DavidSays

Aquino’s anti-corruption, poverty reduction programs get an unlikely boost in Congress

2011-06-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

LOS ANGELES – President Benigno Simeon Aquino III finds a very unlikely ally in Congress. The guy is extremely intelligent and corruption is not in his vocabulary. He is Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello.

Bello, a brilliant academician and human rights activist who is noted for his anti-establishment attitude, decided to ally with the administration because the vision of his party complements with what Aquino wants to accomplish on corruption and poverty reduction.

“It is for these reasons that we ( at Akbayan) decided ‘this is the president that we can support’,” said Bello. “The people’s support for this administration is quite high.” He said he still hopes the president can fulfill its “walang mahirap kapag walang corrupt’ campaign mantra.

Bello, who chairs the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs in Congress, was in town to have a close encounter with the eleven Filipino workers who reportedly were victims of illegal labor trafficking. He told the Fil-Am media that he has nothing to report on his investigation at this time because he has encountered only one of them, so far.

But he had a lot to say about the government and its anti-corruption and poverty alleviation programs.

At the Pulong Bayan held at the Rizal Hall of the Philippine Consulate General, Bello admitted that the anti-corruption campaign got off to a shaky takeoff. He said that when the president established the Truth Commission to ferret out people associated with irregularities of the past administration, the Supreme Court stepped in and rendered it unconstitutional.

“But we finally took off, we have stabilized, and I think we will have a soft landing in a form of an impeachment. In a few years we will see prosecutions of corrupt officials,” Bello said. (As this story is being written, Mercy Gutierrez resigned from her post as Ombudsman). It goes without saying that with a new Ombudsman there will be no more impediments for the government to go after the corrupt personalities associated with the past administration.”

The second major agenda, which is the poverty reduction, was launched in 2008 with four pilot areas in Agusan del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Pasay City, and Caloocan City.

Recent study has it that the Philippines’ poverty rate seems to have increased between 2003 and 2006, this despite the continuous economic growth posted by economic indicators over the years, including last year when it had a 0.9 percent gain. The Philippines was among the few countries that managed to remain afloat despite the global economic meltdown.

The sustained growth notwithstanding, the Philippines failed to take a bite at the poverty incidence rate. Bello said NSO statistics released recently showed that the number of the poor in Phl stands at 26.5 in February 2011. It is surprisingly slightly higher compared to the 26.4 in 2006.

Meanwhile, the SWS survey reports that what the Philippines has, right now, is 51 percent of Filipinos rate themselves as poor, up 49 percent last November. The same survey indicated that one out of every three Filipinos wants to get out of the country; and that over 20 percent of the Philippines workforce are stationed abroad.

“The challenge is very great,” said Bello. “But you have to give this administration a chance. It is barely one year old.”

The chance that Bello counts on is the ongoing poverty reduction program called the conditional cash transfer (CCT). What is seeks to achieve is break the poverty trap by providing immediate relief (transfers) and incentives for investments in health and education.

What it does is give cash to poor households chosen through an objective poverty targeting mechanism. The poor family will be able to avail of the program on condition that it limits to no more than three children and that their children go to school and use preventive health care.

“It is not a doleout, it is not free money. It is money given conditionally,” said Bello. “The $37-a month cash stipend will be given to families only if they agree to put their children in school and not pull them out, and subject them to regular health screenings. And that is why it is a conditional cash transfer.”

Bello said an estimated 1.4 million families had been integrated into the CCT program by the middle of this year. If successful, the program will cover one million more poor households.■

Leo Maranan swings the lead

2011-06-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

EDITORIAL By DAVID CASUCO

Leo Maranan is modest and self-effacing. Hindsight, one sees him as just the ordinary run-of-the-mill Pinoy leader that self-destructs, crumbles, and dissipates under a drizzle.

So, why was he chosen to lead a team of opinionated and headstrong men and women who are working for the Kalayaan 2011 Grand Ball, which is the biggest Filipino-American event in the Southland commemorating the 113th Philippine Independence Day celebrations?

Until now, even the people closest to him, have not been able to size him up if he is a weak or strong leader. They are not able to figure out his true worth because he does not talk a lot, and he is a newbie in the community. But because I am a journalist, our man does not have any choice but to deal with me. I met, talked, and interviewed the “man on the mirror” and I saw his reflections in a very different light.

The guy is steely tough. His bashful manner belies the steadfast strength of his character. He stands on solid ground and he is not concerned about shifting shadows. He is focused on the task that he is supposed to do. Like a lot of great achieving leaders, Maranan is somewhat uncomfortable in the spotlight; he lets his efficient moves do the talking.

Little wonder, he is not bothered by unsettling situations that threaten to upset the order of things in the planning of the Big Event; not some self-serving mavericks, not a knotty coverage issue, not the usual vicious community critics. He has his own compelling way of dealing with every problem; he solves them, and very quickly.

At the second community meeting held Friday night at the Rizal Hall of the Philippine Consulate, this writer asked him if it is true that there is a chasm that is developing in his organization, that some disgruntled members of the executive committee are not in sync with what he wants to accomplish.

His response: “I haven’t heard of anything like that… If there is a problem, I will talk to them.”

I thought I heard an angelic host proclaim, “Hallelujah!”

People haven’t noticed it; Maranan is a very effective and insightful leader. He knows how to handle and to lead even in a very unfavorable and hostile setting like the highly divisive Filipino community. He is a man of few words; but the things that he does speak volumes.

Fil-Am girl vying for Miss Teen California crown

2011-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

When the contestants for the 2012 Miss California Teen take center stage in November, fourteen year-old Taylor Ligan will be among those pretty young girls aspiring for the coveted crown.

The five-foot-four freshman at the Granada Hills High School, is a second generation Filipino-American. Her parents are Mel Ligan and Aileen Rose, who hail from Davao and Cebu respectively. The Ligans reside in Arleta.

Taylor said that winning the crown, if it happens, should be a bonus. What she is focused on is the experience and the fun that she will get from participating in such a prestigious national event. She said that even before the contest itself, the contestants will be attending a lot of red-carpet and media events. That alone, she said, sounds very exciting.

“It should be a nice thing to look back when I am older … see that at age 14 I was already doing cool things for myself,” she said. “My focus is the experience, making friends and having fun… winning would be just a bonus.”

Aside from being articulate and charming, Taylor possesses talents to complement her beauty. She plays the piano and violin, and pretty much into sports like basketball and volleyball. She reads a lot. Mystery paperbacks by Caroline Cooney are her favorites.

Taylor is an achiever in her own right. When she was n 5th grade, she received the “Presidential and Academic” Award. The following year, she as voted as “Most Likely to Succeed,” and last year she was voted as the “Class Clown.” What these mean is that Taylor belongs to that group of young people who by just being themselves, can easily stand out from the crowd. And this could very well help her a lot during the Miss Teen California pageant.

On community outreach, Taylor is also very much involved. She is a member of her church group that regularly visits the elderly at senior centers and convalescent homes. Also, she is a regular volunteer at the Midnight Missions, serving food to the homeless people in downtown L.A.

A goal-oriented and level-headed young girl, Taylor said she wants to be a nurse someday, so that she can help save lives like what the Children’s Hospital did to her. Incidentally, Taylor will be representing the Children’s Hospital-Los Angeles in the contest. She chose the hospital because when her life as a baby was threatened, the facility responded and saved her life.

Taylor is keen and very proud of her Filipino heritage. She admires Filipino celebrities like Charice, and is partial to Filipino food and delicacies like halo-halo, lumpia, and durian. Now, she is asking the Filipino-American community to support her by giving her a “like” on Facebook. She said “Most Likes” is one category in the contest. Just google Taylor Ligan and it will bring you to her page on Facebook.■

Pex Aves is bitching, so are the boxing fans

2011-05-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

LOS ANGELES – Gung-ho broadcast journalist and former boxing promoter Pex Aves was not impressed by what I wrote about the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley “non-fight.” The hard-hitting Pinas “dateliner” who moonlights as a religious minister, said there are some young boxers that can beat the “overrated singing congressman,” but the Pacquiao Camp won’t allow that to happen.

“Tell me, what happens if the Pacman loses?” asks Pex, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Aves knows from whereof he speaks, having promoted boxing fights in the Visayas for the great part of his life. And Pex was not the only one bitching either. The fans at the MGM Garden Arena – 16,412 of them – took issue on how the fight went on after the third round. They booed, they snickered, they made catcalls.
Mosley, dodged the bullet saying he did not hear the jeers as he was busy doing his thing inside the ring. Pacquiao, who fights “to make the fans happy,” did hear the hecklings all right, and blamed Mosley for not engaging toe-to-toe with him.

As for Pex, he is busy snooping the community for anybody – scheming boxing and sports promoters, swindlers, scammers, bad lawyers, fake ministers of the faith, dubious fundraising events, dime-a-dozen community awards, the greatest disaster in the world that is the FACLA, the consulate staff, counterfeit and “vinegar” journalists, and any and all irregular movements showing on his radar from his very exalted view on Normandie and Wilshire.

“So, what’s the update on the Pacquiao-Mayweather?” asks another snoop upon learning I write sports.
Dang!
Now, you heard me.
***
After the Mavs embarrassed the Lakers, I have moved all the way back East rooting for my No. 2 favorite NBA team, which is the Miami Heat. The reason for my change of heart is obvious. I am supporting Erik Spoelstra, the Filipino face in the NBA. I am hoping Lebron James and Dwane Wade will sustain the fire on the stubborn Bulls. I like what I saw in Game two… Lebron taking the stellar role, closing out the game on the road. If King James can do that in Chicago in front of a hostile crowd, he can very well deliver the victory on his playground in Miami.
***
There is a caveat to the scheduled Freedom Day Golf tournament at the Westridge Golf Course that stakes a brand new Mercedes Benz car for the first player to score a hole-in-one. If you are planning to play in the tournament, and you do not hit the ball like Vijay Singh or K.J. Choi, be ready with an ample supply of golf balls because the course, notwithstanding the wide fairways and the virtual absence of tree hazards, is an irreverent and unforgiving monster. If your teeshot misses the green, never thought of doing a Tiger scrambling because you will never see your ball again. Why is that? The grass are thick and tall – make it very thick and very tall. I am entered in the Callaway group of upstarts (read: full handicappers). I have not played golf for the past six months, and I am thinking mulligans.
***
The highly controversial and highly divisive Reproductive Health bill continues to reproduce and churn in an endless plots and sub-plots among the experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures.

Even Mommy Dionisia.

Instead of doing the politically correct “I am upset…” Mommy D was herself spitting raw anger directed at equally ferocious Sen. Miriam Santiago, who she said was belittling the Sarangani congressman. Yes, Mommy D’s meltdown was played over and over on national TV.
Sen. Santiago, earlier, scored Pacquiao for quoting the bible and interpreting their meaning literally. The champ was quoted as saying: “God said, ‘Go forth and multiply.’ He did not say ‘Go and have just one or two children’,” he said.
Pacquiao had lunch with officials of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Tuesday to express his full support for the Church in opposing the RH measure. Pacquiao said he is against artificial contraception because, he claimed, it is against the will of God.

For those who want to know what bible verse Pacquiao misquoted, here it is, Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 27-28: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Matchless power

2011-05-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO
LAS VEGAS – Everybody has great expectations whenever Manny Pacquiao enters the ring. So that when his fight turns into a pedestrian boxing, the fans that pay princely sum to get into the arena get listless, disappointed, and angry.

On Saturday night, during the Pacquiao-Shane Mosley WBO welterweight title duel at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here, the fans – 16,412 of them – took issue on how the fight went on after the third round.

They booed, they snickered, they made catcalls.
Mosley, dodged the bullet saying he did not hear the jeers as he was busy doing his thing inside the ring. Pacquiao, who fights “to make the fans happy,” did hear the hecklings all right, and blamed Mosley for not engaging toe-to-toe with him.

At the post-fight briefing, Top Rank’s Bob Arum explained that Pacquiao is partly to blame for his opponents fighting inside a shell. It started with Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, and then this, with Mosley.

“What we have here (in Manny) is a boxing phenom. His power takes the opponents out of their game plan,” said Arum. “The thing is once Manny’s opponents get a taste of his power; they resort to ‘survival boxing’.”

Hall of Fame-bound Mosley, who dropped onto the canvas in only the third time in his 18-year illustrious boxing career, took a very cautious stance after the third round, and was never the same again after that. He was backpedalling most of the time and his punches came very few and far between.

The Showtime punch stats distributed to the sportswriters inside the media center showed that Mosley threw only 260 punches, and landing 82. On the contrary, Pacquiao threw 552 punches and 182 of those finding the target, including the left-right combo that sent Mosley sitting on the canvas.

Pacquiao, who also found himself reeling and finding the canvas in Round 8, no thanks to the power shove by Mosley, which referee Kenny Bayless counted as knockdown, was obviously annoyed by the call and started chasing Mosley for the kill. That was when the sporadic boos even got louder as Mosley became more concerned in covering himself than throwing his punches. The onrushing Pacman was able to get into Mosley his vaunted combination a couple times, but were not enough to dismantle the backtracking Mosley.

“I was hurt, pretty stunned…the impact was very strong” said Mosley on the left-right combo that floored him in third. “Manny’s punching power is exceptional. He is fast and he can hit you with a lot of punches.”

Asked which fighter is the better one – Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr., -- having had unsuccessful challenges to both of them, Mosley was ambivalent, saying both fighters have their own merits and it would be very interesting if the two of them meet inside the ring. Pressed on the issue, he said that the Pacman definitely had the edge in punching power, and Money May should the more skilled and defensive fighter.

So, what is next for the 39-year old Mosley?

“Take a vacation. Relax. I have promised my son we are going to Disneyland,” said the former three-division champion from Pomona, California.

As for Congressman Pacquiao, who showed up for the post-fight press conference at the media center dapper and dandy in black suit, with wife Jinky and new celebrity friend Paris Hilton, it will be back to work in Congress, and serving his constituents in Sarangani province.

“I will be back to my work in Congress. There are a lot of things to do,” said Pacquiao, who wore a yellow glove to highlight his poverty reduction advocacy in the Philippines.

And if Pacquiao is not thinking about his next opponent, his manager, Arum definitely is. Arum said he sent an invitation to Juan Manuel Marquez if he wanted to fight Pacquiao in November, but the Mexican fighter, who is with the Golden Boy promotions, ignored the invitation. A second, revised deal is forthcoming and Arum is confident Marquez will likely agree to it. Marquez fought with Pacquiao twice, the first one ended in a controversial draw and the second, a close split decision.

Fight notes: #1 The fans displeasure notwithstanding, the event was not at all devoid of interesting stuff. For one thing the undercards proved very entertaining, so was the Hollywood factor – Jamie Fox waxing patriotic with his rendition of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”; Rocker Jimi Jamison performing “Eye of the Tiger,” during Pacquiao’s pre-fight walk; Pop star Charice’s doing the “official and correct beat” of Philippine National Anthem”; LL Cool J singing “Mama Said Knock You Out” for Mosley’s entrance to the arena; and the ringside appearance of Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton.

#2 Pacquiao gets a $20 million share of the fight purse, and Mosley gets $5 million, according to boxing news from Dan Rafael.
Note #3: Somebody at the MGM fight credentialing staff should probably take a second look when giving out media credentials to Fil-Am journalists. It seems to me that they do not have a clue who are the people who are trained to write sports stories. This writer got a surprise of his life when, for the first time, he got a “limited access” accreditation. If I had known beforehand what I got, I should not have asked my media organization to waste their money on my coverage. It’s not just acceptable for a jaded sportswriter like me to be treated this way. I was supposed to file a quick update on our balita.com website, but the fiasco, intentional or not, did not inspire me to do so. And rubbing salt to the injury, I saw a young boy, probably 10 or 12, wearing a press ID (color green) that is supposed to be for legitimate sportswriters. I was flabbergasted. I thought these things happen only in third world countries.

#4 Twitting the fight. Paris Hilton:“Wow, Such an honor to be brought onstage by Manny & his wife Jinkee after the fight. Can’t wait to visit them when I go to the Philippines. Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho, author of “The Alchemist” and a gung-ho boxing fan: “Congratulations Filipinos! Pacquiao rules.” Singer-comedian Ogie Alcasid: “Si mosley ay mosly ilag at mosly takbo ang ginawa sa laban kontra kay Pacman!!” Funny blogger iamtimyap: “Pag bitin ang laban, you say Shane on you!”

‘L.A.-Eleven’ human trafficking case yields more questions than answers

2011-05-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

LOS ANGELES – There is more than meets the eye to the ‘L.A.-Eleven’ human trafficking case that has threatened to blow up a Pandora’s Box in the high places inside the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) and beyond.

The case, which stemmed from the plight of 11 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were recruited in Manila by Adman Human Resources Placement Promotions, Inc. to work for a hotel in Virginia, USA, is turning out to be a be a knotty trans-national problem with an intriguing storyline. It has all the elements of a gripping made-for-Hollywood movie script with the eleven unsuspecting Filipino workers tangled in a web of corruption, greed, deceit, mistrust and conspiracy.

The 11 Filipino hotel workers escaped from their employer in Biloxi, Mississippi. They thought they were recruited by Aramark, a Fortune 500 company, but ended up working for another firm and were paid under the federal minimum wage. Photo: Benny Uy/Balita Media.

Rep. Walden Bello, Chair of the Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs (COWA), in his Congressional probe, has confirmed that the “L.A.-Eleven” is a clear-cut case of trafficking by a Philippine-based labor recruitment agency, Adman, with the “possible connivance” of a large Philadelphia-based corporation specializing in labor placement called Aramark.

It appeared that Aramark sponsored the working visas of the eleven OFWs. However, the official story from Aramark is that it was not involved in the scam, and that “somebody is using Aramark” in a fraudulent way.

The story of the fraud surfaced in late August and early September, when eleven OFWs arrived in Los Angeles and sought assistance from the Consulate General. The OFWs were Rufino DeGuzman, Ronilo Cruz, Imelda Nosa, Eutropia Velasco, Arlene Dorotan, Ricardo Jabagat, Manuel Jusayan, Khalid Velasco, Vuenas Dela Puerta, Mario Abaday, and Norman Yaranon.

These eleven OFWs, who each paid to Adman over $7,000 in processing fees, arrived earlier in Virginia but were told that the original jobs intended for them were no longer available, and were instead asked to proceed to Biloxi, Mississippi to work at a hotel called Royal Hospitality. And there the abuse took form. They were told to do onerous jobs and were paid a measly $4.75 for every room they are able clean.

That is when they realized that they were victims by some unscrupulous illegal recruiters. And although they were warned by hotel management that any attempt to escape would subject them to a lawsuit and deportation, OFW DeGuzman took his chance and found himself in the care of LA-based OWWA Officer Donn Duero. The other ten soon followed DeGuzman’s lead to Los Angeles.

Duero, in his effort to help the victims, pushed the buttons of the high and mighty in Manila and Washington, but his appeal for support did not create any traction at all. Instead of being credited to exposing a cause célèbre in what he calls a “possible trafficking and corruption at the POEA,” Duero found himself holding the short end of the stick, creating enemies all over and receiving seven death threats in the process.

Bello said that Duero’s handling of the case was “admirable,” but he was troubled by the rift that developed between him and his superiors in Washington, DC. Part of Duero’s alienation stemmed from the differences he had with Washington-based Labor Attaché Luzviminda Padilla, who Duero felt had turned her attention away from a very pressing labor problem. Earlier, Duero’s request for a $30,000 funding was rejected by Padilla, who thought “that perhaps OWWA need not spend that much if the victims were in Mississippi or if they were repatriated back to the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, in Manila, on August 31, 2010, the license of Adman was cancelled, prohibiting its officers and directors from engaging in the business and recruitment of overseas workers. In addition, the agency was ordered to return to the workers the amounts it collected illegally. Until now, the agency is yet to return any amount to victims.

Duero was not satisfied with the “weak” POEA action and called for the filing of graft charges versus five high executives of the POEA in early January. He pointed out the fact that Adman’s operations were merely transferred to an agency called 168 Ye Lu Fa International Man-Power Promotions Services, Inc., with Rebecca Majilum who owns Adman, sitting as one of its board of directors, which is a clear violation of the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act.

Bello’s findings follow:

The “LA-Eleven” case has brought to light the possible abetting of trafficking and corruption at the POEA, which is involved in all phases of the deployment of OFWs. This should be the subject of thorough investigation and prosecution, not only to root out corruption but also to prevent the Philippines from falling into the “Tier 3” in the U.S. State Department’s classification of countries from which people are trafficked – a status that would deny the country some foreign assistance programs.
The involvement in transnational trafficking of Aramark and other US corporations and of personnel within the consular division of the US Embassy is a very real possibility and should be the subject of thorough investigation by the US government.
The “LA-Eleven” case shows that trafficking is a big business. Given the continuing attraction of the U.S. as an employment site, despite the current recession, trafficking to the U.S. has become especially attractive to unscrupulous elements. The enormous amounts charged by Adman from the 11 OFWs show the great profits that can be reaped by illegal traffickers working the U.S. market. The death threats received by Welfare Officer Duero underline the extent to which traffickers would go to preserve a lucrative business dealing in human labor.

Bello’s report concluded with a set of recommended measures directed at both the Philippines and U.S. governments which, in his view, would bring justice to the “LA-Eleven” as well as address the broader problems of trans-Pacific trafficking.

Impressive at Hollywood workout

2011-04-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO
HOLLYWOOD – Eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who is slated to face American Shane Mosley in a Las Vegas megabuck title fight on May 7, was 10 minutes late for the 2 p.m. workout for the media Wednesday, but still remarkably early in the laid-back Philippine time standards. The Filipino lawmaker, with his entourage in tow, came in wearing the now familiar grin that endeared him to the sports scribes worldwide.
The stuffy air inside the standing room only Wild Card Gym did not bother the media people who were there essentially for two reasons – watch the champ display a sampling of his vaunted speed and power and listen to what he has to say.
Some ten minutes later, Pacquiao emerged from the dressing room and faced the phalanx of sportswriters and photojournalists around the ring to answer a myriad of questions ranging from training to training distractions, from lawmaking to statecraft, from Mosley to Mayweather. All these questions, the Pacman obliged to answer in his usual bashful and self-effacing manner.
Most of the questions were concerning Pacquiao’s training in Baguio, probably because the last time he trained during his fight with Antonio Margarito there were serious distractions that made his camp a little nervous. This time, Pacquiao told the media, it is quite different, implying that he got used to juggling boxing and government duties.
“I do not distract myself. I am focused on my training. I am ready for the fight (vs. Mosley). I am adjusting well to my work as a politician,” he said. “This training camp is better because we started early, and also (there were) no distractions for this fight. Also, we did a lot (working) on strategies. Compared to my training with Margarito, we did some adjustments in regards to style.”
Then the five-minute showcase of his speed and power –pretty much in there. The chorus of ohhhs and ahhs from the mesmerized mediamen validated the reality that the Pacman is in razor sharp form.
But why is he visibly excited? Pacquiao, who has a band and sings fairly well, revealed to sportswriters that he is excited because his new CD single/DVD “Sometimes When We Touch” is set for release on April 28, and it will be available on iTunes. The song by Dan Hill, which topped the chart in 1977, was recorded by Pacquiao with the collaboration of Dan Hill himself. Hill saw Pacquiao sang his song in Jimmy Kimmel show last year, and the idea of re-recording it with the voice of the one of the most famous celebrity was hatched.
Earlier, Roach, responding to a question from this writer whether it is safe to say that his prized ward is “ready and confident,” said that Manny’s camp this year is way better than last year.
“For this fight Manny has been able to stay totally focused compared to his last fight when he had to worry about a lot of things – campaigning, music, and making movies.”
Said Winchell Campos, Pacquiao’s personal biographer: “He has never underestimated his opponents. So, he will come in 100 per cent. No excuses.”
And for that quintessential “fighting with Floyd Mayweather” question, Pacquiao said “There is a chance. It is up to him if he wants to fight. He is (probably) trying to wait for me till I get older.”
The Pacquiao vs. Mosley megabuck world welterweight title fight is the main event of a Top-Rank four-fight boxing card at the MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas on Saturday, May 7, which will be telecast live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. ■

Manny Pacquiao, a praying warrior

2011-01-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

There is more to Manny Pacquiao than just boxing. The guy is relatively intelligent, can perform a repertoire of songs with a live band, does B movies, knows a little about statecraft, and yes, he prays a lot.

He definitely has strong faith in the Almighty. He prays before he trains, he prays after he trains, and he only trains in a gym that has a cross on the wall.

The members of the Pacquiao team (read: gofers) are members of his prayer group. These guys could tell you that their boss “altar time” is between 8 p.m.-10 p.m. every night.

He prays before he fights, he prays after the fight. He has his personal priest-pastor who holds pre-fight and post-fight celebrations of the Catholic holy mass.

However, very few pay attention to Pacquiao’s spirituality; you can scan and browse boxing websites and you will find virtually nothing on Godliness about the Hall of Fame-bound prizefighter. Even Christian sportswriters are hesitant to write about Pacquiao’s faith because, well, his wicked punch says a lot more than anything else that he has, much less his ritualistic adoration to his God, which is downright unsettling to sportswriters who are nominal Christian believers, dead Catholics, and nonbelievers.

The one thing that people do not realize is being connected to a personal God obviously makes Pacquiao a stronger and better person. And the Pacman is not ashamed to ascribe to the Lord all his strength and natural abilities. Boxing fans don’t notice it when the Pacman acknowledges his God by raising his fists to high heavens every time he sends his opponents kissing the canvas. He is a better person because Pacquiao shares his blessings to the poor Filipinos. Everybody knows that his generosity is legendary; the people who help him in his finances sometimes complain that the champ can be very generous to a fault. He is a better person because, unlike a lot of successful athletes, this street urchin-turned multi-millionaire does not say cuss words or do trash talks.

When Chicago-based boxing champ David Diaz was issuing pre-fight rants that he would pulverize the Pacman, the Filipino superstar replied with biblical humility saying, “The Lord only knows the outcome (of the match). For me, I just train very hard and pray to God each time I fight.”

Of course, we knew what happened during the fight. It was the fast and furious fists of that Pacman that did the talking, leaving the face of the cocky Diaz a bloody mess. The sportswriters got back at Diaz for a reality check. “What happened out there?” the sports scribes wanted to know. “The guy is f….. good. I did not see where the punches are coming from,” said Diaz.

