to the Philippines whom we have been treating with INDIFFERENCE

this is a message which circulated in the email and wound up its way to my inbox. this might be able to stoke that dying fire which was kindled some months ago by the ZTE scandal. more than this, knowing how REACTIONARY the Philippine society is, this "opinion" rendered by an alien might just be the jolt that we need.



" Love For The Philippines "



As you know, we have plenty of Koreans currently
studying in the Philippines to take advantage of
our cheaper tuition fees and learn English at the
same time.

This is an essay written by a Korean student i
want to share with you. (Never mind the grammar; it's the CONTENT that
counts) Maybe it is timely to think about this in the midst of all the
confusion at present.

MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES
Jaeyoun Kim

Filipinos always complain about the corruption in the Philippines .. Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines ? I do not think so. I strongly believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines ..

Let me first talk about my country, Korea ..
It might help you understand my point.

After the Korean War, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country was destroyed after the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.

Koreans used to talk about the Philippines , for Filipinos were very rich in Asia .. We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father & brother also died because of famine.

Korean government was very corrupt and is still very corrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the common good with their heart burning with patriotism.

Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.

40 years ago, President Park took over the government to reform Korea .. He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get a loan and attract a foreign investment because the economic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through horrible experience.

In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw the President Park .. They asked to him, "President, when can we be well off?" That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea , and the President of Germany got the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea .. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea .. He always asked Koreans to love
their country from their heart.

Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back to Korea to help developing country because they wanted their country to be well off. Though they received very small salary, they did their best for Korea .. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.

My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my neighborhood. Have you cried for the Philippines ? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many poor people. I have been to the New Bilibid prison. What made me sad in the prison were the prisoners who do not have any love for their country.They go to mass and work for Church. They pray everyday.

However, they do not love the Philippines .. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound,and both of them said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are released from the prison. They said that they would start a new life in other countries and never come back to the Philippines ..

Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the future and their children.

When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines , I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many unbelievable situations in the Philippines .. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia , but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed.

My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there are
so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would fun. However, they were not happy after taking a boat. They said that they would not take the boat again because they were sympathized the boatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had a small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But, my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.

My mother who has been working for Catholic Church since I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed. Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God. I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off.

I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love must start in everybody, in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away our prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.

I discover that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible. Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world. Please love your neighborhood and country.

Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for people who are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines .. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country. You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.

That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.



when did the APATHY start?

Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Gary Granada's letter to the CBCP

this letter was posted in the yahoo groups for UPB alumni and i just felt the need to post it here because of the message it conveys. i'm a catholic myself, and i'm not reposting this here as an affront to the catholic faith.

Dear CBCP,

My name is Gary Granada and I am neither a Catholic nor a Protestant. I do not belong to a huge organization, much less represent one. At best I am a volunteer of Kaalagad, a small interfaith community. I write this letter in the hope that you might reconsider your stance regarding GMA and her government - that too.

But primarily I write out of confusion. In previous pronouncements, you deplored a "most corrupt President" which you said the Church helped install, hence urged everybody to take communal action. And then two weeks later you asked the very same President to take the lead in combating corruption.

I understand that this was the result of a process of discernment on your part as bishops. God must have spoken to you and told you to ask a most corrupt leader to rid her most corrupt government of corruption. Perhaps God forgot to consider who would benefit from your statement. Lord, do you see who is cheering?

Discernment must be a supernatural mystery, I wonder if it involves executive privilege between God and the CBCP. "Discernment" reminds me of one of Christ's disciples. When he announced that one of them was about to betray him, the culprit himself asked, "Is it I, Lord?" Napakahirap nga i-discern ang klaro na.

As a fan of Jesus, I did a bit of discerning myself. Something tells me that the Gospel itself - the good news to the needy, the reign of hope, sufficiency, justness and goodwill – is being undermined by the very institution that owns its franchise. It has made it like tasteless salt, no longer good for anything except perhaps to be thrown out and trampled under foot by people.

Dear CBCP, two years ago you could have helped prevent a most corrupt president and her gang from continually getting away with lying, cheating, stealing and murder. But you chose to sit it out, hence instead helped save GMA and Garci. Despite the odds, the people went ahead anyway and marched. And "lost".

Now you do the same. And again the people will march to oust GMA and her conspirators. The triumph of public good might be uncertain. They may not prevail. Just the same, the people will march anyway – in a sense trampling on the tasteless salt of hierarchical religion. You may want to join them, not as bishops, not as CBCP, but as average believers whose untrained spiritual eyes nevertheless discern God's Will in the obvious. xx