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Welcome to the-archegonium.blogspot.com. This weblog is created to nest my Socio 10 journal entries. :) Readers are most encouraged to critique and comment.

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Friday, October 16, 2009, 11:31 PM

To God be the Glory

Has Roman Catholicism been positive/ detrimental to the Philippines?

First, I would like to share this poem I made as a supposed journal entry. I made this poem before discussions about government and religion were all held. Now, at the end of the class, I would like to ponder upon this poem again and explore it a little further. I wish to either prove or debunk the contents of this poem using what I have grasped from the previous Socio 10 meetings.

To God be the Glory
By MJ Ching

Of more than three hundred years
Under a disparaging dominance,
We, the ignoble indios partook
In such a devout countenance

Christianity is the greatest remnant
Of the sneering Spaniards, indeed
Razing the indios’ ancient tenets
To drill their noblest creed

Now, more than a century transgressed
With this vestige of faith sustained
Catholicism, though apart from state
Has its morality decrees maintained

Discerned as a Christian state,
We persist to abide to the doctrine
With this fair coercion to be moral,
We avoid the occasion to sin.

Perfidious wrongs are committed
At this age of intrepid existence
But religion implanted us the decency
To contrite with upright conscience

Our faith alleviates the dreariness
Of the nation’s destitution
Faith grants us the chance to hope
And yearn for future redemption.

Aside from the emotional assistance,
Moral and physical aid are contrived
As religious bodies are always of relief
To the afflicted, abused and deprived

The church takes part each time
The Filipinos are in downcast confusion
Whether in political or social crises,
Our Christian faith unifies the nation.

Through religion, we become one,
In mass grief and prayer rallies,
In times of despair, clergy prays for us,
As one with their devout allies.

Espousing this sectarian conviction
Even with self-righteous ones at hand,
Catholicism has indeed been amenable
And resplendent to our home land

Now, as one can infer, I implied that religion has in fact been positive to our country. I still somewhat agree to my poem (as I presented it as a journal entry with even more conviction), however, as the classes progress, and more debates and deliberations were conducted, my fairly strong adherence to the inference of my poem somewhat decreased.

Roman Catholicism, as well as any other religions, is legitimately separated from the state as per the constitution. However, because of its great influence and long existence, the Philippines, even with its secularist observance is considered and is referred to as a Roman Catholic/ Christian country. This is probably so because majority of Filipinos are Catholic and we recognize and ensure to sustain a strong involvement of the Roman Catholic clergy in particular of the state affairs. Having also said that Filipinos abide by the moral values taught by the Catholic Church is another testimony of the said reference. But has Roman Catholicism been really an encouraging influence on the Philippines? It has been constructive on the grounds of establishing morality and the aspect of “goodness”, perhaps. But has Roman Catholicism done a great impact or influence that can actually uphold the country’s pursuit towards development? What has Christianity actually done to alleviate sufferings of Filipinos? These are only few of the many inquisitions regarding the matter.

“Christianity is the greatest remnant
Of the sneering Spaniards, indeed
Razing the indios’ ancient tenets
To drill their noblest creed”

True in one aspect, as Christianity, I believe, is only the principled remains of the Spaniards. However, we cannot at all call Christianity as great remnants as we are (I am speaking here in behalf of the indios during the Spanish era) enforced and subjected to change our primordial beliefs. Our babaylans were at once replaced with dominating priests, and we were suddenly imposed on memorizing Latin prayers and abiding on strict “morality” (in order for us to be “saved and go to heaven”). The Spanish priests themselves were dead-on violators of what they’re preaching, and even from that time, the said religion has not been whatsoever beneficial to the country.

Stanzas 3-5 depict Catholicism’s impact to the Filipinos by inflicting on the “morality” that we shall all put up with. This, almost certainly, is one of the few helpful and affirmative effects of Christianity. Because the Bible has established the Ten Commandments, and because of the austere preaching of Jesus as transcribed in the book, Catholics, especially us Filipinos, were persuaded to abide by the teachings. We were talked into following these commandments for us to go to heaven and be good citizens. And the fact that we still abide by these religious decrees up to now means that we still believe to concept of goodness and salvation. We want to perpetuate the concept of morality because we are concerned about the decency and the sanctity of the future lay people.

