grains of almighty god
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GRAINS OF ALMIGHTY GOD
Roberto Siccuan De Alban
Tumauini, Isabela
The Highest Human Law of the Land, The
Const i tut ion of the Republic of the Phi l ippines, does
more than proclaim the Fi l ip ino peoples categorical
recognit ion of the existence of Almighty God i t
declares that the Fi l ip ino rel ies upon the hand of
GOD.
We, the sovereign Fil ipinoPeople, imploring the aid of Almighty
God
Believing in, and relying on God is, therefore, not
just a functional opt ion or pr ivi lege i t is the duty of
every Fi l ip ino to do so. This is reaff irmed when we, by
the very same Const i tut ional Preamble, commit
ourselves to:
* Author is the third child of Atty. Josefin De Alban (UST A.A. 1928, UST Ll.B. 1933) and retired Home
Economics teacher Esteria Bautista Siccuan (Philippine Normal School, 1937). Their eight (8) children are
all graduates of the University of Santo Tomas.
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x x x Secure to ourselves andour posterity the blessings ofindependence and democracy underthe Rule of Law and a regime ofTruth, Justice, Freedom and Love,Equality and Peace. x x x
And God is Love.
Public off icers, high or low, in al l three
Departments of Government, are indubitably presumed
to know this since none of them could have legal ly
assumed off ice without f i rst taking their oaths of off ice
which proclaim their al legiance to the Phi l ippine
Const i tut ion and with which they pray:
So help me GOD
I t is in this context that we seek to offer our
part ic ipat ion in the current discussions on the so-
cal led RH BILL (hereinafter RH) .
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Believing and relying upon God, and thereby
submitt ing to His wi l l , the mother quest ion is:
Is RH in accordance with the will
of God?
And what is the wil l of God?
The Almighty speaks to us with His
Commandments, thereby imposing His wi l l upon us al l ,
by His revealed voice and through Jesus, The Holy
Spir i t , His saints and Prophets. We learn this from the
Holy Scriptures.
We do not propose to give the reader uncondit ional
answers. Our offer is to present observat ions that
might provoke ref lect ions that, in turn, hopeful ly, could
lend enl ightenment to the concerned.
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The Almighty
OVERPOPULATION
In one great moment of del ight God promised
Abraham generations of descendants as numerous as
the grains of sand. But are we commissioned to
count the number of grains or l imit their quant i ty?
Limit less populat ion was thereby regarded by the Lord
as a reward to His chosen people, as in fact, we, too,
are or wish to be.
I . Did God mean His reward to be a cause of
misery?
II . Is not the reward accompanied by reassuringprovisions for i ts sustenance?
Clearly the Almighty never saw numbers as a
threat to His people. A generous Giver, The Source of
things that happened and to come, the Lord stacked
the Earth with goods provident ial ly abundant to meet
the health requirements of His grains of sand .
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I t has always been given to man to f ish and hunt;
to sow and harvest; to have dominion over the lands,
the seas, and the skies and al l nourishments that
come from them.
Yet i t was also given to man to choose: to be
loving or to be without love; to be grateful for his
share of blessings or to want to have much more -to
be greedy, to over-crave.
In growing years we were a family of eleven before
we were ten, our parents included.
On our table the concept of overpopulat ion isalways tested. Mama cooks a chicken, which she then
divides into ten pieces. I eat two and one of us is
deprived of his share.
I f a piece of chicken is enough to meet the food
needs of a family member there need not, def ini tely,be a problem of overpopulat ion of mouths
outnumbering the quant i ty of chicken inputs. But even
when one eats more than his share the problem of
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consequential deprivat ion is not the fault of
overpopulat ion but of unequal distribution of
wealth due to self ish greed, avarice or over-
craving.
But supposed the lonesome chicken cannot meet
the dietary needs of al l of us, is overpopulat ion
appreciable as a root of the problem of deprivat ion?
Yes, i f i t is impossible for Mama to produce another
chicken or the equivalent of a supplementary fowl in
whatever form.
Is i t impossible for the government to help
produce the extra chicken? Is i t impossible for the
government to help the people, the so-cal led poor, tohelp themselves to produce chicken?
