Why The Philippines Will Never Advance Politically, Socially And Economically

by Jacques Phillip • October 14, 2014 • 0 Comments

“What place is this, to which the squalid street conducts us? A kind of square of leprous houses, some of which are attainable only by crazy wooden stairs without. What lies behind this tottering flight of steps? Let us go on again, and plunge into the Five Points.”

Bandit’s Roost by Jacob Riis, 1888

“This is the place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth. Such lives as are led here, bear the same fruit as elsewhere. The coarse and bloated faces at the doors have counterparts at home and all the world over.”

“Debauchery has made the very houses prematurely old. See how the rotten beams are tumbling down, and how the patched and broken windows seem to scowl dimly, like eyes that have been hurt in drunken forays. Many of these pigs live here. Do they ever wonder why their masters walk upright instead of going on all fours, and why they talk instead of grunting?” [1]

For the most part, the above can be said of metro Manila and much of the surrounding cities within the area. Over the course of the last 28+ years, the politicians — and the people themselves — have been responsible for allowing the former “Pearl of The Orient” to fall into disarray. And in the process, become a haven for drugs, crime, prostitution and poverty. The likes of which can be found nowhere else in Asia. If not the world.

“Every day’s experience gives us increased assurance of the safety of the temperate and prudent, who are in circumstances of comfort…. The disease is now, more than before rioting in the haunts of infamy and pollution. A prostitute at 62 Mott Street, who was decking herself before the glass at 1 o’clock yesterday, was carried away in a hearse at half past three o’clock. The broken down constitutions of these miserable creatures, perish almost instantly on the attack…. But the business part of our population, in general, appear to be in perfect health and security.” [2]

And so, with blinders firmly in place, the politicos, businessmen and other shysters of “the elite” go through their everyday routines. Acting as if the horrors around them do not exist. Well folks… They do exist. And unless you stop pretending as such, your world too, will be engulfed by all the scum, filth and disease.

And this problem — or should I say, these problems — exist all over the country. Even in more celebrated municipalities and megalopolises such as Cebu City and Davao. The filth and the corruption that breeds it, abounds at every turn. And while the nations so-called leaders sing praises of economic advances and reforms — the majority of which, have yet to be found anywhere — the country continues to slip ever further into the shit house.

So how does this deny any type of advancement? For starters, what makes you think anyone in their right mind would invest a penny in such a squatter-infested squalor? And because of this, your country has been deprived of millions — possibly billions — of dollars in annual tax revenue. Not to mention the 10’s of thousands of jobs for the Filipinos. Did you know, at its height, Clark Airbase employed nearly 15,000 Filipino civil workers within its ranks? Can you imagine where the Philippines would be today if company’s such as Intel, Microsoft, Apple, AMD and Ford had their productions plants here?

And yes! They were all considering coming here at one point. Instead, some chose Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia, since they allow the investor 100% ownership of their company. Unlike in the Philippines, which demands 60% ownership of any foreign investment.

Too bad Saint Cory let Congress kick the Americans out of Clark Air Base. And her Oligarch serving Constitution continues to deny any kind of logical foreign investment.

“We’ve only been a few weeks from the time that former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and other justices announced grandly the start of the debate on constitutional reform. Already it is forgotten, cast by the wayside. This pattern has been repeated so often but we don’t seem to learn the lesson. There is no national debate or will there ever be one. Politicians and media are already talking again about presidential candidates in 2016 and senatorial candidates in 2013 with the President himself declaring who will be his candidate.

I have a high regard for my countrymen, but I weigh it against what is good or bad for the country. What hinders us from moving forward is the presidential system in which the election of leaders depends on popularity and money from vested interests. We should learn from the Indians who recognize that if the majority of voters are ignorant, it is foolhardy to expect them to elect capable leaders nationally. They vote for a party and the party seeks their best and most capable member as the Prime Minister.

The more we postpone constitutional reform the more it hurts the country, the more we will be unable to provide for the same ignorant majority.

