My 2¢: What Can We Learn from DepEd's D.O. # 36?

The religious and non-religious communities were stirred recently by the Department of Education's department order (D.O.) number 36 which changed it's vision and mission statements, and removing the phrase "God-loving" from it's vision statement. It was a response by the department to a "request" made by a local secularist group called Filipino Free Thinkers (read their open letter to the DepEd here).

As expected, people from the religious group responded to the issue (first from Cross Currents' Nation Watch and followed by a blog post by Pastor Dennis Sy). Yesterday, Dr. Sylvia Claudio, an adviser to the secularist group and a contributor to Rappler, replied in defense to the open letter and to the subsequent action by the DepEd. It was immediately answered by Rei Crizaldo, the writer of Cross Currents' article, through another blog post that same day.

The on-going discourse on the department order can go on for days and weeks. And sadly, in this progressing society that we are in today, we won't see the end of this discussion. Like oil and water, no matter how hard you mix both things, will not become one.

But I'm not going to the same direction these well-intended writers went. I desire that Christians should not respond condemning the unbelievers. Rather, I want us to take a reflective approach on the situation. I see this as a wake-up call for Christians to realign our lives to how God has called us to live. Asking ourselves "what can we learn from the DepEd's department order" and then respond properly with a goal of making the greater impact in the society.

So what can we learn from this? Well, I have thought of the following:

1. Secularism and atheism are gaining ground. Years ago, we can still hang on to the traditional and conservative norms of the society and had the clout to suppress any ideas and practices that are contrary to the Roman Catholic belief system. But with the advent of freedom and rights came openness to other thoughts, ideas, and practices. With our unquestionable adulation of anything West, it is inevitable that what happened with them will sooner or later happen to the Philippines. In the past, secularist and atheistic views are best kept in the shadows, and people just pretend to be religious just to evade antagonistic glances and criticisms from others. But the situation has changed, they've become open, more vocal, and actively recruiting and converting others to join their ranks.

2. We have to accept this fact and that we are one of the parties to be blamed. In the past, the country basks under the glory of being "the only Christian country in Asia" as the Philippines was the only predominantly Roman Catholic country in the region. Although this is true, we have seen over and over again that in both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches we have not been good examples of living according to what we preach. There were many reports in the past that the clergy and used their influence to do immoral things. And we know that we at the Protestant leadership are not exempted from unbiblical practices. Ordinary believers were also living their lives like there's no God to judge their actions. We have made a bad witness for our Lord towards other people that led them to believe that there's no God.

3. Not only that we are contributors to the problem, we even tend not to address our own omissions and then direct the blame on the non-believers. Our common response to these issues are counter-attacks against their ideologies. But I consider these as "belated actions" for the church could have done something in the past to preempt these scenarios.

What must the church do to address this? Well, I have to admit, there are certain limits as to what we can do. If the President, religious as he is, would notice the impact of the changes, might direct the department secretary to rethink the new vision and mission statements or revert back to the old version. Someone from the religious group may want to make another open letter like what the secularist group did. But that will only lead to submissions of never ending open letters from both groups.

These actions are possible, and someone has to do them.. But I would like to rally all Christians (whether Roman Catholics or Protestants) to do an internal action of our own.

1. We have to change the way we live our lives. In Phil. 1:27-28, Paul encourages the Philippians "only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God." Though this is an encouragement in the face of oppression and persecution, the principle remains the same. It is sad to note that many people who profess to be Christian live almost the same like anybody else. The way how we live out our lives is a reflection of what we truly believe inside. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." If we truly believe in Jesus Christ, in the holy and righteous God, then changes has to occur. We are to turn and run away from any sinful practices. We have to have true conversions in our habits, from bad to good. Our testimonies are vital in convincing them that God exists and there will be a time that He will judge both the living and the dead. We also have to remember that most of them live by "to see is to believe" motto.

