By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO
www.nordis.net

It was a book launching activity where the local media were invited. The backdrop of stage was a large colored map of northern Luzon indicating provincial boundaries, centers, and major landmarks, rivers, highways, roads tourists spots. It apparently was made to illustrate the location and size of the different mining applications, forest and corporate logging areas, the national government reservations and military camps or detachments.

I must have been watching too many war movies to have thought that the map looked like one of troop deployments on a northward invasion. It makes one wonder what are all these AFP detachments all over the NL doing there. If it is for defense, defense from what? Chinese security forces from the Scarborough shoal? It sounds and it is ridiculous.

Like the activists say, the soldiery of the country have been deployed to these places to facilitate development aggression and not to defend the Filipino peoples from invasion of so-called foreign invaders. That is more of what it looks like.

The indicated areas applied for mining, and the number of mineral exploration applications made over northern Luzon puts up a more logical reason for the deployment of a bulk of AFP troops and the growing number of military detachments and movement in these pine clad hills.

The only thing here is that the purposes of the troop deployment identifies who their enemy is that they are allegedly pursuing or preparing for, (unless the soldiers are to be the laborers in these industries) and there is no indication of a foreign invading army out to overrun the patriotic defense of the Filipino people.

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Be a scout on school opening.

It is the end of summer classes, enrollment for elementary is nigh and classes are projected to start on the first week of June. Working parents’ faces are lined with anxiety as they mentally calculate the increased prices against the diminished value of their wages and savings while purchasing the needs as the opening of this school year draws near.

Just be prepared like the girl/boy scout motto says.

This school year is the official implementation of the required kindergarten classes as part of the primary education program. Noting the reports of lack of funding, lack of classrooms, and lack of teachers to fill up the positions required by this kindergarten program. We could only hope our education officials have really prepared for this as government media projections enthused to the public.

Everyone would hate it if on school opening we would see children outside of classrooms, no chairs or without the required books or without a teacher. On the other hand, it is prudent that we prepare for things like this and make sure the children are protected, as much as it is important that if this happens it is immediately brought to the attention of the public authorities and responsible officials.

If in a tight spot it is better to be cool, solve the immediate problem first and then walk on to solve the next. # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work.’ It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining… We demand this fraud be stopped.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Finally, the people behind the move to organize another union in the Mankayan mine site were identified. They had solicited signatures among their fellow mine workers on the ruse of building a better union that will truly look after the welfare of its members.

To make their arguments sound more convincing, they claim that they had already recruited more than half the number of members of the existing union. They also claim that their attempt to organize another local union is legal and within the freedom period as provided if the 24th Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has lapsed, and that the 25th CBA is not registered as certified by the Bureau of Labor Relations of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

During a “freedom period” where union members prepare for a Certification Election (CE), any legitimate group of workers for clear reasons are free to contest the existing union in the CE. In the case of the Lepanto mine workers, the 24th CBA was signed in 2008, and the life span of that agreement is five years. The union negotiations in 2011 was actually for the extension of the 24th CBA.

If the 24th CBA was not extended then this would approximately be the time for the freedom period. It is no wonder there are these actions now inside the mine to disaffiliate workers from the existing union and separate them from the known militant and progressive labor federation.

This kind of move can only be suspect. If the issues they raise against the incumbent union are not valid and not brought up for discussion in the proper forum? or as a campaign issue? If there is no visible or popular support for their call for a CE instead of them just claiming the legit union’s roster as their members or supporters?

These people who say broke away from the union, may have yellow union interests (as opposed to militant) or support behind them, or also possibly the support of management or company interests, to break the existing union. There can be a number of anti-labor moves against the “real workers’ union” especially when the union is viewed as weakened, or lacking member support.

For years before the existing union was affiliated with the militant national labor alliance, a culture of leader centered and “leave it to the lawyer” attitude reigned over the union members. The members had no idea what their leaders were doing because of the absence of transparency. Then when CBA negotiations come, the table battle lasts only a day or two as the officers, the lawyers and the management have already “agreed” without the participation of the union’s membership.

This time at the mine site, a new contesting so-called legitimate union petitioned for a CE to challenge the incumbent unions and obviously to dis-affiliate it from the progressive labor organizations. And if this happens, some individuals will be back to rubbing elbows with the management at the expense of the workers. # nordis.net

By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“Then the Lord said, ‘I have seen the afflictions of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt’. But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain.’ ” — Exodus 3:7-12

First of six parts

Nature of prophecy

To understand better our prophetic task perhaps it would be good for us to look, first of all, into the nature of Biblical prophecy. The prophets in the Bible were actually scorned in their own day, but then they were venerated in later centuries as persons of clear vision, matchless faith and experience, and heroic courage. They were very much hated by the people, especially the power-that-be when they were still alive; but when they were already dead, they were very much love.

