Is your gender an issue?

The first film, "Is your gender an issue?" posed the many stereotypes of gender from the perspective of the youth of the 1990's. As was said in class and in the film, gender was defined as a socially constructed notion. It is not constructed overnight but rather shaped by the primary social institutions such as the family, education, church, and the mass media. The film showed the youth's view points as to the question, "Is your gender an issue?". Noticeable were the commonality of the answers from the women. They say that they have limited opportunities because of the stereotypes imposed upon them by the society such as being housewives, and being weaklings that depended their security from the men among other issues.

The three most important highlights I can clearly remember were: (1) the discrimination against women both in the home and in the society, (2) violence against women and children, (3) trafficking and prostitution of women and children.

Feminism was surprisingly defined in a very different way. The definition was not at all lexical. It highlighted the importance of affirming the condition of women in the society. The definition was posing a challenging question in such a way that those who are aware and informed of the oppression against women must stand and live out "FEMINISM" as what they believe to create a movement of liberating the women from the shackles that hinder them from fully achieving their potential as human beings of heart and mind. Feminism according to the film does not seek to overthrow the men nor reverse the patriarchal status quo; rather liberate both men and women. Men per se can also become feminists for feminism is a cause that needs both the support of men and women who stand for social equality and liberation.

I find the whole film interesting. The social ills of society is created by both the consensus of men and women. Men cannot dominate if women did not allow them to. I found out that social problems are perpetual. It takes generations to cross a threshold only to repeat a vicious cycle of oppression and aggression. In the end, only the liberation of the mind of both men and women can determine the end of social ills.

Iron Jawed Angels

Katja von Garnier's "Iron Jawed Angels" tells the remarkable and little-known story of a group of passionate and dynamic young women, led by Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and her friend Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), who put their lives on the line to fight for American women's right to vote.Swank and O'Connor head an outstanding female ensemble, with Julia Ormond, Molly Parker, Laura Fraser, Brooke Smith and Vera Farmiga as a rebel band of young women seeking their seat at the table; and such cinematic icons as Lois Smith, Margo Martindale, and Anjelica Huston as the steely older generation of suffragettes.
The film opens as Alice and Lucy return to the United States from England where they have been actively involved in the suffrage movement. As the duo becomes more active within the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), they begin to realize that their ideas were much too radical for the established activists (particularly Carrie Chapman Catt). Both women eventually leave NAWSA and create the National Woman's Party (NWP), a much more radical organization dedicated to the fight for women's rights.

Over time, tension between the NWP and NAWSA grows as NAWSA leaders criticize NWP tactics such as direct protesting of the President and picketing directly outside the White House. Relations between the American government and the NWP protestors also intensify, as hundreds of women are arrested for their actions, and treated under horrible conditions. During this time, Alice Paul and other women undergo a hunger strike during which prison authorities force feed them through a tube. News of their treatment leaks to the media through a Senator and husband of one of the imprisoned women (who, prior to this event, pushed for the arrest of protestors). As a result, pressure is put on President Wilson as NAWSA seizes the opportunity to lobby tirelessly for the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution.

Paul, Burns, and all of the other women are eventually pardoned by the President and the Supreme Court rules that their arrests were, in fact, unconstitutional.

"In oranges and women, courage is often mistaken for insanity"


Breathing life into the relationships between Paul, Burns and others, the movie makes the women feel like complete characters instead of one-dimensional figures from a distant past. Although the protagonists have different personalities and backgrounds - Alice is a Quaker and Lucy an Irish Brooklynite - they are united in their fierce devotion to women's suffrage. In a country dominated by chauvinism, this is no easy fight, as the women and their volunteers clash with older, conservative activists, particularly Carrie Chapman Catt (Angelica Huston). They also battle public opinion in a tumultuous time of war, not to mention the most powerful men in the country, including President Woodrow Wilson (Bob Gunton). Along the way, sacrifices are made: Alice gives up a chance for love, and colleague Inez Mulholland (Julia Ormond) gives up her life. The women are thrown in jail, with an ensuing hunger strike making headline news. The women's resistance to being force-fed earns them the nickname "The Iron Jawed Angels." However, it is truly their wills that are made of iron, and their courage inspires a nation and changes it forever.

There are a lot of things I learned from the movie. I figured that, the courage of the women is often mistaken for insanity. This was when the NWP's picketing directly outside the White House. The onlookers who passed by the gate, particularly the men reacted violently upon reading the message challenging the well-loved president Wilson on its action towards the amendment of the nineteenth constitution. I find it savage for the men to attack motionless women who are standing for their cause. They were even called "Iron jawed angels!" which was for me a very encouraging remark even if the Times considered them no better than anarchists and draft dodgers.

Another thing I figured is that "To pay the fine would be admitting guilt". The NWP's in the movie did not concede in the judge's decision to let them pay the fine of obstruction of traffic. I simply cannot understand how the men during that time can be very unreasonable. For me, there was really no offense committed. I learned that the men don't trust themselves enough to trust the women.

The message that moved me was Alice Paul's line which said, "We're legitimate citizens. We're taxed without representation. We're not allowed to serve on juries so we're not tried by our peers. It's unconscionable, not to mention unconstitutional. We don't make the laws but we have to obey them like children". This line I believe tells us the point of why women must be allowed to vote and enter the public sphere. I believe with what Woodrow Wilson said, "America is not anything if it consists of each of us. It is something only if it consists of all of us".

I now understand that the history of liberty is a history of resistance.

Dekada '70

Dekada '70 is a movie adaptation of Lualhati Bautista's novel The movie is story of a family caught in the middle of a tumultuous decade, "Dekada '70". It details how a middle class family struggled with and faced new changes. The movie chronicles a middle-class Filipino family who, over the space of a decade, become aware of the political policies that have ultimately led to repression and a state of martial law.

The gender issues presented in the movie revolved around the dynamics of socialization inside a middle class Filipino family. Amanda, the wife of Julian was a typical Filipina homemaker who in her role as wife, turns into a woman who only follows the rules of appeasing her husband and bringing him honor in his circle of friends and the society. Amanda's life revolved around her five sons and her husband. This situation in the movie suggested that Amanda had gradually forgotten her "being a woman" and her sense of value as a woman in the society. There is a conflict presented here of how a mother becomes torn between the letter of the law and her responsibilities as a mother. As Amanda's sons grow, from individual beliefs and lead different lives, Amanda reaffirms her identity to state her stand as a Filipino citizen, mother and as a woman.

