Having been familiar with the socio-economic-political terrain of Ilocos Sur, I was so overwhelmed with the news of Erap former president Joseph Estrada visiting Luis “Chavit” Singson’s bailiwick that is Vigan City last Friday. His actual destinations were the towns of Paoay and Badoc Ilocos Norte. He was invited as a guest of honor at the Juan Luna day commemorative celebration, former governor and now Congressman Bongbong Marcos joined him in the event.
I had seen Chavit and Erap joining the people in the celebration of Vigan town fiestas. If not Erap it was Fernando Poe Jr., a frequent visitor of Vigan because of film making business, who joined Chavit in many of these celebrations. They were friends of the former governor of Ilocos Sur, and now the Deputy National Security Adviser.
Knowing Erap as being a “malalaki” (an Ilokano term for macho), they asked the former president if he was afraid to visit Vigan. But the former president said he had never been afraid of Chavit or any of the people who conspired against him and that his conscience was clear. Saying it in Filipino, Erap said “Ni minsan hindi ako natakot sa kanila (not once, I’ve never been afraid of them).”
As though trying to provoke him, the press asked again if he was ready to shake hands with Chavit if the latter would extend his hand to him. But Erap was quick to answer, “Anytime. I have already forgiven them all.” He further went to say, “Revenge is for the weak. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. That is why I have forgiven them all.” But the former Ilocos Sur governor was not convinced that Joseph Estrada has forgiven him for his role in his ouster. For sure, Chavit expressed willingness to forgive the former president but still doubted on the sincerity of Erap.
This is politics; former friends turn enemies as former enemies turn friends. But on the issue of forgiveness it is something that each one of us has to practice if we are really called the children of God. This brings me to this particular text in the Bible. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22).
Forgiveness must come from the heart, it must be sincere. God has forgiven us and we need also to forgive others. God’s grace is the model of forgiveness. “Jesus portrays the magnitude of God’s grace in terms that would have stretched his hearers’ imagination: each of us owes God more than we could ever repay.” Though we live wholly on mercy and forgiveness, we are backward to forgive the offences of our brethren.
“We do not forgive our offending brother aright, if we do not forgive from the heart. Yet this is not enough; we must seek the welfare even of those who offend us. How justly will those be condemned, who, though they bear the Christian name, persist in unmerciful treatment of their brethren! The humbled sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him.” (From the Gateway Bible Commentaries on Matt. 18:21-22)
Ang dami nang pinaghihiwalay ng pulitika sa atin. Ipanalangin natin ang pagkakaisa at pagmamahalan sa ating bansa. Let us also pray for world peace and harmony. After all we are no different from one another being children of God whatever race, political affinity, socio-economic background, and nationality we belong.
To forgive for the sake of politics alone is an unpardonable sin, it’s HIPOCRISY at its best.
Forgiveness without Justice is a wrong view committed against oneself and humanity. In Erap’s case, it’s an injustice against his loyal supporters who wanted a just deal done with their votes.
OK, shake hands na kayo, your worlds are so empty without fooling each other.
Dapat sa dalawang ito ay magsuntukan na lang sila.May kasabihan
Ang Matalik na magkaibigan ay nagiging mag-kaaway na mortal.
Korek ka din diyan Kumander pipil Kaya ito ang tanong ko kay Doc. Walang permanenteng kaaway at kaibigan sa pulitika. Magkakabalikan pa kaya sina Chavit at Erap?
Mareng Chi,
Natumbok mo. Political words lang iyang salitang forgiveness sa dalawa. Kaya siguro sinulat ni Doc. ito dahil may isang leksiyun siyang gustong ipabatid, at huhulaan ko kung ano iyon. Ito, mahirap para sa tao ang magpatawad ngunit wala siyang magagawa dahil kung gusto niyang patawarin siya ng Diyos ay kinakailangan na matuto rin siyang magpatawad. Alam ba ninyo ito kuya Erap at kuya Chavit?
Doc.
May main event tayo ngayon sa Barangay Hall. Mas matindi pa ito sa Pacquiao-dela Hoya boxing match. ito ang link http://kidlatanvillage.wordpress.com
Doc.