2. We have to make true disciples of Jesus Christ. Proclaiming the gospel of Christ and biblical preaching of God's word is a must. With the popularity of self-help, prosperity, and feel-good messages and books, no wonder that the church is producing more synthetic than authentic Christians. These messages have led Christians to become self-absorbed, self-satisfying individuals. Churches also have become too focused on numbers and therefore have resorted to these type of messages. If the church attendance is getting low, the leadership will have to demand that the pastor preach on shallow messages than preaching the gospel. People have shun away from deeper teachings of the faith and just satisfied themselves in the thought that they are already saved, and that's enough for them. Also, the gospel of Christ is, by nature, offensive to us. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 states, "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." If we try to sugarcoat the message of Christ just to invite more people in, then we're not making a true disciple of Christ. We're only deceiving people that they are saved. We're only adding members to a club or an organization. It's like declaring to God, "I want to be saved, but I don't believe in the power of the Spirit and of your word."

3. We have to address the offending sheep by the proper administration of church discipline. The proper administration of church discipline is vital to the preservation of the integrity of the church. If there is a wandering sheep who's gone doing what seemed right in their own eyes, the church has to lovingly address the offender, correct the wrongdoing, and help rehabilitate the person back into the right path. There are cases wherein churches have chosen to do away with church discipline in the spirit of love, peace, and order amongst the members. Or perhaps the involved are close friends, relatives, or associates of the pastor or leaders, using the Filipino trait a deep sense of debt of gratitude to escape responsibility or discipline. Church discipline is a necessity and the church has to practice it without compromise and hesitation. Jesus himself gave a specific instruction on how to do the process of disciplining a sinning brother (Matt. 18:15-17). And James 5:19-20 even gives this encouragement, "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." In reality, we're not really helping and practicing love towards that wandering brother if we chose not to apply church discipline.

4. We have to realize that we need to equip ourselves to become better (if not the best) ambassadors of Christ. Many Christians are ill-equipped in apologetics. Many Christians, once came face to face with someone who is truly searching for the truth of the Bible, will not be competent enough to lead others to Christ. Some see it as the role only for the pastors and missionaries. Some tend to have an agnostic attitude towards the deep truths of the Scriptures saying, "I'd rather not know these since I won't be able to understand them," or "I'd rather not study them since my brain can't handle difficult things." But Peter, addressing Christians in general, said, "but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame" (1 Peter 3:15-16). How can we then be called representatives and ambassadors of Christ if we don't know anything about Him, His gospel, His work, and everything about God? Paul sets a good example for all leaders and pastors who will do the same task and ministries after him, "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Colossians 1:28-29).

These are just some of my thoughts on the matter and how we can turn things around. If churches, from the leaders down to the members, will seriously and prayerfully and depend on the Holy Spirit to do these, we might be able to not only save the next generations but also convince those who are seeking today or those who have renounced anything to do with faith and organized religion. As one popular cliché says, "changes in the society should start from a change from within oneself."

Remembering My Stint as a Teacher

My wife found this story in a book today...

A student in a biology class was given the assignment to learn about birds. He was instructed to learn the classification, the scientific name, the common name, and characteristics of all the birds. The professor said, "Learn everything about them."

At the day of the exam, the student was horrified when he looked at the test. The birds were pictured from their knees down. He knew the birds well but he couldn't identify any of them from their knees down. He tossed his paper onto the pile of exams on the instructor's table and explained his frustration.

The unsympathetic professor said, "Well, you'll just have to take a zero. I told you to learn everything about them. What's your name, son?"

The boy reached down and pulled up his pants to his knees and said, "You tell me!"

I taught senior high school students for six years from 2008 to 2014. I had my fair share of ups and down, excitements and worries, successes and failures. I "might" have given some ridiculous quizzes and assignments, but thank God I did not have a student like that in the story!

I love most of the aspects of teaching, sans the checking of papers and quizzes. I like interacting with students and helping them answer questions from and about the Bible. The most precious times, I say, are not the times when I'm doing the lectures. I cherish the most are the times when the students ask questions, discuss issues and ideas, and help the students understand the teachings of the Scriptures deeper.

I just hope and pray that the students did not take for granted their opportunity to learn Bible lessons before going into the world. As what I've been hearing year after year, students have difficulty adjusting and struggling when they go to college. Some eventually succeeded and overcame the hurdles of college life. But some did not, gave in, and compromised just to gratify the urges to fit in and be accepted.

