People Power @ Mendiola : The Untold Story

It was Saturday, 22 February 1986. The San Beda Law Student Council has called for a school-wide boycott of classes and civil disobedience for an indefinite period unless then President Marcos will resign. The CAS students joined the law students in this movement which also received some support from the faculty members. At about 7am on that day, Bedan students encamped themselves outside the school campus and along Mendiola, with the loudspeaker directed towards Malacanang Palace. It was a rally indeed complete with streamers and placards. After the Invocation and the singing of Lupang Hinirang, dozens of doves voluntered to be used by nearby residents were released amidst calls for the resignation of Marcos. Speeches were delivered and “Bayan Ko” was likewise sung. There was somebody who predicted that the moment a rally is staged beyond the Mendiola bridge from C.M. Recto and Legarda, then President Marcos will step down. By about 7pm, tanks were rolling in towards Malacanang Palace. The Bedan rallyists were brought inside San Beda, and were assisted to the safety of their homes. It was learned later on that Enrile and Ramos resigned and defected from the Marcos administration earlier that evening. The following day, at Sto. Doming Church, Bedan law students decided to continue and heed the call of Cardinal Sin to go to Edsa. Some prepared the food to be brought to Edsa, others went to Radio Veritas to have the Bedan call announced over the radio, telephone brigades were mobilized, and the rest proceeded to Edsa to the designated place where Bedans shall encamp. The rest is history, and on the 26th of February 1986, the organizers offered a thanksgiving prayer and had lunch together at a house in Cubao. This untold story showed what People Power is all about – a) courage; b) unity; c) bayanihan spirit; and d) love of country. This untold story is all about the unsung heroes who courageously, though small in number initially, and bravely risked their lives, in the name of freedom and justice for all.

Pope's Resignation and Our Catholic Faith

It is not right to speculate on the real reason why the Pope has decided to shorten his reign as the Supreme Pontiff of the entire Catholic Church. He has spoken and all must respect his decision by praying for him and thanking him for the love he gave to everyone, all for God's honor and glory.

We must be aware of the fact that he prayed before reaching such a decision. We must know that before resigning he became a pilgrim visiting the tomb of St. Celistine, the last Pope who also resigned 600 years ago. We should consider the fact that he had a head injury which contributed to his already deteriorating health. We cannot likewise deny the truth that he is over 80 years of age, and to subject him to the demands of the position and mission of the Pope would just be too much.

Conspiracy news and other stories that tend to discredit His Holiness, and the entire Catholic Church are definitely expected in a world where evil has desperately been struggling to triumph over the good. The Catholic Church has been in this world for over 2,000 and has been subjected to many attacks and persecution. Yet, it stood firm and continue to be strong defending the Faith. Nothing would ever defeat the Church that Christ has established Himself. This we should ever remember.

Come to think of it. The resignation was a wake up call for all of us. It made us realize that indeed there is strength in humility, integrity in honesty and love in giving up for the greater good.

Can there a perfect political party?

This is the question which should be asked if we were to discuss what makes a good political party or political aggrupation. And what on earth is a perfect political party? Is there such a thing?

A perfect political party should have the following elements and/or characteristics:

a)      Its principles and ideals should be founded on belief in the Divine Providence, and expressive of the people's long term aspirations for themselves and for the entire nation;

b)      Its organization structure must be genuinely representative of the various sectors in the society;

c)       Its leadership systems should assure continuity and stability within the political party and its commitment to the people;

d)      Its history reflects a track record of accomplishments as a political party and by its members individually who have distinguished themselves as national and local statesmen, and not merely as political leaders;

e)      It has membership policies and program that would screen and consider potential members based on qualifications and merits, and that trains and produces future generation of leaders;

f)       It has an extension program that focuses on providing social services to the people;

g)      It must have a set of rules providing for moral and ethical standards to be followed by its members, and towards this end, the political party must have a mechanism by which it can police its own ranks and mete out disciplinary actions and penalties for erring members;

h)       It must provide its members with technical support that will insure compliance with party policies and programs;

i)        It must have a feedback system and consultation processes that will help in arriving at informed decisions and resolutions by consensus; and

j)        It must have a platform of government which evolves and definitely flexible as to be responsive to the needs of the people, without compromising good governance, environmental protection, social justice, economic progress, human rights, and national patrimony.

Now you be the judge.

Who Can Apply for Ecozone Registration?

Any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, or any other form of business organization, regardless of nationality, control and / or ownership of the working capital thereof may apply for registration as an Export or Free Trade Enterprise within the ECOZONE in any sector of industry, international trade and commerce, except duty-free retailing and wholesale trading of imported finished products for purposes of serving the domestic market. Furthermore, if the area of investments of the said enterprises falls within Lists A and B of the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, then the applicable nationality, ownership or control requirements of the said law shall be observed. Applications for ECOZONE Developer / Operator, Domestic Market, Utilities, Facilities, Tourism or Service Enterprises shall comply with the applicable nationality, control and / or ownership requirements of the working capital thereof in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Philippine Constitution, Foreign Investments Act of 1991 and other existing laws and regulations. However, applicants for Domestic Enterprise shall be limited to new or expanding business entities subject to the guidelines that shall be promulgated by the Board in addition to the nationality requirements under existing laws and regulations. (IRR Sec. 1, Rule II, Part II)

Economic Zones : What is it really?

The Rules and Regulations to Implement Republic Act No. 7916 otherwise known as The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 provide that :

"ECOZONES or "Special Economic Zones" (SEZ) shall refer to selected areas with highly developed or which have the potential to be developed into agri-industrial, industrial, tourist, recreational, commercial, banking, investment and financial centers whose metes and bounds are fixed or delimited by Presidential Proclamations. An ECOZONE may contain any or all of the following: industrial estates (IEs), export processing zones (EPZ), free trade zones and tourist / recreational centers, which are further defined as follows:

a)    "Industrial Estate (IE)" refers to a tract of land subdivided and developed according to a comprehensive plan under a unified continuous management and with provisions for basic infrastructure and utilities, with or without pre-built standard factory buildings and community facilities for the use of a community of industries.

b)    "Export Processing Zone (EPZ)" refers to a specialized industrial estate located physically and / or administratively outside the customs territory and predominantly oriented to export production. Enterprises located in export processing zones are allowed to import capital equipment and raw materials free from duties, taxes and other import restrictions.

c)    "Free Trade Zone" refers to an isolated policed area adjacent to a port of entry (such as a seaport) and / or airport where imported goods may be unloaded for immediate transhipment or stored, repacked, sorted, mixed, or otherwise manipulated. However, movement of these imported goods from the free-trade area to a non-free trade area in the country shall be subject to customs and internal revenue rules and regulations.

 d)    "Tourist / Recreational Center" refers to an area within the ECOZONE where tourist accommodation facilities such as hotels, apartelles, tourist inns, pension houses, resorts, sports and / or recreational facilities are provided to render tourism services for both local and foreign tourists, travellers and investors in accordance with the guidelines issued by the PEZA."