Although Lualhati Bautista is a feminist, I could see from the movie that she had presented Amanda's role to be conservative. Lualhati Bautista somehow presented the significance of a homemakers' role in a family whose facing a decade of an oppressive Marcos regime. There seems to be much burden for Amanda to take the role of a woman, a housewife and a citizen of that particular period in Philippine history. While Julian Bartolome had liberal values on raising his children, he had in the same weight, felt the burden of liberating their children while ironically having the fear of losing them in the process. He each lets them go in the end, holding firm his belief that, "a man should have something to die for," thus supporting Jules (Piolo Pascual) decision to be with the Communist left and rally against the Marcos Government, and supporting his third son (Marvin Agustin) to write illegal political exposes. He all gave his sons his support and providence allowing each of his son freedom to find their "truth." It was sad though that his fourth son (Danilo Barrios) fell victim to a corrupt police department.

Contradictory to what Julian believes, he does not allow Amanda to find a job for herself. This became quite uneasy for me to understand in the movie. I do not find it reasonable for a husband to liberate his sons and not his own wife. Liberating your offspring without doing the same for the coffer of the offspring must be contradictory. For me, liberating the men without liberating the women is meaningless. They were in the beginning created to purposely be a companion of each other and share each other's joys and sorrows. For the husband to go by himself is like wandering around the desert without the hope of finding an oasis. Man and Woman "is" one. It is I believe the greatest end of man and woman: to find that a man cannot be man without a woman, and a woman cannot be woman without a man. This is my own opinion. I may not share the same with you but I believe this with conviction.

As the movie progresses, I found that over the space of a decade, the family also grew out of each other's lives as the family became aware of the political issues happening around them.

In the end, Amanda and Julian stood side by side with each other. Each of them wondered how the two of them started and ended up left by their children still together. It was as if telling the audience that a man and a woman that starts with two and ends up two.

THE TEN DEADLY SINS OF THE FILIPINO NATION

THE PHILIPPINES IS SUPPOSED TO BE A VERY BLESSED LAND

The Philippines is supposed to be a very blessed land. The evidence abounds in our well-recognized natural resources.

There is a “naturalist” explanation to this state of bounty, as something attributable to luck or chance.

However, to the Filipino who believes in God, the Scriptures shed interesting light on this fact.

One time, the Apostle Paul was giving a discourse to the Athenian Greeks in the center of the Areopagus. The story is found in the book of Acts, chapter 17. In verses 26-27, he said something interesting to nation-watchers.

It says:

“He has made from one person every nation of men to settle on the entire surface of the earth, definitely appointing the pre-established periods and the boundaries of their settlements, so that they might seek God, if only they would feel for and find Him, although He is not far from each of us…”

The New International Version puts it this way:

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth, and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live; God did this so that men would seek Him and find Him though He is not far from each one of us.”

THE CURSE

The tragedy of the Philippines, which until recently has been called the “basket case” or the “sick man” of Asia, has commanded so much study and attempts at explanation. Economists, anthropologists, social scientists, and politicians have propounded a thousand reasons and one to explain this phenomenon. We have much respect for the academic disciplines and knowledge of learned men and women and it is much helpful to learn from their studies.

But it is also helpful, if not expedient, considering that the Philippines calls itself a Christian nation, to find out what light the Bible may shed about our tragic state.

The concept of “malas” (curse) and “buenas” (good fortune), is very deeply ingrained in the Filipino psyche. Indeed, if this is the framework by which we view life, a trip to the Bible promises to be educational, to say the least.

Since we have declared ourselves to be the only Christian nation in Asia, we immediately came under the operation of God’s covenant principles. And he has made it very plain: “ See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse- the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28).

“Set” is the word “ordain, establish, or decree”, as by a legislative act.

It is very, very interesting to note that the reference to God in the Malolos Constitution, the nation’s first Constitution, is not the usual Divine Providence or Almighty God that is used in the succeeding Constitutions, but “Soberano Legislador del Universo”, the “Supreme Legislator of the Universe”, an early and inceptional recognition o the part of the Founders of this nation that we live and operate under the rules, decrees, and principles of the Supreme Being, acting in His capacity as law-giver, indicating our willingness to follow His laws.

(The Preamble of the Malolos Constitution provides: “Nostros los Representantes del Pueblo Filipino convocados legitimamente para establecer la justicia, proveer a la defense comun, promover el bien a general y asegurrar los benificios de la libertad, implorando el auxilio del Soberano Legislador del Universo para alcanzar estos fines, hemos votado, decretado y sanctionado la siguinte”;

“We, the representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully convened, in order to establish justice, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and to secure for ourselves the blessings of liberty, imploring the aid of the Supreme Legislator of the Universe to help us attain these objectives, have vote, decreed, and sanctioned the following:”)

Thus, at the laying of the foundations of the Philippine Republic, wittingly or unwittingly, we committed ourselves to cursing, binding our nation irreversibly to the spiritual working of God’s principles and decrees. We were not invoking just His divine providence or beneficence, we submitted ourselves to His legislative nature. And we continue to do this by our frequent reference to ourselves as the “only Christian nation in Asia”.

On this basis, I am most respectfully propounding for the thoughtful and prayerful consideration of the reader, the following sins identified by the Scriptures as the possible explanations for the short-circuit of the blessings that are supposed to be ours. This list does not pretend to be exhaustive or exclusive, but they seem to me as the most obvious when it comes to the body politic and governance in the land.

THE TEN DEADLY SINS OF THE FILIPINO NATION

1. The Systematic and institutionalized Commission of the Sin of Esau (the selling of the birthright)

2. The Idolatry of the Image of Gold

3. The lifestyle of Corruption

4. The Neglect of the Poor

5. The Embrace of the Deception of the “Lesser Evil”

6. The Shamelessness of Whitewash and Collaboration

7. The Rejection of Change by Faithlessness

8. The Abomination of Neutrality

9. The Killing of the Innocent

10. The Thoughtless Acceptance of Globalism

LET’S DISCUSS THEM ONE BY ONE.

