Can You Really Trust Politicians? I Mean, Really? (Why I Think They're All the Same)

I always hope I'm wrong. Really. Because I've grown more skeptical about politicians and government officials. They're there to use us and make life harder for us. For one thing, they can't think of ways to make things simpler. Instead, they seem to deliberately make things more difficult for us.

Like, it makes them happy to see us suffer. Just look at traffic and how people line up and wait long hours in government offices.

It all began after the EDSA People Power Revolution (which was far from being a real revolution). Imagine---after staking our lives on what we thought to be genuine change, we saw everything slowly go back to normal. Sometimes, it seemed everything only got worse.

We risked our necks to oust a cruel dictatorship while Cory Aquino was safely in a convent in Cebu "praying." Ramos and Enrile were safely hiding inside Crame while we civilians were out facing the tanks and jets. Can you imagine "heroes" hiding behind civilians?

After Marcos fled, Cory came in as president, very conveniently, without difficulty. After some days, I saw one public official given the natural resources department. Wait a minute---this guy used to be a Marcos guy and said to have amassed great wealth from the same office when he was still with Marcos. That's what I heard from some critics. Then Cory made him secretary of DENR? Why? I mean. He was a Marcos guy.

Then the Mendiola Massacre happened. And I thought military cruelty ended with the dictatorship. And several other activists were summarily executed after martial law. What did Cory do? Nothing, because the killings went on.

Later, I saw Ramos and Enrile in good terms with the Marcoses again. In fact, Joseph Estrada, who was a staunch Marcos loyalist, gained popularity so that he later became president. The old Marcos guys were back in power. What happened? I mean, why did they let them come back?

Later, Ramos himself let the Marcoses come back, along with the body of the late Marcos. It's the good old days, once more. What happened to the EDSA Revolt where we civilians risked our lives? And then Imelda became Congresswoman.

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Much later, I started hearing Enrile say the Marcoses didn't do anything wrong. He was even always defending them. If the Marcoses were not at fault, then why bolt away from them? Why start the coup in Camp Aguinaldo?

Then you see them at election time together, members of the same party, both the ones who fought against and the ones who sided with Marcos. And then they reshuffle, change parties, but you see the same thing. They say that's how democracy works. That's what they call pluralism.

I say, that's how they've all been fooling us.

They put up a show as if they're fighting each other, but when they're off cam, they all share the same agenda. They're not moved by principles but by personal agenda. And if they see an alliance that will serve their agenda or ambition, they'd join it no matter if it's an alliance of crooks.

And then the alliance breaks up (because selfish ambition often creates friction rather than permanent alliance) and one would need a powerful backup to stay in power. That's when they call people to rally behind their "good cause." And people mindlessly answer the call, because most of them treat politics the same way they treat showbiz. It's a personality cult rather than fighting for the right principles.

And amazingly, people come to their rescue. They risk their lives, dying for their favorite politician---their "idol." They march out there along with their families and kids, getting run-over by a police vehicle or clobbered to death by a cop gone crazy, not for a cause, but to back up their pet politician. Like the Marcos burial issue. They march out there either because they love or hate Marcos. Worse if they do it because they are pro-Aquino.

And then traditional politicians ride on the issue. They talk like they have all the right to denounce corrupt people---and many believe them. But on closer look, you'd find how these people are also charged with corruption or hide skeletons in their closets. You can't trust them. If they say anything, it's always for the good of their ambition (always) and they're going to use you.

Use you!

I laugh when I see die-hards always defending their dear Duterte at all costs---like the guy can never make a mistake. It's a personality cult again instead of people being patriotic citizens. I support Duterte because God told me in the bible to submit to the governing authorities, but I criticize him when he's wrong. I go for principle. Wrong is wrong. A lot of times I see myself in Senator Richard Gordon, although I'm seldom talkative in person.

Lots of church pastors play right into the hands of these politicians. They try to somehow influence politicians and people in high places and use them for their church ministry---not realizing they're the ones being used. Pastors make crooked politicians look good and being in the company of these politicians make these pastors look accomplished church leaders. You see, they use each other.

The common denominator is ego-trip. Jesus never ran after politicians or smelled their butts.

I respect government leaders, but I never rely on them. I very, very seldom believe them, except after a thorough scrutiny of what they are actually saying. Often, I get disappointed.

People who support personalities rather than principles, you are of all people to be pitied. You are willing fools.

I still vote every election---just to please God. It's my duty as a citizen. And I pray for elected officials. But I watch out carefully about what they do and say. Never trust a person once he's in power, that's my personal rule. Power and money can transform a person, either for the better or for worse. I've seen a lot of meek guys turn monster just because of money and power.

Now, can anyone tell me I'm wrong about politicians? Please do and explain why.

Marcos Burial Would've Been Peaceful This Way

Image from Manila Times

Imagine your late dear dad secretly buried with all the controversies, only to be exhumed or dug up later and transferred elsewhere. If you loved and respected your dad, would you let him go through all that trouble? I would want a peaceful burial first and foremost. In fact, that's all I would want for him. Never mind other considerations.

The Marcos burial has been a circus, to say the least. I wouldn't want that for my father if I really valued him. Look at how it all turned out. I don't know why the Marcoses would prefer this than a peaceful, quiet burial in Batac.

I really believe that if the Marcoses had decided a quiet burial in Batac, the Marcos loyalists wouldn't have protested. They won't dare lift a finger to oppose it. They'd sheepishly submit and assemble in Batac for the burial rites. And everyone will be happy. Genuine healing will happen and the issue can quietly be shelved in the past as case closed.

Then we can all move on. Di ba?

What's wrong with a Batac burial, anyway? The Marcos corpse has been there for what, 30 years? And it's been making money for the town as a tourist attraction. In a TV interview, one Batac resident preferred Marcos to stay there. She didn't really like the idea of a Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) interment. And I think a lot of Batac folks (and probably Ilocanos) would also prefer that.

How about Marcos' last will and testament, wishing to be given the proper burial rites accorded a president and a soldier? That can well be fulfilled even in Batac. My proposal is for Batac to have a Libingan ng mga Bayani ng Batac or Libingan ng mga Bayani ng Ilocos. Seriously, I'd do that if I were Marcos' son. I'd do that if my dad were former president and a lot of people didn't like him buried at LNMB. I'd bury him in San Juan, La Union in a graveyard I'd call Libingan ng mga Bayani ng San Juan. 

My dad was a second lieutenant of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines or USAFIP and he deserved a place at the LNMB. In fact, my mom was offered that privilege but she turned it down because she wanted dad buried nearer our home.

Not being buried at the LNMB even if you're a hero is no big deal. Where is Rizal buried, for instance? President Manuel L. Quezon's remains are kept at the Quezon Memorial Circle. So why not bury Marcos at a Marcos Memorial Circle in Batac? I'm sure the Marcoses can easily afford that. A lot of soldiers and firemen are buried at the Manila North Cemetery.

The Marcoses have a lot of good alternatives if they want to consider the unity and peace in the country---and if they want to be liked by more people.

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I don't buy a Marcos LNMB burial. I was against his martial law and I know what happened during his reign. I joined organized protests against him. I was in EDSA during the so-called People Power Revolution defending Camps Crame and Aguinaldo from tanks and also defended Channel 4 from tank and jet attacks. I almost got killed there. It's a long story to tell.