Also, the concept of conscience was introduced by the decrees of Roman Catholicism. Conscience appears to be idea that sets the parameters of morality. I personally consider the notion of concept as something positive
because there is something that “bothers” and people whenever they did something wide of the mark.

“Our faith alleviates the dreariness
Of the nation’s destitution
Faith grants us the chance to hope
And yearn for future redemption.”

I began seeing this stanza as somewhat a negative thought. It is indeed true that in times of desperation, people immediately turns to religion. Because of the belief inculcated to us that “God will save us”, we right away turn to God and pray in times of hardships. We are stuck on believing and ardently hoping that God will do something, and that in we will be saved from this adversity in the near future. We, in turn, remain idle in our devout state. Instead of doing something to alleviate our hardship, we hold on to anticipating, hoping and praying as we become solely reliant to God.

“Aside from the emotional assistance,
Moral and physical aid are contrived
As religious bodies are always of relief
To the afflicted, abused and deprived”

We recognize the presence of religious bodies not only in their morals and homilies, but also in their utmost care and love for the marginalized, the ill-treated, and the children. Through numerous charities and religious programs, we distinguish the highest effort of the clergy and the parishioners to alleviate the poor situations. In one perspective, this is such a benevolent thing. I see a small hole on this aspect, though. In line with my previous thought, people will always see God/the clergy as something to turn to in times of destitution. Poor people will have fewer reasons to redeem themselves from poverty as they will rely on religious bodies to feed and nourish them.

“The church takes part each time
The Filipinos are in downcast confusion
Whether in political or social crises,
Our Christian faith unifies the nation.

Through religion, we become one,
In mass grief and prayer rallies,
In times of despair, clergy prays for us,
As one with their devout allies. “

The church indeed takes an active role in times of chaos, as seen People Power 1. Religion moderately unifies our nation through prayer rallies and mass grief, as witnessed through the death of Former President Cory Aquino. This unifying idea of religion is definitely a positive thing, and I see no detrimental side to it. However, I just hope that people do not rely on religion on this unifying aspect as much as they rely on Christianity in times of desperation (as mentioned in the previous paragraphs). The act of uniting the nation is primarily a duty of the government.

I dare not to delve on the involvement of Roman Catholicism in the aspects of media and politics. Being raised as a Roman Catholic and being molded by a Christian society, I still want to view Roman Catholicism as not entirely negative and disadvantageous. (Though, I am aware of the appalling flaws and detriments of religion) Stating the interest of the church to the state will greatly increase the holes mentioned in this journal entry. And so, I will end this post with wee bits of positive treats to somewhat redress the increasing detrimental view of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 9:03 AM

“If I were the President of the Philippines …”

…I will enforce a progressive reconstruction of the country. This absolute restitution would entail concentration on the renewal of the current political, cultural, industrial, educational, and public health undertakings of the Philippines . I shall be no authoritarian; nonetheless, I shall be strong on the execution of such renovation. I recognize a keen need for transformation in our country’s present situation, and I opt to act upon this need if I will be of authority.

The main objectives of the transformation are, (1) to establish an effective and impartial government system (2) to set up economic stability in the country, (3) to yield off an operational urbanized nation, and (4) to foster healthy and globally-competent Filipinos.

Form of government

If I were given the power, I will change the form of government in the Philippines completely. I have acknowledged that the country has in fact lost the essence of democracy in the government system today. The nation is seemingly becoming an oligarchic country, ruled by what has been currently acclaimed as Caciques, or local elites. Majority of the rulers of the country at present are amongst the privileged, hence, there is a deprivation of the right to be elected into office among the ordinary public. The nation appeared to have been bereaved of putting people in authority, which is, indeed, the quintessence of democracy. The run of the mill middle-class (up to the lower-class) people with good (even greater) credentials are deprived of the chance to administrate the country. I deem this faulty “democratic” supremacy as the grounds of the awfully ineffective political system in the country.

