Bad News, Good News

May kasabihan na, "No news is good news." Sa Buhay Pinoy ngayong taong 2009, except sa larangan ng boxing, puro sad and bad ang nasasagap nating balita. Too many of our soldiers are dying in the jungles of Mindanao sa pakikipaglaban nila sa mga terrorista at rebelde dito sa ating bansa. At ang pinakamasakit, of course, ay ang pagpanaw ni Mrs. Aquino.

Sa larangan ng politica, bad to worst na - - puro iskandalo at controbersya. Wala nang ibabaho pa ang Philippine Congress. Ang boto ng Pilipino is for sale - sa local or national election at pati na sa Congress. May mga laws nga tayo, pero yung mga lawmakers natin ay lawbreakers din, at kulang na kulang tayo sa law enforcement. Traffic rules are habitually ignored.

Sa ating lipunan, parami nang parami ang mga bata sa kalye at sa mga dumpsites. Isang tingin lang halata agad na malnourished sila. Maraming teen pregnancies. Illegal use of drugs, prostitution, jueteng, robberies and kidnapping are rampant. Ang overcrowding ay hindi lamang sa MRT at LRT o sa mga public schools at hospitals, pati ang mga provincial, municipal at city jails ay apaw na rin. At patuloy ang exodus ng ating mga professionals at skilled laborers.

Sa economiya, hindi lang tayo lubog sa utang, lunod na pati ating mga apo. Ang mga mayayaman ay lalong yumayaman at ang mga mahihirap ay hikahos na. Pati malalawak na hati ng ating agricultural land ay pinarerentahan na lamang sa mga banyaga. Tuloy, sila ang tunay na makikinabang ng ating natural resources.

Mabuti na lang, mayroong good news:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus Christ

To all who receive Christ, to those who believe in His name, God gives the right to become children of God. The Apostle John

When one hears and receives the words of Christ, one begins to view life and this world in a different perspective. One begins to understand why bad things happen to good people and why there is so much suffering in this world although God is good.

The good news in a nutshell is this:

Chris has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Up, Up and Away

Ayon sa 8/20/09 issue ng Manila Bulletin, ang sabi ni Senator Escudero ay ipinakita ng statistics galing sa Bureau of Treasury na P612.7 billion of the total national government budget was allotted for debt servicing; P340.5 billion is allotted to cover the principal, while P272.2 billion is for interest payments.

Ang sabi pa niya, ang nadagdag daw sa total debt natin during this administration is "far bigger than the debts of the previous three administrations."

Balita pa raw ni Senator Escudero na kinumpirma ni National Treasurer Roberto Tan ang planong mangutang pa ng $2 billion - humigit kumulang yon sa P96 billion - sa mga foreign commercial banks next year dahil sa bigger-than-expected budget deficit.

Naibalita rin na inamin ni Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Finance na si Ching Vargas na from 2001 up to this year, the government has already spent almost P2.5 billion for Mrs. Arroyo's travels which is P1 billion overbudget na.

At meron pa . . . naibalita pa rin na bibili sana si GMA ng presidential jet na nagkakahalaga ng P1.2 billion.

Sa pagpapatuloy ni Senator Escudero, matutunghayan daw sa BSP website na ang total domestic and foreign borrowings from 2001 to 2005 totaled to P2.439 trillion, kaya ang national debt natin ngayon ay P4.8 trillion.

Bakit ganoon? Isang bundok na salapi ang inutang ng gobyerno subalit napakarami pa rin ang ginugutom at nagkakandahirap-hirap sa ating bayan. Kaya ba ang mga mayayaman ay lalong yumayaman?

No wonder sobrang dami ang gustong umalis sa Pilipinas para maging construction workers sa Middle East, dh sa Hong Kong, waiters sa mga cruise ships, caregivers sa US o UK, and so on and on. Kapalaran ba ng mga Pilipino na manilbihan sa ibang lahi? Ang sabi ng iba, mas mabuti na siguro yun kaysa naman kapwa Pilipino at kapwa Christiano mo pa ang mang-abuso at mang-api sa iyo.

What do you think? Applicable ba sa Buhay Pinoy ngayon ang sinabi ni Cristo na we cannot serve two masters? Na we cannot serve both God and Money? At ang sinabi ni St. Paul that the love of money is the root of all evil?

"True Love Waits" is Growing in the Philippines

The website wagmuna.com caught my attention the other day because of its catchy name. Composed of young adults committed in remaining pure before marriage, the site is dedicated to promote the value of waiting through the "True Love Waits" (TLW) program taught in many churches in the Philippines. My friend Kuya Kevin also made it a mission to bring the message of sexual integrity to young Filipinos through his blog, podcast and preaching.

