When Ethics Collide With Religion

This actually took me a lot of time and courage to post. I grew up to respect each other's opinion and keep my nose out of everybody else's business as well as to be neutral on topics that can ignite an unhealthy debate like politics and religion. And so I held back to this topic as much as I wanted to speak about what I believe in when it comes to religion and morality.

I grew up practicing the virtues of being a Catholic, went to an all girls' Catholic school run by the RVM sisters. And even after going to a Catholic school I still continued with living an acceptable if not perfect life of a Christian.
When I came to the point in my life when I'm already aware of the issues about LGBT's and other issues that seem to test the faith of a Christian, I became confused and start questioning myself if I deserve to be called a Christian based on what I believe in.

I'm not an expert when it comes to reading the Bible, though I can consciously remember some important verses that I learned from school. Like how God created the universe and man. And so I was also aware that He created only man and a woman and nothing in between, that's why I understand that there are people despised those who prefers to settle and be married with someone that has the same gender (man to man or otherwise). Thinking about the lesson from the Bible, it made sense to me when it was written that God said to reproduce and spread the Word of God when He made the first couple which is Adam and Eve. And I wonder if God was aware that people are vulnerable to being evolved and changes may occur in the future. Which puts the people on the LGBT community in an awkward position where some people cannot accept who they are and depriving them of their rights of a normal person can have. Which sometimes made me ask myself if its still practical to apply all the Bible teachings in the present situation of the world when a lot has already been changed and a million miles far from how people live their life even before the dinosaurs became extinct.
I don't have anything against what's on the Bible and I can't question the Word of God for it has played a significant role in my life on how to be a good person.
So as I recall some verses, we are taught that God's love is unconditional and that we are already forgiven before we even ask for His forgiveness and that God loves even the most evil person. And from how I understand that, we are encouraged to treat everybody else fairly and we don't have the right to hurt someone especially if there's nothing that we can do to help a needy person. That's why I'm confused as to why Church won't allow the same sex couple marriage. Why are they saying offensive words to the members of the third sex (the Bible didn't say anything about offending people or hurting them emotionally if you can't agree with what they are fighting for). We are here to spread the Word of God and not to be like Him and judge people.

There are actually other reasons why I'm thinking of changing religion but I don't want to dwell much on them, I just emphasized the LGBT issue because I know that majority of the population are already aware and understands the situation. I love how I was raised to be a Catholic, I love the culture and practices of a Christian. I wanna die as a Catholic as much as possible but my instinct of being ethical is bugging me. It is the Bible who taught me to love my neighbors and not to even dare think of bad thoughts about them because that will already be considered as a sin, and that is not what I can see with some Catholic leaders right now.

My rule in life is to live life without hurting other people and to help in the most possible way that I can those who are in need. And not to be judgmental and deprive my brothers and sisters of the rights that we have. Live a humble life and do my best to make an impact on the lives of others. I can't help but to feel sorry for those who are being mistreated whether emotional or psychological.

I decided to speak up after I witnessed a person being bullied about his stand as a Christian and how he believes in same sex marriage. And it actually made me leave a reaction post "Humanity and Equality regardless of race, color, religion, sex or nationality"
And now made me decide that I will keep my religion for what its worth and I will love my brothers and sisters like how I wanted to be loved back, because amidst every debate on how to be a good Christian, I still believe that it all boils down to one rule and that is to respect and love unconditionally like how we always say that God is Love.
Afterall, Humanity should always come first before Religion and Sanity.

Presidential Election History in the Philippines

Filipinos are once again will be given the chance to vote for who they think has the potential to be the next leader. While most of us are busy to dig on the credentials of the candidates let's look into the election history of the Philippines and let it take us back from the very first election to the most remarkable presidential election that our country had.


It's already in the history that the first Philippine president that was elected was Manuel L. Quezon bearing the flag of the Nacionalista Party. The election was held September 15, 1935. And this was during the transitional government called the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

1949 was the year when the Filipinos were able to elect President Elpidio Quirino as a newly independent republic. We used to hold elections every four years, during every second Tuesday of November and inauguration was every December 30th. Nacionalistas and the Liberals are the only political parties during this time where the two-party system of the Third Republic came from.

This was changed after President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and ruled by decree. A new constitution was ratified in 1973 stating the abolishment of the office of the vice president and that the members of the National Assembly (Batasang Pambansa) will have no term limits and that the president may serve indefinitely.  

Constitutional amendment happened 1981 which gives six year term office for an elected president which amidst protests won by Marcos. It was 1984 when the office of the vice president was reinstated by another amendment where the vote for the president is also a vote for the vice president, and was later on changed and gave vice president candidate a separate vote.

1986 was when Marcos called for an early “snap” election, 1987 was supposed to be the next election. And again Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino was declared winners. And that was when Philippines made a history when the People Power Revolution happened that removed Marcos from his position and declared the then runner-up Corazon Aquino as the President.

Year 1987 when a new constitution was ratified, it was identical with the 1973 constitution as far as the presidential election is concerned. It marked every second Monday of May of the election year as the election day and June 30 of the same calendar year as the Inauguration date, and it was 1992 elections when the new constitution was first applied giving Fidel Ramos the position as the newly elected president then. And elections are held every six years thereafter.

1992 was when the multi-party system happened during the Fifth Republic. Fidel Ramos (1992 elections) bears the lowest percentage of votes in history which is 23℅, far from the 40℅ that Joseph Estrada (1998 elections) was able to achieve and 42℅ for Benigno Aquino III (2010 elections) and was both considered as landslide winners. While Gloria Arroyo (2004 elections) and Fernando Poe Jr. made a history by having the closest margin of votes. Before the 2004 elections, Gloria Arroyo replaced the position of the then president Joseph Estrada after the 2001 People’s Revolution. No ruling party ever won the presidential elections since 1986.