I'm glad that some of them continue to consult and ask me questions from time to time. But my concern goes to those who go out there without proper guidance, going their own way without a shepherd. May the Lord keep watch over them and lead them to the right path.


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It's been more than three months since I last taught. Thank God I'll be teaching once again, albeit not in formal classroom setting and just on Fridays for the whole month of August.

A Worrisome Future

Last Sunday, my family and I went to visit a church in Manila for a possible ministry work. We also took this opportunity to see a young friend who came from Cebu for his college degree.

As I had asked him how he was doing, he told me that he had a culture shock with his new school. Studying in one of the prominent universities here has opened him to a lot of temptations coming from his peers. Knowing where he studied his high school and having grown up here in Manila, I have a clear understanding the daily struggles he faces.

This morning, my wife brought this topic up with me while having our breakfast. The conversation lead us to think of what would our children's future be. Comparing today's situation with that of ours just a little over a decade ago, the temptations of today are no different in their descriptions, just more intense and sophisticated. Peer pressure in the society has always been there, just different in its form and substance.

After we had our breakfast, I read news and other posts on the Internet. To what seemed like a hand of fate had placed everything together, two news articles have been trending today in the local web: Text scam and the latest child kidnapping modus operanda.

Since we know from Scripture that the world will only get worse, I am tempted to just keep our children away from the rest of the world and protect them from its bad elements. The world just keeps on getting worse in its continued downward spiral on sin and immorality. Sometimes, it's seemed safer for us to completely isolate ourselves from the world and live peacefully throughout your life, away from the troubles of the modern world.

But this path is not my lot, I think. And due to my vocation, I am called to be in the world but not of the world. I can only teach and guide my children, and protect them up to a certain point. And I just have to trust God and pray that my children will receive wisdom from Him on how to deal with the world's dark side.

- Photo credits to this site

My 2¢: Teaching the Chinese Language/Dialect to Kids

Growing up, my siblings and I were reminded by some of our relatives every now and then to speak our Chinese dialect and be fluent with it. Truth be told, there were times that I dislike going to family gatherings or meet-ups because of this.

Not that I'm making an excuse for myself and for my siblings, but it was difficult for us to even speak a phrase or a sentence in our dialect because we were not used to speaking it. You see, we grew up under the good care of our maternal grandmother. She took great care of us while our mother was away to work oversees out of necessity. But one of the things that she wasn't able to teach us was to speak our dialect. Not because she chose not to, but she just simply can't.

Just like us, our grandmother's internal lexicon of the Hokkien (a.k.a. Amoy) words were limited. Though I don't know much of my grandmother's history, what I know was that although she had Chinese genes in her, she didn't had much opportunity to learn and study the dialect. So we ended up learning and speaking the local language.

This is typical of the majority of the succeeding generations of the Chinese diaspora. Most descendants of the Chinese immigrants tend to adopt the local language where they currently live in as their mother language - in speech and in thought - aside from the Chinese language or dialect that their parents (or even grandparents) have. This is due to the fact that every day most people whom we need to interact with were non-Chinese speakers. With our young minds, we thought that it will be more profitable and easier for us to communicate with the local language than stick to our native dialect. And I may not only speak for myself with this.

Therefore, I have an open letter, so to speak to some people groups out there, with the clear intent to help the next generation speak the language or the dialect and not to cause conflicts or divisions.

First, to the Chinese language adult advocates. I do understand the patriotism and the need to preserve the Chinese culture, tradition, and language to the next generations. But forcing these to them because "the adults-say-so" just doesn't help. With all the news and propaganda that we read and hear every now and then about China, there will be some of us who will find it difficult to love being a Chinese. We have to help the younger ones to love our heritage and the language. As adults, we understand how the children's mind works - the more you force them to do something they don't like, the more they will become rebellious against doing it.

Another aspect of this situation is when adults impose, in a veil of suggestion, to other kids to speak Chinese whenever they hear them speaking in English, or another local language/dialect. I find this very intrusive, since the authority to impose language to kids are their own parents or grandparents. Especially if we know that with their own children or grandchildren they are not strict about it. We may only, in an honest manner, suggest the necessity and importance of the Chinese language to other kids. And restrain ourselves from labeling Chinese kids who do not speak the language as "Hoa-na gong", or any similar derogatory remarks.

