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Tuesday, January 12, 2021
The Boy Who Saved Paul’s Life
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. James 4:17
What you say can get you into far more trouble than what you do! Have you discovered that? It's much like the advice that the mother whale gave her young: "It's when you are spouting that you always get into trouble!"
Paul would have believed that. This brilliant man, a type A personality if ever there was one, always nailed down his argument with the unvarnished facts, and like waving a red flag in front of a bull, what he said drew the anger of his listeners. After Paul had preached the Gospel throughout Asia Minor, he came to Jerusalem and there gave his testimony. His speech went just fine until he mentioned that God had sent him to the Gentiles, and that's when things exploded.
Things got so bad that the Roman commander of the guard feared Paul might actually be killed by his enemies. He intervened, taking him into protective custody. In the meanwhile 40 men took a vow that they would eat nothing until they had killed this alleged rebel who was so brazen as to believe that God loved even those who were not Jews.
But once Paul was under the protection of the Roman army, getting to him was a challenge for these who wanted to get the matter settled so they could start eating again. They convinced the high priest to lean on the Romans and ask them to return Paul to the Jewish council for more questioning. On the way to council, they would attack him.
But there was one big problem which they didn't know about. A youth—a lad who was probably in his teen years—heard about the plot. He just happened to be the son of Paul's sister who lived in Jerusalem where Paul was. This lad took it upon himself to let Paul know what was in the wind. He went to the garrison where Paul was being kept, and asked to talk to Uncle Paul--who upon hearing the bad news asked that the lad be given an audience with the commander of the garrison.
When the commander heard the news, he took the issue seriously and ordered an armed guard to assemble in the night and whisk Paul to safety in Caesarea. Luke never tells us whether those 40 men starved to death or went back on their vow to death. I suspect the former, but who knows?
Of one thing, though, we can be certain. This teenager saved the life of Paul. His moment in the spotlight is brief, but tremendously important. History doesn't tell us what happened to him, whether he became a missionary or a martyr, but we do know that it took courage to take the risk of exposing the plot. His courage saved the life of the man who wrote 13 letters in the New Testament and is the most admired man of the New Testament, apart from Jesus Christ.
Ernest Hemingway is credited with saying that courage is fear that has prayed. Perhaps he is right, but I do know one thing: when you know that something must be done and do it, your act of bravery may not only save a life but a generation.
Exposing corruption or dishonesty takes courage. Standing alone while others go along with the crowd often makes you an enemy, but when Paul stood alone, forsaken by his friends, Jesus Christ stood with him. "Take courage!" He said. "As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome," spoke our Lord.
The real heroes are those who have the courage to abide by their convictions and do what has to be done. As Golda Meir once put it, "If not I, who? If not now, when?" The question is still valid today.
Resource reading: Acts 23:12-24.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/the-boy-who-saved-pauls-life/
Nothing prevents senators from filing ABS-CBN bill —Sotto
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Tuesday said nothing prevents any member of the senate from filing a bill to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN.
The senator last week filed a new measure for the renewal of the broadcast network's franchise, which expired in May.
Lawyer and former senatorial candidate Larry Gadon, who has previously opposed moves to grant ABS-CBN a franchise renewal, has called on Sotto to withdraw the filing, calling it "procedurally infirm and in gross violation of the present Philippine Constitution."
Gadon argued that the measure goes against Section 24 of the Constitution that mandates that private bills "shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments."
Sotto, however, said his move did no such contradiction. "Yes, private bills emanate from the HOR, when passed on three readings. But there is nothing that prevents any senator from filing a bill of local application or private bill as long as we await its counterpart passage from the lower house before we approve it. A first year law student knows that," Sotto told GMA News Online in a text message.
Gadon also claimed that the Senate President had used "outdated and antiquated data" from citing ratings from September 2019 and published in October 2019. Sotto did not respond to that particular claim in Gadon's letter.
ABS-CBN went off the air last May following the expiration of its 25-year legislative franchise. In July, a House of Representatives panel voted to deny the network's franchise application.
In his letter, Gadon argued that ABS-CBN's franchise could no longer be subject to the renewal after it expired.
Last week, Sotto filed Senate Bill No. 1967 seeking to renew the franchise granted to ABS-CBN to construct, install, operate, and maintain television and radio broadcasting stations in the Philippines for another 25 years.
"New [House] Speaker, new officers. [There] could be a better chance," Sotto said in a message along with his filing. Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco replaced Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, who has also been critical of ABS-CBN, as House Speaker last October.
Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos will file a counterpart to Sotto's bill in the House of Representatives.
Gadon has been a vocal critic of moves to grant ABS-CBN a new franchise, previously asking senators to recuse themselves from voting on the measure — a proposal the Sotto rejected. The Supreme Court last year junked Gadon's petition against the issuance of a provisional authority for ABS-CBN, due to his lack of legal standing to file the case. —with a report from Dona Magsino/JST, GMA News
Indonesia's Sriwijaya flew old planes, took neglected routes to become No. 3 carrier
Starting with just 1 plane in 2003, Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air has become the country's number 3 airline group, aided by its strategy of acquiring old planes at cheap prices and serving routes neglected by competitors.
