Oligarchical Control RootCause of Social Injustice

RENE MICHAEL BAÑOS

Vice President for Special Projects

DANTE SUDARIA, JR.

Vice President for Digital

ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, PhD

Vice president for FINANCE

JOE FELICILDA Vice President for Administration

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ROLANDO SUDARIA production

It is impossible for our country to be liberated from poverty, gross inequities and social injustices unless we know the many faces of social injustices in the life of the workers, farmers, indigenous peoples, fiherfolk, so-called electric cooperatives and the common “tao” in a country that declares in the Fundamental Law (Art. II, Sec.10) that, “The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.” Wily politicians who are financed by the oligarchs will never stand to rectify such social wrongs, Never are these social painful realities within the parameters of the mainstream media with its never-ending outpourings of lies and misinformation which is only successful in promoting the interest of these oligarchs in cohort with power-that-be. When one intrepid broadcaster narrated these painful realities without fear or favor, he or she will be shot to death as what happened to a courageous broadcasterjournalist named Ka Percy Lapid. In fact, our country has the biggest number of journalists killed in the world with some 187 of these brave journalists leaping to the Great Beyond for telling the truth in the last five years. Thus, the biblical pronouncement of “VERITAS LIBERABIT VOS” (the truth shall set us free) is just an empty rhetoric in a country whose people are victims of the fallacies of life and religions

Let us pause for a while and contemplate on these painful socio-economic, political and ecological realities. Unless we know the problem, no way can we solve the problem. .

The workers are producers of the wealth of the nation, yet, they live in dire poverty. In fact, they are leaving in droves, as if jumping from a “sinking ship,” to find jobs in foreign lands, leaving their love ones behind at so much social cost.

Food comes from their farms but the dining tables of the farmers fall short of it, tilling lands not their own and if they do, tiedup to costly seeds and technologies that adhere to conventional agriculture which is beyond their control. They sell their products under the mercy of “compradors,” following

Hints and Traces

VIRGINIA P. RECONALLA marketing manager 0927-380-7878

LIZANDRE A. PACO sale manager 0919-234-0606/082-284-0519

PTR. LITO L. MAPAYO account officer 0945-679-9809

REY M. EPIS circulation in charge 0968-851-0774

Block 20-12, Cacacho Subd., Mankilam, Tagum City, Davao del Norte Tel/CP #: 0917-891-2514 O ffice in Charge: BELEN V. TAPING

G/F IBJT North Terminal, Tambo, Hinaplanon, Iligan City Office in Charge: SONNY SUDARIA (0916-349-7422)

Door 3, 2nd Floor Go Bldg., Lam an, Ozamiz City Office in Charge: FORTUNATO “Teddy” ALCUIZAR, JR. (0956-180-4249)

NCR – Rotsen Abejuela

Bulacan – Washington Mediante

Manila – Danica Paulino

LUZON

Caesar Gatchalian – Subic

Godz Dolfo – Zambales

Armando Magalang – Nueva Ecija

VILLAMOR VISAYA JR., Bureau Chief - northern luzon region 2

FRANCIS C. SORIANO, Bureau Chief - nCr, region 3 & 4

CINDY JOYCE D. ALCANZO, asst. Bureau Chief - region 3 (Central luzon)

CYRIL QUILO, asst. Bureau Chief - region 4a (CalaBarzon)

ELMER JAMES BANDOL (B Col region)

RIZA O. ARES - 0926-2242-653

CANDY MACABALE - 0977-092-0561

LOLONG NABONG - Misor - 0906-875-8650

MANNY ANSIHAGAN - gingoog City - 0936-287-7788

ANNABELLE D. FLORENDO - South Bukidnon - 0975-102-8444

PHILIP ‘PHIL’ CALUMBA - ValenCia City - 0905-652-5407

RUFINA CUALES - MaraMag - 0926-336-1585

DAHLIA S. BENEMERITO - MalayBalay - 0955-150-6602

LALAINE SUDARIA - MalayBalay - 0975-251-7882

JEFFREY OPONDA - iligan City - 0936-117-4378

BOBBY MAGUSARA - tanguB City

PJ TREMEDAL - o roquieta C ity - 0919-3452375

SONY SUDARIA - R-10, BARMM - 0947-4810371/0916-349-7422

ANALISA ESPAÑOLA - C ota B ato C ity - 0916-9351714

SHAMMAH SUNGA - C ota B ato C ity - 0967-219-4261 an oppressive marketing system that makes their farming non-viable. Aptly described as the “unsung heroes” and the “backbone” of the country, yet, they wallow inside the vicious cycle of poverty. What makes it more painful is that there are agricultural programs designed to somehow alleviate their economic difficulties to increase their productivity (i.e. financial assistance for farm inputs and post harvest facilities), yet, could not reach them as these are trapped in the pockets of those who cannot moderate their greed.