By opting for a parliamentary structure, the unintelligent vote will not overwhelm the intelligent vote.” [3]

With 2016 and its ever-increasingly definable features looming on the horizon, the people need to start accepting the fact that their nation — in spite of the myth of democratic advances — has turned to shit. And it’s time to make some hard decisions. Some serious considerations might be:

• Educate themselves to become better voters.
• Heed the words of the National Transformation Council.
• Push for Constitutional reforms and/or amendments allowing for more Direct Foreign Investment.
• Consider heavily, the shift to a Parliamentary system, as your Presidential system is a proven failure.

In short… “Either shit!. Or get off the pot.”

[1] – Charles Dickens: American Notes for General Circulation – 1842

[2] – New-York Mercury, 18 July 1832

[3] – FROM A DISTANCE: By Carmen N. Pedrosa (The Philippine Star) April 02, 2011

Key Words When Describing The Mental Outlook of The Filipino

by Albert Anastasia • October 1, 2014 • 2 Comments

The last few days have seen a lot of people getting defensive towards my choice of words, when describing the mental outlook of a sizable amount of the Filipino population. Asking me to not be so rude or cruel when describing things. Or carrying on a conversation, debate or what-not. I’ve tried for years now. And in the process, I HAVE BEEN CALLED WORSE.

The definition of being stupid: Seeing the truth, knowing the truth, and choosing to still believe the lies.

But, like a duck to water, I let that silly shit slide off my back now. But sadly, I found that the more I try to educate most Filipino’s. The more they get defensive. As if they are right, and everyone else is wrong. I have used everything from subtleties to constructive criticism. No go. Almost everyone acts as though, by virtue of myself — and others — being foreign. We have no clue of what’s going on here. Sorry… but we do. Since 1986 we have watched your country fall apart on CNN, Al Jazerra, ABC, NBC, CBS and the BBC. To newspaper articles from abroad. To even living here now. The list is endless. And then you all play the victim game, claiming it’s some mass conspiracy against you and your precious way of life.

What then exactly, is that way of life?

• Watching a mere 40 families rape and pillage a once-proud nation and its 100 million inhabitants of every centavo they posses?
• Listening to the INQUIRER, ABS/CBN and GMA spout a bunch of yellow cult horseshit at you?
• Watching your children starve because of the endless poverty that has befallen your nation?

Please… I would like to know exactly what wonderful way of life so many of you brag about? Is it hanging out in Makati’s Greenbelt with your silly, one-day millionaire yuppie friends, sucking on a Starbucks Grande White Mocha and pretending you’re better than most others? Well, I got news for you skeeza…

YOU AIN’T!!

So now I shall explain why I have stopped being so nice and politically correct in how I describe you people and your nations situation. And NO! I no longer care how your paper-thin ego crumbles as you skim over my words. You brought it on yourselves. But, rather than explain myself any further. Let us delve into the reasoning behind my less than civil attitude towards some of your thought processes. Mainly, the political side.

You want to know where the real problem lays? Think about all those idiot’s YOU voted for or believed in these past 28+ years. Then go in the bathroom and look at who you see in the mirror. There’s your answer. And when you reflect on the bribe you may have taken for your shyster’s vote. Or your laziness in doing some political homework on these candidates. Remember who you saw in the mirror. Because that’s where it all started. I will even prove just how stupid so many Filipino voter’s have become. And these examples have got to be my 5th attempt at waking you up. So… here we go again.

• Nancy Binay. Zero political experience. and you gave her a seat in the Senate. An over rated, 38 year old private sector failure, who never amounted to anything beyond being Daddy’s little pet.
• Antonio Trillanes. A twice convicted, treasonous, coup rousing, militant trouble maker. And because of your unhealthy hero fetish, you elected and re-elected him a Senator.
• Gringo Honasan. Your precious little “hero of the revolution.” In reality, like Ramos and Enrile, he simply hid behind the revolution because they all knew they would be tried, convicted and executed for treason.
• President BS Aquino. A half-wit who has accomplished absolutely zilch for the country. Usurped his power beyond any kind of constitutional legal logic. Betrayed the very essence of the Judicial system. Bribed the Senate and Congress with so many billions of pesos, they will do his every bidding. And has now set himself up as a dictator.