Exactamente. You do not mess up with a prayerful warrior like little David in the bible. These warriors are confident fighters because their battles belong to the Lord. (davecasuco@yahoo.com)

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Manny Pacquiao: A praying warrior - Los Angeles Christian Perspectives | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/christian-perspectives-in-los-angeles/manny-pacquiao-a-praying-warrior#ixzz1BuUJ3PHJ

Nash Jimenez a.k.a. ‘Mr. Big Time Savings’

2010-05-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

Nash Jimenez, fifty-something, answers the moniker ‘Mr. Big Time Savings’ because of his exceptional skill in giving carbuyers the best deals. So that when he assumed the post lately as Fleet Manager of the West Covina Nissan, the management and staff of the company got excited and accorded Nash a grand welcome. They see in Nash, a multi-awarded car salesman, finance manager, and fleet manager, as the missing link that could fortify the dealership operations.

“I have come full circle. Twenty-five years ago, I embarked a career as a car sales person in Manila, and here I am, a jaded worker in the industry coming to another Nissan dealership,” Nash said. “Finally, I found a new home. I can tell you, my creative juices are flowing again.”

Nash likes the Nissan mystique because it was a Nissan company that gave him a good life in the Philippines. His stint at the Metro Motors Nissan was very fruitful, He was selling an average 200 cars and earning over 500,000 pesos a year. That was the early 80s when the top executives in Manila was earning less than half a million pesos annually.

As a testament to his successful stint, Nash was feted with honors as Top Sales Person of the Year, and subsequently, Fleet Manager of the Year. The company even sent him to Japan to have a first hand look at the cutting edge technology that creates the product that he sells.

“Love affair” with cars
Nash’s “love affair” with cars took form when he was a sprightly bright-eyed young man working his way to a college education at the University of Santo Tomas and later, at the Philippine Christian University in Manila, was dreaming to become an engineer. Little did he know that his attraction to engineering was fueled by a deeper drive which later showed up as “great love for cars and motorcycles.”

After graduation, Nash joined the First Nationwide City Bank as credit analyst for auto loans. Soon he found himself working – where else – but at a car dealership that sells Nissan cars. That goes without saying that his first car was a Nissan; an SGX sedan.
“It was one of the happiest days of my young life. I instantly had a clear idea what cool things the car could do to me,” said Nash. “The car gave me a greater sense of freedom. Just driving to beautiful places with my girl gave me the exhilarating feeling of unspeakable joy.”
“That was the pinnacle of my fledging career in car sales,” said Nash. “It was too good to be true. But then the early career success was less meaningful for me because I was then in my early twenties and I was a carefree young man who had nary a care about life and living.”
California dreamin’
The lure of the American Dream put his flourishing career on hold. Now, a newly-married man, Nash followed his family to California in 1993 where he worked in different car dealerships in the Los Angeles area.
At the Toyota of San Bernardino where Nash worked from 2003-2004, he proved to all and sundry that he is a cut above the rest. He was accorded top honors as “Salesperson of the Year.” And at Penske Auto Group, where he worked from 2003-2004, Nash was recognized for his splendid job with a “Fleet Manager of the Year” Award.
For over twenty years Nash had been doing was he does best – help Filipino Americans own cars. He gains utmost satisfaction seeing his kababayans drive off a new car from the car dealership lot.
“It’s a nice feeling knowing that you are a part of that deal that made the customer very happy,” he said. “Passion ko talaga ang magbenta ng kotse. Napakasarap ng pakiramdam kapag nakatutulong tayo sa customers. (Selling cars is my passion. I feel good if I can help my customers buy a new car).”
A déjà vu all over again
And then, a sort of déjà vu happened; Nash found himself the new Fleet Manager of the West Covina Nissan. For reasons he does not fully understand, he felt exceptionally excited about the new job. Then, he realized that it was also a Nissan dealership in the Philippines that made gave him a very successful career as a young man.
“It is a déjà vu all over again,” said Nash, quoting Yogi Berra’s famous sports witticism. “I realize I have come full circle (in my career) and I found it a little bit mysterious.”
Will he be able to rekindle his passion and re-establish himself as one of the household names in the Car Sales and Leasing industry?
Nash said all the indicators are there. He said the Nissan dealership is located in West Covina, a place where there is a large concentration of Fil-Am households – estimated at over 30,000. Another thing, Nash said, is that Nissan cars have a high acceptance value to Filipino-Americans.
A household name
On the question why do carbuyers go to West Covina Nissan for their new cars instead of going to other car lots?
“Quite simple, I am here,” he said in jest. “Great people, great deal, great service; I guess that sums up what this dealership stands for.”
But what Nash was trying to say is that his name, being a household name among Pinoy carbuyers, carries a lot of weight. He had been around for the past 20 years and his clients always seek him when their children became adults and need a car.
“My customers comes back to me each time their families need a new car. It is like I am family to them, and I feel good about their loyalty because I do care so much about my customers,” he said.■

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVZwtPk2ToY&feature=player_embedded

2010-05-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVZwtPk2ToY&feature=player_embedded

Anointing falls on Gibo Teodoro

2010-05-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

On the day influential religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, who reportedly commands six million followers, made public his anointing of administration candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro and Liberal Party’s vice presidential bet Mar Roxas III, this writer was wrapping up his own two-weekend immersion “man on the street pulse” in Los Angeles county, a home to over 335,000 Filipino expats.

The large but highly fragmented Filipino community in this City of Angels, finally agreed—with Pastor Quiboloy — that is. Their preferred presidential candidate is Teodoro, who eked out perennial “commissioned” survey leader Noynoy Aquino, and for vice president, they showed so much love for Roxas.

Now, Teodoro, the presidential race dark horse, looms large as a serious contender. And the “green volunteers” are all over the Internet talking about more big endorsements coming in the next few days before the election.

Why Gibo Teodoro? Their responses can be summed in “fragments of admiration” like: "has exemplary moral moorings, unblemished public service record, shows honesty, is intelligent and articulate, has a clear and do-able platform of government, and has a good grasp on matters of statecraft.”

And for Roxas III, they consider him magnanimous and humble by playing second-fiddle to the popular Aquino. Also, they see in Roxas the new breed of leader with deep sense of patriotism.

While most of the respondents to this writer’s “man on the street” interviews refused to be quoted for publication, a few of them were not shy on their personal choices.

Gina Topacio of Los Angeles thinks Noynoy should be president because he is pursuing a legacy of “uncorrupted public service and heroism” of his family. On the other hand, Jay Lopez of Sun City thinks the Philippines would be a lot better with Gibo Teoldoro at the helm. “You can tell he (Gibo) is honest. Also he is clean, he has no anomaly attached to his name. For his part, Jules Paguio of Eagle Rock, a staunch supporter of Dick Gordon, thinks the former Olongapo mayor has what it takes to be president. “He is so good. He understands the complex operations of the government.”

On the question whether they have an influence on the choices of their immediate family members back home in the Philippines, the answer is always yes, to a certain degree. A few said that the choices of their families in the Philippines depend on what they tell them. “I was not able to register for absentee voting╩since I am a U.S. citizen, but whatever is my choice my family (about 18 voters) usually follow,” Julian R.B. Castillo, a nurse aide from West Covina said. “That goes without saying I owe them a favor come Christmastime,” he added in jest.

“My family asked me one time who I think is the best presidentiable. I told them ‘let’s go for the best candidate.’ The last time I heard they have joined the “green” bandwagon,” said Fely Quiling of Montebello.╩ Quiling, a born again believer, said she will just pray for a peaceful and orderly election. “Sana wag naman masyadong violent,” she said.

Gregorio “Meng” Gatus, president of the Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA), the oldest Filipino organization in the United States, said it does not matter whoever gets elected as president, the thieving and the looting of the government coffers╩is not going to go away. “Kahit pa sino ang umupo dyan, hindi pa rin mawawala yang nakawan.”

Gatus, revered and reviled in equal measure for his uncompromising and straightforward style of FACLA governance, thinks the Bagumbayan team of Richard “Dick” Gordon and Bayani Fernando is the best bet. “Pareho sila maganda ang rekord, ang ginawa nila as public servants (They both have impressive records as public servants”), he said.

Everything considered, the man-on-the-street sortie yielded this result: Teodoro and Gordon are the cerebral choices; Noynoy is the sentimental choice; Roxas the choicest VP bet; Miriam Santiago, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada are top three choice for Senate seats.

pacquiao-clottey in arlington, texas

2010-03-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

<<< PEEK-A-BOO. A visibly exasperated Manny Pacquiao throws a "nutcracker punch" on Joshua Clottey, who refuses to expose his face and therefore avoided the risk of being gobbled up by the quick punching Pacman. Photo by VictorSy

SUPER EVENT
OR PEEK-A-BOO BOXING?

By DAVID CASUCO

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey title match was billed as a superfight, had all the makings of a superfight, and looked like it turned out to be a superfight.

It did not.

A lot of well-meaning boxing fans left the Cowboys Stadium in a lurch, and wondering how does Clottey's face look like. The grandmaster from Ghana showed up, all right, but throughout the 12-round bout he seemed more concerned about surviving the fight than mixing it up with the Pacman.

Clottey got $2 million paycheck by just being there, holding up his gloves, doing a peek-a-boo with the boxing dynamo that is the Pacman. At one time in the early rounds, Pacquiao had to create a "nutcracker punch" to force Clottey to engage in a wild slugfest, a vintage Pacman style that endeared him to the boxing fans and earned for him the monicker "Little Tyson."

It did not work.

The Punch-stats told the whole story: Pacquiao threw a total of 1,271 punches, to the punch-shy Clottey's 399.

Text messages I received a few minutes after the fight read: "A boxing clinic," "boring," "Clottey's head was inside a helmet." Uneventful to the rabid boxing fans, but the Pacman, although he cares about his fans, could not be happier with an estimated $15 million purse take after PPV receipts.

Although the fans who were able to see the fight inside the Cowboys Stadium, were definitely compensated with an exhilarating experience of watching a boxing match in a brand new, state-of-the-art sports arena with cutting-edge video and audio technology. Even television viewers on PPV were amazed at the $1.2-million massive structure that Jerry Jones built.

The press bus that brings the media people to the Gaylord Texan Hotel had left and the parking lot was virtually empty when Pacquiao showed up for the post-fight interview. He was obviously in a hurry because he was scheduled to do a concert, a fundraiser by a Filipino group in Dallas. He was wearing sunglasses and swarmed by his usual coterie of obnoxious gofers.

The mainstream media were curious about the Pacman's concert repertoire, one asked what would be the first song.

"The first song I am gonna sing is "La Bamba," Pacquiao told the media people, almost half of them had gone home. We learned later on that the fundraiser concert commanded a pincely sum — one hundred dollars.

Only few things were said about Floyd Mayweather. Everybody was obviously tired of it.

Then there was the usual Bob Arum's bravado that he is not going to negotiate this time if there is another Flyod-Manny plans later in November.

"Manny will crush him," Freddie Roach said.

And Pacquiao: "I want that fight. The world wants that fight. It is up to him."

In Manila, meanwhile Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said Pacquiao had united Filipinos anew as the country ventures into a new chapter in its history."Manny proved that the strenght and determination of Filipinos is a cut above the rest. "On behalf of our jubilant nation, we thank you Manny for uniting the country as it steps into a new chapter inb our history," Olivar said.

2009-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

ONCE UPON A ROSE PARADE

• The year 1917 will go down in the Tournament of Roses history as the first time it became international in scope with Yokohama and Manila entering massive floral floats

By DAVID CASUCO & LARRY PELAYO

LOS ANGELES — Time was when the Philippines and Japan were the most interesting places in the Pacific Rim, at least to colonial America. The Tournament of Roses history (which started in 1890) validated this truism when, in 1917, it recorded a most significant feature of the Rose Parade — “Hotels from Yokohama and Manila enter massive floral floats for the first time.”

In a historical entry by Joe Hendrickson (Tournament of Roses, a Pictorial History), he stated that, “The year 1917 will go down in the Tournament of Roses history for two reasons: The Parade became international in scope, with hotels from Yokohama and Manila, as well as American cities, entering massive floral floats...” The other reason was about football becoming a national sporting event for the first time. Hendrickson completed his entry with the highlights of the Oregon -Pennsylvania game. Also mentioned was the Hawaiian participation, with an impersonator of the legendary King Kamehameha escorting the float on an outrigger canoe formed of marigolds, smilax, and white carnations.

Archived float photo

A copy of the 1917 archived photo of the Philippine float, obtained by these writers from the Tournament of Roses Historical Committee, depicted the Manila float as an ensemble of flowers and palm leaves put atop a trailer with spoke wheels. A “bahay kubo” made of palm, surrounded by bamboo fence was visible on one end of the trailer. Four young mestiza women, clad in resplendent and elaborate Filipina dresses, were shown riding the float, one holding a banner marked “ CITY OF MANILLA.” Manila was misspelled, but the floral decorations on the side of the float showed “Manila” correctly spelled.

It was not until 1997, exactly sixty years later, when the Philippines came back to join the Rose Parade again. The country fielded a two-tier float depicting two famous Philippines landmarks — the Rizal Monument and the Ifugao Rice Terraces. Also highlighted on the float were the exotic Pampanga parols and the colorful Zamboanga vintas. The following year, in 1998, another two-tier Philippine float participated, this time depicting the ubiquitous Pinoy jeepney and the mystical Filipino icon sarimanok. Both entries won “Most Beautiful Float from Outside the USA” honors.

Historical backdrop

At the turn of the 20^th century, the Philippines was under the American souvereignty, which started when Gen. Wesley Merritt assumed the duties of Military Governor of the Philippines on August 26, 1898. With the subsequent election of Woodrow Wilson as president of the United States, he appointed Francis Burton Harrison the next governor of the new island territory. Harrison served form 1913 to 1921.

It was during the time of Harrison when “American policy took a turn toward Filipinization.” The President appointed majority of Filipinos to the Philippine Commission and thus to Filipinize the Philippine legislature. Thereafter, the Jones Law of August 29, 1916 was enacted with a preamble in Wilson’s own hand (quoted in part) ... “to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.”

Mirage of an independent Philippines

Seeing a float from the Philippines at that time, the crowd may had likely been seeing a representation of an independent country about to be born. Independence did not come, however, until July 4, 1946. (In collaboration with a research from the late newsman JB Briones)

2009-12-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

AWASH!

Miss Brazil Rosemarie Larissa Ramos, 20, a biology student, jumps during a photo session at the world-famous Boracay Beach Resort in Aklan province, central Philippines over the weekend. Ramos beat over eighty contestants from around the world for the Miss Earth 2009 crown on Sunday. The other winners include Miss Spain Alejandra Echevarria Seifert, 20, Miss Earth Fire; Miss Philippines Sandra Seifert, 25, Miss Earth Air; and Miss Venezuela Jessica Barboza, 22, who won Miss Earth Water.

FIL-AMS CATCH PAC-MAN FEVER IN VEGAS

2009-11-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

By DAVID CASUCO

photocredits: joe cobilla

LAS VEGAS — The Filipinos, with their leather jackets and windbreakers on, flooded the Strip and made Saturday night another “Pacman Fever” in the Sin City.

The fun started early evening with their hero, their idol, their singular source of pride and joy — Manny Pacquiao — coming off with another stellar performance inside the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It ended well past midnight with a post victory blast at the Mandalay Bay, where the Pacman himself was the headliner in a mini-concert that commanded $40-admission ticket.

Understandably, the shindig was not as exp losive as Pacquiao’s demolition job on Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27KOs) earlier, but heck, the Pinoys had to do any which way to cap the celebration with flourish. And while a lot of them sustained cracked lips from the biting cold and dry desert wind of Nevada, all of them would swear it was well worth it.

Before Pacquiao and Cotto stepped inside the ring, there was a collective apprehension from among Fil-Am journalists covering the event about history repeating itself. Their fear stemmed from the fact that it was another Puerto Rican, Carlos Ortiz, who put an end to the winning ways of the great Flash Elorde in the 60s.

Their dreadful thoughts grew in the first round when Cotto got the upper hand, hit more power punches, and took the round all across the scoresheets of the three judges. However, only that, and Round 6, proved to be his shining moment as the Pacman, after sizing him up, quickly went to work, dropping him in the 3^rd and fourth and gobbled him up black and blue the rest of the way. Cotto was backpedalling in the last three rounds, Referee Kenny Bayless had to stop the punishment, 55 seconds into the12th round.

“I didn’t know from where the punches are coming,” said Cotto, who picked up a $7 million payoff, said afterwards. “He is one of the best boxers I ever fought.”

Cotto didn’t make it to the media center for the post-fight reckoning because he was brought to an area hospital for some precautionary medical care.

It was the ever self-effacing and quick-smiling Pacquiao who showed up with a white bandage across his ears. His thoughts on a possible clash with Floyd Mayweather was the same: “My duty as a boxer is to train and prepare for the fight. It is up to my promoter to determine whom I will fight.”

With the victory, Pacman improved his record to 50-3-2 (win-loss-draw), 38 KOs. He collected $13 million prize money for the splendid job, quite a lot compared to the $6/day average income of most Pinoy laborers back home.

“We may just as well call the MGM Garden Arena Manny Pacquiao playground,” said Sabas Gaviola of the Nevada Examiner. “Why, indeed, it is where the Pacman gobbles up his adversaries on the way to picking up megabuck purses.”

Said Top Rank’s top guy Bob Arum: “I go on record this time, Manny is the greatest fighter of all time. He has singlehandedly put boxing back on its high perch. I have never seen a great fighter like him in a long time,”

At the media center earlier, mainstream journalists were wondering just how good a singer Manny is. They were thinking it would just be another karaoke thing. But when they were told that the Pacman was to do an eight-song repertoire with a live band, there were snickers all around.

“Does he look like a rock star? And with all that thick bandage around his ears? I don’t think so,” the guy standing next to me exclaimed in disbelief.

“Better believe it man, the Filipinos did invent the karaoke,” I told him, trying to sustain a light repartee.

Then the clamor: “Hey, Manny, give us a sampling of what you’re gonna do at Mandalay Bay,” the sportswriters insisted.

“Sometimes when we touch, the honesty’s too much. I have to close my eyes and hide...” went Manny parroting Dan Hill’s 1977 pop hit “Sometimes When We Touch.” And with that note he headed for nearby Mandalay Bay with a bunch of his questionable and obnoxious Pinoy gofers on his trail.

But the question every well meaning sportswriter was asking, “Will there be a Pacquiao-Mayweather ring confrontation?”

The boxing zealots and diehards think it will happen because that is the logical match that the boxing world wants right now. It has all the makings of a superfight that will rake in millions of boxing revenues never before seen in the sport. They are saying whatever animosity between Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Mayweather have will eventually dissipate by the high potency of the green bucks.

Said Freddie Roach: “If he (Floyd) will ask for a 65-45 cut he is not gonna get it.”The cynics, however, have misgivings saying Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40--0, 25 KOs) will definitely take a hard line stance and will not settle for a compromise on the money grab. And then, there is the issue of the catchweight. How light Floyd is willing to go down, and how heavy Manny is gonna go up.

At the post fight briefing, HBO’s Ross Greenberg told Arum that Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer “will call him on Monday” to start the Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations. “The money we are talking here is astronomical. We are all morons not to let this (fight) happen,” he said.

Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Looks quite simple enough on

paper, but the truth is, it is very complicated. The way it is now, the issue of whether the fight will happen or not depends on how the big bucks, bloated egos, and business smarts will play out. (David Casuco was a former sportswriter for the Times Journal in Manila and currently the Editor-in-Chief of the California Examiner, the longest-running Fil-Am newspaper in Southern California)

2009-10-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

MAYFLOWER RESTAURANT REACHES OUT FOR PHILIPPINES FLOOD VICTIMS

BY DAVID CASUCO

In good times and in bad, Mayflower Restaurant is there for their loyal Filipino and Filipino-American patrons.

It has hosted and catered to a lot of happy events for the Filipinos and the restaurant established itself as one of the choicest destinations for the gourmet Pinoys, including the discriminating Manila movie and sports celebrities whenever they visit Los Angeles.

Now, with the massive storm devastation that hit the Philippines recently, Mayflower owners Mr. & Mrs. Ha, like the true friends that they are, are reaching out, saying “we are here for you.”

“Sure, we give back to our Filipino friends. Our relationship with them goes far beyond these dining tables,” said Mr. Ha, who calls his regular Filipino clients by their first names.

The Ha Family, who operates this huge restaurant on North Sping and Ord, has decided to collaborate with the Office of Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to raise money for the suffering Filipinos back home.

So that on Thursday, October 27, 2009, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., fifty per cent of the restaurant's sale generated on that day will be donated to the victims of typhoons Ondoy and Peping.

The fundraiser dubbed “Handog Kapatid (Brotherly Favor/Offering)” is a simple but highly participatory project. What it entails is just a regular trip to Mayflower Restaurant on October 27 and half of the money one spends for his or her meal goes straight to feed a very hungry mouth back home.

Sister M. Christina Sevilla, RGS, who is the director of the Filipino Ministry in L.A., said that she is “optimistic the Filipinos in Los Angeles and the neighboring cities will respond to this very worthwhile project,” she said in an interview with this writer.

When reminded that some of the donations in kind reportedly encountered a snag at the Philippine Customs, Sis. M. Christina assured the potential donors that “all the funds that will be generated from this fundraising effort will go straight to the Good Shepherds Sisters in Aurora Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City.” She added that this religious group will spend the money to where assistance is most needed.

For more information on the “Handog Kapatid” fundraiser event, contact Sis. M. Christina, ph. 323.662.8480; fx: 323.644.9391; email: smc-filmin@sbcglobal.net.

UNDOCUMENTED PINOY EXPATS

2009-10-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

UNDOCUMENTED FILIPINO IMMIGRANTS URGED

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2010 U.S. CENSUS

By DAVID CASUCO

CITY OF INDUSTRY— Filipino-American service organizations and other cause-oriented groups launched over the weekend “Together We Can in 2010,” an effort they hope will establish a comprehensive Fil-Am count for the United States Census 2010.

Featured speakers for the event include Deputy Consul General Daniel Espiritu of the Philippine Consulate General; Ditas Katague, Census Director from the office of Gov. Schwarzenneger; and James T. Christy, Regional Director, Los Angeles Regional Census Director.

Deputy Consul Espiritu pointed out the great statistical discrepancy between the official count and the actual population of Filipinos in Los Angeles. He said that the understated count only shows 300,000 Filipino expats in Los Angeles. The Catholic Archdiocese however, claims that there are 800,000 Fil-Ams living in L.A. and its unincorporated cities.

Fear, misconception, and apathy are seen as formidable roadblocks to the count, they say. For undocumented immigrants, the Census presents as something that is unsettling, even scary. Another intermediate group — Filipinos who are here in American on temporary working visa, do not think they should be included in the count, a misconception that needs to be cleared. Also scored was the general apathy of the Filipinos when it comes to civics and participatory democracy.

Christy, for his part, stressed the importance of the Census saying, “It’s the new portrait of America. What we are doing here is critical in establishing the legacy of Filipino-Americans in California.” He added that undocumented immigrants need not worry because there is a Federal law that secures the information that the Census collects. “It’s simple, safe, and important,” he said.

According to the law, the Census Bureau cannot show or share the information and the responses given by the people to anyone, including other Federal agencies and law enforcement entities. Anybody who breaks this law gets a five-year jail term and a fine of $250,000.

Aside from being safe, the Census questionnaire is easy. It has only 10 questions and it requires only 10 minutes to complete.

Just what is the Census anyway? According the Census flyers extensively distributed all over the city, it is a count of everyone residing in the United States. Both citizens and non-citizens have to be counted,

For more information about the 2010 Census, visit 2010census. gov.

pinoy community leaders/achievers

2009-10-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Suzette GM Lopez:

The woman in the mirror

By DAVID CASUCO

There are nationalists, freedom fighters, and street p

arliamentarians. And then there is Suzette Granada Mallorca Lopez.

During the dark days of Martial Law, when the brightest minds in the Philippines were locked up behind bars and the traditionally vibrant Manila media totally muzzled up, Suzette was a s

mall voice crying for social justice from the squalid Tondo area. She stood her ground, albeit shaky, and continued to denounce the evils of the Marcos government.

The usually aggressive and cruel military spared her ofany harm despite her open dislike of the people in the Palace. The military probably did not look at her as a serious threat because she was just twenty-something and possesses with a disarming and irresistible Ilongga charm. They were wrong when they underestimated what this headstrong lady could do. She was out there rallying the Tondo folks to support the opposition forces. She did not blink while she was fighting the oppressive regime. She was one of the frontliners among very staunch street parliamentarians that included the late Chino Roces.

Representing the Manilena Jaycees in the 1986 presidential elections, Suzette was the take-charge person in notorious Tondo for “fair and honest elections.” She did her job very well in a district where hard-knocks rule the streets.

When freedom was finally won, Suzette and her fellow activists found out to their dismay that there was a bigger battle to be fought. She was appalled at how breast-beating power brokers jumped over the picket fence to rejoin new administration. She couldn’t believe that the

cause she values so much is but a pipe dream.

“It was very devastating for us (activists and freedom fighters). It was like we’re looking at ourselves with shattered glasses,” said Suzette. “We realized that there was just no way to repair a rotten bureaucracy.”

She turned to God. She then understood everything.

Suzette’s spiritual journey led her to the understanding that the biggest problem in this world is not social injustice, or poverty, or bureaucratic malfunction. She found out that man’s biggest problem is sin. And that is why God sent a savior in Jesus Christ, and not some str

eet parliamentarian.

“I still pick up fights every now and then. But now I am very confident and strong. I draw my strength from the Lord,” she said, quoting Paul’s words in the bible. “I think I have done my part. I may not have impacted the system, but I believe I have ‘given my seat to the disabled’,” she said, paraphrasing the logo of “Project Pintura” that she spearheaded with fellow Manilena Jaycees in the early 80s and brought them five international awards and recognition.

Now working as a realtor and an underwriter, Suzette flair for activism has entered another dimension,this time as a strong advocate for “knowing your roots and culture.”

“I noticed that Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in California do not have access to their cultural roots. I figure out that there has to be some way to re-educate the parents of this generation who do not have the desire to teach their kids about the rich heritage of their homeland,” she said.

Suzette introduced a Filipino cultural renaissance of sorts using the cultural programs of the Sining Kambayoka Cultural Arts Foundation, Inc. (website: skcafi.org), a non-profit organization she co-founded. She spent a lot of her personal resources to finance SKCAFI projects.