Based on a Study of the World Bank as reported by the Food Agriculture Organization of United Nations, “in the Philippines only .02 percent is the growth of the agriculture in the Gross Domestic Product in

Mario Rosete – Cabanatuan

Inna Viktoria Balaba – San Pablo, Laguna

VISAYAS

Dennis Ibutnande – Kalibo, Aklan

Paul Asis – Iloilo

Fety Luz Padohinog – Bacolod

Nicole Jaudian –

TOM A. CABALLERO - daVao - 0975-6023684

IAN CABALLERO FULGENCIO - daVao - 0955-400-8752

SARAH CASTOR - daVao del norte - 0910-1610366

ROMEO D. SANCHEZ - digos City - 0907-1905204

ALEJANDRO BRIAN CASTOR - daVao - 0950-646-5515

VIRGINIA RECONALLA - digos City - 0938-544-8333

AUREA HERNANDEZ - daVao City - 0997-924-2417

PASTOR JOEL P. PESUCAN - daV oCC 0926-587-6149/0912-019-2590

BELEN TAPING - taguM City - 0917-891-2514

P tr. JOEL SARILLANA - C o M V al - 0946-891-3544

IMELDA PALARCA - g eneral s antos - 0916-377-1600

“HIS disciples asked him in private, ‘Why could we not drive the spirit out?’ He said to them, ‘This kind can only come out through prayer.’” (Mk 9,28-29)

This is the concluding part of that gospel episode where Christ was approached by the father of a boy possessed by a mute spirit. (cfr. Mk 9,14-29) According to the father, “wherever the mute spirit seized the boy, it threw him down; he foamed at the mouth, ground his teeth, and became rigid.” It must have been a terrible sight!

But the father complained that when he asked Christ’s disciples to drive it out, they were unable to do so. That’s when Christ retorted, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?”

Somehow Christ was highlighting the need for faith for the disciples to be able to drive the spirit out. “Everything is possible to one who has faith,” he said. And then he asked the father of the boy if he too had faith that the spirit can be driven out.

That’s when the father said the famous words: “I do believe, help my unbelief!” He somehow captured the usual condition we have in relation to our faith. We like to profess that we have faith, but we also know that our faith is oftentimes wavering.

When Christ finally drove out the spirit from the boy, the disciples asked why they could not do it. That’s when Christ made it clear that “this kind can only come out through prayer.”

Somehow from this episode we can make the following conclusion: for us to share in the very power of God, especially when we are faced with extraordinary challenges and problems, we need to have a strong faith. And for that faith to be a working faith, it has to be sustained always through prayer.

In other words, to live our life with God and share in everything that he has as we are meant to be, we need pray to keep our faith going. Prayer should be a constant activity for us. It should be like the very beating of our heart.

We have to realize more deeply that it is a basic need of ours to pray. If we understand our life to be a life always with God, as our Christian faith tells us, then we need to pray always.

Prayer is actually more important and necessary than the air we breathe, the food we eat or the water we drink. We should do everything to learn to pray always. On this, St. Paul clearly said, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes 5,17)

In fact, in that Pauline passage, what went before and after it are very interesting. St. Paul says that we have to rejoice always and be thankful in all circumstances because that is the will of God for us. (cfr 1 Thes 5,16.18)

We have to find ways of how to conform ourselves to this clear indication of St. Paul. We have to learn how to pray always, converting everything in our life, including those that we consider as negative or bad elements, into an occasion, a means, a reason for praying.

We need to go beyond that common understanding of prayer that pegs it only to the recitation of some vocal prayers or to spending time in some special places to do meditation or contemplation. While these forms of prayer are important and, in fact, are indispensable, they do not have the exclusive ownership, so to speak, of the ways of praying.