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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Survival Thinking


Today more than 50 million Filipinos considered themselves as poor. We can see countless countrymen of ours living under bridge, in the stinking estero, in the cariton and even in cold pavements. Truly the government for the past 20 years failed to deliver their promise to uplift the economy and provide decent life to Filipinos.
Since we can not rely entirely to the inept government of ours, it is time to chart our own course. How can we then change? Let us start by aiming for survival thinking. Yes, before our poor thinks of buying anything they need to be enlightened on how to survive.
First is food. The member of the family should ensure that there will be food in the table. Food that will nourish them and make them work productively. How can this be possible when many poor people are without job?. That is the challenge. We have to act as a nation to provide cheap food for everybody. There are many ways to do it. For example, let us plant vegetables in the garden so that we can give or sell in a lower price for the poor. There are many creative ways we can do. Our failure to provide food for our family means our children can not go to school, can be sickly and unproductive and the country will produce mendicants rather than producers.
Second is water . We should ensure that the water we drink is safe and the source protected. Imagine if Lucena will not have water for one week and we will experience chaos. For a nation and a family to survive, water should be readily available. We should do everything to protect the source of water in Lucban, practice wise use of water and support the effort of the water district to improve their facilities.
Third is energy . A nation and a family will remain poor if there is no available energy to fuel the businesses and the homes. A nation that can not even provide electricity to a city harnessed unemployment. A nation that utilizes energy is a powerful nation. Just look at Russia. Our country is blessed with enough energy and we should try everything to protect it.
Fourth is stability in population . We should accept the fact that high population means more consumption of food,water and energy. In a typical family those who belong to a big family need more money in order to survive. The same thing in a country, those who are more populous are poorer than those who are not. We need to have a stable population.
How many politicians you meet discussing survival thinking? In Lucena have you experienced somebody advocating the need of the family and the country to survive? If none we have to act now. We only have one country and all of us will sink if we will not swim.
ALC

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Letter to the People of Burma(Myanmar)


Dear Brothers:
Your country is experiencing a decade long repression that as a people you are not only given scarce but misleading information. You can not communicate outside of your country whether mobile or internet because the junta cut it off. Do not be intimidated my dear brothers. What is happening to your beautiful country , we experienced 20 years ago when the Philippines was under a dictatorship.
Hold on to your belief. We know that the junta raided your sacred monasteries, beat up monks and shooting unarmed students. These acts are desperate attempt to salvage their decaying regime. Remember my dear brothers that everytime they hurt you, their morale were attacked in return.
We are praying for your country. May you find consolation in our EDSA revolution 20 years ago when we marched unafraid. We were students who at that time were not thinking to oust a regime but to express our outrage to the assasination of Ninoy Aquino. But our outrage was rewarded by ending a 20 year dictatorship.
The Burmese people will also be rewarded and the Junta knows it. That is the reason my brothers why they are using violence. They inflict fear but deep inside their heart they are the one afraid.
I pray for you courageous Burma and may the faith continue to guide you. One day when the darkness is defeated (because it will surely come), I am the first Filipino to salute you.Even though we are ocean apart my heart is with you. Because once I stood up with more than a million Filipinos in 1986 against a regime quite similar as yours.
At the end you will be triumphant just like us. Just hold on!.

Arnel L. Cadeliña