Last year proved to be a banner year for the organization. Suzette gave her unwavering support and great effort to the mission of the foundation and SKCAFI entered into the consciousness of the Fil-Am community. They did it by doing cultural performances in events, big and small, all over California, Nevada, Texas, New York, and Hawaii.

The SKCAFI cultural performers spearheaded by award winning choreographers and artists from the Philippines like Basilidas Pilapil, Rowena and Feriorein Bontor, Eddie Michael Casuga II, Clareve Banate, Zahra Mallorca and Emman Mallorca, joined by the locals: Joy, Zsa-Zsa, Muriel and Gabrielle (the Orbe-Brown performers) and the Alunan clan staged great performances – capped by their splendid stage and street dancing presentations at the famous Honululu Festival where they represented the Philippines. The group also opened the pre-game of Dodgers vs. Chargers at the Dodgers Stadium staging the exotic and ethnic tribal dances of Southern Philippines to the amusement of the elated crowd. With the support of the City of Carson and some Mindanao organizations, SKCAFI launched the first ever street dancing festival and exhibit in the city amidst the 30,000 attendees to celebrate the Philippine Independence Day.

Looking at her personal resume, Suzette who was raised by a very conservative Catholic family of Ilonggos – is indeed, an in

teresting copy. She is what people call a remarkably gifted person. Consider: A consistent honor student from elementary to high school, was voted best cheerleader and most rounded personality when she graduated high school. She was a university scholar and finished Accounting at the University of Iloilo (UI). She is gifted with a sweet velvety voice that could hold water on a professional level.

“The plan was laid out for me to become a recording singer. I wanted to become a lawyer. My mother would not have me either,” she said. “So, I ended up with a degree in Accounting at the University of Iloilo. I was a university scholar then,” she deadpanned.

She could have been a successful professional singer, or lawyer, but as a salesperson she soared to great heights. Once, while working at the Systems and Business Equipment Corporation (a subsidiary of Smith Bell and Co.), her boss challenged her to bring in millions order from a government agency. Suzette, the first woman sales representative to work with the company, was able to close the deal in a couple of hours to the chagrin of the whole male sales staff.

As a real estate professional and a life agent manager in California, Suzette does her work on a high level. She keeps a high-strung lifestyle as her job demands it. She drives around L.A. on her Mercedes Benz with an average of 100-200 miles a day.

“Building a good rapport with clients is rewarding, and the benefits that go with it are very good. Of course, life sometimes gets crazy, and we find ourselves holding the short end of the stick. Do I ever sulk or complain? Nah, the very thing that keeps me going is knowing that I have a God I can count on when the chips are down,” she said.

2009-10-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

Mat Relox’s paintings immortalize the charming Manyan life

By DAVID CASUCO, Editor-in-Chief, California Examiner

Almost all the interesting things about the storied Mangyan tribal life are now gone never to be seen by the future generations of Filipinos. Imprudent and insensitive, the people who were supposed to be the curators of Philippine culture were not looking as the Mangyan natives in Mindoro disintegrated from genuine tribe’s people with exotic and distinct lifestyle into just another group of poor and underserved villagers.

Sure the charming Mangyan life will soon be an important item in Philippine history books, but it will not even be a guarantee that historians can capture the essence of what a true Mangyan life was.

It looks like the job belongs to the multi-awarded Mangyan maestro Mat Relox, one of the most celebrated global Filipino contemporary artists. Relox, an exceptionally gifted painter, muralist, and sculptor loads his canvas with a generous stroke of the Mangyan life as he knows it first hand. Relox remembers, recreates, paints and immortalizes the images of the Mangyan people, their temperament, their lifestyle and original habitat with cunning accuracy. He knew them. He grew up in their midst. He was, and is always one of them.

“Napabayaan man ang mga Mangyan, di pinansin ng lipunan ngunit sa trono at pinakamataas na antas ng sining ay aking iwawagayway ang tagumpay ng mga Mangyan na walang kamatayan (The Mangyans, as a people, may have been ignored, but I will immortalize them thru the highest form of the art),” he said.

And immortalize he did, and continues to do so; in most of his works (over 300 pieces of objet d’arts), the strain of the Relox’s subject matter waves in and about the milieu of the Manyan life. He is a master of all mediums – pastel, pen and ink, watercolor, and charcoal.

Now based in Riverside County, a place near one of the artists colony in California where the famous “Tournament of the Masters” is held annually, Relox continues with his artistic vision of elevating the Mangyan life through the power of his works, even as he regularly reaps honors in art competitions here and there; the most recent of which was an honorable mention at the Winter Juried Art show in Pittsburgh, California

Relox winning work, “Sa Piling Ni Inay,” is a rendering of a bucolic Mangyan Madonna and Child ( 14”x 20 pen and ink on paper). It portrays an amazingly powerful impression of the unbreakable cycle of life. It was chosen along with three others from among the 170 entries. A total of 58 artists participated in the said art show.

Relox is such an enormous talent. He’s one artist that cannot be ignored; even without trying, his works lay bare to people that the man is a consummate artist. As a testimony to Relox celebrated stature as a painter, the prestigious Phil-Am Expo, an annual undertaking by noted FilAm broadcast journalist Ms. Awee Abayari, honored Relox as one of the Most Outstanding Fil-Am Professionals. In that event, Expo-goers had the chance to see first hand the works and shook hands with the maestro.

Humbled by the recognition, Relox was self-effacing in his acceptance speech, saying: “Sa aming mga artists kapahingahan naming ang maparangalan ng ganito (To artists like me, recognitions like this are greatly-appreciated consolations).

Relox acknowledges that he gets motivated and becomes more passionate about his craft whenever he wins art competitions, gets recognitions, and when big time patrons and patroness of the arts take a second look and buy his paintings. He still can feel the thrill that he had when Imelda Marcos, then the powerful first lady and known for her collections of expensive and beautiful things, took home one of his paintings on display at the Cultural Center of the Philippines gallery.

“That was big deal for me. I felt like I made

one little step up the ladder of eminence leading to the exalted pedestal of Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo,” he said.

Relox, essentially a realist-impressionist, does not have illusions to even get near around the area where the legends dwell. For him, it is enough that he can do whatever he wants to do with his God-given artistic talent. He is glad that every now and then he can put up solo art exhibits in Southern California. He is, right now, deep at work on some art pieces that he wanted included in his next one-man art show in Los Angeles.

His relative success as an artist notwithstanding, Relox’s road to becoming a serious artist was a rough one. He was barely 12 years old when his father became disabled due to freak stabbing incident. He took the place of his father in supporting the family.

“I worked manual labor out there in the open fields and had to take long lonely walks just to attend school,” he said. “But even then I always knew I wanted to become an artist. I always thought of doing what painters do, and imagined my works displayed in the august halls of some art galleries.”

His break came one night when Rodolfo Ignacio, then the governor of Mindoro, saw him doing some painting. The governor was so impressed that he promised to bring Relox to the Big City to learn and enhance the finer points of his craft.

In Manila, he took the job as an illustrator at the Rex Printing Press, at the same time studying civil engineering at the University of Manila. The problem was when his boss demanded that he must stop school if he wanted to keep his job; options that came down to him like the devil and a deep blue sea.

“I cried. My young mind couldn’t figure out why life can have tough choices,” he said.

Little did he know that the problem would bring him right into a place where serious artists work and where high level of art is a norm. Hermilio Burad, the editor of Rex Printing having seen him suffer for his art, introduced him to the University of the Philippines Sunday Group, composed of seasoned artists like Juan Hidalgo and Loreto Racuya.

It was while he was with this Group that he blossomed as an artist, even as he honed his raw artistic skills and his passion for the art reaches a new level. He basked and later shone in the presence of greatness around him, and his works were featured in prestigious art galleries and hotels in Manila. The rest is, well, a history that is still unfolding.

But right now, the one legacy that Relox has secured for himself right now is that he will be remembered as the Filipino artist who immortalized the charming Mangyan life. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

2009-09-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

Escape to Manila: Lost in Translation

By DAVID CASUCO. Editor-in-Chief, California Examiner

The hotel wake up call came almost simultaneous with the yapping of my cell phone. It was my second day in mysteriously hot Manila, and I was expecting a lot of calls that day from people – family, friends, relatives, and a few dear old classmates from the University of Santo Tomas. I grabbed the hotel phone first to acknowledge the service. “Sir, this is your wake up call. It is now seven-thirty in the morning,” the hotel’s front desk clerk told me in perfect English. I sheepishly thanked him and hang up the phone.

My cell phone beeped again. I reached for it and, “Merciful Lord — a litany of text messages! How on earth am I going to deal with this? ” I whispered a scream to myself.

The first one read, Gud am. How ru? We r down here w8in 4u. “This must be Todd,” I thought. I agreed to hook up with him at the hotel lounge for breakfast today. “Wait a minute, holy text! What was he saying?”

I then went on to the next message, this time from my wired-up sixteen-year old niece: Muzta poh ku, d2me mlpt, pnta medyn. Ok c u l8r. I sat down and tried to figure out the equivalent translation in human words. After repeatedly playing the text message by ear, I finally understood what the message was trying to convey. The rest of the messages were just as cryptic and baffling as the first two. I would have spent the whole morning trying to figure out each message, a luxury I simply did not have. What I did was call back and chastised each of them for destroying modern civilization. Then I realized I am in Manila, a city Filipinos love to call the “text capital of the world.”

At the breakfast table, I was complaining to my friend about this texting phenomenon that is happening in the Philippines.

“Let’s just say we mastered it out of necessity,” he said. “Text messaging (a cell phone feature that is largely ignored everywhere else) costs a lot cheaper than regular phone calls.”

“Makes sense,” I said. “But for people like me this is just too much, we have no way in coping with it. This is like communicating in an unknown weird language.”

“Don’t worry, you will get the hang of it sooner than you expect,” he assured me.

And he was right. After two-and-a-half weeks in Manila and an average of about 18 text messages daily later, I somehow mastered the “art of text messaging.” When my friend sent me a text message saying that he will take me to the airport but is expecting traffic delay, I quickly sent my text message back, “Gotcha!” for “I got you.” And when he “texted” back asking if I was not running late. In answered: Tk ur tym buddy. The plane’s ntguna lyv w8ut me.

When my friend finally showed up at the hotel parking lot to pick me up, he was wearing an impish grin, amused at my quick conversion to the text culture of the Philippines. He gave me a pat on the back saying, “Well done, brother. In three weeks you have metamorphosed into a new member of Generation TXT.

Some sixteen hours later, I was back in Los Angeles. My friends and relatives had this one obvious question, “How is Manila?”

“Irresistibly beautiful,” I told them.

They have misgivings. Sure, they do not think that my seventeen-day escape to Manila gave me enough time to experience the hellish things that the self-respecting balikbayans usually complain about.

“You must have landed somewhere in Atlantis, not in Manila,” my friend wryly surmised. He then asked me if I stayed long enough under the torrid summer sun, sniffed the thick polluted air, seen the crazy street traffic, and the ubiquitous city squalor.

I told them that I definitely did, but paid little attention. Those unpleasant things are considered as “constants” in the Philippines, so, no big deal.

What I saw was a city where I grew up and pursued my college education. The images of my UST college days rushing back like a torrent of little formless shadows on a time machine. What I saw was a city where the people can be happy by just hanging out at the mall to cool off and do nothing more, a luxury that most moneyed people will never ever have. What I saw was a city with people who do not have obesity problems. They all look like marathon runners. What I saw was a city with levelheaded young adults who hit the books on weekends and kiss the hands of their elders. What I saw was a city where most people can worship God and God alone. This is because they do not have palatial homes, fancy cars, and other worldly riches to compete for their love of God.

“What about what we saw?” my friend butted in, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Okay, I agree, Manila is not exactly a paradise. However, to me, it is home, the only place where my body and soul go in perfect sync. That is why, I find it downright hypocritical when balikbayans go home to the Philippines and look at everything with their whine-colored glasses.

Okay, I agree, the homeland does not offer the convenience of a financially secure, high-end lifestyle. What the Philippines offers is the beauty of a simple life, the warmth of family love, and the endearing traditional Catholic-Christian Filipino values that bring into focus the real purpose of life and living.

Unfortunately, most of us, just don’t get it. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

warped and twisted faith

2009-09-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Warped and twisted faith

Except for some religionists who write nasty letters once in a while, I don’t have many negative responses to my weekly column. These religionists usually pick a typo here, a phrase and an idiom there, and then accuse me of doctrinal fallacy. However, when their credentials are exposed, they are no more than self-styled religionists who do not have formal study and foundational knowledge of the Scriptures. As for my errors and mistakes, I can deal with it. I know that my God knows my personal limitations; although I don’t make it as an excuse for mediocrity.

Last week, I found another interesting letter in my e-mail. The guy from San Bernardino wrote in to question the “grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9)” biblical formula of salvation. He was espousing “faith plus good works plus membership in a true and correct church.” He did not amplify what he meant by true and correct church. I can only surmise that he is not sure if his church is, indeed, correct.
We can learn a lot from a religionist. Here are his weird ideas and the rebukes that he got.
Religionist: Unless he does (good works) so a man cannot be saved. That is why we need to affiliate with the Church, the true and correct church.
My comment: I am wary when people start classifying Christians. This “we-do-it-right” attitude by some Christian sub-cultures does not auger well for the Christian faith. Learned believers don’t do that. True believers always look at the church as the body of believers; never institutions ruled by clergy and governed by man-made precepts, never buildings by any denominations. The true and correct church is a body of believers headed by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is bible-based and adheres to the basic tenets of the Judeo-Christian faith.

Religionist: By staying close to this true Church we can be reminded to continue to live by the correct precepts Jesus Christ has taught.

My comment: We don’t need a lot of those reminders if the Lord Jesus is in our heart. We are in a congregation, all right, because people in the church boost and edify one another. The believers in the church, the institution, the clergy and church leaders cannot save a person. Only Jesus does. You may be a priest, a pastor and a minister; but if you don’t have a relationship with the Lord, you are just a regular sinner. That is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote to the early Christians in Rome that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Religionist: Are you trying to preach that all will be saved because of the death of Jesus on the Cross — all together including the murderers, the adulterers, the thieves!(sic) I couldn’t imagine why you can’t follow simple composition. You should get the meaning from the total context of the article, not from phrases and sentences. I am trained as a journalist and I write clearer and better than the regular guys. I understand enough when it comes to Christianity and the bible. I was saying salvation was appropriated on the Cross. What I was saying was the redemptive value of the death of the Lord on the Cross was enough to cover all the sins of the world. That’s not even my personal idea; the bible says it. And, as such, we don’t need what some devotees do -- religious voodoos like flagellations and other funky religious practices to cleanse our sins. The issue that I raised was the cleansing of our sins. The point was there is nothing we can do about our sinfulness. Are you saying the blood of Lamb is not enough to cover the sins of the world? If your answer is yes, then you are likely hooked into a wrong system of worship.

Religionist: Even if one were to be sinful and evil he will be saved anyway?

My comment: This question is stupid. Only Hollywood rewards badness. Even a toddler knows that when he does bad things he gets punished. I know you are not confused. You are just playing confused! Other people, who correspond to me, bring in honest questions. You understand what I am saying. You understand what I am doing (bring gospel awareness to the community through journalism). If you find some typos and misses, go down on your knees and pray for me. That is what I call faith that works. But if you try to twist the context of my article and criticize it according to how you twisted it, that does not speak well of a man who has been “studying” the Scripture for forty years.

Religionist: Oh, how absurd that doctrine is!

My comment: You be careful now. This is where the proud and learned religionists get trapped -- taking spiritual things down to human perspective. A lot of the things of God don’t make sense (absurd) to the wise people like you. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.’ If the biblical idea of salvation appears absurd to you, there is nothing much you can do about it. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of God remains forever.

James 2:14- 20, clearly explains that works along with faith is necessary. Vs 14, says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?” Certainly not! He must do something about himself, for himself, including “loving thy neighbor as thyself.” (I sure read the Epistle of James. I studied Systematic Theology and I spent a whole semester studying the Epistles. Be careful here. You see, James was not talking about salvation. His epistle was addressed to “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.” Its emphasis was on vital Christianity, characterized by good deeds and a faith that works (genuine faith must and will be accompanied by a consistent lifestyle.) Now, here is the Apostle Paul, a guy who did an excellent treatise on Gentiles’ salvation. Go back to Ephesians 2:8-9 and check your Strong’s Concordance. Remember, even if you are not spirit-filled, you will be able to understand what salvation is all about. It is because Scriptures interpret Scriptures.)

To guide you further, James just said that faith without works is dead. He was just saying Christians must walk the Christian walk. He was just suggesting a consistent Christ-like behavior from Christians. He was pointing out the dark side that remains in true Christians. He was not talking about salvation. Unlike Paul, James was not talking to the unsaved and uncircumcised Gentiles. He was addressing to the believers from the early Jerusalem church who, after Stephen’s death, were scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Syrian Antioch (Acts 8:1; 11:19 NIV Study Bible). The Biblical foundational truth is grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have gone to a Bible College and studied Hermeneutics, you would be able to distinguish the CONTEXT OF THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE and CONTEXT OF FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH as against INDIVIDUAL BIBLE PASSAGES like James 2:20.

It is unfortunate, but a lot of people like this guy who wrote the letter, are into “we-do-it-better” religious sub-cultures. They are hoodwinked to the idea that doing good works and active Church membership is a passport from here to eternity.

Listen, people. Salvation is God’s work; never ours, never will be. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

2009-04-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

Legend Palawan Experience:

A journey of endless wonder

By DAVID CASUCO/Editor-in-Chief, California Examiner
I was a little apprehensive when the Legend Hotel International executive, Francis Patrick C. Favoreal, suggested that I must as well swing by Palawan since my travel itinerary includes Caticlan-Boracay. The immediate image that flashed in my mind was a cluster of God-forsaken islands that host the Iwahig Penal Colony and the Culion Leper Colony, both infamous landmarks established by the Americans for the commonwealth society's misfits and rejects at the turn of the 20th century.

Favoreal and two of Legend Hotel International's marketing specialists, Jane Andres and Lynette Matencio, probably sensed my utter ignorance about the new Palawan and its booming eco-tourism, so they started talking the latest developments about the province and the interesting things about the Palawan experience. They talked about the Firefly Watching Activity, Underground River Tour, the Honda Bay Island Hopping, and the fresh water pearls. The breakfast meeting that I had with these young Legend Hotel Int'l execs was an eye-opener on my part. I was overwhelmed by their faith and passion for the country, a thing that I share with them, but don't see very often among Filipinos.

My perceived apprehension quickly vanished when I learned that nowadays the Iwahig is no longer a maximum security prison but more of a rehab penal farm; and there are no more people in the Culion Island that are afflicted by the dreaded biblical disease. The perceived shame and stigma that used to define the Southern Luzon province (not Visayas, as it is oftenly mistaken) has been replaced by travel and tourism epithets like "the Philippines last frontier" or "paradise islands."

"The Underground River I know, but what's the big deal about luminescent bugs?" I asked. Favoreal assured me that it is cool. "Just go. Trust me, a sensitive writer like you will definitely love the Palawan experience." He then instructed Ms. Lynette to re-work on my itinerary to accommodate the Legend-Palawan trip.

The initial e-ticket that I got would entail me to come back to Manila from Puerto Princesa and then from Manila I go back south to Caticlan-Boracay, then finally back to Manila. So then, I had to re-do my itinerary. I told the travel agent that if I have to do back and forth, I may just as well cancel Palawan. I said the thing that I needed is a Puerto Princesa-Caticlan flight booking on the third day of March. I asked them to check with SEA Air again, see if the 19+2-passenger aircraft that fly Caticlan-Puerto Princesa has available seat. The guy peered into his laptop one more time and presto, I got booked. The ticket, however, would come a day after because, I was told, SEA Air still does the old paper ticket. I was like, "have these guys heard about computers?"

The trip forced me to forgo my gig at the University of Santo Tomas, my alma mater, where I was to speak before two groups of students in Literary Journalism by Prof. Nenet Galang-Perena on March 4. Also, I had to cancel my booking for Catarman where I was to meet my brother at the Capitol.

Looking back at it now, the trip was well worth it; and then some.
The Air Philippines plane landed at the Puerto Princesa airport after an hour and a half flight from Manila. We have to disembark in the middle of the field and walk a few meters to a makeshift area where a short conveyor is set up since the Puerto Princesa airport is undergoing massive refurbishing.

The time was four-thirty in the afternoon when I pulled my luggage off the conveyor. Almost immediately I spotted my name high on the top the list of Legend Hotel guests. Other people might have loved it, but I was embarrassed when I read a VIP tag opposite my name.

"That is a mistake, I am no VIP," I told the driver of the hotel van.

The driver was in contact with somebody in his cell phone while he was putting in my luggage. He turned to me and said: "Tayo na sir, hinihintay ka na roon."

"No, let's wait for the other guys," I protested.

"Okay na sir, I will just come back for them, malapit lang ang Legend" he said, as he quickly hopped into the van and turned on the ignition key.

Thirty minutes later, I was at the Legend Palawan (www.legendhotels.com.ph) on Malvar Street, the premier hotel in the city of Puerto Princesa. The young man at the front desk asked me for my driver's license, and when he sensed that I was too tired to accomplish a form for anything, he just asked me my business card and handed me the key to my room.

"Excellent customer service for a starter," I thought.

But before I could do my next move, Marlon DelMundo, the young tourist guide who welcomed me earlier with a three-layered lei of puca shells, told me that I am supposed to be at the lobby in thirty minutes for the Iwahig River firefly watching tour.
When I told him I have to wash up and won't be ready in an hour, Marlon panicked as if what I just said could spell doom for his career.

"Sir, I understand that your plane was delayed for a couple of hours in Manila, but can you come down before five-thirty?" he implored, visibly stressed.

Realizing his day is about to get messed up, I told him: "Fine. I will make it as quick as possible."
The other tourist in the Legend Hotel's service van was a learned man from Israel. He seemed very knowledgeable about the Palawan islands. He was asking Marlon-the-tourguide curious questions that tourists are not supposed to know like, "Is that Coron Island?"

How in the world did he know that there is a Coron Island north of Palawan. Is this guy a member of the Intepol probing the Dos Palmas case? I must admit I felt ashamed, frustrated, and was a little bit offended by the fact that this tourist knows more about Palawan than myself, a certified Pinoy who was born and studied journalism in the Philippines.

We reached the Iwahig Firefly Activity station some forty-five minutes later. The place was lighted up by a hazy flourescent lamp. There were welcome signs, but people were nowhere to be found. Marlon-the-tourguide had to holler for people to come. From the cover of darkness, three young men came out showing paddles.

"I was expecting to see people doing bonfire. Why do they have access to power," I pointed out jestingly.

"They just have it lately, sir," said Marlon-the-tourguide. "Last year, you are right, they were still doing bonfires," he added, as if to courteously sustain the funny repartee. I was to learn later from Marlon that the young men are unpaid volunteers. Some are students from the Palawan State University.
(Left photo:The Iwahig River at dusk)

The boat could only accommodate four people (two boatmen and two tourists). But with two 200-pounder, heavy-set guys like me and the Israeli, the boat was but a few inches afloat, and looked like it was ready to sink anytime. The other guy, I sensed, was a little nervous. He must have recognized that his life was in serious peril. He was asking me if the ride is safe. I told him not to worry and just make sure the vest is secure

"Do you know how to swim?" I asked.

"Not in a deep river on a dark night," he said.

I tried to inject humor and idiom to the precarious situation by telling him that this is one "journey to die for," but his mind was somewhere else. I was not thinking of any disaster. Aside from the life vest that the boatmen provided us, I can swim well and floats even without a vest. The only concern I had are the alligators deep down the brackish water of the Iwahig River.

"The water is about six meters deep. But there are no crocodiles. At least nobody has seen one," said the boatman infront of me who, I figure out, was designated to answer the common questions about fireflies, alligators, mangroves and, of course, the nuances and history attached to the Iwahig River. The same boatman told us that the nipa palm belongs to the family of mangroves, and that some of the mangrove trees found at the Iwahig River are not found anywhere else in the world.

After some 20 minutes of slow ride down the dark, mangrove-lined river, we saw a faint glow ahead. That was our first encounter with the luminescent kind. The fireflies hover around a certain kind of mangrove. We were told that the fireflies prefer the Maynilad, a kind of mangrove with rounded leaves and wiry branches.

The boatmen suddenly stopped talking, held off their paddles and, are you ready for this -- I thought I heard the footsteps of God. The stillness and serenity around us inspire awe and wonder. There was no sign of life, the sound of silence totally engulfed us. There was not even a sound of a cricket. The pale moon above us was barely enough to show the skyline of the Iwahig mountain range that serves as the backdrop for the picture perfect landscape. For the first time in my life I experienced such extreme tranquility that seems to confound the realm of the senses. If I was brought blindfolded to the place and was left alone to find out where I was, I would thought that I was left behind in a world I have never known.

We found two more mangrove trees with fireflies on our way back via the other side of the river, and then in a little over an hour we were reunited with our driver and Marlon-the-tourguide.
About 8:50 in the evening we were back in city. I quickly settled myself at the Legend Hotel's Tanglaw Restaurant where the last group of diners are doing desserts. I was sitting in one of tables listlessly sorting out my notes. At the same time I was trying to shake off the mesmerizing thrill of that nocturnal journey at the Iwahig River a few hours ago. Realizing that I just missed dinner and that the restaurant could be closing anytime, I moved out to the lobby where the smokers hang out and continued sorting out the materials for my Iwahig River journey.
Then, I was back in reverie... at the Iwahig River...

"Coffee, sir?" the waiter's voice from behind me cut short my procrastination and sent me crashing back to earth.

"Oh no, thanks," I said. "Give me some brackish water from the Iwahig River instead."
The waiter swallowed air.

"That was a joke, I was reading my notes," I said in Tagalog.

The waiter responded with an impish grin and left looking askance, as if saying, "Nalipasan yata ito ng gutom."

INTO THE CAVE
My wakeup call sent me straight to the shower. In an hour the tour bus is leaving for the Underground River Tour. "This one could be a lot more exciting. I heard a lot of people talk about it," I thought.

I was at the bus at 7:00 a.m. all right. The one thing that California did taught me was to be on time. Amazingly, the local Pinoy tourists were up early as well.

"Come on, let's roll," I told the driver.

"Sir, we are still waiting for just one more," Marlon-the-tourguide replied
.
"Who the heck is he. Let's leave him behind, it's thirty minutes past the hour," the oldest man in the group, a retired U.S. navyman, insisted.

