Pageantry in a time of COVID

The Miss Philippines pageant just happened this month and this posed a question which I realized was more important than it initially sounded. During the Q&A portion, the top 5 contestants were asked what the role of pageants were in this time of Covid. The question even stressed that this crisis has forced us to see what is essential and non-essential.

I initially found it very odd that we should hold a pageant at this point in time but upon reflection, I found that pageants like these serve a very good purpose in society. Now, I'll make a disclaimer now and say ahead that I haven't heard any of the answers of the top 5 contestants so if I echo any of their answers, it was purely coincidental. And while the beautiful ladies of the Philippines had only a few seconds to give their answer, I can explore the nuances in depth in mine.

Food, clothing, shelter. If we were to look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you'd find these are the basic needs that people need. These are important to us as a species to grow and develop. If humans are just animals, these, together with social needs like the presence of friends and family give us our basic needs to stay alive and to stay sane. Art and beauty, one may argue, is not a need at all for animals and may be seen as non-essential to human survival.

I disagree on that point. Humans have material and social needs - that is true. But we also have needs for things that are non-material and non-social. I'm no philosopher so I may be misnaming these things but we have the need for the transcendental - things that are beyond the material and the social. Things like beauty, truth and goodness. Beauty, of course, comes to mind when talking about pageants.

Humans have a need for beauty - a need which many Filipinos have been deprived of because of the pandemic. It doesn't make it any less important to us though. We still need the beautiful things, which explains the rise of plantitos and plantitas on social media the past few months. Pageants, I believe, are able to give Filipinos the well needed break from focusing on their basic and social needs to focus on their need to see beauty.

While pageants are not my cup of tea, many Filipinos really look forward to these pageants. Some hunger for the sight of beautiful women competing for the crown. Some thirst for the gowns and dresses they wear - a chance to see Filipino artistry at hand! Some enjoy the thrill of hearing a well thought out answer mere seconds after a question is posed - an exhibition of the beauty of the mind!

While most people might see pageants are being non-essential during times when we were flooded with other forms of distraction, I see the Miss Philippines pageant held recently as a well needed essential good for the Philippines. Let this remind us that we are not simply animals who need food, water, and shelter to live. We also need the true, the good and the beautiful.

Our Wedding Story

Last week, me and Nikki finally tied the knot. Shortly after I felt the need to write everything down just so that I don't forget anything and I get the details as close as possible to perfect. Why? Coz a miracle happened. There's no other way I can say it. Feel free to read and decide for yourself. You can verify these events yourself. Here it is...

The Perfect Wedding Day

Any events coordinator will tell you the perfect event doesn’t exist. No matter how prepared the event organizer may be, there will always be some form of glitch that’ll rear its ugly head and sometimes from out of nowhere.

As was the case with many couples that planned their wedding in 2020, ours got delayed from out of nowhere. The date was originally planned for October 13, 2019 but we decided to move it to May 24, 2020 for reasons unimportant to the story. Our line of th
inking went something like this:

“The wedding’s already been postponed. Nothing and I mean absolutely nothing will side track these plans. Not an earthquake nor a typhoon,” we thought. Little did we know, a virus would be the one to postpone our wedding a second time. This time, however, it was worse. With no end in sight at the time, we couldn’t pin a date down. So we left the date in the air for months.

Me and Nikki wanted a certain date though. October 13 was our anniversary so it was a no brainer for us. October 13 is also the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and she’s one of the most important players in our relationship. We wanted to honour her by celebrating an important milestone of our life on the day of her feast.

When the city offices started to open up, me and Nikki realized we could finally apply for a marriage license – the final piece of the puzzle for the requirements we needed to finally get married. The marriage license came out in the end of August which gave me and Nikki a month and a half to get everyone ready for wedding 2.0!

As expected, all our out-of-town guests couldn’t make it including most of our ninongs and ninangs, all our flower girls, and both maid of honor and best man, to name a few. During September, the future was also hard to predict. Would restrictions on events be eased? Tightened? We simply didn’t know.

We settled on having just 60 guests for the ceremony and strictly family only for the reception. We also had to look for another presider for the mass and marriage rite as our two original choices couldn’t leave their areas due to the lockdowns.

Now, was this the perfect wedding? On paper, it wasn’t. From the onset, it had hit too many speed bumps and had been derailed quite easily during the pandemic. But you never plan for the perfect wedding – you plan for the best possible one and plan we did. Looking back, though, it might’ve been the best possible wedding we could get. And surely with such a small wedding party, it would much easier to handle.

The Wedding at Cana

With Fr. Manny Uy as our new presider for the mass, our wedding was now back on track. Growing up attending Catholic weddings, I always just assumed that the Wedding at Cana was the default gospel for wedding masses. Such isn’t the case. Fr. Manny had us choose the first reading, the responsorial psalm, second reading, and gospel. I chose from what felt like a menu and still ended up choosing the Wedding at Cana story.

The thing that drew to me especially to that narrative was the idea of Mary being the greatest intercessor. As I’ve mentioned earlier, Our Lady of Fatima has played a huge part in our relationship and I liked the idea that she would feature in the Gospel reading as well. She does have just one message for us though, “Follow what Jesus tells you” and just allow the miracles to happen.

A key part in the story, which I tend to overlook every time I heard is that the couple whose wedding it was experienced a problem – a trivial problem at that! The wedding feast was about to run out of wine. While the narration was silent on this point, I’d like to think Mother Mary interceded on their behalf before being asked.

Anyway, back to the story. The day before the wedding and everything ran smoothly. Nikki’s wedding gown arrived right on schedule. Our coordinator, Shai and the stylist, Tita Debbie arrived in the hotel as well with lots of time to spare. We were even able to do a quick rehearsal in the hotel.

We stayed at White Sands, which our family owns. As the perks go, we got the best rooms for the Nikki to have her dress up and for the rest of her family to stay in as well. I needed to finish a few things for work and so exited earlier than the rest from dinner.

This is when we hit our first speed bump. The main elevator was out of service. Nikki’s brothers had informed me of the problem when they tried going down from their room to join dinner. Going down seven floors is fine for her brothers but the first speed bump was that even after dinner, the elevator still remained out of order! It was a minor speed bump at most since there was a second elevator. I used it to go up to my room and speed bump number 2!

My door wouldn’t open. After being closed for close to 6 months, the batteries on the electronic door knobs had given up! Having no way to call the outside world, I took the other elevator down and informed our staff of the issue – main elevator was down and the door knob of the groom’s room wouldn’t open!

I met with Nikki and we decided to go up together. I would bring her to her room so we could get some rest before the big day. And then speed bump number 3!

Just as the second elevator reached the seventh floor, the elevator malfunctioned and stopped! We rang the emergency bell but it didn’t seem like anyone was on their way. The elevator’s emergency battery did kick in and we were able to get off on the seventh floor safely. I said good night to Nikki as I went back to my room. Our staff, Jeson, was there to open the door manually and change the batteries on the door lock. I then asked Jeson if the main elevator was fixed. He told me that he couldn’t contact the maintenance team for the main elevator. He would do all he could but ultimately, nothing was done about the main elevator.

I couldn’t sleep so well that night. Every time I would wake up, I’d check if the elevator miraculously fixed itself. It did not. Only when I resigned to leaving it all up to the Lord was I able to sleep well.

I woke up on the big day and the first thing I check is if we were able to get hold of the maintenance staff of the elevator. Jeson was able to contact them and so I thought we were in the clear. Everyone would simply need to use the secondary elevator to go up and down. The solution seemed simple enough.

