Viewpoints

Psychological Incapacity 2/3

2012-02-01T07:00:00.001+08:00

“A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations, shall likewise be void even if such an incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.” Thus provides no less than the Family Code of the Philippines concretely with reference to ab initio null and void marriages on account of an

Psychological Incapacity 1/3

2012-01-30T10:48:00.001+08:00

"It’s more fun in the Philippines!" Everybody is getting married. From the mere commoners to the members of quasi local royalty, from simple and plain citizens to high and distinguished public officials, from those counted among the general public to big personalities in government – they are getting married all right. Well, not all really. There are those who for a deliberate preferential option

Impeachment Trial

2012-01-27T09:28:00.003+08:00

It does not require much brain work to know and conclude that the now on-going Impeachment Trial costs money - money that certainly does not come from any of those directly and indirectly invoked therein. Instead, they are nonchalantly and conveniently taken from the direct and/or indirect taxes of every baby, child, teenager and adult in the Philippines. Never mind if they have barely enough

Division. Collision. Deprivation.

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001+08:00

Thanks to the Chief Executive for the obsessive protection of long and firmly held dynastic wealth. Thanks to the allies in the Legislative Department for their unconditional allegiance to and patronage of Malacañang. Thanks to the markedly distorted understanding and errant practice of politics in the Philippines. These national liabilities cannot but have their equally national negative impact

In the Name of God, go!

2012-01-23T05:00:00.001+08:00

It was recently reported that on the first day of the now on-going impeachment process, someone said with gusto and unction: “In the Name of God, go!” It is not often that such an injunction is heard – especially in the secular sphere. God was invoked and His name was used. Even for this reason alone, it is but proper to consider the different significance and nuances of this admittedly sacred

Self-destruct

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000+08:00

Usually applied to weapons that are prepared in a way that it self-detonates in a given time and opted place – this is the usual understanding and implication of the phrase “self-destruct.” Prepare the power keg as desired and designed. Leave it alone, and it automatically brings about its own self-explosion or detonation, its own wreckage and demolition. The phenomenon of self-ruin finds their

True or False

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000+08:00

There is a good amount of interesting news about the Philippines, more specifically in conjunction with the present administration and the economic plight of the Filipinos as a whole. Malacañang and understandably its rah-rah boys are consistent and insistent in claiming that there is a fast and marked on-going economic development and consonant social progress in the country. There are surely

The Bigger Picture

2012-01-16T12:04:00.002+08:00

As usual, the Malacañang head occupant together with much favored allies have other things in mind than the feeble, if not in fact, deteriorating national economy, the devastation brought about by nature due to human greed, the matter-of-fact criminality in the streets and the consequent anxiety of the general public. As of these days, not only long time but also much public funds are being spent

Fun or Pun

2012-01-16T10:15:00.000+08:00

"It's more fun in the Philippines!" It was supposed to become a big bang. It was meant to be a slam. But sad to say, it immediately caused bad jokes, laughter and ridicule even. The word "fun" was instantly converted into pun. What was envisioned to stand for joy and delight underwent fast conversion into gloom and tedium. This is not to mention the fact that the supposedly new local tourism

Correction, please.

2012-01-13T09:08:00.002+08:00

It was reported:a. THAT I said something to the effect that infertility is an impediment for Church marriage.ANSWER: Impotence is an impediment for valid Church marriage but not infertility. That is elementary knowledge.b. THAT I accept if not even endorse the so-called "Gay Marriages" contrary to the long standing teaching of the Church.ANSWER: Needless to say, there are gay people who do

Mortal. Fatal. Lethal.

2012-01-13T08:00:00.001+08:00

It has always been deadly. It caused big social disturbances. It claimed many human lives as a matter of fact. And it is still a mortal sin, a fatal move, a lethal act to touch it by righting what is wrong and unfair therein by judging what is crooked and unjust about it. It is something that has definite and defining consummate “Touch me not” feature. What is this? The infamous Hacienda Luisita.

