THERE was no stopping then Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando from cleaning up all streets of the city, driving sidewalk vendors and squatters away from both public and private properties, especially from the banks of the Marikina River.
He expanded and renovated the city public market, which before his election had turned into a cesspool of neglect, unsanitary practices and filth. Fernando ordered the street vendors to move to the remodeled facility where they belonged. Squatters from the main river banks were relocated to cheap but decent housing among the barangays, notably Parang and Fortune. under very affordable financing schemes.
‘The poor and the lowly ultimately woke up to Fernando’s unhindered brand of social and economic reality that poverty can no longer be used to break ordinances and lawful statutes…’
Squatting and vending had become a lifestyle over many decades under inept and corrupt chief local executives of Marikina. The squatters and vendors strongly resisted Fernando’s measures meant to transform Marikina from a municipality into a modern “model city.” His no-nonsense mantra for “order, discipline and cleanliness,” along with his fearless tenacity, got things done. No one has accomplished so much for Marikina.
They held a protest rally in front of City Hall that did not deter the mayor. The following day, they were back with about five truckloads of human and animal wastes which they dumped at the park right across the building. The stink smelled for five kilometers from the capital town.
Instead of backing down, Fernando ordered the arrest of the perpetrators of the unlawful incident. The poor and the lowly ultimately woke up to Fernando’s unhindered brand of social and economic reality that poverty can no longer be used to break ordinances and lawful statutes and, along with a strong and large middle class, ensured his electoral victory for two more terms.
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Author William J. Petersen, in his intro to his and Randy Petersen’s book, “100 Amazing Answers to Prayer:” “When a group of people unites in prayer and allows God’s truth to filter through them, God has been known to extend His mighty hand and tilt the course of history. In recent decades we have seen the fall of an atheistic Communist regime in Europe and of an oppressive apartheid policy in South Africa. Both events were unthinkable just a few years before they happened. Both were matters of prayer.
“Commander Mitsuo Fuchida was the lead pilot of the 360 planes that bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the one who gave the order to attack, shouting the code words, “Tora, Tora, Tora!” A fearless pilot whose dive-bombing sills were legendary, he had racked up more flying hours than any other Japanese pilot.
“Fuchida was on duty in Hiroshima when he was summoned to army headquarters. He left the city in the afternoon. The next day, the first atomic bomb leveled the city he had just left. After the war, he spoke to a friend who had been captured by the United States. Fuchida was surprised at how well Japanese prisoners had been treated. His friend told of a volunteer, Peggy Covell, who was especially kind and courteous. When one Japanese prisoner had asked her why she was being so gracious, she told him, ‘Because Japanese soldiers killed my parents.’
“Her parents, missionary teachers in Japan before the war, had fled to the Philippines, where they were captured and judged to be spies. They were beheaded while kneeling in prayer. In America, Peggy received word of her parents’ fate. When she thought of how they died, she was filled with hate. She began wondering what they were praying about. No doubt they were praying for the Japanese asking God to forgive them. Peggy felt that God was asking her to forgive the Japanese and to demonstrate her forgiveness by serving them.
“Fuchida was astounded by the story. Not long afterward he was given a tract written by an American pilot, Joseph DeShazor, who had been captured by the Japanese and imprisoned for 40 months. He also told on how he hated the Japanese for the mistreatment he had endured. But in prison, he read the Bible and was converted as a follower of Christ. ‘Love your enemies’ had been a hard command for DeShazor, but soon he began to pray for the Japanese.
“Again, Fuchida was astounded. He decided to buy a Bible for himself. He saw the words of Christ, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Not only had Peggy Covell’s parents, Peggy herself, and the American pilot included him in their prayers — now it seemed that Jesus Himself was praying for him as He died on the cross! Fuchida began to burst out in tears. Within a year he accepted Christ as His Savior. Soon he met DeShazor, and over the next few years, the two of them spoke to large crowds in the United States and Japan. Thousands were won to Christ.”