Marlon ran back inside the hotel to check how much longer would it take for the last passenger to come down. When the tour guide came back, he was with a tall Indian man. He was met with eight dour faces inside the van. The guy sat next to me at the back seat, so he was not able to get away with some piece of my mind.

"You had us waiting for nearly an hour. I thought that was a little rude," I chided the Indian guy.
"I'm sorry, but nobody told me the bus leaves at 7 a.m.," he answered.
"All right, somebody else's fault, no problem," I deadpanned.

After over two hours ride, some on dusty, unfinished roads, we arrived at the wharf called Sabang (meaning cove). We have to take another 30-minute motorboat ride to reach the Cave. But we got there late. Five or seven more tour groups arrived ahead of us. I heard Marlon-the-tourguide grumbling, and blaming the Indian guy for his Houdini act earlier.

I surveyed the place -- the souvenir stores, the hall, the bathroom, and I talked to the locals. I wanted to learn as much as I can. I need more materials aside from the tour guide's usual mumbo-jumbo stuff. At the souvenir stores, there is not much the tourist could benefit except the cold soda, the cigaret (which you can buy by 10-pcs. pack for P36), T-shirts, and an abundant supply of fresh water pearl that come in rings, earrings, bracelets, and pendants.The hall does not have chairs, the bathroom have shower rooms but the shower and the faucets do not work. One has to go out and fetch some bucket of water to wash up
.
There were paperworks to get done. I noticed that our tour guide was trying to circumvent the system so we can go to the cave immediately. I thought he successfully did it because it did not take us long for us to get accommodated.

At last, we arrived at the Subterrenean Cave National Park. The time was a quarter past 10 o'clock. Again, the Indian guy got the ire of everybody when he ignored the instructions of Marlon that no picture taking yet as we need to be all on deck immediately.

Our group was told that the wait is half an hour. Meanwhile, we had to undergo more paperworks: The first table, for registration; the next one, a vote for the Cave in the ongoing New 7Wonders of Nature contest (http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees).
There were only a total of eight boats doing the rounds. Each boat has a capacity of eight passengers, and there were about over a hundred tourists on deck.

Suddenly, screams of little girls got everybody's attention. Then, we were looking up. All of us.
"Ahhh... look at him," a man said pointing to the wild monkey who just snatched the the little girl's tetrapack drink. The cameras went: Click, click, click.

"Stupid monkey. Tonight you will be on YouTube," said the visibly upset girl. "The whole world will know how stupid you are."
The girl's rant elicited smiles all around.
(Left photo: The Palawan Subterranean National Park)
At about 11 a.m. we finally had our turn. We sailed deep into the dark underground river with the boatman doing the tour presentation. He said that the river is actually eight kilometers long, generally regarded as the world's longest, but the tourists are only allowed the 1.8-kilometer navigable distance. Only credentialed extreme adventurers are allowed to go deeper into the subterrenean journey which, we were told, goes out directly to the South China Sea.
That was the only sensible thing that the boatman said. Everything else was garbage. When he described one rock formation as the posterior of Sharon Stone, I was ready to chastise him. But I realized that he is in control of the boat and we were deep inside a dark cave underneath a huge mountain. I don't know why the tourism people allow unlearned men to do this job. I prefer a volunteer college student, like the young man at the Iwahig River, who could tell the difference between the stalagmites from the stalactites.

The boat has a flashlight attached to a car battery. Whoever is in front of the boat gets the job of being the lightman. The cave is enchanting enough, but the intriguing formations of stalagmites and stalactites provide endless wonder to well-meaning tourists. My enchantment failed to hold water when the insensitive boatman started giving funny and mundane descriptions to the rock formations. Every now and then a drop of water would fall on me; a quite unsettling thing. I couldn't stop thinking that could be dropping from bats over us. Also, inside the cave we saw one white water snake, lots of bats, and some fish jumping up above the water.

I did not panic inside the cave. But, that does not mean I was not scared. For the first time, I realized I have some clustrophobic nerves. And although, we were told, that only the lower part of the river is subject to tidal influences, I couldn't help thinking, "What if at this hour a freak thing happens and the water level rises suddenly... Definitely, this could be the last minutes of my life." The thought sent mild shivers to my scary bones.

Then we reached that point where there is an unusually large chamber. The ceiling, we were told, is about 34-36 meters high. The place appears like a church sanctuary. A couple more minutes ride upstream and the boatman announced: "Hanggang dito na lang po."
In about 20 minutes we are out of the Cave.

On our way back to the motorboat we met by the road a fat monitor lizard (about 5 feet long). The wild animal became an instant object of adoration for the group. Again, the cameras went: Click, click, click.

Then, in another thirty minutes, we were back at Sabang Wharf. Our boat, and some four more behind us were not able to dock immediately as there was a television media crew from Manila who were playing like real hotshots at the wharf. These media people (caps and vests designed with big bold television network logo) were holding the boat traffic because they refused to follow standard protocols at the wharf.

"Can you believe these guys?" our tour guide asked, unmistakably frustrated.
"Yes, I do.... they have attitudes. Napapa-pansin lang ang mga 'yan. They are probably fake or pseudo-journalists. I see a lot of their kind in Los Angeles," I responded.

"Will they be included in your story, sir?" Marlon wondered aloud.

"No. Definitely not. I am no Pinnochio to get sucked into their puppet show," I said.
Our lunch was waiting for us at the Taraw Lodge at the nearby Sabang Beach. The Indian guy got excited again; this time, he saw the water buffalo towing a cart on the beach. I followed him for some photo ops, but the man leading the buffalo was less accommodating than the monitor lizard that we met earlier. He refused to stop the carabao!

Pissed off, I told the man that he is not the right guy for that job. "Parang hindi mo alam ang ginagawa mo. I can call the tourism people right now and, trust me, tomorrow you will be back in the boondocks," I told him.

But before the altercation could turn ugly, Marlon-the-tourguide came running to intervene.
Lunch at the Taraw Lodge comprise of steamed white rice, adobong kangkong, grilled pork belly (or sinugba na pecho as the locals call it), grilled fresh shrimp, grilled fresh fish, heavenly traditional Pinoy condiments, original sweet mangoes, organic ripe bananas (you could smell hinog ito sa puno) and fresh buko fruit. That settled any and all little unpleasant things that had happened in the morning.

On our way back to Legend Hotel, we were supposed to have a side trip to the Vietnamese Village, but the tour guide said there is not much to see because the Vietnamese have already integrated themselves into the mainstream Pinoy society or have moved somewhere else. Instead, we stopped to take pictures of the majestic mountains by the roadside that nature filled with granite and marble.

Then, at about three p.m., we are done for the day. My group, I heard, went on another tour. I went back to my room, took a warm shower, and quickly hit the sack. Thanks to a couple of generous whiskey shots.
HONDA BAY ISLAND HOPPIN'

(Pandan Island, Honda Bay)

My third day itinerary indicates that I have to do breakfast at Legend Hotel's Tanglaw Restaurant at 7 a.m. The tour van departs for the Honda Bay Island tour at 8 a.m. No glitches this time. We hit the road exactly as scheduled. The trip entails a 25-minute ride to the Santa Lourdes Wharf, and then another 45-minute motorboat ride to Snake Island (so-called because of its slithery shape).

There were already a lot of tourists who got there before us. Some were swimming, some playing beach volleyball, the guys were eating and drinking booze. There were small shacks in the island. I learned from one of the vendors that they have permits from the tourism office to peddle their wares, and that they do not live in the island. At the end of the day, these people, who sell souvenir items and food, go back home to the main island.

I saw only mangrove trees in the island. I don't know if the other end of the island have palm trees or any different vegetation. But the local vendors have an ample supply of fresh young coconut fruit for everyone. The vendors also sell beer and soda.

The activities listed in our itinerary were swimming, snorkeling, and, the fun part, was fish feeding. It was a different experience. Schools of fishes, beautiful and colorful ones of all shapes and sizes would come right before your face when you scatter bread crumbs in the water. One guy from Chicago had his own snorkeling gizmo that has a built-in camera. It could take underwater pictures of the fishes. He showed me one nice picture of a group of multi-colored fishes. He said he is going to make it a screensaver for his laptop.

We were there for over two hours. We cancelled our running tour for the remaining three islands -- Luli, Bat & Meara Marina, and Starfish. Our guide was able to convince the group to just remain in Snake Island instead, as there is nothing new in the other three.

While we were walking back to our boat for our lunch at nearby Pandan Island, the local tourists were scrutinizing us and were talking about our group (there were 10 of us), saying that we have the biggest and the most beautiful boat. I was within an earshot, hugging and trying to hide my yellow-striped Legend Hotel beach towel, and pretending not to be a member of the group.
"Tingnan mo, ang beach towels nila pare-pareho," said one local.

"E, guests ng Legend ang grupong 'yan. Alagang-alaga ang mga 'yan," said the other.
The way they carried their conversation, I gathered and was able to establish that if you are a guest of the Legend Hotel, you are cut above the rest, a privileged one indeed.

Pandan Island is another version of island paradise. The beach is just as engaging as the Snake Island. There are a lot of coconut trees and there are makeshift shacks. Here and there Caucasian tourists could be seen basking under the sun, trying to get some good tan.

Just as as we settled down at a designated picnic area, guys from the resort island immediately bring in our lunch. I couldn't remember all the food they brought in. All I could remember is that everything they offered us was just the very thing that we wanted -- luscious papaya, banana, and mangoes, adobong kangkong, fresh grilled wild-caught fish, edible seaweed (lato) and traditional Pinoy condiments that reminded me of ole' grandma's kitchen.

Then we were on our way back to Legend-Palawan, the premiere hotel in Puerto Princesa that opened my eyes to the endless wonders of the Palawan Experience.

**************************
**************************

BORACAY BECKONS...

The Legend-Palawan front desk clerks were just amazing. From my hotel room, they were able to hook me up with the Palawan City Mayor Ed Hagedorn for a quick interview. The hotel guys got me a driver to bring me to the residence of the Mayor, a well-secured ranch, just a 10-minute drive from the hotel.

But first I had to check out as my flight to Caticlan/Boracay will be up in a couple of hours. Mayor Hagedorn was very accommodating, very smart, and very engaging. He told me that Palawan is not yet ready for a massive tourist traffic because the necessary infrastructures are not yet in place. He is proud of what his government has accomplished for the city. And understandably so. Puerto Princesa has kept its image as the "last frontier, " making it "the greenest and the cleanest city in the Philippines."

(to be continued...)

2009-04-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Mabuhay Manor:
Balikbayans choicest hotel
Offers service without limits,
amenities that are incomparably special
By DAVID CASUCO

The travel-weary balikbayan disembarks from the plane, listlessly waits for his luggage to show up at the conveyor, heads toward the exits and wonders if somebody else cares enough that he is in Manila, a place that, like an old song, just won't let go. Ah, but that was long time ago. The last time he was here, the first light rail transit from Baclaran to Liwasang Bonifacio was just doing trial runs, and the Anito Lodge motels were mushrooming in every nook and cranny of the Metropolis.

He moved his cart aimlessly to the exits, passing by a phalanx of people looking for their arriving relatives. And his relatives? He could hardly remember who they are. Besides, there is no way they could pick him up at the airport. They live far away up North, and he doubts if they have stable cars. He raised his head to check if by chance The Mabuhay Manor (www.mabuhaymanor.com.ph) that the travel agency picked for him had included an airport-hotel transfer. Sure enough, a driver from the Manor was there to meet him. A series of turns here and there and the service van was in front of the Mabuhay Manor. He checks his watch, travel time was exactly 14 minutes.

"This is like grandma's house, the people (hotel staff) are genuinely warm, and the guests move like they own the place," he thought.

(Mabuhay Manor front desk)

"Welcome to the Mabuhay Manor! Feel at home, sir, you are our guest, and we are at your service," said a quick-smiling young lady clad in an Igorota-inspired uniform. The front desk lady ushered him in a remarkably warm and sincere way, he couldn't believe he was experiencing hospitality at another level.
Later on, the balikbayan was to learn that The Mabuhay Manor has been, for over a decade now, a top choice for visiting Pinoy expats because of its extra-special brand of hospitality and the more personal approach to service. Actually, Mabuhay Manor is just one of the chain of budget-friendly hotels under the Legend Hotels International (www.legendhotels.com.ph) namely, the Legend Villas, The Legend Palawan, and Kabayan Hotels. There are now 11 properties under the Legends hotel group.
The brilliant mind behind this innovative "value-accommodation" concept of hotel service is Francis Patrick Favoreal, VP-COO of Legend Hotels International (LHI), a dynamic young man whose trailblazing efforts enabled LHI to corner a great chunk of the the affluent balikbayan travel market in California.
"The Mabuhay Manor enjoys a loyal following among U.S.-based kababayan because of its affordable rates and exceptio

nal service. We recognize that Filipino-Americans are a smart: They know where to buy; they know what schools to send their children; and, definitely, they know how to travel and have fun," said Favoreal.
He added that, according to their study, "the balikbayan goes home essentially for five reasons, we call it the Five Fs -- family, friends, food, faith, and fiestas," said Favoreal. "And since they are here on a limited time, the LHI staff make sure that the balikbayan guests are stress-free, and that all the "Five Fs" are served to them in the best possible way they know how. We make sure that their stay with us are convenient, pleasant, and always memorable," he said.
Unlike the conventional upscale hotel with indifferent and stiff settings, the Manor, in a way, compares to Lola's big palatial home, where the sense of belongingness makes it incomparably special. It has a place for the young and the old, and just about eveyone.
For this forty-something balikbayan, he finds the open lounge on the second floor overlooking the swimming pool his perfect sanctuary. He can turn on and off the ceiling fan and the lightings like it is his own patio in his home in California. In the mornings, he spends his time reading local magazines while his coffee is hosted by the guys from "Lola's," the second floor restaurant nearby. In the early evenings he hangs out at the open lounge with his favorite whisky bottle as he savors bit by bit the varied flavors of grilled fresh seafood from "Sutukil" right down below. The whir of the stuffy humid air gets drowned by noise of the children at the pool, and the chatter of the adults dining at the poolside give one the feeling that the party is going on in earnest at grandma's place.
Favoreal said that LHI's brand of service is anchored on two time-honored Filipino concepts namely, "sulit" and "alaga." The idea is, give the Pinoy a deal worth his money at the same time pamper him with excellent service and he will surely come back or recommend you to his friends and families."
The Mabuhay Manor and other Legend hotels do just that. "Sulit" and "alaga" are the hallmarks of their "service without limits" mission. And then some -- the endearing homey "little else's" like "palagi kang may makakausap;" "makakapaglaro ka ng dama at sungka" while the hotel staff keep an eye on your little kid; "puede kang umidlip at maghilik" at the lounge without any dread of embarrassment;" you can have a late check-out if your flight is late evenings; you can ask the cook to put more okra and kangkong in your sinigang; freshly chopped buko, balut, puto, and ice candy are readily available; and if you need a spiritual uplift, you can do fellowship with hotel staff and other like-minded guests at the Prayer Room.
(oh no, someone does not like it here)
Sounds too good to be true, indeed. Yet, at the Manor, the balikbayan gets practically everything that he yearns to experience or re-learn from his homeland. He is not just a guest, he is family. He invokes his inalienable right to extreme Pinoy pampering. He is the balikbayan and Manor honors his privilege to avail of the "alaga" service.
The hotel even has a resident pastor, Jun Enriquez, who understandably takes care of anything of spiritual concern. Pastor Jun intimated to this writer that the rise of balikbayan-oriented hotels spelled the demise of the iconic Anito Lodge enterprise, a stunning turn of events that created shockwaves in the lucrative motel industry.
Pastor Jun acts as the vital cog in the perceptible moral and spiritual regeneration that has taken place among most of its employees. It is estimated that more than half of the employees are renewed believers. And although the Manor human resources office does not discriminate anybody when hiring employees, the faith of the enlightened ones and the fruits of their spiritual walk are contagious enough to compel the lukewarm believers to serve the one mighty God.
That explains why the young man sings praise and worship songs while he makes up your room. Or why the waiters at "Lola's" might serenade the breakfast table with Don Moen's "God Will Make A Way" or "There Is None Like You."
This is a thing that does not happen very often -- a lot of genuinely inspired and happy people in one workplace.
"Our employees are inspired to work harder as they are motivated by their faith," said Favoreal, a renewed believer himself.
Little wonder Mabuhay Manor is exceptionally blessed.
Exactly what Pastor Jun had said quoting Paul's letter to the Romans (8:31), "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

2009-03-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

L-R: Fr. Joseto N. Bernadas Jr, OP, Regent; David Casuco, honoree-journalism '78; Artlets Dean Armando F. de Jesus, PhD; and Jones T. Campos, President UST Artlets Alumni Association.

UST Faculty of Arts and Letters honors
California Examiner Editor-in-Chief

The UST Arts and Letters Alumni Association (UST AAA), in cooperation with the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas, recently tendered a testimonial hosted by AB Batch ‘84 for faculty members who served the college in the 60’s and 70’s, and launched its alumni recognition platform during the general alumni homecoming held at Plaza Mayor, in front of the Main Building, in celebration of the college’s Sapphire (45th) anniversary.

For the Faculty Honorees, special citations were given to: Professors Rodolfo N. Clavio, Carlito C. Dalangin, Narita T. Ellar, Rev. Fr. Frederik S. Fermin, O.P., Miriam R. Garcia, Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, Raul F. Marabut, Rogelio A. Obusan, Antonio T. Pinon and Antonio F. Roxas.

For the Alumni honorees, special commendations, called Ginto at Gantimpala, salute AB alumni who made exceptional contributions in the attainment of the college mission through their meritorious commendation and goodwill. It aims to affirm Artlets who are commendable role models as alumni and to uphold the tradition of gratitude and loyalty to the Faculty of Arts and Letters.

Ginto ng AB, is a recognition for meritorious service, given in two categories: Gawad Alab for winners of prestigious awards like the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, National Artist, Ramon Magsaysay, Catholic Mass Media, TOTAL, TOYM, TOWN, Palanca, Dangal ng Lipi/Lahi, etc. On the other hand, Gawad Adhika is for prime movers of major college projects and activities.

The honorees for the first category are: Dr. Magdalena Alonso-Villaba (PhB 1957), Dr. Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta (LittB 1954); Dr. Belen Lorezca-Tangco (Pol. Sci. 1971) , Prof. Ramon "Bong" Osorio (Com Arts 1974), Mr. Jeffrey O. Tarayao (Com Arts 2001) and Ms. Erlinda Uy-Koe (Com Arts 1977)

The honorees for the second category are: Mr. Inocencio J. Angeles, Jr. (Pol. Sci. 1982), Mrs. Agnes Paras- Angeles (Behavioral Science 1982), Mrs. Ditas Rodriguez-Martelino (Literature 1982), Mr. David A. Casuco (Journ. 1978), Mr. Teodorico S. Perena (Com Arts 1978) , and Mr. Herman "Isko" Savador (Com Arts 1980).
AB’s G.A.N.T.I.M.P.A.L.A., on the other hand will be conferred next year for specific fields of excellence: Government Service, Advocacy, Nation-Building and Diplomacy, Teaching, Industry and Business, Media and Communication, Public Relations and Advertising, Arts, Law and Justice and Apostolate.

Henceforth, the honoring for both recognition and award recipients will be called "GABI NG GINTO AT GANTIMPALA’", to be held on the last day (Saturday) of the AB college week celebration, which is on the first week of February at the St. Raymund Bldg.’s Rizal Auditorium.

Inquiries/nominations may be addressed to: Assoc. Prof. Nenet Galang-Perena, AB faculty-in-charge of alumni affairs, at nenetgp@yahoo.com.

2009-03-06T00:35:00.000-08:00

By DAVID CASUCO
(First of two parts)

PUERTO PRINCESA city Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn said the province of Palawan, which is generally regarded as the Philippines last frontier, is not yet ready for massive tourism.

In an exclusive interview, Hagedorn, who was responsible for transforming Palawan into eco-tourism destination, told the California Examiner that the needed infrastructures have to be in place before the city government will consider opening the province to maximum tourist traffic.

“We have to rebuild the airport, we need to build more roads and hotels.” said Hagedorn.

The flamboyant mayor added that while the province, especially the northern part, is essentially a tourism magnet, his government will go by environment-friendly development or sustainable development.

By sustainble development, Hagedorn was talking about building tree-lined roads and thoroughfares, more parks and resorts with excellent environmental management, and allowing only industries that do not harm the balance of nature.

Also, the mayor pointed out that the citizens of the province must continue to respond to the challenge to keep Palawan’s natural pristine beauty.The citizens of Palawan enforce the law of littering much like they are God-give statutes. And rightly so, as they are protecting God's wondrous natural creations.

It is a common knowledge in the city that Mayor Hagedorn himself had to pay P200 fine for breaking the law. His violation: He threw a cigarette butt on the sidestreet of Rizal Avenue, one of the city’s main streets.

When asked to confirm if the story is true, Mayor Hagedorn said it did happen. He admitted that he, indeed, paid the fine of P200, and had apologized for his violation.“There is a sense of pride (among the residents) that Puerto Princesa has been named the cleanest and the greenest city (in the country),” he said.

The province, according to Hagedorn, is now committed to developing the economy of the people in a sustainable way.

Earlier, Hagedorn has made an appeal to President Arroyo and Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ace Durano of the Department of Tourism for the launching of a serious and massive nationwide campaign for Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park’s (PPSRNP) quest in the search for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature.

”The Subterranean River National Park has the lead right now in the Group E Forests, National Parks and Nature Reserves category, but a few days after it tumbled to second position in the live ranking against rivals in the ongoing global search.Aside from tourism industry,which bring in a big chunk of the government revenues, the city’s industries are agriculture and farming. The province produces coconut, banana, and rice. It also supplies fish and other marine products to Metro Manila and other Asian countries.

And while regulations are in place for controlled development in Palawan, the lure of a lucrative tourism revenue is just as irresistible. Recently, the province has developed five new eco-tour attractions that include The Iwahig River firefly tour, which this writer took courtesy of the Legend Hotel, arguably the best bet in hotel accommodation in Puerto Princesa.The firefly tour is a one-and-a-half hour nocturnal boat ride down mangrove-lined, brackish water of Iwahig River.

The stillness and serenity of the ride is occasionally broken by the paddle of the boatmaster, usually a volunteer student from the Palawan State University. The eerie glow of the bioluminescence of fireflies and the faint whispers of the tropical wind make the experience an awe-inspiring journey. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

2008-12-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

photo credit: joe cobilla

Pacquiao supreme test

By DAVID CASUCO

Editor, California Examiner

When Manny Pacquiao climb up the ring on December 6 to face Oscar dela Hoya in a welterweight non-title fight, he will need the whole Filipino nation to pray for his safety. The reason, of course, is that he will be up against somebody who could seriously hurt him. Even the staunch supporters of Pacquiao agree this fight could be an acid test for the pound-for-pound king. (photo credit: joe cobilla)

If the oddsmakers are right, the Golden Boy is expected to demolish the Pacman in no farther beyond the 7th round. Last week, the Vegas betting odds were pegged at -200 for Dela Hoya and +180 for Pacquiao. Meaning if you wager a dollar for Pacquiao and he wins, your bet will earn $1.80. That is the oddsmakers' realistic assessment of the fight -- a mismatch with the Pacman at the short end of the stick. Between the two boxers, there is a glaring disparity in height and in reach, in bulk and in weight. They are saying the wisdom of weight divisions in boxing has been set aside in this particular match.

Boxing purists are also saying the Dela Hoya-Pacquiao megabuck fight is more of a money grab. Dela Hoya and Pacquiao are expected to pocket fat purses, over and above a handsome share of the pay-per-view sales revenue.

Do the boxing aficionados care? Not at all. Even the cynics among us are sold to what the hype says -- a dream match. They see it as a once-in-a lifetime phenomenon, a collision between boxing's number one box office draw and a pound-for-pound hero, and a megabout pitting two iconic ring gladiators of our generation.

Even as the heavy favorite, the Golden Boy acknowledges the risk fighting the pesky Pacquiao. "There is a risk," he said, "his (Pacquiao) youth, and speed but I am ready for it." He said the playing field is just about even now with him coming down (in weight) and the Pacman going up. The fight, he said, now becomes mental. He was saying mental toughness will determine the result of the fight.

The great odds notwithstanding, the Pacman is definitely no pushover. According to Freddie Roach, Manny will beat Oscar because speed, and not size, will decide the outcome of this match. Roach said Manny's chances get better if the fight goes the distance because Oscar has the tendency to tire out in the latter rounds. Morevover, he said, Pacquiao handled his bigger sparring partners well at the Wild Card Gym. And that goes without saying, the Pacman can handle Dela Hoya as well.

Pacquiao definitely understands the magnitude of this fight. And he is determined to pull off this victory for legacy's sake. "This is my chance to have the name Manny Pacquiao known not only in the Philippines, but in all boxing," he said.

Another thing going for the Pacman -- and this is a big deal -- is that whenever he fights he fights for his country and his people. This gives him the extra motivation to do well inside the ring if only because over 91 million people back home want him to win again. So that there will be another feel-good victory parade in the streets of Manila again; so that his biggest fans in Malacanang will be happy again; so that the charitable institutions that he supports will have money again. With these over his shoulders, Pacquiao will surely do whatever it takes to win.
To the Pinoy boxing fans, their idol may be the underdog this time, but they are counting on what Pacquiao's big fighting heart can do in situations where the odds are against him. "We still believe Manny can win. He is young, he has power, he has speed, and he has a big fighting heart," said Alan Rayver Cruz, a big Pacquiao fan from of Rowland Heights, California.

And so the mantra of Pacquiao for this particular fight has been, "Speed makes a difference. I can handle his power. He cannot hurt me." This is what he always tells everybody in all his pre-fight interviews. It is easy enough for sportswriters to comprehend. They have seen how David Diaz turned out a bloody mess because he couldn't contain the quickness of the Pacman. They have seen how Pacquiao disposed of the Mexican boxing stars one after another by way of his vaunted speed.

The truth, however, is speed does not make Pacquiao an elusive target. If De la Hoya failed to land his vicious jabs in his match with Floyd Mayweather, it is because Mayweather was too talented and elusive a target. Pacquiao's fists are fast, but his swarming stance makes him an easy target for someone who is a ring savvy like the Golden Boy.

As the countdown to the Dela Hoya-Pacquiao tiff comes down to the last few days, some self-proclaimed boxing pundits are still whining about mismatch and money grab. What they fail to see and understand that this is a megabout, and this is what Vegas boxing is all about.