FOI: "Folly of Information"

2012-01-11T05:00:00.003+08:00

Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge is dangerous. The less people know, the better for their own comfort and peace of mind. The more secrets are kept by their government, the more tranquil the citizens are. Such erratic principles and convictions can be considered as the composite premise of the new “Folly of Information” legislative agendum. In other words, make the government all-knowing. Keep the

LIE

2012-01-09T05:00:00.002+08:00

Since man learned how to talk, since he started to speak, and since he ventured in communicating with others, he slowly but surely came to know the following realities through personal experience: The difference between an utter truth and a downright lie. The force of a lie, the more it approaches the truth. The futility of a lie, the farther it is from the truth. These rather simple thoughts and

Incarnation of Integrity

2012-01-06T05:00:00.003+08:00

Someone who vows to get rid of graft and corrupt practices especially in the government sector, who claims that there is no room during his governance for liars and cheats especially in public offices all over the land, who is obsessed with putting in jail those who undermine truth and the justice it brings about – there justly and proudly stands someone who is nothing less than the blessed

Constitutional Powers

2012-01-04T05:00:00.001+08:00

“The Legislature power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines… The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines… The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court…” (1986 Constitution of the Philippines, Art. VI, Sec. 1; Art. VII, Sec. 1; Art. VIII, Sec. 1). So there are three constitutional powers in the Philippines. So there are the power to make laws,

Nature: Friend of Foe?

2012-01-02T05:00:00.001+08:00

Man has the mind to know, the will to resolve, the senses to feel. Yet, is it true that he never learns? Is this why he continues to fall, to hurt and to die even – despite all supposedly learning experiences he has in the course of time? Does he find it irrelevant if not futile to know better from his mistakes, to do better next time around? Why? There seem to be two fundamental reasons for this

Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T05:00:00.003+08:00

Why not? What's wrong? Is it silly? After all, the greeting is not identified with bullets that kill and/or with firecrackers that dismember children and adults. Neither is the greeting simply meant to say something without however really meaning it. Nor should it merely bring to mind the promises to be made and to be readily broken thereafter. Then, what is so great about a "New Year"? What

"KA"

2011-12-28T05:00:00.001+08:00

It is but two letters. It is not even a word that can stand alone by itself. But use it as the first syllable of a good number of terms and it comes to mean a lot of human possibilities. When appended to a given word, "Ka" in its positive intent, it means any of the following: Accompaniment. Companionship. Collaboration. It implies the fact belonging. It forwards the sense of camaraderie. It

Thank God for Good People

2011-12-26T05:00:00.000+08:00

The supra-natural yet historical birth of Christ, brings to fore certain signal truths, some of which are the following: He found it proper and acceptable to become a human. He also deemed it right and necessary to teach human beings the good to be done as well as the evil to be avoided. He ultimately considered it appropriate that He suffered, died and arose from death for the redemption of

Christmas - 3/3

2011-12-23T05:00:00.000+08:00

Practically every time Christmas comes, there is one question that is usually thought of and accordingly asked: What is the meaning of Christmas? Different people even those professing the Christian creed have different understanding of Christmas and wherefore forward their likewise different appreciations of the nature/significance and implications/consequences of Christmas. And by and large,

Christmas - 2/3

2011-12-21T05:00:00.000+08:00

Christmas does not only forward sublime truths but also bear practical realities. It is not only a propitious occasion for a big celebration but also a reason for serious reflection. This is not meant to take away the usual joys and delights brought about by Christmas – especially among the Filipinos. This is simply intended to call attention to the deeper significance of certain Christmas

Christmas – 1/3

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000+08:00

The times are bad and the future is dark. The Country is stagnant and millions of Filipinos are suffering from hunger and uncertainty. The local and national problems are not only multiplying but also worsening. The quest for justice and peace remains elusive and the imperative of socio-economic development is far from being seriously attended, much less realistically pursued. The Philippines

The Farmers, The Land, The Government

2011-12-16T05:00:00.001+08:00

Considering the agricultural constructs and natural attributions of the Philippines, attending to the inequity behind the vast land tenures of few wealthy and powerful dynasties in the Country, it is both imperative and practical for Filipinos in general, to squarely confront the matter of land reform. In the same way, considering the difficult and pitiful plight of millions of Filipino farmers

Power

2011-12-14T05:00:00.002+08:00

Force, might or strength, authority, command or rule, dominion, supremacy or sovereignty – this is power in so many words, in so many expressions, meanings and implications. It is not only the capacity and the competency to have something done, but also the vigor and effect of the thing done. In the hand of someone upright and prudent, power is an attribution in favor of those covered and served

Casino

2011-12-12T05:00:00.002+08:00

Time and again, it has been pointed out - with big disgust and genuine embarrassment - that the government under rule of the present Chief Executive, has shamefully become the biggest gambler in the Country. This is by reason of the glaring fact that exactly the same supreme public official has placed both PAGCOR and PCSO directly under his office as GOCCs -- with but strictly staff functions.