Emilio Aguinaldo (1898 elected by Malolos Congress), Jose P. Laurel (1943 elected by the National Assembly under the Japanese Empire) and Ferdinand Marcos (1973 elected by the National Assembly following the new constitution) are the Presidents that was appointed by the National Assembly which we call now the Batasang Pambansa which was composed by the twenty four senators. Contrary to the other presidents that the Filipino voters took them to the position.

ElleMenThoughts:

Looking back from the election history, based on the collected facts Filipinos went through some ratifications in constitution which gave presidential elections major changes especially on the number of years that the elected president will serve his/her term.

Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law was for the Filipino majority the worst among all the government that the Philippines ever had, but some believed otherwise. Freedom of speech suppressed, human rights victims increased are some of the factors that democracy hungered Filipinos despised this law.

Filipinos seemed to learn how to stand on their ground and finally was able to unconsciously find a way for their freedom and made the historical EDSA People Power Revolution. And the power of the people being together as one seemed to work the second time during Joseph Estrada’s term when his government faced the Jose Pidal controversy and was impeached from his position.

People may have different standards and choices in terms of how a leader should be but during critical times, showed unity and fought as one.  

On An Almost New Year's Eve

Doing this blog an hour and a quarter before we welcome the new year. The last five new year's celebration that I had doesn't actually made an impact, I guess because of the work schedule. And I'm thankful that I'm celebrating it this year like how I always wanted it to be. More time with kids and loved ones..
As I recall all the remarkable moments that I had this year made me for the meantime reflect and forget all that needs to be forgotten, hatred and heartaches and all that was left are the lessons that gave me more strength to handle every situation.
My wish is that may everyone see life as how a little kid sees it, starting the day positively, full of hopes and dreams, everyday is a learning opportunity for us. Its alright that sometimes we feel like giving-up but don't let that feeling eat you up. Have faith on your own capabilities because the world may turn their back to you but definitely not yourself.

Why I Believe That "walang forever" Is Not True

"Walang forever!!" This has been a common source of humor for a 'bitter' person. A lot of times that I heard this whenever a love team was featured in a television program. And I can only care less. I have my own reason to say that "walang forever" is not true.

1. How can you say "walang forever" if you are stucked in the forever traffic in EDSA? C'mon admit it, this traffic can make you regret that you were not born to be a bird.

2. MRT line peak or off peak hours. How I wish that there's still a solution to avoid looooooong lines waiting to board the train. You left the house in the morning smelling fresh and after riding the train you will look like someone that just came from a battle with gladiators.

3. Electricity, water, petroleum and telco companies that are charging more over the suggested price or adding charges on our bill that even their customer service reps can't clearly explain why the consumers are being charged of the amount. The forever experience of paying more than what you have consumed and you can complain and yell all you want or just shut up and pay what's on the bill to avoid service disconnection.

4. "Walang forever" in corruption? I will bet my index finger if someone can put an end to this 'contagious political disease'. We can't expect all the people that are elected or assigned by the Administration will never think about doing even small acts of corruption. This has been one of the reason why the election for Sangguniang Kabataan was postponed because they 'just' realized that it was being used as a training ground for future corrupt politicians (at least they were able to realize that, better late than never baby).

5. The hopeless case of reducing the tax that employees are paying 'sana may forever' battle. If only taxpayers can see that the money that they are giving to the government is being used on projects that can benefit the majority and not just Napoles? This government made us feel guilty because the money that we worked hard for was actually the reason why these people like Napoles was jailed (actually because of the illegal detention case but whatever! Seeing this devil in disguise in jail can somehow makes me satisfied).

The Modern Pinay Mom

 I remember a post in a social network, it was mother's day then and it said "Working mom is redundant" just a simple phrase but if you'll analyze the idea it will start to make sense. Being a mom is already a task or "work" for some, a responsibility that only a woman with a mother's heart can do without complaints, without asking for anything in return. To see her kids grow up the right way is her biggest accomplishment, it is worth the combined salary and benefits that she can have working for years. Filipinas are known for being a hands-on mother or a homemaker, our culture is that you can only find mothers at home cooking meals, doing the laundry, washing dishes, everything from taking care of the kids to making sure all of the corners of the house are clean. But what can you say about mothers that you can see falling into the endless lines in the MRT every morning five times a week to fulfill their duties as company employees? Does it makes them less of a woman being a mother? I myself experienced being challenged to be a working mom from years of staying at home as a fulltime mother. I came from a typical Filipino-Chinese family that believes that mothers are bound to stay only at home and take care of their family. An idea that I respect but I know to myself that will be better if we dream to grow and be more productive outside our noble homes. If women are bound only to be a homemaker when they will have their own family then why do they still need to spend years in school and university to study? Isn't cruel to teach them Physics, Math equations, the x's the y's and the z's when all they need is a vocational for housekeeping and caregiving? I always believe in the equality regardless of a person's sexual orientation. Every individual has their own mission and goals to achieve and that goal plays a big part for a person to feel their worth. Talking about goals, to witness your child to grow up with values and confidence are among the things that are in a mother's list of priorities, and just like any other person mothers also has something that they dream of doing, may it be a career or an interest. It is good to know that Filipina moms today are more skillful to find ways on how to pursue their goals without compromising their responsibilities that only a loving mother can fulfill. We heard a lot of stories of success of mothers who were able to balance their career and family life. They say that it's just a matter of time management and knowing your priorities. And as long as you have the courage to do everything that you need and everything that you want, nothing can stop a modern pinay mom to get the best of both worlds.