October 1 - 15, 2017
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
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Breaking
Point
A Real Thanksgiving
By Rosette Correa
As I stood eating my
Thanksgiving meal of turkey,
ham and salad, I look at the
faces of the families, mothers
and fathers with their sick
children enjoying the feast our
group in Couples for Christ
just served them. Despite what
they were going through, they
smiled and thanked us for
preparing a wonderful dinner
that otherwise would have
been an ordinary day of cold
sandwiches or leftovers from
the common fridge at the
Ronald Mcdonald House, not
because they had no resources
to prepare it, but because
they were just exhausted fro m
going to and from the BC
Children’s Hospital to take
care of their children who were
undergoing treatment. When
you look at your own life and
your own family compared
to what these families are
experiencing, you suddenly
realize that complaining about
whatever state you’re currently
in is shameful. Looking at the
children (with illnesses you
only thought affected adults
and people in the twilight of
their lives) with smiles on their
faces and enjoying every bite
of the warm apple pie with
ice cream or a fresh donut,
you can only surmise that the
illness doesn’t bother them at
all.
As brothers and sisters,
we all stopped and said a
prayer for each other and
grace before the meal. It
was truly amazing to see a
life-giving spirit and human
solidarity, in sharing not only
blessings, but also the anxiety
and uncertainty in their
eyes. You have to stop and
think, what do they have to
be thankful for being there?
Then the real question hits
you - what do I have to be
thankful for myself?
I am thankful for being
here in Canada. Despite
having a pothead for a Prime
Minister who only seeks to
look great, to smoke pot,
and to take selfies, I have a
working healthcare, childcare
benefits, taxes that work
for my benefit, a roof over
my head and a car to get me
around where I need to be. I
have twelve long weekends
to celebrate with my family,
clean air to breathe and less
than a foot of snow during
winter (and even less in some
years). I don’t have a pouty
President who speaks his
mind even if he has nothing
Bulong
Pulungan
By Deedee Siytangco
Reprinted from Manila Bulletin
Angel Thoughts
“Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain
conceit, but in humility,
consider others better than
yourself.” —Philippians 2:3
************
It was National Teacher’s
Day last week and we were
asked to write about our
favorite teacher and why? And
what we think an ideal teacher
should be by our friend Chito
Sobrepeña, president of the
Metrobank Foundation.
The foundation, you see,
has a program that honor and
reward outstanding teachers.
I have met some of them and
their selection process is really
meticulous and has produced
exemplary
m o d e l s
among
teachers’
ranks,
(As well, as policemen and
soldiers.)
Anyway, I had favorites
among my teachers in
Maryknoll College (before it
was renamed Miriam College)
and the ones who terrorized
me most too. But I owe Sister
John Charles who taught
literature in my two years
of college in Maryknoll (for
my Associate in Arts) the
awakening of my interest in
writing. Under her I wrote
essays, short stories, and
feature articles for our college
publication, the Chi Rho.
Some of them won awards and
that inspired me to seriously
good to say, on Twitter or in
ambush interviews, nor do
I have a President who kills
everyone with his foul mouth
and foul personality, as well as
his own posse of scalawags
he calls his “soldiers” against
the war on drugs.
I am thankful for the
opportunities I am given to
serve others, whether in the
Philippines or here in my
adopted country. Because I
have the resources to do so,
and many generous hearts
who understand the causes
that I stand for and give their
own share, I am able to do
more for God’s children in the
last five years than in the last
thirty-six that I spent in the
Philippines.
I am thankful for having
had the chance to meet the
good people in the Filipino
community who truly have a
heart for the Pinoys in Canada,
not the ones who pretend to
care, then rob the community
of its resources and its dignity
by bad-mouthing them in
public. I am thankful for the
different organizations in
the Filipino community who
truly work hard to benefit the
Pinoys here in Canada and
back home by supporting
charities such as ANCOP.
I am thankful for my
work as an educator, to mold
minds and to build a better
and more positive future; that
despite the ugliness in the
world, I am able to tell them
that God loves them, and that
He helps those who take care
of the home He gave us.
There’s still a number of
things I am thankful for, but
an entire article will not be
sufficient to list them down. I
am certainly thankful for my
own family who have stood
by me and have supported
everything I do, and children
who are able to carry out the
mission their parents have
embarked on. I am thankful
as well to a bigger community
of believers in Couples for
Christ, brothers and sisters
who believe in the mandate of
our baptism to serve others.
This
Thanksgiving,
the amazing and wonderful
families at the Ronald
Mcdonald House have taught
me many things just with
their smiles, appreciation and
steadfast spirit. They have
taught me that thankfulness
is truly a grace from God that
one can only appreciate if
one learns to give and to be
thankful for that opportunity
to share one’s blessings.
Sen. Villar tackles Environment
and Agri Issues
look at writing as a possible
career. Before that I wanted to
be a lawyer or an agriculturist!
Thank you, Sister John
Charles and the sisters who
guided me and inspired me
with their dedication to make
us Catholic women for the
world, “Christ for the World
and the World for Christ!”
My three sisters, Cielo
Rivera, Lita Esteban, and
Ma. Paz Weigand, were
all
teachers,
(Maryknoll
graduates too) and judging
from the love still shown them
by their former students, they
were very effective mentors. I
substituted for Cielo once in
a while but teaching wasn’t
my cup of tea. So I let the
trio make their mark in the
educators’ field. Lita and Ma.
Paz taught in Paco Catholic
High School, Cielo taught in
National University, earned
a PhD, and opened her own
pre-school. It is continued
today by her daughter, lawyer
Magda Victorino.
Transferring to the
Lyceum of the Philippines
after my A’A, I fell under the
spell of the charismatic Jose
Lansang, my father’s good
friend (yes, the communist
leader) who taught us that “I
can’t teach you writing. Either
you can write or you can’t,
but read, read, everything
you can lay your hands on.”
Well, I didn’t turn communist,
only a bit “pink” and became
politically aware, shedding off
my “colegiala” mentality.
I think a teacher should
not only be intelligent, an
expert on the subjects she
chooses to teach, but caring,
sensitive, and able to respect
and to relate to her students
She should be able to inspire
and motivate her students
to learn and grow mentally
and emotionally under her
guidance.
* * *
In another field, Senator
Cynthia Villar shrugs off the
tempest on social media
created by a naughty blogger
bashing the seven senators
who “did not sign” the
resolution concerning minors
and crime.
She told the members
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