Category: Integrity

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The Long Awaited Death of Philippine Legislators’ Discretionary Funds aka “PDAF” (Pwedeng Dukutin at Angkinin ang Funds)

Let me go to the heart of the matter: Legislators don’t need PDAF. PDAF is like one gigantic Petty Cash fund that is easily abused. Hopefully, they design a system that demands accountability from the time the budget is created and submitted for approval. If they find it too slow, then they should set targets for expediency and simplify long winding “red tape” processes.

We should spend money where it’s most needed. Education, Security, Infrastructure (Flood Control, Fast and Massive Public Transport Systems, Ensuring Roads made exceed the standards of safety required of them, etc.), Fix the broken and susceptible to corruption SK, Complete Financial Transparency of where each peso goes from the Barangay level all the way up the chain of command, build more jail cells to house those convicted of PDAF Plunder, among others.

Every official who fails the lifestyle check and cannot prove that money they spent on their SUV’s, Mansions, etc. came from legal means should be prosecuted and made accountable for their actions. No special treatment. Magkano ba ang sweldo ng Senator, Congressman, Mayor, Councilor, Barangay Captain, etc. ? Sa sweldo ba nila eh kakayanin nilang bumili ng kotse AT MGA Bahay at Lupa na ang presyo ay higit pa sa kikitain nila sa isang taon? Lokohan yan.

Kung ang snatcher nga eh kung ninakaw ang wallet mo, KAHIT WALANG LAMAN, eh gusto mo itong parusahan at ipakulong at minsan ginugulpi muna para “matutunan ang leksyon”, eh ano pa ang dapat para sa mga “Honorable” Sena-TONG at TONG-gressman na ang sarap ng buhay ay galing sa pinagpawisan ng Pilipino?

Remove PDAF and any other reincarnation of it and you will remove the “prize” politicians fight and die for during every election. Tamang sweldo lang at benefits tulad ng natatanggap ng karamihan ng kawani ng gobyerno ay sapat na. Removing the “Pork” COULD help ensure that those who will run for office are not those looking to perpetuate the grand lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to by virtue of stealing the people’s money systematically for years now.

Yung tatakbo eh yung desididong maging servant leader at tunay na uunahin ang kapakanan ng mamamayang Pilipino dahil wala na siyang PDAF na pwedeng pambawi ng Capital na pinagkampanya niya nung eleksyon! Kung walang nanakawin, saan pupunta ang magnanakaw na “Honorable”?

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Tolerance Is A Two-Way Street

If you desensitize the public (through a savvy, encompassing PR campaign that immediately labels those who stand up against the cause as bigots, for example), you can make anything “normal”, legal and acceptable.

Most people will tolerate everyone else; until you disagree with them that is.

  • You’re called a bigot if you don’t support allowing “mothers” to choose to murder the defenseless unborn (like the kind of murder that Dr. Gosnell and ALL abortion clinics globally do regularly).
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Being People of Action, Not Just Intention

With the water rising, dark clouds still coming and the spectre of spending the night floating in flood water; the man was sitting on his rooftop praying for God to rescue him. In the past 15 minutes a flash flood had filled the house up, water on the brink of the roof. With dusk quickly turning into dark, the hopes of a rescue were slim at best.

Then out of the gray horizon, cutting through the pouring rain, a rescue boat arrived! The man refused to board the rescue boat saying, “God said he will rescue me. Go on and rescue others. I am safe and trust God’s promise.” So the rescue boat left with its rescuers bewildered by the man’s choice. Two hours later, with the water above and beyond the roof the man was sitting on, a rescue chopper spotted the man clinging for his life on the flimsy Aluminum TV antenna. The rescuers were rebuffed, yet again, by the man with the same words he confidently spoke earlier, “God said he will rescue me. Go on and rescue others. I am safe and trust God’s promise.”

An hour later the man found himself fighting to survive in the raging river-like flood waters. It finally overwhelmed him and the man found himself being interviewed at heaven’s gates. He asked “Why did God not rescue me? I held on to his word faithfully and trusted he would rescue me from the flood.”

“I sent you the people in the rescue boat and you refused their help,” God began. “I figured maybe you needed a bigger vehicle to rescue you so I sent the people in the chopper yet you refused their help as well.”

If you use Social Media Sites, you’d be accustomed to seeing posts that request for prayers and praying for miracles to happen. You would usually also see comments that support the poster that the prayers will be answered or the miracles and blessing will be theirs.

This got me thinking.

If I simply pray and not “respond” and “take action” to what my higher power may be telling me, then my offer and actual prayer is an empty gong. If I can “BE” and take action but choose NOT TO, for whatever reason, then I am a hypocrite.

“I’ll pray for your kids healing.”
“I’ll pray for your intention/blessing.”