Despite the minor hiccup the night before, everyone who used the second elevator was able to use it without any issues. I was even able to use it that morning! Then came another speed bump. Elevator number 2 was out of service as well! My heart sank. Both elevators couldn’t be used and the bride was on the seventh floor while the groom would be on the sixth floor. For anyone to come to us, they would need to walk up 6 or 7 flights of stairs!

I went back to praying as hard as I could. I asked Mother Mary to intercede on our behalf. I was very worried about anything and everything that involved people going up to our rooms. Every time a groomsman went up to my room, I’d worry about them walking up so many flights of stairs. When our photographer, Hejie and his team arrived trying to catch their breath, my mind panicked as well and I didn’t know what I could do for them. I overheard two people say that Nikki’s grandma, who is close to 80 years old walked all seven flights of stairs!

The news about the main elevator wasn’t reassuring as well. There was a broken piece and the replacement was still in their office around an hour’s travel time away! Everyone was trying to reassure me that it was fine and that I should take my mind off the elevator issues.

Looking back, it was probably God’s way of telling me to chill out and enjoy the day. He is, of course, bigger than any problem the day could throw at us. I am happy to report that this is when the miracles started happening. Call me a religious nut but it was only through Mother Mary’s intercession that these things started turning in our favour.

In one of my many short prayers that morning, I asked God to spare two people from the elevator woes. I didn’t want Nikki’s grandma to walk down seven flights of stairs. (I would carry that woman down if I could.) And I didn’t want Nikki herself, in her wedding gown, to have to walk down the seven floors as well. I had gotten ready with my groomsmen and I told them we’d all just walk down for our photoshoot.

I met up with my family and we had our photo shoot. After our little pictorial, we got good news. The elevator was fixed! At that point, I didn’t know which one was fixed but I was happy all the same. Then a second call came – the other elevator was also fixed! Not only did Nikki and her grandma not need to walk down the stairs, they had their pick of which elevator to use!

When one asks, one must thank so I said a quick prayer to thank God for answering my prayer. People who hear the story up to this point won’t call it a miracle as two fixed elevators doesn’t add up much to being a “miracle”. Don’t worry, the rest of my story will hopefully not disappoint.

Till Death do us part...

I finally eased up and proceeded to enjoy my photo shoot with my groomsmen. Shortly after, I was with my family on our way to the church. We left White Sands at 1pm for a 3pm call time. Everything cooperated with our short drive. No car troubles, no heavy traffic. Smooth as smooth can be! We arrived close to 2pm and we were literally the first people in church.

Slowly, guests started arriving. After six months of being in quarantine, people can become very chatty. Everyone was practicing social distancing still though which I appreciated from everyone. I saw people I hadn’t seen in so long. A dear friend of mine even flew in from Zamboanga! Everyone who knows me and Nikki know that I’m the more emotional one and though I didn’t cry, I couldn’t hide how happy I was at finally seeing other people I had only seen in Zoom calls.

Andi, another coordinator started calling on everyone to settle down. At that point several people where still noticeably absent – 4 out of 6 principal sponsors, 1 secondary sponsor, and Fr. Manny. Truth be told, I assumed that we would start at 3:30pm so it didn’t bother me at all – sometimes God grants ignorance for good reason. Everyone did arrive a few minutes after 3pm (I’m not quite sure as I wasn’t allowed to carry my phone anymore).

The wedding march is not something so grand that it needs to be detailed. Honestly, it was over rather quickly. I saw that our photographer had a camera pointed straight at my face and so I made a mini-promise to myself that I wouldn’t cry.

It was then time for me to see my bride enter. Nikki’s parents marched ahead of her and waited around three-fourths the length of the aisle. The church doors then opened and the song, “When God Made You” played in the background. I saw Nikki in her beautiful white dress. She always looks beautiful but I can honestly that was the most beautiful I had seen her. And she was walking towards me. When that realization sank in, it was game over for me. I was crying like a baby but still trying to hold back whatever tears I could.

I went forward to get my bride from her parents who walked her the remaining steps to the front of the church. I brought her to my parents who I gave the biggest hug to. Me and Nikki made our way to the front of the church where I was still crying my eyes out. When Fr. Manny met us in front of the altar, another realization hit me.

After months of delay, this was the day the next chapter of our lives would start. I balled like a baby and Fr. Manny just told me to let it all out and so I obliged. I was able to compose myself and I was able to get through the rest of the ceremony without crying.

My sister was our veil sponsor and hearing her welcoming Nikki into our family was one of the best things I heard during the mass. At the end of everything, we got to walk out the church and see all our friends who came. Remember, we only allotted 60 guests for the church as we had a lot of seniors in our families. Most couples say they couldn’t remember who went to their wedding. Me and Nikki can remember who didn’t.

Photo shoots after the wedding are common but I forgot that we still had to do one and we did it in the steel parking of Sacred Heart Church. What I thought was a mediocre place for a photo shoot became the site for my favourite wedding picture of the entire bunch and one which the Church asked if they could use for promoting weddings in the church!

When it rains, it pours

After our post-nup pictorial, it was time to head back to White Sands for our even more intimate family only reception. My parents still wanted to have the entire place decorated. We had beautiful garden set-up which I only caught a glimpse of leaving for the church. It wasn’t finished yet so I was excited to see what it would finally look like. It was around 5pm and time when most working people go home from work.

Now, I had been on weather patrol for weeks before October 13 and not once did it show that it would not rain in Lapu-lapu. Not just that, there was a more than 50% chance of thunderstorms! I had honestly expected the worst and that we would move to the back-up venue. But given everything that had happened already, I was more confident than ever that it would not rain.

On our way to White Sands, we could hear the thunder rumbling but so far no rain had hit us so we were still saying it wouldn’t rain. At this point, everyone was already in White Sands except for Hejie’s crew and everyone in the couple’s car. We took two different routes going to White Sands. Our car got stuck in traffic a bit but like I said, other than probably 5 drops of rain, we were basically as dry as a bone.

We arrived before Hejie’s team and everyone was waiting for us. The thunder was still rumbling but I commented that all I noticed was the cool breeze which probably came from a part of Lapu-lapu which was raining. Things started to sound crazy to me when someone mentioned that Mango Avenue (which was where our church was) was already flooded because of the rain. Mango Avenue normally doesn’t flood as well so this news came as a shock to me. This rain was no run-of-the-mill rain, in other words.

While I only found out a day later, most of our staff that left White Sands that night experienced heavy rain just as they left the resort. They all assumed the set-up was moved to the backup indoor venue. Tita Debbie wanted nothing more than Hejie to arrive so we could have our photos taken with the decors. She worked hard all day for that and simply moving to an inferior location would’ve been heart breaking for her.

Shai was on the edge of her seat as well. I assured both of them that it would not rain. And just to ease them a bit more, I told her that nothing – absolutely nothing will ruin the day anymore. My mom had earlier told both of them that moving to the inferior indoor venue was not an option – not realistic in the mind but my mom knew in her heart it wouldn’t rain.

Hejie and his team did arrive shortly after and we went to work right away taking pictures of the set-up with us. Me and Nikki were enjoying every single second of that but at the same time we wanted dinner to start since we knew everyone was waiting for us and hungry – it was already 7:30pm. In our original plan, me and Nikki were supposed to practice our first dance one last time before the program started but Shai said she didn’t want to take the chance that it would start raining before our first dance so dance we did.

We had some missteps in our dance in the beginning but we found our stride later on and even made some last minute adjustments. As a person with two left feet, I cannot stress how miraculous this was, in and of itself.