Is i t not the weight of over-craving with consequent
overstuffed abdomen that def ies the fulcrum of
equal i ty that overstrains the sinews of moral i ty that, in
turn,.?
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I f overpopulat ion causes poverty, is i t not
dignifying an absurdity to assume that the reverse is,
therefore, t rue that underpopulat ion produces wealth
and prosperi ty. And what is wealth? What is
prosperi ty?
One would be quick to react:
"But we should have a
manageable/sustainable populat ion!
What quant i ty of mouths to feed is manageable?
And i f one wishes for a Balanced Population,
meaning, perhaps, a si tuat ion where the number of
mouths is matched by the quant i ty of nutr ients, do we
have the abi l i ty to make such determinat ion given
mil l ions who have dif ferent needs, tastes,
preferences?
Sti l l , even i f we assume that overpopulat ion breeds
poverty, i t may be aske d: So what?
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To what extent is poverty tolerable andintolerable? What is the level of concern that i t
deserves given that we are threatened by the now
paral lel problems of drug-abuse, human traff icking,
murders, massacres, etc?
What is so compell ingly evi l about poverty that wehave to use al l means to address i t even by measures
that divide the nat ion? And can we real ly be one under
God by legislat ing divisive and coercive cooperat ion?
If RH is good, is there truth and fairness in
assuming, therefore, that those against i t are moved
by motives against the wil l of God?
The implied insistence on workable def ini t ions is
fair. Is i t not prudent to provide legislated solut ions
only to legislated def ini t ion of problems?
May we agree on conclusions based on undef ined
premises?
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FutureReductionof Population isNot a solution toPresentProblems
RH is supposedly good because i t guaranteesfuture reduct ion of the populat ion, which supposedly
results in reduct ion of poverty thereby reducing thenations problems.
But how can a future reduct ion of the poor do that?
- Are the poor able, ready and real ly wi l l ing toinit iate and maintain a drug-habit , a d rug-shop, factoryor syndicate? Is it not said that they are tooinadequate to buy their own condoms?
- Are the poor able, ready and real ly wi l l ing toinit iate, commit and maintain, human traff icking,smuggling, massacre, among other high prof i le, mass-damaging criminal act ivi t ies?
Being in fact vict ims (recruited hoodlums, pimps,and couriers as induced by incent ives for their
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intest inal needs), should the poor not be redeemedinstead of targetted for reduct ion? Is i t not a betterpol icy to reduce, and NOW, the r ich and powerfulcr ime-lords and their cohorts in government?
May we fault our poor for not having the hunger-l iberat ing power of i l l -gotten wealth, for unexplainedpoverty? How many poor are indictable for plunder;for land grabbing; for non-payment or underpayment
of wages; for possession of repl icat ing machines toviolate the Intel lectual Property Law; How many poorcould produce pornographic f i lms or establ ish red -houses? How many poor could set -up i l legalrecruitment agencies? How many poor could maintaingoons to terrorize voters and funds to buy v otes? Howmany poor could buy machines that could bury theirvict ims? How many poor could pay for the many
spears that crucif ied Christ?
We seem to refer to poverty as a permanentsocial status vis--vis the supposed r ich; but can theso-cal led poor not become rich and the now richpoor? Do the so-cal led poor real ly deserve theirdeprivat ion? Do the r ich deserve their opportunist icwealth?
Is i t real ly good, especial ly for our self ish ends,that we reduce those who sweat for our lands and
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bear harvests to our doors? Who drive us to ourfavori te colored spots and casinos? Who tr im ourgardens? Who launder our shirts? Who lay red c arpetsfor us to strut on in s plendor? Who pol ish our f loors sowe could dance seamlessly without fear with ourparamours and mistresses?
The poor steal for their survival but in asyndicated, larger scale, for their manipulators. The
rich do not steal for the poor but largely from thelatter, rarely from their conspirators and most ly fortheir luxuries and excesses.
Could RH Breedthe MoralEquivalent Of
High Crimes?
