Saturday, November 21, 2020
ABS-CBN’s Hope for A New Franchise renewed as House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco’s Pro-ABS-CBN Allies Assume Key House Positions
The question of whether or not ABS-CBN still has a chance of getting a new 25-year franchise from the current Congress seems to be getting a clearer answer.
As prominent solons, who were vocal in their opposition to renewing ABS-CBN’s broadcast license, get ousted from their positions one by one, those who have previously supported ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal and are now occupying key seats in the lower chamber.
They are now undoubtedly in better position to push yet another bill intended to grant ABS-CBN a new franchise.
The ouster of the previous House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano can be seen as a turning point for things to get better, as far as ABS-CBN’s having another shot at franchise renewal, is concerned. If the most recent developments in House leadership could mean something for the embattled media giant, it is probably in its favor, as those who previously led the campaign to deny its free TV operation, no longer hold enough power to influence any decision the committee on legislative franchises would make, should ABS-CBN pursue another application.
Early in October, Valenzuela Rep. Eric Martinez and AAMBIS-OWA Partylist Rep. Sharon Garin were both stripped off their chairmanship posts in the house. Both Martinez and Garin participated as members of the 80-member panel who decided for ABS-CBN’s franchise application and voted ‘yes’ to deny ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise on July 10.
Vocal ABS-CBN defenders Lito Atienza and Rufus Rodriguez have also been recently promoted as deputy speakers of the Lower House, replacing Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, who were loyal allies to ousted House Speaker Cayetano.
Fernandez and Castro both voted against renewing ABS-CBN’s franchise. Another Cayetano ally, Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, also received the same fate as Castro and Fernandez, but it is important to note that Camille Villar, who was also among who killed ABS-CBN’s franchise, took his vacated post.
These developments, however, may mean nothing, should House Speaker Velasco lead the Lower Chamber the same way Cayetano did, which he refuted in an interview, vowing never to be Duterte’s mere rubberstamp, as the previous leadership has been accused of. He also assured the public that careful deliberations and stern scrutiny will be carried out for every bill filed.
If any of these is true, a fresh franchise application could only give ABS-CBN a favorable result, and may likely pre-empt the ongoing People’s Initiative, which primarily intends to bypass Congress’ and the President’s rights to grant or deny a bill into becoming a law. The current PIRMA Kapamilya campaign intends to give ABS-CBN a new franchise without asking the approval of both the Lower Chamber and the Office of the President.
One of Velasco’s closest friends and staunch allies, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon, is also among those who filed House Bill 5608 which sought for ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal, in September 2019.
It is important to underscore that these talks are resurfacing in the wake of the recent calamities that struck the country, exposing some of the most dangerous consequences that ABS-CBN’s shutdown has caused. It can be recalled that in the absence of ABS-CBN’s expansive Regional Network Group in calamity-stricken provinces, communication between affected areas and response groups was poor and ineffective.
While the government continues to deny the communication gap that ABS-CBN’s absence has left, many vulnerable far-flung communities, whose almost sole source of news and information has been ABS-CBN, were seemingly left in the dark, during the onslaught of the recent typhoons.
Friday, November 20, 2020
What God Thinks About Tolerance
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 1 Corinthians 4:7
Question: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the greatest, how tolerant are you? "Tolerant of what?" you might ask, thinking of politics, religion, sports, or intelligence. Most of us think of ourselves as being quite tolerant, and certainly if we are in the minority, we demand tolerance and respect as a kind of sacred right.
But the deeper issue evokes another question: Should we be tolerant at all? "Whoa!" you may be thinking, wondering if today's commentary is a plea for greater tolerance or a bigoted voice for intolerance.
OK, before you decide, think for a moment of the impact of what Wendell Willkie wrote a generation ago. He said, "No man has a right… to treat any other man tolerantly, for tolerance is the assumption of superiority." That phrase, "the assumption of superiority" is the key to the whole issue. He is saying that when you are tolerant of others, you think of yourselves as being superior to them, yet in what you think of as the largeness of your spirit you won't condemn them. He says that tolerance means you look down on them. Is he right?