The Aquino list could go on for pages and pages. But I think you already know my point.So I am sorry if the use of words such as “idiot or stupid” are just too much for you. But lately… It’s become more of the norm for a lot of you.

Not all. But it’s a large enough portion.

Why Anti-English Sentiment is Anti-Filipino

January 6, 2015

by ChinoF

While the Constitution (Article XIV, section 7) declares English as an official language of the country, there are still smart-alecks who believe Filipinos should not speak English. For example, there was this troll in a group that tries to say he is more “Filipino” because he doesn’t know English much.

Such things are really stupid. Lack of knowledge on English doesn’t make you more Filipino than anyone. Besides, is there such as thing as “more” or “less” Filipino?

But that troll sadly isn’t the only one believing this. There are those commenters who insist that we write our articles in Tagalog. You’ve probably known of some weirdos coming up to you and say something like, “bakit ka nag-iingles? Pilipino ka a! (Why are you speaking English? You are a Filipino)” Or there is this idea that if you speak English, you are rich or should belong to the upper class. Or that English-speakers are arrogant or devious (citing former President Marcos… wrongly… as an example).

There was even this funny pic being passed around lately:

But sometimes, not only the weirdos say this. Even our dads or moms, grandparents or grandmas, friends or other people (likely the commies) have this idea that English must be excised from the Filipino culture. Even our mass media ridicules speaking English, with movies like “English Only” that put the language under a bad light. Not to mention popular celebrities who try to put down people who speak English. But I object and will say, anti-English sentiment is actually anti-Filipino.

So why is this so? Firstly, it goes against the law of the land, as mentioned above. If it’s an official language, so there’s nothing wrong or anti-patriotic in using it. In fact, it seems that if you try to cut down English, you might even be opposing the law!

Secondly, anti-English sentiment deprives people of chances to educate themselves and get better jobs. Most of international media makes use of English, since U.S. media has dominated most of the free world’s media networks, and thus English is widely used. It is highly likely that English will never be replaced for a long time. English is our connection to the world.

English is also important for education since most important lessons on modern principles, science, information, literature and other things are in English. Ideas about freedom and ethical societies are mostly found in English works. So if people are not able to read these things, they may be deprived of ideas they sorely need. So I wonder – is discouragement of English really done to help cripple the economy and the freedoms of others?

If learning English is unpatriotic for Asians, then the Koreans in the Philippines are very unpatriotic for learning English aside from their native Korean. But wait a minute, the Korean government isn’t complaining… it is in fact encouraging that! And it is because Korean companies pay more to employees who know English, one of the main reasons for the deluge of Koreans in this country. But even if companies in our countries do not give such rewards, many jobs depend on good English skills – most especially the call center and business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry. If you keep telling people to stop speaking English, then how can they handle the job of talking to foreign clients? If they can’t, they might as well be kargardors at the pier (wait a minute – is that what you want anti-English people want? For Filipinos to remain at the menial level?). There are just some jobs you can’t do without English.

If only local movies paid more respect to English

Because of call centers and BPO, Filipinos have the term “nosebleed.” This means difficulty in understanding or using English. It probably exists because Filipinos have a hatred of learning English. But Nosebleed may actually be a sign of problems in our cultural attitudes, as well as the dumbing down of people through mass media. So it’s a sign of something wrong with our society. I daresay, Filipinos are not entitled to their nosebleed, and it’s perhaps something we should strive to eliminate.

Did Rizal Really Liken English Speakers to Smelly Fish?

Another argument anti-Englishers use is that Rizal supposedly said ““Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/masahol pa sa hayop at malansang isda (He who loves not his own language/is worse than a beast and a stinking fish)” in a poem attributed to him, Sa Aking Mga Kabata. But research into the matter by historian Ambeth Ocampo has found this attribution questionable. It is more likely that Rizal never wrote it and someone else did. But even if Rizal did, the fact that English is part of the official languages of the country makes it one of the languages that we must love.