Since the RH proposes to use government money,
the peoples, i t may be asked Is the expenditure
necessary? I f not, what fol lows would be waste of
government resources (akin to malversat ion) or undue
benefi t to a favored party (akin to violat ion of the Ant i -
Graft Law). We submit that RH is necessary only i f i tis shown that i t is the only ethical solut ion to a
problem to the exclusion of others already- tested.
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Does RH have a monopoly of remedies in l ight ofthe fol lowing?
A. Is i t not good that schools, government
off ices, the church (al l those with formal inf luences)
adopt/ implement methods that discourage, even
prohibit , casual, one-night stand, out-of-marriage,
underage fornicat ions?
The issues of these immoral l ia isons are pre-
branded vict ims of irresponsible and thought less
concupiscence. More unloved than loved they are
potent ial sources of not only material but moral and
psychological poverty -wit t ingly or unwit t ingly
creat ing further and widening r ipples of misery. Theyare in the mil l ions. Reducible.
By distr ibut ing condoms on the pretext of avoiding
the supposedly otherwise inevitable HIV infect ion
without the plast ic protect ion, are we not encouraging
such fornicat ions that produce problem offsprings or,in the case of cymbal-sex, threats of divine wrath
reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah -precisely
because we are making i t easier for fornicators and
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sodomizers? What is so caring about subsidizing
immorality?
The pro-condom logic has the wisdom of a
government pol icy that would fund the wide
distr ibut ion of less-painful murder-weapons, sleeping
pi l ls (for otherwise traumatized wide-awake rape-
vict ims) and state-of-the-art picklocks - so robbers
could leave door locks unscratched!
We can understand how a man can succumb to the
urgings of his animal inst incts in moments of moral
weakness, but do we have to provide him with tools to
diminish his strength to resist debasing temptat ions?
We read from yesterdays newspaper a piece
hint ing that condoms/IUD are good for women who
wish to avoid pregnancy induced by their raping,
drunken husbands.
Let us just be fair. Do we expect our churches to
teach brides to choose partners, af ter courtship, who
show part ial i ty for condoms/IUDs? Do we expect our
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priests to teach brides to choose husbands who are
wil l ing to have their private parts jacket ted with rubber
tubes during the disorder of a rape r i te? Must women
be taught to acquire expert ise in rapid-IUD/condom-
f i t t ing?
Let us remind our women of their nat ive
gent leness, of their hands that can wash a thousand
smelly diapers. Let us suggest for them to be
obedient, not obsequious but compassionately
tolerant. May not a savage be tamed by a gent le
Yes, for better or for worse?
Sti l l , do not our churches and parents teach us to
measure our partners during courtship?
B. Is i t not good that diners (weddings, f iestas,
part ies etc.) top their plates with just enough but less
than a gluttons minimum sat iety?
Have the pro and ant i RH, the church and
government made a study on the benef icial ef fects of
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spreading the economic value of lef tovers among the
needy?
C. Is i t not good that pet-owners temper their
at tachment to their expensive animals?
Have the pro and ant i RH, the church and
government made a study on how much pet- lovers
spend for the care and attent ion they lavish on their
dogs, cats, monkeys, snakes?
D. Is i t not good that readers real ize that
reducing populat ion is an unnecessary diminut ion of
human resources? We wish to reduce, for ourconvenience, the burden of feeding extra mouths so
we succumb to the suggest ion of reducing heads.
Does such mode of burden-avoidance not equal the
wisdom of cutt ing the head off to avoid a mosquito
bite on the face? No head, no face, no bite. Is i t notmore prudent to swat the mosquito or prevent i ts
access to the face? Is i t not more prudent to ki l l the
want with an extra chicken?
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E. Is i t not good that members of Congress reactposit ively to a columnist s piece hint ing that both
houses of congress probably spend too much on in-
house and off-house committee hearings?
Have the pro and ant i RH Government and Church
made a study on how much can be saved, andchanneled to poverty-al leviat ion act ivi t ies, f rom
inordinately-funded government-related off ic ial
meetings, seminars, foreign travels, socials and other
group act ivi t ies?