When every person is on equal footing, nobody looks down on anybody else. Under Communism, there was a saying that all people are equal, but some are "more equal" than others, meaning that party officials had the best food, the best drink, the best housing and the best cars--yet everyone was equal.
If God considers us to be equal (and He does), then shouldn't God's children adopt the attitude of their Father and put prejudice aside once and for all? True, yet the world as it is and the way it should be are pretty far apart. The reality is that we as Christians are often as guilty of prejudice and intolerance as anyone else. Baptists look down on Pentecostals, and Presbyterians know they are superior to both, while Episcopalians tower above the whole spectrum of other groups yet are viewed by Catholics as slightly lower than they.
What causes this attitude? In one word it is pride, something that ought not to be part of the thinking of any believer. "For who makes you different from anyone else?" asked Paul when he wrote to the Corinthians, condemning them for their willful pride. He then asked, "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Prejudices are the outward manifestation of an inward condition of the heart which is called pride. And if there is one negative mental attitude which God uniformly condemns; it is pride. Warren Wiersbe wrote, "In his pride, Moses lost his temper and was kept out of the Promised Land (Numbers 20:1-13). Pride kept Joshua from seeking God's will at Ai, and he lost the battle (Joshua 7). King Nebuchadnezzar's pride turned him into an animal (Daniel 4), and Peter's pride led to his denial of Christ (Luke 22:31-34)."
While the price tag attached to pride is a costly one, there is good news! Should you take time to make a study of the sixty-two references to pride found in the Bible, you will learn that men and women can repent of their pride, and with repentance comes humility of heart and spirit which God honors.
A closing thought: Do you remember I asked you to evaluate your tolerance at the beginning of this commentary? Remember? When you have God's perspective, tolerance is unnecessary because you view your fellows as equals on the same level, looking to Him for forgiveness and help. It's perspective that makes the difference.
Resource reading: 1 Corinthians 4:5-7
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-god-thinks-about-tolerance/
Thursday, November 19, 2020
What Do You Believe About Hell?
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. Matthew 18:9
There is something about believing in hell which is repugnant to the modern mind. Heaven? Sure! That's consistent with the picture of a loving God, one who cares far too much about us to turn anyone away from His door. Yes, we can abide the thought that God may punish His errant children as we human parents have to do--at least for a bit; but the idea of fire and brimstone, smoke, and torment reminds us more of the graphic imagery of Dante's The Divine Comedy than of John 3:16.
Even some of Christianity's most outspoken advocates have signed in on the page of disbelief in a literal hell. Clark Pinnock, the late theology professor at McMaster Divinity School in Hamilton, Ontario, asks, "How can Christians possibly project a deity of such cruelty and vindictiveness" as to inflict "everlasting torture upon his creatures, however sinful they may have been?"
Even heavyweights such as John R.W. Stott and the Anglican Philip Hughes add their voices to the "love-us-too-much-to-do-that" group. If there is one thing for sure, it is that there is no real consensus among people today as to what hell really is. Views about hell fall into four major categories. Listen carefully and see where you find yourself. It's quite probable you have never given much thought to the whole issue.
Group #1 view hell as a present state of difficulty--not in the hereafter, but in the present. In other words, we inflict hell upon ourselves. For the hundreds of thousands of men and women who were victims of the nuclear destruction that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hell was rained upon them when those first nuclear bombs exploded at 617 yards above them, causing a yellow mushroom cloud that rose to an altitude of 10,000 feet, blocking out the sun to the death and dying below.
And of course, the 14 million who died in the concentration camps of the Holocaust didn't think about hell as being later. For them, it was the present. And those who suffer unbearably, whether it is physical, emotional, or whatever, know something of the anguish of being separated from health and wholeness.
Group #2 view hell as being total annihilation. They think that when you die, you just die, and that's it. You cease to exist. John Woodbridge describes this, saying, "Some hold that God is far too gracious to condemn the souls of men to a place of everlasting punishment. Instead, He blots them out forever. Man ceases to exist in any form, material or spiritual. He is utterly annihilated." And that would take care of the issue. Period.
