''A prayer to keep us going: Lord I need You. Carry me when I am weak. Hold me when I am tired. Love me when I cannot care anymore. When I huddle, feel lonely and afraid, cover me with Your strong protective hands. Guard me and guide me throughout this day, and when it is done, give me a good and peaceful night's rest. Amen.'' - Chito Bertol Manila Seedling Bank Foundation
MANILA, Philippines -- In the unraveling of the alleged anomalies implicating past PCSO board members and some officials, a few bishops have been put in the ''line of fire.''
It is already a war - the new PCSO management against the ''old'' management, and the bishops are indeed just that, ''collateral damage'' for getting indirect or direct financial aid from the agency.
To be sure, the PCSO board did not single out the bishops for public censure for petty reasons, such as some of them being vitriolic critics of P-Noy. Far from it. The Board was out to expose the past management for leaving PCSO billions of pesos in debt and in obligations and especially illegally donating to some favored bishops and yes, solons, too. The revelations of feisty chairwoman Margie Juico, who is a pious Catholic (graduate of St. Theresa's College), an exemplary public servant (President Cory's longtime and faithful appointments secretary) showed that the actions of the past management (albeit acting on the bishops' or their diocese's requests) have been illegal or at the very least, ahhh... immoral? You see, the charter of the PCSO prohibits the agency to give funds to any religious denomination except when it is used directly to help the poor and the sick. Its charter is for the agency to help the needy, sick, and the poorest of the poor. That is why it is running legal games, like the STL, Lotto and the sweepstakes and soon the Loteryang Bayan to raise funds for charity.
If you see the sick lining up at the PCSO processing center around Metro Manila such as the one at the QC city hall, with their documents in hand, patiently waiting to be interviewed, first by a DSWD social worker, then a PCSO staff and doctor, you might understand chairwoman Margie Juico, her mostly women board members (Aleta Tolentino for instance, and general manager Ferdinand ''Joy'' Rojas) just had to come out with the CoA reports on the ''donations'' no matter who got hurt. So much charity money gone to the wrong beneficiaries in the past! So many ambulances given to undeserving recipients, too!
The bishops named have denied any wrongdoing and so have former chairperson Rosario Uriarte (but who admitted to using some R72 million of the PCSO funds for ''intelligence work'' of undercover agents and signing some damaging documents). The Senate hearing will continue this week, so Margie's family and friends have revived their prayer circle of Yellow Ribbon Movement folks for strength and guidance.
Speaking of the fairer sex who stand up for what they believe is right regardless of cost to their careers or image, we had a powerhouse cast of these ''girls''at our Bulong Pulungan media forum at the Sofitel, the so-called ''Women of Substance for RH.''
Yes, they all believe that the RH bill should be passed within this Congress. It is not the only solution to help alleviate poverty, stressed Management Association of the Philippines' Evelyn Singson, but it is one of the more viable tools. With Evelyn, she balanced the country's resources with the population statistics and came out taking a strong stance for the RH bill.
Former mayors Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando, La Union and Marides Fernando are pro-RH too, based on their experiences with their constituents. Mary Jane and Marides are quite comfortable in declaring their adherence to their Catholic faith's mores and explained that their decision was a freedom of choice for couples to plan their families and not be dictated to by the state or religion. Cong. Kimi Cojuangco of the fifth district of Pangasinan is passionate about her Pro-RH advocacy, too, and said she is concerned about the mortality rate among pregnant women in her district, especially the unwanted pregnancies.
Former SEC chair Lilia Bautista, while being single and a non-mother, sees the RH bill promoting responsible parenthood and helping solve the country's economic woes.
Former DSWD secretary, Dr. Esperanza Cabral has been one of the more outspoken advocates of the bill, and graciously takes in stride the ''names'' she has been called, some of them very nasty. This has not deterred her from voicing out her views since she wants to correct all the misinformation the ''antis'' believe and are spreading.
''The public must be informed so in this debate, they can make up their minds to support the passage of the RH bill. Bear in mind that it will not lead to abortion, does not encourage abortion or promiscuity and will not coerce any couple to do or practice what they do not want! But it will help poor women get access to the right information on their health and their pregnancy issues,'' Espi explained.
She now heads a group of women in the GOSEE or Good Governance and Socio-Economic Enhancement, and one of their advocacies is the passage of the RH bill. Go, girls, go!
More Filipina-power good news: Pretty teener Ginny Maceda, graduated the valedictorian of Sacred Heart College of California's class of 2011.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because she's the apo of Senator Ernesto Maceda and showbiz pillar Manay Ichu Vera Perez Maceda. Ginny is the daughter of their eldest Manny and Lyra Rufino Maceda.
In her valedictory address, Yale-bound Ginny expressed the optimism shared by all the young people in the world, when she said: ''The scope of possibilities that lay before us is unimaginable. And it is up to us to grasp even just a handful of these opportunities. Truly, almost anything can happen.''
Aside from the top honor, Ginny also got four special awards. One of which was the Donna Gilboa award in recognition of her in-depth study and job last summer when she went home to the Philippines to join Gawad Kalinga and studied the distribution of solar source of energy to provide light to the barrios.
Galing mo, Ginny!
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