Is religion a front for looking good, an epal tool? (Pakitang Tao, decoration?)

It is more fun criticizing

Rizal Philippines
May 9, 2019

In the medieval times, some philosophers called religion an opium, ie a  means of escape from the harsh realities of living and all that people shall look forward to is everlasting life without hunger or thirst

Indeed the meaning of religion is larger than life, (literally)  It means relationship with ones Creator

    Let us examine if these incidents reflect the real meaning of religion:    From the Latin word religare - to bind (a person with his Creator)

    1.  I just finished Visita Iglesia during Holy  Week, and on the same date, a protagonist and the organizer
         of that event, turned his back on a previous commitment to an agreement. While at the prayers of
         the Visita Iglesia we talked about goodness to one another (mostly about teaching of John) It was
         a grant of right of way.

        I remember a certain protagonist several decades ago who blocked the right of way of a compound
        creating difficulties for the residents. (He had the set back in front of his property and the right of way
        titled - malakas ang Ms. sa gobyerno.) Not long after, he sought our grant of right of way to his
        property for electricity service.  And then he died when he  was shot in front of his gate, a right of way
        just equivalent to the 1 meter of right of way which he blocked.

        Now a grant of right of way is mandatory and required by the Civil Code to the one being blocked by
        a servient estate. And even more so to be free when a project blocks the right of way to the dominant
        ( property behind)  estate.

2.  Our group donated sizeable amount of money for an evangelization project, ie donation of PHP
     hundreds of thousands of pesos for purchase of Bible and donation to Christian communities in an
     island province. The proponent, while sending reports of his project  said that our treasurer, my daughter
     was spreading word that their project is a scam. Now that is bad, and when I asked for evidences
     say a print screen, he could not send me one.  And from his text, it turned out that he based his
     accusation of what was said by his wife and on what the pastor told his wife.   In the name of Bible
     and the Lord, we can send lies about  our co workers and  relatives? And after making huge help/
     donation to their group.

3.  What about misconduct of some of the religious with regards to having wives, homesexual and other
      sexual misconduct, pedophilia etc

4.  What about the high and mighty and other socialites attending church, donating to the church projects
     and yet hardly showing that they care for their fellow men.

Hindi ba pakitang tao lang religion to most people, decoration lang?

Hindi mapigiilan ang lumalala ang vote buying

It is more fun criticizing

Rizal Philippines
May 10, 2019

                                             Mataas na ngayon.  P1,000 lowest, up to P5,000

Last Tuesday, galing ako sa Norte sa Region 1. In one of the vote rich towns in vote rich province it was reported that a mayoralty candidate was giving away P1,000 to every registered voter and the hundreds of tricycles lined up in front of his factory attest to the veracity of the report.    Even bigger amount was given to barangay head.   In one of the cities, it was reported that the level of vote buying was at P5,000 per, and the budget for the election at city mayoralty level was placed at P200 million. Wow

Today, this was reported in major dailies Vote buying incidents at MB

Just what can we expect from this candidates if they bought the votes?  Surely there are financiers and ROI is expected.  This coupled with many violation in the poster rules, is condemn able how many candidates made fun and mockery of election rules.  How can we expect good government and progress improvement from these leaders. Shall our country be better if our misconduct with regards to governance and compliance is worsening?

Mas marami sumusuway sa Comelec rules sa poster display

It is more fun criticizing

Rizal Philippines
April 21, 2019

Sa aking pananaw, sa MM lang mahigpit ang Comelec.  Pero sa probinsiya ang daming violation.  At kung maghihigpit ang Comelec sa palagay ko:   1.  Maraming tatastas ng mga campaign materials, 2.  Marami madisqualify   3. Marami lalagpas sa kanilang allowed budget na P3.00/voter

Comelec Resolution 10488 of January 30, 2019

Ano ano na naman palusot:  

    1. Ikinabit ng mga supporter kalaban di ko alam?!!

    2. Ikinabit ng supporter sa kanyang bakod, ano magagawa ko. (with their consent)

        Lusot ba?

Judge for yourself:

Why are real estate prices: offices and housing shooting up so fast in Metro Manila

It is more fun criticizing

Rizal Philippines
April 17, 2019

Gaming industry and Chinese workers driving up real estate prices in Manila

Yesterday, I was in the office of a former chair of Real Estate Company of the government, a former banker  who told me the fantastic real estate deals in MM.  Condo price/sm has risen to a record of P500,000/sm (up from mere P100,000 about 3 years ago)   In Forbes Park there were real estate deals involving sale of house and lot running in Billions of pesos.  Incredible but true.  What could be the reason?

1.  Well may be the market is awash in liquidity what with low interest rates on the bank deposit (1/4 of 1%)
     the BPO and OFW dollar remittances.

2.  But the more important thing is the influx of Chinese workers for POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Offices) (Phil is now the number 1 gaming spot in Asia even bigger than Macau and Singapore with most of them in the Bay (MoA area)  The developers there are having it so good like Double Dragon.  The Chinese according to Injap are paying at 30% premium.  and has pdc for say a 5 year contract.

There could be 200,000 or more Chinese workers (so BI is having a heyday hehe2 for its ....activities)
and have driven up prices of housing and office rental.  The Chinese invasion of the WPC is bad for us but the POGO invasion is doing good for the business and the financial markets...

Ang pagiging patriot at isang lider, nagsisumula sa pagdampot ng kalat, pagsunod sa batas trapiko -fmr Senador, investment banker

It is more fun criticizing

ersonal responsibility and moral leadership

In a sense, true leadership must exist before, above, and beyond the system, so that when it immerses itself into the system, it exerts a cleansing, rejuvenative power, rather than be merely, supinely corrupted by it.

Blaming the system evades personal responsibility. In government, as in business, we bring into our jobs the values that have shaped and prepared us to make decisions for the good of others. Those values and decisions do not necessarily involve multimillion-dollar deals or millions of votes. Every day—not just once but many times—every individual gets an opportunity to exercise leadership, in decisions big and small.

Every day for me is a struggle in exercising leadership. I am constantly asking myself: will what I say or what I do move the country forward, or will I just be indulging myself? Are the people getting value not for their money but for their vote?

Jimmy Ongpin surely faced the same dilemmas in his own sphere. He could have chosen to skirt environmental regulations as chief of Benguet Corporation—but he did not. He felt personally accountable for his corporate decisions. He could have ducked when he saw that government policy was ruinous to the economy and the country—but he did not. He challenged the existing order (including his brother's ideas and programs) and became a central player in overthrowing the dictatorship. When the call came for him to serve the Aquino government, he brought with him those same values, and applied them with the same vigor and consistency. He did not become a leader because he became Secretary of Finance; he became the Secretary of Finance, and head of the economic team, because he had already proven himself a leader.

Moral leadership—or doing the right thing for the good of the many—is not a function of the system, but of the individual. If everyone picked up one piece of litter, or stayed in the proper traffic lane, or paid the right taxes, or declined a bribe, or put up shelter for the homeless, it would not matter one whit whether we had a presidential, a parliamentary, a monarchical, or a tribal system. What would matter would be that we did the right thing.

If the failure of the system cannot excuse our leaders, then the failure of our leaders cannot excuse us. If we expect much of our leaders, then we must expect as much of ourselves.

Indeed it is only we, the citizens, who can make the system—any system—work. Our destiny is in our hands—hands that work and hands that build, not hands that destroy