May pakialam ka pa ba Juan?

May pakialam ka pa ba Juan?

by: Constantino, Luvieline Aeriel
POSC1-X

Is the saying “Ang kabataan ay ang pag-asa ng bayan” (The youth is the hope of the fatherland) still true or are we, the youth who are said to be “pag-asa ng bayan ay nawawalan na ng pag-asa sa bayan” (Are the youth who are the hope of the fatherland losing hope)? My outlook could not be entirely true. I tried talking to some of my friends regarding the matter. From these talks I could perceive that most of them have become indifferent. They seemed to have detached themselves to anything beyond their personal and family concerns that I have also started to ask myself as to what will happen to us in the future.

These are some of the ideas/beliefs that my friends have:


Philippine politics is really depressing to the point that it seems not worthy to care about. Most of our politicians especially those in the government right now are just too corrupt and greedy and they see nobody as the better alternative. Just thinking about it just brings anger in their hearts at the helplessness on their part and the callousness of those in power and those who are striving to stay there in exploiting us and the country. But staying angry will not help and neither is time thinking about it. It’s that bad that they think it is not worth wasting their time thinking or reading about it. Which makes it even more depressing.
I used to have the same outlook. Coming from an exclusive Catholic school, I was expecting that it wouldn’t be that hard for me to adjust in UP. Some of our lessons were advanced. I thought I knew or had an idea of what I was to encounter in UP, ha-ha. Only to find out in the 3rd week of our Political Science 1 classes how sadly lacking my “advanced” secondary education was.


I found out I hardly know anything about our lessons. I realized that there are a lot of things that I don’t know specially in this aspect. Maybe because our lessons in high school were not that extensive and at the same time I failed to see the relevance of these lessons or subjects to my life. We were sometimes required to go to rallies but only chosen students went and I‘m sure they did not also really know why they were there and they did not really want to be there. We also had outreach programs where we visited some homes for the aged, feeding programs for kids from the public schools especially during Christmas season.


The intention was good but we really didn’t do anything that can have a long term effect which is what our country needs. Everything was short term. Even our teachers rarely talked about how to be more socially-concerned, or having a higher goal. It seemed that everything was to be for ourselves and our family.
They taught us how to be a good person and therefore, but not necessarily a good citizen. I now see that becoming a good citizen is also a must.


Before I entered UP I thought that people who are nationalistic are old-fashioned. I thought that if cannot do anything about something I should not bother to care about it. But my Political Science classes made me see that I was wrong. I found out that there is no such thing as not being able to do something about some things because if we want to badly enough we can do something about the things we care about.


With these notions I had which was due to my ignorance, I felt that the country almost lost another hope for it. I’m thankful that I was able to enroll at UP. I’m thankful that I learned that being “old-fashioned” or nationalistic is good even if it is still not the “in” thing right now. And not being “in” is even better that being “in”. Because not being in means that I love my country and am willing to do something about it now matter how small the impact it will bring to it.
Now I can say that I am more aware and care about Philippine politics and politicians and how they are doing their share of duties and responsibilities to the country.


Now I can say that my being ignorant before almost caused my country to lose one person who is its hope. Slowly as we went through our lessons from politics to party systems I saw the defects that our country have. I saw most especially the deficiency in our education and educational system.


Education has a big influence in the future if this once great nation is to be great again. One of these flaws is the lack of information dissemination. If it is a flaw that even an exclusive Catholic school where I came from and which is supposed to deliver a better quality of education from had, I just can imagine how other schools are doing. It’s a good thing there is UP that can save from can make a tragic impact on us, the youth.


UP has taught me that there is something to love and care about my country more than its beaches and terraces. If during high school I was not able to learn this, now I am aware of it and willing to do something about it. I just hope that more students are made aware like I did here at UP and be willing to do something about it because I shudder at the thought that there might come a time that there will be no more Filipinos in the Philippines.


There should be more extensive political science courses or subjects in every grade school or high school may it be public or private. Let us not wait to get into college and study in UP or be a political science major to have concern for our country. Aside from that, teachers should be models to their students, walk their talk, to achieve total effectiveness. This can definitely be a good start. It always starts with awareness.