They say Marcos didn't personally kill the victims so he is not accountable. That's really a shallow way of dismissing the issue. Marcos may not have personally committed the crimes but he was president then. He was commander in chief of the armed forces. There is command responsibility.

But what can I do now? The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to allow a Marcos LNMB burial. The 15 days given protesters to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) is just a formality. The Supreme Court has clearly decided and I don't think it will rescind its decision. That will be less "pogi points" for them. Me mga ego din mga yan.

Moreover, President Duterte has also decided in favor.

Though protesting against wrong is important, it is MORE IMPORTANT to submit to the governing authorities, because this is God's clear command in the bible. And it's so immature of us to be always complaining and protesting even if the highest court in the land and the final arbiter of law has already decided.

They say the burial was done in contempt of a final SC decision after an MR. Then, by all means, find out who did it and punish them. But I don't think that's going to change anything.

File a petition to exhume? You see, it really gets absurd and ridiculous when the ego goes berserk. Marcos did wrong and now they want to get even. That just makes them as bad as Marcos. A complainant is worth listening to if he or she proves more righteous than the offender. But if they're both rotten...

How come Pinoys can obey and submit when in the Middle East but not in their own country? Is it because they're paid high salaries there? Is it all about money? You submit if given a high pay? I hope we Pinoys have not become "mukang pera."

It is very important for a nation to learn to obey its authorities. In fact, in our case as a poor nation, it's more important than democracy. We've been used to being stubborn and getting things our own way. We are idiots when it comes to accepting defeat.

Balik Bukid

Image from Dreamstime.

Last end of October my family and I went to Agbanawag, Nueva Ecija to visit my wife's dad's rice filed. "Bukid" we call it here. It's a great expanse of land tilled for palay. In Nueva Ecija, the "rice granary" or "rice bowl" of the Philippines, you often see nothing on the landscape but bukid.

There's lack of info on the etymology of the word bukid on Google. I wonder why the Fijan, Indonesian and Malay words for bukid all mean "hill" when in fact the Tagalog term bukid means a field. Here's what I think:

Rice fields are often back-dropped with mountain ranges or hills. So probably, long ago, when they pointed to a mountain in the Philippines, it included the rice fields. That's how it probably started.

Anyway, we went back to bukid living from October 30 to November 1. And I mean real bukid living. Being originally from Manila, we were practically balik-bukid folks that time.

The scene immediately in front of
the house where we stayed.

We stayed right in the middle of the vast and seemingly unending rice fields. My wife's late dad built a concrete house there for spending vacations in. It was an exciting adventure. Aside from a short vacation, we went there to check some things out.

Want to know hotel prices in the locality you're planning to visit? Click here.

Have you slept in the middle of a rice field before? With no neighbors around except trees, frogs, rats (the edible kind that eats nothing but palay), locusts, snakes, bats and different types of birds? I couldn't wait to see the place at night time.

Bamboo bridge

And yes, I tried to look at the nearby fishpond as well, enjoying the makeshift bamboo bridge now and then. If you haven't tried crossing narrow bamboo bridges before, well, I think you should.

The cool winds blowing down from the distant Sierra Madre mountain range (see picture above) kept on from morning to night. The quietude was eerie yet pleasant, for a change. We were tired of city noise so bird and insect chirps at night were very welcome. No TV, too. Can you imagine that? We just talked as a family.

At night, the whole place was enveloped in black, except for some small glowing dots which were lights from houses in the distance. We walked around along the long lonely road casting a beam of light from our powerful flashlight here and there.

I had my jacket on. It was cold.

The place looked very peaceful at night, except for some scenes that reminded us of some zombie movies we've seen. We went back to the house with total blackness behind our backs and which seemed to be after us, wanting to swallow us.

We had simple supper of mostly vegetables, cooked the way the natives of the locality cooked them---with preserved fish sauce---plus grilled fish cooked over an open fire. Later, after washing the dishes we went to bed, being extra sensitive to our surroundings. But with God in your midst, what's to be bothered about? We had a good sleep.

Hearty Breakfast, Anyone?

I was thinking of a topic to write about when suddenly I realized---this blog can't be without a category on food! Because I'm crazy about food! I love to eat and cook---or cook and eat.

I started cooking real meals when I was in high school. I watched my grandma, mom and dad do it, often serving as their assistant by peeling or slicing veggies and washing pots and pans. I also did the wet marketing. Later, they let me cook.

Oh yes, I also was cook during campings when I was a boy scout in grade school. Back then it was simpler---I just opened a canned good and poured everything in a hot pan. Presto!

In college and after, I became an expert cook. I started cooking almon bigas, menudo, dinuguan, dining-ding, pinakbet, michado, sinigang, sarsyado and apritada, to name a few.
I can cook spaghetti and puto.

My wife knows how to cook but she learned more recipes from me, like the tender juicy way of cooking liver steak. I learned the secret from my grandma and mom.

But my wife has her own superb way of cooking food. In fact, almost anything she cooks tastes superb.

Just look at the breakfast we had this morning (see pic on the left). Native hamonado longganisa (native smoked sausage), scrambled eggs and vinegar with crunched native chili dip.

That's a really hearty breakfast.

You all know the importance of eating a full breakfast. I won't discuss that here. But what I'd like to share as a tip is making sure you have enough carbs, protein, calcium and Vitamin C in your breakfast.

By the way, I had a tall glass of pure fresh kalamansi before breakfast. Vitamin C. And a bout an hour after I had yogurt. That's calcium.

But I always go easy on carbs. I make sure that I eat limited rice and don't have extra carbs in another form if I already have my rice. Some eat rice and later eat rice cakes, pizza and bread. That's a sure way to weight gain.

So, watch out for more on food here!

GOD's Flesh

In the bible, Jesus turned water into wine and fed 5,000 men with a few loaves of bread and fish. He also healed multitudes and kicked out devils with a word.

Moses divided the Red Sea and Elijah commanded fire to zap down from heaven.

That's in the bible.

But where are they now in the modern church? Nowhere.

That's exactly why this e-book, GOD's Flesh, is here. It serves as a spiritual map to help take us back to the powerful and supernatural moves of God, no matter if it's modern times. During the times I was writing the e-book (and even before I wrote it), God has been burdening me about bringing back today the real signs and wonders in the bible and showing me Kingdom principles how this can be possible again.

He even enabled me to do them in ministry.

I wrote them down in this 80-plus-page e-book.

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We just share God's Word today using human intellect and public speaking, not God's genuine power. But real evangelism as God did it in the bible is accompanied by God's supernatural power.

"...but to preach the gospel---not with (human) wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." [1 Corinthians 1.17]

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." [1 Corinthians 2.4-5]

Genuine faith in God should rest on HIS power alone, not human theology. And this is what GOD's Flesh is all about.

To buy the e-book now, just click here. You will pay through Paypal and then be taken to a page on my blog where you download a PDF copy of the e-book.

What GOD Really Wants from Us

Pinterest

It's unfortunate to see lots of folks going religiously to church without knowing what God really wants from them. Even some born-again Christians. It's kinda like employees in a factory coming to work everyday to make thousands of toilet bowls when what the company owner wants from them is to produce shoes---because he's running a shoe factory.

Year in and year out, a lot of people go to church doing the same useless things they think please God. There is this idea propagated for years---no, centuries---that going to church pleases God. And yet Jesus didn't put it that way when asked what people should do for God:

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." [John 6.29]

He didn't say, "To go to church every Saturday or Sunday." He just said believe.