1. THE SYSTEMATIC AND INSTITUTIONALIZED COMMISSION OF THE SIN OF ESAU (THE SELLING OF THE BIRTHRIGHT)

The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines birthright as a right, possession or privilege to which one is entitled by birth.

In the Bible, the right of the firstborn is a “double portion” (Deut. 21:17).

Esau, the firstborn of Isaac and Rebekah, lost his birthright in a story told in Genesis 25:29-34:

“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished! (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

Look, I am about to die, “Esau said. What good is the birthright to me?

But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore on oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So esau despised his birthright.”

The sin of Esau was the sin of despising the birthright particularly by the selling of it.

The effect of this is very graphically and sadly described in Hebrews 12:16-17. The King James version of the Bible seems to put it best:

“Lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, WHEN HE WOULD HAVE INHERITED THE BLESSING, HE WAS REJECTED; FOR HE FOUND NO PLACE OF REPENTANCE, THOUGH HE SOUGHT IT CAREFULLY WITH TEARS.”

The NIV puts it this way:

“See to it that no one in is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the firstborn son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could bring no about change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.”

We have earlier noted that the Philippines is a firstborn country, in the two senses of Christianity, and of democracy. We are the first and only Christian nation in Asia, and the first to fight for freedom and independence. We are, therefore, supposed to be a doubly-blest nation. And for a time, we were. According to economist James Walker, the Philippines was the number one country in Asia until around 1943. Then we started to decline, and it became a free fall, until we became second only to Bangladesh, counted from the bottom.

Even today, other countries like Cambodia and Vietnam are seemingly poised to overtake us. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, they have long left us far behind.

What happened? From the perspective of Scriptures, the curse of the sin of Esau has hit us full force.

Every election, we commit the sin of Esau with ruthless impunity. Suffrage is a birthright, both of Christianity and democracy, and systematically, we buy and sell it every election. Often, the justification for the seller is very much like that given by Esau, “What good is the birthright to me, when I am about to die?” (which was, of course, not really true, but was an exaggeration). Many Filipino voters, laboring under the tyranny of the urgent and the immediate, sell their votes. Political parties and machineries prepare budgets for the buying of votes, and people sell them “for a single meal”. Thus, we could not inherit the blessing, even though we seek it “carefully with tears”.

Chief architect and perpetrator of this offense is no other than the high officials of government, who like the famous “fertilizer scam” thing, use public funds to buy votes. Sadly, often times, the political opposition that wants to unseat the administration for political corruption, also builds up a machinery with budgets of twenty or so billions of pesos, also to buy political loyalties and to buy votes. It is, therefore one very, very vicious cycle that drives this country ever farther away from the blessings that God has designed for us to receive.

The rendition of Hebrews 12:16-17 makes it sound as if it is God Himself who is preventing the blessings from coming.

Whether the stoppage of the blessings comes in the form of lack of better ideas, lack of good policies, or seemingly insolvable problems of poverty, the point is, blessings do not come as they should.

In 2010, the price of the sin of Esau will escalate. With some presidential candidates announcing that they are ready with a budget of billions and billions of pesos, the purchase price of the birthright will dwarf previous levels of vote-buying. Thus, the curse will only deepen and worsen, if the vote-buying candidates are the ones who win.

The only cure for the curse of the sin of Esau is to choose the right candidate who will not buy votes, and put him into office. There is no other way to breaking this curse. On this score alone, every patriotic Filipino who also takes the Word of God seriously realizes that every traditional politician who buys votes, no matter how seemingly popular and full-of-credentials he may be, should immediately be out of consideration.

2. THE IDOLATRY OF THE IMAGE OF GOLD

The sin of Esau earlier explained was the despising of the birthright by the selling of it.

In Philippine politics, the means or medium by which the birthright is sold and bought, has become a peculiar curse by itself. This is the curse of bowing down to image of gold.

God was the God of Israel, but many times in its country’s history, such as in Exodus 32 during the time of Moses, the Jews would rather worship the image of gold than follow the Lord. In this story, Moses was a little long in coming down from Mt. Sinai. The Jews, who could not wait, decided that they would make a golden calf, and said of it, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4).

God hates all forms of idolatry, and clearly commanded that only He be worshipped, with generational consequences on those who violate this command. ( Exodus 20:4-6). In Philipine politics and government, one particular idol of idols is no other than this “image of gold”.

We first saw this in Exodus 32.

This is similar in the book of Daniel 3, where the people of God were tempted to bow down to another image of gold. Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused, and were spared by God’s power from the fiery furnace.

The underlying idea in the worship of the image of gold is that it is gold or money that gets things done. “This is the god that brought you out of Egypt!” said the Jews of the golden calf.

In the Philippines, this is the pervasive view of how to move things. Whether in government offices, follow up of papers, sometimes if not often in certain cases in certain courts, there is widespread belief that money will get things done. Especially more so in elections.

In the Philippines, every election, this image of gold reappears and demands to be worshipped all over again. It is the gold that facilitates the commission of the sin of Esau, and which thus ensures the continuation of the curse of loss of the blessing of the firstborn.

This “image of gold” goes by different names in the context of Philippine politics. Sometimes they call it “machinery” or “logistics”, but by large, what it means is the wherewithal to dominate the media airspace, gain loyalties from incumbents, and secure the needed number of votes by the unashamed and touting of sheer financial muscle. Often, people do not look for qualifications or integrity anymore. When somebody proposes to run for office, the most frequent question people ask is whether that prospective candidate has money. The influence of the spirit of the golden calf, the image of gold, has reached far, deep, and wide in the fabric of Philippine society.

Of course, we are not so foolish as to say that elections do not need money. Printing materials, posters, streamers, leaflets, transport and food for volunteers, reasonable compensation for people who render real service, such as drivers, encoders, secretaries, etc. All these need money. The difference, however, between the use of money as reasonable and lawful expenses for campaign activities and the idolatry of the image of gold is the use of money to buy people’s will, to change figures, to add and subtract, to secure loyalties, in short, to ensure victory other than by the mandate given by the people in the free exercise of their conscience.