The program proceeded and we could still hear the sky rumbling – threatening to put a stop to the festivities. A strong gust of wind blew through the garden bringing with it a cool chill. If you were afraid it would rain then, that gust would’ve scared the crap out of you. Nikki and I, however, enjoyed the cool breeze. “It will not rain. We prayed too hard for it,” we thought. The program continued.

Nikki’s maid of honour couldn’t make it because of the pandemic so she recorded her speech. It was during her speech that we felt a few drops of rain hit. The White Sands staff was readying the umbrellas for everyone. I said once again to Nikki, “It will not rain.” It simply couldn’t! We had prayed for good weather too much for it to rain now. And just like that the small drizzle stopped! The program continued.

We ran into possibly two or three more rain scares and every time, I just knew that it wouldn’t rain. And every single time, the program continued without a hitch! My brothers-in-law were able to give their speeches dry. My father-in-law gave his speech as well dry. My dad welcomed Nikki into our family dry. We were able to see the same day edit from Hejie, which I loved. One shot he took was an aerial shot of the clouds. I didn’t even realize how heavy they looked all day! But the program continued.

Only two speeches were left in the program. One was a poem dedicated to our parents who brought us up and loved use before we loved each other. The last speech was mine. The rare occasion of being able to individually thank each single person present in the guest list presented itself so I naturally grabbed it. And I was still as dry as a bone.

The program ended with two games we prepared for our family. We ended the program and some people came up to us to have their picture taken with us. The program ended finally and Shai and Tita Debbie could breathe sighs of relief as they packed up everything that they needed to pack up.

Being the couple, me and Nikki weren’t able to eat together with everyone else so we continued eating in our seats. Then one final drizzle came. We had our food transferred to the indoor venue. This time, I knew it would rain. It wasn’t ten minutes after the program ended that the rain poured – and it poured hard. By this time, me, Nikki, Shai, Tita Debbie, Hejie, Anya (my sister) and Ryan (our host) were all inside enjoying the leftover wine. For Ryan and Hejie, it was the first time they paused since the program started and it was their first taste of any of the food that night.

It was a nice moment where me and Nikki got to spend our reception bonding with our wedding suppliers over wine and food. Hejie stayed a bit longer since he also got news that many parts of the city were flooded. Every time we recount the events of that night, it seemed as though there was an invisible barrier around White Sands that didn’t let rain enter until the wedding program ended.

Our family driver and Nikki’s mom’s driver recounted to us that they experienced heavy rains just a few meters away from gate of White Sands. It was then that the invisible barrier around White Sands started to sound like it actually happened!

Putting everything together, I can’t help but think God’s wedding gift to us was the Wedding at Cana. He gave us reasons to worry and He gave us his mother, the greatest intercessor, and prevented the rain from touching our little intimate wedding reception. Again, it was a trivial matter in both cases – wine and a nice reception – but this little experience has made me believe, more than ever, that God loves marriage and wants to bless it every way He can. I pray everyday that I’m the best husband I can be to Nikki until the day I die.

To Our Lady of Fatima, thank you always for your prayers. If our wedding night was any indication of the power of your prayers, me and Nikki will surely want more where that came from!

My New Career as an Online Seller

When the government announced that Cebu would be placed under community quarantine, one of our many concerns was what to do with our farm's produce. Our store in Barili gets lots of visitors and with the quarantine, we would most certainly have less visitors. We did have to temporarily close the store but the farm still produced things like milk, cheese and vegetables.

Now, since we don't produce a lot every week, our first thought went to keeping it for ourselves and consuming it ourselves. In other words, we would be set in the food department. One week in, however and we realized we were producing more than we were consuming.

I then chanced upon this facebook group called Banilad Homemade Marketplace. People were selling anything homemade or edible on there. So I gave it a go. My first post got some people to inquire our products but not enough to make a dent on our inventory. Then I thought that people gravitate toward things that look amazing and different. So I proceeded to make a video of how our family eats our cheese.

Within a few hours after the thing was posted on the group, I had to update the post saying that some products were out of stock! I also had a bunch of orders lined up for our next deliveries! I had brought home around 500 pieces of cheese and in 3 days, I had sold out!

The feeling was amazing and I still had to push the milk. Our milk did sell much slower but in a few days, they sold out as well. For the next 3 weeks, people would randomly message me on facebook asking if new cheese or milk had arrived and I was still fulfilling orders from my first week!

Things have died down a little bit now and I've started posting on different facebook groups as well. But nothing will still compare to that first video I made. Last time I checked, it had the most number of likes on Banilad Homemade Marketplace. That's not a lot, mind you (~300+) but I'm glad to know I still know how to make and edit videos.

Orders are still coming in and I'm at the point where I'm selling at about as much as we're producing. Nikki ad I have talked about possibly continuing this business when we get married. I'm excited about that prospect. Already, we know of someone who produces eggs, another one who sells shrimps. As much as I want to go into more detail, I think that's better left to another post.

Rappler does it again and this time to Gov. Gwen Garcia

#NotoDoctorShaming

Yeah? But who was doctor shaming? I hadn't heard of this term until after. Rappler did a whole piece saying how Gov. Gwen Garcia practically shamed two doctors in Cebu for giving their opinions on steam inhalation. I've linked tot the article and saw, in my very first read through a bunch of glaring errors that would've been avoided through minimal research.

https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/264692-netizens-slam-cebu-governor-publicly-degrading-frontliners

Let's get some facts straight that Rappler just doesn't get right. Gov. Gwen Garcia never said that practicing steam inhalation (tuob) is a cure for COVID. She doesn't even say that doing it will prevent you from getting infected. The article and others before this reference this time and time again and even cite that this is not an approved treatment for COVID according to the US FDA and the WHO. Thing is, Gov. Gwen never claimed any of these things.

Tuob is a cheap treatment one can do to alleviate some symptoms and make people feel better when they have a cough, fever or sore throat. Many people have tried it and it's one of the things that can be done to boost one's immune system. All you need is a blanket, an electric kettle, some water and salt. When she started pushing this to people in the provinces, I actually found it laudable since she was providing people with useful information that doesn't kill the virus but boost the immune system of thousands.

Now back to the article. Rappler cites everything wrong with how Gwen handled the criticism brought against her. I agree that the governor could've handled it better though truth be told, everyone here knows that's how she really is as a person. What's absent in the article is the criticism that was made against Gwen and what actually made her react the way she did.

I saw what these doctors said and I can see why Gov. Gwen lost her cool. These doctors basically criticized her for something when they we practically taking the governor out of context. These doctors were practically implying that Gov. Gwen claimed tuob can be a treatment for COVID, which she never did claim.

Now, people in Cebu know Gwen. She's level headed (usually) and smart. She won't go advising people to do an alternative treatment which she thinks isn't helpful. And I think that's the key difference people miss in all of this. These doctors and Rappler say Gwen claimed that tuob is a treatment. No, people. Gwen simply said that it is helpful.

Tuob sounds like an alternative medical practice that I can see many doctors or people my age raise an eyebrow at. Our generation didn't grow up with tuob. My parents did and they say that while not a cure, it is indeed helpful. HELPFUL. To put it into perspective, drinking vitamins is not approved by anyone as a treatment for COVID. Is it helpful? Yes. Should people take vitamins? Yes!

As an end to this post, I want to point out one minor thing that is easy evidence of this Rappler writer not doing any due diligence or any research except take tweets from twitter. The writer referred to the doctor the Gwen scolded as a "he". Both doctors were women. Also, Rappler (even after losing their case against Keng) still opt not to get the parties involved. No mention of Gov. Gwen's response.

I remember reading the newspaper when I was younger. I would see statements like, "The Reporter has contacted the officer of Mr. Jonathan and has yet to get a response." Rappler doesn't do this and it's one of the main reasons I stopped relying on them for news bits. They're practically saying they're a one sided news outlet. And that's no longer news. That's political commentary, which I really think they should embrace at this point.