And for those are still not sure of what this boxing card really amounts to, they could be left in a lurch by now because the tickets to the fight set at the MGM Grand Garden Arena were sold out a couple of hours after it went on sale in September. Of course, there are tickets available in the Internet by some brokers trying to make some quick bucks. Check them out and be ready to be shocked by the princely sum they are asking. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

first filipino to win an emmy award

2008-09-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Jess Espanola, first Pinoy to win an Emmy

By DAVID CASUCO

Editor-in-Chief

LOS ANGELES -- Multi-awarded animator Jess Espanola put the Philippines in view during the 60th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards last week, bagging one Emmy trophy for his work as Assistant Director for the The Simpsons' "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind," which was named best half-hour animated show.

Also given recognitions, along with Jess, are the top executives of Fox Gracie Films and Starz Film Roman, namely: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening (the creator of "The Simpsons"), Al Jean, Ian Maxton-Graham, Matt Selman, and Tim Long, executive producers; John Frink, Kevin Curran, Michael Price, Bill Odenkirk, Marc Wilmore, Joel H. Cohen, Ron Hauge, and Rob Lazebnik, co-executive producers; Lurie Biermacki, and Rick Polizzi, animation producers; J. Steward Burns, writer; Chuck Sheetz, director; Mark Kirkland, supervising director; Patricia Shinagawa, animation timer.

"The Simpsons" (FOX, Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox), bested four top nominees in the "Outstanding Animated Program (for programming less than one hour)", namely: Creature Comforts America "Don’t Choke To Death, Please " CBS, Aardman Animations production in association with The Gotham Group; King Of The Hill "Death Picks Cotton " FOX, 20th Century Fox Television in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Deedle-Dee Productions & Judgemental Films; Robot Chicken "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" Cartoon Network, ShadowMachine Films, and SpongeBob SquarePants "Inmates of Summer / Two Faces of Squidward" Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon with United Plankton Pictures, Inc.
Jess, who graduated with a fine arts degree from the University of the Philippines, is the first ever Filipino to receive an Emmy award. Although some long-time Filipino residents in Los Angeles are ambivalent on the distinction heaped on him, saying someone else -- a Filipino-American engineer -- set the milestone in the early 80s, a claim that remains unsubstantiated as of this writing. Still others point to two-time Emmy honoree Cher Calvin of KTLA TV and some other lady in the East Coast. Both, however, are considered to be American citizens.

Meanwhile, Jess is riding on a crest of mainstream accolade, a feat that validates the common knowledge that Filipino animators are among the best in Hollywood.

"That's correct, a lot of Filipino artists are in the cutting edge of the animation industry. I guess I am lucky that I worked with "The Simpsons," said Jess.

Actually, this is the second time that Jess got involved in an animation project that won an Emmy. He was also an assistant director for "Futurama," an animated show that won the Emmy in 2002. Unfortunately, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences did not include the assistant director in the nomination process then.

How does he feel rubbing elbows with the prime movers of the American entertainment industry?
"It was cool. All of us nominees had a party on August 26 at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences where everybody was given the certificate of honor, but the announcement of winners were set a couple of weeks later on Sept. 13 at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles where the formal announcement was done. During that day, all of us from the studio anxiously waited. And when the final reckoning came, the master of ceremonies called out, 'and the Emmy goes to... The Simpsons!' I thought I punched the air and hollered yeah! It was a surreal experience for me. The excitement was just so overwhelming at that moment," Jess told this writer in an exclusive interview.

Jess, who was given permanent U.S. residency status as a "person with exceptional ability," has an equally compelling life story. Raised by a single mother in a depressed area in Central Luzon, Jess used his artistic talent to survive when he came face to face with hunger.
"I experienced real hunger while I was a boy. There was no food on the table most of the time. Sometimes I just imagine I already ate. It was a hard life," said Jess.

Amazingly, despite the great odds, Jess still remained on top of his class, and people started helping him out when they noticed that he was an exceptionally talented kid. He was among the high achieving students in high school that gained scholarships at the University of the Philippines.

When Hanna Barbera put up Fil-Cartoon Inc., a subsidiary outfit in Pasig, Metro Manila, Jess was hired as a team supervisor and lead animator. Jess's works were, and still are, considered standards of excellence in Philippine animation.

Jess and his family moved to Los Angeles in 1994.

Jojo Binay: The man who would be president

2008-09-17T01:40:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

LOS ANGELES -- Jejomar Binay, the Mayor of Makati City, who is also the United Opposition president, did an impressive job as long-time local chief executive of the financial capital of the Philppines. The Filipino people, and the world, acknowledged his accomplishment as a leader. They say what the activist-lawyer did was praiseworthy by any measure.

And as his legend grew Binay realized that Makati is too small for him. Like the man who would be king, Jojo Binay now trains his sight at the Palace's top post, no less. With his impeccable performance as his launching pad, the 66-year old Binay is off and running.

Right now, he is back in Los Angeles, doing the rounds among Fil-Am groups, and trumpeting his virtues, and saying he is the right person for the Palace's job.

In an exclusive interview with this writer at the California Examiner offices in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, Binay cited that in other countries, the most successful national leaders were former city mayors. He was saying statistics and trends auger well for him. Others say it is his uncompromising defense for20truth and democracy. Still others say it is his name that could make him a king. Jejomar (Jesus-Joseph-Mary) is a representation of the Holy Family in the Christian world.

Asked if he will be able to extrapolate his success in Makati on a national scale, Binay did not give a clear cut answer but said, "There are square pegs for square holes. I have experience and capability." He said that as a long-time local executive officer he has competence and leadership, unlike the congressmen and senators "who are more of a debating teams."
What is the one most important thing that he wants to do when he gets elected President of the Philippines?

"In the first 100 days, I will decentralized the power of the national government. This will give way to a more active participation of the local government." Binay believes that a progressive barangay invariably means a progressive town, city, province, and ultimately a progressive country.
During the launching of his bid for presidency last year at the Makati City Hall, Binay said there is a need for another "revolution". The charismatic mayor said he is accepting the challenge to lead that revolution toward a progressive and respected Philippines.

Binay shakes off talks about cracks in the opposition saying, at the end of the day, the real opposition will be sifted from the=2 0pseudo and counterfeit ones. He said in a couple of months, the opposition presidentiables are going to sit down with former President Joseph Estrada in a "unity meeting." Right now, Sens. Manny Villar, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, and Mar Roxas are the other "opposition" frontrunners. Sen. Panfilo Lacson reportedly dropped out from the race lately.

Estrada, who was ousted by a popular uprising in 2001, convicted, and pardoned, had said earlier that he "remains open to the idea of running in 2010," but only if the opposition won't unite. "If they don't unite, that is my last option," Estrada said.

Meanwhile, the headstart Binay has gained in Los Angeles looks significant as it is seemingly extensive.

Aside from Binay, only Escudero has made some impressions among the L.A. Pinoys. The Bicolano solon has visited L.A. twice recently.

Los Angeles is home to over one million Filipino expatriates, according to statistics from the Philcongen-LA. The Consulate has registered the second highest number of overseas absentee voters (OAV) with 6,534 as of recent count, next only to the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong, which had over 10K registered OAVs.

Filipinos in Los Angeles belong to the middle class households in Southern California. They deliver the bulk of the dollar remittances coming from North America. Thereupon, it is believed, they command great influence on the voting choices of their relatives back home in the Philippines.

2008-06-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

Don't mess with the Pacman

By DAVID CASUCO / Editor-in-Chief, California Examiner
Boxing pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao could find himself in the august halls of boxing immortals if he is able to do what he does best inside the ring this weekend, June 28, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The deal: pummel the enemy to submission.
This done, Pacquiao, the super featheweight champ who is moving up to the 135-pound weight, will join the ranks of boxing greats Carlos Ortiz, Roberto Duran, and Sugar Ray Robinson in the galaxy of stars in this, the highly competitive lightweight division.

Standing in his way is a cocky Mexican-American from Chicago, David Diaz, a foe that is neither hot nor cold, but who wears the WBC lightweight belt. This belt is what the Pacman needs in his march to immortality. Should he wrest Diaz's belt, he will have the singular distinction as the only Asian boxer to win four titles in four separate divisions.

Back up a little bit now: The first time I heard about the Pacquiao-Diaz tiff was during the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez post fight press briefing at the Mandalay Bay on March 15. I was sitting inside a room full of sportswriters waiting for the main protagonists to show up. However, both Pacquiao and Marquez were undergoing stitches on their faces after the 12-round bloody fisticuff earlier, which we all know, the Pacman won by a split decision.

So, in the absence of the mainers, this guy Diaz and his trainer and promoter showed up and started calling for Pacquiao. I thought people were not listening to him. I was not listening to him. Why should I listen to a fighter who had just an uneventful, if lackadaisical bout with a Filipino pug, Ramon Montano, in one of the underdcards.

"He was not even impressive in the undercard match... what was he talking about?" I asked the guy next to me.
'Yeah, I know, but I think Bob Arum (Top Rank's top guy) wants it that way," he said.

After Diaz was done with his bravado, Arum and Richard Shaeffer (of the Marquez camp) got into a heated exchange: Shaeffer thought Marquez won and wanted an immediate rematch, Arum was saying it is stupid to question the result in a close contest just like how the Paquiao-Marquez fight was.

Arum, who has Manny under his stable of fighters, was suddenly ambivalent about the Pacquiao-Diaz fight saying, "It depends how quick the cut of Manny will heal." Arum also parried questions from sportswriters saying a third Pacquiao-Marquez is not viable right away, meaning the fight is not gonna sell.

And so, it ended like that. Nothing was definite. No Pacquiao-Marquez or Pacquiao-Diaz title fight seemed likely. When I left Las Vegas and started my four-hour lonely drive back to California, I was thinking more of the Pacman taking care of his politics and showbiz concerns-- another record deal, another movie project; the champ hobnobbing with with the powerful and the corrupted Philippine government officials, who are just as happy basking under the reflected glory of the boxing icon.

But what a difference a couple of months make! Pacquiao and Diaz are now headliners of an action-packed boxing card at the Mandalay Bay. The hype is that this one is gonna be a virtual brawl since both Manny and David are offense minded. And although the Pacman is a clear favorite coming to this fight, Diaz is definitely no pushover. A 1996 Olympian, Diaz is fighting in his normal weight and he is known to be a disciplined fighter. Diaz does not possess a killer punch, but is said to have a very heavy hand. The last press release from his camp in Chicago is that the guy is upbeat and "ready to pulverize Manny."

To which Pinoy boxing bloggers responded: Not so fast, man. Nobody messes with the Pacman.

As for Manny, of course, it is common knowledge the flamboyant Pinoy prizefighter wallops a vicious left that sends his enemy kissing the canvas instantaneously. He wound up his training Tuesday at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, and was seen early last week doing the rounds in the Filipino community in L.A. promoting the fight (sure the Pinoy won't mind buying a $50 ppv especially when Manny sings for them "Para Sa Iyo Ang Laban Na'to." Heck, who can resist that!).

To his credit, Manny never predicts he is going to pulverize his foe inside the ring, nor does trash talk during media staredowns (thanks heavens Filipino boxers have not learned that ugly stuff). He just makes his fists do the talking. And when his fists -- especially the wicked left -- start talking trash, they come like "a supertyphoon raging across the Pacific," to borrow the words of an HBO boxing commentator. Yes, Pacman's fists are not just very heavy, they are very lethal, even a ring savvy gladiator like Marquez can get floored three times in a span of three minutes.
Asked what to expect in this fight, Manny said it is up to Diaz to determine how the fight will end. Meaning, if Diaz gets aggressive early on, somebody is going to get hurt, and could lead to an abbreviated match.

This writer thinks that is what's going to happen. Let's see if Pacquiao -- your hero and mine -- can fashion out the proverbial victory that will put his name in the niche of boxing legends.

Fil-Am golfers challenge the unforgiving Westridge Monster

2008-06-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

By DAVID CASUCO

THERE IS a caveat to the scheduled Freedom Day Golf tournament on June 12 at the Westridge Golf Course in La Habra that stakes a brand new Mercedes Benz car for the first player to score a hole-in-one.

If you are planning to play in the tournament, and you do not hit the ball like David Toms or Brian Gay, be ready with an ample supply of golf balls because the course, notwithstanding the wide fairways and the virtual absence of tree hazards, is an irreverent and unforgiving monster.

If your teeshot misses the green, never thought of a Tiger scrambling game; instead, start thinking mulligans.
And why is that? Because your ball flies off the fairway, it will definitely find a permanent nestling place on the grass which is thick and tall – make it very thick and very tall.

A total of nine winners will be feted during the post-tournament dinner of the Philippine Independence Day golf tournament set to be held on June 12, 2011 at the Westridge Golf Club in La Habra, California.

The top three players in the four divisions – Division A, B, C, and Callaway will receive trophies. Of course, the player who will score a hole-in-one first will get brand-new Mercedes Benz C-300 car and other fabulous prizes are at stake during the one-day sporting event.
“The designated hole for the hole-in-one bonanza is the 197-yard Hole #7, one of the toughest holes on the Westridge course, with a pair of monsters guarding the tricky green. The hole is reachable with seven-eight iron and, I do hope Lady Luck smiles on a player that day,” said DoT-LA Deputy Director Manny Ilagan, who is also the golf tournament director.

Also, as an added bonanza, players get the chance to win other handsome prizes, including a round-trip plane ticket to the Philippines, which will be raffled off during the testimonial dinner.

The tournament, to be held in conjunction with the 113th Philippine Independence Day celebrations, is an18-hole golfest that will follow a Callaway format and a shotgun start. It is under the auspices of the Kalayaan 2011 Steering Committee under its overall chairman Leo Maranan, and by the Philippine Tourism Office-Los Angeles under Director Annie Cuevas-Lim.

The annual sporting event will follow a Callaway format and a shotgun start at 11 a.m. Pre-tournament activities and registration, however, starts promptly at 8:30 a.m.

DoT-LA Director Annie Cuevas-Lim personally extended an invitation to Fil-Am golfers to join the sporting event because this is another way of honoring the homeland’s freedom day. “We are excited to invite golfers to join us at the Philippine Independence Day golf tournament. This sporting event is another meaningful way to celebrate our country’s freedom… this is the time for camaraderie and goodwill, and what better way to do it in a fun and friendly game of golf,” said Cuevas-Lim.

For his part, Leo Maranan, likewise extended his personal invite to Pinoy divot diggers saying this sporting activity is a perfect setting where we can come together as Filipino-Americans to remember the greatness of our heritage.

For more information, call the Philippine Tourism Office, 213.487.4525, Leo Maranan 818.642.7109, Lydia Soriano 562.310.8144, Rey Balbin 714.863.1298, Allan Rivano 323.459.6727, Jobert Mata 619.252.7102, and Freddie Bihis 858.335.1925.
The participants who will answer the shotgun start on June 12.
Flight #1: Don David Bahia, Raymar Maestrado, Christopher Tabayongyong, Van de Leon;
Flight #2: Chris Jones, Roel Quemel, Jimmy Cate, Jay Cate;
Flight #3: Rod Quemuel, Ramoncito Ocampo, plus two;
Flight #4: Freddie Bihis, Benjamin Agustin, Renee N icanor, Ted DeLunas;
Flight #5: Andy Laoyan, Marlon Maslian, Marlo Carilo, Cecillo Zabala;
Flight #6: Ronald Singson, Nestor Yodong, Rocky Aquino, John Kiley;
Flight #7: Jorge Cabradilla, Jerry Malona, Benson Bangao, Gilbert Zamudio;
Flight #8: Wisnton Zabala, Ely Hilario, Jerry Stender, Vinny Prkashad;
Flight #9: Raymond Orosa, Menard Leelin; plus two;
Flight #10: Stephen Castro, Louie Rojas, PJ Aclan, Andrew Grey;
Flight #11: Lloyd Madayag, Vincent Jabonillo, Victor Mendoza, Ferdie Mendoza;
Flight #12: George Mendoza, Albert Bacani, Danny T. Banaag, Joel Rojano;
Flight #13: Butch Bagunu, Emerson Bagunu, Manny David, plus one;
Flight #14: Emy Salud, Patrick Afan, Bert Sanchez, Exequiel Sampiel;
Flight #15: Abby Estacion, John Nye, Ador Ferrer,Perry Baclig;
Flight #16: Gaspar Zulla, Severino Locsin, Eli Mamoyac, Chris Regis;
Flight #17: Salvador Tabas, plus three;
Flight #18: Mac Macaraig, Jerry Oshiro, Rudy Borja, Ben Macaraig;
Flight #20: Rolly Asprer, plus three more;
Flight #21: Dixon Cristobal, Ozzie Alvarado, Albert Rosales, Bobby Sison;
Flight #22: Ed Sy, Nonato Palomar, Richard Lagani; plus one.
(Above tentative plights as of press time. The tournament organizers are still awaiting 40 more players from the BIG Golf Club headed by Allan Rivano and Eagle High Golf Club headed by Leo Borado.)

2007-11-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

What was God thinking?

Newspaper headlines read: Landslide buries a whole village in Mexico, fire razed down hundreds of homes, or Tsunami death toll reaches over 150,000. The usual reaction from people: “Jesus, why did God allow this to happen? What was God thinking?

No answer. Nobody knows the answer. And, as usual, heaven is silent.
While I was in Bible College, I remember my professor in Hermeneutics was confronted with almost the same question. And the student was saying, “If God is God, then He is not good.” The simplistic question was, “If God is in control of everything why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?”

The theology professor’s answer, “I don’t know. I can’t explain God. If I will be able to explain God, then I am God myself. Sorry, I really don’t know. When you reach heaven ... ask.”
“I don’t know, man, I think the professor is not making any sense,” the student next to me responded under his breathe.

It is tough for self-respecting individuals to accept the idea that some things happen for no reason. People want everything sensible, especially during aftermaths of great natural disasters.
Do natural disasters happen because ours in an imperfect world? Didn’t the God of the bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob already put order to the “formless and chaotic” world as shown in the first chapter of Genesis?

Author Harold Kushner, in trying to explain his randomness theory, surmised that the world is still in a state of imperfection. Said Kushner: “In the biblical metaphor of the six-day Creation, we would find ourselves in the middle of Friday afternoon. Man was just created ‘hours’ ago. The world is mostly orderly, predictable place, showing God’s thoroughness and handiwork, but pockets of chaos remain...”

He was saying Creation is still in progress, taking into consideration that the world took billion years to take shape, not six days. If that’s the case, then science can, at least, prove that the world is getting more and more perfect. Meaning, less and less natural disasters happen as eons and centuries go by.

No, scientists say, that is not the case. The idea that the world may be diminishing as it is turning into perfection runs opposite to the proven scientific perspective that “every system left to itself, will move in the direction to more chaos and randomness.” Albert Einstein himself thought that quantum physics, which is based on the hypothesis of things happening at random, is a bad science. He tried to disprove it. He believed that the world is not a system left to itself. He maintained “God does not play dice with the cosmos.”

When Job, the bible’s icon of personal disaster, accused God as a cruel and punisher God and dared to call for an audience with Him, he did not get what he wanted. Instead, God told him that his (Job’s) words are “without knowledge” and subjected Job with a litany of rhetorical questions, to each of which Job must plead ignorance. God did not address Job’s suffering, but His divine discourses succeeded in bringing Job to complete faith in God’s goodness without his receiving a direct answer to his questions (Job 38-41).

Christian theologians’ view on randomness of natural disasters usually goes with the idea that “God does not cause misfortunes. Our sufferings are consequences of who we are — mortal beings living in a world of good and evil and governed by inflexible natural laws. When great disasters strike, our questions should not be, “Why God?” and “Where was God?” Rather, we should look at how people respond with love and compassion to the suffering and the afflicted. See if we can see where God is from that vantage point. (The author may be reached at davecasuco@yahoo.com)

Teatro Kandusay gets rave reviews

2007-09-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

By DAVID SUMUROY CASUCO

TEATRO Kandusay, a cultural ensemble based in Los Angeles, cast a spell on a crowd of adoring Filipino-Americans at a recent trade expo with their dazzling interpretation the Philippine arts and culture through aboriginal music and tribal dances.
Backstopped by talented and dyed-in-the-wool artists and cultural thespians that represented the Philippines at the famous Honolulu Festival in 2006, the group, spearheaded by Feriorein and Rowena Bontor, E.M. Casuga II, and Emann Mallorca, took center stage with their dance routines that drew ear-splitting applause from a huge crowd of expo-goers. Other Kandusay core members are Julius Valmores, Rochdell Valmera, Renan Leuterio, Eireen Alaiza, Jojo Villanueva, and Jovy Sombero.
“Ang galing nila! (My, they are so good!)” enthused a teary-eyed Maxima Cruz, who came all the way from Riverside to watch the star-studded expo show. “Ngayon lang ako nakakita ng ganyan. Puwede ipagmalaki. (I have never seen like it. I am proud of my culture).”
“I am impressed with the way you preserved and present the Filipino culture and tradition through the performing arts,” said Dr. Leo Pandac of the Lotus Festival Advisory. “What you guys are doing certainly makes a lot of sense among Fil-Ams particularly the younger generations… I mean those who are born and raised here in America who never has the chance of knowing their roots,” he told the group.
To which, Feriorein Bontor, who is the spokesperson for the group, responded that Teatro Kandusay exists primarily to re-educate the second and third generation Filipino-Americans about richness of their cultural heritage. “This is a tough job, but we believe this is one effective way to teach Fil-Ams about who they are, and how beautiful is their culture,” Bontor said.
Teatro Kandusay (kanta-dula-sayaw) was one of the featured group performing artists during the 22nd Phil-Am Expo. They presented such stunning folk and tribal dances from the Southern Philippines like: “Kagsagayan” (welcome fan dance from the Tribe of Maguindanao), “Binanog-banog” (bird dance from the Talaandig Tribe of Bukidnon), “Sagayan” (a war and peace dance of the Maranao and Maguindanao Tribes), “Silong sa Ganding” (a maiden dance of the Maguindanaons of Cotabato), and the “Singkil” (the royal dance of the Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao). During the expo group also presented an ethno-contemporary fusion where they danced to the tune of a music culled from the blending of contemporary and tribal instruments and original compositions.
Kandusay Artistic Director Julius Valmores said, “The traditional arts of the indigenous peoples, their crafts, their dances and their music that managed to survive the onslaught of pop culture are what we are concerned about.”
Teatro Kandusay, which is supported by No Limits Foundation headed by Bruce and Letty Encino, has been performing before community audiences, including church events, and always, Filipino-Americans gave them encouragements to continue their work if only because it is one of the few things truly beautiful about the homeland. In the process of their performances, the group was able to recruit American-born Filipinos to be special participants and volunteers (musician and dancers) in their cultural engagements. Fil-Am teeners and volunteers who performed at the expo include: Ryan Alunan, Nick Alunan, Kim Padilla, RoseAnn Casuco, Camina Fricia Adea, and Kathy Jimenez.
Ryan Alunan 15, born and raised here in the South Bay area said, “I feel proud performing Filipino dances and play indigenous instruments like the gongs. I think I am lucky I am given this opportunity,” he added.
A member of her school’s dance team, it did not take long for Rose Ann Casuco, 18, a second generation FilAm of Hacienda Heights, to learn the ethnic dances. “I like the (tribal) dances. It’s kinda cool,” she said.
For inquiries about training and calendar of performances of Teatro Kandusay, call 323.527.6928.

2006-05-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

1.......................
Bad Christians

My friend was wondering aloud, “Why are some Christians behave like they have not known the teachings of the Lord. They are so judgmental, self-righteous, and downright bad.”
“ You are looking at defeated and nominal Christians,” I told him.
“What do you mean? Who are defeated and nominal Christians,” he pressed on.
If a person is self-righteous, unforgiving and are quick to criticize other people’s shortcomings, that man, definitely, does not know God. A person who knows God knows who he is — a sinful depraved creature who desperately needs a Savior. That is a very low perch indeed; and that is where true Christians are. They are happy and contented in the state of depravity because they draw their strength from the Lord.
Why the arrogant, self-righteous, vengeful, unforgiving, judgmental and bad people call themselves Christians? Simple. Christianity is a crutch to them. It makes them feel very good. You see Christianity is like gold. It is precious and beautiful, so that other people yearn to have it, or be part of it.
This is very true with Filipinos (at home and abroad). They call themselves
Christians all because everybody around them is into “Christianity.” But do they know the basic doctrines of the Christian faith? Are they familiar with the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles? Do they ever read the bible? Do they love to listen the preaching of Christian ministers? Do they have personal relationships with the Lord?
The answer to all those questions are... no, most of them don’t. That is why there are a lot of bad Filipino Christians. And that translates to a bad Philippine government. But that is another story. I am going to deal with that next.
It is easy to go to church every weekend, sit on a pew and be in the sanctuary among Christian believers. But that does not make one a Christian? Surely, you cannot put a bicycle in the garage and call it a car. Still, the reality is that you will find a lot of bicycles inside garages; or you find a lot of nominal Christians in church sanctuaries all the time. We meet these people every day. They are our spouses, relatives, co-workers and dear friends. It is easy to identify them. These are the people who recite the golden rule when asked for bible memory verses. These are the people who leave the church sanctuary for a puff of cigarette when the minister starts his sermon or preaching. These are the people who go to church to show the world that they are respectable and decent enough, but in their hearts lurk the enemy of truth and righteousness.
My friend wanted to know what is his proper attitude towards bad and nominal Christians.
“Pray for them,” I said. That is the right Christian attitude.
We do not have any business criticizing people for what they do or not do, because if we point a finger at anybody, three of those fingers point back at us.”
“Allow this one last question” my friend insisted,”
How do you define Christianity?
Christianity is recognizing that one is a sinner, repenting of his sins, accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and devoting his talent, time and resources for God’s kingdom. (You can reach the author at davecasuco@peryodiko.net)

2.......................
Believers shall never die

For this special week, let us reflect on what the Lord told Martha minutes before he called out Lazarus to rise from the dead: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall have life. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…”

Do you believe this?

We hem and haw when confronted by this question. We say, “Yes…but, well, I am not much into that religious stuff. And then we dodge the bullet and seek the escape route with a defying statement, “besides, spirituality is a personal matter.” We are lukewarm if we do that, and God’s word says He will “spit us out.” We just have to be hot or cold when dealing with God.

Back up again to John 11:25. The Lord was asking Martha, “Do you believe this?”

