Preparing for the end times

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THIS is just to be realistic. It’s not meant to scare us or

to be a killjoy or a wet blanket in our life. Not only do we all die.

There is also the end of time itself. Our earthly existence is just a

sojourn, a training and testing ground before we enter into our

definitive life for all eternity, hopefully in heaven with our Father

and Creator God.

          We need to develop a good and healthy sense of our life’s

end, which is our death that can come to us anytime, as well as the

end of time itself. If we follow our Christian faith, we know that

there is nothing to be afraid or anxious about in these truths of our

faith.

          We would know what truly is the purpose of our life here and

of our earthly existence in general. We also would know that we have

all the means to pursue that purpose properly. We are somehow reminded

of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where Christ talked

about the end of the world. (cfr. Mk 13,24-32)

          But, yes, we have to develop a good and healthy sense of how

to end our life well, properly prepared to meet Christ in our

particular judgment as well as in our general judgment during Christ’s

second coming.

          Having a good sense of the end gives us a global picture of

our life that spans from time to eternity, and sheds light on the

present. It guides us. It gives us a sense of confidence and security.

It reassures us that we are on the right track, that we are doing

well.

          The sense of the end motivates us to make plans always, to

be thoughtful and anticipative of things. It also teaches us a sense

of order and priority. It motivates us to set goals, make schedules

and the prudent use of time. Ultimately, it helps us to distinguish

between the essential and the non-essential in our life.

          A person who does not have a sense of the end is obviously

an anomaly. He tends to be lazy and prone to his personal weaknesses,

to drift off aimlessly and lose control of his life. Such person is

usually called a bum, a tramp or a vagrant.

          In this regard, we have to learn to look forward to the

second coming of Christ. That’s when Christ, the pattern of our

humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity, will come again to

make the final judgment on all of us, establishing the definitive and

eternal Kingdom of God that is meant for us. Obviously, we have to

prepare ourselves for it.

          This truth of our faith was implied when some leading Jews

once asked Christ when the Kingdom of God would come. To which, Christ

answered that “the coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,

and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For

behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” (cfr. Lk 17,20-25)

          This attitude of waiting, expecting and making the proper

preparation for the second coming of Christ should be learned by all

of us. And we can do that by strengthening our belief that Christ is

actually already with us. He is everywhere, around us and inside us.

We just have to develop the habit of looking for him in order to find

him.

          Only with Christ, can we be properly prepared to face him in

the final general judgment during his second coming.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

What are the first livelihood skills that Filipinos developed?

 

Bisaya

Filipinos in the early 1500s were primarily farmers and traders. This is one of the reasons why a majority in the present day, 10 million Filipino people in Metro Manila, still reside around slums near public markets.

Life becomes difficult when you continually move from place to place to access clean water, food, or jobs. For our city dwellers not to be deprived of any one of these three, they needed a system that brought everything within their reach to start trading with other countries from all over Southeast Asia by land and sea routes. They created a kiosk-residence type, which became Manila's center point where all population flowed into during breaks between work periods and always found a comfortable room to rest.

For the average Filipino to survive, they needed to produce crops for food and clothing, build their own house, teach English or Spanish in exchange for money with foreigners who came to Manila. These were the first livelihood skills that Filipinos developed before modern technologies were introduced.

Sarangani hospitals get P95-M medical equipment from DOH

Photo taken by Jake Narte on October 26 during the ceremonial turnover of brand-new medical equipment and supplies at the Sarangani Healthcare Facility.

ALABEL, Sarangani (November 4, 2021) – The six provincial government-run hospitals in Sarangani have obtained P95-million worth of brand-new medical equipment from the Department of Health (DOH) as part of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law.

Total equipment cost for each hospital varies with the P20M for Glan Medicare Community Hospital, P10M for the Malungon Municipal Hospital, P14.5M for Maasim Municipal Hospital, P20M for Dr. Cornelio T. Martinez Sr. Memorial Hospital in Kiamba, P6M for Maitum Municipal Hospital, and P25M for the Sarangani Healthcare Facility (SHF) inside Capitol compound in Alabel.

Health Regional Director Dr. Aristides Tan turned over the medical equipment on October 27 at the SHF which were part of their “2017 fund allocation” for the provision of medical equipment in the different hospitals in the region.

In Sarangani, the equipment turned over were X-ray, Ultrasound and Ventilator machines, a brand-new unit of ambulance and operating tables which Provincial Health Officer Dr. Arvin Alejandro expected to “drive the medical staff to better their service to the people.”

