by Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado

Can 3:00 o’clock a.m. be a moment of hope? Dorothy Terris, an American songwriter, writes, “It’s three o’clock in the morning, We’ve danced all night thru. . . I could just keep right on dancing forever dear with you.”
How about you? Where were you, what were you doing at 3:00 o’clock this morning? Were you waltzing to the music of 3:00 o’clock? 
Were you in deep slumber? Were you an insomniac who tossed and turned desperately trying to get a sound, restful sleep?
Or, are you perhaps a dreamer like the late Senator Raul Roco, who confessed at 3:00 o’clock on a morning sometime  before he died — “When I was 20, I wanted to change the world; at 30, I wanted to change my country; I realized at 60. I wanted only to change myself.”
3:00 o’clock a.m. may be a time for tossing and turning among some, or for others, a time for up-to-no-good evildoers in the dark.
3:00 o’clock a.m. may be the time when the bruised and battered, the down and defeated, the grieving and the guilty find themselves lonely and alone.
The comforting letter not written, the fragrant flower not sent and the stone of distress not lifted to make safe and secure a brother’s way are the haunting ghosts that will not allow you to sleep in peace.
3:00 o’clock a.m. may be a time when seductive temptations are strong and moral guards are down. As Kris Kristofferson popularized, “I don’t care what’s right or wrong, I don’t try to understand, let the devil take tomorrow, lord, tonight I need a friend.”
I learned this week a new meaning of the word arroyo. The word was originally used in southwestern US of A and referred to a waterway, or deep ravine dried up because of long drought.
Many Filipino readers — Christians and Muslims alike — may be in a state of arroyo, meaning, spiritually and hopelessly dried up like a waterway or deep ravine for long droughts of spiritual feeding and neglect, and forgotten by family members and government services.
There can be a source of hope even in a world of arroyo.
A young Filipino girl went out to dinner with an American soldier after Manila was recaptured from the Japanese about the end of the Second World War.
After an evening of friendship, dancing and pure joy, transcending their gender and racial differences, drawn together only by human need for a friend, the young girl and the lonely soldier parted feeling very satisfied.
3:00 o’clock a.m. alone in her room, the girl wrote in her diary, “An hour of beauty and trust and friendliness in a world of disillusionment and ugliness and pain – surely it is worth keeping and remembering. . .  Yours, faithfully.”
There is a divine power, Jesus by name, beyond human comprehension who, at 3:00 o’clock a.m., summons us in prayer, to observe an hour of the beauty of trust, to receive an eternity of hope, love and life.
In an arroyo world starved not only of physical food but of love, trust, friendship and hope, and dehydrated not only of water, but of truth, peace, love and justice, this spiritual power and presence offers the gift of rococo.
The elegance of refinement and charm of forgiveness and renewal of life, totally, tenderly and lovingly are offered at 3:00 o’clock a.m.. Such moment of hope is only a prayer away.

by Edcer Escudero

Barring unexpected twists and turns, or unavoidable reversal of earlier decisions, the 2010 presidential race will most likely be a scramble for survival among four high profile front-runners.
The foursome is an interesting smorgasboard of brilliant, moneyed, traditional, radical, idealistic, sentimental personalities of diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds.
All have made emphatic declarations of their capability to lead our people and make our nation a power to reckon with in Asia. They want us to believe that they have the answers to the nation’s decades-old problems which 14 previous presidents had failed to solve.
Each believes that he has the people’s support, and that he will be the winning survivor in the biggest reality show in the country.
And if we believe in what they believe, we will see four people raising their right hand and swearing to defend the Constitution on June 30, 2010.
And now, here they are, the final four;
Rich Boy Manny (Villar) – opinion poll survey not withstanding, he is the man to beat. A poor boy coming out of the slums of Tondo, Manila, he is now the richest senator in the land. He made his millions (or is it billions?) building homes for Filipinos thru hardwork, patience, dogged determination and exceptional, business sense. A former Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, he believes it’s time to take over Malacañang Palace.
He is a traditional politician in the sense that he believes in the party system and party machinery as essential and effective weapons in waging and winning political wars. Strongest point: Money.
Bright Boy Gibo (Gilbert Teodoro) – A bar topnotcher, a holder of a master’s degree in law from Harvard University, he is the brainiest among the presidential wannabes without exception.
A three-term congressman and former defense secretary of GMA, he cuts a double image of a technocrat and a knowledgeable politician. He is brainy, but is not an intellectual boor. He has a serious mien, but exudes a winning “class” charm. He is not the muddy type of politician who throws mud at his opponents. He is an engaging and decent personality. His political battle cry; Platform, Platform, Platform. Strongest point: Brains.
Mama’s Boy Noynoy (Aquino) – He launched his candidacy not at his own instance, but on the strength of the emotional outpouring of sympathy for his departed mother. He believes that the “yellow fever” will warm the hearts of the voters and will reach its highest point when he enters or captures Malacanang.
As a junior senator, Noynoy hardly articulates his two cents’ worth in Senate deliberations, believing in the “less talk, less mistake” dictum. He doesn’t have the dynamism and fiery eloquence of his late father, Ninoy. Politically, he’s a babe in the woods. I don’t think a mama’s boy will make a credible president. Strongest point: None.
Pretty Boy Chiz (Escudero) – A young man in a hurry. Too young, too soon. Too inexperienced in the art of governance, too politically naïve. Obviously, he doesn’t believe in the dictum “haste makes waste.” He thinks traditional politics is anathema in a democracy, and is leaning on political radicalism, dismissing the party system an an obstructive political tool.
He has embarked on a political journey as a Lone Ranger sans Tonto, his sidekick. He is a political Don Quixote waging personal war against the windmills (corruption, cheating, weak political will etc.).
He is the ultimate maverick. His track record as former congressman and now senator can be summed up in three words; Oppose, Oppose, Opposenut. He is an incurable fault-finder. He looks at a doughnut, but sees only the hole. Finally, he is a dreamer, not a doer. Strongest point: Dreams.