One can see trains of people lining up to the image of gold during the campaign period. Leaders are employed to list sets of 10, 20 or so people, and they are maintained by “allowances”. And then on the day of the election (usually the Sunday before the Monday of the voting), the image of gold comes upon the land in full force, with oodles of money distributed across the land with brutal precision to the individual voter.

In fact, this is committed in fiesta-spirit in the Philippines. With revelry and in full public display, and everybody having a good time. Sadly, some “machineries” for this “delivery system” have been churches and church people.

But the largest and best-oiled machinery for this is none other than the government itself. And up until now, people of conscience have been generally unable to stop it. There is a widespread feeling of resignation towards and acceptance of this “realpolitik”, that no person has ever been arrested or jailed for vote-buying in the Philippines. The law prohibiting this has not only become totally toothless, it has also become totally laughable. And it is very, very sad, because it drives the Philippines deeper and deeper into the curse of the sin of Esau.

The worship of the image of gold has a curse of its own. It is the outright destruction of a nation (Exodus 32:19). It is only by the intercession of God’s faithful servants that the nation is not destroyed, but even then, in the journeys of this nation, God said he will not go with the people anymore. (Exodus 33:3) Added to that is the relegation of the national direction to what is known as the “wilderness experience”, a going around in circles without direction and without progress.

And this is pretty much the state of the country today, a veritable wilderness experience. It is only by the grace of God that we are not utterly destroyed for idolatry, particularly for worshipping the image of gold.

3. THE LIFESTYLE OF CORRUPTION

It is widely held that the problem of corruption is the singularly biggest systematic problem of Philippine society. One can almost say, corruption is part of the system, if not the system itself. How this has become so is difficult to explain. When and how this has developed into cancer proportion in the fabric of the national life is anybody’s guess.

My own personal theory is that corruption has always been part of any nation’s history including ours, but it has been institutionalized in Philippine society in the time of the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos when he placed the Philippines under Martial Law.

He held the Supreme Court by the neck (through undated letters of resignation), jailed all oppositionists and media men critical of his regime, appointed cronies to lord it over every lucrative sector of the national life. Appointment in the judiciary required endorsement of people close to him. The bureaucracy was filled with political appointees all tested for their loyalty, and not necessarily for their competence or integrity, although he did have a lot of really bright and brilliant people around him.

A few brave men and women with brilliance and conviction held on, but the larger part of the system was co-opted into silence under the Martial Law regime.

Then for his political mandate, he created the barangay assemblies and made them the conduits of funds into the grassroots level in order to carry out his schemes, which included the adoption and amendments of his Martial Law Constitution, the ensurement of the landslide victories of his political party’s candidates, and the giving of the semblance of ratification of the acts of his “New Society”.

The stated historical and political bases for the creation of the barangays were all very good and well-taken, and throughout time, many community leaders have served heroically and sacrificially through the barangays. But ever political season, the “delivery system” for massive vote-buying, especially for depressed areas and communities, have been mainly through the barangay structures and leaders. Later they expanded to include families through family leaders. Thus, the family itself became the farthest end of mega structure designed to ensure that the necessary number of votes will be secured by the delivery of the necessary amounts of money to obtain said commitment.

Not only that. Sadly, many churches and church leaders through their “down-line” in the churches have been made part of the “structure” also for the delivery of vote-buying funds.

It can be safely said that the whole structure of government itself was the very same structure of corruption, reaching all the way down to families and churches, even some non-government organizations in society. If there were public servants who kept their integrity, it was because of the moral fiber of their own character and because of their own individual resolve not to be co-opted.

Marcos has been long gone, but the structures and mechanisms that he started and re-erected are still very much in place.

Unfortunately, the Lord of Heaven is not amused by corruption.

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Prov. 14:34

Isaiah gave a crushing indictment of the people of his time:

“Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, a children given to CORRUPTION! They have forsaken the Lord, they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. “ (Isaiah1:4)

Of the leaders of the nation, Isaiah charged:

“Your rulers are rebels (or lawbreakers), COMPANIONS OF THIEVES, THEY ALL LOVE BRIBES, THEY CHASE AFTER GIFTS, they do not defend the cause of the fatherless, the widow’s case does not come before them.” (Isaiah 1:23)

This is a graphic picture of the Philippines today. And the people feel this. They know this.

According to the Global Corruption Barometer, the Philippines has a 76% pessimism level on corruption. The ability to curb corruption from 1998 (time of Estrada) to 2005 (time of GMA) has gone down from 50.5% to only 37.4%.

In 2008, the SWS surveyed the trust rating of people certain offices of Government, and some of the results are very sad:

GSIS (- 12% negative 12 percent) -12 %

DILG -23%

Presidential Anti-Graft Commission -23%

Office of the President -27%

PCGG (Presidential Commission on Good Government) -32%

House of Representatives -41%

BIR -56%

DPWH -63%

Bureau of Customs -72%

According to the book, Pork and Other Perks published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the Evelio Javier Foundation, and the Institute for Democracy, quoting a former high government official, as much as 45% of the Countryside Development Fund and Congressional Initiative Allocations is lost to corruption. “Ghost deliveries”, commissions, kickbacks, amount to 40 to 50% of books, magazines, and medicine, and as much as 20% of infrastructure projects. Of late, the percentage has increased.

According to the Asian Development Bank, in the year 2005, among 102 countries, the Philipppines is second most wasteful of irregular items of public works contracts (roads, bridges etc.)

According to the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Report, the Philippines is second most corrupt country in Asia, second only to Bangladesh. (Later, reports from other sources place us now at number 1.)

And it goes on and on and on.

The effect of corruption as Isaiah chapter 1 tells us in verse 4 is forsaking the Lord and provoking Him to anger. In verse 5 to 6 he pictures the nation as sick, and in verse 7 it says that the country is desolate.

Somehow, it is a sad picture of the Philippines for the greater part of our population. Corruption has not brought this country, only a curse.