Group #3 believe that hell means you will spend eternity separated from God with no chance of being in His presence. The 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church signs in on this page, saying that "the chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God." And there's one more view.
Group #4 believe that hell is a literal place of torment and anguish, which also means you are separated from God where there is no second chance, no hope of heaven--something which Jesus Christ came to save us from. Knowing that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, they contend, is a moral barrier which gives men and women a reason to turn their backs on sin and wrong-doing and live with the hope of heaven at the end of life's road.
So, where do you find yourself? But more important, why do you believe what you do? Haven't thought much about it? It's time to do some straight thinking and know what you believe and why you believe it. Instead of taking my word for it, why not take your Bible and find out very clearly what it says. Then, decide. That's the only sure way to know.
Resource reading: Matthew 18:1-9
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-do-you-believe-about-hell/
Bangsamoro Parliament seeks extension of transition period until 2025
The Bangsamoro Parliament says 'the 3-year transition period is simply not enough to accomplish' the targets of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority
The interim Bangsamoro Parliament has passed a resolution urging Congress to extend the transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to June 2025 “to afford the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) sufficient period to fulfill its mandate.”
In passing Resolution No. 332, the Bangsamoro Parliament said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not have enough time to carry out the effective implementation of the transition, to include programs, projects, and services.
The transition will end on June 30, 2022.
“While the BTA has taken significant strides in its service as the interim government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the sheer weight of its mandate and the amount of work that it entails, coupled with shortfalls in resources and placed in the context of continued security threats , and further complicated by the effects of a lingering pandemic, the 3-year transition period is simply not enough to accomplish its targets," the resolution said.
Member of Parliament Nabil Tan, former chairperson of the peace implementing panel under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), asked if the reason for the extension is that the political and normalization provisions in the peace agreement have yet to be fully implemented.
It was more on the normalization aspect of the peace agreement, said Jose Lorena, one of the principal authors of the resolution. According to him, the normalization is a caveat for the political participation of the people.
Lorena said that if the normalization trust fund can be set up, “perhaps it can also help in the fast tracking of the formulation of the rehabilitation program under the Section 1 of the Article 14 [of RA 11054].”
He recalled a recent interview of BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ibrahim who said that those covered by the first phase of decommissioning have yet to receive fully the socioeconomic packages promised them as part of the decommissioning process.
“If the we want to fast track the normalization, we should be able to see that government has put forward the necessary funds for the rehabilitation,” said Lorena.
Mohagher Iqbal, a member of the Bangsamoro parliament and chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace implementing panel, said that the move is not a self-serving exercise, but it is “for our people.”
“Just imagine, 17 long years of negotiation, can we implement what has been in the law for just 3 years? he asked.
Iqbal said that it is part of their assertion that they have to complete what they started in the peace process.
Resolution No. 332, also cited resolutions passed by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Tawi-Tawi Chapter, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Tawi-Tawi, and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Mindanao, in support of the extension of the transition phase.
A week after Typhoon Ulysses
Residents wade through thick mud in Kasiglahan Village, Barangay San Jose, Rodriguez, Rizal on November 18, a week after Typhoon Ulysses struck. Typhoon Ulysses dumped 356mm amount of rainfall, as recorded from the PAGASA Tanay station, which brought massive flooding in Kasiglahan Village that stranded thousands of residents last November 12.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/11/19/20/a-week-after-typhoon-ulysses
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
5 Steps To Growing In Grace
Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18
When Peter came to the end of writing the second book which bears his name, he gave some very practical advice. He ended by saying, "Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men…" and "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Notice the two words: guard and grow. That was the practical advice of a fisherman who knew that he had to defend his fishing grounds, but he couldn't spend all of his time keeping others out of what he felt belonged to him. He had to fish. He had to grow.
Some people spend so much time guarding things, they never have time to grow anything. They are the holy defenders of the faith, denouncing anyone and everyone who disagrees with them.
No, Peter was not suggesting that you constantly view everyone with suspicion. He said, "Keep up your guard so that you won't fall away from your secure position," and then added--perhaps as a balance, "Grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Have you ever noticed that you don't tell a child, "Look, in the next twelve months, I want you to grow five inches and gain 15 pounds. Now GROW." You may set quotas for salespeople and goals for the next year, but your children don't respond to your growth goals. Why? Growth is the result of several factors: proper nutrition, exercise, enough sleep; and then, certainly without their consciously thinking about it, growth takes place.
