Causes for alarm

So it is back to work again on this first official working day of the year 2013. Somehow, the remnants of the long weekend holiday hangover are still with us so it is really a struggle to return to our job and all the pending matters left behind during the last days of 2012.

Of course the mere fact that we are still alive and able to return to our work is already a blessing that should make us grateful and cause us to look forward to a brighter new year. The gift of life alone is indeed enough for us to be ever grateful to God almighty, the Lord and Giver of life, and to do our best each day, as if it is truly “the first day of the rest of our lives.”

But over and above our personal life, and on a larger scale affecting the life of others especially the unborn, and of our family, our society and country, we still cannot help but look with trepidation and anxiety to this coming year and the years ahead, because of the leader now at the helm of our “Ship of State.”

It is really quite alarming to note that we have a President calling us to “paddle in the same direction” when he himself has deeply divided our country by actively, openly and brazenly interfering in the functions of Congress, a supposedly independent branch of government, in the passage of the highly controversial RH/“Responsible Parenthood”. This bill has long been pending in that body because it has been staunchly opposed by people who expressed fears of its evil effects like abortion and broken marriages and families, which are not entirely baseless as proven in other countries that adopted it. By aggressively pushing for the bill’s passage and siding with the bill’s supporters to the extent of using irresistible pressure on our legislators, this President has reiterated that the objectors are absolutely wrong in expressing those fears. He thus created a deeper division and dissension in the land. It seems to be somewhat hypocritical for him now to ask us to “forge unity in the face of differences.”

The worst part here is that he has apparently used the powers and resources of his office to give in to the wishes of foreign lobbyists who are behind the bill’s passage. This perception has just been recently confirmed when Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation congratulated him in the bill’s enactment into law. This Foundation is the very same foundation that donated millions of US$ to support the promotion of abortion through contraception worldwide by means of such laws like the RH law (RA 10354) reducing the number of poor people in countries like the Philippines.

Another cause of alarm is the use of the PCOS machines in the coming elections. It would seem that the Comelec is bent on using these machines despite the serious and well founded doubts as to its credibility in reflecting the true election results. In the last elections when they were first used, the source code that would confirm the accuracy of their count has never been produced up to now. Even the Random Manual Audits (RMA) supposed to be conducted in some precincts of legislative districts, have not been fully complied with. Somehow the Comelec’s insistence in using them in the coming elections has even been interpreted to mean that it is trying to show that nothing wrong happened in the last election, that the incumbent President has been duly elected.

These are some of the events that are really quite disturbing. Right now all we can do is to be more vigilant, pray and still hope for the best.

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