‘Apparently, solving this is not easy, considering the thick layers of bureaucratic and entrenched opportunism in the Department.’
FROM where we sit, the Department of Agriculture has mismanaged its logistical operations for many years, leading to frequent shortages of agricultural products, especially fruits and vegetables. It has been reported that 30 percent of the farmers’ produce has been wasted due to the poor logistical system.
President Bongbong Marcos has stressed that “farmers should be equipped with the necessary information to limit the production of agricultural products that are only sellable in the market. He also stressed “the need to give farmers the technical know-how for them to better decide what to plant in every season.”
After leading the DA for about a year, the President seems to be very acquainted with this major problem. Apparently, solving this is not easy, considering the thick layers of bureaucratic and entrenched opportunism in the Department.
During a sectoral meeting with DA officials, he also “pushed for the upgrade of the processing of goods, as well as the development of the necessary facilities to enable farmers to gain more value for their products” — two persistent issues that have characterized government’s demeaning and repeated indifference to farmers, favoring instead wealthy and politically-connected suppliers and businessmen.
***
Many countries around the world were half-expecting a Christmas truce in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would hear nothing of it, despite the deaths of thousands of women and children, insisting that agreeing to a truce was not the right way to deal with a terrorist group such as Hamas.
The fiercest battles in World War I were fought on the Western Front in France. But something quite extraordinary happened on one Christmas Eve that no man could explain.
“Soldiers were engaged in a brutal and grueling trench warfare in the weeks leading up to Christmas in 1914.
“On the night of December 24th, humanity triumphed over war’s hostility. As soldiers on both sides began to sing Christmas carols, the echoes of explosions were replaced by a haunting silence. The tunes carried across the empty battlefield, fostering a sense of community and peace.
“Soldiers suddenly ventured into no-man’s land – the dangerous area between opposing trenches – in some areas of the front lines. The soldiers, who were initially wary, soon found themselves face-to-face with their adversaries. Instead of gunfire and animosity, there were handshakes, greetings, and even gift exchanges. Trading cigarettes, food and souvenirs were examples of shared humanity.
“The truce was not universal across the Western Front, but in various pockets, soldiers, many of whom were tired and dissatisfied by the horrors of war, took advantage of the opportunity to embrace the Christmas spirit. They buried their dead, played impromptu football (soccer), and held conversations that cut across language barriers.” (From Imperial War Museums (n.d.), The real story of the Christmas truce. https://.iwm.org.uk/history/the real-story-of-the-christmas-truce. Submitted in my class, Communication, Culture and Society, last semester at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).
It was a moment of peace, not brokered by man, but by the supernatural power of the God of order, of peace, of joy, of forgiveness, who could turn an abyss of death and destruction into a gathering of warm and endearing fellowship for “the universal desire for peace.”
It was “a remarkable episode in warfare history,” a miracle indeed that harkened back to the first Christmas which many Bible scholars believe to be “the greatest miracle in human history’ when the Son of God became man, descending into the tiniest part of a woman’s body to become the Savior of the world.”
***
A young Christian Pastor from the Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) advises people not to be woefully enamored with the leading TV networks’ daily teleseryes for their violent and vulgar displays of anger, revenge and bitterness which all make for the ratings and revenues. He says he would rather be awed by real-life stories of serene and touching episodes of kindness, sympathy, comfort and forgiveness.
He mentions the life of a neglected and abused housewife, eventually abandoned by her husband who runs off with a younger woman. He squanders the family’s wealth, properties and businesses with three mistresses, with whom he has several kids.
In his sixties, her husband contracts a serious illness that practically immobilizes him. In no time, his mistresses and “good weather friends” deserted him. The “suffering” wife welcomes him back into their once blissful abode, brings him to a hospital, and spends a fortune to help nurse him back to health.
The wife’s friends would say she never uttered any unkind or insulting word against her husband, only affirming and healing words of comfort and love. The young Pastor says their story will not make it to any teleserye, which only offers the bitter and miserable side of life.