As someone who dealt with sexual brokenness, I could have needed or used the message they bring when I was going through my own problems. But God had a different way of addressing this issue in my life. I couldn't be more proud of my kababayans and co-believers in Christ for their commitment and team work to bring the Biblical message of love and sex to many Pinoys. As I said on a blog post last March, I hope and pray more churches and Christian groups will not wait but rather act now to develop more programs like TLW in the Philippines.

Keep up the good work guys!

The Living Rice Welcomes a New Filipino Christian Blogger

I'm pleased to welcome Conrad Jun Tolosa as regular blogger for The Living Rice. Conrad is an avid writer and teacher and has a true heart for the Filipinos. He is founder of Lambat Ministries whose main mission is to bring values education to all Filipinos. Conrad and his wife are based in Cavite, Philippines.

Learn more about Lambat Ministries here.

Elvis, Michael and Jesus

The kingmakers of the world of entertainment had brought us two larger than life icons: Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. Surely, they will be remembered for a very long time.

The problem is that the world never delivers. At the end of the day, it always fails to make sense of a life it had birthed and orchestrated. Elvis and Michael shared the same "fame and fortune" fate. Lisa Marie who knew them both testifies to that. Some of us who became fans of either or both, are left with this hollow feeling inside of us that demands a reason for our being.

It is recorded in John 6:14-15 that after the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.

There is indeed a void inside the human soul that only God can fill. Jesus rejected the promise of power, fame and fortune when He was tempted in the wilderness. We would do well to follow in the footsteps of one who is truly King.

Pinoy See, Pinoy Do... Monkey See, Monkey Do?

The whole “monkey see, monkey do” issue fueled by Freddie Aquilar’s publicly expressed opinion that Filipinos are the world’s best imitators or mimics smacks right into the Filipino psyche.

The heart of this controversy points not to Charice or Arnel Pineda singing Celine Dion’s or Journey’s songs. It is about the Filipino mindset that foreign is better than indigenous.

Here’s my take on this whole “brown monkey thing.”

If you watched the afternoon musical show following the Donaire-Concepcion boxing match, you would have witnessed Pinoy see, Pinoy do performances at their worst. The entire show was an imitation of an American theme park musical extravaganza. Am I saying that monkey-ing is a sin? Of course not. But is the constant showcasing of modern American or western secular values through musical mimicry harmful to the mind of the Filipino youth? I say, it robs them of the opportunity to be exposed to the richness of Filipino music and its cultural value - since such Broadwayish numbers dominate Filipino television variety shows.

Exposing a people repetitively to a culture foreign to them as being the standard of what is good and right is a form of values brainwashing. Filipinos, since becoming known as the inhabitants of a group of islands later to be named Philippine Islands, had been conditioned to believe by their colonial masters as inferior to them, being Indios or Little Brown Brothers. Such musical shows that mimic American productions reinforce our people’s colonial mentality.

The message I get from Ka Freddie’s remarks made sour by media reporting is this: Let us stop monkey-ing around and become lovers of the Philippines. Loving the Philippines means loving her heritage, her culture (which includes her music and her languages), and her people just as they truly are and not some copy of another race.

(Written by Conrad Tolosa for The Living Rice)

Who Cares About the 2009 National Artist of the Philippines?

Does this present generation of Filipinos, or even those who are the next in line, really care about who gets proclaimed as National Artists? I doubt it.

If I have to choose one from amongst our national artists, my choice would be Levi Celerio, our greatest composer/lyricist with over 4,000 love, folk and Christmas songs to his credit. I doubt, though, if our people even know who he is and how gifted he was. But for the young-at-heart Pinoy art lovers in our land, many of his songs, like Sapagkat Kami Ay Tao Lamang, Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit, Waray-Waray, Basta’t Mahal Kita and Pitong Gatang, still ring in our ears.

I would not have learned to like Journey’s songs if not for Arnel Pineda. My admiration for the Filipino talent may not have been reawakened if not for Charice. Like Freddie Aguilar, I consider Arnel and Charice as artists in their own rights. And I would be lying if I say that I do not goose bump feel a sense of national pride as I watch different international audiences give them a standing ovation.

The reason why I think that eventually, it will be the artist Levi Celerio who will be most remembered by future generations of Filipinos, is because of this suspicious beating or perhaps longing in my heart that Filipino patriotism is making a comeback.

