August 16 - 31, 2017
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
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Sign of the Times
Breaking
Point
By Rosette Correa
Mother Nature has a way
of making things known. In
a span of a week, the sun
was eclipsed by the moon,
and
Hurricane
Harvey
the devastated citizens of
Houston. In ancient times,
people would equate these
events as omens of what
disaster was yet to come to
the village, and they would
scramble to find the best
ways to divert her wrath on
its citizens. Today, however,
when events like these
happen, people flock to
open spaces and dare the
wrath of Mother Nature, by
being excited spectators to
the show, finding the best
seats in the house.
Portland, Oregon was
busy with tourists the day
of the solar eclipse, and
Vancouver experienced 80%
of the eclipse. Vancouverites
flocked to many places to view
the eclipse, one that would
not come back in another
100 years. The whole of
North America made what
was a portent for villages and
citizens hundreds of years
ago, into a money-making
commercial
opportunity.
Modern Man one point,
Mother Nature zero.
Hurricane Harvey hit
Houston hard. That’s not
only a tongue twister, but a
crippling one for the state of
Texas. As Harvey sits steadily,
with its eye on Houston for
several days now, Americans
can’t make a sense of the
devastation that rocked
their city. While they suffer
and endure the hardships
of one of the biggest natural
disasters to hit the Mexican
Gulf, President Donald Trump
set off on his vacation after
he visited the disaster area,
and roused the crowd as if
it were a campaign sortie.
People in Houston continue
to be rescued and relocated,
and the call for help is getting
louder and louder as flood
waters continue to ravage
the city. Mother Nature one
point, Modern Man zero.
The score is tied. Who
actually wins?
Without
sounding
paranoid or like one who
takes omens seriously, we,
nevertheless, should not
ignore the signs. When
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Bright spots in the Con-
gress of the Philippines
ANGEL THOUGHTS
“You are either for the
cause of democracy or for
the curse of tyranny” —Ninoy
Aquino.
*****
Good news! Bouquets
to Sen. Cynthia Villar for
her award, the Most Distin-
guished Alumni Award by the
University of the Philippines
Alumni Association (UPAA)
given during the homecom-
ing and awards ceremonies
at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP
Diliman.
Aside from her, Supreme
Court Senior Associate Jus-
tice Antonio Carpio and DBM
Secretary Benjamin Diokno
also received the Alumni
Award. Some 20 alumni were
scientific. It’s the fastest and
seamless way to sweep the
real reason under the rug, and
we are exonerated of our sin.
This ignorance is not only
from Mother Nature’s call,
but with the whole political
and societal institutions.
We have elected leaders
who have no sense of social
justice, stewardship, and
morality. They side with the
untruth, and ignore the
repercussions, and have
made our society tolerant
to almost anything that fifty
years ago were deplorable.
Today, few people even
know was is true and ethical,
and now truth has become
subjective, and its definition
relies on who speaks louder,
who pays more, and who
lobbies lawmakers better.
We should never ignore
signs. Natural occurrences
and disasters are telling
signs. They tell us we’re
not doing a good job. John
James Audobon, American
conservationist, said “A true
conservationist is a man
who knows that the world is
not given by his fathers but
borrowed from his children.”
We have robbed the future
generation of its treasure,
as the signs of the time
have shown us how man
has neglected its role to be
stewards of the Earth, and
Mother Nature isn’t happy.
Villar and Nograles
also cited as
“professional
awardees.”
“I am so honored, not
so much about our achieve-
ments as individuals, but how
our efforts have benefitted
others and have done this
esteemed university proud,”
Villar said.
“This recognition encour-
ages me to carry on with my
advocacies and it also serves
as a validation of my con-
tinued efforts to inspire and
help our fellow Filipinos. The
award is really a bonus. It feels
good to be recognized. But it
feels even better to know that
you are making a difference
in people’s lives.”
As the chairperson of the
Committee on Agriculture
and Food, Villar is pushing
poverty reduction as a legisla-
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
Mother Nature wants to tell
us something, she does not
use subtle ways to tell us
what she’s up to. We have
taken nature and our gifts
for granted, and as people
grow farther and farther away
from God and rely on their
own volition, we become
insensitive to the sign of the
times. Pope Francis, in his
encyclical Laudato Si, hailed
by both religious and secular
groups, tells us that the world
is a gift from God, and when
natural disasters happen,
it is the Earth’s response to
our neglect. Sadly, man will
find a “scientific” reason for
these natural occurrences,
and people swallow it up
as fact, simply because it is
tive priority.
Together with
former Senate Pres-
ident Manny Villar,
she established the
Villar Social Insti-
tute for Poverty Al-
leviation and Gover-
nance (Villar SIPAG),
which allowed her to
provide assistance
to overseas Filipino
workers, to sup-
port environmental
protection, and to
establish livelihood
projects and farm
schools all over the
country.
Senator Cynthia earned
her degree in Business Ad-
ministration (BA) from UP
and completed her MBA at
the New York University. She
was elected as Representa-
tive of Las Piñas in 2001 and
served for three terms until
2010. Three years later, she
was elected senator. She is
the current chairperson of the
Committee on Environment
and Natural Resources.
*****
In the Lower Chamber, a
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
young congressman is pour-
ing over the national budget
line by line. Cong. Karlo Alexis
Nograles, who will celebrate
his 41st birthday on Sept. 3,
heads the powerful, but con-
tentious Committee on Ap-
propriations. It is congress
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