Veritas Liberabit Vos (The Truth Shall Set Us Free)
LISTEN TO VERITAS (The Truth) “My name is Veritas! So simple is my language. Mankind runs after me because I am a precious possession. But to the rule of those afflicted by that principal disease of our time called the power of money, I am a threat, so I have to be imprisoned in the dungeon. But there will always be lovers who will seek for me as they cannot live without my presence. These vultures who have buried humanity deeply in the fallacies of life do not know that in the silence of the dungeon, I am gaining strength. One day I will burst out into the open and liberate the oppressed people and regain back ecological integrity to save Mother Earth.”
Buried deeply in the fallacies of life, intensely focusing on unbridled materialism and consumerism where life is just equated to maximizing material values, short-term profit and consumer goods, the in-depth essence of life has been totally blinded by egoic mindset. It is so urgent to know the truth, to be awakened, like running ripples in a brook called life, aptly described by Shakespeare as “like a walking shadow, a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more, a story told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Let us now therefore know the truth as the “truth shall set us free.”
Foremost in the hierarchy of knowing the truth is that the Third World War has been launched against nature and mankind is losing control. We must now have full realization that mankind’s survival is at stake. Rain forests everywhere are on fire, deserts are spreading on all continents, icebergs are melting, global warming means billions of climate refugees. We are experiencing the greatest mass extinction of the past sixty-five million years. The bitter and most painful truth should now dawn to humanity that the beautiful blue planet, a mother to us all and all life forms on earth, is a victim of our modern way of living which despite its considerable achievements has ransacked nature. So much veneration to the power of money must now be stopped especially egoic leaders whose egotism will either end life on earth either through nuclear war or through environmental catastrophe.
Based on this truism, we need a sense of universal responsibility to rebalance our relation with the environment. In the face of the challenges of global warming, we must now realize the oneness of humanity which is the key to our survival. Only when we understand that the earth is like a mother, Mother Earth, will we really take care of her. Indeed, we are all sons and daughters of Mother Earth. Knowing this, will you not resort to ethical actions to save her? Prayers are important but without ethical actions based on universal compassion, such will just be an exercise in futility. If you are a religious leader, will you just allow Mother Earth to be killed? What have our religious leaders done upon hearing the plea of Pope Francis to hear the cry of the millions if not billions of species now becoming extinct? At heart, the issue of climate change is about survival. Every decision needed to be made as if it were life or death. No action means death! Thus, why are our religious leaders still so apathetic when the urgent call of the times is to save life on earth? Reverend Fathers and Sisters, you, as spiritual leaders, should trailblaze a transformative change like what Jesus did! If not, may I ask, what is really the essence of spirituality that you are advancing? Just focusing on rituals?
Is it true, based on an Oxfam Study, that high veneration to the profit motive has already captured the mindset of religious groups? Such study has been reinforced by what’s happening in Xavier University, now being sold for five billion pesos to a powerful corporation, at the expense of its cultural heritage and the extinction of some 40 species of birds in its 14 hectare-mini forest at Manresa in Upper Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City. Worse, in transforming the mini-forest into commercial centers, the sacred burial ground of our beloved Jesuit pioneers who are our heroes, had been shamelessly desecrated. Instead of maximizing spiritual values as taught to us by the Jesuit pioneers to serve the least of our brethren, the university has chosen to maximize short-term profit and material values! Why?
“In reality, climate change is a symptom of a distorted imperialist worldview: the continued exploitation of the earth is justifiable because humans exist separate from and can claim dominion over the environment. This worldview, championed by Christians and captains of industries alike, promotes and preserves business as usual and has led us to the brink of ecological collapse,” Such is the analysis of concerned environmentalists worldwide as narrated by a leading climate advocate and journalist, Eric Holthaus in his book, “The Future Earth.” Perhaps this is the reason why no religious leader is standing firmly and courageously to stop our accelerating drive towards ecological disasters, especially against massive illegal logging and massive illegal mining in Mindanao. It is in this context that we were so puzzled to hear a priest after Typhoon Sendong hit Cagayan de Oreo on Dec.17,2011 when 3,000 people lost their lives and some 11,000 families were rendered homeless, that such is “the will of God and like Martha must not be questioned” No Father, such is the will of the six powerful logging companies who through their massive illegal logging in cahoots with powers-that-be, followed their greed, blinded by the power of money and Satanic egotism. The victims, many are innocent children were the poor people living in vulnerable areas while the rich powerful loggers were safely living in their mansions. Indeed, VERITAS can liberate us from our apathy and inaction while our beloved Mother Earth is not just dying but being killed. Now that we know the truth, shall we not join the tens of millions waging a compassionate revolution for sacred nature? Let it be known that the truest essence of spirituality should never allow a child to starve to death or children and innocent women be victims of imperialistic war as what is happening now in Gaza, Palestine where 43,854 civilians mostly women and children have been killed in just one year, the victims of US Imperialism & Israel’s “dominion” over the earth.” So outrageous!! Isn’t it that God loves the children? And will never allow that to continue? Good for tens of millions protesting against that “dominion” but in the Philippines no outrageous voice has been raised!!!