The Separation of Powers in the Philippines

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's the idea behind separating the powers of the three main branches of our government - Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary. This was a lesson most Filipinos are taught in elementary and forget as soon as we start reading the news. I don't blame them though. The Legislative and the Judiciary have progressively been more subservient to the Executive for the longest time.

The reason our system has three branches is so that when one branch exhibits abuse of power, the other two are there to stop it. As such, it's good for us when the heads of the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary don't always see eye to eye but all three should be willing to work with each other.

More recently however, the Executive has seen much more power than the other two branches. More specifically, we've reached a point where what President Duterte says goes. He's technically still working within the bounds of what's allowed by the executive branch but he basically has both houses on his side. He was even able to appoint the chief justice and several other justices in the Supreme Court. While technically not a dictatorship, President Duterte has in his pocket a firm grasp of the legislative and the judiciary as well as the executive.

We blame Duterte for everything that happens that's unconstitutional even when he shouldn't be taking the blame for SOME of these issues. Some things, for example, Duterte should get the blame for.  But with more nuanced issues, I think we, as the people give power to who we give power to. I mean, that's what democracy is. So when people blame Duterte for something he isn't responsible for, knowing him, he will do something about it even if it would cause him to meddle with the other branches of government.

There still exists, at least in writing, the idea of a separation of the three branches of government. Let the blame fall on the leader of the branch responsible for a particular function. Off the top of my head, the renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN, a function of the House of Representatives, was clamored about. Wherever you stand on the issue, it should be stressed that President Duterte may have been vocal about his dislike of ABS, but it was ultimately the House that acted or did not act on the manner. Why then place the blame on Duterte for the ABS shutdown?

To the detractors of the president, for the love of God, DON'T GIVE THE GUY A REASON to claim responsibility for the acts of the Legislative. It can be said that the speaker of the house is an ally of the President. Alan Peter Cayetano should be the one responsible for the shutdown. Treat our leaders like the leaders they are and hold them responsible.

Two years ago, former Chief Justice Sereno was effectively overthrown in her own branch. The reason going around was that it was Duterte who did all the maneuverings. I don't doubt these claims. Duterte seems to be a very good political tactician. But it's the people who made it happen that should've been under the spotlight. It was the Supreme Court that effectively made the ruling. And so wherever you stand on the issue, it was the Supreme Court, the head of the Judiciary, that should've been the last stand.

The story was spun to make it look as if Duterte was pulling all the strings. It may as well have been the case. However, it could have just as easily been a case where several older SC justices simply had their own political interests in mind and saw the opportunity to overthrow the younger Chief Justice. When the blame is thrown in Duterte's direction, it detracts from those who were actually responsible - the men and women who, in their free will, decided to overturn the appointment of former Chief Justice Sereno.

To be fair, during the time, people did this issue up. It was floated back in 2018 that it was de Castro who really wanted to be Chief Justice who led the charge against Sereno. But ask anyone now why Sereno's term ended and people say Duterte is responsible. De Castro has practically gotten away without much blame on her name.

In these cases, do I think Duterte had nothing to do with it? Of course not. With the power an popularity he's gained, I don't doubt people up on the ladder want to ride on that popularity. What I'm saying is when we blame him for everything, we're practically giving him the power.

Remember, dear reader. Our politicians draw their power from the people. Not only during election day but every day afterward. Let's not give a few people too much power without any repercussions.

Tulfo, Rape and Victim-blaming

I've written about this issue before. More recently, however, Lucban PNP and Ben Tulfo came under fire for telling women not to wear sexy attire when going out. Frankie Pangilinan have fired back against Tulfo saying tone obvious thing and strawmaning Tulfo in two others. Let's get something straight.

"The way any person dresses should not be deemed as ‘opportunity’ to sexually assault them. ever."

100% true. Thing is, no one said nor was it ever implied that if someone dressed in a sexy attire, they deserved to be raped. You can advise one thing and still hold that the other is true. When rape is the issue on hand, it becomes more emotionally charged. So if you don't mind, dear reader, I will change up the scenario a little bit.

Consider that you're going downtown to make some purchases. It's common knowledge that downtown, there exist a lot of pickpockets. As a preventive measure, I bring only the cash that I'll be needing. I dress simply as not to draw anyone's attention. I don't even wear my cheap metal watch as it looks shiny and could attract a thief's attention. Whenever I do this, I'm do it for my protection.

Consider then a second scenario where I go to the same area wearing a Rolex (I don't have a Rolex), really nice shoes and look very formal. Add in some shades to add to the douchey-ness. I carry a lot of things and even pull out the latest iPhone XX or whatever. I then become a prime target for any pickpockets in the area. They might not harass me but they might take my bag or my phone.

In the second scenario, it's actually a good thing that people would tell to avoid wearing things that might attract bad people's eyes. Are they saying in any way, shape or form that stealing is wrong and that I'm to blame? No. But there are things, in our control that we can do to avoid crimes from happening to us.

The Lucban PNP's advisory isn't very well worded, I admit. But the point stands. Advising people to dress appropriately, is not victim-blaming. Victim blaming is victim blaming.

Ben Tulfo brings up the very good point that a rapist's or sex offender's desire to commit a crime will always be there. The point is, there are bad people around us and we simply don't know which one's are rapists or sex offenders. That's the scary part. Pangilinan says, "Stop teaching girls how to dress?? Teach people not to rape."

I share in her sentiment. I do. If only it were that easy. But like I said, bad people are all around us and we simply have no idea which ones are capable of rape or sexual misconduct.

Ben Tulfo isn't saying that women only get assaulted if they dress sexily. He's not even saying that the rapist is justified. He even calls him, "the beast". We can definitely say that the rapist is wrong all the time. But when online feminists push this narrative that they shouldn't take responsibility for their own safety, they're hurting the very people they want to protect. Saying that women should be more careful and that rape/sexual assault is wrong are not mutually exclusive. We can do both. And we should to do both.

Wedding Day Burn

This entire pandemic has affected everyone in the world. In a special way, it's affected me and Nikki as today would've been our wedding day. I haven't been writing much since the start of the lockdown but Nikki wrote this today and I just want to share it I like it so much as it encapsulates our feelings towards this whole thing very well. Anyway, just read on.

"I accidentally burned my right thumb last Wednesday. I was cooking banana turon and was trying to scrape out the burnt sugar in the wok. I don’t recall how it happened exactly but I remember piercing pain that I dropped the scraper into a bowl of clean sugar, turned on cold tap water and just left my thumb there for a while, trying to relieve the pain with the cool sensation.

Today was supposed to be my wedding day. No, my fiancé and I did not separate. Covid 19, a global pandemic, happened. It came like an invisible hurricane, turning things upside down and blowing away and apart everything that came in its way, including big day plans. At first, when the quarantine was announced, I feel like I took on the whole idea of having to move our wedding day in a sensible and logical manner.

It would be very easy for Covid to spread in a social gathering. We definitely did not want to be responsible for unintentionally spreading Covid among our family and friends, some of whom are seniors. The government as well, prohibited social functions during this quarantine time. Offices are closed so there would be no way for us to get our marriage license. It just wouldn’t work out so we’ll have to move it.

Then came the matter of telling our families, relatives and friends. I remember being sad and stressed out during this time. I did not want to be on the receiving end of pity and sadness from loved ones. I just didn’t want to have to deal with that. Also, I never thought I would be one of the girls who had to tell everyone that her wedding is postponed or cancelled. I’m someone who LOVES to plan, who wants to make sure everything goes smoothly. I was quite worried my hyperacidity would act up again.