Unlike a lot of us, Martha was hot. She answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world (John 11:27).” What happened? The world witnessed one of the greatest miracles ever – the raising of Lazarus of Bethany from the dead. The Church leaders during that time were threatened; the Roman rulers were shaken. They killed our Lord. But, on the third day, as the Scriptures had it, Jesus the Christ rose again.

And that is why Christians celebrate Easter Sunday, the anniversary of Jesus’ resurrection. The funny thing is how Easter generates different responses from Christian believers. Some do it with eggs; others do it with flagellations, crucifixions and all sorts of funky, if blasphemous religious practices.

An old Polish legend blended folklore and Christian beliefs and firmly attached the egg to the Easter celebration. It tells of the time when Mary, “the mother of Jesus,” gave eggs to the Roman soldiers at the foot of the Cross. She implored them to be less cruel and, as she wept, her tears fell upon the eggs, spotting them with brilliant colors. Polish believers, by the way, are known for their strong Marian devotion.

Curiously, the Filipinos don’t do it with eggs. The Filipino faithful are far more creative than any peoples in the world. The world media witness every year the ultimate sadistic acts men ever do – the self-inflicted wounds from senseless flagellations, the gory and bloody crucifixions and all those Holy Week voodoos Pinoy style.

The Scripture says we cannot do what we want to do for God and expect credit for it. God’s ways are higher that our ways. His way of blotting out people’s sins is through the blood of his Son. That was done in Calvary some 2000 years ago. Aside from that, there is no other sacrifice that is acceptable to Him.

The good news is that God is holy and loving. (His other attributes, according to the bible, are: all-powerful, eternal, merciful, just and righteous). His holiness and our sinfulness don’t reconcile. So that He cannot embrace us because we are filthy with sins. We are a depraved created being, sinners and are going to die anytime. However, His love for us is so great, so He devised a plan to buy us back. The plan was a perfect plan; it entailed the shedding of the blood of His only begotten Son on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ then became the sacrificial Lamb.

Now, we just don’t die like the beasts in the field. Everlasting life is now appropriated for the elect. God had done the hard part; our task is just getting into Jesus’ team. It does not require hermeneutics and systematic theology (these stuff are for religious bureaucrats). Just get into Jesus’ team and you will learn how to play by the rules. And the good thing about it is that Jesus’ team never ever loses.

Enough with Easter eggs and Holy Week follies, enough with our own designs; God’s perfect plan is already in place. And, unlike us, God does not change His plan because every thing He does is perfect. Now, think about it. (You can reach the author at davecasuco@peryodiko.com)
3..............................
December dilemma

Christians living in culturally-diverse places in America face a dilemma everytime Christmas season comes. Their problem is that they cannot celebrate the birth of the Lord the way they used to, because some people might take offense at the sights and sounds of the traditional Christmas celebration and slap them with lawsuits.
In the malls and in a lot of places there is a conspicuous absence of traditional Christmas symbols like the Manger, where the three wise kings from the east first saw the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. In its place are hollies and lights display. Likewise gone are the task theology-loaded Christmas carols like Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Oh Holy Night, and Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. The politically correct people, so-called, are agressively advocating what they call religious-neutral songs like Silver and Gold and Silver Bells.
In the Philippines, they even went as far as making Christmas songs a personal thing. So, what did they do? They replaced the traditional Simbang Gabi and Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit with a very personal interpretation of Christmas, like Pasko Na Sinta Ko and Miss Kita Kung Christmas.
These politically-correct, anti-Christmas crusaders are not done yet. After they successfully pulled out the Manger from the public view, they are now saying that the popular season's greetings Merry Christmas be changed to Happy Holidays.
Now, think about it. If you are a serious and well-meaning Christian you must be very alarmed by now. I guess you will agree with me that this is simply crazy. It is like celebrating a birthday without inviting the celebrant.
I am not an ultra-conservative Christian believer, but the way things are going on, I believe it is time to take a pro-active stance against the forces that are trying to trivialize the birth of our Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace, the King of kings and the true ruler of this earth. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@

4.......................
Different spirit

I found an interesting letter in my email box last week. Here it goes: I noticed that you write about the Christian faith. Maybe you can help me answer this particular question that has been bothering me. I would like to think that I am a sincere Christian believer, and although I am not yet a mature Christian, I believe everything there is about Christianity. My question is, “You said there are over 400 competing Christian denominations and sects. Why do churches have different beliefs and practices? Don’t you think this is confusing? Why is it like this? — Erwin L., City of Industry.
Dear Erwin:
Christianity is not confusing and God is not the author of confusion. The rise of different Christian denominations is the result of people trying to use Christianity for their own selfish ends. I am saying there is a mass deception going on right now, and the target are the believers who do not read the bible and do not know what the Lord and his Apostles taught us.
This mass deception phenomenon is not surprising. Our Lord himself gave us a warning that this deception is forthcoming when he said, “For many shall come in my name, saying I am the Christ; and shall deceive many (Matt.24:5).”
Now, take a look around you. And then, take another closer look at the Christian denominations and their teachings. If you are familiar with the teachings of the Lord in the bible, you will be able to identify the deceivers who are teaching false doctrines. Here are few of the very common deceptions of false teachers who come in the name of the Lord:
a) They teach that Jesus Christ is not God. They deny the Holy Trinity. This teaching is opposed to the biblical Christian doctrine that there are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same substance, equal in power and glory.
b) Some of these false teachers emphasize positive thinking, prosperity and wellness and other doctrines that glorify the human being. This is opposed to the Christian doctrine that man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. The word of God in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.
c) Some of these counterfeit religions teach, “Man can be God.” This is downright blasphemy. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of him. Also, that man is a depraved, created being and needs a Savior to be reconciled with the Holy God.
A lot of “Christian preachers” so-called are not actually called to be ministers of the Christian faith. Some are drawn into the Christian ministry by ambition, power and money. They are wolves in sheep clothing prowling in church sanctuaries. I have encountered a lot of them. Their spirits are just repulsive! The Apostle Paul was referring to these greedy people when he issued a warning to Christian believers: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good (Thess 5:21). That is why we must be sure that we know what the bible really says. Paul continued: “for if he who comes preaches another Jesus we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you may well put up with it (2Cor 11:4).”
So, be careful out there. The snares of the enemy are real. Let the bible be your guide so you will not be lured into a wrong system of worship. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@peryodiko.net)

5..........................
Does God know you?

The Christian faith can be a lot of things to a lot of people. Some deal with it like a religion; others regard it an integral part of their lifestyles. Still others, they consider it their comfort zone.
Good ideas, but the Christian faith is not any of those. Christian faith is the correct response to the will of God. It is a way of life that has a direct link to eternity.
My cousin, a regular guy, believes in God, in Christian precepts, in Americanism and in himself. He does not want other people to look at his religious life; he just wants people to assume there is enough goodness in him to qualify as a Christian. He actually calls himself Christian because his parents and his family are all into it. When I told him that Christianity is more than what he has, he gave me a tired look and said, “You are not saying I am a member of some funky cult, are you?”
I told him, “You don’t get it, do you?”
He then turned ballistic and said, “Look, I don’t care what Christianity is to you. In my case, I believe in God and that’s it. Period. And, if I may add, that is none of your business, or anybody else’s business.”
“Exactly. But it doesn’t hurt if we can upgrade that knowledge of God into a relationship with God. Then it is not only you knowing God, but it is God knowing you also. There will be a relationship, in effect,” I told him.
The one thing that I wanted my cousin to realize is that, it is not a question of whether or not we know God. The big question is: Does God know us?” The bible says the only way God can know us if we have a personal relationship with Him. That can be attained through the Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord. In no uncertain terms our Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” It is very self-explanatory. It means if we have not accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we definitely don’t have a personal relationship with God.
Consider this analogy: Almost everybody knows U.S. President George W. Bush is the leader of the greatest nation of the world. However, President Bush doesn’t know every person who knows him. Even the people who voted him to office are not personal friends of the President. These people cannot just go to the White House and expect the President to set aside his work to welcome them with open arms. In the first place, the guards would not even open the gate. Definitely, the White House guards will be looking for identifications and credentials.
It makes a lot of difference if the President knows us personally; he keeps a special relationship with us. We may get special invitations to White House socials, the gates and doors of the Presidential residence open for us, we get to walk and talk with the most powerful person in the country. Our association with him will subsequently boost our stock. We become a lot more like the President just basking under his power. We become more patriotic, dignified, confident and powerful.
The same thing with God, if we have a relationship with Him, God recognizes us. And if God knows us He responds to our needs. He opens the heavens and showers us with blessings. He sometimes tests us though to put us to a higher level of spiritual living. He walks with us, talks to us and we become sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. He flushes out bitterness, envy, hatred and covetousness from our hearts. We gain the peace that surpasses human understanding. We see the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of the Lord’s glory. Like what Christian apologist and author C.S. Lewis said in his book Mere Christianity: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”
Christianity is not a club where anyone can join by just paying an annual due. Christianity is not being baptized into the Christian faith. Christianity is not being in the Church sanctuary every Sunday. We cannot put a bicycle inside the garage and call it a car. We cannot put icing over a bread and call it a cake. It’s sad, but these are what some people do with Christianity – they do it any which way and feel good about it. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@peryodiko.net)

6.............................
Don’t look for shortcuts to God

Here’s one question I heard over the radio on my way to work recently: “If we were to be tried for being Christians, will there be enough evidence to convict us?”
The honest answer to that question is, “probably not.”
Sad but true, most of us believers do not have clear-cut understanding of the essence of the Christian faith. All we know is that we grow up in a family that goes to Church every Sunday. We make the sign of the cross and we have gone through some required sacraments. Or we can point out that we come from the part of the Philippines where people have not known any religion but Christianity. We call Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Those are the evidences that will point that we are Christians.
The court will say, “Nope. You are not Christians. The evidences presented to the court are all circumstantial. They have nothing to do with Christianity.”
In E. Peterson’s “The New Testament In Contemporary Language” our Lord warns Christians: “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is full flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even do crowds of people do. The way to life – to God – is vigorous and requires total attention.”
And then in Matt. 7:21: “Knowing the correct password – saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance – isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience – doing what my Father wills. I can see it now – at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You are out of here.”
Not enough evidence, that’s why.
Backup to 168 A.D. Polycarp, the well-known Bishop of Smyrna (now Izmar, Turkey) was under trial for his Christian faith. Polycarp studied under the Apostle John and he was the last living link to the twelve Apostles.
The Roman proconsul tried to get Polycarp to deny Jesus Christ: “Bow to the throne of Caesar. Curse Christ and I will release you.”
The old bishop stood his ground. He replied: “Eighty six years I have served the Lord Jesus Christ, and He never once wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
The proconsul threatened Polycarp with hungry wild beasts and burning fire, but Polycarp remained unafraid. He told the proconsul: “You threaten me with fire that will burn for an hour and then will go out, but you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgment of God reserved for the everlasting torment for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Bring on the beasts and the fire, or whatever you choose; you shall not move me to deny Christ, my Lord and Savior.
Before he was burned, Polycarp prayed: “O Father, I thank you, that you have called me to this day and hour and have counted me worthy to received my place among the number of the holy martyrs. Amen.”
The story had it that Polycarp was engulfed by the fire, but did not burn. Those who watched the execution said, “He was in the midst of the fire, not as burning flesh but as gold and silver refined in a furnace. And we smelled such a sweet aroma of incense and some other precious spice.”
The fire did not burn Polycarp, so the executioner had to stab him with a sword. A great amount of blood flowed from the bishop’s body that it put out the fire.
Polycarp was a genuine Christian, a martyr of the faith.
There are still Christian executioners in non-Christian countries around the world, but in America religions, even the funky ones, are protected by the law. Too bad, nowadays our faith cannot be tested by fire.
Fire or no fire, we must persevere to grow in our Christian faith. There has got to be a strong evidence of Christianity in our lives. It is not yet too late to put Christ into our hearts and let Him rule our lives. The Bible says that is the only sure way to face the Great White Throne with complete confidence. With Jesus Christ in our hearts, there is enough evidence to convict us that we are true Christians, like the kindly, old bishop Polycarp.

7............................
Ears that cannot hear

I mentioned to my friend that I might do Christian missionary works in other countries later on.
He responded with a question: “Why do you have to go far away when your relatives and friends here are not yet converted to the Christian faith?”
My answer: “Because I do not want to preach to people with uncircumcised ears. It is a lot more worthwhile to reach out the souls who are hungry for the gospel of the Lord. They need to be told of the good news. And Christians, like us, must bring it to the ends of the world. My unsaved relatives and friends have already been exposed to the gospel quite number of times and they repeatedly refused to embrace the good news. So, much as I wanted to convert them, I leave them as they are — unrepentant, callous and perishing. If they do not open their family bibles that are collecting dust somewhere in their living rooms; if they do not listen to Christian missionaries when they come around for their crusades; if they do not listen to the Christian television and radio programs that are readily available to them most of the time; if they repeatedly turn down invitations to attend bible studies; and if they prefer religion over Jesus the Christ, there is not much I can do about it. Most likely God has not elected them.
There is a passage in the bible that best illustrates this “saving-the-callous” predicament. “The Lord speaking: “There once was a man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
“Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, “Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.
“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he is consoled and you are tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’
“The rich man said, ‘then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’
“Abraham answered: ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’
‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they are not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’
“Abraham replied, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they are not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead’ (Luke 16:19-31).”
That’s what I thought. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@peryodiko.net)

2006-05-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

7. ---------------------------
Everlasting life not for everyone

The promise of an everlasting life is not for everybody.
Contrary to the popular religious notion that people choose God, the bible illustrates otherwise. In the bible it is, “God has mercy on whom he has mercy.” Take it or leave it, but God’s way of dealing with people is by His own behest. This is clearly illustrated throughout bible history.
Check this pattern: God rejected Cain’s offering, but honored Abel’s. That triggered an intense sibling rivalry and resulted in the first recorded murder in the history of the humankind. He favored Noah, instructed him to build an ark before letting loose the Great Deluge that washed out a whole sinful world. He chose Abram (later Abraham) as the father of all nations over and above every man in his generation.
And although Ishmael was Abraham’s first born (by the Egyptian maid Hagar) God focused on Isaac as the Son of Promise. Then came the Esau-Jacob saga about birthright. Although Esau was the firstborn of the twins, Jacob ended up with the birthright because Esau sold it to Jacob for some hot stew. Jacob’s got God’s nod despite his manipulative way of acquiring the birthright.
And of all the twelve sons of Jacob, God raised up Joseph to carry out his heavenly design. The young Joseph was sold by his brothers to a caravan of spice traders bound for Egypt. What his brothers meant for evil, God turned it around for good. Joseph went on to became the second most powerful man in Egypt, next only to Pharoah, at a time when there was a great famine. As years went by, Egypt was alarmed when the Hebrews grew in number. The Egyptians made them slaves.
That is when a man named Moses got into the picture. His speech deficiency notwithstanding, God picked Moses to lead the Hebrew people out of bondage and into the Promise Land, which is Israel in the modern times.
What does this mean?
Simple, said Zin Yi, a noted bible teacher from Buffalo, New York. “God elects people.”
At a recent bible conference in Binangonan, Rizal hosted by Dr. Rosalia R. Osias, a many-time member of medical missionary teams traveling all over the world, Zin Yi assailed the “big lie” peddled by so-called Christian teachers “that God is waiting for you to do something before God does something for you.” He cited a litany of bible passages that prove his point.
Zin Yi, who said that the church age is over and that the tribulation has, in fact, begun, is advising the elect to “depart out” from the churches because “all churches are spiritually dead.”
“The elect must depart out now,’ says his bible tract, 27,000 of those had been distributed to the people in Manila, Angono, Davao City, Kapalong, Tagum, Tambungco, and Mactan and Cebu City.
Zin Yi said the eschatological (end-time) truth that God withheld from the prophet Daniel has now been revealed to the “elect,” and that some bible teachers say that “in a span of ten years the Day of Lord will come.”
I am ambivalent about the “ten-year” forecast, but I am sold to the teaching that God elects whom He wants to save.
I have studied some of Zin Yi’s bible teachings. My personal comment: If you have sound biblical knowledge you will be drawn to his website. He has a very interesting way of interpreting the bible. You can check out on his teachings at www.distinctlyandrightly.com, zinyi.com, and www.goodmessage.org.

8.................................
Extraordinary people

The date was 300 A.D., the heroic Apostolic age of the Christian Church, when the body of believers were tempered in the fires of persecution. Peter and John were imprisoned at one time or another and Stephen and James had died a martyr's death. Apostolic Fathers Ignatius, Justin and Polycarp, all martyrs of the faith, soon suffered the same fate. And Emperor Nero, threatened by the rapid increase of the Christian movement, shifted to high gear in his drive to annihilate every Christian believer.

A half-conscious, almost limp man was brought before the Emperor, who asked the believer to denounce Jesus Christ and recant his Christian faith. Earlier, the man had undergone extreme torture for his faith but he would not back down one bit. So, the Roman soldiers bodily dragged him before the Emperor for his final grill.

"Deny your faith or I will banish you," thundered the Emperor.
The Christian, suddenly coherent, answered, "You cannot vanish me from Christ, for God says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'."
The Emperor then said, "I will confiscate your property."
The Christian said, "My treasures are laid up in heaven. You can't touch them."
The Emperor said, "I will kill you."
The Christian responded, "I had been dead to the world for forty years. My life is hid in Christ with God. You cannot touch it."
Disgusted, the Emperor turned to the member of his court and asked, "What can you do with such a fanatic?"

The world will never understand why true Christians are not concerned by the cares of the world, and are unafraid even when confronted by death. The serenity, the peaceful, confident demeanor of true Christian believers is legendary. Recorded accounts of Christian martyrs singing the psalms while their human flesh were cut or burned are amazing as they are mind-boggling to the secular world.

However, to the true Christians, there is nothing extraordinary with dying for the faith. Even today, around the world, Christians continue to be persecuted for their faith. Except for untaught Christians, who do not exactly understand what their faith is all about, dying for the Christian faith is the sweetest passage from this irreverent world to the place prepared by Jesus Christ for his flock.

The man who was brought before the emperor did not care if the Emperor were to confiscate his property. He was not attached to it. He was not dependent to it. To him to live and die was in Jesus Christ. He was totally dependent on God and not on material things of the world. His riches were stacked up in heaven where they were safe from moth and rust and burglars.

The man who was brought before the Emperor understood fully well that the suffering he was undergoing was temporary; and the agony and pain that he felt were nothing compared to the joy-joy-joy of eternity. Nobody can vanish a Christian. You throw a Christian behind bars, into a lion's den, or into a fiery furnace and the result is victory. A Christian is dead to the world. By faith, he understands that an incorruptible one will replace his corruptible body. The prison door may not open to him like it did to Peter; the lions may not remain "reverent" like they were to Daniel, and the furnace that failed to burn three Hebrew boys may, after all, consume a modern day believer. One thing is sure though - he goes to where Jesus is. That is the hope of every Christian believer throughout the ages. The Holy Spirit, with miracles big and small, strengthens that hope along the way. That is why Christians are the most overconfident people in this planet.

Are Christians fanatics?

In a sense, yes, consecrated Christians are fanatics. They don't compromise what they believe. And that is because what they believe are eternal truths that are outlined in the Bible. In a correct system of Christian worship the more fanatic the person is, the better for him. In the true Christian faith, fanaticism is never destructive, because no amount of Christian fanaticism can measure up to the worthiness of a holy God. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@yahoo.com)
9................................
God allows U-turns
By DAVID CASUCO

(Christian Evangelist John Tantay, who is now doing his ministry in California, allowed me to write his amazing life story in an exclusive interview)

John was barely eleven years old when his father, a taxi d river from Kalookan City, died of cancer. His mother, an itinerant vegetable vendor, didn’t have time for young John as she was at the market the whole day. John started hanging around with bad guys, even as he worked as a car wash boy at a gas station.
One night John had a rather rude awakening. He was barely in his pubescent age when a sexual predator drove in the gas station he was working at, lured him with money and took his innocence away. The experience led John to the Red District of Manila, and into the very heart of male prostitution. He became a macho dancer, a massage attendant, and a waiter – jobs that served as fronts for the flesh trade in the city.
While John was enjoying all these sexual frenzy with all kinds of people, he contracted a sexually transmitted disease and was forced out of the prostitution circle. Needless to say, his life became miserable. He felt unwanted. He knew no other job but selling his own body. To him the sexual act is a job and has a price. He wanted to quit being a prostitute but didn’t know how. He tried going to church, but felt he was so dirty, so unworthy before the eyes of God. He returned to prostitution but found out it was not fun anymore; he was an old face, and nobody would want him. He became even more miserable. He couldn’t take the rejection. That drove John to severe depression. Sleep didn’t come easy for John. One night, John’s depression hit an all-time low. And seeing no help coming, John wanted to end it all by killing himself. It was 2 a.m. in the morning, a perfect time to do it. While everybody else was sleeping, John was wrestling with demons that are pushing him to his final ruin. In his confusion he reached out for the television knob and turned it on.
And … are you ready for this? God met him there!
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow….” the preacher evangelist went on with his message of divine forgiveness. That caught John’s attention; it was the very thing that John needed at that very moment. Also, it was the first time he heard that God is interested in him and wanted him back. And when the altar call came, the preacher asked the TV viewers in their respective homes to touch the television screen and repeat after him the sinner’s prayer or the prayer of repentance.
That was the turning point of John’s life. Feeling so ashamed of what he had done, and crying like a baby who desperately needed help, John slowly reached out for the television screen and was surprised that some electricity ran over his body. After that, he experienced a total peace that he never experienced all his life.
John went back to school, got married, then went to Bible College and became a passionate minister of the gospel. John made a complete turnaround – from a sure life of perdition to a life of absolute freedom and, eventually, eternal bliss.
That is one of the most beautiful thing about God – He can take us as we are, where we are, and for what we are. There are no preconditions. We are made in His image and likeness, that is why. We are precious to Him. His plan of salvation does not cost us anything. All it needs is a contrite heart. His plan does not need the over hyped religious tools and rituals; all it needs is a heart open to receive Jesus, our Lord, who died on the cross as ransom for sin.
Our God is holy, powerful, loving, eternal, merciful, just and righteous. But, he allows U-turns. And never mind if we are in the worst form ever – totally devastated, crumpled, downtrodden, and torn apart; God, the Ultimate Potter, can mold us back to a perfect shining vessel that He wanted us to be.
* * *I showed my friends a $100 bill last week. I asked them if anybody wanted it. They all raised their hands eagerly. I told them, “Wait.” So then, I crumpled the bill, kicked it, and smothered it on the dirt. Then I asked my friends, “Anybody still wanted it?” Their interest did not change; they still wanted the smudged $100 bill. Why? It is because even though it is crumpled, kicked, and dirty, the value of the money did not diminish. It is still a Federal Reserve Note of value.
The same thing with God; we can be the worst sinner on the face of this earth, the dirtiest of all dirts, but we are His children, to Him we remain so precious. God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is us who stray every now and then.
What an awesome God! Like the Biblical character, Job, we wonder why God cares for us so much. Indeed, what is man that God makes so much of him, that He gives him so much attention? (To contact the author email him at davidlvnow@aol.com)

10................................
God is not a Pinoy

A lot of us think that God is essentially a Filipino. So, what do we do? We deal with God like the Pinoy next door. Instead of following the guideposts to life and living that is written in the bible, we create our own shortcuts to spirituality.
Filipinos, a lot of us anyway, still pray through Mary or some saints, when the bible quoted the Lord in no uncertain terms, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life: No man comes to the Father except through me.”
My friend, a Marian devotee who had years of seminary studies, puts it in perspective: “In the spiritual realm, nobody knows how great the intercessory power of the Virgin Mary. After all, she is the mother of the Savior.”
That is exactly where most of us are on spirituality. We know we have to deal with the Son, but the son demands a relationship that requires total commitment. In the Pinoy family setup, the mother is usually the more compassionate parent. So, we go tell the mother to ask her son about our request. It looks like a perfect system, but it is not. In God’s way our Pinoy style does not have any merit at all. Thus sayeth the Lord, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” So, if the bible says salvation is through the Son, then through the Son it is. Afterall, he died on the Cross as ransom to many.
Still, for some reason, a lot of Filipinos get upset whenever they hear or read something that, in a way, trivializes Marian worship. They think that it is an affront to their beliefs. Their reaction: “What did Mary do to you? Why are you picking on Mary?” The answer to that is, “This is not about Mary. This is about correct system of Christian worship. Not our own Pinoy way of worship.”
And when we are into a wrong system of worship that is when we get into big trouble. It becomes worse when we put in our unbiblical Pinoy version of spirituality.
Check out this conversation I extracted from regular Pinoy believers: “Ugali lang ‘yan. Mabait ka lang sa kapwa mo, tapos (Spirituality is just being good to people. No more no less). The person was responding a conversation about how people attain the promise of an everlasting life. Obviously, the person thinks that if he keeps a good moral character and be kind to people, salvation is secured for him. Typical Pinoy thinking, but God does not fall for that. The word of God says that it is by grace that you have been save through faith, and not of your works, lest you will boast.
Another one: “Ginagawa ko ‘yang penitensiya tuwing Mahal na Araw para mawala ang mga kasalanan ko (I do this Holy Week ritual for the atonement of all my sins.” This is from a person who thinks he can remove his sins by doing religious voodoos during Holy Week. No, God does not buy this. The blood of Jesus now covers all our sins, big and small. So, if you are an elect of God, all you have to do is put the Lord in your hearts. The problem of sin can only be atoned by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. That Lamb of God is Jesus the Christ, who died on the Cross-some 2000 years ago in Calvary. Salvation is done. It is the work of God, not ours. Our Pinoy shortcuts to spirituality even with the best of intentions are, in fact, abomination to a Holy God. (You can reach the author at davecasuco@peryodiko.net)
11.......................
Good Samaritans of our times
Wilfredo is a true do-gooder. He goes out of his way to help people. He is willing to do personal sacrifices so that others may feel a little comfortable. A modern day Good Samaritan, I would say. Last year, when he was vacationing with his family in Las Vegas, he saw a Filipino man along the Strip looking so confused. This man would plea his grim case to every Filipino-looking man or woman walking on the neon light flooded Vegas Strip. However, the Filipinos were so busy to listen to the poor soul.