OO may pakialam pa ako.
-Juan

POLITIC TRANSUBSTANTIATION:The Role of the Roman Catholic Church in Philippine Politics

Today’s red hot rolling issue of House Bill 5043 , otherwise known as the Reproductive Health Bill has now been a major concern of each and everyone of us. It has entirely reached every corner of the street, each dining table of the family, and even the sacred altar of the church. Meanwhile, its main flux lies on the question, “Should the Catholic Church interfere in the undertaking of House Bill 5043?”

According to Rev. Fr. Juvy Leonardo, our parish priest in St. Polycarp Parish, “The Church indeed has the right to interfere in this Reproductive Health Bill issue. Its main concern is morality, and since this HB 5043 is a moral issue, then we have to meddle in this matter. Tulad ng korupsyon, ito rin ay isang usaping moral, hindi lang tungkol sa family planning kundi buhay-moral ng pamilya. What we are promoting is responsible parenthood, the moral responsibility of the parents and the protection of human life itself. Dahil sa pagtutol nami dito(HB 5043), sinasabi nila na traditional daw ang Simbahan. Pero hindi naman ganito ang Simbahan, ang tanging hangad namin ay pangalagaan ang buhay ng bawat isa. The defense of life has to start from the very inception of life itself, which is the time of fertilization and not implantation (as what HB 5043 promotes). Because of this critical difference, we may define contraceptive methods as abortifacients in reality. How could you protect life if you are promoting the culture of death? Kailangang tignan sa moral aspect ang real value nito, nakikialam kami kapag moral na ang pinaguusapan.”

Here, we may visibly situate the Catholic Church in the Philippines’ political arena. To clarify this notion, I am coining the term “politic transubstantiation”. Combining “politic” (which pertains to the government, the welfare of the State, and the whole political system itself) with “transubstantiation”(a Catholic doctrine referring to the conversion and transformation of the elements in the Eucharist present during consecration such as the host and wine into the genuine body and blood of Christ), I vigorously put credence in to further explain the function of Catholic Church in politics in the pursuit of a totally just societal structure. In his encyclical letter Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVI speaks more of this, “The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics. As Augustine once said, a State which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves: Remota itaque iustitia quid sunt regna nisi magna latrocinia. Fundamental to Christianity is the distinction between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God(Matthew 22:21), in other words, the separation of Church and State, or as the Second Vatican Council puts it, the autonomy of temporal sphere. The State may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between its followers who are the very people which the State serves. For her part, the Church, as the social expression of Christian faith, has a proper independence and is structured on the basis of her faith as a community which the State must recognize. The two spheres are distinct, yet always interrelated.”

A just society is the core criterion of politics. As an authority of accountable leaders, its goals are profoundly attached to justice, in which its nature has something to do with ethics. But the seeming problem is on practical reason; the proper exercise of power in accordance to morality. For me, our politicians are marred in to an ethical blindness of the overwhelming and glaring effects of power and self-interest. Eventually, the Church responds to this by liberating politics from its blind spots. This is where Catholic social doctrine finds its place; it has neither intended of giving the Church power over the State nor dictated the views and conducts of our political leaders. Its aim is merely to aid in purifying political reason and more importantly, to contribute to the acquisition of what is just for the common good.

Therefore, I have not come here to defend my Catholic faith or to deeply secure its location in the political arena. Rather I withstand here to evidently present the Catholic Church’s ever-significant role in changing our country’s political system. At this juncture rest the Church’s indirect duty of purification of reason and the revival of the morality of the nation. And this is the so-called ecclesial responsibility of the Church, a counterpart of social responsibility which definitely translates that “politic transubstantiation”.

Problems Faced By the Country

Poverty is line to what is now the Philippines is facing. We are considered as part of the third world countries but the say “ we are struggling for our position to change.” But most of us are minimalists ,that nothing will happen whatever hardship we do. One of the main cause may be because lot of people where underemployed . Some people took jobs that were not in their line of coursework. They intend to go abroad just to earn more profit because the country has less jobs to offer for them and give small income to them.