My fiancé and I wrote a poem together to announce the moving of our wedding date. He posted it on our event invite on Facebook. We also informed our wedding entourage and other guests. Of course, everyone understood and I also felt the love from some people of how excited they were to attend our wedding. I was elated after we finally told everyone. I felt like we invited everyone to our wedding and then uninvited all of them. Now we were free to invite those we only really want to be there on the special day.

Part of the pain is also letting go of my dream wedding. Before I got engaged, I didn’t really have any specific plans. No details I’ve dreamt of since I was a little girl. My dream wedding vision came about in the course of Jon and I planning our wedding together. This was our dream wedding we were preparing for. What an exercise right? Come up with your dream wedding, plan it and prepare for it to happen. And just when it is so close, let it go. Give it up and then what?

So, I thought I was already fine with everything. It hurt that we had spent almost a year planning for our wedding. This took a lot of our time and effort and instead of it culminating in a wonderful, beautiful celebration, we had to erase everything and now it is all up in the air. All our plans and hard work disappeared into thin air. At first it felt like wasted time and effort, wasted resources. However, Jon and I really bonded over our wedding planning and I don’t regret at all the time we spent together, our brainstorming, and the things we learned about each other while we were preparing. It also hurt how much money, our hard-earned money, we put into our wedding and honeymoon and how they might not come into fruition.

This morning as I was washing my face, I noticed my burn again. It’s healing. It does not bother me anymore, unlike how it did the few days after the day it happened. I hardly even notice it anymore. That’s the way pain is right? In that moment it’s so sharp that it consumes us. We can’t seem to see beyond it. But we let it sit, acknowledge it and accept it and after some time, we can heal. We move on.

The Sunday before May 24, I was checking the events in my phone calendar to prepare for the week ahead. That was when it really hit me that it was supposed to be my wedding week! Then pain, accumulated pain, hit me so hard in the chest. I cried a lot that night, complained, released all my frustrations to Jon on the phone. There was only one sentence I really heard from Jon that night and he said, “There are better things to come, love.” God has better plans for both of us. That’s probably why we had to let go of our plans, to make way for His. Today is May 24 and after my emotional breakdown last Sunday, I’ve finally come to acceptance. I am able to stay strong and handle my emotions well, every single time someone reminds me that it’s supposed to be our wedding day. I’m also so touched by the messages I’ve received today from friends and relatives near and far, empathizing with me and wishing Jon and I well. How lucky am I, to have more than a handful of true friends?

Throughout this whole ordeal, except for a few times, I wasn’t really worried. I always felt that God is in charge and God is looking after me and Jon, just like he has in all our good times and hardships. I know that God is faithful and one day, we will have our wedding day and it will be so beautiful and so worth the wait. I also kept remembering this line, that God gives tough battles to tough soldiers so God knows that we can get through this. I am also reminded to keep things simple and to focus only on the essentials. And that always, there are better things to come."

I'm Going Lockdown Crazy

I'm losing my mind. I try to keep a routine so I don't but every day it gets harder and harder to do. When the lockdown started last March 29, I decided to sell the cheese and milk from our farm. I was also selling veggies to some of my friends. The lockdown meant I couldn't deliver anywhere in the city but that's when I discovered Lalamove. I discovered that I can have them do my deliveries for me.

Lately, however, Lalamove, Grab and many other couriers have a much harder time delivering goods to people. The local police have been on patrol and have been apprehending people for breaking the quarantine protocols. I know of some who do abuse this time to go around the city and make unnecessary trips. I, on the hand, have only left the house once to do groceries since the lock down started. And with every report of a quarantine violation or a new COVID case in an area that didn't have COVID before, operating a business (even an essential one) has gotten to almost impossible levels.

Shortly after the Community Quarantine was imposed in Cebu, our farm in Barili had applied for a delivery pass in the municipal hall, which we were able to get rater quickly. We only had one restriction - no transportation of meat. Now, our farm produces milk, vegetables and pigs but somehow this rule affects all three of our produce. Let me begin with the most obvious - the pigs.

How do you sell pigs if you're not allowed to transport meat? Well, as a business, we've never had to deliver pigs. We usually just have them picked up at the farm and that's how we get our sales. But then it dawned on me. We may not need a pass for meat to sell but our buyers need that pass for them to buy! As such, all our buyers have practically left us - not because we don't deliver but because they can't pick it up! Last week, a lady wanted to buy 20 pigs and couldn't since her truck couldn't pass the border.

I think these rules are absolutely crazy. We have delivery truck drivers making trips for pork and this lock down is making it more difficult to even buy and sell pork! I'm not talking about pork sinigang, or lechon, or crispy pata. I'm talking about the pig!

Let's move on to my next gripe - vegetables and milk (non-meat). Remember the pass we got. We could transport those goods into the city without a problem. True enough, our truck driver was able to deliver a lot of milk and cheese and vegetables when they make their weekly trips here. And they were able to do so with little to no hassle. Over the weekend, however, Gov. Garcia decided to revoke all the permits she'd granted originally as some people were apparently abusing them.

Our little farm in Barili was following the guidelines to a tee and somehow, we get penalized. So now, we need to apply for a new pass. We've been on constant communication with the municipality and apparently, the new guidelines have yet to be set. The most I've heard is that our employees may no longer be allowed to go out even to go to work. So our farm, if those kinds of rules were to be put in place, has no way of functioning at all! Our employees cannot go to work, and even if they could, our goods have no way of making it to the city! We'd closed our roadside store weeks ago as no one passes by and so selling in the city is the only way (THE ONLY WAY) our farm can ever make any money. And without the sales, we may not be able to keep our farm employees anymore.

This quarantine is supposed to help us prevent the COVID-19 disease. But if these rules are able to shut down our little farm, it may successfully shut down other farms as well and the Cebuanos may be dying from starvation before they die from a virus.

Let me get this straight. I'm not saying we shouldn't go on lock down or take every possible measure we can to prevent the spread of this virus. I just think we've crossed into unreasonable measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Koko and his Major Booboo

Last March 25, Senator Koko Pimentel tested positive for COVID-19. When he got the news, he was in Makati Medical Hospital. This instantly drew flak from the netizens and with good reason! Senator Pimentel had previously had fever, and had exhibited other flu life symptoms. For all intents and purposes, he was a prime candidate for being declared a PUI.

Before proceeding, let me add context. Senator Pimentel's wife was giving birth and that's why he accompanied her to the hospital. It wasn't him that needed any care, it was his wife and child. If I were to put myself in Senator Koko's shoes, I actually don't know what I would do. I'm simply thinking in terms of me and Nikki. If Nikki were pregnant and giving birth, I would do almost anything to get her to the hospital and be there for her. Not even COVID might stop me.

In that respect, I understand why the senator did what he did. Before Senator Koko is a senator or a public servant, he is primarily a husband to his wife and a father to his child. While I would appreciate it more if he had put all this aside for the common good, he did put his family first. As I'm getting married soon, I can sympathize with the senator. I still disagree with his actions given everything we know now about this virus but nonetheless, I can sympathize with him.

People criticize the actions of Senator Koko as being stupid and irresponsible. I wholeheartedly agree. But for me to agree fully, I have to come to a realization that I must practice what I preach. Our wedding was scheduled for May. As of now, there is no end in sight. Our back up plan was to have a small ceremony of our family and maybe a few friends (Gov. Gwen has banned events of more than 20 people). Pushing through with the date, however, might put in danger Nikki's grandma and my parents. We'd have to be in close contact with a photographer and his crew as well as the priest.