If I were Mariah Carey, I, too, will be threatened by “brown monkey” Regine Velasquez. But should we care what other people think of us Filipinos? Perhaps. But what matters is what we think of ourselves. Are we now comfortable within our own skin, or are we still trying to prove ourselves to the world?

The bottom line is this: There will be another Levi Celerio if the goal of our artistic pursuit once again becomes individual excellence and not personal glory or riches.

(Posted by Conrad Tolosa)

10 Most Attended Funerals in the Philippines

According to Spot.ph the following are the 10 most attended funerals in the Philippines.

(1) Corazon “Cory” Aquino; (2) Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.; (3) Ramon Magsaysay; (4) Fernando Poe Jr.; (5) Julie Vega; (6) Rico Yan; (7) Francis Magalona; (8) Cardinal Sin; (9) Nida Blanca; (10) Rudy Fernandez

Interesting to note that 6 are from showbiz, 4 from politics and half were unexpected deaths.

Its a good reminder that life is short and fragile. But in our lives death does not have the final word. Christ triumphed over death on the cross; He will give eternal life to all who have faith in Him and in the end, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Is Original Pilipino Music (OPM) a Lost Art?

The controversy over the 2009 National Artists awardees which blames President Arroyo’s corruption and dirty politics for spoiling the selection process made me think of popular Filipino music and arts.

No doubt, the Philippines is blessed with talented artists. Music alone produces fine Filipino singers and choral groups that are recognized as one of the best around the world. But is original Filipino music becoming a lost art?

I love Filipino music and I miss listening to it. My friend Kristan and I always gets a good laugh every time we talk about the pinoy songs we used to listen on the radio during the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately, I can't find anything in this current or even in my generation of singers new songs worth listening to because all they play are covers and revivals. Pakiramdam ko hihinto lang ang pagrerevival at pagiging popular ng foreign songs kapag hindi na baluktot mag-Tagalog is Martin Nievera (my shameless attempt to be funny).

Same thing with TV, I don't watch soap operas but I read about them online and noticed remakes of old movies and foreign series fills up the afternoon and primetime TV schedule.

The idea on the article I read recently and blogged on The Point can be related to the decline of OPM and TV. It says the decline of the quality of contemporary music, literature and other forms of art is a reflection of the change in the very thought process and concentration levels of a culture.

Pinoy's inclination that Western culture is better, superior and beautiful is the culprit why local adaptations and remakes are always popular. Mahirap na yatang tangalin and mindset na ito. The current generation's use of media and technology is also blamed for shaping the way people think: superficial, less to ponder and emotion-driven. Bumababaw daw ang tao ngayon dahil sa internet at text. Whatever feels good and simple impressions is preferred over logical and well-reasoned thought, affecting the songs and shows Filipinos want to see and make.

It's hard to blame Freddie Aguilar's harsh criticism of Filipino artists and music. May basis naman kasi sya, mali lang ang kanyang delivery. To prove Ka Freddie's assertion will never be right, Filipinos need to change the way we think. To start, develop the right values and worldview. A worldview similar to the Creator that strives for excellence and craves to create beauty from the unattractive and the empty. Then develop critical thinking skills and art appreciation by reading more and exposing one-self to original works of arts and literature.

As for entertainment industry executives who decides what songs or shows to produce, I hope you give Filipinos more what we need and not always what we want to see or hear.

Corazon Aquino, Destined to be Loved and Remembered by Her People

By Conrad Tolosa

Corazon Aquino was destined to be loved and remembered by her people. She was an instrument of intervention made by a compassionate and merciful God. I also believe that Cory will be the first to say that it is really her husband, Ninoy, who deserves to be remembered by a people so loved and believed to be worth dying for by a great man who could have accomplished much and made a meaningful difference in the lives of millions.

When sold to the Midianites, Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil; but we learn later on that God meant it for good. When Ninoy was assassinated upon his return from exile, the masterminds of this atrocious and scornful crime meant it for evil, but God - who continues to work in mysterious ways – meant it for good. The success of the consequential People Power revolution remains to be the Filipino People’s one moment in time. Those needing encouragement in keeping the faith in common people’s struggle against tyranny and for self-determination and democracy, that it can succeed, can look back to this glorious event of a peaceful and courageous quick response to the call of national duty. A blood bath was avoided because there were enough who were willing to die for the good of their country.

When the need arises again (which I think is just a matter of time) when someone is asked to be the sacrificial lamb for the sake of our people’s well-being, I believe that many will follow in the footsteps of Corazon Aquino.

Ninoy and Cory Aquino will grace our history books for always.