For tonight’s special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we give you a discussion on the Word of God in the Context of Vatican II with Fr. Arnie Visitacion, Professor on Biblical Theology of San Carlos Seminary. So much has changed since the time when the Vatican II was held, but very few people understand the implications of that great synod. For instance, priests used to say the Holy Mass with their backs facing the faithful; today they say the Holy Mass facing us. You can hear the Mass in Bisaya or in whatever language you are located. These are just some of the changes that Vatican II brought to Catholicism. Watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00pm tonight.
* * *
As I always say whenever I return home from a foreign trip that I’m always glad to be back home, but sad at the same time in seeing how much the other countries have progressed and how much we have stagnated, culturally, politically and economically. I was in Shanghai 21 years ago (exactly on Oct.17, 1989 during the famous Loma Prieta Earthquake in San Francisco. I was in my room at the Peace Hotel when CNN made a report on that disaster). Shanghai has totally changed since then. Just across the Huangpu River from my hotel room, was the Pudong District which back then looked like what is Cordova from across the Port of Cebu looks like today. There was nothing there!
I’m sure that every well-meaning Filipino must have asked, “When will we ever see change in our country?” Pardon my skepticism (I’m usually an optimist) but for as long as every single one of us do not paddle (Bugsay, as emphasized by Sir Bobby Aboitiz) our canoe in one direction, don’t expect any miracles to happen to our country! The time has come for all of us to decide what we should do for the rest of our lives. We cannot leave the future of this country in the hands of the temporary occupants of our local government, who know that they only have a three-year (six-years for the President) political life span!
Today, Cebu has the distinct advantage of being 3rd in the Best Islands featured by Travel & Leisure Magazine, something that Cebu did not have 21 years ago. This information is of extreme importance for us to decide whether to continue pursuing this advantage that we have that many other countries can only hope they had. Shanghai which has a huge population of almost 20 million inhabitants is undoubtedly a great market for our tourism industry. But what are we doing to entice them to visit us?
In New York, Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III declared, “We have embarked on this journey to send a message to the world, particularly to our biggest trading partners, the United States of America: The Philippines is open for business!” The Americans are not clueless about the Philippines; they know we’ve long been open for business! Maybe it is the Aquinos who are back in business! Business in the Philippines was never closed; in fact American Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) are pouring into the Philippines for the economic advantage that we have over our other competitors. But these are the businesses that the Philippines already developed in the last 6 years.
But if you’ve been reading the business reports, America is still on a recession mode, seeing no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, while business in China is booming by any standards. We were in Shanghai in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival a.k.a. Mooncake Festival and on its domestic tourism alone, China doesn’t even need foreign tourists! We went to the Yuyuan Gardens along the Huangpu River, where their business establishments were constructed to look like old Chinese architecture. It was so full of people, it was like crossing Mango Ave. at the height of the Sinulog Parade!
Meanwhile, we were glad to have already seen what we could at the Shanghai World Expo because last Thursday, the TV news reported that a half-million tourists went to see the Expo that day! Based on this information alone, you will know that tourism in Shanghai is booming, from its own people. This clearly shows that a country with a large middle class population can have its own tourism industry fueled by its own citizenry!
So who is selling tourism in the Philippines out there? I don’t expect much from Americans when it comes to tourism because the Caribbean is so close, not to mention Florida or the Hawaiian Islands. Our best source is still Japan, Korea and China. These countries that I’m mentioning do not have the world class beaches that Cebu has to offer, hence, it’s about time we get our acts together, clean our streets from all the filth and spread the welcome mat complete with that famous Pinoy smile!