolanda aftermath Old Guiuan church to be repaired while a new one to be constructed
TACLOBAN CITY – A new church is set to be constructed while the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, a 17th century church in Guiuan, Eastern Samar that suffered extensive damage due to supertyphoon Yolanda, would be rehabilitated. This was revealed by Monsignor Lope Robredillo of the Holy Rosary Parish who added that the new church is design to withstand natural calamities like typhoons. About P25 million will be needed for this church construction sourced from donations, Robredillo said. The church that will be constructed is located across the historic church which is located at Sta.Cruz St., which is within town’s center. But while they have decided to construct a new church, the repair of the historic Our Lady of Immaculate Conception will continue, the monsignor said. When Yolanda unleashed her fury last November 8, 2013, Guiuan was among the towns in Eastern Samar that was severely hit, destroying or damaging several structures to include the Spanish-era church. Robredillo said that the rehabilitation of the said church will be funded by the National Museum though he could not disclose yet the amount set aside for it by the agency. The Guiuan Church suffered heavy damage after its roofs collapsed due to the onslaught of Yolanda last year. Antique images and paintings inside the church where either destroyed or blown off but they were able to recover some of the items, Msgr. Robredillo said. The Guiuan Church has been declared by the National Center for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as a heritage site due to its age and historical significance. The church is also included in the list of pilgrim sites identified by the archdiocese of Palo that oversees all churches in the region. This is the second time that the church suffered heavy damage from a storm. The first time it happened was in 1800’s when a strong typhoon blown away its roofs including a part of the church’s bell tower. But even he already know that National Museum will handle all rehabilitation and restoration works for the century old church Msgr. Robredillo said that he is not aware how much budget will National Museum allocate for the repair.(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Engineer killed while playing basketball
CATARMAN, Northern Samar- A lone gunman shot and killed a provincial engineer of the Northern Samar District Engineer Office in the morning of May 12 with police authority still facing a blank wall as to what could be the motive of the killing. Killed was Virgilio Aleria, 54, who was shot in the head and chest by the lone gunman inside the basketball court of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) this town. The UEP basketball court, which is located at Zone III, is just a walking distance from the residence of the victim which is at Zone II, UEP. His unidentified companion at that time also fled after the incident, witnesses said. Based on the police investigation, the gunman who was wearing short pants, of medium built and long hair, approached the victim from the back and shot him using a 45 caliber at around 6:15 in the morning, hitting him at the chest and head. His body was brought to Saint Peter Funeral Homes. Catarman police chief, Superintendent Jesus Miranda, said that they immediately conducted a manhunt operation against the suspect who fled towards the direction of the national highway using a motorcycle. He also said that they could not say yet as to what could be the motive of the killing of Aleria. “Actually, we are focusing on several angles one of which could be work related,” Miranda said in a phone interview. He declined to elaborate. Aleria was said to be the chairman of the bid and awards committee of the Northern Samar District Engineering Office and maintenance chief of said engineering office. District engineer Angie Opina asked the police authorities to speed up their investigation of Aleria’s killing whom she described to be a “professional colleague.” “We were shocked over his (brutal) death. He was a good worker and a professional colleague as far as I know. We call on the police to conduct an in-depth investigation,” Opina said in a phone interview. Meantime, former congressman Raul Daza also expressed his shock on the killing of Aleria whom he had known for 25 years. “I have personally known Engr. Aleria for about 25 years. An honest, dedicated and principled government engineer, he has suffered two tragic work-related injustices in his brief life- once when he was detained for 7 years without bail for a crime of which he was acquitted and now for losing his life because he refuses to kowtow to corrupt politicians. My heart bleeds for him and his orphans,” Daza said. (TITO TEPACE with report JOEY A. GABIETA)