Let’s just be sport in life

 

 By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

 

            “SO you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” (Jn 16,22)

 

            With these words, Christ is reassuring us that everything will be all right even if in this life we will always have problems and troubles. He will take care of everything. Ours is simply to try our best to be with him in the ups and downs of our life. And so we should just be sport in our life.

 

            We need a sporting spirit because life’s true failure can come only when we choose not to have hope. That happens when our vision and understanding of things is narrow and limited, confined only to the here and now and ignorant of the transcendent reality of the spiritual and supernatural world.

 

            Besides, life involves a till-death struggle against all sorts of enemies, starting with our own treacherous self, the ever-seductive world, and most of all, the spiritual enemies who certainly are more powerful than us.

 

            Finally, life involves pursuing a goal that is much greater, yes, infinitely greater than ourselves. We should not be a bad sport who gives up easily without even trying, or who surrenders in the middle of an exciting and suspenseful game.

 

            We therefore have to develop a strong spiritual sportsmanship in the tenor expressed in some words of St. Paul: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Cor 9,24)

 

            Aside from a strong sense of self-discipline and submitting ourselves in a continuing training program, an indispensable ingredient of this healthy sporting spirit is the sense of acceptance and abandonment that we need to deliberately cultivate. This does not come automatically, as if it’s part of our genes. We have to develop them.

 

            We have to be sport and adventurous in facing the different conditions of our life. And it would greatly help if we too can have an abiding sense of humor. Otherwise, we would just fall into states of sadness, pessimism and despair which actually are unnecessary and are avoidable.

 

            This we can do if first of all we have a strong and deep faith in God, our Creator and Father. If we have that faith, we know that God holds everything in order through his providence. He takes care of everything, irrespective of how things go. Ours is simply to relate everything to him and to go back to him everytime we go astray especially at the end of the day.

 

            When we have this sporting and adventurous spirit, we, of course, would like to play to win and to get as much enjoyment as possible. We would give our best shot. But we also know that this is not going to happen all the time. There will be times when we lose in a game or when we get lost in our adventure. But regardless of how things go, we can always go back to God as we should, and everything would just be all right.

 

            Thus, whether we win or lose in a game, succeed or fail in our adventures and projects, we can still manage to have fun and, more importantly, to learn precious lessons, as in, we get to know more about ourselves and others, about our strengths and weaknesses, about the virtues we need to develop and grow, etc.

Authorities to enforce ‘multi-layered security plan' for Sara's oath-taking on June 19

by Antonio Colina IV

DAVAO CITY – Security forces here will enforce a ‘multi-layered security plan’ for the oath-taking of presumptive Vice President Duterte tentatively set for June 19 at the San Pedro Street in this city.

Vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (Lakas-CMD Media)

PMaj. Ma. Teresita P. Gaspan, spokesperson of Davao City Police Office (DCPO), said in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Tuesday that the historic event is expected to draw around 20,000 attendees from different parts of the country.

She said the security cluster will enforce stricter security measures to ensure the safety of the crowd.

She said the venue will be open to the public.

She added that no perimeter fence and pavilion will be mounted at the venue to make it more convenient for the public to witness Duterte’s oath-taking but added that this will make it particularly challenging for authorities to control the crowd.

But Gaspan assured the security forces are ready to secure the venue, with DCPO receiving augmentation from the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao to maintain order during the event.

She said the local authorities have yet to meet for creation of a multi-layered security plan, securing the “inner, middle, and outer layers” of the venue.

She said the city’s Public Safety Security Command Center will be at the helm of drafting the security plan together with other members of the security clusters during the coordinating conference.

She said backpacks, jackets, and bladed weapons will be prohibited at the venue on this date.

She said it remains uncertain whether outgoing President Duterte will attend his daughter’s oath-taking but added that if the President will attend, the enforcement of the security plan will have to be coordinated with the Presidential Security Group.

On Monday, the outgoing mayor announced that she considered no other place but this city as a venue for her inauguration.

She said that a transition team has been created to coordinate with the Office of the Vice President.

Duterte served as vice mayor from 2007 to 2010, mayor from 2010 until 2013, elected as mayor in 2016 when her father ran for President, and was reelected in 2019 with youngest brother Sebastian as the vice mayor.

Angat Dam’s water level may no longer hit 180-meter critical mark

JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

Angat Dam’s water level may no longer hit 180-meter critical mark

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Wednesday, May 25, said the water level in Angat Dam may no longer dip below its 180-meter minimum operating level until the end of June, following the rains in the past few months.

As of 6 a.m., Wednesday, Angat Dam’s water level was at 190.60 meters, down 0.15 meters from Tuesday’s 190.75 meters, but still within the rule curve elevation of 184.14 meters.

PAGASA defines the rule curve as the minimum reservoir elevation needed to be maintained by dam operators to ensure the availability of water for irrigation, power generation, and domestic supply.

“Nilagpasan na niya yung sinasabi nating rule curve so masasabi natin yung water level sa Angat ay safe na na maitatawid natin itong dry season na hindi bumagsak ang water level katulad noong previous years (It has already surpassed the rule curve so we can say that the water level in Angat is safe. We have already passed the dry season without the water level falling like in previous years),” Edgar dela Cruz, weather facilities specialist of the PAGASA’s Hydro-Meteorological Division, said during a forum on Wednesday.

Given the forecast rainfall of 316 millimeters and dam allocation of 75 cubic meters per second, Angat Dam’s water level will be at 188.27 meters by the end of June.

This means that although Angat Dam’s level is below its 210-meter normal high water level, it will be above its 181.90-meter rule curve elevation.

Based on PAGASA’s projection, dela Cruz said the water level in Angat Dam will not be less than 180 meters until the end of June.

PAGASA had earlier projected that the water level in Angat Dam, Angat Dam, which supplies 98 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirements, could breach the 180-meter minimum operating level around May.