This whole episode has made me realize what's most important to us. And while I want to be married to Nikki as soon as possible, I cannot in good conscience take the risk with other people close to me. For now, me and Nikki will have to chose another date. And it's only now that I can truly say, "I'm fine with that."

The Domino Effect

No man is an island, they say. When COVID-19 hit last January, most people thought it was a problem that would isolate itself to China and its neighbors. It was only when several countries started reporting cases of COVID-19 that the local industries started to feel the blow.

Looking back, even when it was only China that had a majority of cases, most of the companies that deal with manufacturing in China felt the blow already. Friends of mine who work in a local furniture company told me that they had to cancel their trip to China and that their counterparts in China weren't even going to work.

Flash forward a few days and since Chinese tourists were no longer coming in, city hotels began to feel the effects of the virus. With more people becoming more wary of traveling in general, airlines, online booking agencies, resorts, airbnbs began to have an influx of inquiries to ask for refund for their prior bookings.

With less tourists in the city, local restaurants also saw a hit to their sales. Taxi operators also have a hard time keeping up as they would only be able to cater to locals. As the virus spread even more and the government started issuing warnings on going out into the public, malls, gyms, department stores are having a hard time these days. Then the gasoline stations also took a hit. This is something I seriously did not consider would be affected.

These days, I try to identify which industries would not be affected by COVID-19. I had pegged the petroleum industry to be untouchable as I couldn't see how less tourists would equate to a considerable drop in gas usage. I'm now eyeing FMCGs as an industry that isn't affected negatively in this scenario though I think I will be proven wrong as well. Pharmaceuticals will probably see a big win in this though I doubt it will be a sustained success on their part. I think there's one part of the equation I'm simply not seeing right now.

For now, I'm simply assuming no industry is safe. As such, we all should double down on the efforts that we as citizens can take. Handwashing, cough etiquette must be practiced strictly. And with the community quarantine rules being implemented everywhere, stay at home as much as possible. Leave only for the essentials - food, water, medical emergencies, etc.

The Virus isn't Political

Since college, me and my friends have had differing views on politics. Some were for Arroyo, others were staunch critics. During the 2010 elections, I had friends who supported Noynoy, Gibo, and even Erap. When the 2016 elections came along, me and my friends supported different candidates - vastly different candidates. During the midterm elections last year, yet again, we supported different political parties.

I, for one, voted for Duterte. I'm honestly disappointed by his performance but wouldn't go any other way if given the chance. Since 2016, my political ideas have changed and I was only able to put them into practice in the 2019 midterm elections. Those close to me know I didn't vote along party lines. I looked at what each candidate brought to the table and voted accordingly.

Flash forward to today. Duterte announced a community quarantine (that, let's face it, is a lockdown of sorts) of Metro Manila. A few days ago, the province of Cebu and city of Cebu announced a similar ban on travel. Curfew is being enforced (in Cebu) to minimize contact between people during this pandemic. But when news of the PNP and AFP would be patrolling the borders of Metro Manila, the activists of UP (students and graduates) went crazy online calling it a de facto martial law.

Just like that, friends of mine who couldn't see eye to eye on key political issues, against all odds, united in calling this conclusion crazy. And this is because the current COVID pandemic is NOT political. The virus doesn't care who you voted for or what your political leanings are. It doesn't care if you're rich or poor. It simply doesn't care. Meanwhile, we, as a society must act now doing whatever we can within our means now.

Bringing up the budget cut on the Department of Health is important for next election season. It's not important NOW. Calling for a medical solution instead of a military solution is not helpful NOW. Call for more testing kits to be made more readily available but don't fear monger and call mobilization of the AFP and PNP as a case where martial law is being enforced.

With our limited resources, mobilizing the AFP and PNP is crucial at stopping the disease from spreading further than it should. Metro Manila, which has notable land borders with neighboring provinces, needs to man said land borders. The police and the military are ready to be deployed. It's an imperfect solution but at this time, there is no such thing a perfect solution. Everyone needs to do their part and cooperate.

Whether or not you like this president, whether he's making the right calls or not, one thing is for certain, we need to cooperate with each other. Practically everyone is on board with the Metro Manila lockdown save the tiny noisy internet activists calling it a de facto martial law.

To the internet activists, stop your fear mongering. The province of Cebu is imposing something similar here. Curfew is being imposed as well. Everyone understands why this is being done. No one wants it but people understand it. Yet no one is calling out Governor Garcia or Mayor Labella for imposing a sort of martial law on the Cebuanos.

Let's all unite against this virus. It's been said a million times in the news and in company briefings but why not say it again? Wash your hands regularly. Practice social distancing including avoiding handshaking for the mean time. Don't go to the mall or other crowded areas unless absolutely necessary. Sanitize whenever possible especially after touching surfaces that have been touched by others like door handles, collection boxes in church, etc. And avoid touching your face. The last tip, usually forgotten by people can be summed up by, "Assume you're a carrier." This includes practicing proper cough etiquette and generally maintaining a healthy body.

Stay safe, everyone!

Why Fast and Abstain during Lent?

I had wondered why fasting and abstinence is required of Catholics during Lent. What does not eating meat (abstinence) or eating less food (fasting) do for our faith as Catholics? I always drew blanks and had to admit that I was only leaning on the wisdom of the Catholic hierarchy. Simply translated, I followed this practice through blind faith.

It didn't bother me so I didn't bother to question the practice. To outsiders, however, it is an odd practice. So after listening to the homily of the priest during Ash Wednesday, I came to a realization about the practice of fasting and abstinence. I'm sure there exists a more theologically grounded reason for these practices but as I'm not well versed in theology, I'll go by my own reasons.

Put simply, fasting and abstinence stresses to us the importance of the Creator above the creation. I've heard it said that sin (any sin) is when we put creation above the Creator. Adultery is when we put sex (creation) above the Creator. With theft, money is put first. When Catholics purposefully choose not to attend Sunday mass, they value their time (creation) above God. Time and time again, with any sin, it's always man putting more value onto a creation rather than God.

When we deny ourselves things that we like, it's a physical manifestation of us saying that our desires are only secondary or even tertiary to God who should be first in our lives. That said, simply abstaining for meat does very little to further the word of God. As a matter of personal practice, I only abstain if I'm able to save money from doing so. Said saved money then goes into the collection box or some other charity. So while I try to avoid meat on Fridays, I also try to avoid more expensive seafood dishes like sashimi, or lobsters, or shrimps as I believe these things defeat the idea of abstaining from eating meat.

When we fast and when we abstain this Lent, let's remember why we do it. It's us reminding ourselves that our desires do not rule over us. Our needs and wants do not control us. We are above these things and thus can choose to say no to these things. But we must always say yes to God, the Creator.

This is my short reflection on the matter and I hope to encourage more people to enjoy the fasting and the abstinence this Lenten season.

Are We Doing Better than Other Countries?

COVID-19 is still big news these days. The virus seems to be spreading more and more and the death toll is going up steadily. Up until last week, the Philippines had only 3 confirmed cases while other countries had more. Even countries with much better healthcare than us reported higher numbers of COVID cases. So a thought entered my mind, are we better at curbing this disease than other countries?

The short answer? No, I don't think so. Let's not go around celebrating our low case count as a victory. It's quite possible that the numbers didn't go up as the positive cases simply weren't caught by the system. This is why I think the prudent measures taken by some schools, and churches at this tie are very much warranted.