Second, to the Chinese-speaking institutions and organizations. Sometimes, if not most of times, our deep sense of patriotism (or some personal reasons) leak out from the confines of our homes to institutions and organizations that we are involved with. We have to understand that institutions and organizations have their own purpose and goals. Unless propagating or teaching the Chinese language is one of their main goals, then we cannot force it upon them the importance or necessity of the practice. Chinese churches, for one, have the primary purpose of propagating the Gospel of Christ. Just as the Bible has taught Christians for generations, different languages and traditions come as second only to the doctrines the Scripture teaches. I believe that language, traditions, and values learning should primarily be taught at home.

And third, to the Chinese schools in my country. I studied in one of the prominent traditional Chinese schools in Manila. From the primary to the secondary education, we were taught with three main subjects: one for language, one for history/values, one for mathematics. I believe this system does not work for the majority of the students if the goal is to educate them with the Chinese language.

Majority of the Chinese in the Philippines speak Hokkien as the primary Chinese language at home. The medium of instruction in the schools is Mandarin. In my opinion, there are two things that the schools need to do...

One, they need to teach both Mandarin and Hokkien in schools. Adults often tell me that I need to polish my Mandarin in order for me to be more valuable to the world. The prosperity success story that is the modern China has been gaining momentum in my lifetime. And because of this, I understand the importance of learning the language for global competitiveness. However, I also understand that not all modern Chinese families speak Mandarin at home. I know many adults, parents and grandparents alike, even use English to speak to their kids. But they continue to emphasize to speak Chinese whenever they can. Therefore, it is vital that the schools equip the students with both Mandarin and Hokkien to prepare them for the world and to strengthen ties with the older generation.

Two, they need to change the Chinese subjects they are teaching. The subjects themselves, except for the language, are redundant with some of the subjects that the English curriculum teach. If we want to preserve the Chinese language, we have to maximize the time that the students have in our schools, remove redundant subjects and focus on language proficiency and communication. I'm glad to hear that some schools have a change of perspective and slowly are changing their system. Though they cannot let go of the other redundant subjects, I guess removing some is already a big change in a culture where tradition and old habits trump over changes.

I hope these thoughts will be considered for I, too, have a stake in this. I have two kids and I intend to teach my kids to speak Chinese. My eldest speak Hokkien like an old lady, to the amusement of the old Chinese folks I know.

When I was young, I didn't understand the importance of knowing how to speak and write Chinese. But looking back, I wish I had known better.

- Photos taken from Chinese Culture Symbols and Chineasy.org

On a side note, I found an interesting site that teaches Chinese Mandarin through visuals. For the current generation, this is very helpful, since majority learn through visual stimuli. Click here to visit their site and learn more.

Crazy Monday

It was an unusual day for us today.

This morning, my son and I were left together to have some father and son bonding. My wife went out to bring our daughter to school and attend a prayer meeting with the other mothers.

While my wife was out, I tried to have a play time with my son to keep him busy and entertained. After a while, I have to let him play on his own at the puzzle mat so that I could finish some of the things in my to do list for today.

However, due to unknown reasons, my son just won't stop crying every time I put him down. I had to close our main door at times because I thought some of our neighbors are being disturbed by the cries of my son. Tried playing with him again, sat by his side, carried him up, danced with him, rocked him on the rocking chair... All in a vain attempt to calm him down and help him to stop crying.

Then came my wife, two hours after she left. After a change of clothes, she took our son from the playpen and played with him on the puzzle mat. Immediately after, our son stopped crying, played with my wife with all smiles.

It was a crazy Monday morning for me and my son. I guess he just misses his mom very much.

- Photo credit to sweetcomments.net

The Future's Cyber Life / Tragic Fight for Freedom

Another storm had just passed our country, few months after Typhoon Haiyan came and left many places in our country in shambles. This time, our country was prepared, with only minimal lives lost. But because of the storm, we have experienced more than twelve hours of power interruption and life started to crawl. So I took this time to read articles from magazines while resting after cleaning up some mess brought forth by strong winds.

