BLOG2u Philippines

The Bishop of Balanga, Socrates B. Villegas, wrote this to right our moral compass.

“To steal is wrong. It is a crime. It is a sin. When
stealing is done by those high up in power and authority, it
carries a greater culpability. The corruption of the best is
the worst. The social problem of graft and corruption in
public life in our country has reached abominable and
embarrassing proportions. How shall we describe graft and
corruption in our country? It is systemic. It is rewarding.
It hurts the poor the most.

Graft and corruption is systemic and structural. It is not
only individual or isolated persons who corrupt and get
corrupted. The present system—the elected and the
electors, the employers and the employees, the appointed and
the appointing powers—has become so corrupt that what we
do need is a radical, systemic, interior change. Changing
personages through the electoral process or even through
legal processes like impeachment and court suits will not
necessarily result in reform unless there is a willingness
to change from the heart and soul. Pinning our hopes on
legal processes unaccompanied by conversion from within will
lead us to nowhere but deeper frustrations. We can hear the
protest “Tama na. Sobra na. Alis na. Kami naman!”.
It is important that those who investigate or prosecute
corrupt officials will not gain political or financial
benefits from convicting or absolving the accused.

Graft and corruption is rewarding and rewarded. It is
hardly punished. The politicization of the judiciary and the
perennial rumors about rogues in robes are problems we need
to address urgently. Vigilance is lacking. Political will is
weak. Prosecution plays favorites. The penal system is
flawed. Pardon and clemency is cheap. Among our people,
there is an increasing level of tolerance for corrupt
officials. Corruption does not seem to anger many of us
anymore. We are not outraged enough by graft and corruption.
Widespread graft has sadly numbed our morals.

The public money that goes to graft is money stolen from
the poor. Because of graft and corruption, schools
buildings cannot be constructed and teachers are not paid;
public hospitals cannot protect us from untimely death;
soldiers are deprived of their just wages.

Our biggest problem in our country is graft and corruption.
This problem must be faced courageously now. We are risking
the life of our nation if we continue to ignore it. I appeal
to the consciences of our countrymen. Do not leave the
solution of graft and corruption to corrupt officials. Our
problem cannot be our solution. Let us come together as
Catholic faithful to fight the sin of graft and corruption.
We cannot profess faith in God and not get angry at
widespread graft and corruption. Faith in God and outrage at
sin go together. Outrage is not enough; it must lead to
action. If we are not outraged by the sin of stealing
happening all over our once beautiful land, could it be that
our faith has turned cold and uncaring? If your faith has
turned cold and uncaring, how can you be saved? Fight
corruption or lose your soul!”

When we got this request from Jena to review her blog about the northern people of the Philippines called the Kalinga, we were wondering how much someone can actually write about the place & the people.  As we suspected, really, not that much.  We found her posts about her family very poignant, but too brief.  Hopefully she can explore more of these elements in future posts.

Other posts of interest on the blog are some Kalinga Dishes that sound really simple but could possibly be tasty if prepared correctly.There are also photos of the rice terraces and the native Taddok dance as well as posts of articles by other people, which provides a rich repository of data for people wanting to do research.

Maybe we are expecting too much- to learn about the “clamor of kalinga” as it were, but we maintain that the blog had too many posts about other matters such as winning contests and making money online instead of about its intended niche subject and these should be removed to maintain the integrity of the blog.  Anyway, those contests are all over!

The financial crisis is far from over.  After this US$700 Billion bail out comes another potential disaster with Americans spending far more than they can afford by using credit cards.  Industry analysts are pegging the bailout, if there needs to be one, at US$950 Billion!

The only good news, it seems, is that oil has finally come down to reasonable levels again- hitting US$78 per barrel, slicing down to almost 50% of its high just a month ago.  Some people think this spells bad news, that the economy is taking a turn for the worse and so investments are being pulled out.

My personal opinion is that oil shouldn’t have gone up so high in the first place.  There was no demand for it to surge to the prices it did- it was all speculation in the markets.

When will we see the end of this?  Should be soon as this latest round of bad debt potentially blowing up in America’s face seems far-fetched.  There’s a very big difference between not being able to afford to pay your mortgage and not being able to pay your credit card bill.

At the same time, its a wake up call for America that is on the magnitude of 9/11.  America’s decline is almost cemented in the stars already.  Just like the UK’s superiority waning at the turn of the 20th century, so is America’s shining beacon of light is coming to an end this 21st century.