As part of being minimalists and not caring for our own country , most people will disobey rules and laws that may create crime and problems that we may encounter. Simple things must be well taken cared of and obeyed especially the simple road signs and family rules. Little things can create a big change.

Well everything changes that’s why we also have to change. As new generations come, culture and adjustments must be done. We are more focused on enhancing the buildings, constructions, public works and highways but we should not forget that we must first focused on education.

If we continue to be procrastinators in things we do, nothing will happen to us. We have to take the responsibility for ourselves and for others we live with.

Marvi Mendoza

Political Science 1-B

Prof. Bubbles Beverly Asor

Reimagining the Nation

This is an illustration of an unfinished building, an illustration that signifies the lack of civility and discernment. If you look at it deeply, it doesn’t really differ much from the body snatchers from the funeral parlors, nor with the owners of those floating coffins that have caused the death of thousands of Filipinos, nor with the countless operators of public utilities and businesses who serve slapdash goods and services to a powerless public. It illustrates a trait known as cultural malaise.

Cultural malaise is the barbarism of mindless profit-seeking, of getting something from almost nothing, of doing vigorous businesses on the misery of others. It is the culture of cruelty, of unevenness, of neglect, and of everlasting improvisation. We think tolerating this is all we could do because we are poor and because it is necessary to free ourselves from the grasp of poverty. We blame it to others. We all find reasons to escape from the fact that we all have this trait. But come to think of it, this may not really be our fault. I mean, how many years have we been colonized? It’s not really surprising for us to be too dependent to our colonizers. What else could we do? What else could we be proud of? Our self-esteem has been crushed. Our very own products are recognized not as ours but as the products of our colonizers. Even if we tried to produce something out of our own, even if we tried to progress to nationhood, we just couldn’t pursue because we are being stopped by colonialism. We may have started to recover our nation’s self-worth but it was still with the help of those countries with colonial powers, it was still with the influence of colonial powers. We couldn’t do anything on our own. The result was a culture of improvisation and mediocrity. Instead of striving for the highest goal we could possibly achieve, we are satisfied with the rule of the minimum; instead of thinking for the good of the nation, we all worry about our own progression; instead of being responsible for all our actions, we escape even from our duties especially when it comes to community tasks; and instead of a chase for superiority, we’re just contented to stay put and do nothing for progress. We portray ourselves as a weak nation, a nation that is diverse, a nation with no collective conscience and a nation with an unpleasant imagination of itself. We think only laws can solve this entire problem, we think good implementation of these laws can answer all the questions and doubts on government honesty. But laws cannot take the place of civility and discernment. It does not form a nation, it does not form people. It is the family, the church, the school, the community. For once, let us not think of the mistake of others. For once, let us ask ourselves, what have I done to help develop the country? What have I done to consider myself as a part of the society rather than a separate entity?

Frankly, more and more Filipinos are losing hope and confidence that Philippines may once again be a governable nation and I am not an exception. I always wanted to work abroad for my only goal is to have my family experience richness. After all, I couldn’t get anything from our country. This country of ours is a total chaos, a perfect image of a baby trying to reach a fruit planted by a stranger. But this should not be so. We should have a national image that is good so as to have a good goal for the nation. We should not be a baby trying to reach something foreign. We should be someone who will plant our own tree and bear our own fruit. If we imagine ourselves to be free, then we should do something to be free. We must take up the challenge for self-creation. We must reimagine ourselves, reinvent ourselves. We must be passionate for perfection, we must work hard, we must instill the values of self-discipline and public service and we must believe that we could do something on our own to create a mature and a completely independent society. We should not be afraid to take on the steps on our own. All we have to do is to be selfless. We have to dream big for our country; dream larger than ourselves; larger than our family; larger than our community. We have to share our thoughts to come up with the best solution to alleviate poverty and ease the problems our nation have faced, is facing and will face. We’re not born to this world to see how important we could become; we are born to see how much difference we can make. And that difference will lift the Philippines from pain and suffering to progress and development.