Taking the Philippines ’ existing situation into account, I, if put in authority, will transform the country from being a “democratic” state, into a federal nation. I will adopt federalism as the form of governance as I believe that it is the practical and effective way to distribute power among the public. It is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy, through which sovereignty in the country will be divided between a prime governing authority and constituent political units. The nation will be put in partition so as to be segregated into states, and a representative (governor) will be elected from each state. A sensible state division would be following the formally accepted administrative regions, and further dividing their partitions in half, thus, creating 34 contiguous states (approximately.

In the adopted federalist system, citizens are subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local. The federal government per se is composed of three “check and balance” branches, namely, Legislative (the bicameral Congress), Executive (the president), and Judicial (the Supreme Court). The local government’s duties are split between city and municipal government for each state. Through the enforcement of the three-level government, more people will have the occasion to run for office. Also, the new form of authority will become more dispersed and mass-oriented, thus, having immediate focus on the localities in line with the states.

Economic and Industrial

If put in position, I will not drastically transform the economic system, hence, I will work on the development and further improvement of the individual important sectors of the economy. I recognize a depletion of the economic standing of the country; however, I would not at all alter its mixed economic system as I deem this system fairly effective. What the country needs is just effective manipulation and stipulation of its resources in order to acquire development in the economy.

A very substantial economic sector of the Philippines is agriculture. The agricultural sector is one of the major income resource of the country, hence, an improvement on the running of this economic area shall be necessary. The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite the plan to make it an industrialized economy by 2000. Most citizens still live in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry (the latter 2 sectors are very small), which together employ 39.8 percent of the labor force and contribute 20 percent of GDP.

One of the problems experienced in this sector is the unbridled conversion of agricultural land to residential areas and leisure grounds. Small town farmers who own their land find it more profitable to sell their land to real-estate developers in exchange for money, especially since they lack capital for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and wages for hiring workers to plant and harvest the crops. In this regard, I shall prohibit the utilization of agricultural land by real-estate developers, and these land developers shall be incriminated if they violate this statute. I shall propose to residential builders to operate on other lands like on reclaimed areas, or construct high-rise residential communities. The agricultural land owner would be also charged if he decides to sell his farm land. I shall apportion greater subsidies and government lending firms to the farm owners, so that they may utilize and profit from their own land. This greater allocation of budget also resolves the concern that the agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the funding of indispensable programs, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems.

Major industries that comprise the other great income resources of the country are food processing, textile and garments, electronics and automotives, and mining. I shall allocate greater funding and a government lending office for the manufacturing companies so as to raise their capital and alleviate financial shortages. With greater capital, these companies can supply greater demands in and out of the country, as garments, electronics, and mined products (such as copper, petroleum products) are amongst the country’s main export goods. Also, by giving these companies larger subsidies as incentives, they will be encouraged to hire more employees for their manpower. Thus, this allocation of funds in the major industries will not only generate more income for the company, but for the nation (as individual citizens) as well since a lot of job opportunities were opened.

Infrastructures

As the country’s leader, I intend to transform the Philippines into a highly-civilized and industrialized nation. I also recognize the need to systematize and modernize the transportation systems in the country. I am attaching importance to the upgrading of communication systems, as well. Therefore, I shall allot enough funds for the construction of additional infrastructures and the repair and reordering of previous ones.

In the aspect of aerial transportation, I believe that improvement in the local domestic airports’ runways and facilities is necessary. The three national airports’ facilities shall be improved, albeit they are in fairly satisfactory conditions. If funding is enough, there shall be another national airport with a separate runway, so as to alleviate aircraft traffic in the sole runway of the three national airports. Concurrently, enhancement in water transportation systems is essential. Additional “Roll-on, Roll-off” ports shall be constructed and additional RoRo vessels shall be purchased to improve interisland transportations. I shall assign a new government sector that will ensure safety of commuters concentrating on those that will travel by air and by sea. This new branch of government shall conduct regular mechanic and security inspection of the airplanes and vessels to secure the wellbeing of the passengers.