by Alex Roldan

Some of my friends asked me if what their company is doing — sponsoring medical missions and allocating yearly amounts for scholarships — can be considered within the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)?
I think many companies are too eager to join the bandwagon, believing that everything they do to help a community or a specific sector is already an expression of their corporate social responsibility. But is it?
I know that there is no specific definition of CSR, but the concept to me is very clear. It is about how responsible the businesses conduct their business. Meaning, it is not only by doing charity or philanthropic acts> It is not only allocating part of their profits and giving it back to the community in terms of projects. It is about dedication to sustainability of the business by acting responsibly throughout the value chain.
Whether they like it or not, it is all about corporate values, the philosophy in word and action, that in the end establishes an excellent reputation as a business organization, thus getting ahead of the rest in the market. Therefore, CSR must be anchored on the sustainability agenda of the business. Sustainability, using this concept, means positioning the company in the market as the best company — not limited only to quality products, but a business with good ethics and practices, and more importantly, a business which does business in the most responsible manner. Still vague?
There is a saying that in marketing, dressing is everything. Before, it is very limited to how well one impresses one’s client, or how one packages one’s products in the market. Though it is still very much applicable today, but in a world that is becoming smaller with the progression of communication technology, the company’s reputation has become an integral and a very important part of the product package! Thus, companies that have established good reputation for being a good corporate citizen in a country by practicing CSR, would certainly be ahead of its competitors.
Others may claim that establishing the company’s name as a brand could suffice the need to instill a good image for the company, but to me, without knowing it, it is still anchored on CSR. It is next to impossible to establish a reasonably good brand as a company if it is not known for good business practices, which CSR is exactly all about.
CSR is the heart of all the companies actions, facing the challenges of sustainability of the business through active participation in the issues affecting a country – such as energy, health, education and social progress. But the key to it all is that, it is not only a concept known to the executives of the company, but rather a concept fully understood by the employees and the executives in the company and put into actual practice.
I’d prefer to see a company start its CSR not outside of the company’s premises, but within themselves and their organization instead. Meaning, companies can put their CSR concept into practice such as responding  to social issues without even going out of the company’s premises.
The list of what the company can do to become a responsible business is limitless. CSR programs can be implemented even by simply following the law against pollution, formulate policies that continually develop the capabilities of their employees, innovate and develop quality products that do not “shortchange” the customers, and the like. The list as what I have said, is limitless.  Meaning, everything the company does that helps respond to the issues affecting the country and the public, including their own employees, is CSR in practice!
Yes of course, companies are welcome and are encouraged to implement direct projects such as livelihood assistance, education support or even employees’ participation in noteworthy projects such as tree planting or building houses like Gawad Kalinga. But at the core should be, that the employees do it because they believe that they are not just there to bolster their company’s name or gain media mileage. It is an action borne of their firm belief in the company’s vision, that sustainable business practices increase the long-term value of the business.
For comments, e-mail to: roldanalex@yahoo.com.