Yes, Filipino is still the national language. But there are problems with what “Filipino” is. In fact, Manuel Quezon simply make his “tribe’s” language,Tagalog, as Filipino. Which may imply one thing: are Hiligaynon, Bisaya, Waray, Cebuano, Panggalatok, Ilocano and other languages not Filipino? So there’s a problem with the current concept of a “Filipino” language. But Filipino actually being Tagalog in disguise is not acceptable to some, and it actually smacks of favoritism for the Tagalog parts of the country – something at times called Tagalog or Manila Imperialism.

English Builds Bridges

And as I have often repeated, a co-worker back then recalled how she communicates with her grandmother in Mindanao, who does not know Tagalog and knows the local language. The former co-worker was raised mostly in Manila, so she knows Tagalog but not her grandmother’s language. But they are able to communicate in English since they both underwent education for it. Thus, English can solve local language barriers.

Despite what honest intentions may be present in people who believe in the anti-English sentiment, it will do more harm than good. English opens doors, so trying to eradicate English will close them. Thus, efforts to cut down or eliminate English may be deemed anti-patriotic, because closing doors does harm to people, keeping them away from opportunities and leading to people being less educated than they should.

And certainly, there is nothing wrong with Filipinos learning other languages, such as Swahili, Spanish, Dutch, Esperanto, Arabic and many others, as this opens even more doors. Yet there is much justification for keeping English as a part of the Filipino heritage.

And to those who say, English is submission to American colonialism, just think of this: the language is called English, not American.

The Philippines needs a revival, or at least a revitalization, of its English culture.

The Philippines suffers from acute intellectual bankruptcy and a lack of common sense

January 5, 2015

by benign0

[The following is a piece originally published in The Manila Bulletin on the 09th April 2000 and featured in Get Real Philippines on the same year. How many of the issues mentioned here remain the same unchanged ones today? Remember, this was written back in 2000.]

* * *

AN admired Filipino economist, based in New York, surveyed the economic situation here and dolefully intoned: ”What ails the country is that Philippine society is intellectually bankrupt.” Take, for instance, the national debates, she pointed out.

The meaning of ‘people power’ has since been buried under an avalanche of misguided Filipino thinking.

“They are droll and unintelligent, focused on the trivial or the irrelevant.” When the issues are of some significance, it’s the wrong arguments that prevail, the wrong side wins. Logic and common sense take the backseat to political arguments and the views of the poorly-educated. There seems to be some bases for her disenchantment.

Consider the EDSA People Power TV debate during its last anniversary celebration: “Is the People Power revolution still meaningful?” The TV audience voted it was no longer meaningful! And the winning argument articulated by a former Marcos’ boy was: “Are you better off now after EDSA People Power?” as if the one magical event in the world’s struggle for freedom in which the Filipinos were the acclaimed heroes had something to do with the contour of the stomach, instead of the shaping of the soul.

No change needed

Listen to the vacuous debate on increase of fuel price and the jeepney strikes. Almost everyone wants to repeal the law of supply and demand and annul the OPEC. How untidy has been the bishops’ choice of causes to champion. They hardly know they are playing tail to the leftists’ kite. Mercifully, other uninformed crusaders had joined them in maintaining that the 13-year old Constitution is so perfect it needs no change whatsoever. They don’t know that the Constitution has never been meant to be everlasting. All Philippine Constitutions and most constitutions in the world had gone through some amendments within the first five years of its ratification. Times change. Lessons must be learned. The present Constitution was drafted in the shadow of martial law. Among others, it’s now clear, presidential election is most expensive, with no guarantees of great leaders. A parliamentary system immediately saves the country one costly election and with the parliament members electing the premier from among themselves, it prevents the less qualified from becoming head of state.

Massive queue of commuters hoping to get a ride on Manila’s MRT

Simple common sense tells us that if you charge MRT commuters fares they can’t afford (initially P40) they would continue to ride the buses and the traffic congestion on EDSA, sought to be solved by the MRT, remains unsolved. Smarter administrators would have charged only P10 and thus drive all the buses out of EDSA, free at last from traffic. Of course, you could later gradually hike the fare to reasonable level when the buses have gone and save the country hundreds of billions lost daily in the world’s worst traffic mess.

