Here goes.

Filipinos are some of the most intolerant and bigoted people I know.

We routinely laugh at people who look different from us. When a black person walks into a mall, everyone looks at him and whispers, “Negro.” People laugh, and some even point. Don’t deny it. I’ve seen it too many times.

It’s even on TV. We have had personalities who became famous — in a bad way — for their color. Whitney Tyson. Redford White. Mang Tem-i from Iskul Bukol. Blakdyak. That dark-colored girl in Bubble Gang. Heck, even Vice President Jojo Binay is being called “Jojobama” not because he is a cool guy like the US president but because he is similarly colored.

And we think that’s funny. And acceptable.

This bigotry is also present in religion, and maybe even more so. Why doesn’t anyone raise a howl when newspapers cite a person’s religion in crime stories? Why are there “Muslim murderers,” or “Maranao robbers,” or “Lumad bandits”? We take these words for granted, even though they are inaccurate and disparage a religion whose followers love peace.

Most of us have expressed some form of intolerance in one way or another, or at least allowed their expression to be made, and the only reason we haven’t been booed out of Facebook and Twitter is no one has posted or tweeted about it.

That lady on the cross, her misfortune is that some person snapped a picture of her and posted it online. But we have all been guilty of something like that. Maybe not as visible, but equally disrespectful of other people’s faith or race. Luckily for us, we haven’t been caught doing it or saying it on camera.

When someone does or says something that offends us, we should first look at ourselves and see if we haven’t done or at least tolerated similar things. I think that at the very least, we should also feel indignant when other religions or races are disparaged. Imagine being in their shoes. What if tomorrow’s paper or tonights news broadcast referred to “Catholic murderers,” or “Christian hijackers,” or “Protestant rapists”?Random Posts:

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Isang mapagpalang na araw, makasaysayang araw sa lahat sa inyo na nagmamahal na tunay sa Diyos at sa bayan.

Sa pangalan po ng Jesus Is Lord Worldwide Movement at ng Bangon Pilipinas ay buong-pusong binabati namin ang natatanging movement for the kingdom of God in our country and in this world, ang Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name That Is Above Every Name sa pangunguna po ng ating ginagalang na kaibigan, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

At sa lahat po ng mga pastors, workers, members, congratulations sa inyong Thanksgiving Worship Presentation Day.

Kangina po sabi ko sa holding area ng mga kasama nila Ate Neneng Lizada, Ate Ingrid Canada at ni… at ng ating ginagalang na spiritual leader, Pastor Apollo Quibolo…sa… Quiboloy, sabi ko po sa kanila, nakita ko mga nakaputi, naalala ko yung Revelation 3:5. Sabi ho ng Revelation 3:5, “Yung maging mapagtagumpay hanggang sa huli hindi ko buburahin ang kanilang pangalan sa aklat ng buhay sa langit, dadamitan ko sila ng puting damit, ihaharap ko sila sa aking Ama at sa aking mga anghel.” Revelation 3:5.

Kaya buong puso po ang pagbati ko sa inyong lahat sa isang movement na pinanganlan ng ating Diyos “The Kingdom of Jesus Christ The Name Above Every Name, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Ako po’y nakumbida ng isang common friend, ni Dr. Jun Loquias, ang president ng BAPTIST-Philippines na kaibigan ni Pastor Apollo Quiboloy just few weeks ago. At nagulat po ako nang ako po’y makarating sa inyong central church doon sa Davao. Ako’y namangha sapagka’t para bang talaga hong inihanda ng Diyos yung lugar na ‘yon. At naiintindihan ko ang pangarap ninyo… naiintindihan ko ang pangarap ninyo na ang Bagong Herusalem ay maitatag sa Davao.

Sabi ho sa akin ni Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, “Alam mo, Brother Eddie, matapos na mag-shake hands tayo kangina at magyakapan, bigla kong naalala yung pangarap ko nung March 8, 2008 na dumating ka rito, nagkamayan tayo’t nagyakapan tayo. Yung pangarap ko na ‘yon nung March 8, 2008 is confirmed today.”

Salamat sa maapoy, hindi maligamgam, maapoy na pagtanggap ng inyong spiritual leader sa inyong abang lingkod.

Bago ko po tapusin ang aking maikling pagbati, gusto ko lang hong i-encourage kayong lahat, mga kapwa ko taga-langit. Ang sabi po ng pangalan ng inyong ministry, “The Kingdom of Jesus Christ.” Naalala ko po yung sinabi ng Muslim brother natin kangina, qinuote niya yung model prayer ni Jesus, “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, THY KINGDOM COME! THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH as it is in heaven.

Ano po ang relasyon nito sa darating na eleksyon? Narito kaming mga kandidato hindi para mangampanya. Narito kami upang magsabi ng “amen” sa inyong misyon.

Kingdom of God, sabi ng Romans 14:17, is not a matter of eating and drinking. Kingdom of God means righteousness, peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit.

Kaya binabati ko ang inyong samahan sa inyong pagtatagumpay, mawawala na ang korapsyon at katiwalian sa ating bansa. Mawawala ang violence and terrorism. Maghahari ang righteousness na sinabi ng Good Book , “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach or a disgrace to any people.”