I will allot great concentration on the improvement of land transportations. Highways connecting towns and states shall be upgraded to ensure the safety of travelers. Traffic problems especially in the metro will be resolved by the construction of additional freeway flyovers and underground connectors. The building of these new flyovers and underground connectors in their respective locations shall, of course, be initially analyzed to alleviate the greater traffic problem. Other ways of settling traffic problems are by appointing a stern ruler in the land transportation sector of the government, and by funding numerous road-widening projects so as to increase transportation areas.

Numerous Light Railway Transit lines shall be created, ensuring easier transportation from rural to urban areas, from one state to another. The new LRT routes shall be connecting major towns and cities throughout the nation. The addition of new LRT trains and routes shall be patterned from the MTR hauling in Hong Kong, or in Tokyo . In connection to this, I shall enhance effective communication throughout the nation by improving the country’s technological facilities. I shall entice cellular companies to further increase and distribute their cellular satellites through out the states. I will ensure efficient internet access in every state; as a result, very household shall have the right to access free internet. Proficient transportation through LRT’s/MRT’s and enhancement of communication systems will have seemed to compress time and space throughout the country, thus, being one step closer through globalization.

Education and Health

If I were to govern the nation, I would assign the highest budget allocation in education and in health. It is in one of my primary objectives that I aspire to foster healthy and globally-competent Filipinos. I believe that investing in education and in health is a very fundamental reposition so as to improve the quality of living of the people. Fostering well-nourished and well-educated citizens would be for the country’s own profit and development.

Poor quality education is one of the greatest problems our country is facing today. This predicament arises from formidable causes such as deficiency in functional classrooms, inferior quality of instructional materials, hard accessibility to schools (especially in rural areas), and remarkably high student-teacher ratio. Poor quality of education, or worse, complete denial of education, in turn, causes low overall literacy rate and incompetent and less-skilled citizens. The outward effects of inferior education to the country, such as an increase of the unemployment rate, are appalling and somewhat demoralizing. Consequently, I shall apportion a large amount of the country’s budget to education with the intention of resolving the nation’s problem in this aspect.

Bearing this problem in mind, I will oblige every child of every family to enroll and to study in an educational institution. As authority, I would inflict the strong prioritization of public schools, science high schools, and state universities. I would impose that there should be at least 40 operational public schools in each state, depending on the land area of the state. Educational facilities on existing schools (whether public or private) will be inspected and further improved to nurture classrooms that are conducive to learning. Students belonging to public schools/science high schools/state universities will be each be given stipend to motivate learning and to alleviate financial problems. Books and school materials used by public school students shall be supplied to them, as well as school lunches. Teachers in subsidized schools shall be provided with a much greater salary (than those working in private). Scholarships will be distributed evenly throughout the states, but will fairly prioritize Education majors to encourage people to teach.

The curriculum of every school (private or public) will be modified so as to nurture multi-skilled and globally-competent, yet culture-appreciative students. Technological and vocational subjects (e.g. robotics, automotives) shall be imposed on the secondary level curriculum in all schools. Also, each student shall be required to take cultural electives in order for them to appreciate and not lose the fervor of being a Filipino. They shall be encouraged to take cultural electives such as Philippine Music and Philippine Art so that they may discover their potentials as well.

Public health would be chiefly prioritized above all authority aspects. In order for a country to run in good working condition, its citizens should be in a mentally and physically healthy state as well. I decided to invest greatly in the health of the citizens because the wellbeing of the country’s human resources is the most vital component of the nation’s entirety.

The local municipalities today offer low-quality health services. Hospitals and health centers among rural towns and barangays are of substandard conditions. Consequently, people in these rustic areas cannot meet the expense of being confined in a private hospital in the nearby town. Also, citizens belonging to the marginalized cannot afford prescribed medicines and they cannot pay for being confined in a private hospital as well. Poor sanitation is another factor amongst the greatest health issues subsequently. People die of diseases caused by poor sanitation in their residence areas. In view of these alarming conditions, I will designate the largest funds in providing superior quality health care and sanitation to all.