According to Alejandro, the said equipment will immediately be of use soon as the supplier will finish the installation as well as the needed training and orientation to properly operate the equipment.

As among the pilot sites of the implementation of the UHC, Alejandaro said Sarangani was afforded with the medical equipment as the UHC Law, he said, targets to provide equipment and other needs of the hospitals in the identified implementation sites.

“For as long as we comply with the necessary requirements for the UHC maturity levels one, two and three," Alejandro said, "there are more coming equipment and supplies next year."

RD Tan anticipated the equipment delivered will be a “driving force” for the improvement of the three Level 1 hospitals in Sarangani and for the Sarangani Healthcare Facility to deliver the “best medical service.”

He, too, expected that implementation of the UHC Law in the province will be successful.

As of this writing, Sarangani has already three Level 1 hospitals situated in Malungon, Glan and Kiamba. Alejandro said these “are duly approved to serve as Covid—19 facility.” Also, he said, the SHF is already applying for its accreditation to be a Level 1 hospital.

“A certificate of need has already been issued which is the first requirement to become a Level 1 hospital,” Alejandro said.

The continuous improvements in the health sector in Sarangani were made possible with the strong tandem of Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, Deputy Speaker Congressman Rogelio Pacquiao, and Vice Governor Elmer De Peralta with the full support of the town mayors and all the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Meanwhile, Governor Solon commended all the medical staff “who are tirelessly working and who are taking the risk every day to give their service to those who are in need.”

The UHC Law was signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in February 2019 to usher in massive reforms in the Philippine health sector.

Among the salient features of the UHC Law are the expansion of population, service, and financial coverage through an array of health system amendments.

The UHC Law ensures that every Filipino is healthy, protected from health hazards and risks, and has access to affordable, quality, and readily available health service that is suitable to their needs.

 (Joshua John Pantonial/SARANGANI PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)

A DISPLAY OF FAITH

What is the true meaning of faith? Faith means: belief, firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives or someone else's that the lord is working in it.

Trust or reliance? What does faith mean for you, my dear readers?  To say it clearly: without faith we are really nothing. Faith is belief; believe in us, beliefs in our works, talents and personalities. Faith - a great challenge in us and our future.

We also should believe in our parents or better, in the whole family including the black sheep, who can be found everywhere. We should also believe in our friends, even sometimes it seems to become a very difficult task. A friend? A real friend? An expatriate friend...?

Without faith, we will be reaching the rock bottom. Please don't say, it's a likely story. The German poet Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1815) mentioned in his drama "Maria Stuart": "Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive." Yes, I can live with this.

Faith and hope belong together. In his book "Through the Valley of the Kwai", Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of World War II. The 6'2'' man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi and jungle ulcers. Many circumstances quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat parts of his own rations. As this fellow prisoner nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that, even in the midst of suffering - there is hope - and faith!

Faith is indeed tantamount to convincing and conviction. Richard Wagner, a German classical composer and poet found the following lyric: "Blessed are those people, who know how to live their life in humility and faith!"

Well, let's even continue believing in our government. Faithful hope is loyal, reliable, exact and honorable.

Faith looks beyond the transient life with hope for all eternity. The hope we read in scripture is not a wishy-washy optimism. First and second Chapter of Thessalonians, for example, give encouragement to all Christians, who have been undergoing persecution for their faith. And, Corinthians 13:2 says: "If I have faith it can move mountains!"

Let’s have proper focus in life

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

          CONSIDERING that our life here on earth offers us a lot of

things and options, plus the fact that we of course enjoy freedom, we

need to be reminded that we have to learn how to have proper focus in

life, especially because we have a lot of distractions in our world.

          Also we should be ready to leave everything behind when God

finally calls us. And, yes, we also have to know how to exercise our

freedom properly for a certain law governs it. It just cannot be used

in any which way. That would not be freedom, but rather its abuse.

          All these are somehow implied in that gospel episode where

Christ lamented about the loose lifestyle of some people then. “As it

was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man,”

he said. “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in

marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came

and destroyed them all.” (Lk 17,26-27)

          To have the proper focus in life is a big challenge today.

At the moment, we can see a disturbing development involving many

people, especially the young. A big segment of the people is getting

addicted to games and the many other novelties played out in the

Internet and in the new technologies.

          They are now getting more self-centered and self-absorbed,

prone to idleness, laziness and comfort and pleasure seeking. God and

their relationship to others are all but blotted out of their

consciousness.