How do you grow in grace as Peter suggested—no, commanded? Spiritual growth is often the result of adverse situations--no less than real pain which you face, usually situations that you would never choose to go through. Sometimes it's an illness, or a business failure; sometimes it is period of financial or personal turmoil: a spouse dies, your best friend abandons you. You either taste of the sufficiency of God or you wither and die.
How do you know that you are growing in grace, as opposed to just getting on with your life? Growth in grace is reflected in the following:
- You accept circumstances, understanding that God can bring order out of chaos. No, it doesn't mean you like them, but you refuse to give in to despair, asking God to intervene. It's the attitude of Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians saying he forgave "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:11).
- You are growing in grace when you come to understand that God is sufficient to meet you. You will never test the resources and grace of God apart from hitting bottom. "My grace is sufficient for you," God told Paul. If you listen carefully, you will hear the same echo in your life.
- You are growing in grace when you cultivate a voice of praise instead of complaining about the circumstances. This is what Paul meant when he wrote, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
- You are growing in grace when you have a desire to do the will of God, no matter what others do. The problem is that at times our will is in conflict with what we know God wills. We want revenge; God says forgive. We remember; God says forget. When you say, "God, I put this in your hands; you deal with it," you are growing in God's grace.
Finally, growth in grace is characterized by a willingness to wait on the Lord, knowing that His timetable is different from yours.
Resource reading: 2 Peter 3:14-18
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/5-steps-to-growing-in-grace/
Duterte declares Luzon state of calamity after Ulysses deluge
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night placed Luzon island, home to about half of the country's 108 million people, under a state of calamity due to a series of cyclones, the latest of which triggered the worst flooding in years and left dozens dead.
A state of calamity will allow local officials to tap emergency funds and impose a price freeze on basic goods.
"Last night I think I signed the proclamation," Duterte said.
The President made the declaration days after he flew to Cagayan Valley region, where weather disturbances and a dam's huge release of water affected thousands of families, some of whom fled to rooftops to escape 2-story high floods.
The disaster council earlier recommended a state of calamity in Luzon after Ulysses, the fifth storm to hit the Philippines since October, killed at least 73 people.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/17/20/duterte-declares-luzon-state-of-calamity-after-ulysses-deluge
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
PCOO extends sympathy to Cebu solon’s family
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Tuesday offered sympathy to the family of former Deputy Speaker and Cebu City First District Rep. Raul del Mar who passed away Monday evening.
Del Mar, who served as congressman of Cebu City’s north district for nine terms since 1987, died in a hospital in Manila. He was 79.
House of Representatives Secretary-General Jocelia Bighani-Sipin confirmed del Mar’s death.
“We pray for the eternal repose of his soul, and for his family and loved ones to find strength in this time of grief,” Andanar said in a statement.
Andanar said del Mar’s commitment to his work will be remembered by the constituents he served during his tenure, particularly the underprivileged.
He also hailed del Mar for helping the growth and development of his district on matters of infrastructure, social services, and poverty alleviation.
Andanar also cited the late lawmaker for his legislative work on media concerns.
Del Mar was the principal author of Republic Act No. 11122 of 2018 which declares September 21 of each year as a working holiday in the cities and province of Cebu in celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Day.
“Being the son of a journalist and a manager of a local newspaper, his dedication to promote and improve a free yet responsible journalism and media landscape is truly worth noting, which led to people hailing him as ‘Kampeon sa Medya,’” he said.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, in a separate statement, expressed his deepest condolences and sympathies to the family of the former Deputy Speaker.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his constituencies in the first district of Cebu City, whom he had served well despite his health condition,” Velasco said.
Velasco noted that del Mar has proven his passion and commitment to public service by attending virtual plenary sessions and public hearings of the House while in hospital to fulfill his duties and mandate as a lawmaker.
“Never a day in his job was he absent. His contributions to Congress and the nation cannot be overstated,” he said.