F. Is i t not good that columnists use their talents
to wri te and expound on suggest ions for improving
quali ty of l i fe instead of using their spaces to
chronicle and inventory their bias percept ion of the
imperfect ions of others as though one r ises by kicking
others down?
Are we truly deserving of praise when we f launt our
talents? Should we not real ize that intel lectual
arrogance is ludicrously presumptuous and point less,
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given that no one can ever be superior to God or the
Devi l anyway?
G. Is i t not good that sunshine-evangelists and
self-proclaimed bishops cal l at tent ion to God instead
of cal l ing attent ion to themselves and their personal
victories?
H. Is i t not good for the Commission on Elect ions
to use al l i ts resources to stop vote-buying which
steals from the voter Gods precious gif t of c hoice?
What can be more impoverishing than depriving a
person of his dignity -weakening his resistance tohunger so his intest inal comfort would command his
brain to choose Barabas instead of Jesus?
Given such opt ions are we not giving undue
advantage to manufacturers/dealers of abort i facients,
contracept ives, sperm-ki l l ing drugs, IUDs, and l i fe-frustrat ing medicines and gadgets?
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Legislated advert isement and payment for their
products?
Are we not impoverishing the poor even farther
when we whisper by insult to them that they would
be healthier if they did not have more of
themselves?
God wantsUs to UpholdHuman Dignity
A song, wel l intentioned as i t might be, erroneouslyinvokes mans humanness as just i f icat ion for his
t ransgressions against God and fel lowmen:
Sapagkat kamiy tao lamang.
I t impl ies that humans are inherent ly weak andthereby invincibly vulnerable to corrupt ion.
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We agree with our Thomasian professors that manis composed of body and soul; that man is a rat ionalanimal.
We also agree that Gods incarnat ion elevatedmans nature by extension of earned divinity to qual i fyman for Gods many mansions.
What dist inguishes man from pure animals is thatthey are not gif ted with free wil l which subsumes thepower to choose between r ight and wrong.
When a man does wrong against another hecommits a crime (vs. individual or state) or a sin (vs.God) He does so because he is part animal. The
criminal or sinner deserves punishment becauseunlike a pure animal he chooses to sink to the level of an animal; an animal cannot help b eing i tself . Man canchoose to subordinate his self to his rat ionalcomponent.
When a man is deprived of his r ight to choose (aswhen he is forced or fraudulent ly-persuaded to dowrong or prevented/discouraged from doing what isr ight) he is dehumanized. He is forced/ inf luenced tobecome an animal. He is deprived of Gods preciousgif t which he withholds from pure animals: Free will -
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the l iv ing badge of his sovereignty over things,animals and his self ; he is deprived of humandignity , the essence of what makes him in theimage of God
The person who deprives another of his free wil l(as when the lat ter is forced by poverty to sel l his voteand thereby losing his r ight to choose) violates Godst rust. The vote-buyer commits an evi l deed of the
highest degree. We bel ieve that the Holy Spir i t , theParaclete, is the defender of our fai th and,subsumedly, of human dignity.
And i t is wri t ten that a sin against the Holy Spir i t isunpardonable.
AbettingDehumanizationVia Discrimination
The quest ioned proposal is the subsidized arrest of
populat ion growth. And who are the targets of thisfuture reduct ion? Could i t be the r ich who have the
luxury of wealth that guarantees the sustenance of
their of fspring?
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The poor are cajoled into bel ieving that i t is fortheir good that they l imit the number of their mouths to
feed so that they can prof i t f rom the good health that
emanates from the reduct ion of the burden of feeding
more. But for whose benef i t?
Who can guarantee and cert i fy that the unchosenunborn of the poor would cause human misery and
the chosen born of the r ich would bui ld a better
society in accordance with the wil l of God?
By ent icing the poor to the supposed benef i ts of
f ree use of tools to ensure unbridled sexual
intercourse without fear of the responsibi l i t ies of
pregnancy, the charmed poor are brainwashed into the
hedonist ic culture of pleasure without accountabi l i ty.
The ent iced poor are deprived of the r ight to choose
responsibi l i ty over irresponsibi l i ty.