And believe it or not, many church goers actually do not believe. They're active in church but they're the first to laugh at Jesus' teachings. Look at these passages, for instance:

You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. [Luke 14.33]
Sell your possessions and give to the poor [Luke 12.33]

Has anyone seriously given up everything he or she owns and given the money to the poor?  Have churches given up the vast properties they own? Their denominational bank accounts? How about popular ministers or preachers who own lots of luxury possessions? You tell them these verses and they'd just laugh them off and give you a doctored explanation of the passages.

Jesus told his disciples to give up everything.

More on Jesus' genuine radical teachings by clicking here!

And these passages are just examples. There are many more. No one's really taking Jesus' radical teachings seriously, and yet they all go to church and become active there and donate money and build large, mega churches.

We think singing and playing instruments to God every Sunday pleases him, and we call that Christianity.

James warned us: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." He didn't say, "Be doers of church traditions." Real faith is not just being saved by grace. It's also doing the Word after getting saved. Do not be deceived.

And that's the whole point. It's what GOD really wants from us---to live out his Word daily through the power of the Holy Spirit. To give flesh to his Word---offer our bodies as living sacrifices to him through Christ.

It's NOT what we do in that building we call "church." It's how we live outside.

Probably one day I'm going to discuss here what really is church, according to the bible. Aside from the gathering together of true Jesus believers, church is something much, much more. For instance, church is the fullness of God on earth. More on this in another article.

Jesus came to teach us radical things like this---to keep us unique from those of the world. And being unique in Christ means we seriously live out the Word daily. That's how we become GOD's flesh---God is spirit but he wants to manifest to mortal humans as flesh.

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Only by seeing God can we truly believe him. Yes, blessed are those who believe though they do not see, but we cannot remain unseeing all our lives. We should see in the spirit.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. [2 Corinthians 4.18]

Yes, it is "unseen" but we have to "fix our eyes" on it. See? You should be able to fix your eyes on the unseen.

Problem is, mortals will die if they see God literally. So, what God wants to do is inhabit our bodies. God chooses to live in our bodies though the whole universe cannot contain him.

So, now God can be seen by mortals through us who are seriously believing Christ and living out his Word daily. In fact, we should come to the point where we cease to live because it is already Jesus living in us---living our lives---moving, talking and relating to people through our flesh.

Thus, GOD's Flesh.

This is just a summary. You will discover more about GOD's Flesh through my e-book, "GOD's Flesh." Click this link for more!

Imagine God Designing the Lungs to Take in Smoke

Randy Glasbergen

They insist that the lungs should take in smoke and carbon monoxide. They exhaust all means looking for ways to fill up their lungs with them. If not with cigarette smoke then through vaping.

Can you imagine God designing the lungs to take in smoke? Then he should have installed some kind of an internal combustion engine with some kind of a carburator---mixing oxygen with puffs of carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ammonia, arsenic and DDT, to name some of cigarette's 4,000 chemical contents.

And God shouldn't have placed a nose in the middle of our faces. Instead, he should have put some kind of an exhaust pipe or muffler. Imagine having a muffler instead of a nose? Stupid, isn't it? But God is super intelligent so he didn't do it that way. Thank God.

To remain healthy and fit with a simple regimen or system, click here.

Explains why the lungs are made of human flesh, not metal. God designed it to take in only fresh air and push out carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide.

But man in his rebellion insists on deliberately taking in pollution and chemicals in his lungs. It's the same idea when some men insist they are "women trapped in a man's body" and replace some of the body parts that God put on them with stuff that isn't supposed to be on them.

I was once PR supervisor of the Philippine Cancer Society and I saw how lung cancer patients suffered and died. In fact, you don't need to be connected with the cancer society to see them because today it's happening left and right, at an astounding rate. It's because most smokers just smoke anywhere they like. You even see some pregnant women smoking, or adults mindlessly smoking around kids. This despite numerous and widespread warnings on the ill effects of smoking.

You even see smokers smoking in crowded public places. Just because their throats dry up and crave for a dose of cigarette chemicals---so that they "feel like smoking"---they're going to do it. They don't care if other people are around. These guys are real idiots. When I check what they're doing and ask them to stop smoking in public, they react as if I were some villain in a comic strip. Like the Penguin or Lex Luthor, perhaps. And who do they think they are? Superman?

Lucky for them they don't pick a fight with me. I'm a 5th dan Filipino martial arts blackbelt and have been teaching the art for more than 20 years now. :D

And most inexcusable to me are medical doctors or medical students smoking. You wonder what they learn from med school. And then they're licensed to decide on how you should get well---and you pay them big sums for it.

If we just all go back to our original design---the way God intends us to be---there will be no deadly diseases to contend with. Haven't you notice lately how a lot of people are dying of cancer? Very few people die of old age. Why the cancer? Because we have been stubbornly fighting God's designs for us. And sadly, this is true even among many church pastors, those who preach the "Good News" of God.

They smoke?

Some of them do. But more than smoking, majority of them neglect their health and then ask God to keep them from sickness. To me, that's even worse than smoking.

Microscopic Studies of the Word

Jantoo Cartoons

You know why the microscope is important in a lab? It let's you see vital details---details that tell you the whole story of what's really going on. The whole body is important. But to thoroughly understand it, you need to see how cells work and interact with each other.

You only see that through a microscope.

That's why I do what I call microscopic studies of the Word. The whole bible is important. Studying them by books and chapters is important. But so are microscopic studies of the Word of God.

For instance, take this passage:

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

That's a powerful passage. But sometimes we miss a lot of details when we always treat passages as a whole. We're apt to just read them past and get the summary. Like in the passage above, the general idea is that the Word spoken by Jesus is Spirit and life.

More about radical studies of the Word of God. Click here!

But then my eyes often zoom-in to a tiny, particular insight in the passage and magnify it: "The flesh counts for nothing." The first time I "saw" this detail, I was astounded. I'd probably read past the whole passage a hundred times before. And yet I never really "saw" it.

The flesh counts for nothing.

Anything the flesh achieves---even in ministry and even for God---is nothing. Zero. Nill. Pfft. The moment your flesh interferes with anything you do for God---even a tiny bit---it's all zero. Any bragging, self-interest, self-promotion, self-aggrandizement can spoil everything. And that's no matter how well appreciated, recognized and awarded you are in church.

We must be careful that not even an iota of flesh mars our deeds. Flesh is destructive. The moment you think an achievement is partly because of you---even for a short while---then everything disintegrates to nothing. Like what happened to Nebuchadnezzar when he felt great about his kingdom.

Only the Spirit gives life. Only things done when led by the Holy Spirit and done in His power count in God's eyes. No human effort or initiative, no matter how dedicated to God, can ever count in HIS eyes.

Often, we miss these small yet powerful details.

So, I highlight them in my bible. Sometimes I write whole articles about these small minuscule details. At times I post them on my FB wall. And others think I "subtract" from the Word of God and warn me against adding or subtracting from the Word.

It's not subtracting---it's zooming in.

Another example: "The words I have spoken are Spirit and life."

When I see something like this in the bible, my focus is immediately arrested and glued to it. I am taken away and brought to the third heaven where you hear weird things you're not supposed to share with mere mortals.

"Words I have spoken to you."

It's not actually the words we read in the bible but the words Jesus speaks to us that is Spirit and life. No wonder then that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out from the mouth of God. That's more detailed and specific.

Do you hear God actually speaking his Word to you when you meditate the bible?

