Wednesday, March 10, 2021
How Persistent Are You In Prayer?
Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. John 11:41-42
How many times must you pray the same prayer and ask God to do the same thing before He hears you? Once, twice, or day after day until you get what you are asking for? Tough question, right? There are times when something bothers you and you pray about it. Nothing seems to happen so you pray again, and again. Or, may you give up entirely, thinking you don’t know the right words; or you think, “This may work for others but not for me!”
Jesus, anticipating that this would be one of the issues of concern for us, told a story about a widow who lived in a certain town where there was a judge who cared neither for God nor for people. Luke, the physician, records it in the passage found in our Bible in Luke 18.
Someone took advantage of this widow Jesus told us about, so she went to a judge and asked for justice. For some time, he was indifferent and refused to deal with the situation. Day after day, the woman came back with the same request. Finally the judge relented. He said, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming!” (Luke 18:4-5).
Jesus prefaced the story saying that the disciples “…ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). You may say, “OK, should we, like the widow, keep on knocking on heaven’s door until we get an answer?”
First, let me point out a couple of things which you need to know. The picture of the judge who is indifferent and guilty of catering to the rich and famous isn’t a true picture of our heavenly Father, who has no respect for persons whatsoever. Money and prestige don’t open the door to the throne room of heaven. Furthermore, I think it can fairly be said, “God is on the side of the little widow, the insignificant person who is denied justice and fairness in life today.”
The picture of the widow who has to try–with great difficulty–to get justice out of a corrupt system isn’t really a valid illustration of how prayer works. The New Testament says clearly that prayer is based on the relationship of a child with the father. Make a note of Galatians 4, which tells us that we are adopted by our heavenly Father and become His children through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Now, let’s go back to that original question, “How many times must you ask God to do something before you know He has heard you?” Let me ask you a second question, “When you were a child, how many times did you have to ask your father for something before he responded to you?” Once you got his attention, he answered you, right? Always gave you what you wanted, right? No, sometimes he loved you too much to give you what you asked for.
There are times when you need to prevail in prayer, asking God to do what you feel is His will. You sense that you have connected with heaven, but you don’t yet have the answer. From that point on, you don’t need to keep on asking the same thing, but begin to thank Him in advance for His answer and wait patiently for Him to do what you have asked. Jesus put it, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). When you know He’s heard, you eventually get a clear answer. It really happens.
Resource reading: 1 John 5:13-15
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-persistent-are-you-in-prayer/
Maguindanao may soon be divided into 2 provinces
Once President Rodrigo Duterte signs the law, the two new provinces will be called Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur
The Senate approved on final reading on Tuesday, March 9, the bill seeking to divide Maguindanao – part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – into two provinces.
The Senate adopted the bill that the House of Representatives passed on June 1, 2020. The measure will be up for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature.
Once the law is signed, the two new provinces will be called Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, which were originally proposed to be called Northern Maguindanao and Southern Maguindanao.
Maguindanao del Norte will be composed of the municipalities of Barira, Buldon, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Kabuntalan, Matanog, Northern Kabuntalan, Parang, Upi, Sultan Kudarat and Sultan Mastura. Its seat of government will be Datu Odin Sinsuat.
Maguindanao del Sur will be composed of Ampatuan, Buluan, Datu Abdulla Sangki, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Datu Montawal, Datu Paglas, Datu Piang, Datu Salibo, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Unsay, Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun, Guindulungan, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Pagalungan, Paglat, Pandag, Rajah Buayan, Sharif Aguak, Sharif Saydona Mustafa, Sultan sa Barongis, South Upi, Talayan and Talitay. Its seat of government will be Buluan.
Maguindanao has a population of 1,173,933, according to the 2015 census. It has an average annual income of P714.56 million.
In a press release, Senate committee on local government chairman Francis Tolentino said that due to Maguindanao's size, it had become a challenge for the provincial government "to provide basic services like public health care, education, and transportation to the most remote villages."
Dividing it into two provinces with more leaders and workers would make the two local governments "more responsive to the needs of their respective constituents," he said.
House Bill No. 6413 was sponsored in the Senate by Tolentino and co-sponsored by senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Ramon Revilla Jr, Joel Villanueva, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senate President Vicente Sotto III. – Rappler.com
https://www.rappler.com/nation/maguindanao-may-soon-be-divided-into-provinces
Palawan plebiscite: Manual counting revisited and Covid-proofing exercise
“Pumapayag ka ba na hatiin ang probinsya ng Palawan sa tatlong (3) probinsya na papangalanang: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental at Palawan del Sur alinsunod sa Batas Republika Bilang 11259?”
CITIZENS of voting age in 23 municipalities in the province of Palawan will troop to voting precincts on March 13, 2021 as provided for in Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution 10687 to respond to the above question if they agree or not to splitting their province into three. Residents of Puerto Princesa City will not participate in the plebiscite.
Under the same Comelec resolution, voting will be manual, using write-in ballots, meaning voters will write down their responses to the question. A voter will write a “Yes” or “Oo” if he or she agrees to split the province into three, or the voter will write down a “No” or “Hindi” if he or she does not want the province to be split into three. Simple, right? But the results of the voting will impact heavily on the future of Palawan and its residents.
The counting of votes will be done manually and in public after the close of voting on Plebiscite Day. The reading of the ballots and recording of the votes in the tally board and the plebiscite returns will be done in full view of watchers and interested members of the public. The members of the electoral board, called PlebCom for purposes of the plebiscite, are to position themselves in a manner that provides an unimpeded view of the ballot being read and the recording of the vote in the tally board and the plebiscite returns.