The poor are encouraged to lust without fear; to
regard orgasm as the ult imate good; to regard the
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sacred union between the sperm and egg cel ls as just
a chemical concoct ion devoid of the Breath of God.
The sperm and egg cel ls are bearers of l i fe and,
therefore, of God, the sole giver of l i fe.
Is i t not a measure of their special sacredness that
such nature is not attached to the bodys more
numerous cel ls that rout inely die after their individual
terms of seven years ? I t is t rue that the sperm and
egg cel ls can also die but they have the potent ial
power to give l i fe from generat ion to generat ion. This
potent ial does not cease to exist when a union is not
formed just as cel ibates do not cease to be men or
women upon their ordinat ion. The ent iced poor womanis encouraged by legislat ion to say to her mate:
Let us have orgasms but let us not al low our cel ls to
have their sacred union. Let us just ki l l them!!!
The man is treated as a glori f ied producer of
orgasms. But soon he real izes that doci le beasts andmachines can produce more, and perhaps more
sat isfying, sensat ions.
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Man is placed on the level of his plast ic c ompeti tor-the vibrator. Would humans be ennobled by a Nobel
award for excel lence in sexual performance?
Now free from dependence on the old-fashioned
notion of sacred and romantic love, are not the
enchanted poor tempted to avai l themselves of theservices of those who have better performance
competing with doci le beasts and state-of-the-art
st imulators?
To regard the sperm and egg cells as
disposable chemicals is to declare a repudiation of
Gods gift, an unmistakable declaration of
independence from God! Would that be in
accordance with His will? How may we declare our
independence from Whom we implore for aid?
We are, today, the historic 12t h
of June,
celebrat ing the Independence Day. Could we also
declare our independence from the unfairness of
unequal distr ibut ion of wealth?; from the spel l of
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greed, arrogance, self ishness, envy?; from the
indif ference of lack of love the very opposite of love?
And fai l ing to make such unfounded declarat ions
are we vindicated by declaring our independence from
the Almighty?
It is agreed, in this nat ion of Christ ians, that the
human body is the temple of the Holy Spir i t . Is i t
consistent with the edifying sense of such holy
thought that such divine edif ice be ut i l ized as
receptacle for murdered cel ls? For when we invite the
Lord to be with us can i t be His wi l l to wish to dwell in
a temple of desecrated, orgasmic cel ls?
We are not ready to adopt the h asty bigot s view
that RH stands for Road to Hell , Regressive
Hysteria, Rubbish Hype, etc. But is it the will of God
for man to increase his options for enriching his
flesh yet impoverish his mind, his heart, h is soul?
In these aging years we are now only seven from
the original eleven. Mamas lonesome chicken seems
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bigger but less tast ier. From our sacred cel ls we are
now 38, al l in joyful ant icipat ion of the 39t h
.
We see ourselves as of the darkness of natures
miraculous womb; we hunger and stumble, journeying
towards Gods ul t imate l ight, conf ident of His
Unending Grace.
Our Cathol ic fai th has given us a joyful promise of
the future and by that i t has given us strength to try to
be competent in our chosen professions; to be
committed to old-fashioned ideals of loyalty to God
and Country; to be compassionate to/with our
fel lowmen, warned by a m eek, humble and The kindest
King:
Whatsoever you do to the least ofmy brothers that you do unto me.
That same cathol ic fai th has taught us to treasure
the words of a rumoredly-si nful President who humbly,
and thereby nobly, registered his God-dependent
vision of t rue and last ing health:
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Have faith in Divine Providencethat guides the destinies of men andnations.
And so we cont inue to teach our chi ld ren what we
learned from our parents:
It may be true that one cannot eathis moral principles, but what sort ofman is he who maintains an appetiteto eat without them
- Papa
It is a sin to not return excess
change
- Mama
We cont inue to labor, thankful to be among Gods
grains of sand.
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And we pray to reach as many hearts and minds aswe can touch. And i t is joyful rel ief to bel ieve that we
succeeded in joining with you because we have
writ ten and you have readall for:
A
Respectful ly submitted:
Roberto Siccuan De AlbanTumauini, Isabela