Pinagaaway na naman ng Media sina Erap at Chavit. Matagal-tagal na rin kasing walang naririnig sa dalawa. Kay Erap ayus lang ito dahil may publicity bearing ito sa kanyang binabalak na gawin sa 2010.
I know forgiveness comes from the heart, not from your publicity adviser, hehehe. LOL
To Banong and the rest of fun loving Filipinos, here is a story that makes your imagination works fast twice the speed of the lightning, hehehe. http://segundina.wordpress.com
Manong Ernie Maceda, an Erap supporter, has narrated in his column at the Philippine Daily Tribune how people in Ilocos showed their love and admiration to the former President.
“Ilocanos love Erap. Arriving at Vigan, Ilocos Sur before noon Friday, Erap was welcomed by 50 motorcyclists and tricycles stopping at the public market where he was cheered by market vendors and shoppers. After the motorcade, the party proceeded to Angela’s for lunch, one of Laoag’s old houses where Efren ‘Rambo’ Rafanan and 500 Ilocos leaders took their oath as Erap Bayanihan Movement leaders. Even in Chavit’s home turf, President Erap counts with a lot of support. It is recalled that Erap and FPJ as movie greats did have a lot of fans in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.”
“Last stop of the trip was Paoay, the Malacañang of the North, ancestral hometown of SC Justices Alicia Carpio Morales and Antonio Carpio. Again, a wildly cheering crowd of 1,000 townsfolk and students led by Rep. Bongbong Marcos, Mayor Bonifacio Clemente, Jr., Vice Mayor Julio Cabacungan and Manuel Carpio received Erap.”
“Your bestfriend is your worst enemy.”
hmmm… kahit ganyan yang dalawang yan naniniwala pa rin akong magkaka ayos cla despite sa pagttraydor ng isa… hehe!
it may be not now pero sa mga susunod na araw, linggo, o taon!
Doc.
Have you heard of the 5 renegade bishops? They don’t only speak of peace but of reform. The Catholic bishops used to be a friend of the President, but they are the most vocal now in denouncing corruption in her administration. this is the link http://colegialagirl.wordpress.com
Dapat dito sa dalawang ito ay magsuntukan na lang.Matira ang matibay.
While Erap is easy to forgive judging from his past actions like forgiving Manny Villar, Angelo Reyes, Orlando Mercado, etc., who turned their backs on him, Chavit would not.
Erap, while still in prison, was forgiven by the people whatever his sins were by electing Loi, followed by Jinggoy to the Senate. Whereas, Chavit, inspite of pouring millions, if not billions of pesos and glorifying himself, with the help of gloria, as hero of EDSA 2, was soundly repudiated by the electorate. It’s in this sccenario that Chavit is not ready to face Erap because it was already a double whammy, disappointed for not being elected and Erap, being pardoned.
Perhaps, Erap knows that carrying around a load of resentment can be an enormous and unnecessary burden. Forgive early and often, and you’ll considerably lighten your load.
Forgiveness can indeed be difficult. Yet in the long run, it is far easier to forgive than to live with resentment or continuing retribution. Through forgiveness, you can move away from the pains of the past. With forgiveness, you can achieve real freedom.
There are always opportunities to benefit from the value of forgiveness. You can forgive yourself, you can forgive others, and you can forgive even when you don’t know exactly who to forgive.
Because forgiveness is not about who is to blame or who is at fault. Forgiveness is mostly about letting go, completely and permanently, within yourself.
Forgiveness is recognizing the reality that what has happened has happened, and that there’s no point in allowing it to dominate your life. Forgiveness refreshingly clears the slate and enables you to move positively forward.
Tama ka diyan pareng Joe. Sa puso nanggagaling iyan hindi sa PR ng pulitiko. Sabi ni Pareng Cocoy magsuntukan na lang sila, aba dehado diyan si Erap dahil patay na si FPJ na coach niya sana sa makinilya type na suntok. Si Chavit naman ay may Manny Pacquiao siyang coach, hehehe.
