A hearty and warm congratulations to my son-in-law Atty. Jennoh and my daughter Fara-Avila Tequillo on the occasion of their 10th wedding anniversary today. Time has indeed flown so fast, it makes me feel quite older. But then, time is the only thing that we cannot stop in this world. But there are great benefits when your children get married and it’s when they give you grandchildren. Fara and Jennoh gave us three beautiful grand kids, Mico, Keena and one-year-old Jenna.
How times have changed too. When we were children, our grandparents merely wanted us to frolic around the house - to be seen, but not to be heard. Our grandkids today are so different; they are so inquisitive they want to talk to us about anything and everything. If there is a bonus to getting old, it is seeing your family grow. In their 10 years of marriage, the family of Jennoh and Fara have grown very well thanks to their generosity and spirituality. Congratulations, Jennoh and Fara. May God give you both a long and lasting marriage.
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Many have pinned their hopes on the Aquino administration, that Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III would be able to deliver on the programs he outlined in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at least within the next six years he would be in the Office of the President. One very important thing that he mentioned in his SONA was his proposal to have a dialogue with the Muslim separatists in order to solve the problems plaguing in Mindanao and his planned peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF).
That P.Noy’s approach to dialogue with those who seek the destruction of our established system of governance is a very noble goal. But alas, decades of peace talks, especially with the CPP/NDF has not brought peace to our countryside because of the reality that peace is not in the agenda of the leaders behind the CPP/NDF/NPA. I have known this for a long time now and I still believe that this is very true.
Proof of this is the reaction of Bayan Muna President Satur Ocampo (founder of the NDF) regarding P.Noy’s proposal to call for a ceasefire as a pre-condition to holding peace talks which was totally unacceptable for him. It’s more than obvious to us that the CPP/NDF/NPA doesn’t want to sit down with the Philippine government, from the previous government and now even the new Aquino government. Satur talks about the need for the Philippine government to respect human rights, when the real truth is, the CPP/NDF/NPA is the biggest violators of human rights in this country!
In the Beatitudes, our Lord Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the Sons of God.” This means P.Noy’s suggestion to talk peace with the enemies of the state is blessed in the eyes of God. But then, what can we expect from the Godless leaders of the CPP/NDF who do not believe in the existence of God? There is only one goal that CPP Chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison and NDF head Satur Ocampo is focused on - the eventual destruction of our society and turn our political system to a communist one, something that we Filipinos would never allow to happen.
At least, early in the Aquino administration, we already know that there can be no peace talks with the CPP/NDF/NPA unless there is an ongoing ceasefire. There are lessons to learn about this from Ireland, where the Irish Republican Army (IRA) agreed to lay down their arms before sitting on the table with the government. This is why there is peace in Ireland today. What we should do now is expose all the underground activities of the communists so that they would not only find life difficult here, but realize that their struggle to turn the country into a communist state is futile.
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Many Filipinos no doubt have taken a tour of Hong Kong and must have learned about the tourist traps that Hong Kong tour guides bring. I should know. I once went on aHong Kong tour and ended up visiting those tourist traps. Actually, they are nothing but stores that sell various merchandise but they are located in areas far and detached from the usual shopping areas ofHong Kong. Most of them are even on the fourth floor of buildings.
Well, finally the truth is out. A few days ago, Ms. Lee Hau-chun aHong Kong tour guide publicly apologized for scolding her mainland Chinese tourists for not buying in the stores that she brought them to. Someone apparently took a video of her scolding and had it shown on tv. Now it has become a major scandal in the former Crown Colony. Like what happened to us, we already paid the tourist agency for the tour. So buying from their tourist traps is merely optional and should not be forced.