Again, congratulations to all of you, especially to the world-renowned preacher of righteousness, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

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I wrote about Senator Noynoy Aquino’s plans for Mindanao the other day, and at the risk of sounding like I’m campaigning for him, I’d like to continue with the other things he said in last Friday’s early morning press conference here in Davao City. And since it is the campaign period, let me start with something interesting he mentioned: that 70 percent of a campaign is about “imaging,” that is, “in the absence of knowledge of a candidate, people will base their view of him on the image he projects.” Unfortunately, imaging can also be used against a candidate: people can also base their view of him on the image projected of him by his opponents.

I’m not sure where he got his figure of 70 percent (probably from his days as retail sales supervisor and youth promotions assistant for Nike Philippines), but it does seem about right. After all, candidates do practically anything for name recall, and they also do anything to destroy their opponents in the public eye. Black propaganda, the latter is called, and Aquino claimed to have been subjected to a lot of this ever since he announced his candidacy in September last year.

Unfortunately, work at the Senate (and a good work ethic) has prevented him from defending himself fully from the attacks, so somehow a lot of the rumors about Aquino seem to have stuck. One of the most vicious and pervasive is the insinuation that he is — or was — autistic. I’ll write about this topic in a later column, but suffice it to say that as the uncle of two autistic children, I was deeply offended that some people actually used this condition to try and bring down a political opponent.

On the other side of the coin is that Aquino believes his closest rival, Senator Manny Villar, is doing nothing but propping himself up through his incessant advertisements. People, he said, are basing their view of the man on the ads, which really show nothing more than the telegenic side of the billionaire senator. That Villar has gained on him over the past four months is testament to the power of the media to influence people’s perceptions, and it is something he intends to use to his advantage now that the official campaign period has started.

“I am not surprised with the turn of events,” Aquino said. “Our opponent had a long head start in this campaign. I have been doing my work at the Senate and have been on the road only on weekends. My opponent, on the other hand, has been campaigning full time. And for all the unprecedented and sustained ads spending and increasingly below-the-belt and baseless propaganda, I am surprised that I am still on top of the surveys.”

And with the Senate sessions now over, and as the campaign period begins, he can now go “full blast.” “You’ll see a change in the numbers,” he said.

(Photo credit: Bing Gonzales)

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Interestingly, the poem Fr. Alejo had recited on the night that Toy Mangudadatu had come to see him was “Sanayan Lang Ang Pagpatay.”  Here’s the full text:

Sanayan Lang Ang Pagpatay
(Para sa sektor nating pumapatay ng tao)
ni Paring Bert Alejo, SJ

Pagpatay ng tao? Sanayan lang ‘yan pare.
Parang sa butiki. Sa una siyempre
Ikaw’y nangingimi. Hindi mo masikmurang
Tiradurin o hampasing tulad ng ipis o lamok
Pagkat para bang lagi ‘yang nakadapo
Sa noo ng santo sa altar
At tila may tinig na nagsasabing
Bawal bawal bawal ‘yang pumatay.
Subalit tulad lang ng maraming bagay
Ang pagpatay ay natututuhan din kung magtitiyaga
Kang makinig sa may higit na karanasan.
Nakuha ko sa tiyuhin ko kung paanong balibagin ng tsinelas
O pilantikin ng lampin ang nakatitig na butiki sa aming kisame
At kapag nalaglag na’t nagkikikisay sa sahig
Ay agad ipitin nang hindi makapuslit
Habang dahan-dahang tinitipon ang buong bigat
Sa isang paang nakatingkayad: sabay bagsak.

Magandang pagsasanay ito sapagkat
Hindi mo nakikita, naririnig lamang na lumalangutngot
Ang buo’t bungo ng lintik na butiking hindi na makahalutiktik.
(kung sa bagay, kilabot din ‘yan sa mga gamu-gamo.)
Nang magtagal-tagal ay naging malikhain na rin
Ang aking mga kamay sa pagdukit ng mata,
Pagbleyd ng paa, pagpisa ng itlog sa loob ng tiyan
Hanggang mamilipit ‘yang parang nasa ibabaw ng baga.
O kung panahon ng Pasko’t maraming paputok
Maingat kong sinusubuan ‘yan ng rebentador
Upang sa pagsabog ay magpaalaman ang nguso at buntot.
(Ang hindi ko lamang maintindihan ay kung bakit
Patuloy pa rin ‘yang nadaragdagan.)

Kaya’t ang pagpatay ay nakasasawa rin kung minsan.
Mabuti na lamang at nakaluluwag ng loob
Ang pinto at bintanang kahit hindi mo sinasadya
At may paraan ng pagpuksa ng buhay.
Ganyang lang talaga ang pagpatay:
Kung hindi ako ay iba naman ang babanat;
Kung hindi ngayon ay sa iba namang oras.
Subalit ang higit na nagbibigay sa akin ng lakas ng loob
Ay ang malalim nating pagsasamahan:
Habang ako’y pumapatay, kayo nama’y nanonood.

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“There’s no mistake, sir,” he replied. “The crispy lapu-lapu comes with some shrimp.” He then pointed to a piece on my plate that didn’t have a red tail sticking out, and there, outnumbered by the crustaceans, was my lapu-lapu. I just laughed it off an prayed that my on-again-off-again allergy to shrimp wouldn’t decide to show up.Random Posts:

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