What I don't think is happening (as confirmed by a friend who works in the DOH) is that the government wants the numbers to be as low as possible and is artificially doing so. There is absolutely no upside to the DOH hiding these numbers from the public. A case in point for this is how the DOH has been constantly communicating with the hotels and resorts as to the whereabouts of certain foreigners who come from Daegu or Hong Kong or Wuhan. The DOH is doing everything in their power to try and curb this virus.

What the internet usually fail to see in these cases is that these cases are not data points - they are people. Take, for example, the case of the 26 Koreans who came to the Philippines from Daegu. These were not confirmed cases, neither were they PUIs. They did not come from Korea illegally (unlike some Chinese nationals) and they came in the Philippines BEFORE the travel ban took place. The DOH told the hotels and resorts to keep an eye on them but not to shun them away. In fact, shunning them away would be worse for everyone as then the DOH would have no idea where they are.

Another bit of news I see circulating are stories of people who ask to be tested for the coronavirus but shooed away. These story bits seem to support the idea that people in the government wish to have as few confirmed cases as possible but deliberately not testing people who may be infected. Statements like, "I work in the same building as the recent confirmed case" or "My friend stayed in the same building as this Korean from Daegu," seem to give these people a higher chance of being a PUI.

These are NOT things that make a person a PUI. In these times of panic and misinformation, a lot of people want to get tested for the coronavirus even if they have a simple cough. Hospitals don't wish to feed this hysteria by allowing anyone and everyone to get tested. And then there's the idea that these tests cost money. With limited money, hospitals can only administer tests to a limited number of people so of course they'll prioritize people who have travel history to places with higher number of cases than us.

Last of all, COVID-19, while it's practically on all the news outlets, is NOT more deadly than other viral diseases. The common flu has a higher mortality rate than COVID-19. We heard about the 3,000 people who died but we don't hear about the 42,000 who have recovered from it. It's not even stressed that most of the 3,000 who died were either of old age or those with compromised immune systems. I dare say, that we shouldn't be afraid of COVID-19. We should still take precautions against it but panic and hysteria will not help us in any way shape or form.

I take a page from my doctor friends. They seem very calm about this. It's probably naive since they've seen much worse cases and just because they're calm, doesn't mean it's nothing to worry about. but it gives me great comfort to simply not worry about this as much as the internet is collectively worrying about this. I'm no expert, but these people are. So I feel much better to just fall back on their assessment of the issue.

Nuggets of History: The Galileo Affair

"The church hates science and always has!"

This is a common objection people usually raise when religious organizations like the Catholic Church make pronouncements on things that involve anything slightly related to science like evolution or life on other planets.

People are then quick to point out the Galileo affair and how the ignorant church persecuted Galileo for even proposing that the Earth is the center of the solar system. This, however, is a twisting of the facts which involved Galileo and the Catholic Church.

In the common telling of the tale, Galileo first proposed the heliocentric view (where the Earth revolves around the sun) to the church. The church, which then still held on to the geocentric view of the solar system saw this as going against Church teaching. The church then tried to force Galileo to recant his view and when he didn't was tried by the church, found guilty of heresy and imprisoned until he died. Galileo is often called a martyr of science as he was persecuted for his beliefs. The story goes on to tell of how this is how religion and science became two forces which cannot agree with each other.

This is a total myth. This myth was first mentioned 

The true story is more interesting as it was essentially the story of two men who got into a squabble which only escalated in the same way a fight between children usually escalates.

Here's the real story. While the Church did hold to the geocentric model, what most storytellers fail to mention is that everyone, including all leading scientists during that time, held to the geocentric model. As it was the status quo at the time, any competing theory about how the celestial bodies are arranged in space would have to have more explanatory power than the standing theory. It would have to explain everything we already knew up to that point in time that was explained sufficiently by the previous model - and more! Such is the case with any scientific inquiry.

As it so happened, Galileo was not the first person to introduce the heliocentric model. It was Nicolaus Copernicus. He first proposed the model but could not prove it. His model was able to account for the movements of the planets better than the geocentric model but it couldn't explain the tides. As such, the heliocentric model was a competing theory but with lacking explanatory power, that's the most it could ever be at that point in time.

Galileo, at the time thought (correctly, I might add) that the heliocentric model was the correct model for the solar system. Just as Copernicus before him couldn't explain the problems his model posed, Galileo couldn't explain them sufficiently as well. Galileo was working with a group of Jesuits (Catholic priests) to work out the kinks in his model when he wanted to teach as fact the heliocentric model.

Notice that his model, although correct, still had a lot of inaccuracies and so the church was hesitant to give him the go signal for this. Pope Urban VIII, who was a friend of Galileo's decided on a compromise. Galileo could write defending the heliocentric model as long as he cited its problems and that he should also do the same with the geocentric model. Galileo agreed and soon published his work on this entitled Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. And this is where the story hits a very interesting historical point.

Galileo's work involved a conversation between three main characters - Salviati, Sagredo, and Simplicio. Simplicio's character is portrayed as an intellectually inept fool. What Pope Urban VIII saw, however, was his own words being put in the mouth of the fool, Simplicio. For even more context, the Catholic Church at this time did not want to make any definitive statements especially in the field of science as just a century prior, the Reformation occurred in Europe and any false proclamation could be used against the Catholic Church.

It's for these reasons that Galileo was arrested and put on trial. He was eventually found guilty to be "vehemently suspect of heresy," which just means, "preaching things he has no proof for." To be fair, Galileo didn't have proof for his theory. Even the scientific community wasn't convinced by his explanations. Remember that during this time, the geocentric model was the status quo and the heliocentric model was only an alternative model.

For his punishment, Galileo was put under house arrest until he died. While it sounds gruesome, it should be noted that he could leave anytime. He was even provided a chauffeur and could be visited anytime. It was during his house arrest where Galileo was able to further work on the heliocentric model with the help again of the Jesuits.

So the story of Galileo was simply one of one man insulting another and being put on house arrest for it. It had little to do with his actual views on heliocentrism. It was a story of a man who pushed too hard something he could not prove.

Time to lose the belly

Our wedding is coming up in three months and together with the other preparations for the wedding, I'd also decided to do what every other groom thinks of a few months before their wedding - to lose the gut.

Back in August 2019, my gym membership expired and I decided I wouldn't renew it as it would be way more costly for me and I didn't see any results after they changed the schedule of the class that did have an effect on my body. When people say classes in gym, it's usually dance (hip-hop, zumba, or sexy dance) or some sort of yoga or pilates. The class that I enjoyed going to was high intensity interval training or HIIT.

HIIT was enjoyable for me as it kept me moving and doing things like lifting weights or working the ropes or something like that. I don't enjoy the other classes at all as my body doesn't have any sense of rhythm. This is the same reason I cannot get into boxing. The rhythm of the movements just throws me off.

HIIT is perfect for me in that is has me doing box jumps or burpees or push ups in quick succession - things that don't require rhythm to perform. So when Fitness Nation changed the schedule of HIIT to an earlier time slot, which I couldn't make anymore, I was left with a hole in my fitness routine.

I decided to join another badminton group which plays every Monday which brought my badminton exercises from 2 times a week to 3. I already enjoy the game so I need not justify the shift. I was having more fun but I was seeing less results in my body. I told myself I needed something different for the new year and I chanced upon Epic Fitness in Oakridge.

When I saw that they offer HIIT, I didn't have to think twice about it. It was Epic for me. I scheduled a trial session and enjoyed it. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it as much as the HIIT classes in Fitness Nation (which were done in groups) but I was willing to stick it out. After enrolling and on my third session, the exercises started being more difficult and I knew I didn't make a bad choice.

After my third session, my body knew it had done a great workout. Everytime I go to Epic, the gym has very few people in it. I go at around 7:30pm and they close at 9pm. My sessions usually last anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour. And since there's always a gym instructor on stand by, I feel like I have a personal trainer with me all the time.