Jesus Christ our Lord and the primitive church drank deeply from the springs of prophetic teaching and experience, as many references to the prophets in the Gospels and the Epistles would show. Many secular people of our time even regard the prophets in the Bible as authentic human beings, unshackled by tradition and free from oppressive attitudes.

Interpreters of God’s Will

Biblical prophecy is not about forecasting the future, but rather about interpreting the mind and will of God. It is not the nature of Biblical prophecy to see the future like a photograph. The primary purpose of the prophets was to bring the people of their day back to their proper obedience to God. Thus, in general they are offering not foresight but insight. Of course, they point to the consequences of the people’s behavior in the judgment of God, however, this is not offered as a map of the future.

A prophet is not someone who announces the future, but rather someone who speaks in the name of God, someone who has been made privy to God’s plans (cf. Amos 3:7) and now sees everything through God’s eyes. Prophets express themselves through words, like oracles (declarations made in the name of God), exhortations, stories, prayers, but also through actions.

The prophetic actions are symbolic; they communicate the Word. These symbolic actions are meant to emphasize the prophet’s message. For instance: Prophet Jeremiah broke a clay pot to show that God could easily break and destroy Judah (Jer. 19); Prophet Isaiah also walked around naked to show that the Assyrians would defeat and strip the Egyptians of their power; he did this because King Hezekiah hoped that the Egyptians might support him in rebelling against the Assyrians (Isa. 20).

Prophets as People with Special Insight

Moreover, prophets get their special insight from God. But their messages should not be understood as something God dictated to them word by word. Rather they themselves are expressing the messages in their own words, sometimes in the form of poems or visions.

The prophets analyze their present situation, and from there they conclude what the future would look like. They are sure that there is a correlation between people’s actions and their destiny. The future is a consequence of the present situation (cf. Amos 2:6-12 and 2:13-16). The reasons for the disasters to come are the sins or wrongdoings of the people, especially the leaders.

There are at least three most important issues or sins the Old Testament prophets were dealing with in their prophecies. First is the issue of injustice, like land-grabbing by landlords, who would take away the ancestral lands of small farmers. Prophets like, Amos, Micah, and Isaiah, criticized these landlords (e.g. Amos 2:7ff.).

Second is the issue of idolatry. Prophets like, Hosea, Jeremiah and Ezekiel criticized those who trust in other gods and images of gods and goddesses, even images of Yahweh (e.g. Hos. 4:10-13).

And third is the issue of false security. Prophets like, Hosea, Jeremiah and Isaiah, criticized those who trust in their own military strength or in the strength of foreign powers (e.g. 7:11ff.). Prophet Jeremiah also criticized another kind of false security, and that is: that the Temple or the cultic rites (worship ceremonies) would guarantee the safety or salvation of people.

Prophets as Watchmen

Prophets are also considered watchmen of the city. Prophet Ezekiel compared the prophets like himself to a watchman (Ez. 33). Like the watchmen, the prophets should be able to see what is approaching before the people would see it. Their responsibility is to warn the people about a coming disaster. In other words, the prophets are the moral guardians of society.

The prophet’s message is quite absolute: the doom will come if the people will continue to commit sinful acts. Prophet Jonah’s story however, indicates that repentance could change the people’s fate. He announced disaster for the people of Nineveh. “In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed,” he said (Jonah 3:4). But the people showed sincere repentance for their sins, from the king down to the ordinary citizens (Jonah 3:10). Thus, God had compassion for them, and saved them. The prophets’ hope is that the people would listen to their radical messages, and they would repent of their sins and change their ways.

Of course, the prophets see not only disasters, but also hope after the disasters. For instance, Prophets Isaiah and Micah (e.g. Isa. 2:2-4; Mic. 4:1-5) had visions of shalom based on justice and solidarity. But it is not the people’s good works, but rather God’s merciful actions that would bring about a better future.

Prophets as Messengers of God

Moreover, prophets are also men and women (Ex. Huldah in 2 Kgs. 22:14; Miriam in Ex. 15:20-21) who understood themselves as spokespersons or messengers of God. The Greek term prophetes means spokesperson. In Hebrew, the term nabi is also used to mean entrusted with a message.

In the Old Testament times, most people could neither read nor write. So if a person wanted to tell something to somebody, but could not go himself, he would send a messenger. The messenger must know the message by heart. He would personally bring the message to the person concerned and be sure that the recipient would fully understand the message.

The messenger must be trustworthy and faithful to the message. He would start proclaiming his message with the phrase: Thus says so and so… This is called the messenger’s formula (e.g. Gen. 32:3-5). Now, being God’s messengers, the prophets should also start their message with this same phrase: Thus says the Lord… (e.g., I Sam.12:11). # nordis.net

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