          We now have the huge challenge of how to make God the

be-all-and-end-all of our life. We need to present Christ’s words in

this regard in a way that would be attractive to the people of today

with their peculiar sensitivity and culture. Let’s remember that

Christ himself did everything to adapt himself to us to carry out his

redemptive mission.

          How can we present, for example, the following words of

Christ to the people of today without scaring them: “Seek first the

kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be

added unto you?” (Mt 6,33)

          We need to understand that our life here on earth is only a

training and testing ground God gives us to see if what he wants us to

be is also what we would like ourselves to be. We should be ready to

leave everything behind when God finally calls us to himself to render

account of what he has given us.

          Yes, to leave everything behind has been more than amply

taught and commanded by Christ himself. For example, to the rich young

man who wanted to be perfect, Christ told him in no unclear terms, “If

you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Mt 19,21)

These words obviously would give us the impression that we should

possess nothing.

          In another instance, Christ specifies what is required to be

worthy of him. “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not

worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not

worthy of me.” (Mt 10,37)

          We also need to understand that the proper exercise of our

freedom is when we use our freedom to do the will of God for us.

That’s the law, and no other, that governs our freedom.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

Do you agree that the Filipinos are good imitators? Why?

 

Bisaya

Barok and Takya Blog | Bisaya Podcast

Filipinos are such good imitators because of their rich heritage and background. Filipinos have such a well-mixed history that makes them well equipped to absorb new cultures. The Spanish, American, and Asian cultures combined with native culture have created the Filipino people -- one who is prepared to live in any country or area and rise through it successfully. Our cultural roots run deep, and we can tap into these roots when we need an idea for something new! It's not so difficult for many Filipinos to be part of different communities at once. As long as we know how to balance our time, we will inevitably succeed at everything we do because of this extraordinary ability that defines us. I think one of the most admirable of all Filipino qualities is the ability to adapt and mimic. This quality allows us to become accepted more readily in schools, companies, and other social circles to maximize our potential and achieve great things. We're not only good imitators; we're also very creative people who can find ways to make almost anything work--and maybe that's why Filipinos are such good imitators!

11.5 KM sementadong “Farm to Market Road with 3 Bridge Components” sa New Bataan, Davao de Oro gi turn-over

Gi turn-over na mismo ni Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy (JTU) ang “11.5 KM Cabinuangan-Magangit Farm to Market Road (FMR)” sa New Bataan nga nahuman pagpasemento sa probinsya gamit ang dakong pundo nga gihatag sa Davao de Oro ni President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD) pinaagi sa Department of Agriculture (DA) ilalom sa Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

Kining proyektoha jointly funded matud ni Gov. Tyron Uy sa PLGU Davao de Oro ug sa National Government pinaagi sa DA-PRDP, nga tungod sa tulo ka bridge components sa project miabot og kapin P191 Milyones ang nagastong pundo sa gobyerno.

Ang bag-o nahuman pagsementong karsada naga konekta matud pa niya sa lima ka mga Barangay sa New Bataan nga mao ang Magangit, Cogonon, Panag, Batinao, ug Cabinuangan nga gawas sa sayon ug komportable, dali na lang makaabot sa Nabunturan nga sa pagkakaron moabot na lang og tunga sa oras ang biyahe gikan duha ka oras panahon nga kining karsadaha wala pa masemento.

 

“Tungod sa sementadong kalsada, paspas na ang paglatas-latas sa produkto sa atong mag-uuma ug makabiyahe na og sakto ang katawhan. This project is jointly funded by the national government through the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Program (DA-PRDP) ug sa Provincial Local Government of Davao de Oro. Dako usab ang natabang para sa realization niini nga plano sa MLGU-New Bataan nga gipanguluhan ni Mayor Geraldford Balbin ug sa atong mga kapitan sa New Bataan nga kauban usab nato ganina nga mao sila Kapitan Alex Luga, Kapitan Everardo Mangubat sa Cogonon, ug Kapitan Serge Mabasa sa Cabinuangan. Daghang salamat sa tanang nagkooperar ug nagtinabangay para niining kabag-uhan nga atong nakab-ot- from inconvenient to accessible roads. This is the change we worked hard for.” Matud ni Gov. Tyron Uy. (Gilbert Magadan Cabahug PAO-ID DdO)

DA distributes P3.7M farm machinery to DdO rice farmers

 

Twelve associations of farmers and irrigators in the province of Davao de Oro received P3.7 million worth of agricultural machinery from the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) on November 5, 2021, at the Provincial Capitol Complex.