What Does It Mean To Take Up My Cross?
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
It is no sin to be a Christian, for sure. But I have to confess, at times it is mighty inconvenient. It interferes with what you want to do. Your conscience condemns you and refuses to let you do what you would probably have done, had you not met Him who said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
When Jesus called people, He interrupted their goals, their plans, their life works and their consciences as well. The more they know Him, the more they came to understand that following Jesus was not a part-time vocation but an absolute, all-encompassing commitment. And that is why on more than one occasion, some turned away and ceased to follow him.
Why couldn't Christ have rallied the troops around something more attractive than a Roman gallows where losers ended up and all hope was destroyed? Could His teachings not have been more esoteric? More talk about love and life and less about death and dying? God apparently thought not, because He gave His son, and from the cloths which became baby blankets to Golgotha where Jesus was crucified, the cross loomed on the horizon.
"And," said Jesus, "if you are to follow me, you, too must take up your cross." There is one difference, however, between what Jesus did and what He expects us to do. It's all found in the one word which Luke included. It is the word daily, which shifts the location from a hill outside of Jerusalem to the front room of my house where I live. It becomes planted in the office where less-than-nice people annoy me, where I am forced to decide if something is unethical or immoral, or just "good business."
Instead of one heroic "go for it" commitment, it becomes an ongoing series of decisions and judgments which changes my lifestyle. John Henry Newman had this in mind when he wrote, "To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us." (Newman as quoted by Elisabeth Elliot.
In a very real and practical sense, taking your cross means you are no longer in control or at liberty to decide some issues. Your morality is at stake, the way you do business is an issue, your language, your politics, your leisure, your money, your time all become cross-related issues. Yes, taking your cross and following Jesus can be quite confining.
A man whom I have admired, A. W. Tozer, in his book Of God and Men, wrote, "The man with a cross no longer controls his destiny; he lost control when he picked up his cross. That cross immediately became to him an all-absorbing interest, an overwhelming interference."
There is one more thought which I must leave with you. Biographies have always been of interest to me. I think it's come from the desire to try to learn what qualities are found in the lives of godly people which I can incorporate in my life, thus making me more effective for God.
But here's my point. Never--whether it is in the memoirs of the great heroes of the faith or of little-known figures of history who were devout and committed--have I found anyone who came to the end and said, "I regret that I crossed the great continental divide of faith, or drew a line in the sand and stepped across it as I took up my cross and followed Jesus."
But I have met thousands of men and women all over the world, including saints in China and Russia who paid dearly for taking up that cross, who have said, "I'd do it again, and walk every step of the way all over again." That has to say something.
Resource reading: Mark 15:1-47
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-does-it-mean-to-take-up-my-cross/
Internet connectivity issue interrupts crucial Senate budget debates
(UPDATE) - The Senate on Tuesday abruptly suspended budget debates in plenary due to internet connectivity issues as most of its members are participating through online video conferencing.
The livestream of the Senate budget debates was cut around 2:30 p.m., shortly after internet provider Converge announced a nationwide outage.
"There was a sudden power surge in some areas. Nadamay ang internet (The internet connection was affected)," Senate President Vicente Sotto III told ABS-CBN News in a text message.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology "immediately troubleshot our connections," he said.
In a Facebook post, Converge apologized to its subscribers, admitting that it was "experiencing issues" in its data center. It was unclear whether they were related to recent storms which damaged power and communication infrastructure.
"Our technical team is already working to resolve the issue at the soonest possible time," Converge's post read.
Prior to Converge's November 17 nationwide outage, senators have already been complaining about connectivity issues in the chamber after several hearings had to be suspended.
'Comedy of errors': Hearing on PH web status suspended over poor internet connection
In March, the Senate began allowing its members to participate in hearings and plenary sessions remotely to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Senate's session resumed at 2:52 p.m.
'Converge' trends on Twitter
Amid the outage, the word ‘Converge’ trended on Twitter Tuesday as some of its customers across the country experienced internet connection problems.
‘Converge’ reached the second spot among Philippine trends following the announcement of the service outage due to a ‘power issue.’