A weird culture

Intellectual bankruptcy includes inability of our bright boys to come up with the correct formula for solving our economic crisis for many, many years now. The bright boys of our neighbors had recaptured their tigerhood in no time at all. Here’s no center to our economic planning. For instance, our experts still have to recognize mass unemployment as the most afflicting and dehumanizing of our problems, translating into, among other things, the lack of purchasing power of the people and hence making it illogical for producers and investors to set up new factories or increase production when nobody is buying.

Nor have we researched on the latest thinking among UN planners: “The defect even in IMF development programs is the setting up of projects that enrich only a few and don’t focus on job-creation. The most effective way of fighting poverty is with jobs. Mass low-cost housing, a million a year, by Japanese firms using their surplus steel and materials, BOT, 30 years to pay, 3 years grace period addresses dramatically unemployment. Even squatters can afford P1,200 monthly amortization, 30 years term.

Disasters have become ‘normal’ in a society that puts little value on human life before-the-fact.

There’s a weird culture in our midst: our jocular regard for our national problems, great crimes, villainous scams and calamities. Note that Filipinos are notorious for making fun, creating a joke of their misfortunes. The cellulars are full of them now. In other countries inhabited by serious and sensitive people, they mount crusades, indignation rallies or nationwide relief campaigns to meet such crises. They would weep or stomp their feet, or explode in anger, or demand punishment for the criminals or misfits. Here we tend to laugh at scams, crimes and natural calamities, as if they are part of the usual TV noon comedy shows, the Pinoy’s daily diet.

It’s very hard to be intellectual if you aren’t serious. And so far the clear evidence is that we are not a serious people. Worse, we don’t like to think.

US sailors’ case

Recently there was the incident of US Visiting Forces Agreement soldiers mauling a taxi driver. This time most of the columnists huffed and puffed against the Americans and the VFA. They demanded full application of Philippine laws including a sojourn in our dirty jails (which the American soldiers fear more than anything under the laws). To give up jurisdiction is to give up sovereignty, was their battlecry. A popular columnist TV-host titled his column: “No Settlement in Sailors’ Case!” barking his order like a master sergeant.

Never mind that the VFA exempts minor cases from Philippine jurisdiction. Lawyers know that everyday criminal cases are settled through the process of affidavit of desistance, among other ways. And precisely, when the parties submit to that kind of settlement, they submit to the jurisdiction of our court or the fiscal office that makes the final ruling on it. Little knowledge of law is quite dangerous. In fact, to forbid the US soldier to enter into the usual procedures of settlement is to offend due process. It’s one rule for the rest of the population and another for the VFA US soldiers.

The more Filipino activists wave clenched fists, the more Philippine sovereignty slips through their fingers.

The larger issue missed by the noisy denouncers is national interest. What’s good for our country. Those who would make foes of the Philippines and the US, our oldest democratic ally, are correct. There’s a link between the US military bases and the VFA. But we seem unable to learn the lesson of the past. Our macho decision, or the macho decision of 12 senators to boot out instantly the bases was the costliest decision ever made in the post war era here: 80,000 Filipino workers in the bases immediately lost their jobs; billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and ordinance, anything not nailed down, were shipped back to the States, even if not needed by them. (The US could also respond boorishly and pettily when treated boorishly).

Negotiating

Also, there’s the $500 million yearly from US military bases budget specifically to buy locally-produced goods; billions in dollars of military weapons, including planes and ships, under the military assistance program; the millions of dollars’ worth of scholarships in top US universities for Filipino soldiers. Apart from these, the closure of US Consulate in Cebu City forcing thousands from Visayas and Mindanao to spend millions to come to Manila for their visas; stricter requirements for issuance of US visas. We also witnessed the massive economic dislocation in Central Luzon. There was no softening of the shock or a leeway for the 80,000 terminated workers to look for another means of livelihood. The term of the “magnificent” senators was for the US bases to move out immediately, rejecting the US plea for a three year phaseout. A sensible procedure.

The Philippines, despite its nationalist rhetoric, remains pathetically dependent on the United States.