The mid-market airline, which has few international flights, was thrust into the spotlight this week when a nearly 27-year old Boeing Co 737-500 crashed into the Java Sea on Saturday with 62 people on board.
Brothers Chandra and Hendry Lie, whose family was involved in tin mining and the garment industry, and their business partners launched Sriwijaya 17 years ago with a single plane that flew from their hometown of Pangkal Pinang on Bangka Island to Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
Its focus on second and third-tier routes gave it a loyal customer base and helped it snare a nearly 10-percent market share behind Lion Air and national carrier Garuda Indonesia.
"They had a reasonable business approach," an industry source who was not authorized to speak publicly said of Sriwijaya's founders.
"They are not flamboyant people like many you see running airlines."
They used a conservative business model of acquiring older planes on the cheap rather than taking advantage of low-cost financing to purchase large fleets of new aircraft like other fast-growing carriers such as Lion Air, Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd and Vietnam's VietJet Aviation JSC.
The fleet of Sriwijaya and regional offshoot NAM Air is nearly 20 years old on average - nearly 3 times older than Lion Air group, according to website Planespotters.net.
The plane involved in the crash, a 737-500, was 1 of only 77 remaining in service globally, aviation data provider Cirium said. Other current operators include the likes of Nigeria's Air Peace and Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines.
Two former Sriwijaya employees told Reuters there were strategic reasons for keeping such an old model in service beyond the cheaper acquisition cost.
The smaller seating capacity of 120 was more appropriate for certain routes like Jakarta to Pontianak on Borneo flown by the plane that crashed on Saturday, and the 737-500 could land at airports that were otherwise served by turboprops due to short runway lengths, they said on condition of anonymity.
Sriwijaya did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The crashed jet's black boxes have not yet been recovered so the cause of the accident remains unclear.
Older jets can be operated just as safely as newer ones if maintained properly, though the cost of doing so is higher, as are the operating costs because they are less fuel efficient.
Rising upkeep costs and low fare prices due to heated competition meant that by 2018 Sriwijaya had accrued large debt owed to Garuda's maintenance arm, GMF AeroAsia.
As of Sept. 30, 2020, Sriwijaya and NAM owed around $63 million in unpaid bills to GMF AeroAsia and Garuda had warned of impairment losses on $37.5 million owed by Sriwijaya as part of a failed cooperation agreement, according to GMF AeroAsia and Garuda.
The status of its financial position since the start of the pandemic is unclear, but a Sriwijaya pilot, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were salary cuts and a reduction in the number of planes operating during the pandemic in line with many other airlines globally.
The pilot added the airline had been complying with all training and maintenance requirements throughout the pandemic.
Sriwijaya and NAM together have 34 planes for operations and half of them are in service, according to Planespotters.net.
"The question now is whether Sriwijaya, already in poor financial health, is able to overcome this accident as COVID-19 has crippled all airlines," said Shukor Yusof, head of Malaysian aviation consultancy Endau Analytics.
Duterte appoints Aguirre as Napolcom commissioner
By Filane Mikee Cervantes
President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom).
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed Aguirre’s appointment in a statement on Monday.
“We confirm that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed the appointment of Mr. Vitaliano ‘Vit’ Aguirre II as Commissioner of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) representing the private sector,” Roque said.
Roque said Aguirre’s experience as justice secretary during the early years of the Duterte administration "bodes well in his new position to make the police service competent, effective, credible, and responsive to our people's needs."
Aguirre served as the secretary of the Department of Justice from 2016 to 2018.
The commission’s mandate includes the administration of police entrance examinations, the conduct of a pre-charge investigation of police anomalies and irregularities, and summary dismissal of erring police officers.
Challenge accepted
In a statement, Aguirre said he was elated and at the same time, humbled over his appointment.
“My appointment to the Napolcom carries with it the challenge to address the concerns and the stumbling blocks toward a better police force that will serve and will protect our countrymen,” Aguirre said.
He also committed to working closely with Interior Secretary and Napolcom chairperson Eduardo Año and other members of the commission “towards a better Napolcom”.
“Our countrymen have my solemn assurance that all my God-given talent, time, effort, and sacred honor will be invested toward this effort. Thank you, Mr. President,” he added. (with reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
4 rebeldeng komunista, sumuko sa Aurora
Apat na miyembro ng isang grupo ng mga rebeldeng komunista umano ang sumuko sa mga awtoridad sa Aurora nitong Lunes.
Ayon sa Police Regional Office 3, kusang-loob na sumuko ang mga rebelde, na dating mga miyembro ng Militiang Bayan at residente ng bayan ng Dipaculao.
Nanawagan ang regional director ng PRO-3 na si Police Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon sa mga aktibo at dating miyembro ng naturang grupo na isuko na ang kanilang mga armas at magbagong buhay.
Ang pagsuko ay bahagi ng pinaigting na kampanya ng PNP alinsunod sa Executive Order No. 70 ni President Rodrigo Duterte laban sa mga terorista at mga komunistang grupo sa bansa.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/21/4-rebeldeng-komunista-sumuko-sa-aurora
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