Another very important aspect that we must be awakened to are on the fallacies being disseminated on the very essence of DEVELOPMENT. So much has been said on liberating our people from the quagmire of poverty, yet the day-to-day life of the Filipinos speaks otherwise as poverty has become a second skin to majority of our people. Again, and again and again, politicians will convince us that development is their priority for you to vote for them. But have they? They are no better than that the neo-liberal capitalists where development paradigm can be likened to the workings of an auto-immune disease syndrome (AIDS) where no less than the body’s defense mechanisms are attacking vital organs.
It is quite puzzling that so much has been said about development, yet, we have totally destroyed the ecosystems and left the ecological people wallowing in poverty. It is even a great paradox that we talk of agricultural development, yet, our country is still not sufficient even on basic staples like rice and milk, the reason why 85% of Filipino children are malnourished, based on the data of the Food & Nutrition Institute. Yes, everyone is profiting from farming except the farmers. May I now narrate how we have been fooled no end by our leaders who brandished their development agenda but have actually impoverished our people. Let me go back to history.
The IMF-World Bank spoke of development before, toppling down the forest to give way to Chico River Dam in the Mountain Province despite the serious resistance from the Ifugaos led by Macliing Dulag. It was then the height of Marcos Dictatorship when projects were just rammed down the throats of the populace and no amount of protest could stop such outpourings what had been described as development aggressions. That name was again invoked in putting-up the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant that cost the country more than two and half billion dollars, when the price should have just been a billion or so. For interest alone, the Philippine government is paying an amount yearly bigger than the annual budget of the health department for a mega project that had not at all produced even a single watt of electricity as it was established in an earthquake fault area. What a tragedy in a country that cannot even put-up a hospital for the Indigenous Peoples who are dying early not knowing what an anti-biotic means.
It was the height of travesty, a Trojan horse that has suck the nation dry of economic blood burying us in heavy foreign debt that even the new born must pay for something that has not at all benefit the country. But we need not look far to se how the word has been mangled beyond recognition. The loggers have decimated our forest, illegal miners (Chinese and Koreans carrying only tourist visa) have damaged and wreaked havoc to our ecosystems, industries have treated the bays as their waste pits, costly agricultural technologies tied-up to the use of heavy chemicals promoted, mangroves destroyed to give way to structures at the expense of our poor coastal communities now living in hunger and extreme poverty —- all these done In the name of development!!! All these fallacies must be rectified through Veritas Liberabit Vos! Let us now be awakened on the genuine essence of development as defined by the United Nations. That development to be so, must pass a three-way test. First, it must be ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE, MEANING, IT DOES NOT HARM THE ENVIRONMENT BUT INSTEAD NURTURES IT. Second, IT MUST BENEFIT THE PEOPLE, NOT A FEW OLIGARCHS IN A COUNTRY WHERE 70% of GDP IS UNDER THEIR CONTROL. Third, IT MUST HAVE PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION WHERE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES NOT FOREIGN CORPORATIONS, THE CARTELS AND THE OLIGARCHS! Upon knowing this truism and having awakened, we should now exercise our FREEDOM OF SPIT after hearing speeches of politicians, nothing but nausea, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!!! Indeed, Veritas is gaining strength and when the Filipino people are awakened, Veritas will liberate the poor and the oppressed and regain back the integrity of sacred nature to save Mother Earth- – all for God’s greater glory!