Up to this day we lose money daily needlessly from the decision to oust the bases: Everyday we spend millions for years now to patrol China Sea near Spratlys. The US Fleet, partly based in Subic, used to do it for us for free. Now we are negotiating to get billions’ worth of naval ships and helicopters and planes to convince the Chinese we mean business in Spratlys. In the first place, the Chinese would never have thought of loitering to the Spratlys if the US military bases were still here.

Such goodwill

The judge in Cebu has more brains than all those pundits crying for the pound of flesh from the US. She dismissed the case after the US soldiers made an open court apology to the mulcting taxi-driver. She refused to place ideology above national interest. She would not join those who would want to be the last communists in the world. What is the most important item in the VFA exercises is re-establishing the goodwill between the Philippines and the superpower old friend. Many good things for the country could be gotten from such goodwill. As there were from the US military bases.

With the benefit of hindsight, the anti-bases crusaders would probably know the answer to these questions: How come the smarter countries in the world like Japan, Germany, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, etc. have never asked the US to remove their military bases from their countries and in fact had asked them to stay put? What do they get from the bases? How many billions of dollars did they save in their national defense budgets. How come none of these smarter people think they are diminished because of the presence of US bases or the VFA, and only the Filipinos feel reduced?

Oh, the Filipinos are a special people, would be the answer of their fellow-simpletons.

Question: “What is Iglesia ni Cristo?”

by Lance • April 13, 2014 • 0 Comments

Answer: Iglesia Ni Cristo was founded by Felix Manalo in 1914 in the Philippines. The phrase “Iglesia Ni Cristo” is Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) for “Church of Christ.”

Sadly, while claiming to be a church, Iglesia Ni Cristo has all of the basic elements of a cult.

The first and foremost is a single charismatic leader who claims to have a special revelation from God. Felix Manalo was a former Catholic who abandoned Catholicism in his teens. He experimented with several Protestant denominations and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Manalo finally started his own church, the Iglesia Ni Cristo, in 1914. When a schism in the church appeared in 1922, he began claiming to be God’s prophet in an effort to accumulate power and re-assert his leadership over the church.

Some of his claims are that the Iglesia Ni Cristo was prophesied in the Bible. The specific prophecy they quote is Isaiah (43:5-6), “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth.” Iglesia Ni Cristo interprets the word “east” as “far east” (based on a faulty translation) and claims that it points to the Iglesia Ni Cristo being created in the Philippines.

The Iglesia Ni Cristo claims to be the one, true Church of Christ because they are called “the Church of Christ” and they can point to some verses in the Bible which use the phrase “church of Christ.” Most notably, they point to (Romans 16:16), which says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.” However, in this verse, the “churches of Christ” isn’t referring to the name of a particular church, but to all the churches that Paul visited that followed Jesus Christ. They also read from a mistranslation of (Acts 20:28) that reads “church of Christ,” but the actual Greek reads “church of God.” Whether or not a church is named the “Church of Christ” is irrelevant. There are many churches that have “Church of Christ” in their name, that doesn’t make them the one true church.

Another example of defective or false doctrine in the Iglesia Ni Cristo is their Christology. They deny the divinity of Jesus Christ (as do all cults and false religions) and assert that Jesus was created by God and enabled to do miraculous works by God. They deny the doctrine of the Trinity. They claim that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. As such, they claim that the Christian church in its current form has apostatized, and that the Iglesia Ni Cristo is the reinstatement of the true church that was lost in the first century; and this by means of God’s last messenger, Felix Manalo—the founder of Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Another example of the cultic nature of Iglesia Ni Cristo is its claim to be the sole source of truth and salvation. This may seem odd since Christianity, as a whole, makes these claims of exclusivity too. The difference is that while Christianity does make exclusive claims, individual churches / denominations do not (or at least should not) claim to be the sole source of that exclusivity. True churches recognize that there are other Christian churches outside of the denomination that are rightfully Christian, and that we can all believe different things on secondary doctrines, yet still all be saved. Jesus Christ himself said that salvation was found in Him, that He was the only way to the Father(John 14:6), not membership in a specific church.