4. NEGLECT OF THE POOR

While there are efforts to uplift the poor in the land, the general Philippine experience concerning the poor is one of exploitation and oppression. The Roman Catholic Church has correctly championed under Vatican II the cause of the “preferential option for the poor” in an attempt to stem the tide of neglect and injustice against those who have less in life.

The Bible clearly says:

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back,

Raise your voice like a trumpet,

Declare to my people their rebellion,

And to the house of Jacob their sins;

For day after day they seek me out;

They seem eager to know my ways;

As if they were a nation that does what is right;

And has not forsaken the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them;

Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?

Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please.

AND EXPLOIT ALL YOUR WORKERS,

Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife

And in striking each other with wicked fists,

You cannot fast as you do today, and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only for a day for a man to humble himself?...

IS THIS NOT THE FAST I HAVE CHOSEN, TO LOOSE TH CHAINS OF INJUSTICE, AND UNTIE TH CORDS OF THE YOKE, TO SET THE OPPRESSED FREE AND BREAK EVERY YOKE?

IS IT NOT TO SHARE YOUR FOOD WITH THE HUNGRY

AND TO PROVIDE THE POOR WANDERER WITH SHELTER-

WHEN YOU SEE THE NAKED, TO CLOTHE HIM, AND NOT TURN AWAY FROM YOUR OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?

THEN YOUR LIGHT WILL BREAK FORTH LIKE A DAWN, AND YOU HEALING WILL QUICKLY APPEAR,

THEN YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL GO BEFORE YOU, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD WILL BE YOUR REAR GUARD,

THEN YOU WILL CALL AND THE LORD WILL ANSWER, YOU WILL CALL FOR HELP, AND HE WILL SAY: HERE AM I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

AND IF YOU SPEND YOURSELVES ON BEHALF OF THE HUNGRY AND SATISY THE NEEDS OF THE OPPRESSED, THEN YOUR LIGHT WILL RISE IN THE DARKNESS, AND YOUR NIGHT WILL BECOME LIKE NOONDAY.

THE LORD WILL GUIDE YOU ALWAYS, HE WILL SATISFY YOUR NEEDS IN A SUN-SCORCHED LAND, AND HE WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR FRAME; YOU WILL BE LIKE A WELL-WATERED GARDEN, LIKE A SPRING WHOSE WATERES NEVER FAIL.

YOUR PEOPLE WILL REBUILD THE ANCIENT RUINS AND WILL RAISE UP

THE AGE-OLD FOUNDATONS; YOU WILL BE CALLED REPAIRER OF BROKEN WALLS, RESTORER OF STREETS WITH DWELLINGS.”

(Isaiah 58:1-13)

The promise of healing, prosperity, repair, blessing etc. is directly connected with how the poor have been treated in the land.

Here, governance in the Philippines has a huge problem. Politicians buy the votes of the poor, promising to help them once they are in office, only to take much of the money intended for the poor by means of kickbacks, commissions, “s.o.p.’s” (“standard operating procedure”), or “tong-pats”, which is a euphemism for commissions for government contracts, a well-documented mode of corruption in the Philippines.

And the statistics bear this out:

According to the ADB – Family Income and Expenditure Survey of 1997, poverty incidence was supposed to have fallen from 40.3% in 1985 to 36.8%. However, this did not benefit the poorest of the poor (20% of the population) as the increase in their income was only 0.5% during that same period. In that same period, 27M Filipinos were living on $276 a year; this increased to 31M in 2000 (39.4% or almost 40% of the population).

Thirty-two percent of pre-school children (4M) are malnutritionally underweight, 20% of adolescents, and 13% of adults.

Urban areas have 21.5% poverty incidence and 50.7% in rural areas, where joblessness and landlessness abound.

In recent years, the picture has not improved, but has worsened. Citing the government’ sown census (which is taken every 3 years), the incidence of poverty has dramatically worsened. In the report (2006 poverty statistics basic sector) presented by National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) published June 25, 2009 Dusit Thai Hotel, the percentage share of the basic sectors to total population 2000, 2003, 2006 were as follows:

Urban poor 50%

Women 50%

CHILDREN 40%

Youth 28%

Migrant and Formal Sector Workers 20%

Senior Citizens 10%

Farmers 10%

(They compute the poverty incidence of the sector, for example by:

Poverty incidence for children = number of poor children

Total pop. Of children

The fishermen, farmers and children comprised the poorest three sectors in 2006 with poverty incidences of 49%, 44% and 40% respectively.

All sectors posted increases in poverty incidence between the periods, 2003 to 2006.

Within the sectors themselves, the incidence of poverty in 2006 is:

Fishermen 66.7%

Children 66.3%

Farmers 62.3%

Women 58.9%

Youth 53.2%

Urban Poor 52.4%

Senior Citizens 46.5%

Migrant and Formal Sector Workers 36.8%

Compared to 2003 levels, the incidence of poverty for 2006 has increased in all the sectors respectively, with the following percentages of increase of poverty incidence:

Fishermen 22.7%

Farmers 11.7%

Senior citizens 11.3%

Urban poor 8.5%

Children 6.1%

Youth 5.7%

Women 5.2%

Migrant and formal sector workers 4.6%

All these data were obtained from the National Census and Statistics Board in compliance with RA 8245, the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act.

The poverty threshold is defined by the NSCB as family of five, not being able to provide in a sustained manner for the most basic food, shelter, clothing, and transportations needs of the family. NOT INCLUDED are recreation, health, medical, and education needs. In the NCR, the basic income should not be less than P8,569 in 2006. For 2009, they revised it to P10,000. Families falling below that are considered “below the poverty line”.

By this standard, 26.9% of all families in the country fall below the poverty line.

HOWEVER, other government bureaucrats dispute this data as being non-compliant with the definition of poverty under RA 8425, which defines it as “individuals and families whose income fall below the poverty threshold as defined by NEDA and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other basic amenities of life”.

If we include education, health and medical needs, it is believed that more than 50% of our people would fall below the poverty line.

Thus, the data supports the conclusion that for all the taxes we have raised (such as the EVAT), for all the increase in the national budget, the increase in the pork barrel, the level of corruption has increased, and the money intended for the poor has not translated to them in terms of projects and programs, and they are worse off today than ever before. If this were a criminal case, the government would get a conviction for not improving the lot of the poor.