Third year management accounting student Karl Dailisan told ABS-CBN News that this scenario is not new for him as he usually experiences internet connection problems with the internet service provider.
“So far, it's okay. It's fast, I'll give them that. However, there are times when the connection will be lost without notice. The real struggle is, it's very hard to contact their customer support,” the Converge user of more than a year told ABS-CBN News.
“And when you finally get a hold of their customer support, it has a long queue because of the numerous complaints,” added the University of Santo Tomas student doing distance learning in Cainta, Rizal.
Working from home, social media specialist Angelo De Vera, 21, said many Filipinos rely on their internet service providers heavily amid the pandemic.
“[Napapadalas] talaga 'yung pagsira niya and now na mas maraming taong nagwo-work from home at nago-online class talagang mas marami ang nakaka-experience nung effects ng walang net sa bahay, hence we tweet and post online,” he said.
(Frequently, there are internet connection problems and more are now working from home or doing online classes and a lot of people are experiencing the effects of not having internet connection at home, hence we tweet and post online.) — with a report from Josiah Antonio, ABS-CBN News
Monday, November 16, 2020
Here Is How To Have Enough
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
Probably no other generation in history has been more committed to living for the moment than is our present one; or put in somewhat less refined terms, no generation has been more committed to squeezing every ounce of pleasure and fulfillment out of living than the present one. Now all of this is not bad, but the constant emphasis on self produces a distorted picture of the individual's true worth. The end result is a selfishness that produces a marked disregard for others, and totally distorts a person's actual importance. Nothing is much smaller than an individual's world who shuts others from the heart as well as the hand and purse.
We're somewhat like the little child of about two years of age who sat down to play with the set of blocks his dad, a successful builder, had given to his little boy. Immediately, the little child started stacking them up, building a house of his own. The dad, sitting down to play with the lad, said, "Give me a few, son, and I'll build a house, too!" "No," responded the little boy, "these are mine!"
To whom, really, do the building blocks--real estate, stocks or bonds, annuities or even your bank account-- belong? To you? Or to your Heavenly Father who put them in your hands?
Few believers today really take seriously the teaching of God's Word, the Bible, when it comes to our possessions and who really owns them. Thinking that money or possessions belong to us alone, we often feel that we have done a wonderful thing to help someone in need, or even to send some God's way.
The Bible teaches that what I have is not mine to spend selfishly as I please, but it is a stewardship given to me by my Heavenly Father to be used first to provide for the material needs of my life and my family, but then to be used in helping those who are in need. A new idea? No, an old one, but one which isn't widely marketed today. For example: Paul wrote Titus and said, "Our people [meaning the household of faith] must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives" (Titus 3:14).
When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he instructed those who had been careless about taking what did not really belong to them, to stop the practice immediately and go to work—in his words, "...doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need" (Ephesians 4:28). He didn't suggest that the motive was having a larger home, or a better vehicle for transportation. He centered on the generosity which would meet the need of a hurting neighbor or friend.
Paul never avoided the subject of money, fearful that he would offend those who read or heard his letters. By bringing them into confrontation with the will of God for their treasury, he felt that he was doing them a great favor. In his second letter to the Corinthians (often referred to as "the heart of Paul"), he said that God would cause their resources to enlarge "...so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Frankly, we've gotten it all wrong. Focusing on "getting," we've never learned the joy of "giving." And until we discover the satisfaction of an open hand, we'll never, ever, have enough to satisfy.
Do you see yourself in the story of the little child, hoarding his building blocks, fearful of putting them back into the hands of the loving father who gave them to him? If so, take stock and realize that what you think is yours is only a loan. Think about it.
Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-12
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/here-is-how-to-have-enough/
Sunday, November 15, 2020
'Worse than we prepared for': Cagayan LGU nabulaga sa malawakang baha
Nabulaga ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Cagayan sa lebel ng tubig na pumasok sa probinsiya sa pagbahang inilarawan nilang pinakamalala sa loob ng 4 na dekada.
Sinabi ni Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba na pinaghandaan naman daw nila ang pagbaha at nagbigay sila ng sapat na abiso.