Here are some of the other un-biblical, or extra-biblical, doctrines that Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) teaches:

• They believe that one must hear the gospel from authorized INC messengers and ministers.

• They believe the official name of the church is “Iglesia Ni Cristo.” Other names are not the true name of the church, and thereby false churches.

• They believe a person must be a member of an INC church and be water baptized to be saved.

• They believe people must avoid eating dinuguan, which is pork blood stew, a Filipino delicacy.

• Their members must avoid joining trade unions.

• Their members must avoid court sessions.

• They must vote in blocks.

• They are under compulsory church attendance.

• They must give tithes to the church.

According to the INC, all of the above rules and regulations are mandatory in order for a person to be saved. The Bible, of course, teaches that salvation is “The gift of God, not of works, lest any man boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

As is abundantly clear, the Iglesia Ni Cristo is a cult. They deny essential historic Christian doctrine—namely the Trinity and the divinity of Jesus Christ. They hold an almost unbreakable grip on their members and they impose a man-made path to salvation through service and works. Our Lord predicted that in the last days there would come many who claim to be Christ and lead people astray (Matthew 24:5). Thankfully he also said that the true believers would not be turned away (John 6:37).

As Christians, we must be wary of the teachings of false messiahs and cultic offshoots of Christianity, such as the Iglesia Ni Cristo. We must be well grounded in the word of God so that we can spot these purveyors of falsehood. We must also realize that the people who are trapped in these cults need the salvation that can be found in Jesus Christ—the only Son of God—just as much as we did when we were lost in our sin.

More of Iglesia Ni Cristo’s “Play on Words”

by Lance • July 4, 2014 • 0 Comments

On July 27th, 2014, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the Philippines unveiled The Philippine Arena. With a seating capacity near 55,000, it is being touted as the largest domed Arena in the world. Knowing this to be a pure bullshit claim. I decided to do a little homework to confirm what I already knew.

First! The key word here folks is Arena. If we replace it with the word Complex, the rules change drastically, and their careful play-on-words is seen for what it actually is. And much like their founder, Felix Manalo. It’s pure cultist bullshit.

So rather than go through a long, lengthy argument, here are the key specifications on the INC dome. The roof spans some 160 meters in diameter and the arena itself is 62 meters in height, and has a dome of 36,000 square meters. Sure sounds big, doesn’t it.

The New Orleans Superdome at night

And now we can end this little claim-to-fame with something that has been around for nearly 40 years. The New Orleans Superdome my friends.

Its steel frame covers a 13-acre (5.3 ha) expanse. Its 273-foot (83 m) dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 m), making it the largest fixed domed structure in the world. It also has a seating capacity of between 73,000 – 76,000, depending on the sporting event.

INC seems to constantly be concerned with grabbing attention or making sure it appears to be better than everyone else. Recently they held a “Worldwide Walk” fund raiser for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

Reports claim something like 170,000+ members were involved in the Philippines. And a supposed global number close to 500,000 were involved. When it was over, INC, with their famous word-play, saw to it that everyone knew they had entered the Guinness World Records as the “the largest number of participants in a charity walk.” In fact, they kept reminding us about it, for nearly a week after the event was over. And yet, they made no mention of how much money had been raised for the Typhoon victims. But I discovered that whatever money they had raised, found its way into a housing project for the Yolanda victims. Iglesia Ni Cristo, Yolanda victims.

People in Philadelphia join hands

Once again, with a little homework, we find that INC is full of shit. I guess they figured no one would remember (let alone heard of) the “Hands Across America” fund raiser.

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, 1986, for 15 minutes, almost seven million people joined hands to form a line that stretched 4,152 miles (6,682 km) – from New York City’s Battery Park to the RMS Queen Mary pier in Long Beach, California.

Afterwards, no one involved with the event was concerned about getting into the Guinness record books. But they did want everyone to know they had raised over $34 million for homeless charities around the United States.

So before you get sucked into any more of INC’s cultist bullshit, take the time to do a little homework on this bunch.