Notably, the increase in corruption results in the corresponding increase of poverty indicators, proving the truth of what the Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach (a disgrace, a curse) to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34).

5. THE EMBRACE OF THE DECEPTION OF THE LESSER EVIL

The previously mentioned evils and curses upon the land have found refuge in a very wily position of pragmatism known as the “lesser evil” vote. People have often popularly made decision for leaders based on the lesser evil proposition. Instead of going out for the right leaders, they would go for the “lesser evil” that has a good chance of winning. If there is a good, qualified, competent, upright candidate, if he is perceived as lacking in resources to win, people would not vote for him. They consider the conscience vote standing alone, without millions or billions of pesos in resources, as a wasted voice.

Sadly, even many Christian leaders and congregations have fallen for the lesser evil deception.

We have forgotten what the Bible says about this:

“Let those who love the Lord Hate evil…” (Psalm 97:10)

“Men of perverse heart shall be far from me, I will have nothing to do with evil...” (Psalm 101:4)

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…”

(Isaiah 5:20)

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good…” (Romans 12:21)

“Avoid every kind of evil…” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

And so on and so forth. Most interesting, however, is what Paul said to Timothy, “But evil men and seducers shall wax WORSE AND WORSE, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

There is no such thing as the “lesser evil” becoming better. Evil, whether greater or lesser, becomes right or better only when there is conviction of sin, repentance and a desire to change. But, while no one is perfect, one who openly embraces and has no qualms about ungodly means and methodologies such as vote-buying, “dagdag-bawas”, lying, cheating, etc. will wax from bad to worse. This is what the Scriptures say.

We have always voted for the lesser evil in the past, for as long as he or she is “winnable”. In fact, win ability is the criterion we look for first, which all other criteria must adjust. Yet, the evidence confirms the truth of what the Bible said, that this has only gotten us from bad to worse. Look at the data:

Compared to 2003 levels, the incidence of poverty for 2006 has increased in all the sectors respectively:

Fishermen 22.7%

Farmers 11.7%

Senior Citizens 11.3%

Urban Poor 8.5%

Children 6.1%

Youth 5.7%

Women 5.2%

Migrant and formal sector workers 4.6%

The period of 2001-2008 saw one of the longest periods of sustained high unemployment in the country – the true unemployment rate averaged 11.2 percent. (NSO, Ibon estimates)

Perhaps, the most graphic evidence showing that the choice of “lesser evil” does not result in things getting better but getting worse, is the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Out of 133 countries, the Philippines ranking (indicating a movement of position from least corrupt to most corrupt) steadily and graphically worsened, thus: 1999-ranked 54, 20000-69, 2001-65, 2002-77, 2003-98, 2004-102, 2005-117, 2006-121!

This is graphic proof that the choice of the so-called lesser evil has actually worsened the situation in the country and has not bettered it. The Bible is correct when it says that evil men and seducers wax from worse to worse, and I was thinking, there is no better seducer in the land than traditional politicians.

But what is sad in this country is that the lesser evil deception has been championed even by the most learned, religious and supposedly spiritual among us. It is not uncommon for people who regularly go to church to say, “Oh, he is good and qualified, but he cannot win because he has no money.” In fact, many supposedly and otherwise conscientious and spiritual people are angry when candidates who run on a platform and track record of righteousness continue their fight with little or no chance of winning. They say, “He has no chance! He should just give up!” Immediately, the lesser evil deception triumphs, and the country continues to suffer its consequences.

Unless people in this country start to learn to vote their conscience win or lose, this country will never be blessed.

6. THE SHAMELESSNESS OF WHITEWASH AND COLLABORATION

In the Philippines we did not have a problem of whitewash and collaboration to the extent that we have seen today. Even with a President acknowledging that she did make a call to a Comelec commissioner to ensure a lead in her votes by one million, no attempt at impeachment could ever get off the ground. The idea of checks has all been but lost in the megalith of the administration party coalition.

Ezekiel 22:27-28 “Your leaders are like wolves that tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!” And your prophets cover up for them (whitewash their deeds for them – NIV) by announcing false visions and making lying predictions.” (NLT)

The Bible expects for deeds of darkness to be exposed. (“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11) Yet, in this country, loyalty to a party has resulted in systematic cover-ups of misdeeds.

The standard of the Bible for utmost integrity for public servants was graphically illustrated in the case of David, God’s favorite king of Israel.

When David one day abused his standing and good lot by getting the wife of a faithful general serving in his army, and ended up killing that faithful servant, the Lord did not take it lightly. The Lord dispatched his prophet Nathan and promptly revealed and denounced the sin. In announcing God’s judgment upon his favorite king, the Lord through the prophet said “You did this in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.” (2 Samuel 12:12)

Our government leaders today prefer religious leaders who do not “interfere” in governmental affairs, i.e., do not denounce corruption. Yet, that is not what prophets are for. Prophets announce and denounce.

In a similar vein, Jesus’ own cousin, John the Baptist, promptly denounced Herod for getting Hero Dias, his brother’s wife. (Matthew 14:3-4)

Over the past several years, especially under the present administration, an alarming culture of cover-ups and whitewash has developed in government. Attempts to reveal wrong-doing have resulted in whistle blowers being hunted, and those accused of wrongdoing end up being rewarded, often by making them official candidates of the administration for Congress or other local positions.

There is a joke about this: What is the difference between thieves in government in America, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines? Answer: Thieves in government in America go to jail. Thieves in government in Japan commit hara-kiri. Thieves in government in Korea jump off cliffs. While thieves in government in the Philippines go to America, go shopping in Japan, make friends in Korea, then they go to golf course, or to St. Luke’s Hospital to manage their high blood pressure. And finally, they run for elective office, or for another term. They never have it so good than here.