DA-XI Regional Executive Director Abel James I. Monteagudo and Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy led the distribution of the farm machineries in a simple turnover ceremony.

The said activity is part of the farm mechanization project under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) which aims to boost rice farmers’ productivity, profitability, and global competitiveness using appropriate production and postproduction mechanization technologies. Recipient associations are coming from the municipality of Montevista, New Bataan, Maragusan, Mawab, Monkayo, and Laak. The distributed machinerie include 15 units of floating tiller and 12 units of hand tractors.

Governor Uy expressed his gratitude to the agriculture department for the continuous support to the farmers in the province as it will help to increase production, income and improve the quality of their outputs.

“With this kind of equipment nga gihatag sa department of agriculture sa atua, mapasalamaton kami sa makanunayong pagsuporta ug programa sa department of agriculture in helping our farmer’s and irrigators associations para mo lambo ang atuang production, ensuring food security, and more opportunities nga mudako ang kita sa atuang farmer’s in spite and despite of market driven na economy,” Uy said.

The implementation of RCEF projects in the province become successful through the active support and participation of PLGU counterparts through the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAGRO).

Meanwhile, DA also distributed gardening tools for vegetable and coffee production to the following beneficiaries: 25th Infantry FIREBALL Battalion, 48th Infantry GUARDIANS Battalion, BLGU Bawani, and Saosao in Mawab, BLGU Mayaon and Prosperidad in Montevista.

Also present during the event is PhilMech OIC Chief Mindanao Cluster B Engr. Ray N. Adarna, together with PAGRO Department Head Minda R. Agarano represented by Assistant Department Head Ronald Sibayan, Municipal Agriculturist Officers, 25th and 48 Infantry Battalion, and other provincial staff. (Rheafe Hortizano - Provincial Information Office, Photos by Jonie Cadiz)

Looking forward to Christ’s second coming

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WE have to learn to look forward to the second coming of

Christ. That’s when Christ, the pattern of our humanity and the savior

of our damaged humanity, will come again to make the final judgment on

all of us, establishing the definitive and eternal Kingdom of God that

is meant for us. Obviously, we have to prepare ourselves for it.

          This truth of our faith was implied when some leading Jews

once asked Christ when the Kingdom of God would come. To which, Christ

answered that “the coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,

and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For

behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.” (cfr. Lk 17,20-25)

          This attitude of waiting, expecting and making the proper

preparation for the second coming of Christ should be learned by all

of us. And we can do that by strengthening our belief that Christ is

actually already with us. He is everywhere, around us and inside us.

We just have to develop the habit of looking for him in order to find

him.

          Christ is already with us since he is the God who became

man, identifying himself with us in all our conditions, even making

himself like sin, the worst condition that we can be in, even if he

himself has not committed sin. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21) Yes, he identified

himself with us so that we also can have a way of identifying

ourselves with him.

          We should develop the yearning, the longing, the passionate

desire to look for Christ, so we may find him; and in finding him we

may learn to love him; and in loving him, we get to identify ourselves

with him.

          And Christ is present everywhere. We have to learn to look

for him and find him in the little ordinary things of our life—in our

respective homes and communities, in our work, in the things that we

use and handle, etc. We actually do not need to go far and to do

extraordinary things to find him.

          And most especially, Christ is present in the sacraments,

especially in the Holy Eucharist. That is why we are encouraged by the

Church to have frequent recourse to Holy Mass and Holy Communion.

          In this regard, we have to learn how to go eschatological,

for which we have to know what it means and how we can acquire its

sense. It’s a necessity in our life, since it gives a bigger, if not

complete picture of our life. It enables us to go beyond the here and

now to enter into the world beyond death.

          Eschatology is that part of theology concerned with death,

judgment and the final destination of the soul and humanity itself,

that is, heaven or hell, or the so-called the Last Things. It may

sound scary at first, but it actually is very helpful. We just have to

make the necessary adjustments in our attitude toward it.

          So, it’s a part of theology and not a merely empirical

science. We need to have inputs of faith which actually play a

directing role in the study. We cannot simply rely on so-called

observable data, material or sociological, that by definition cannot

fathom the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life.

          It shows us that how we live our earthly life has eternal

effects in our afterlife. We have to learn how to live our earthly

life with the view of our eternal and supernatural destination.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

President Duterte visited his late parents

President Duterte visited the final resting place of his late parents–Vicente Duterte and Soledad Duterte–at the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Davao City on Monday, Nov. 8.

Accompanying the Chief Executive was his longtime friend and aide, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go. Go is the vice presidential bet of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the May 2022 elections.