Glenny A. Ermita
POSC 1-X
Prof. BB Asor

kahirapan ng karamihan

Ilan lamang ito sa mga kababayan nating mahihirap na nagtityagang manirahan sa mailiit at masisikip nilang bahay. Halimbawa sila ng karamihan sa mamamayan n gating bansa. Lumipas na ang maraming panahon, napalitan na din ang mga namumuno sa ating bansa ngunit di pa din nabago ang kanilang pamumuhay. Ang iba sa kanila ay lalo pa ng anlugmok sa kahirapan. Marami sa kanila ag dumadaing na sa hirap ngunit di makaahon sa hirap dahil sa kakulangan ng suporta galling sa pamahalaan. Marahilmay mga proyekto nga ang ating pamahalaan at sila’y naglalabas ng malaking pera para dito. Ngunit may ilan tayong pulitiko na nagagwa pang nakawan ang pera na para sa mga kababayan nating mahihirap kung kaya di pa din mabawasan ang mga naghihirap nating kababayan.

Kailangangan maisip ng lahat ang sitwayon ng karamihan sa atin at makagawa ng isang matatag na paraan para mapaginhawa ang buhay ng mga Pilipino. Pero mas makabubuti siguro kung mas uunahin nating ayusin ang pilitika sa bansa natin para mas madali na anting magawan ng paraan ang mga problema ng bansa. Ang malaking tanong ay kung paano natin mapapabuti ang pulitika sa ating bansa.

Di na bago sa atin ang mga balita tungkol sa mga kurakot at tiwaling opisyal n gating pamahalaan. Noon pa may dagdag na sa problema ng bansa ang mga pulitikong ito. Marami ng tao ang nagrereklamo dahil sa kanila perokailan may di nawala o nabawasan ang mga tulad nila.

Karamihan sa maliliit na tao ng bansa ay naghihirap pati na an gating bansa mismo ngunit di ito ganong nabibigyang pansin ng ibang pilitiko dahil mas inuuna nila ang sariling kapakanan at ang kanilang pamilya. Ang ilan sa kanila ay may mga proyekto nga para sa mahihirap pero di naman ganong ramdam ng mga tao. Marahil ay gusto lang nila makuha ang kanilang porsyento kung kaya gumagawa din sila n kung anu anong proyekto gaya na lang ng mga biglaang pagpapaayos ng mga parte ng daan. Ang iba sa mga daang ito ay matitino pa naman. Bakit di na lang kaya nila gamitin ang mga perang iyon para matulungan ang mga nangangailangang mahihirap. Dahl sa pagiging makasarili ng mga pulitikong ito ay lalong dumarami ang mahihirap sa bansa. Kung sino pa ang mayaman ay siya pang lalong yumayaman at kung sino pa angmahihirap ay sila pa ang lalong nalulugmok sa kahirapan.

Ang mga nasa pamahalaan ay dapat nagkakaisa at magtulung-tulungan para sa ikagiginhawa n gating bansa, ng mga mahihirap na Pillipino. Ngunit sa halip na gampanan ng mabuti ang kanilang pwesto ay nagkakanya-kanya sila ng Gawain at kadalasan pay di magkasundo kung ano ang gagawin sa bansa. Paano pa kaya masusulusyunan ang kahirapan sa bansa kung mismong sa pamahalaan ay di sila magkasundo sa dapat gawin. Dahil dito’y di agad mabawasa ang hirap na dinadanas ng halos lahat ng Pilipino.

Marahil ay maaari nating mabawasa ang mga tulad nila kung laha tayo ay matututong mamili ng kung sino nga ba ang karapatdapat mamuno sa atin. Ang mga taong nabubuhay para sa pulitika, mga taong mas uunahin ang kapakanan ng nakararami kesa sa sarili nilang pamilya at kagustuhan. Kalingan nating wag magpadala sa nga pinapamigay na pera teing eleksyon dahil indi naman ito ang makakapag ahon sa atin sa kahirapan. Maaaring para sa iba ay makakatulong ito pero ito’y panandalian lang. Ang kalingan natin ay pangmatagalan na kaginhawaan kung kaya mas mauti kin matututunana naitng piliin kung sinu-sino ang karapatdapat mapunta sa pamahalaan. Sa paraang ito ay maaari ng mabawasan ang tulad ng mga nasa larawan, ang mga kababayan nating mahihirap.

-Aldrin S. Magpantay