What is sadder is that we have seen prominent ministers of the gospel surrounding Malacañang, enjoying certain privileges and benefits, who have become whitewashers and collaborators, not exposing the deeds of darkness, but deodorizing it by their silence. In the 2004 election, I was very saddened and grieved when an aggravation of supposedly Bible-believing churches sponsored one-page ads in national dailies announcing the acceptance of the results of the election for being clean and honest, or something to that effect. Shortly thereafter, the hello Garci scandal rocked the government in an open admission of an improper act of calling a Comelec commissioner to ensure a one million lead in the vote. Even more sadly, when the matter was brought to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal in the Senate, the objections and questions to the integrity to the count was just systematically “noted”. And there was no “take-back” or apology from that aggravation of churches that previously announced that the election was clean and honest.

In some instances, the Representatives of the administration in Congress have vituperatively and openly defended their principals against all attempts to call the government to account for its deeds by killing all impeachment attempts systematically and mercilessly by sheer force of number.

This is the sin of collaboration and whitewash, a defiance of the rule to expose deeds of darkness.

What is saddest is that all these attempts to whitewash and cover up misdeeds of those in government have been defended by a neat doctrine they have come to call and vindicate as “executive privilege”. Lamentably, our Supreme Court, the last bastion of freedom, truth and justice, has upheld Malacañang in his immoral stance that clearly contradicts Biblical teachings on accountability and exposure of sin.

When officials are corrupt and people around them whitewash their deeds for them and collaborate with them, what is the position of the Lord? The Lord said he will “look for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it.” (Ezekiel 22:30) If he does not find any, he will “pour out his wrath on them and consume them with his fiery anger, bringing down on their heads all they have done” (v. 31.)

Indeed, the sin of whitewash and collaboration has provided cover for much of the other evils to flourish in the land.

7. THE REJECTION OF CHANGE BY FAITHLESSNESS

There is a graphic case in the Bible of a people who just came out of centuries of slavery and whom the Lord wanted to bless by bringing them to a better land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the “promised land.”

Tragically, when they were about to cross the Jordan to take the land, the overwhelming majority of the people could not believe that it could be done. (Read the whole story in the book of Numbers, chapter 13.) They surveyed the land and agreed that it was good, but decided that they were not strong enough for the people occupying the land. They rejected change by faithlessness.

“We can’t attack these people; they are stronger than we are.” (Verse 31)

“All the people we saw there are of great size… We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Verses 32-33)

The reaction of the Lord to the faithfulness of the people of Israel when they refused to cross the Jordan River and take the Promised Land is very instructive:

“How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague!” (Numbers 14:11-12a)

Moses interceded for his people, asking the Lord to pardon them, but this was the Lord’s response:

“I will pardon them as you have requested. But as surely as I live, and surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. NONE OF THOSE WHO HAVE TREATED ME WITH CONTEMPT WILL EVER SEE IT.” (Numbers 14:20-23)

The Lord took note of those who had a different attitude, particularly Joshua and Caleb, especially the latter:

“BUT MY SERVANT CALEB HAS A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE THAN THE OTHERS HAVE. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.” (Numbers 14:20-24)

In the Philippines today, many people long for a better land, that is, a better country under a better government, not necessarily flowing with literal milk and honey, but a country flowing with justice, righteousness, and godliness in government. But many people believe that it cannot be done, that the forces of conscience are powerless against the armies of cash.

Many people, while decrying the government and public officials for corruption, still sell their votes, saying that things cannot change anyway.

To reject change by faithlessness is a sin, and brings the curse of the wilderness experience upon a nation that refuses to believe.

8. THE ABOMINATION OF NEUTRALITY

Christians of all denominations know very well the injunction to submit to authority (Romans 13), and to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Additionally, one must not curse the ruler (Exodus 22:28, Acts 23:5).

The Bible, however, is balanced in that sins committed in darkness must be exposed (Ephesians 5:11), and leaders are openly held to account for their misdeeds, such as in the case of John the Baptist rebuking Herod (Matthew 14), and Nathan rebuking David for immorality and murder (2 Samuel 12), Isaiah charging the people and leaders for corruption (Isaiah 1), and Ezekiel lambasting rulers, priests, prophets, and people for human rights abuses, thievery, corruption, etc. 33 (Ezekiel 22:23-27).

Certainly , thers is no room for neutrality in a time of great peril.

Many churches and church leaders, in an attempt to avoid dividing the flock, or offending feelings, have abandoned the duty of analyzing political events and issues and searching the Scriptures applicable to them, and making the corresponding stand and position on the matters. They are afraid to even share what they personally believe in, thinking that it is the right and proper position to assume as a pastor or church leader in order to preserve the unity of the body of believers. We understand this position, which is rather widely held onto by the more conservative churches.

Other church groups like the Iglesia ni Kristo do not find this a problem because they choose candidates and announce them to their flock. Roman Catholic and Evangelical churches, however, do not do this, holding to the view that matters like this are to be resolved by individual conscience, hence, the tendency towards neutrality.

While it is one thing to vote as a block, it is another to have absolutely no opinion, stand or position on the great burning issues of the day, when God allows a regime of democracy, as in our present case, where there is free space for all. (Paul and the apostles operated under a situation of imperial dominion). In times of great national peril and moral crisis, when some candidates are laying their lives on the line in an attempt to assert the virtues and values of Scriptures on a political system gone berserk, while others tout their billions of budget, it is immoral to be neutral, at least, on the level of teaching the principles involved, if not necessarily on the choice of a particular candidate.

When leaders of the land are corrupt, like what we have in the Philippines today, the people of God like the prophets of old, such as John the Baptist, should not back down from the prophetic mandate to announce and denounce. And in the context of a presidential election where a choice has to be made, a choice HAS to be made, or at least, when there is an honest and sincere difficulty in making a choice, the truths and principles affecting the choice must still be explained. And of course, the approach is persuasion, not coercion. In any case, there should be no room for neutrality.

Neutrality is a tragic position to assume for an issue as momentous as the choice of a leader, welfare of a community, or destiny of a nation, especially in a time of great moral decay such as what is happening now in the Philippines. As somebody put it, we tolerate and they operate.

