‘Gem of Thought’ Archives
As NCP Week ends
Year after year, Filipinos observe the first week of September as the National Crime Prevention Week. From the time NCPW has been instituted by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 461 signed by them Pres. Fidel V. Ramos on the 31st day of August 1994, nothing so substantial has changed in the way the public view criminality and the rate of crime incidents especially in the urban areas. Criminality still abounds and police visibility does not seem to be helpful in minimizing the occurrences [...]
Brain-drain bar exams
For the 109th time, the Supreme Court will test the readiness of law graduates aiming to be admitted to the Philippine Bar through a serious of examinations which bar reviewers would not dare take a second time even if paid one million pesos. In the four Sundays this September, aspirants will troop to De La Salle University along Taft Avenue, Manila for the Bar Examinations. First timers and repeaters will again come together for a single purpose – to take their chance of being a lawyer. [...]
New start
Ms. Universe Fourth Runner-up Maria Venus Raj in a television interview back home showed a lot of her positive outlook in whatever the country is going through, saying that everything that happens in this country has a purpose and would serve as an opportunity to start yet again for the better. Far from that jeers she elicited from viewers across the globe, including her home country, she bared a more sincere, patriotic and brainy Ms. Philippines in this interview. Her view that there is a [...]
Victims all
It has been said that humans are the most privileged creatures on Planet Earth. Making them the best specie in the kingdom animalia, homo sapiens or humans have the ability to think and reason out. Among equals, humans can easily send off his message and be understood. In a level playing field, the least among them get the chance to become finest. Unlike the beasts in the wild that need to fight with brawl and blood to test the fittest, humans compete among themselves to extract the cream of [...]
Fight against crime
Criminality is much like a communicable disease that one has contracted but which could have been prevented with precaution. Again much like the dreadful disease that takes the life of a patient who has very weak resistance, criminality attacks one person in a flash and takes all that the victim has, including life, when least expected. Authorities say crime is a preventable anathema in the society if only everyone will be vigilant to avoid it from happening. But what if it happens because of [...]
Atrocious law enforcer
They should not be allowed to live. No, not the person, but the beastly proclivity of peace officers, largely policemen, in employing torture on crime suspects as way of earning “pogi-points” for their medals and professional status. Police and military brutality, has allegedly been a usual tactic in coercing suspects, including fall guys, to admit reported crimes, usually theft and robbery, in the suburbs. This impulse has time and again stirred extreme abhorrence from the society, yet the [...]
Search and destroy
Sending chill down one’s spine, this dengue scare is something people should not take for granted like they would on other diseases lest they find it too late to steer clear of. Capsulated in the campaign slogan “Puksain ang Kiti-kiti, Sugpuin ang Dengue” (Annihilate the Larvae, Control Dengue) there seems to be no way out of the catastrophic assault than prevent it from spreading. Like they would with contrabands, concerned government authorities embark on a serious and massive drive [...]
Which they can’t afford to lose
If there is one thing which politicians in the Philippines cannot afford to lose, it is not their relatives and friends, neither their followers nor their fame, but the countrywide development fund (CDF) or more popularly called the “pork barrel” which since 1930’s national legislators have been enjoying profoundly, especially those belonging to the ruling party. Now baptized under a more civilized name of Priority Development Assistance Fund, this pork barrel is a subject of [...]
Inaccurate forecast
In the lexicon, forecast means prediction, estimate or simply the best guess. An information product of a sheer forecast is something one should not seriously rely on. This is, however, not in the case of a weather forecast upon which the safety of life and property largely depends. In this latter case, the forecast is as good as impeccable data that every affected individual should pay attention to lest he suffers a terrible mishap. But what if this weather forecast is not accurate? This is [...]
The hot water bottle story
In these days of extreme difficulty, with the catastrophes happening here and there, hunger gripping people’s dreams and economic paucity deprives many of various necessities, one thing is left for the hopeless: his faith in the Supreme Being. Following is an emailed note which needs no explanation but comprehensively discusses what faith really means in times of distress. The narrative was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa. Here is the verbatim presentation of the story as [...]
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