Personal trainers in gyms can be very expensive so having one at Epic for the price I pay, I felt like I got my deal at a steal! I would like to make a special mention to Edward, my coach as he has made me feel very welcome every time I go. The other coaches I see at Epic are all very friendly and Edward is probably the shyest of the bunch but I like his vibe. Considering that he's the newest member of their staff, you could say I'm impressed.

I've never been more confident than now that I will finally be able to remove my belly before the wedding. All I need to do is keep up what I'm doing right now.

Infer the Question

New Fake News Tactic Found!

I noticed this twice in the past few weeks and only decided to write about it now. The first time I noticed this was when someone decided to put side by side quotes taken from the two candidates who were up for the position of Chancellor of UP Diliman - Dr. Nemenzo and Prof. Manegdeg. Of the two, Dr. Nemenzo is more friendly to the activists of the UP community.

Dr. Nemenzo's quote was about his plans for the UP Diliman community and how he would lead it to the future. Prof. Manegdeg's quote, however, just him saying that former Chancellor Michael Tan might want to rest after being Chancellor of UP Diliman. Make no mistake, I like that Dr. Nemenzo got the Chancellorship but this news bit didn't present either one of them fairly.

This is when I thought to "infer the question". What question was asked of each candidate which would've warranted the answer or the quote given. Of course, when you ask a candidate about their plans, they will give a more substantial answer than if they would be asked about the previous Chancellor. Add that to the fact that Prof. Manegdeg didn't play nice with former Chancellor Michael Tan and you can see why his comments would be very shallow.

The news bit seemed to imply that it was clear who should be chancellor based on these quotes. Prof. Manegdeg has other flaws which are why he shouldn't be chancellor but highlighting a quote taken way out of context is not how you do it. To their credit, the Engineering Student Council came out with a statement which highlighted the flaws of Prof. Manegdeg in a fair manner.

More recently, we have news outlets reporting that President Duterte connected the shortage of face masks to the outbreak of the corona virus. He was quoted as saying that if there was no outbreak, there would be no shortage of face masks. The implication of the news outlets was that this was President Duterte's do-nothing response to the shortage of face masks.

When I try to infer what kind of question was asked, I can see what kind of question was posed to get this kind of response. If the question was "why?" then the answer of the president makes sense and doesn't mean the government won't do anything about it. If the question was "what will we don about it?" then the response is indeed one of complacency. Given the news articles now which say Duterte was going to find a way to procure more face masks, I think it's safe to say the question posed was a "why" question.

This is a common tactic which I just recently identified. It's taking a quote out of context and making it say what you want the person saying it to say. When one infers what kind of question was asked, you get a fuller idea of the context and get a better idea of the character of the person saying the quote.

Panic over the Corona Virus

I'm no medical expert so I won't claim to know how the virus spreads or its incubation period. I won't claim to know what asymptomatic means - I've asked my doctor friends but I still don't get how people know something is wrong when they're asymptomatic. But the point is in the absence of personal knowledge of these things, I go with what the experts say on the issue.

A vast majority of posts on my Facebook feed about the corona virus are either people saying we're not doing enough or news outlets publishing stories that incite fear in their readers. As I'm writing this, the Inquirer posted a news article about Chinese Tourists visiting Boracay despite the travel ban from China. (see link to article below)

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1224860/chinese-tourists-visit-boracay-despite-ban

It's these types of news articles that try to sow fear where it's not warranted. Remember that the travel ban only took effect just last February 2 meaning it's quite possible that Chinese tourists that arrived before date are still in the country to this day. The article would've served the people better if it was said definitively that these Chinese tourists arrived AFTER the ban was imposed. The article is silent on the matter and I can only assume that due diligence was not exercised to check this fact.

So should we just relax and wait for everything to resolve itself? Of course not. At least that's not what the experts are saying. Track the progress of the virus. Inform yourself of the confirmed cases. Wash your hands often especially after touching surfaces. Bring around alcohol as that too can kill the virus before it can spread to other people.

Clickbait-y headlines are everywhere. They want to bloat the numbers are much as they can to get more clicks and thus become more relevant. Another recent article I saw stressed how many people were suspected to be infected with virus there were in the Philippines. While it's true that there are people under investigation, (PUIs) they are nowhere near being a confirmed case. So far, in the Philippines, we have 3 confirmed cases but way way more PUIs who where later cleared.

The Corona virus is new and there is reason for us to be wary. But to spread fear and misinformation or to constantly complain all the time - these will not fix anything. We are always served by truth even when they're inconvenient or against our own personal beliefs.

And from the best data we have so far, this corona virus is NOT as deadly as the media has painted it out to be. People are more justified in being more fearful of dengue and tuberculosis. The current mortality rate is at around 2% which (from my understanding) means that 98% of the time, you will recover from it.

From what I notice, the most panicked people online are the keyboard activists. Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals approach this issue more calmly. Let's take a page from their book and be more calm. Let's pray for the end of this episode. We can also do our part by doing all the precautions recommended by the DOH.

Random Reflection on the Trinity

There is no other mystery of the Christian faith as mysterious as the Trinity. Yet it is one of the central truths that Christians hold. In fact, denying the Trinity would put you squarely in the "non-Christian" camp for most people.

Christians assert one God but they also assert that there are three persons in one God. Each person is fully God (not part of God). Each person, as a person should, has relations with the other two. They are NOT interchangeable meaning while we can safely say, "Jesus died on the cross," and "God died on the cross," we cannot say, "The Father died on the cross."

Such a mystery has been misrepresented time and time again through heresies. Even well meaning individuals who try to explain the Trinity always end up using an analogy that fails to capture the essence of the Trinity in some way, shape or form. As such, I will preface this by saying the analog I will present will in no way be perfect. I'd even dare to say I don't have a proper analog in that I'm simply affirming that I simply do not understand it fully.

I'll start with a heretical view of the Trinity called modalism. It basically says that God has three "modes", namely the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Just as a man can be a father to his children, a husband to his wife and a boss at work, modalism says that God simply takes on different modes depending on the situation.

Where this analogy fails is that the three persons of the Trinity are not mere modes or masks that God puts on depending on the situation but that they are three distinct persons. I first came across this analogy when a religion teacher was trying to explain the Trinity to us. I can see now what's wrong with the analogy but as a Grade 2 student, you simply don't see these things.

Another heresy called partialism says that the three persons of the Trinity are three parts of the whole God. That means just as a clover leaf can have 3 distinct parts, the Trinity is simply one God with three parts.

Thinking about these two heresies got me to make my own reflection on this matter. I started thinking about a cube. To make a cube, you can start with a point. Two points make a line. Four lines of equal length make a square. Six squares consequently make a cube. With normal human thinking, we stop at the cube without thinking if a higher dimension even exists! Going with the pattern, one could say that eight cubes could very well make up something entirely different! It's impossible for us to imagine such an object as we are limited to only the three dimensions we're all used to.

That's when I realized that things can exist apart from what we as humans can imagine and restricting the Trinity to our human understanding would be doing God a disservice. If I recycle the Trinity of God being like a man who is a father, a husband and a boss, and tweak it, it might represent the Trinity better.

Just as we, people can have three modes, God can have three persons and each person can have their own modes. Just as the second person of the Trinity has titles or modes such as "Prince of Peace" and "Son of God". In this case, God would be like our 8-cubed higher dimension object and each of those cubes has 6 squares - just as each person of the Trinity has their own titles or modes.

When one sees that God is higher than human understanding and admits that, the idea of the Trinity doesn't seem so odd anymore.