That's the power of microscopic studies of the Word. It definitely beats any study of human theology.

Proven Secrets to Being Likable

Image from archprofile

They say you cannot please everybody. That's just their assumption. I know because I've been in situations where I pleased everybody---even amid conflicts and chaos, like office politics.

Even church politics.

Well, there are more times when you can please only 70 to 80 percent of the folks around you. But sometimes I hit a 100 mark. How? You see, in some ways, people are all the same. Somewhere back in their minds and hearts is a remote corner I call "neutral" (neutral corner) that is very rarely visited by emotional impulses. Very few people know how to "go there" and harness it to their advantage.

When you know the right buttons to press there, people cool down and feel relaxed with you. They have this priori option to stay neutral, and especially to remain noncommittal to negative emotions toward you. They just find themselves liking you.

And I'm not kidding.

I'd been in several tight office situations before where office politics was the pits. But the strange thing was, both warring factions liked me. At first it was strange. But then after often experiencing the same thing in different situations, I made a study and analyzed things.

Then I discovered some human relations principles on being likable. No, you don't have to compromise, enslave yourself or please people synthetically to achieve it. You just have to polish some human relations skills and know your true self and develop your strengths and potentials.

And when I say human relations skills, I mean something like reading people's minds and gestures so you'd know beforehand what to say or do. Sometimes, you must know how to preempt human tendencies so you can relate better with people. You got to have sharp eyes and wit to quickly see the signs.

I collected the principles and put them in my e-book, "How to be Easily Likable to Most People." The principles are effective wherever I am and in whatever situation. It's something like what the Lord said:

When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. [Proverbs 16.7]

You can use the principles when applying for a job, dealing with people, counselling, in courtship, marriage, at school, in church (if you're a pastor or leader) or practically anywhere you are. It also includes dealing with difficult people.

You can be likable without being people's slave.

A PDF copy of the e-book only costs $3.50 or P170.00. Pay through Paypal, and then Paypal will take you to a blog page where you download a PDF copy of the e-book.

The principles help me and my wife a lot. I teach them to my kids. We're kept out of troubles. If not, then people themselves keep us out of troubles.

To buy a PDF copy of the e-book, click this link.

Extrajudicial Killings

Big Shot Bob in Texas

I guess you can only understand the spate of summary executions in the country if you understand the local gang world. I kindof expected it to be this way when Duterte said he was seriously going after illegal drugs people.

When everything's gone wrong in the underworld, there will be a lot of summary killings---it's a way of cleaning one's tracks. They will get rid of everyone that would link them to the drug trade---those who know too much. It's like that in the movies, it's also like that in real life.

I used to go inside a major prison in the city talking to gang people about Christ and I discipled a gang man there once who later was summarily killed. I heard lots of stories of extrajudicial killings. (That's aside from my exposure when I was active in our fraternity).

That's underworld culture.

And people who never had a taste of it will always get wrong impressions about extrajudicial killings. Like how they link all extrajudicial killings to the PNP and Duterte.

No doubt, some police personnel would be involved. Even officials. But that does not mean the entire PNP is involved.

In fact, chances are, majority (if not all) of the casualties may be a result of gangland double-crosses---gang members killing each other or killing those of their rival gangs---instead of killings as a result of legit police operations. Once police start dealing with the grassroots, the hierarchy begins to be shaken. Suspicions arise and plague the entire system. Soon, those on the upper levels would prevent the spread of the plague by stopping it right on the lower middle section of the hierarchy.

Exactly what happened when the NPA years back started purging their ranks.

The police can then let the repercussions do the job on its own, gang members killing each other, eliminating all possible links to the higher-ups.

Thus, mostly small-time dealers get killed.

But eventually, the domino effect can go up higher levels and soon reach some people on top, especially if the middle section of the hierarchy has been infiltrated. Even some folks in the police and military could be involved.

This is when accomplices in high places start crying and attacking authorities, calling the attention of the media to the "senseless killings of innocent people." We saw the same when the NPA was hurting from the infiltration by the military. There were loud cries of "gross human rights violations" and even the Roman Catholic church bit the bait.

Once this level is reached, authorities know they are gaining the upper hand in the battle. This success can be sustained as long as authorities enjoy the approval of the people. If not, then they may resort to martial rule.

Admittedly, innocent people will be affected. It's inevitable in any "war." This is what so many people do not understand, because of their lack of experience in the underworld. Duterte warned us about this war during his election campaign, and I fully understood it. You can never deal successfully against the drug trade in the way human rights group would have it.

Some things cannot be solved peacefully. Even God had to arm Israel for issues that could not be settled except by a bloody war.

Here's the bottom line: If you have been smart enough to stay out of drugs, you shouldn't have any worries. Stay out of any place where illicit drugs exist and stay away from anyone involved with it. But if you involve yourself in any way, you have no-one to blame but yourself should anything bad happen to you.

I can't understand why anyone would involve himself with drugs. There's no good reason why.

If the drug problem has not gone this big  and seriously in the country, I'd be the first to protest against extrajudicial killings. But with the way things are, It is something that will and must happen. It's like how the Japanese Imperial Army could never have been driven out of the country unless a destructive war happened. No-one wanted the war---it would kill millions of innocent civilians---but it had to be done,

Easy Jogger

Why easy jogger?

There are different kinds of joggers. Desperate joggers are those who imagine themselves athletes in the Olympics or operatives in a police or military special action force so they always kill themselves jogging hard. There are also cute joggers who move so slowly that they're easily overtaken by people who walk casually. Then there are normal joggers who maintain a steady, average jogging pace.

And then there are easy joggers like me who just take their time jogging and enjoying it. We just jog, period. We're neither too fast or too slow. We're almost like normal joggers except that we're not normal. 

But the phrase "easy jogger" in my blog title "Life and Stories of an Easy Jogger" is not really so much about my jogging pace as it is my general speed movement in life. I compare life to jogging---you move and try to see different aspects of life in steady leisurely strides. Sometimes, that's how you get to your real destination in time. Plain walking is a bit too slow but running is also too fast. Too slow makes you late to witness the real-time progress of natural life while too fast makes you miss all the wonderful details. 

So I take life as an easy jogger, just relaxing and enjoying while making sure I cover distance at my own pace, the pace God made me comfortable with. My comfort zone, if you will (comfort zones are not always bad). I hate being in a hurry or being pushed to be in a hurry. Even in ministry. What are you hurrying for? Who makes deadlines? It's only people who want to take charge of everyone's life and control everything, as if they're the saviors of the world.

God, on the other hand, tells us to rest.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. [Hebrews 4.11]

Hurrying often makes you miss some vital instruction details that eventually leads to disobedience. See? They hurry to accomplish a lot (to be recognized by men) but their works lack a lot of vital details---small details that mean a lot to God. They're always after BIG details that earn them the applaud of people. The world sees nothing but big things.

A lot of people are armchair travelers. They move a lot around but never cover any distance. You see them going here and there physically, achieving this and that. but mentally and emotionally they never change for the better. They're still the same old immature, self-centered, insensitive individuals they were 10 or 20 years ago.

...always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. [2 Timothy 3.7]

Competitive joggers jog for recognition and a prize that makes them popular. Easy joggers just want to stay healthy and fit so they'd live well and enjoy other people's company. We don't make plans or goals to beat records or prove anything. We just go out there and jog. So what if we're not the best joggers? So what if we're not big-time joggers. A lot of armchair joggers are absorbed with these.