I came across one article from Time Magazine that caught my attention.

The article, written by Jack Dickey, is entitled "The Antisocial Network: Inside the Dangerous Online World Kids Can't Quit", details the negative consequences of social media on children. Since the advent of social networks on the Internet, reports and concerns about cyber bullying are on the rise. With the establishment of new social networks and the increasing availability of smart phones to kids as young as seven, bullying in school has now become closer to one's own bedroom. (visit CNN's and Yahoo's coverage of the incident)

The almost constant feed of insults and harsh words bring teens to their miseries. Causing them to commit suicides because they just can't take it anymore. I knew in the past that Japan holds the most number of suicide cases, most committed by adults, due to pressures at work, life, or perhaps difficulty in finding a suitable spouse. Modern technology is quickly changing that.

Of course, the authors and owners of these social networking sites will not admit that it's not their fault. That they are just espousing freedom of speech, dynamic sharing of ideas, equality, among many others. True that they are not completely to blame, but they are not making things any better. Just as what the reports says, the owners of one social media site admitted that they are just after the profit.

This is the future that our kids are going to face. As adults and parents, how are we going to help our kids face this? Will this become the norm for our children's "rite of passage"? Will this be an inevitable possibility for all?

- photo credit to The Social Clinic

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It's a tragic day to wake up into.

The first thing that popped from my Facebook's news feed was news from different networks and agencies about a downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, bound for Malaysia from Amsterdam. Initial reports say that the flight was shot down by Ukrainian rebels' surface-to-air missiles. The remains of the commercial passenger jet crashed in the rebel-controlled East Ukraine.

Investigations are underway, a temporary truce between competing forces are being discussed. International investigators are also on their way to study the crash scene and collect evidence. Hope they will find the real cause, whether it's a shooting or not. Our hearts and prayers go to the families of the innocent victims, all 298 of them.

My 2¢: Our Misplaced Patience

the start of the line

Before I proceed, I would like to categorically state that we love Krispy Kreme!

Last night my family and I went to a mall nearby for a quick dinner. When we arrived at the mall we were surprised with a long queue for the Krispy Kreme stall.

The line immediately caught our attention. The queue was so long that it ran a loop going back to the Krispy Kreme stall. We heard by asking the people toeing the line that the famous doughnut company made a promo announcement at their Facebook site for a discounted price tag on their original glazed product (Krispy Kreme just celebrated their 77th birthday by treating their fans half a dozen doughnuts for only Php77).

As I have read the comments on the local Krispy Kreme Facebook page, majority of them were happy that they got a dozen doughnuts for a cheap fare. But there were some who went to fall in line yet at the end they got nothing. Some complained that the stock ran out quickly. And there were others who complained of unequal treatment as there were people who got special treatments from store managers.

But I have a different take on the situation yesterday.

the long queue

When we saw the people lined up for the doughnuts, we were amazed at the patience these people had with the long line they have to endure just to get 6 or 12 doughnuts. When we got to the mall, it was already past 6 in the evening and the promo only runs until 7. The line was still long when we decided to go home.

But there's another thing that I realized with the queue of people last night. There are times that we have misplaced patience, just like we have misplaced priorities. There might be many reasons for falling in line for 6 or so doughnuts. Some might be good, like, treating friends or family to the sugary sweet delight. Some might be bad, like, I just want to eat more of these doughnuts.

Regardless of the reason, we can fairly observe that there were instances in our lives that we don't practice the same level of patience. There were times, the motivation, or the lack of it, is selfish.

They say that the good things in life come to those who are willing to wait. The good things do not only include doughnuts and other sweet goodies. The first description that a famous verse about love in the Bible used the word "patient" (1 Corinthians 13:4). The Apostle who wrote these words encourages the people to apply patience in their relationships, especially if they claim that they love that person. Can we not apply the same amount of patience on some other things?

Even as I was typing this entry, my daughter was demanding that I hand over a coloring book that her grandmother had just given her early this morning. I asked her if she can wait until I finish the entry first then I can give it to her. But she answered me with a negative. She wants to have it now.

Impatience starts early with my daughter, I guess. But it's not yet too late to teach her to wait for things.