Jokingly aside, I have been to the Ilocos so many times and I know the climate of politics there. Totoo ang sinabi ni Manong Ernie Maceda, maraming sumusuporta kay Erap sa Ilocos kahit pa sa Vigan City at Laoag City. Mahal ng mga Ilokano si Erap.
Pero kahit ano pa ang sinasabi nila laban kay Erap, nanatiling minamahal pa rin siya ng mga tao. May pagkakahawig sila ng panuntunan ni FPj, they have a very forgiving hearts. No wonder why pinagpapala siya at minahal ng mga nakakaraming tao. Tama din siya sa sinabi niya, ang hindi marunong magpatawad ay laging talo.
Kapitan K
In another forum where the topic is about who should be the most ideal candidates if there will be 2010 elections, commenters submitted many names and each one were given points in winnability and it ended up with Erap getting the most number of votes. I didn’t go for Erap with my stand that he should pave for others given his age and state of health plus the fact that he was convicted even if there’s no legal problem if he will run again.
What struck me however was those very vocal against Erap calling him names and all kinds of insult. I warned them that the more they demonize Erap, the more the masses will take note of it and further enhance his chances. If the coming election will have 5 or more candidates including Erap, I’ll bet my bottom dollar, now P50 in most forex outlet, it will be Erap in another “landscape” victory.
Nanalo na si Obama, 44th US president na siya. Talo ang aking manok, kaya kinakantiyawan ako ni Segundina. Dahil si McCain daw ang pinili ko kaya pakakainin ko daw siya. Ano ang magagawa ko kung talagang siya ang nanalo, at siya ang pinili ng mas nakararaming tao. Sana nga lang ay matulungan niya ang libo-libong TNT sa America na magkaroon ng greencard.
Talo din si Sarah Palin, siya pa man din ang napili kong mananalo sana bilang vice president. Talagang matatagalan pa bago magkaroon ng babaeng presidente at vise presidente ng America. http://Colegialagirl.wordpress.com
Did you know?
• The Great Wall of China, known to be one of the eight wonders of the world, is made of rice. Its foundation is composed of plain sticky rice and compressed dirt.
However, this has been reconstructed and repaired for a number of times, but parts of it with the rice and compressed dirt can still be seen today.
NOVEMEBER IS NATIONAL RICE AWARENESS MONTH!
more of this trivia at http://www.yhen1027.wordpress.com
Doc. Marami nang nagugutom di pa ba nagaayos sina Erap at Chavit, hehehe.
Ano kaya kung si pareng Joe ay isa sa mga Ninong ni Luli Arroyo nang siya ay ikinasal? May mga masasamang isip na nagtatanong, may kinalaman ba daw ang pagbubuntis sa pagpapakasal? Ako wala akong alam diyan baka kayo meron, hehehe. http://kidlatanvillage.wordpress.com
Doc bobonyo
Pasensya na kung hindi kita gaanong nadadalaw nitong mga nagdaang mga araw dahil naging busy ako sa pangungumpanya kahit natalo ang aking kandidato.Hehehe!
Doc,
Busy ka rin ba sa pagbabantay kay Joc-joc sa hospital? Sana ako ang maging nurse niya para makapa ko kung nandoon pa iyong talong at saka itlog dahil may balita na tinanggal muna at ibabalik lang pagkatapos ng hearing sa Senado, hehehe.
Mrs.Bolante walked into Joc-Joc room one day. Joc-Joc missed his wife so much and asked his wife.
“If I were disfigured, would you still love
me?” he asked her.
“Darling, I’ll always love you,” she said
calmly, filing her nails.
“How about if I became crippled and couldn’t
hug you any more?” he asked nervously.
“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll always love you,”
she told him, buffing her nails.
“Well, how about if the senate will force me to tell the truth?
Joc-Joc went on, “If I wasn’t able to keep the millions and million left i kept myself from the fertilizer fund scams and they will put me in jail, would you still love me then?”
Mrs.Bolante looked over at her husband’s worried
face. “Joc-Joc, I’ll always love you,” she reassured him,
“but I would really miss you. Our driver is waiting”
hahahahahahahahha, wala na po akong maidadagdag pa diyan manong Cocoy. This one is classic.