Joshua challenged his people, “Choose you this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)

Jesus said, “No one lights a lamp only to hide it in a bushel…Let your light so shine…” (Matthew 5:5-16)

He said of people who are not one thing or the other, “You are neither hot nor cold; I will spew you out of my mouth”. (Revelation 3:16)

The temptation of Esther was the temptation to neutrality and silence, but Mordecai challenged her to decide whether she would have a part in the deliverance of the Jews or not. It is good to recall his words again: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will come from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.” (Esther 4:13-14). The silence of neutrality in a time of national crisis brings on a veritable judgment, in this case, of destruction.

In the famous story of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus himself (Luke 10), the priests and the Levites who saw the hapless victim of attempted homicide and robbery, crossed over the other side of the road to avoid having to do something about the situation (Luke 10:31-32). It was an act akin to neutrality.

God’s people have to expose darkness (Ephesians 5:9-11). Even John the Baptist, as we have earlier noted, rebuked Herod for getting his brother’s wife. When you come to think about it, this was not even necessary to John the Baptist’s calling of preparing the way of the Lord. It is not “evangelism”, “discipleship”, or other churchy things that church people love to do. It can be argued that the adultery of Herod was not even related to his public functions as tetrarch of Judah, but John the Baptist scored him anyway, making a definite stand for the righteousness of God in the midst of a social and political order that has no respect for God’s laws. For this, John even promptly lost his head. (Matthew 14)

Jesus simplified the whole issue when he said, - “He who is not with me is against me!” (Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:23-26).

Surely, the tragedy of the land is compounded by the sadness of otherwise good people not making any stand on the great moral issues of the day affecting the blessing or curse of a nation.

9. KILLING OF THE INNOCENT

On November 28, 2007, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Prof. Philip Alston released his final report on the spate of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, which he considered alarming. There was a time that the Philippines was second only to Iraq in terms of journalists or media men and women killed.

On the other hand, the 900 documented cases of extrajudicial killings and 180 cases of enforced disappearances mostly of leftist activists have been attributed to state security forces and are widely believed to have been sanctioned by the government through its counter-insurgency program.

From the internet, we learn that the December, 2007 year end report of (Alliance for the Advance of People’s Rights) noted only 68 extrajudicial killings vis-à-vis year 2006209 victims. Karapatan also reported 16, 307 human rights violations just for 2007 (which include killings to forcible displacement of communities). Therefore, aside from the 887 killings since 2001 under Mrs. Arroyo, Karapatan, just for 2007, underscored 35 victims of political killings; 26, of enforced or involuntary disappearance; 8, of abduction; 29, of torture; 129, of illegal arrest; 116, of illegal detention; 330, of threat, harassment and intimidation; 7,542, of forcible evacuation or displacement, 3,600, of “hamletting”, interalia. As only solution, it petitioned the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo (with 356 left-wing activists murdered). The Philippines armed forces battled the Communists since 1969, with about 40, 000 victims killed, and it had to ward off killings by Muslim radicals. However, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, head of Task Force on Political Violence contradicted Karapatan’s submission only on the number of killings. PNP’s Task Force Usig, according to Blancaflor noted only 141 cases , of which, only 114 are party list members or leftists activists.

Perhaps, the reason why this does not raise such an outcry from our general population is because many of the victims are suspected insurgents, “leftists”, or “Communists.

The problem is that many of them have been driven to activism, even insurgency, to protest and fight the social injustice in the land. Guilt or innocence is established only through trial, and those killed never got the benefit of one.

Isaiah 59 explains why the Lord was not saving the nation of Israel. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah.

“The arm of the Lord is not too short to save…

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.

For your hands are stained in blood, our fingers with guilt… no one calls for justice, no one pleads his case with integrity…

They are swift to shed innocent blood…

The way of peace they do not know,

There is no justice in their paths…

So, justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance,

Truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter…

The Lord looked and was displeased, that there was no justice.

He saw that there was no one,

He was appalled that there was no one to intervene...” (Isaiah 59:1-16)

If the blood of Abel cries out to the Lord from the ground (Genesis 4:10), the hundreds if not thousands of those killed without justice are surely crying out to Him from the ground.

Bloodshed pollutes the land (Numbers 35:33). Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed (Habbakuk 2:12). Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, of plunder, never without victims. (Nahum 3:1).

Without a doubt, extra-judicial killings, is one of the most serious curses on the land.

10. THE THOUGHTLESS ACCEPTANCE OF GLOBALISM

There is a trend today towards globalism which has become subject of much debate among policy makers.

The Bible teaches love of country under God. The present trend towards one world order is actually a part of a prophetic picture pointing to the coming of the anti-Christ, who will seek to control the nations of the world through a legal and social environment of global environment, global economy, and global regulation of everything from food to health and identification systems, to trade and commerce and security.

Most modern Philippine presidents have led the country to the march towards globalism, to the detriment of the long-term national interest.

Acts 17: 24-28a says:

“From one man HE MADE EVERY NATION OF MEN, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact place where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being…”

As early as Genesis 11:1-9, the Lord emphatically rejected the notion that there should be a one-world government by destroying the tower of Babel.

We are not so simple-minded as to deny the need for some international cooperation and understanding. But it is another thing to control and dominate nations of the world through one sourece of power or authority. The Bible reveals, with incredible foresight, that the final attempt of Satan to dominate the world is through a global world order: global government, global control of almost everything, global economy.

For example, in Revelation 13, where the Beast is spoken of, it is said of him:

“…he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.”(v.7b)

“he also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of this man.

This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number, His number is 666.” (v. 16-18.)

The study of prophecy is a complex one, but it is clear that attempts to monopolize control over governments and economies of the world through a super body is in line with the ultimate purposes and objectives of the anti-Christ.

The embrace of globalism has resulted to the sacrifice of national interest and the thoughtless acceptance of, and submission to the dictates of globalism, has unwittingly aligned the Philippines to the agenda of the anti-Christ.

These sins, which have become embedded in our system, have direct Biblical references pointing to them as source of judgment, curse, or withholding of blessing upon a nation.

No serious public servant or contender for public office, especially at the topmost levels of government, can afford to ignore them.

If we recognize the validity of these issues and concerns culled from Scriptures as they relate to nationhood, it is the mentally honest thing to do to go to Scriptures to find out the cure.

.I have read this from Atty Lyndon Caña's book, "Break the Curse, Bring in the Blessings for the Philippines"