I shall impose the provision of at least 50 enhanced quality health centers and 30 high-class public hospitals distributed per state. Private hospitals will now be partly subsidized, so that they can also cater for those in need. Every Filipino citizen is required to be a member of PhilHealth, in order that they can avail of the privileges of PhilHealth members. In turn, the benefits and rights of PhilHealth card bearers shall be increased and well-considered. Also, I shall fully negotiate with all pharmaceuticals to fully execute the Cheaper Medicines Law. Pharmaceuticals will also be partly subsidized depending on the demand of the medicines. Generics of all drug prescriptions shall now be made available in drug stores. I shall enact the Reproductive Health Bill to provide superior care for mothers and for effective population management as well. Basic reproductive health education and free contraceptives shall be made available in all health centers and public hospitals. The reproductive health education will also be made accessible through mass media –televising and printing campaigns or articles in support of a better reproductive health for families.

Lastly, I shall also invest on sanitation services as this is a major concern in affecting the health of the people. I shall ensure effective and potable water supply for each household. In acting upon this, I shall also negotiate and partly fund water-supplying companies for them to guarantee that clean water shall reach every family. Thus, reconstruction and addition of water supply pipes will be operated upon by the water companies. Refurbishment of sewerage systems will also be ensured in line with the massive water sanitation project.

Word count:

2, 327 words.

-Marielle Justine Ching

2009-10986

BA Speech Communication

, 8:58 AM

n Service to the Filipino Nation

A reaction to the debate about the implementation of public service among graduating UP students

Personally, I am not at all in approval nor in disagreement of the implementation of public service work to graduating UP students. Nonetheless, I have inferred a lot from the recent debate that made me think twice about my views about the topic.

At the outset, I can somewhat appreciate the point asserting that a year of public service is a way of giving back to the nation, knowing that UP students are subsidized by the Philippine government. The affirmative side also mentioned the percentage of the educational budget allotted to the UP, and this act made their motion rather more convincing. I immediately recognized that UP students are funded by taxes for four years at minimum, and consequently, in one way or another, we are necessitated to give something back. Conversely, I believe that UP students should not be at all confined to a year of involuntary public service. I mean, there are surely a lot more ways to exhibit gratitude for the nation other than the suggested constrained work.

Moreover, I had thought upon the resentment of some students to “give back”, bearing in mind that this aforementioned public work will be obliged (therefore, constraining), and an uprising to this obligation will be foreseeable (considering the liberal nature of UP students). Furthermore, I thought of the possibility that students may oppose the implementation by stating that we UP students somewhat deserve to be subsidized, as the nation will inevitably benefit from us in the future. UP students are perceived as people of the higher intellect, and are supported financially by the nation in the hopes of producing credible future leaders and highly-knowledgeable workers of the nation.

A significant point was raised in the class about the definition and stricture of Public Service. I deem that the sole nature of public service is being able to serve a multitude (as form of gratitude, to say the least). Hence, I contest the opposition’s belief that public service should be solely of service to the government. I believe that the government per se was not the one who funded the allotted subsidy, but instead, the taxpaying nation as a whole. Thus, if UP students shall be compelled to give back, I suppose that they may do so not only by working in the government, but also by working in jobs that will outwardly benefit the taxpaying nation. Therefore, I opt to be transparent on the issue concerning the jobs in public and the private sectors (on whether which jobs are considered “public service”). I fairly believe that one can serve the public even in independence, or in accordance to a private sector.

Lastly, I do not see the significance of enforcing a fine to the violators of the implementation of this obligatory work. The fine, as recommended by the affirmative side, shall be equal to the amount a UP student was subsidized throughout his stay in the campus. Well, I have some particular question concerning this proposed fine. Where will the budget go? How would it benefit or aid the public in replacement of public work? And how sure are we that this fund will not be corrupted by officials in charge of this public service program? (Here, I rather empathize with the opposition on their point on corruption).

Word count: 569 words

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