In other words, the reading, recording and counting of votes will be done in full transparency with watchers, observers and interested parties understanding the process.
Not like the automated election system where the reading, recording and counting of votes is done by a black box called a vote counting machine, leaving watchers, observers and interested parties not able to see the process.
It has been argued that transparency measures have been put in place. And, of course, it can always be argued that the reading, recording and counting of the plebiscite votes is a lot simpler since it involves the reading of a “Yes” or “No” vote than having to read at least 30 names on a ballot during the national and local elections.
The counterargument, however, is that transparency measures are not the same as transparency, and that the reading, recording and counting of votes is done inside the minute circuits of the vote counting machine, hidden from view. Moreover, only a few technically skilled individuals understand how the machines are programmed. This raises doubt in the minds of watchers and observers. Was the vote properly read? Was it properly recorded? Was it properly counted?
To erase these doubts, there has been a call for an alternative automated election system, or a hybrid election system, that features manual voting, computer-assisted counting of votes, electronic transmission of results, and automated canvassing and consolidation.
A manual count of the votes is participatory in nature. It allows watchers and observers to raise questions on how a particular ballot is appreciated by the chairman of the electoral board, previously known as board of election inspectors or BEI. After all, participation is one feature of a democratic exercise like elections.
The plebiscite was supposed to have been held on the second Monday of May 2020 in accordance with Republic Act 11259, or “An Act Dividing the Province of Palawan Into Three (3) Provinces, namely: Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental and Palawan del Sur.” but was postponed due to quarantine measures implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plebiscite will serve as a preparatory exercise for the 2022 national and local elections in the likely event that the current pandemic conditions go beyond the second Monday of May 2022.
Health and safety protocols have been prescribed in the Comelec Resolution No. 10687 during the different stages of the plebiscite, starting from the information campaign, preparation of the voting precincts, voting on plebiscite day, counting of the votes, and canvassing and consolidation of vote results by the municipal plebiscite board of canvassers and the provincial plebiscite board of canvassers.
For instance, a medical personnel is to be assigned in each voting center to conduct temperature checks on voters at the entrance to the voting center. Voters registering less than 37.5 degrees Celsius will be given a clearance by the medical personnel to proceed to his voting precinct. A voter registering a temperature greater than 37.5 degrees Celsius after two readings will be escorted to the isolation polling place where he can cast his vote.
The wearing of face mask and face shield, hand sanitization, observance of physical distancing, completion of Covid-19 self-declaration form, use of foot baths, frequent disinfection of venues of plebiscite-related activities, and observance of respiratory etiquette are among the practices prescribed under the Comelec resolution.
The electoral exercises held in other countries certainly provided lessons on how to conduct the exercise amid pandemic conditions.
The Palawan plebiscite will certainly provide a view of how the 2022 national and local elections will be conducted. It also provides an opportunity to look back on the conduct of manual elections. It is important to draw lessons from the coming exercise.
Senate okays measure dividing Maguindanao into 2 provinces
The Senate on Tuesday passed on third and final reading the bill which seeks to create the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur in Mindanao.
House Bill 6413, sponsored by the chairman of the Committee on Local Government Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino, seeks to divide the present Maguindanao province to pave the way for the creation of two provinces.
Tolentino said the measure seeks to accelerate the political, social and economic development of the new provinces and ensure that government services are more accessible and more responsive to the needs of their respective constituents. On a broader perspective, the creation of more public offices as a consequence of the division will further expand the democratic space for qualified and dedicated public servants to participate in the governance of the provinces.
Once enacted into law, Maguindanao del Norte will be composed of the following towns: Barira, Buldon, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Kabuntalan, Matanog, Northern Kabuntalan, Parang, North Upi, Sultan Kudarat and Sultan Mastura.
Maguindanao del Sur will consist of Ampatuan, Buluan, Datu Abdulla Sangki, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Datu Montawal, Datu Paglas, Datu Piang, Datu Salibo, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Unsay, Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun, Guindulungan, Mamasapano, Mangudadatu, Pagalungan, Paglat, Pandag, Rajah Buayan, Sharif Aguak, Sharif Saydona Mustafa, South Upi, Sultan sa Barongis, Talayan and Talitay.
Under the bill, the capital towns and seats of government of the two new provinces will be Datu Odin Sinsuat for Maguindanao del Norte and Buluan for Maguindanao del Sur.
Tolentino noted that Maguindanao has a population of 1,173,933 based on the 2015 official population count of the Philippine Statistics Authority and an estimated average annual regular income is P714.56 million as certified by the Bureau of Local Government Finance. Moreover, Tolentino pointed out that the two new provinces, likewise, comply with the minimum land area requirement of 2,000 kilometers (200,000 hectares) as certified by the Land Management Bureau.
According to Tolentino, Maguindanao is blessed with rich and abundant natural resources. Despite the existence of this vast potential, political and economic barriers persist. The size of the province remains to be a challenge for the provincial government to provide basic services like public health care, education, and transportation to the most remote villages.
In his co-sponsorship speech, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. said the legislative measure is “an embodiment of the aspiration of our brothers and sisters in Maguindanao to create a new province.”
For his part, Sen. Joel Villanueva said that through this legislation he is co-sponsoring, he is one with the leaders of Maguindanao in accelerating their economic progress while ensuring lasting peace and stability for their fast-growing population, which is projected to reach 1.4 million in 2023.
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III, Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri—who moved for an omnibus amendment for Northern Maguindanao and Southern Maguindanao be renamed to Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, respectively—and Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian are also co-sponsors of the bill.
The House of Representatives passed on third reading said measure on June 1, 2020.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/10/senate-okays-measure-dividing-maguindanao-into-2-provinces/