Wilfredo, a former member of the Manila’s Finest, took time to listen to the man. He was confident that by talking to this man he could know if the stranger really needed help or just a phony trying to fool people. After a few minutes of police-style questioning, Willy was able to determine that the man was indeed hungry, sick, and penniless. He learned that the guy was a seaman, was left behind by his ship in Seattle, and somehow found his way to Las Vegas. When Willy saw him, the man was slowly cracking up – a picture of virtual hopelessness. Willy took home the man, nursed him back to health, fed and clothed him for a couple of months, until he was reunited with his sister in New Jersey.

“Wow, what a heroic act! It is nice to know that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is still relevant today. And that there are still Good Samaritans passing that way,” I told him. “Why do you do that?” I asked Willy, just trying to probe a little bit more. “Nagpapalakas tayo sa Itaas (I want to earn God’s favor),” he answered.

This is the common misunderstanding of the gospel – the warped mindset that we can earn God’s favor by being good and doing good works. Of course, good works come naturally if we love God. But to think that our good works can earn us salvation is not attune to God’s plan. God wants salvation of men to be His work, His and His alone. He does not want to share that job. That job is already done. It had culminated in Calvary some 2000 years ago. It is for His glory. He does not want to share that glory. He alone is worthy of that glory. God is unchangeable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. No amount of man’s rationalizing can change God system. The best and worst of men are not going to change God’s masterplan.

Why not?

It is because we have a problem. Our problem is we are sinners. And then we are faced with a predicament. Our predicament is we cannot save ourselves.

We are born sinners with a problem of sin. That is why you will notice, you don’t have to teach little children how to lie; they know it. They are sinners by nature. And children don’t need to see selfishness from adults; they pick that up all by themselves. That is human nature. Our tendency is to veer away from what God wants us to do.

So, we have a problem. The Bible says it in no uncertain terms, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” We are faced with a predicament that we cannot save ourselves, “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not of works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9).” And, yes, we also have a penalty, “The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).”
People who don’t know Christ, they pay the awful price of eternal separation from God.

Which brings us to another question on how a loving and merciful God could banish people to a place of eternal torment. “I just don’t believe God will do that,” and old line of human wisdom goes. Okay, God is loving and merciful, but he is also holy and just. Besides, God never prepared hell for people; it is for the devil and his angels (Matt:25:41). However, God gives us a choice. It is now up to us where we want to go. Right now the choice is clear: It’s Jesus Christ or bust.

Yes, God alone can save us. Period. Human wisdom, self-pontification, good works, niceness, over-hyped religious tools, they don’t work. If I am going to write a script for a stage play, I would like to create a scene -- like a key moment -- where God confronts and tells a group of smart people who claim that God is all in the head, and that the Bible is just another boring book, “You think you are smart, huh? The truth is that you guys are incapable of cleaning up your messy stink by yourselves. That’s the way it is. So, come now to Calvary with your rough edges and worrisome baggage and leave them on the foot of the Cross. And that’s it; consider it done.”

12...............................
Heaven is silent

Newspaper headlines read, Tsunami death toll reaches over 150,000. The usual
reaction from people: "Jesus, why did God allow this to happen? What was God
thinking?
No answer. Nobody knows the answer. And, as usual, heaven is silent.
While I was in bible college, I remember my professor in Systematic Theology was
confronted with almost the same question. And the student was saying, "If God is
God, then He is not good." The simplistic question was, "If God is in control of
everything why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?"

The theology professor's answer, "I don't know. I can't explain God. If I will be
able to explain God, then I am God myself. Sorry, I really don't know. When you
reach heaven ... ask."
"I don't know, man, I think the professor is not making any sense," the student next
to me responded under his breathe.
It is tough for self-respecting individuals to accept the idea that some things
happen for no reason. People want everything sensible, especially during aftermaths
of great natural disasters.
Do natural disasters happen because ours in an imperfect world? Didn't the God of
the bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob already put order to the"formless
and chaotic" world as shown in the first chapter of Genesis?
Author Harold Kushner, in trying to explain his randomness theory, surmised that
the world is still in a state of imperfection. Said Kushner: "In the biblical
metaphor of the six-day Creation, we would find ourselves in the middle of Friday
afternoon. Man was just created 'hours' ago. The world is mostly orderly,
predictable place, showing God's thoroughness and handiwork, but pockets of chaos
remain..."
He was saying Creation is still in progress, taking into consideration that the
world took billion years to take shape, not six days. If that's the case, then
science can, at least, prove that the world is getting more and more perfect.
Meaning, less and less natural disasters happen as eons and centuries go by. No,
scientists say, that is not the case.The idea that the world may be diminishing as
it is turning into perfection runs opposite to the proven scientific perspective
that "every system left to itself, will move in the direction to more chaos and
randomness." Although Albert Einstein thought that quantum physics, which is based
on the hypothesis of things happening at random, is a bad science. He tried to
disprove it. He believed that the world is not a system left to itself. He
maintained that "God does not play dice with the cosmos."
When Job, the bible's icon of personal disaster, accused God as a cruel and punisher
God and dared to call for an audience with Him, he did not get what he wanted.
Instead, God told him that his words are "without knowledge" and subjected Job with
a litany of rhetorical questions, to each of which Job must plead ignorance. God did
not address Job's suffering, but His divine discourses succeeded in bringing Job to
complete faith in God's goodness without his receiving a direct answer to his
questions (Job 38-41
Christian theologians' view on randomness of natural disasters usually go with the
idea that "God does not cause misfortunes. Our sufferings are consequences of who we
are -- mortal beings living in a world of good and evil and governed by inflexible
natural laws. When great disasters strike, our questions should not be, "Why God?"
and "Where was God?" Rather, we should look at how people respond with love and
compassion to the suffering and the afflicted. From that vantage point, we can see
where God is. Afterall, he is a suffering God. He suffers for us and with us all the
time. (The author may be reached at davecasuco@yahoo.com)

2006-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

13.............................
Holy Week: What we must not do

By DAVID CASUCO

A story goes about an engaged couple shopping for a jewelry item at a department store. The young woman points to a 24-k gold necklace with a cross pendant. She loves it, but she noticed something not to her liking. “That one is just perfect, but I don’t like the little guy hanging on the cross,” she told the jeweler.
In a way, that is how some of us deal with Christianity. We are drawn to it because it seems perfect for our lifestyles, but we don’t want the stringent precepts that come with it to rule our lives. What happens, we refuse the lordship of Jesus the Christ. We love to be called Christians, but we are ignorant of what the Cross is all about. Sure, the Christian ministers keep reminding us what it is all about. But, do we ever listen? A lot of us do not, and I am sure of that.
Try to observe during a wedding ceremony. A lot of the male churchgoers, who are there because they are in the program, get out of the church sanctuary to take a puff of cigarette and chat with their buddies when the minister starts to do the preaching part. And for those who have the little decency to remain inside, their minds are focused on their weekend golf tee-off schedules. Men have this cavalier attitude of ignoring God’s message. Most of us consider it a weakness if we are spiritual. We choose to remain ignorant of what is man in relation to God.
I say that because if we fully understand what the Cross is all about, then we would not be trying to remove our sins by doing weird voodoos during the Holy Week. Those sins, and all the sins of the world had been covered by the blood our Lord on the Cross some 2000 years ago. Let’s just make it simple; let’s leave it that simple.
If we truly understand the Cross, we would not be seeking glory for ourselves. On that Cross the Son of God made it possible for us to share His glory forever.
If we truly understand the Cross, we would not be arrogant of what we are, because on that Cross our Lord suffered untold suffering and shame for our inequities.
If we truly understand the Cross, we would not consider it awful if we don’t have material possessions because our Lord, after he died on that Cross, was buried on a borrowed tomb.
If we truly understand what the Cross is all about, we would not hear wails of grief when our loved ones depart from this world. On that Cross, our Lord conquered death. And if we are properly connected with Him, we likewise have victory in death.
If we truly understand what the Cross is all about, we would not have problem with unbelief, because on that Cross, when our Lord said, “It is done,” the curtain of Jerusalem’s temple was torn down, signaling man’s access to the throne of God.
And if we truly understand what the Cross is all about, we would not be identifying ourselves with any Christian denomination. On that Cross, Jesus Christ dismantled all man-made religious pretensions.
One of the worst things that we Christians do to Christianity is when we spin it into a religion and call it Church-tianity. Almost always we twist the real meaning of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.
When I was a small child, I kept wondering why the guitars and the mirrors in the house are draped in black during the Holy Week. I still remember the shock from my sister’s face when she found out that I had gone swimming on a Good Friday. That was a bad theology. As an impressionable child, I was getting the wrong signals to spirituality. Now I understand why the prophet Hosea lamented, “My people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.”
Aside from reflecting on our relationship with God, we, Christians, have no obligations to do, or not do, during Holy Week. From our end, there is not much we can do. On the Cross, God already did the thing that we cannot do – save ourselves. That is what the Cross is all about. Let’s not add any more than that. God laid out the perfect plan for the salvation of the humankind; the job culminated on that old rugged Cross. If He chooses to include us in that plan then Glory is to God. (The author can be reached at davecasuco@yahoo.com)

14.............................
If a man dies, will he live again?

This question was first asked some 4000 years ago by a man named Job, one of the most interesting characters of the Bible. Today, people still ask the same question. It is as current as a utility bill. Put it another acproof or material evidence."
Except our Lord, Jesus Christ, no dead person, great or unknown, had ever come back to life after death. So, inasmuch as there is no material evidence to back up a life-after-death phenomenon, human reason says, "forget it." Top hedonist Omar Khayyam said, "Oh, threats of hell and hopes of paradise, one thing is certain this life flies…"
But, wait a minute. Didn't God say that whoever believes in His Son, Jesus Christ, "shall ... have everlasting life?" In the Bible it is very clear that God's plan is for people to gain everlasting life.
* * *
My co-worker turned sarcastic when he learned I spent a couple of years in Bible College. He tried to scare me with his characteristic dregs of bravado saying, "I hate religious people. I don't believe in that 'eternal life' stuff." I told him, "So was Jesus. He was angry at the religious Pharisees. But Jesus is 'the way, the truth, and the life'. He is the very 'eternal life stuff' you are referring to."
"Ah, forget it," he answered, visibly confused.
Then I chided him: "Next time, if you don't know what you are talking about, just don't open your big mouth. You see, some people can give you information that is tough for your brains."
Understandably, people hate religion because they feel intimidated by the stringent norms religion imposes. And before they know it, they are angry at the religious people; branding them names like ultra-rightists, bigots, and homophobes.
Personally, I don't like religion. My reason is that not all religions recognize God. But I don't hate people who practice ungodly religions. God's word continues to be preached by the workers of the Christian faith. We never know religious people who worship false gods today can be God's top advocates in the future. The word of God does not come back to Him void. In India and China alone, long time bastions of traditional religions, people have started embracing the Christian faith. And their testimonies are so compelling; their conversions are unmistakably of the Holy Spirit.
* * *
I finished my college education at a learning institution that teaches religion. So, I learned to practice religion. No problem. I thought that was good enough because it made me a do-gooder; it made me a believer in the goodness of people. It made me behave and interact better with people; it made me more considerate to other people's needs. With religion, I learned a lot of lessons in character education.
Simply, religion made me a better

person.
But while I was growing up more and more of a religious person, I was almost ignorant about what is man in relation to God. Logic and metaphysics did not help either. I just felt good I had religion. I didn't know what is written in the Bible. I didn't know what the Bible is. All I know then was that it is a book that a minister reads during Sunday service, during weddings, baptisms, and funerals. But God, with His mercy that is new every day, led me to knowing Him. The goodness that I learned from religion, I now do to glorify God.
* * *
Now, if you think religion is okay, think again. And if you feel confident that you can use your religion as a passport from here to eternity, well, the Bible says clearly it is not. The Bible indicates, in no uncertain terms, that there is no "salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)." If you are wondering what is the only Name, it is Jesus, the Christ.
You've got religion?
You've got virtually nothing.
But what about the good works that we do for religion? The hours we spend at church sanctuaries? The time we take to visit the sick, the money we give to charities? The rituals and sacraments we perform? Aren't they being counted for righteousness?
Again, sorry, the same Bible says to eyes of the Holy God, our own righteousness appears "filthy as rags" (Isaiah 64:6). And rightly so; come to think of it, if doing good and giving contributions to charities are to be counted for righteousness, people with money - the hypocrites included -- get heavenly credits all the time. Of course, this is not so. The Bible says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)." It is very clear; the business of salvation is God's job. No amount of good works and religion's over-hyped tools can save a person.
What then should a person do to gain eternal life?
Good question. If you have your Bible handy, Matthew 19:16 provides the answer. In that passage, a rich young ruler asked our Lord the question, "what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life." And, no matter what level of faith you have, the Lord's answer will surely inspire you. Check it out. Then see John 3:16. This drives home the central message of God's plan to save the humankind.
* * *
Everlasting life…offered free? It is amazing to realize that the best thing in life does not cost us anything. Free, indeed! Free, yes, but never cheap. It took the Son of God to die on the cross to cover all our sins and inequities that we maybe reconciled back to our everlasting God. So that when our God looks at us, He no longer sees filthy rags, but people clad in righteousness by the blood of Jesus.
ETERNAL LIFE: What a precious gift from God.

15..............................
‘It ain’t your birthday’

December 25 happened to be my wife’s birthday, too. And guess what? She never had a great party tendered in her honor. Always, the greetings, if ever they come at all, were afterthoughts. And the food were, yes, leftovers. Every time December 25 comes, people who are supposed to greet my wife totally ignore her. If it were any consolation, a few will call two, three days later.
Some seven years ago, her family had a big Christmas reunion in West L.A. Her children collected the most gifts. My wife? She had nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Then, on our way home, I mentioned that nobody gave her a birthday gift; much less remembered her birthday. “It ain’t her birthday. It’s Christmas” my son, then a four-year toddler, butted in. I don’t exactly know what the feeling is like being missed out on your birthday because people are so busy doing something else. I would not have the best feeling in the world if I were in her shoes. The good thing is her family is quick enough to compensate for those kinds of misses.
Evidently, December 25 is the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. And guess what? Almost always we miss Him out, big time. Fine, we mention His name during church services, see His name in our Christmas cards, and say that He is the reason for the season. Then, it is fun and games all the way.
Truly, the main celebrant of Christmas is always left out. We have replaced Jesus with funny Christmas icons and images. Gone are the carols that are loaded with task theology. Our Christmas songs have become more and more irreverent. We have moved “away from the manger” to “city sidewalks, busy sidewalks.” We catch the “Christmas Spirit” sniffing the aroma of chestnuts roasting on an open fire than watching a nativity scene, which, by the way, is now banned in most public places.
What is happening here? Simply, we have veered away from the high road to the
jagged way. We have been preoccupied with a lot of things and we forget our spiritual concerns. A story in the Bible about two sisters, Martha and Mary, reminds us that our spiritual concerns must supersede our temporal needs. In Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV), the story goes: “Now it happened as they went that He (Jesus) entered certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.’ And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’.”
Most of us can identify with Martha, the worrier. Like Martha, we are distracted by the cares of the world. We worry about our bills and our taxes, we worry about health and memorial plans. We worry what clothes to wear, what hair color to use, and just about anything else. Then what happened? We get stressed out. We forget that God is in control, and the Bible is our manual how to life a stress-free life.
And Mary? She is a cool chick. Her eyes transfixed upon the Lord Jesus, unmindful of the world around her and totally secure sitting at the feet of the Savior. Her focus is eternity. Mary represents the jaded believer who puts God before everything else. What kind of life is it? It is a blessed, stress-free life.
So, this coming Christmas, let’s not forget our Lord Jesus Christ, the main celebrant. He is not just the fun part; He is joy unspeakable. He is peace that surpasses human understanding. He is the Name above all names. Yes, He is the good part. He is the part that Mary chose. On Christmas Day let’s return to God the honor that is due Him. Let us recognize that our Lord’s birth is the greatest gift men can ever have. This truism will never change even if the greatest of men will say otherwise. And what about our foolish religious traditions that we do, and the tools we use to define Christmas? Let’s leave them to the fools!

16.............................
Land of the thieves

The Philippines is the only Christian country in the Far East, a region where Oriental mysticisms and other funky and cultic religions flourish. That puts the Philippines a cut above the rest in terms of spiritual pre-eminence. We often hear this from the pulpits of Christian ministers, who love to flaunt RP’s “singular recognition” in the light of God’s glory.

Fine. How nice.

I am not going to argue against that statement, even though I have a problem analyzing it. My problem is that I cannot reconcile graft and corruption hand in hand with Christianity as a way of life. If the Philippines is truly a Christian country, it should be a cradle of saintly and noble heroes not ignoble thugs and thieves a.k.a. elected public officials. I would like to think that Christians are morally superior to any group of people who are into Oriental mysticisms and man-designed religions.

But, alas! We know it isn’t so. Pretty much like the goose that laid a golden egg.

The Philippines, with over eighty percent of the population claiming to be “Christians,” has one of the most corrupted government bureaucracies on planet Earth. The tentacles of graft and corruption perpetually choke that beautiful country they call “Pearl of the Orient Seas.” Now, that’s one heck of a pearly disaster!

Questions: If Christianity invariably means following the precepts that Jesus Christ teaches in the bible, why are the people in the Philippine government so lazy, dishonest, evil-minded and morally bankrupt? Why is the Philippine bureaucratic system so awful that it cannot get over a little hump of decency?

Filipino-Americans ask these questions all the time. Sure, we talk about it all the time. And then, that’s it. We hit a wall; blame the system and go to sleep or take off for Vegas.

But if we stay awake for a little while and do a little probing, we will be able to see the root of the greatest tragedy on earth that is the rotten Philippine bureaucracy. We will be surprised to see what the error screen displays – “compromised faith due to wrong value system … rebut … if error persists contact your Manufacturer.”

Yes, the problem is our own undoing. Our fundamental character is desperately flawed. We have become so good that we have forgotten to follow the Manufacturer’s guidebook to life and living. We have been doing things our own way. We are a people who appear so smart and righteous from the outside, but in our hearts lurk the enemy of truth and righteousness. And so, what happens is that when nobody is looking, the people holding offices of public trust dip their hands into the taxpayers’ funds, solicit grease money, conduct routine extortions and run all sorts of scams. Meanwhile, the country and poor Juan dela Cruz sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of hopelessness.

At this point you may ask, “Why belabor the obvious? Is there anything we can do about it? Is there anyway we can change a sick system?”

Hear this people. With God nothing is impossible.

I know this spiritual pitch will stir up chuckles, or whip up a cacophony of antagonism. Some of you may even be laughing right now. It is all right if you laugh. I used to laugh a lot, too. I even went as far as trying to hit my friend’s face at one time when he told me God puts food on the table and pays the bill.

I believe that a person who trusts God and acknowledges God’s power makes a good leader. A leader who is a believer may not churn out instant miracles, but God will definitely give hive him wisdom and understanding on matters of statecraft. George Washington, one of America’s great leaders, looked heavenward whenever he sought enlightenment to govern what is now the greatest nation on earth. He had faith in the all-powerful God. He recognized the value of God’s sovereign power when he said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the bible.”

Of course, it requires a certain level of faith for a person to recognize God’s power. And that level of faith is the very thing that is lacking in the Philippine leadership, and the majority of the Filipino people for that matter. Which is, again, very ironic, considering we are the “only Christian nation in the Far East.”

Consider this people. There is hope for the Philippines.

The truth and righteousness that is in our Lord Jesus Christ have all the power to bring an end the big lie that the chain of graft and corruption in the government is unbreakable. The power of God breaks every bondage and stronghold, the evils in the Philippine government bureaucracy included. All we have to do is enhance our spiritual latitudes --by doing God instead of religion. Let’s stop this shameful religious charade and let’s do the right thing. Let’s put God in the bureaucratic equation. That’s the only option left for us – the Manufacturer’s option. That’s an option we can count on. That’s the option George Washington chose.

17..........................................
Led us not into temptation

When I was growing up I had a little problem with the version of the Lord’s Prayer that I recite from memory. The phrase “... and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...” just did not seem right. I know it was a matter of semantics. I was learning my English syntax, and I was trying to figure out why does God tempt people? Later on, I found out that in the new version of the Lord’s Prayer the word test was added to replace temptation. That was good move, I thought.
* * *
When confronted with difficult situations, believers sometimes ask, “Is this of God or of the enemy?”
Put it another way, “Is this a test or a temptation?”
Now tests are good; they are there to make us. Passing tests puts us on a higher level. Board exams, promotions exams at workplaces, and other tests of these kinds always make a person better in the end. God sometimes tests us.
On the other hand, temptations are there to break us, to bring us down to a lower level. God will never tempt us.
* * *
What are we to do when we encounter temptation? Very easy, our Lord showed us how to deal with it when He, Himself was tempted by the Devil. Okay, let us revisit our Manufacturer’s Manual (The Bible), see what is the effective weapon against temptations: Our Lord had just fasted for forty days. Obviously, He was hungry, so the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”
Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”
The Devil then took him to the Holy City. He sat Him on the top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.”
Our Lord countered, “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”
For the third test, the Devil took him atop of a high mountain. He showed our Lord the expanse and the glory of the world’s kingdom. Then he said, “They are yours— lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.”
Jesus’ then rebuked the Devil: “Beat it, Satan! Worship the Lord your God and only Him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
One important thing we must understand: The Word of God is an effective weapon against temptation.
Another noteworthy thing: The Devil is familiar with the Scripture. He keeps quoting the Scriptures.
* * *
One of the favorite jokes in Christian circles is about a young guy who does his job as a Christian minister with zeal and enthusiasm. One day, the ebullient Reverend was invited to an office blessing at a crowded commercial center in the city. The program says he is supposed to be at the facility by 9 a.m. to do his part. The Reverend was in the area before 9 a.m. alright, but he could not find a parking space. He circled the block four times, still no luck.
On his fifth try, he found a restricted parking space. Feeling a little bit exasperated, the young minister decided he had enough. So, he parked his car on the restricted space and wrote a note for the cops, who he knows will not miss his parking violation. On his stationary, he wrote: “Officer: I circled the block several times, but I couldn’t find a space. I have to do some religious duties around here for a few minutes.” Then at the bottom of his note, he wrote: “P.S.: Forgive us our trespasses.”
Sure enough, the cops got him. When the Reverend returned, he noticed that his note is gone and a parking ticket violation is clipped on the wiper instead. Aside from the ticket, the cop left a note. The note reads: “Reverend: I have circled this block for over ten years and if I will not give you parking violation ticket I may lose my job.” At the bottom of the note, the officer put: “P.S.: Lead us not into temptation.” (All Scripture quotes are from “The Message.” / David Casuco can be reached at davecasuco@aol.com).

18.................................
Wrong value system

In the beginning there was moral bankruptcy. Now groups of morally bankrupt thieves came one after another and continued marauding the beautiful islands called the Philippines. They were so happy with their loot, they thought, “This is very good.”
Lo and behold, the freaks are still doing it!
Result: The Philippines, a country endowed by God with rich natural resources, experiences never-ending economic crises. Even right now, another fiscal crisis of greater dimension looms ahead. And well-meaning Filipinos know that there is no immediate relief for their miseries, not even a probability of hitting rock bottom. They just keep on falling deeper and deeper into a bottomless pit called hell.
The Philippines, once a virtual paradise and Pearl of the Orient Seas, may just as well be called land of the freaks and thieves.
Against this backdrop, a few questions beg asking: “What is happening to the Philippines?” “Why are the people in the Philippine government so dishonest, evil-minded and morally bankrupt?” “Why is the bureaucratic system so awful that it cannot get over a little hump of decency?”
Filipino-Americans ask these questions all the time, talk about it occasionally, blame the system and conclude that Filipinos are just that — born to experience hopelessness and despair.
But if we look closer and examine the situation, we will end up with one good conclusion: Filipinos have wrong value system. Most of them are very selfish and, indeed, morally bankrupt. They don’t love their neighbors. They don’t love their country. And worst of all, they don’t love God. That is why most of them are greedy and corrupt. The others who are not corrupted don’t involve themselves in the government for reasons quite obvious enough.
Now, put greedy and corrupt officials in sensitive posts like the Customs and the BIR. They will definitely steal the money of the people, solicit bribes and run all sorts of extortions and scams. Why? Because they do not love their country, they do not care if the Philippines is labeled “the sick man in Asia.” They don’t care if millions of Filipinos go to bed with empty stomach. Outwardly most of them are even religious, but they are not afraid to break God’s law. They steal; and they steal big time. Why? It is because God is not real to them. They just attend Church on Sundays and let the people around them assume that they have enough righteousness in their hearts. But come Monday, Tuesday and every day of the week, they mercilessly plunder the coffers of the government.
That explains the predicament of the Pinoys. We became so smart that we have totally ignored to check with God – the Creator and Ruler of this world. He manufactured everything there is in this world, and he left us the Manufacturer’s guidebook – the bible— to life and living.
What happened? We ignored are continue ignoring the guidebook. We have been doing things our own way. We are a people who appear so smart and righteous from the outside, but in our hearts lurk the enemy of truth and righteousness.
Now, there is this big lie going around that the chain of graft and corruption that is choking the Filipino people is unbreakable. Hear this people, the power of God breaks every bondage or stronghold, the evils in the Philippine government bureaucracy included. All it has to take is for us put God in the bureaucratic equation. That’s the only option left for us (The author can be reached at davecasuco@ peryodiko.net)

19...............................
No-fault language

In journalism, brevity and clarity are norms. This way, a journalist can easily communicate to the readers. Everywhere else, it is totally different. It seems to me that doubletalk is the name of the game, and we are embracing euphemism as the most useful figure of speech.
We use euphemism because it is a no-fault language. It is a good tool if we don’t want to face the ugly side of life. Death, taxes, prostitution, war, bankruptcy and a lot more unpleasant realities need to have politically correct equivalents. As an escape route, we indulge ourselves in doublespeak and euphemisms to somehow lessen the impact of awful things in our lives.
So, we make it appear that people don’t die. Dead people are referred to as negative patient-care outcomes. And take note, we don’t bring our departed ones to the cemetery. Rather, we avail of the services of memorial gardens. In the papers, we don’t see their names in the obituaries; we read them under the banner from here to eternity.
Speaking of eternity, religious ministers also use sugarcoated words when dispatching the dead. The funny thing is they do not know the dead most of the time. And yet they say something like the person grew up in his backyard.
I remember attending a funeral service inside a church sanctuary. After the usual boring, almost meaningless ceremony, the church minister delivered the coup de grace, “Our brother is now in the hands of God…” Now wait a minute, that is plain sugarcoating (read: lying). How did he know? That is bad theology. What about judgment?
Recession, unemployment and bankruptcy are current realities. However, you’ll hardly hear those discouraging words around. Instead, we hear about downsizing, career change opportunity, and negative net worth.
Most politicians are masters of the art of doublespeak and euphemism. And why not, they are used to saying something and doing another. A politically correct public official, who wants the vote of the gay population, does not use the words of Billy Graham. Instead, he promises to fight for more rights of people who practice alternative lifestyles.
Another group of people who are good at euphemism are those who put personal ads in newspapers. Obviously, they do this to make them appear more desirable and engaging. One guy shows up regularly at the publication where I used to work in Glendora. He runs his ad like this: Forty-something, unaffected and earthly, self-employed and marriage-minded.
Why doesn’t he get a response? I wonder. I learned later, that most people who read personal ads are also good at euphemism and doubletalk. To the regular reader, the guy’s ad appears impressive enough. But if we will lift the euphemistic shroud, we will see a good-for-nothing fellow. Forty-something roughly means over forty and trying to hide it. Unaffected and earthly translates loosely to slob and lacking social skills; self-employed is technically jobless; and marriage-minded means an essential bigamist.
The military is perhaps the group of people who are so good in trivializing something horrific. In military jargon a collateral damage refers to innocent people who die or suffer as a result of, probably reckless, military operations – make it target services. Among U.S. military men, The Peacekeeper is not an elite United Nations peacekeeping force, but the irreverent MX Missile van. Over there in the Philippines, if the PR guy of the Philippine Armed Forces says, “the situation is under control,” it invariably means there is a fierce firefight going on.
Oh yes, Filipinos are not far behind in this game. We glamorize women of ill repute, or prostitutes, by officially calling them hospitality workers or, at times, guest relation officers. And when a rouge cop silences a key witness by eliminating him, it is not murder. He just salvages the poor wretch.
Just a word of caution, don’t be naive out there. Aside from checking the fine prints, be careful with doubletalk as well.