A lot of fitness experts say easy jogging won't make you lose weight and become fit. Well, all forms of exercises are sure to only do you good, though not all will give you bulky and well defined muscles. The important thing is you have good health. So what if your muscles are not chiseled out like what Mr. Universe has?

And so what if you're not an achiever in life? The main thing is that you lived a good life. Can you live a good life without being an achiever? Ask Enoch. He lived a good life just walking with God for 300 years, and that without being an achiever, as the world understands the term.

Earl

Earl Dollente

I first heard about him on the news. Much later, I and my wife watched his life on Mel Tiangco's  TV program, Magpakailan Man,

Earl Dollente of Pateros was just almost 3 years old when he disappeared, deemed kidnapped by his family on May 27, 1997 at about 5 in the afternoon. That was some 19 years ago. My own son then was just a year old. Earl and my eldest son somewhat look alike when they were kids, so my heart cried out the first time I heard about his story.

Last night, while watching his story on TV, my wife and I were nearly crying. And I was so furious. I asked myself, was that the life prepared by fate for Earl, to be abducted and gone from his family the rest of his life? And what happened to his abductors? Did they suffer at all? Were they punished by God? If so, how come they were able to live with it? It probably wasn't punishment enough.

Crazy thoughts were running through my mind. But I prayed for the kid more and trusted God. He always knows what's best.

But Earl. How about him?

I tried to imagine the sufferings of the family through the years---especially the mom. I'm often like that, I try to imagine the plight of suffering people. Imagine wondering where the kid was and where you'd look for him the first day he was missing. Where in the world would you look for a kidnapped kid just 3 years old? He's still wearing diapers! And that horror went on for days, weeks, months and then years.

Imagine living with that.

I felt so angry. I wanted to kill whoever it was that took that poor kid from his family.

He probably has a different identity today. I don't know if he still remembers his abduction, but age sometimes changes a lot. Probably he was sold to a foreign couple and now living somewhere in Europe or the US, trained up to look to them as his real parents, forgetting everything in his past.

Or probably he was sold as a slave and is now living a wrecked life. Worse, he's probably dead, buried in an unmarked grave in the wilds. Imagine what these worthless abductors did to him and then all they'd suffer is hell when they die? I don't think hell is enough for them. How can they sleep and have peace all these years?

How can people do something like that to a kid?

Each time I hear about kids being abused, harmed or killed, a different rage in my heart boils up. Why harm these helpless children? They cannot defend themselves. That's why people who hurt kids are the most coward people on earth.

I hope and pray Earl will be reunited with his family soon. God please help them. Thank you God for being our Answer for everything.

CHOY's Cut Remix

The Cut

I have lots of blogs. I'm crazy about blogging. When I was in grade school, I wondered how my cartoon strips would get published. When I was in college, I wondered how my articles would get published.

And then there were blogs. And I saw that they were good.

Now I can publish anything I want and get read by people, even worldwide. I thank God.

Then I tried to select which blogs I was going to focus on because my blogs reached to about 20 in all. And I have clients to write for, besides, to sustain their blogs with. So, one day I sat down and meditated. I meditate a lot.

I realized I have to have one blog connecting all my other blogs and which could also stand alone by itself. It should accurately represent my thoughts, aspirations and even idiosyncrasies, It should reflect my life.

It should be me.

I had thought of my blog, Choy's Cut, but it's more on health---where I share choice cuts of what I've learned about health in my wellness career and as a certified wellness consultant. It also includes some life reflections.

But I'm not all about health. True, I love to stay healthy and fit (in fact, I'm a 5th dan blackbelt in Filipino martial arts and have been teaching it for years). But more than that, I'm always reflecting on life and everything I see about it---health, faith, God, money, human relations, and current events, to name a few. I'm an introvert critic; I always take close note of things I see, analyze them and comment to myself.

I criticize mentally, not because I fear discussions and arguments but because I HATE them. And I hate talking to people who can't tolerate what others think, especially if it runs against their opinions or dearly held beliefs. These people often look down on you. Thank God for making me a meek, patient guy because I can easily knock them down with a punch.

I got my silent critic tendencies from my dad who was a veteran journalist highly respected in journalism in the country in his days. He was not a blogger (no blogs yet in his days) but he always kept a diary.

Thus, I find blogs very apt instruments to vent out my ideas and opinions. Just to share them. And I'd also be willing to discuss about them with folks who simply just want to know more about what I share, not to prove themselves better than anybody else. Better than I am. I know I'm just average (sometimes even below average) and I don't need to prove anything to anyone. Believe me, there are a lot of self-centered people ego-tripping out there.

So, for a long time, I thought about creating this new blog that would manifest the real me. I thought out several blog titles---Chyong Pilosopo (because I often reason out in absurd ways), CHYOsopy (I wanted it to be a collection of my "deep" ideas and beliefs), CHYOzen (or "Chosen," a collection of my Zen-like reflections on life) and CHYco Nut (because I love choconut). By the way, I love Zen house designs.

Finally, I decided on CHOY's Cut Remix---because it's a different version of Choy's Cut produced by remixing---the real Choy with the entire gamut of thoughts and ideas, idiosyncrasies, foolishness and some serious important tips. A simple guy with lots of crazy "what-ifs" inside. And I don't mean "crazy" like jumping from a cliff or 10-story building or swallowing a sword. I mean, I have lots of crazy funny thoughts about things and people.

I often find something funny in everything.

Why the pineapple on the blog header? I love eating pineapples, and pineapple was the first thing I heard of having a "choice cut" in a TV commercial when I was a kid.

Why the image of a running man? Because I feel like running or jogging each time I want to free my mind of clutter. Jogging makes me freer each time.

And why "Slices of Life and Choice Stories of an 'Easy Jogger'"? Well, just click here.

Choy's Cut Remix is like a magazine---like the favorite Tagalog comics I enjoyed in my childhood where I found stories, news, commentaries, horoscope, jokes, practical and life tips, ads and commercials and almost everything under the sun in one publication.

I hope you like my stories and drop by here often.

Contact me here: trenzcorp@gmail.com. Make sure you put a title.

If We're Going to Die Anyway

From 123RF

Sometimes you hear stories of health buffs suddenly getting sick and dying. Sometimes, they just plain die. One young health buff slept and never woke up. It's not just scary---it makes you re-think your health and fitness efforts.

Why would you still bother with workouts and healthy food if you can end up like that any time? Maybe it's better to just eat, abuse your health, and be merry for tomorrow you die.

Well, there are three ways to look at this---one is that, sudden deaths of health buffs are really isolated cases. Second, some fitness buffs are not necessarily also "health" buffs. I know a lot of fitness buffs who do not mind about inner health and abuse their bodies.

Third, this just shows us that only God can decide when we'd go. We cannot take charge and decide to prolong our lives by our health formulas. You can just suddenly drop dead.

It's always good to stay healthy and fit. But it's better to be prepared to go any time. And I mean, you should make sure you'd end up in the right place after you die, especially if you suddenly die. Jesus said he is the Way, the truth, and the LIFE. No one can go to heaven without him.

I've surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.

But sometimes, it rattles your mind how life can be unfair at times. For instance, why would non-smokers suffer more the secondary cigarette smoke of smokers? I know people who died of lung cancer even if they never smoked in their lifetime. And Bruce Lee---the guy was said to be the "fittest man in the world" in his time and yet he died because of a mere headache. He took a painkiller that turned out to be a deadly allergen to him.