Pero nabigla umano sila sa dami ng tubig na bumaba kahit pa man walang storm signal na nakataas sa lugar nang dumaan ang bagyong Ulysses.
"Nakapaghanda po kami (We were able to prepare), no question about that. We anticipated this, we had preemptive evacuation, we had forced evacuation. We anticipated this but we did not anticipate how enormous ‘yung tubig na darating (the water that was coming)," ani Mamba.
Napuno ng panawagan ng tulong ang social media para sa mga nasalanta ng baha sa Cagayan, kung saan 9 na ang naitalang patay Sabado.
9 dead in unprecedented 'late' floods in Cagayan; rain washed down from nearby provinces- Gov
Maraming residente ang napunta sa kanilang mga bubungan, nag-aabang ng tulong o ayuda sa mga awtoridad.
Bukod sa northeast monsoon at sa pagdaan ng bagyong Ulysses, ang itinuturong dahilan ni Mamba ng pagbaha ay ang pagbubukas ng Magat Dam, na aniya'y nagpapalubog ng probinsiya sa baha.
Kaya panawagan niya, limitahan ang paglalabas ng tubig sa naturang dam.
"We also sought the help of the Magat Dam na kung pupwede, if it’s possible, na ilimit nila yung pagrelease nila ng tubig galing sa Magat Dam dahil ito po ay nakakadagdag at siya naman po yung dahilan kung bakit matagal humupa ang aming flooding dito," ani Mamba.
Nobyembre 9 nang mag-umpisang magpakawala ng tubig ang Magat dam bilang paghahanda noon sa bagyong Ulysses.
Pero noong Huwebes, Nobyembre 12, 7 gate ang binuksan sa dam. Ayon kay PAGASA Hydrologist Richard Orendain, katumbas ito ng 127,200 Olympic size swimming pool kada araw.
Pero giit ni Orendain, delikado kung 'di magpapakawala ng tubig.
"Unang una dyan is kailangan nating ma-preserve yung integrity ng ating mga dams dahil ang ating mga dams ay may kanya-kanyang mga design... So yung integrity ng dam ang kailangan natin. Mas delikado kung pupunuin natin yung dam at ‘pag nagkaroon ng dam break yung pagbaha na yan mas malala du'n sa pagbahang nararanasan natin ngayon," ani Orendain.
Pero nilinaw ni Engineer Edwin Viernes ng National Irrigation Authority, nagbibigay sila ng abiso higit 6 oras para makapaghanda ang mga residente.
Mas kumaunti na ang bilang ng mga gate na nakabukas. Pero wala pa ring katiyakan kung kailan matitigil ang pagpapakawala.
Nananatili pa ring nasa critical level ng 12.70 metro ang lebel ng tubig sa Buntun Bridge sa Tugueguerao City. -- Ulat ni Danielle Rebollos
Calabarzon opens largest COVID-19 quarantine facility in the PH
A quarantine facility that houses 550 beds, the largest facility so far built in the country, was opened in Calamba city, Laguna on Saturday to to augment Calabarzon's COVID-19 response by increasing the patient-isolation capacity of the region.
The opening of the facility came as the government expected a spike in coronavirus cases after a series of typhoons hit the country.
“Dahil nagkaroon ng sunud-sunod na kalamidad, ang ating evacuation centers natin di maiiwasan magkaroon ng pagkakadikit-dikit. And we expect na magkakaroon tayo ng increases on our COVID-19 cases,” National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said.
(Due to the successive calamities, people will crowd the evacuation centers. We expect increases in our COVID-19 cases).
The P50 million repurposed quarantine facility was originally the regional government center of Calabarzon.
It has complete amenities for patients, as well as a healthcare workers’ quarters with CCTV cameras installed.
“With the construction of this mega quarantine facility, we now have an adequate COVID response for isolation in your region," NTF vice-chair Eduard Año said during the ceremonial turnover.
“Gayunpaman, 'wag po tayo magkumpiyansa. Pangalagaan pa rin po natin ang ating mga kalusugan at panatilihin na lagi tayong naka-mask.”
(This doesn't mean we'll let our guards down. Let's take care of our health and always wear our face masks.)