20........................................
No one is righteous

My friend is a very good churchgoer. Sundays are reserved for everything religious that he does with his life. He attends church services unfailingly, sings in the church choir, volunteers as Sunday school teacher for the toddlers, and spearheads in a lot of outreach projects of the congregation that he belongs.
I asked for his conversion testimony. He does not have any. I gathered that he was drawn into that “Christian congregation” because his wife is into it.
The theology that he got is the one that his pastor teaches every week: “We do it better” Christianity, with a sprinkling of the wealth and health and positive thinking gospels.
He became a self-righteous person as a result. He looks at everybody outside of his small congregation as doomed and hell-bound. I told him to stop being self-righteous because in the bible, the Lord cast his strongest rebuke against the judgmental and the self-righteous.
He was stunned when I quoted what the bible says that, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” And the coup de grace thirteen verses later, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...”
Like most nominal churchgoers, my friend does not understand that passing judgement on someone is against the precepts that the Lord taught during his ministry on earth. The bible has strong words against it, saying people who are on a dark spiritual downward are the ones who like to pass judgement on others. The bible admonishes, “But if you think that leaves you on high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors (the message/rom 2:1).” Take time for a minute, and carefully examine your hand when you point an accusing finger at anyone – three of those fingers point back at you.
So then, our attitude to sin and sinners should be in consonance with that of the Lord’s. Jesus Christ hates sin but loves the sinners. That is because the Lord knows what stuff of which people are made. By themselves, men are very vulnerable. Our sinful nature makes sinning a natural thing to us. Proof of this is a young kid who acts selfish even in the absence of selfish role models around. Also, a young toddler lies naturally even when adults around him or her are not liars.
Now, the question self-righteous people always ask goes like this, “Is this man’s depraved nature an excuse for people to wantonly commit sin?”
The answer is, “Definitely not.” Otherwise, God will instantly cease to be God. God does not tolerate sin and unrighteousness, because He is holy, just and righteous. His other attributes are powerful, love, eternal, and merciful. And because He is merciful and loving he restored King David, who committed adultery and murder (Psalm 51). However, because he is just and righteous, God let David pay the consequences of his sins. All these were told in the bible. At one point, Moses was disobedient to God. The great Hebrew leader was told by God to talk to the rock so he could draw water from it. The hot-headed Moses, human that he is and terribly irked by the whinings of his people, struck the rock with his rod. Moses was not able to enter the promised land.
Also, bible accounts tell us that men of God, who are true paragons of faith, fell short at one time or another; they lied, cheated and committed all sorts of sins. But God’s mercies are new every day. Meaning restoration and forgiveness are always available to repentant sinners.
Other people think they have sinned so much that they are beyond redemption, because they have violated God’s law at every turn. Politically-correct thinking says, “Strike three and you are done.” Again, this kind of thinking makes sense if we take it from the human perspective. However, in God’s eyes no sin is greater than the redemptive value of the Blood of the Lamb.
The Lord said it Himself through the prophet Isaiah: “Come now and let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool (nkjv/is.1:18).” There goes the most beautiful promise of God to the sinning world. God knows who we are and He takes us for what we are.
The bottomline is nobody is immune to sin. Every person is a sinner. That is why it is wrong to pass judgment on others. Sin and people are no strange bedfellows. They are stuck to one another since Adam and Eve broke the Garden protocol. Bible-based Christians understand this spiritual reality. That is why they are not surprised when great personalities commit great mistakes and when high profile church leaders commit high crimes. And while the secular world, self-righteous churchgoers and nominal believers accuse people and gloat over the sins of others, true Christians go down on their knees and offer prayers and petitions on sinners’ behalf. (You can reach the author at davidlvnow@aol.com)

how the pinoy mess up Christ-mas

2005-12-09T04:39:00.000-08:00

Away from the manger or (How the Pinoy mess up Christ-mas)

By DAVID CASUCO

I was at my friend's house when an irreverent Filipino Christmas song "Pasko Na Sinta Ko" blared out from the Filipino Channel on TV. Almost instantaneously my friends sitting around the table melted with intense nostalgia, wittingly referred to by a pundit as "the longing to go back to the old days when you were neither good nor old."

And while they were busy reminiscing, I excused myself and checked my emails on a computer notebook nearby. They noticed my indifference and asked me, "Are you not touched by the song? Don't you feel nostalgic? Didn't you experience as a kid looking forward to Christmas morning when toys and goodies are yours for the picking?"

I searched for one good answer, but couldn't find one. Then I remembered that when I was a kid my brother told me that Santa Claus is a hoax. I thought that was a rude awakening, because Christmas didn't have special meaning to me after that. I would say surviving Christmas became had been my cup of tea.

Until some twelve years ago when Christmas became a big deal to me once more. That time, I learned the true meaning of Christmas from a different point of view. It's amazing to think that it took me a great part of my lifetime to learn the real meaning of Christmas. Well, what did I learn? I learned that Christmas is all about a birth of a Savior who reconciled man to God. And that the Savior, Jesus, is all that the humankind needs. That is because the biggest problem in the world is sin and not the usual problems that people complain every day like bad traffic, obesity and cholesterol-laden foods, racial stereotyping, terrorist’s threat, and the stratospheric price of gas.

But catching the spirit of the season with a Gary V song that celebrates the pain of a broken relationship? Nah. That is definitely not Christmas-like. I thought that’s very lame.

Today, we have over-commercialized the true meaning of Christmas and embraced an irreverent way of celebrating it. Even our Christmas songs have become personal like the "Pasko na Sinta Ko," or politically correct like “Silver and Gold.” Gone are the carols that are loaded with task theology like "Oh Holy Night" and "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem." Truly, we have veered “away from the manger” to the “city sidewalks, busy sidewalks” where the air is filled with the aroma of “chesnuts roasting on an open fire.” That is where most of us are, right now, in our understanding about Christmas.

A few years back when I was in Bible College in Los Angeles, my instructor in Hermeneutics, who was once a Christian missionary in Mindanao, was telling the class about the Filipinos singing “Whispering Hope” as a Christmas carol. He said he was shocked because here in America that song is a funeral dirge. He asked me to confirm his observation and I said, “Yes, we do that.”

When I got home I wrote the song and checked why the professor said “Whispering Hope” is not a Christmas song. True enough, I found out that the song is unmistakably as sorrowful as death itself. Again, another distinct Pinoy mess-up. How that song got integrated into the Pinoys carol list, I don’t have any clue.
My point is, when it comes to giving honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we don’t need to be socially, culturally, or politically correct. As Christian believers we have to be biblical.

2005-10-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Of recession and bailouts

By DAVID CASUCO
Journalism Class 78
Recession, unemployment and bankruptcy are current realities. But you’ll hardly hear those discouraging words around. Instead, we hear about downsizing, career change opportunity, and negative net worth.

Bailout? Um... that's sounds negative. Try rescue or something.
In journalism, brevity and clarity are basic and essential norms. This way, a journalist can easily communicate to his or her readers. It’s a lot different in real life. It seems to me that doubletalk is the name of the game, and we are embracing euphemism as the most useful figure of speech.

We use euphemism because it is a no-fault language. It is a good tool if we don’t want to face the ugly side of life. Things like war, death, taxes, prostitution, bankruptcy and a lot more unpleasant realities need to have politically correct equivalents. As an escape route, we resort to doublespeak and euphemisms to somehow lessen the impact of awful things in our lives.

So then we make it appear that people don’t die. Dead people are referred to as negative patient-care outcomes. And take note, we don’t bring our departed ones to the cemetery. Rather, we avail of the services of memorial gardens to bring our dead to their final resting places. In the newpapers, we don’t see their names in the obituaries; we read them under the banner from here to eternity.

Speaking of eternity, religious ministers also use sugarcoated words when dispatching the dead. The funny thing is (most of the time) they have no clue who the dead person is. And yet they say something like they the dead grew up in their backyards.

Most politicians are masters of the art of doublespeak and euphemism. And why not, that is their advantage over the regular guy. A politically correct public official, who woos the vote of the gay population, does not use the words of Billy Graham. Instead, he promises to fight for more rights of people who practice alternative lifestyles.

Another group of people who are good at euphemism are those who put personal ads in newspapers. Obviously, they do this to make them appear more desirable and engaging. One guy shows up regularly at the publication where I used to work in Glendale. He runs his ad like this: Forty-something, unaffected and earthly, self-employed and marriage-minded.
Why doesn’t he get a response? I wonder.

I learned later, that most people who read personal ads are also good at euphemism and doubletalk. To the regular reader, the guy’s ad appears impressive enough. But if we will lift the shroud of euphemism, we will see a good-for-nothing fellow. Consider: Forty-something roughly means forty-nine and trying to hide it. Unaffected and earthly translates loosely to slob and lacking social skills; self-employed is technically jobless; and marriage-minded means an essential bigamist.

The military is perhaps the group of people who are so good in trivializing something horrific. In military jargon a collateral damage refers to innocent people who die or suffer as a result of, probably reckless, military operations – make it target services. Among U.S. military men, The Peacekeeper is not an elite United Nations peacekeeping force, but the irreverent MX Missile van. And, in the Philippines, when the military press release says, the situation is under control, it invariably means there is a fierce firefight going on. Or if it says the party has started, that means the war is on.

Just a word of caution to folks out there: Don’t just read the fine prints, but watch for doubletalk as well. (davidlvnow@aol.com)

escape to manila

2005-09-29T00:33:00.000-07:00

ESCAPE TO MANILA

By DAVID CASUCO

"How is Manila?" my friends and relatives in L.A. wanted to know.

"Irresistibly beautiful," I told them.

They have misgivings. Sure, they do not think that my seven-day escape to Manila gave me enough time to experience the hellish things that the self-respecting balikbayans usually complain about.

"You must have landed somewhere in Atlantis, not in Manila," my friend wryly surmised. He then asked me if I stayed long enough under the torrid summer sun, sniffed the thick polluted air, seen the crazy street traffic and the squalor almost everywhere. I told them that I definitely did, but paid little attention. Those unpleasant and ugly things were already there when I left Manila a decade ago. So, no big deal.

What I saw was a city with a beautiful sunset serving as harbinger to a fabulous nightlife that starts with a festive celebration at the now-famous baywalk and ends at the cozy 24-hour coffee shops in Ermita and Malate. What I saw was a city bustiling with people who look, talk, and walk like me. That gave me a total sense of belonging, an eerie feeling of oneness with everything around me. Then sets in an unspeakable joy that can compare to the day when my son was born. What I saw was a city where my former classmates from the University of Santo Tomas live. They were there to honor me with a whole-day reception at a posh Makati restaurant on March 19. What I saw was a city where the people can be happy by just hanging out at the mall to cool off and do nothing more; a luxury that, by the way, most money-oriented Pinoys in L.A. will never ever have.

What I saw was a city with people who do not have obesity problems. They all look like marathon runners. What I saw was a city with caring parents and young adults who hit the books on weekends and kiss the hands of their elders. What I saw was a city where most people can worship God and God alone. This is because they do not have palatial homes, flashy cars and other worldly riches to compete for their love of God.

What I saw was a city with people who are willing to help. My sandals gave way while I was walking along Maria Orosa Street leading to the Robinson's Mall. I was about to drop it on a trash bin when a sidewalk vendor offered to fix it for 20 pesos (40 cents). I was surprised he was equipped with the tools of a zapatero-- glue and tacks, and all. He gave me a small stool to sit on while he was fixing my footwear. When he noticed that I was not ready to tell my life story, he told his -- that his firstborn was graduating on top of his class that evening, and that he won't make it to that happy occasion because he comes home late.

"At least give him 300 pesos as token of appreciation for his good work," I said.
"Pero, sir, wala pang 200 pesos ang kita ko ngayon," he replied with a smirk that belies the tough livelihood that he has.

My heart just melted. "Here is 300 pesos...take it... give it to your son." I thought I saw his face lighted up with pure joy. I didn't look back as I was fighting back tears. On my way back to the hotel I wanted to throw up the 320-peso buffet breakfast that I ate earlier.
Okay, I agree, Manila is not exactly a paradise. However, to me, it is home; the only place where my soul and body come together in blissful harmony. Only there can I find my people, most of them genuine Samaritans. It's a pity that most balikbayans go there and expect to experience the perks and convenience that they enjoy abroad. That is not fair. They should not say bad things about Manila, and the homeland in general. I find it downright hypocritical when balikbayans go home to the Philippines and look at everything with their whine-colored glasses.

To the balikbayans the homeland does not offer the convenience of a financially secure, often high-strung lifestyle. What the Philippines offers is the beauty of a simple life, the warmth of family love, and the endearing traditional values that preserve and bring into focus the real
purpose of live and living.

Unfortunately, most of us just don't get it.

(The author can be reached at davidlvnow@aol.com)

2005-09-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

DAVID CASUCO; SINNER OR SAINT

By E.M. WAGNER

You can despise David Casuco for all that he is and take away from him everything that he has, but do not mess with what he does -- as a journalist -- because he won't take it sitting down, and he will certainly make you feel his displeasure. That is the reason why he is the most itinerant among Filipino-American editors. His peers thought he is best suited to the title editor-at-large due to his abbreviated work history.

He moves from one job to another like a shifting shadow because, in situations where journalism issues are at stake, he refuses to compromise.

He could have come full circle early this year had he taken the editor's post of Weekend Balita, a weekly publication that he edited for seven years in the early 90s. Depending of what kind of publisher, David can be both a gem of a worker, or a dangerous piece in a newspaper organization. To those who want a newspaper that has the touch of a professional, David is the man. But to those who think that the newspaper publishing is a joke, hiring David is a very bad idea. This man would rather go hungry than compromise the basic tenets of journalism that he learned from the University of Santo Tomas, where he finished his journalism degree, the twelve years as reporter, sportswriter, assistant sports editor, and foreign news editor of the Journal Publications in Manila, and fifteen more years as editor of Weekend Balita, L.A. Monitor, Taliba,Vision Magazine, Manila Mail, San Gabriel Valley Examiner, Ang Peryodiko, and the Manila Times of Las Vegas.

One time a smart aleck of an editorial assistant made a mistake of telling David, "walang journalism-journalism dito, basta matapos lang ang diyaryo." David looked at her with fire in his eyes and rebuked her, "Say that again and I will kick your dumb ass to thy kingdom come!" The girl was flabberghasted; she couldn't believe a newly hired editor would give her, an old-timer in the office, a raw tongue-lashing.

Another time a publisher's daughter was saying there is something wrong with the front page layout. David tried hard not to react, but then his not-so-extended patience snapped, so he told the lady. "Get out! You cannot just come here and tell me what to do. I am a professional. People who understand journalism have seen my work and appreciated them. You do not know anything about journalism, so shut up..." The publisher's daughter was shell-shocked. She did not expect that this editor who keeps a low profile, reads the bible, and prays before they eat could suddenly become a vessel of pure rage. The next day David was back in L.A. studying the Post Office Battery Test.

A lot of his job movements are caused by his "defense of the ideals journalism." Said David: "In the Filipino-American setting, the (newspaper) industry has been raped mercilessly and repeatedly by people who do not understand that journalism is all about the truth that sets us free."

Ask which part of his career he enjoyed most, David replied: "I would say, when I was a sportswriter for the Times Journal and People's Journal. Those were the years after my short stint in Malacanang as a member of a group of writers who write about Imelda's projects. As sportswriter, I get the chance to travel to places all over the world. And in that stage of my career, I learned almost all facets of what the journalist actually does. In sportswriting you have interview, feature writing, press conferences, multi-event coverage, and you get the chance to sit down and layout the sports page when the sports editor is not around. You have to take note that I am talking Manila. The media has respect and power. If you are able to compete in there, you have it made. As a rule, dadaan ka sa karayom before getting hired as a reporter. In L.A., my best job was in Ang Peryodiko, not much for what I earned, but for the total trust that the publishers have given me." He did not elaboarate.

Currently the editor-in-chief of California Examiner, David Casuco gives the much-need boost and inspiration to the newly-formed Philippine National Press Club of America (now the PPCI). His recent assumption to the presidency of the fledgling organization gives even more credibility to the terms "journalist" and "editor".

A multi-awarded journalist, David is probably one of the most stress-free individual one can ever worked with. Nothing seemed to faze or intimidate him -- not a pressing deadline, not a late breaking story, not even a computer that constantly breaks down. As a writer, he approaches every assignment with a passion and dedication and writes every article and news story with enthusiasm that is evident in the columns that he never fails to dish out every week. His words are simple but effective -- the way good writers write.

To his close associates, David answers the monicker Casuking or DaKing (in reference to King David of the bible) -- easy going person who can concoct an instant celebration at a drop of a hat, and is always willing to lend a hand to those in need. His relaxed manner belies his unflinching dedication for his profession, an obsession that has given him a lot of heartaches. And like King David, our man knows a lot pneumatology, hermeneutics, and things concerning task theology, having studied for two-and-a-half years at the Angelus Bible Institute in Los Angeles. But unlike King David, our man does not turn the other cheek when fighting for the cause of the journalism profession.

That is why, to a lot of people David remains an enigma. They see this guy as a potpourri of inconsistencies and human contradictions. Up until now, the old question about him remains the same: Is David Casuco a sinner or saint?

2004-11-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

THE WORLD ENDS IN 2012

The Cassandras are at it again. These prophets of doom and gloom are saying the world is going to end in 2012. Their cataclysmic end-time prognostications are all over the Internet—on websites, inside chat rooms, on blogs, and on You Tube. They back it up with the abbreviated Mayan calendar and the quatrains of the popular 16th century French seer, Michel de Nostredame, better known in his Latinized name Nostradamus. One of the quatrains the Cassandras are toying with is Quatrain 91 (Century 2) of Nostradamus’ book of prophecies. Also, they are looking at Chapter 32 in the prophetic Book of Isaiah in the Bible.

I wonder why some people are fascinated by the outrageous and the macabre. Even worse is that some “seemingly legitimate” Bible teachers have joined the fray, talking about tribulation and mass annihilation periods when it will be better for people to be dead than alive. I tell you, it does not make them any better teachers. Listening to them is like reading the out-and-out outrageous stuff in the supermarket tabloids
Well, I have two words for them: Shut up! If the world were to end tomorrow, so be it. Nobody can do about it. The best and worst of men are not going to change what God is going to do. So that when God says, “I change not,” there is absolutely nothing anybody can do to challenge that. God doesn’t swear to anyone higher than Himself because He is the Most High.

The Lord’s Disciples themselves had already asked that question, and the Lord himself had answered it. “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age? (Matt.24:3), the Disciples asked the Lord. The Lord responded by describing the events that will lead to the end of the age. “But of the day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only (Matt.24:36),” He said. So, let’s leave it that way. Instead of buying gas masks and bottled water, let’s prepare our hearts instead, and be ready to meet our Savior anytime.

What these Cassandras don’t understand is that people are a lot smarter than what they think they are. Are they going to buy this apocalyptic nonsense? The gullible among us might ride on the foretell-and-scare game, but I doubt if they can create a mild havoc like they did with Y2K glitch that turned out to be a big dud. Yes, these Cassandras don’t seem to learn. The big embarrassment they suffered when the computers continued working at the turn of the millennium should be a great lesson learned. Obviously, these airheads don’t have anything better to do. Instead of telling encouraging people that there is a God who loves us and holds the world in the palm of His hand, they are doing overkill on the outrageous and the macabre.

My friend is wondering aloud, “Why are those Nostradamus scholars and some so-called Bible teachers doing that? Why are they talking about end-times’ scary events with their faces full of joy and excitement? Do they think they can get away with it? It’s too cavalier of themselves, too self-righteous posturing. I don’t listen to them,” he said.

I told him, “Stop watching television.”

The fascination of predicting the end-times started as soon as Jesus was done pronouncing it to his disciples at the Mount of Olives. Then people started looking hard at a premise lifted from an epistle by Barnabas, an early Christian leader that outlined 2000 years from Adam to Abraham, 2000 years from Abraham to Christ. So, then, the epistle speculates that after 2000 years of the Christian era, the Great Day will come, “even as the six days of creation were followed by the Day of Rest.” This theory is often called the Millennium-Sabbath theory. This explains somewhat why some Christian subcultures get unreasonably excited about the millennium, wars and rumors of wars.

The real Christians, i.e. the people living consecrated Christian lives, are not worried one bit. But they don’t talk about it with full of glee either; they are prayerful and humble. Try talking about end-times to anointed spiritual leaders. Their views are the same: “if a person totally trusts God, the coming of the Great Day is a welcome respite anytime.” (davidlvnow@aol.com)

Reaching for the Seven Stars: An experience fit for a queen

2001-05-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

By L.M. ALLEN as told by DAVID CASUCO

Imagine, like Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, that you are a billionaire doing the improbable things regular guys could only dream of – your picture on the cover of Forbes Magazine smiling next to Oprah and the Queen, and enjoying the perks reserved for the privileged few.

I say dream no more because some of these lofty and fascinating things are reachable after all. They are made real through the Caesars Entertainment Total Rewards Loyalty program.

The deal: Be a Seven Stars member and, presto, a lot of fantabulous and exciting things are waiting just for you!

Once you achieved the Seven Stars status, which is the highest tier in the Total Rewards (TR) program, you will get to experience the heady feeling of a VIP in the truest sense of the word.

Just like what I did.

For as long as I can remember, my life had been consistently prosaic. I never knew what it is to be out there and strut around like a very important person. And although I hold the top executive position of a fairly successful ethnic publication, I never entertained any thought that I am a VIP.

Until one day, I accepted an invitation to be a Seven Stars guest of Caesars Entertainment. That changed everything. My perception about life and living gained a wider latitude. The bounty from the Total Rewards made me realize how fabulous it is to be treated as a Seven Stars VIP even for just a couple of days.

From the Seven Stars reception area and around the casino, to the upgraded spa pampering, to the snack rooms and restaurants, to the limo service, and all the little else’s, the service was just exquisite as it was exceptional. I felt I was treated like a queen.

Showtime!

I have watched a lot of shows and plays. But there was nothing like the “Jubilee.” It is the classic old Vegas show with an attitude. It was sheer pleasure watching the spectacular acts, the marvelous sets, the elaborate costumes, and the dazzling performers.

Tickets are pegged at $99, but for a Seven-Star like me the show is on the cuff (read: freebie). As if that is not enough, I did not have to make the line. I was immediately escorted to one of the few preferred seats reserved for the choicest Vegas guests. And when I needed any drink, somebody nearby was ready to cater to my every need.

One hundred minutes of bliss

Spa treatment with a Seven-Star card is a lot more desirable than what is advertised. You don’t have to read the book of Katherine Mansfield to vicariously experience bliss. The experience include lavish treatment and pampering beginning with a soothing cup of English tea, to the sweet Rose Body Scrub, to the rose petal paraffin treatment of hands and feet , to the calming aromatheraphy massage with the healing benefits of warm, lily-infused botanical oils.

And as a Seven Stars guest, I had the option for an upgraded service. And that exactly what I did – request a facial before my body massage. I was granted such perk even if it is not listed on the service menu. I had been to a lot of spas, but the Seven-Star pampering is just a cut above the rest. The lavish treatment at Rio Spa and Salon is in itself “100 minutes of bliss.”

Fun and gaming gizmos

There is never a boring time in and around the gaming tables, slot machines, and the playing gizmos. I was enjoying playing the one-dollar slots when I realized it was already past 12 midnight. And mind you, I did not lose a lot. And even if I did lose, the fun and excitement I got from playing should be well worth it.

A reward program unlike any other

Just what is the Seven Stars Experience, and why are people saying good things about it?

Seven Stars is Caesar’s most elite Tier in the Total Rewards loyalty program. It is a reward program unlike any other. Reserved for a select few, members qualify as a result of the level of their loyalty to their favorite Caesars gaming hub. Seven Stars members transcend all other club memberships.

To qualify for the Seven Stars membership, one must earn 100,000 Tier Credits in a calendar year, and that Total Reward members must keep their account in good standing. The exclusive Seven Stars status is by invitation only.

Rewards Credits are earned for the money spent for your play and entertainment at every participating property in the Total Rewards Program. The more you play and enjoy the more you will accumulate tier credits. And the wonder of it all is when you reach the optimum loyalty level, you become one of the very few, the very preferred VIP.

Enhanced Benefits

Seven Stars members get to avail of the best benefits in the Total Rewards program. They are virtual kings and queens around the facilities; they are immune to a lot of house rules, they receive special treatment such as exclusive next-in-line access to events, priority seating at restaurants and have exclusive access to Seven Star lounges.

For more information about the Seven Stars program, login to https://www.totalrewards.com