But you don't give up breathing just because the guy seated next to you stopped breathing and died. We all have different life contexts. If you can still breathe, then do breathe and make the best of it.

It's still better to be fit and healthy even if you die early notwithstanding, than die because you abused your body. It's better to have fought and died than to surrender and then willfully work with the enemy.

That's why I can never understand why drug addicts became addicts.

Anyway, it's better that people feel sad about your untimely death because they know you to be a health and fitness buff, than to have them say, "He died? Well, it's about time, finally. That guy is a walking time bomb and he's a suicide bomber."

What Will Happen If We Cut Ties with the US

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First, what happens is that we lose an important economic ally. The US may not be our true friend and partner, but it's still an important economic ally to consider. All we have to remember is that a rift with the US may negatively affect investments, especially in relation to the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry which is responsible for employing a lot of Filipinos.

Second, think of the Filipinos in the US. Majority of us have families or relatives there. They may feel some serious repercussions of some sort, for sure. US visas will again be hard to come by and many Filipinos still looking up to America won't be able to bear that. They were brainwashed into thinking that America gives them life and that without going to the US they're doomed.

Third, we're still testing the waters as far as our new relations with China is concerned (and probably Russia in the near future). We need a fallback in case alliance with China doesn't work out. And if that happens (and if China is irked by our disapproval of her one-sided proposals), we need a leverage to make China think twice about bullying us again.

The only realistic thing that prevents China from going all-out with its aggression against us are US interests still lurking in our territories. Imagine what happens if all these investments are pulled out. What else would deter a China all-out offensive?

Of course, I don't believe the US will really protect us in case China attacks. All it will do is evacuate Americans from the country and then leave us to defend ourselves---just like what it did in World War II. The best it will do is probably an international press conference denouncing China's aggression against its "ally." Something like, "We denounce in the strongest possible terms..."

Though we know about this (that the US won't  really do anything to save us), the good thing is that for now China isn't too sure about it. As long as US interests are still here, they will always have second thoughts about a US intervention. China thinks US interests here are the aces up our sleeves. And that's a blessing to us. The US has been bluffing China about coming to our rescue if it decides to attack us, and we've been playing along with this bluff, too.

And China seems to be buying it. But for how long? Well, as long as we have US interests in our country.

Moreover, it is known internationally how the US is just aching to start a war in Southeast Asia so it can sell war paraphernalia to countries affected like the PH, Vietnam, Malaysia and probably even Taiwan. Its failing economy needs fresh sources of refunding and profits from war have always been a good source of revenues for the US economy, especially now that it has outstanding debts with China.

Believe it or not, the US creates offshore wars to keep its armaments business alive.

Fourth, the US is a close ally of Japan. If we cut ties with the US, I doubt if Japan would give us any thought if China attacks.

So there.

But you see, we don't really need to cut ties with any nation. In fact, it's foolish to do so since we are not a powerful nation to contend with. Just open your eyes to see that we're nothing compared to China. I really doubt if it will conclude any agreement with us as its equal. It will always propose one-sided ventures, all in its favor, just like how many Chinese businesses (not all though) do not see their Filipino "partners" as equals.

As it is, it "allows" our fishermen partial access to the West Philippine Sea. It's crystal clear that China exercises sovereignty in ALL of the West Philippine Sea.

The only practical thing we can do is to befriend as many countries as possible so we can have leverage against big players in international politics. Why not keep our "special" relations with the US at the same time that we also build "special" relations with the rest---even with China and Russia or even Mars and Pluto, for that matter?

Alliance with super powers is not the problem. The problem is when we allow ourselves to be their slave and underdog in our treaties with them. The real problem with our relations with the US is that we have been quietly approving their lopsided policies that render them practically our masters, and that for decades now.

We're still immature with the way we choose our diplomats who'd bargain for us at the bargaining table. Our officials say nothing there but "Yes sir!"

We have to relate with other nations on equal footing, as a sovereign state with another. We can always reject anything unfair with their proposals and yet at the same time still be in "special" friendly relations with them.

This is what Duterte should do, instead of making outright pronouncements about cutting ties or "separating" from certain countries, especially those that have been our allies.

Do You Know Your Proper Place?

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It's a vital principle in human relations and in life---you should know your proper place and stay in it. We are all given our lot in life. The idea is to stay there to keep safe. It's somewhat like the cities of refuge in the Old Testament designed to keep people safe, especially if they screwed up big-time.

Sadly, lots of folks are not aware of this. They get out of their boundaries and mess everything up. Like how people interfere with other people's lives uninvited. How many times have I seen mothers trying to discipline or reprove other kids who are not related to them in any way.

Teachers may discipline their pupils while in school. But even here, teachers cannot just discipline pupils not under them or when the pupils are under another teacher for another subject. They should know their proper place.

Parents have all rights to discipline their kids while they're young and dependent on them. But once they start their own lives and families, parents lose a little of that authority. They're still parents but they have to give way to how their children exercise authority in their own homes with their own kids. This is so basic and yet it's still a big issue today.

What the boss says is law at the office. But outside office hours, he ceases to be boss. This is common sense, and yet you see bosses getting out of bounds, still acting like bosses to their subordinates outside office work. There's a time to be boss and a time to be equal with everyone, no matter how high your position is, even if you are the owner of the company.

I often keep simple and quiet with most people. I'm usually just attentive listening to them, even if I see how I've attained higher formal education or career accomplishments than they have. Why? Because I'm carefully weighing things to see where I should be standing. I may be the CEO of our company and he may just be the security guard of their company, but when we're in a neutral place like a mall or park, I see ourselves equal.

You break that basic principle, you get into trouble.

Even when I was marketing and training director of a company. During those times, I never ordered our janitor to do anything personal for me. I often asked his help and did things together with him, but not ordered him around like what other people did. Some sales agents, probably because they were making big money, felt it their right to order him around. The janitor told me he felt like a slave.

I don't care if you think you're doing better or producing more than other people do. I don't care if you're the most successful guy in the world. Whoever and whatever you are, you are not exempt---you should always know your proper place and stay there.

Lots of people think their success or the amount of money and material possessions they have make them superior over others. They think it gives them the right to call the shots. And I mean, they're like that even with people who are not under them. They assume that money gives them the right to make everyone else their subordinates.

And so with "assistants." Ever heard of this story?

There's the case of the boss' assistant who usurps power just because he's close to the boss. He really believes he's also boss and expects everyone in the company to treat him thus. Just because the fly is standing over the carabao, it believes it also is a carabao.

Worse is when this assistant produces another "assistant." This little assistant will often become the worst tyrant of all.

How to Know Your Place and Stay There

To avoid being an asshole like that---standing where you shouldn't be---here are things you should remember:

1. Keep simple and quiet. "Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent," says Proverb 17.28. Simple ambitions keep you from stepping on other people's toes. I would rather wait for God to promote me than covet favors or positions. Waiting on God makes you stay in your proper place.

2. Never assume you're better or you're somebody. "Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves," says Philippians 2.3. It's better if other people praise you rather than yourself doing it [Proverbs 27.2]. If you covet recognition, you're prone to standing where you're not supposed to be.

3. Seek lower or humbler dispositions and wait to be exalted. "But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests [Luke 14.10].

I always prefer places of insignificance. That way, you either stay there or be asked to go up higher. Even if you're asked to go down lower, it wouldn't matter much. But if you assume prominence at once, you may be asked to go down lower for everyone to see.