Justice

2011-12-09T05:00:00.001+08:00

In these interesting as well as disturbing times, it could be in order for the Filipinos in particular, to know or recall, to remember or observe the following objective realities about the nature and implications of justice:Justice is for everyone or for nobody at all. Perfect! Justice knows no party. Great! Justice is the only response to injustice. Right! Selective justice is injustice, in the

Once More with Feeling: "Matuwid na Daan"

2011-12-07T05:00:00.005+08:00

Recently, it was said that he reigning President again proclaimed that bringing to justice the practitioners of graft and corruption has been, still is and will remain his principal, priority and pet project. In effect, this is supposed to be the open and only reason of the now on-going hullabaloo about the GMA case. Thus it was reported that the same Chief-in-Command even made the official and

Hacienda Luisita

2011-12-05T05:00:00.003+08:00

There was the bloody Mendiola Massacre. There were the bitter strikes of the farmers staged in the Hacienda. There were the gross killings in Tarlac intimately connected with the same Hacienda – inclusive of the murder of a good and kind Aglipayan Bishop simply showing concern and extending assistance to the aggrieved farmers. One big piece of land owned by one big dynasty causative of one big

Too Little, Too Late

2011-12-02T05:00:00.001+08:00

There are now those famous islands whose ownership has long been disputed in many ways, for many reasons, among many countries – considering they are not simply in the “West Philippine Sea” but also in “South China Sea.” This is why the said islands have become concrete objects of conflicting claims by supposedly friendly nations – especially by the Philippines and China. Reason: It is said that

Conscience

2011-11-30T05:00:00.001+08:00

Conscience is the judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the ethical dimension or moral quality of a concrete act – already done, being done or about to be done. It is highly important for every person to heed and follow the voice or bidding of his conscience – not only for himself but also for all those affected by his acts. Reason: It is conscience that clearly and silently

Four-corner Fight

2011-11-28T05:00:00.001+08:00

Realistically said, the boxing ring has four corners that keep but two boxers within the reach of one another for only one over-all purpose, viz. for them to pound each other, to draw blood from one another and more desirable, to knock down one or the other as a demonstration of fighting acumen, pugilistic tactic and stamina. Figuratively noted however, there is now an on-going four-corner

Bipolar II Disorder

2011-11-25T05:00:00.001+08:00

In layman's language, it can be said that a "Bipolar Disorder" has reference to a transit from one extreme adverse behavioral pattern to another opposite extreme errant actuation, i.e., from one pole to another in terms of contradictory and excessive change in thoughts, feelings and actions ("bipolar"). In fact, psychiatry speaks of "Bipolar Disorders." The abnormality is expressed in the plural

"Do you believe in Santa Claus?"

2011-11-23T05:00:00.001+08:00

There is this innocent and lovable 7-year-old boy who lives in his little world of sights and sounds, who loves joyful occasions and enjoys simple gatherings prepared by his parents. But more than anything else, he looks forward to Christmas. Oh, Christmas! It is a magical day. Lights go on and off. Many songs are sung. Great food is on the table. For him, Christmas is a day of marvels and

Anti-population Administration

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000+08:00

Problem: There is pervasive poverty and consequent lack of food, shelter and clothing. There are more and more protests from more and more sectors of society. There are more and more criminality not only in the streets but also in private residences. Cause: Population -- according to the present administration. Solution: Do away with population, promote contraception, get rid of children -

Declaration of Principles

2011-11-18T05:00:00.000+08:00

"The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them." (Phil. Constitution, Art. II, Sec. 1)On the ground version: "The Philippines is an autocratic and dynastic State. Sovereignty resides in the rich and powerful, and all governing authority originates from them." This is appalling but true, nauseating but real,

Health

2011-11-16T05:00:00.001+08:00