Looking for a “Royal Family;” A Royal Delusion

January 4, 2015

by ChinoF

The brouhaha from this Marian-Dingdong (#dongyan) wedding drew a lot of interesting comments. One of them particularly struck me as demonstrating the problem with this country:

wow, so high falooting naman you. I’m not a fan, and I don’t even live in the country nor do I have tfc. just take the wedding as it is. Just a wedding of two famous people. We don’t have a royal family to uplift our spirits, the way the British have ….so just leave the happy couple alone, and let them celebrate anyway they want. Now if the bakya crowd wants to enjoy the show, leave us be. The British went gaga when will and Kate got married, and they have economic problems too. why does the Filipino mindset have to be criticized on this happy occasion? sometimes a wedding is just a wedding. period. Heavy mo pare, pa eng eng ka kasi.

Thank you for this comment, since you proved my previous article right. I also wrote earlier that Filipinos may make the perfect slaves (seeing how they are “servants” in other countries, as Chip Tsao said). It is also proven right by this wish for the Philippines to have a “royal family.”

Looking for a royal family is a rather empty (or in Benign0’s terms, vacuous) and shallow method to gain “uplifting.” It may not uplift, but actually put us down. This wish is nothing more than escapism, the same thing with identifying with Manny Pacquiao or a Filipino beauty queen. It is a delusion of grandeur with trying to riding onto someone else’s success, while stretching it to ridiculous proportions (saying Pacquiao/beauty queen won because she is Filipino). It’s like the high when one is drunk or on drugs. Once the high has passed, the hangover or withdrawal symptoms kick in and bring the happy high crashing down. Whatever kilig one had, once it’s gone, the reality is back – poor and suffering pa rin. Hence Benign0’s creation of an oath for Filipinos based on the Alcoholics Anonymous one.

It’s ironic too. I thought Filipinos were a “proud” people. So why does a Filipino want to be the subject of a monarch? That’s not being proud, that’s being subservient.

Indeed, this comment has shown why the country remains backward compared to most of the world. As many other commentators have said, it is a country whose people are willing to remain colonized, even if the colonizers have long left. The comment shows that these Filipinos prefer to be ruled, perhaps because they are lazy, indolent, or perhaps just unwilling to use their brains to solve their situation. Or as I said elsewhere, perhaps the people who insist that certain celebrities are only hiding the fact that they are frustrated royalty. They’re only overcompensating. They better get real – it’ll never happen.

A royal family is not an assurance inspiration for people or a country getting better. In fact, royalty may even be the cause of problems in certain countries. Russia’s monarchy was a mess, so what happened? Communists decided to kill them and take over. Also, don’t forget the mess a “royal family” created when tried to get land they claim to own in Sabah. Royalty is so overrated..

Also, remember that royalty refers to the family of a monarchy, which is simply dynasty, something that many Filipinos are supposed to hate! Monarchies were created because a family wants to retain its control over other people’s lives. It has created the culture of nobility, but I would say, there is nothing noble about it. Fast forward to today: it seems the country’s oligarchs want to be the Philippines’ royalty – which must never happen.

The Bible has this interesting allegory in the story of King Saul. Filipinos may be likened to Israelites here. The prophet Samuel warned them, if you have a king, he’ll be a douche. The Israelites don’t care; they want a douche! If everybody else has a king (source of “pride,” etc.), why can’t we? So they got a king and everything went downhill after.

You sure you still want a royal family after seeing this?

Oh yes, there was this other comment that made sense, too. That the Dingdong-Marian couple is “royalty” only for their home network and a few… and certainly not for the country.

People should also not forget this: celebrity idolization, including that of royal families, is very much slammed or ridiculed in developed countries. Look at how media abroad ridicule the Kardashians and other celebrities. It happens because those societies know how show business is nothing but entertainment, and could barely be taken seriously, despite the “glamor.” Filipinos should learn to do the same and overcome the media hype, since this is drawing people away from the issues and dumbing them down.

As I repeat in my response to that comment, the Philippines does not need royalty. Rather, it needs its people to uplift themselves without any external influence, with the desire to change for the better, act, and work to improve their and the country’s condition.