How Some Senators See Us is Reflected on How They Chose Matobato

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I'm not a Duterte fan or die-hard. I think the Senate investigations should go on finding out who is behind the extrajudicial killings. If Duterte is guilty, he should answer for it.

But presenting Matobato as "witness" by some senators in a Senate hearing is an example of how these lawmakers see us. They think we are all idiots. They just pull someone (or anyone) in the streets into the senate inquiry as "witness" to say a bunch of silly nonsense and expect us to believe him.

They should have at least concocted an ingenious plot that showed impressive logic and lead us to really believe something without a shadow of a doubt---like the way an Agatha Christie detective fiction would so convincingly show you false leads and you'd be shocked in the end how a seemingly innocent character would end up the culprit.

At least, that way, you'd see that taxes are spent by lawmakers with real talent. But as it is, who knows what kind of laws these guys are making in Congress at the expense of the taxes we pay when they can't even create a good murder plot free of obvious loopholes? And no wonder Trillanes failed in a coup plot. Now we know why.

The whole affair about Matobato is like the trash we see in local TV soaps. Very poor plot, drifting and boring story, zero imagination and you always get a feeling that the creators were in a hurry to do everything because all they were thinking of was rake in huge profits out of nothing. Nothing was well thought of. And it's bombarded with lots of commercials, besides.

Fortunately, there are good actors and actresses around to offset trash TV programs.

Story writers and directors like that see their audience as idiots. The same with some lawmakers. They keep insulting Pinoy audience intelligence---always assuming that their audience think the way they do. So, they get someone like Matobato as witness, and perhaps coach him about how and what to answer during the inquiries prior to the hearings. But problem is, cheaply bought witnesses always prove to deliver cheap results. They tend to blow up their inconsistencies or say a lot of funny stories, like a murder in a "McDo Hotel."

Like most Pinoy soap or movie producers, conspirators in Congress hate spending too much for their production. All they think of are the returns. They should've opted for a real pro who can really internalize the roles he plays, although that would cost a fortune. If you see your audience as top caliber, you'd surely spend a lot to make your presentation credible. But if not, you'd just get someone like Matobato---a "witness" who saw or knows nothing.

Allowing Matobato on the witness stand tells us how De Lima and company see us (and especially how Trillanes see us when he said Matobato was a "reliable witness"). They think we're stupid. They think we'd just take their word for it. And that's an insult to the Filipino people. They will always do the same in their future actions as lawmakers, and more so when they seek higher offices in the future.

They should've tested the quality of their witness first before presenting him in public. If the testimony proves to be garbage, then the witness should be scratched from the list and never allowed to be seen testifying in public.

I've watched Got Talent shows online, and you'd notice how each contestant that reached the final stage show superb performance. That's because they underwent rigid screening to make sure that only quality participants get to be seen performing in public.

If Got Talent is that serious with its standards, surely the Philippine Senate should set much higher standards in screening witnesses who take the stand.

Why are Some Duterte Critics Stupid?

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Aside from taking things out of context (and sometimes it seems intentional), most Duterte critics are really hell-bent on just sabotaging his efforts. It's not just to get their news items more controversial than they really are (to get higher ratings), it's really to destabilize his administration. Kick it out of existence and replace it with theirs.

And all because they're still so infatuated with Mar Roxas and PNoy. They just want to prove that Duterte was the wrong choice and Mar should've been seated in power. Putting down a government to replace it with one run by your political idol is not really insane. It's pathetic stupidity. If it were "insane" it would have sounded better. At least "insane" is genius gone overboard. But it's not. It's stupidity.

You can see how they just want to put down Duterte so the yellow Liberal Party could take over through VP Leni Robredo (and Mar and company could then rule the country through her) and also probably somehow save party-mate Senator De Lima in the process. The plan to oust or impeach Duterte---or something like that---has been true all along. And the effort involves some media organizations and even news blogs.

A lot of unsuspecting and misinformed individuals eagerly join them as misguided tools, not knowing that news sites and blogs they get information from make a lot of money misinforming people like them.

I'm NOT a Duterte fan or follower. I support him mainly because the bible says the faithful should submit to the governing authorities. I'm always loyal to truth, nothing else. Actually, I don't like the guy, especially how he talks foul-mouthed with his curses and expletives and how he retracts words he has already said officially (he is the highest official in the land and he should be aware that everything he says in public is official) in the guise of intending to mean another thing.

Well, sometimes silly reporters do twist his words around to mean another nasty thing or take everything completely out of context.

But sometimes, Duterte speaks one thing now and a moment or day later Malacanang comes out with a disclaimer, explaining how the president really didn't mean what he said or was merely misquoted. One begins to get tired of hearing that after a while. So, what things did he really mean? Who do we believe, him or his spokesmen or Cabinet? People may never take him seriously one day and just wait for his spokesmen for the real thing. People may tend to take everything he says as something merely preposterously said. That will be a big disaster.

I've observed how some sites or blogs sound so happy each time they can report something bad about Duterte. They watch out for his blunders or misworded statements and blow that out of proportion. I mean, build a whole planet out of it. They get a kick out of that and I can't understand why. Put down your own president, the president of your country? You must be a brainless traitor to want to do that. And for sure you're a coward, too. Traitors are automatically cowards---and morons.

I saw this idiotic site where every inaccurate or false news item (there are a lot of bogus news and news sites online) was directly attributed to Duterte, as if he was responsible. They assume that sites like that are under Duterte's "payroll."

It's similar to how unthinking critics blame gangland-style extrajudicial killings on Duterte and General Bato's PNP. And because of their lack of imagination, they can't understand why cops have to shoot "suspects" if they shoot at them. Why is there sometimes an over-kill? Well, I can imagine why when it's dark and you're in the middle of the shooting and you're the target. It would be hard to aim at the shoulder, hand or legs if the "suspect" aims at your heart or head.

Your tendency is just to shoot back. Self-preservation instinct tells you that.

And anyway, all such incidents are placed under investigation and the promise is that all those proven at fault will be charged accordingly. I, too, detest over-kills, but I also have to understand where the cops are coming from. In the first place, why involve yourself in what you know is highly illegal and then blame cops for overdoing their arrest? Toy with that thing and you deserve whatever consequences you get--even if you're not directly involved or if you claim to be already willingly surrendering.

If you want a quiet life, you shouldn't have allowed yourself to get involved in any way.

To be sure, I denounce killing of innocent people merely assumed to be suspects. It's the height of stupidity to just shoot anyone who looks like a pusher or addict. As a cop you were supposed to be trained to engage in lawful combat. You know the rules of engagement. Shooting a suspect in a shootout is different from plain shooting a non-combatant, no matter what you suspect him of.

Don't they teach trainees how to handle unarmed suspects using hand-to-hand self-defense techniques without using guns? It's a simple matter to lock the arms of an unarmed suspect resisting arrest if you are trained like I am. And definitely, you wouldn't be able to tackle me if you tried to grab my gun from my holster if I was really trained for these situations like how cops should be.

So, why always use a gun as first line of defense?

Some folks in Congress want the anti-drug operations to stop. Duh? So drug figures could recoup and better strategize their operations? When I hear this, I'm reminded of how traitors in Aguinaldo's cabinet wanted the revolution to stop so the country could just yield to the Americans.

If we stop Duterte's aggressive anti-drug campaign and do things the way previous administrations did it with decency and oligarchic style, the shootings and killings may stop. But that won't amount in any way to genuine and lasting peace and order. It will just be a lull before the storm of a narco-nation.