If I don’t act on the urging of God on something I can make a difference in, then I’ve not really done my part. Say a devastating flood hits and people need your presence and whatever used clothes you can afford to let go of. If you say “I’ve said a prayer for them” instead of being a living extension of God and be a response to the prayer people are waiting for, then you too have not done your part. The act of being an answered prayer to someone is better than the act of simply praying for someone else. If you can help and make a difference in other’s lives, you should do it.

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The Castillo’s Rules For Living a Meaningful Life

written by Sar Castillo as a Reminder for himself, his wife and their 3 young children (and anyone who will be part of the family in the future)

  1. Honor our Maker with prayer and time to reflect. Find the time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord and his role in our lives. Our relationship with him may be unseen, but it is the most important one of all.

  2. Honor the temple of the holy spirit… your body. Don’t smoke, drink or do any kind of drugs. Just don’t. You’ll thank me for it when you’re older. Trust me. Also, keep moving and get at least 8 hours of restful sleep daily.

  3. Do what you say you will do… No Excuses. Without his word, a man is nothing. This applies to things I tell others I will do as well as things I tell myself I’ll do.

  4. Don’t lie, don’t exaggerate, don’t withhold information, don’t mislead. Be forthright and truthful at all times… its more difficult to keep track of the many false stories that make up a lie.

  5. Always protect your family. We are strong if we stick together as one team, like we always have. Don’t let any harm come upon anyone in the family or be a source of harm to anyone in the family as well. Defend each other.

  6. Be a source of positive energy. Decide to be positive. Choose to be happy and live a life of abundance. While a negative thought or two may come to you once in a while, quickly pick yourself up and refocus on the good things to be grateful for.

  7. Be on time, always. Get there at least five minutes early every single time and wait. It’s a very very minor inconvenience in return for being much more reliable.

  8. Eat healthy, Strive for Balance. I do cheat days every week or two, either when traveling or when it’s the polite thing to do around other people. Fad diets are just that… Fads. While you could ultimately reach your goal, maintaining it is another story altogether with Fad diets.

  9. Do the right thing, even if it comes at personal cost. I have a very strong set of morals, which aren’t necessarily totally congruent with everyone else’s, but I defend them and keep them strong by living by them as closely as I can.

  10. Computers and Gadgets are off at midnight (Save for Weekends). The only real exception to this would be if by not doing so I would break rule #1 to other people. If I told myself I was going to do something but wouldn’t be able to by shutting off the computer, I consider that to be good punishment for not getting it done earlier.

  11. Listen to people, Connect with them. I used to be bad at this and I hate it when people don’t pay attention in conversation. So when I have a conversation with someone, I make sure I’m really listening and not just waiting for my turn to speak. Pretty basic stuff, but I’d say 50% of people don’t do it.

  12. Walk out of movies, stop reading books, leave parties. If I’m participating in some sort of entertainment or leisurely activity and I realize that it’s not going to be worth the additional time spent,leave. The real decision at hand is: how do I want to spend the next hour of my life.

  13. When buying things (gadgets included), buy the best you can reasonably afford or something temporary and disposable. If it doesn’t make financial sense to buy the best, I invest the smallest amount of money possible in a temporary fix. In other words, I would buy a disposable camera or a Php50,000 Olympus, but never a Php5,000 Digicam.

  14. Do things that excite you, follow your passion. Let your passion guide you and your desire drive you to do what you were born to do. If you don’t look forward to waking up in the morning to do what you need to do, how will you pursue this with all your heart? You need to love what you do in order to do great things and contribute to society in ways no matter how small.

  15. Always be learning something. I always have at least one learning project going on at all times. Right now it’s Android Kernel Development. Soon I’ll be as good as I want to be (develop for 2 other Android devices), and I will move on to either Chinese, French or improving my Guitar skills.

  16. Never have debt. I have suffered (and working hard to get out of it) for being neck-deep in debt. If you do need to borrow anything from anyone, don’t borrow from relatives. Trust me on this.

  17. Never, Ever Give Up. Always find the will to get back up and pursue your goals relentlessly. Everything seems impossible until you’ve done it… and prove its actually possible, given a little more time and extra effort.

  18. Invest in Experiences. If you have the most basic needs covered (House, Car, Food, Phones, Computing Devices for every Family Member) invest in vacations and outings… and capture these memories on Film. No need to buy 3 houses or 2 phones for each person or 5 cars for that matter.

  19. Use the power of 1%. Improve a little at a time. Develop habits that build up and add up into making you remarkable. Start now, don’t delay.

  20. Don’t discuss a problem IF: a. you don’t have a possible solution in your mind OR b. you have no control of whatsoever. If you can’t change it yourself, its beyond your control so its better to pursue those areas and challenges where you can truly make a difference.

–Adapted from and Inspired by Tynan’s Rules