by Nicasio Angelo Agustin

I am watching the news as I am typing my column. The reporter highlighted something that might not have been readily apparent to a casual observer at the Lakas-Kampi-CMD proclamation rally. Willard Cheng pointed out that when Gibo made his entrance as the administration’s standard bearer for 2010, PGMA was nowhere near the stage. The usual practice of the raising of hands by the incumbent and the anointed did not happen — which is possibly a passive admission by the party that a PGMA endorsement is tantamount to the kiss of death.
The proclamation rally is not the only gauge of the negative perception this administration has suffered these past years. Surveys have demonstrated the undeniable decline in the average Pinoy’s satisfaction with the current leadership, and there are no indicators that this will change as this leadership’s twilight moments are approaching.
As the deadline for the filing of candidacy nears, we are witnesses yet again to another indicator of this administration’s perceived kiss of death. Some people call them balimbing, but this intrinsically Tagalog term belies the fact that it is a national phenomenon and afflicts not just presidentiables and senatoriables but mayors, councilors and your friendly neighborhood kapitan, as well.
I prefer to name it after its main practitioners in the animal kingdom: this indicator is what you call “rats”. This phenomenon is not the exclusive domain of pirates or Filipino seamen. Rats in Philippine politics are exactly what they are: in the event of an impending shipwreck, rats scurry from the depths of the floating coffin and jump overboard before the captain can even say “abandon ship!” If the mass exodus from the administration to the Liberal Party is an indicator, it would not be over-arching to conclude that most politicians are more rodents than public servants.
Some would go as far as to say that political parties are not built on platforms, paradigms or development perspectives; rather, that parties exist for networking, linkages and the bartering of influence within one’s bailiwick to cement his “contribution” to the victory of the winning-est candidate. Trail in the surveys and find yourself holding on to a sinking Super Ferry when everyone else has gotten into a lifeboat. Be a front runner, and everyone will pledge undying love, loyalty, their lives plus the kitchen sink — just don’t forget them when you win. 
The most blasé of us would easily dismiss political turncoats as a given every time there is an election. But it is in that dismissal where the dangers lie. That pledge of support always comes at a price: concessions, a piece of the power and funding pie, compromises. If the Liberal Party intends to ride its honeymoon with the voters until May 2010, its image must remain untainted even as it accepts more rats into its idealistic and currently winnable ranks.
There is strength in numbers: and political parties will be the first to admit that they need every person, source of funding and influence they can get. However, this acceptance of turncoats may eventually be perceived to be more for political expedience than principle. If that happens, the brave souls who choose to remain in a sinking ship will appear to be more upright, honorable and moral.
How long before this happens? The elections are six months away. While the clock is ticking, the boat may just remain afloat. 
Feel free to send your comments to nic_agustin@yahoo.com.

WITH the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy, Philippine elections 2010 has gone one more step forward, or, should we say, is starting to heat up another degree Celsius. The boiling point is still a bit in the future, but it will come as sure as the sun rises in the east.
But this boiling point varies according to geography, meaning there will be violence in many forms erupting in places where political rivalries have traditionally ended up in bloodshed. As soon as the official campaign starts, candidates in such trouble spots prepare for worst case scenarios, like harassments by goons of opposing camps. Such  acts of violence tend to escalate from mere harassment to bloodletting, considering that in the history of Philippine politics, guns speak louder than words.
It is also at this time that jittery candidates, fearing for their lives, request protection from the government in the form of armed escorts, usually policemen and/or soldiers. Police commanders will be hard pressed to provide such protection, especially with the Philippine National Police also committed to fight insurgencies in the countryside. By assigning personnel to fight the communist insurgency, the PNP will be forced to stretch its resources in men and material, thus having less personnel to deal with the everyday problems of criminality and security.
The standard number of personnel the PNP may assign to each candidate who requests for it is from two to four men. Undermanned police forces in certain places may not be able to afford to assign one policeman per candidate, leave alone two, three or four. It is common knowledge that rare is the town or city in this country where the ratio of policemen to population is adequate. It could be one policeman to every 500 or one thousand or even more residents. That’s hardly an ideal ratio.
On the other hand, a candidate who gets one, two, three or four cops for security purposes never had it so good compared to the rest of the population of his town, city or province. What makes these candidates so special as to merit policemen escorts whose salaries are paid for by Juan dela Cruz? If they fear for their lives they shouldn’t run for public office in the first place. The fact that they can afford to fund their campaign means they can afford to pay for armed escorts. There is a proliferation of security agencies from one end of the archipelago to the other who can provide candidates with security escorts. For a price, of course. If they can afford to spend so much money to entice voters to vote for them, surely they can afford to pay for private security guards to protect them from their perceived enemies.
This practice of providing police escorts to candidates is wrong anyway one looks at it. It is unfair to the rest of the population and ought to be stopped.