Are You for Duterte, De Lima, Leni or Aquino? The Correct Way to Watch a Political Circus

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As usual, a circus is on among major political figures in the country---Duterte, De Lima, Leni, Aquino and others, with special appearances by the UN and some US diplomats. And it's fun watching them do their tricks. Each of them have their special skills. But the problem is that a lot of people do not know how to watch political circuses. They never learn.

They try to join the circus.

Remember, circus is only for watching, unless you're officially part of the show. Imagine if one from the audience suddenly goes out of the benches and joins the parade of lions or tigers. He'd end up dead meat, literally. Or, imagine a clown or juggler doing a difficult act and you suddenly appear from nowhere and interrupt.

As long as you stay seated in the benches, circus is a fun and entertaining sight to watch.

But people take sides and support a personality. That ruins the circus. I've watched people who claim to be the "thinking majority" lambaste at the "die-hard," rabid Duterte supporters, not realizing that they too are like that when they defend the opposing side. They can't see how they're also die-hard, rabid De Lima or Leni or Aquino supporters.

And they call each other idiots.

Well, in a way, that adds so much fun to the whole circus. The more clowns, the better.

You shouldn't support personalities. Support worthy issues. Especially, support truth. Anyone who goes against truth you should criticize, expose and reject if need be.

Imagine if the circus crowd becomes divided---one group favors one clown and the other walks out because they favor the other clown. The whole show may be affected, Or worse, the circus may be closed down. No more fun, then.

I don't like Duterte as president, but because he is now in fact president, I have to support him. That's what the bible says. I also didn't like Arroyo and Pnoy, but when they were president, I supported them. But it's a conditional support, as opposed to a blind support. I know right from wrong. If Duterte proves wrong I will criticize him. But if he's correct, I'll applaud him. I won't be a Duterte rabid fan as many folks are who embrace everything the guy says. Fanaticism takes away your ability to discern between good and evil.

Neither will I be a rabid Duterte detractor like a lot of unthinking people are (yet they believe they're the smart ones) who oppose anything that comes from Duterte. They'd prove Duterte wrong even in his right decisions and defend his detractors even if they're dead wrong. Such a silly way to apply your intellect, energy and resources.

I'm always loyal to truth. I seek truth, not personalities or popular issues. If anyone is against truth, I don't care how popular he is. I will criticize him. But if anyone is for truth, I don't care what his background is. I'll applaud him.

Constructive criticism is what you do when someone you support (and you have no choice but to support him) makes a mistake and you need to call his attention to it.

Detraction, on the other hand, is willful prejudice against a person based on hatred and animosity. And it's a sign of stupidity, idiocy and immaturity. They just want to put the guy down. What for?

Are you able to decide in favor of someone you don't like? And do it sincerely, too? I have been exposed to situations like this and have become used to it. God's Word tells me not to have biases but to always be fair.

People often squirm or scowl when I side with unlikely people or issues. For instance, Pinoys may favor a Filipino candidate over an American in a beauty pageant because they're Filipinos. But a beauty pageant is not about siding with a fellow Filipino. It's about who's really the most beautiful.

Going back to political circuses, a circus is best left to itself if you want the fun to continue. Anyway, you can never save a circus gone haywire by anything you could do---much less by joining it. Well, one day, if for some reason you decide you want to be a clown or monkey or crocodile, then by all means, join the circus.

How You Can be Contented: Ego has a lot to Do with It

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Only the ego is discontented. Count on that. If not for the ego or self-importance or self centeredness, we'd all be living happily ever after, utterly contented with our lot in life.

But the ego makes us go after what we deem is the best. We won't settle for "good" because we think that most people settle for that. We think that the daring few go after the best. If you hit your "best" you're best of the best! And only a few are like that.

I doubt.

I think the the majority today are all after the best and only a few good men settle for what is good. Only few are happily contented with what God gives them. It's like the narrow road---everyone takes the broad path to perdition thinking it's the best option and only the tough and daring take it.

It's actually the reverse. If you take the narrow road, you are tough and daring. And the narrow road is living a contented simple life as Jesus did.

But the ego is there. I don't think anyone can get rid of it. Like the flesh, the ego serves a purpose. It tells you how to keep satisfied and meek. It teaches you to control and mature. You'd become a robot without your ego. Ego is the breeding ground of self will.

What you do is suppress it. If you don't feed it, it starves and weakens and "dies." But mind you, it can resurrect anytime it tastes even a drop of self importance, like Dracula to a drop of blood. If it dies it just lies around there, waiting for your wrong decision. When your feelings are hurt and you decide to assert your ego, the ego revives.

You can right a wrong done to you without asserting your ego. I train myself to deal with right and wrong without getting emotionally involved. Can you do that? It needs hard training. If someone wrongs you, you see it and demand some remedy. But if you don't get the remedy, you leave it at that unaffected. I term it being cold-blooded or callous with your emotions, especially if they prod you to assert your ego. Unperturbed. Unfazed. Unfeeling.

You see how cold-blooded hired killers deal with their targets? They say they're just doing their jobs. Nothing personal. In the same way, you "assassinate" your emotions. You take nothing personal. Yeah, you may even fight for your life if threatened, but you do it without emotion---no hate no vengeance. Nothing personal---you just needed to save your life.

Well, that's taking it to its extreme, which I hope wouldn't happen.

You have dreams and ambitions. You also desire things. You do your best to get them. But if you don't, it doesn't bother you. You're cold-blooded in that sense. You don't feel frustrated or anything like that. You just settle on the fact that it's not for you. No big deal. So what?

But you feel the ego is still there. Anytime you lose control, it will grab power and do a coup. I still get ousted from power now and then. But the frequency and intensity lessens with training. Of course, I still cry or laugh or feel sad, but it's no longer ego-based. It's like how Jesus wept for Jerusalem, not because his ego was hurt, but because he was concerned for its people.

When the ego is hurt, it aims to do a better job because it needs to prove something. "I'll show them that I'm not a loser and I'm going to outdo them all!" Merely having that thought---proving yourself to people---already makes you a failure. It proves you are their slave because everything you do is aimed at pleasing them.

I'd do better after failing---not to prove anything---but because I just love doing better. The emotion is there, loving to do better, but it's no longer ego-based. Even if you fail trying to be better, you remain satisfied and happy. Loving to do better that is ego-based will never end up fulfilled or happy. The ego never gets contented and people around you get negatively affected by it.

Yes, you may get to be a big success. But you're a rotten, pathetic success.

That's why satisfaction often comes in old age when you are in your death bed and very weak, just waiting for your time. The ego is then subdued. That's why power is made perfect in weakness. When you're about to die you think of nothing else but what truly matters in your life and loved ones. You don't aim for anything anymore---except aim to do things you're still able to do for yourself.

I just pity those who are in their death beds and still do not find contentment. When the ego is still alive at such times, you just suffer more. The pain merely aggravates and not even pain-killers would help. You can't let go of things. You struggle, and that only increases the misery.

The ego can also be generous, but it is so only to prove its worth. And often, the generosity awaits a return. The ego cannot just do good deeds silently. It will want something in return---though it will always deny the fact.

But contented people, with their egos subdued, will give away and forget about it. They don't mind losing material things because to them it's a gain. They don't count the cost. Anyway, if they can't afford to give, they won't. They never want to please anyone anyway, so there's no need to force themselves to sacrifice.