By Batas Mauricio FOR whatever it maybe worth, I would like to share with our readers here this interesting piece which appeared recently on Facebook and which is being attributed to lawyer-educator Emmanuel Noli Tiu Santos, about the right of the Filipino people to carry out a revolution to effect a cleansing of the government of corruption. Read on: “It is now widely perceived that all the three branches of government––the legislative (Senate and House of Representatives), the Executive, and the Judiciary––have been immersed in corruption and completely lost the trust and confidence of the people. They cannot, therefore, be expected to totally cleanse our government of corruption. “The people under Article 2, Section 1 (of the 1987 Constitution, which says ‘Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them’) have now have to invoke their inherent right to revolution, and do the cleansing themselves like avenging angels swooping down on evil people.” On December 13, 2013, Santos released, also on Facebook, an updated version of what he called as his “Strategic Plan for Revolutionary Government”, which contained a series of proposed presidential issuances to install a revolutionary government in the Philippines which will carry out the cleansing process against corruption. Here are Santos’ “presidential issuances”: “1. Proclamation No.001-82113, Series of 2013,  Proclaiming a Revolutionary Government, Revoking the 1987 Constitution, and Promulgating the Transition Freedom Constitution for the Provisional Government. “2. Revolutionary Presidential Decree (RPD) 001-82113, Series of 2013, Abolition of Congress and Pork Barrel in any Guise or Form; 3. RPD No. 002-82113, Series of 2013, Arrest of all those involved in the pork barrel scam and other forms of corruption and confiscation of plundered or unexplained wealth of elective and appointive officials, staff or employees, and private individuals...” Explaining what constitutes “unexplained wealth”, Santos gave this formula: “Net worth of plundered or unexplained wealth minus net worth declared in the income tax return the year before assumption of public office equals net plundered or unexplained wealth.” Santos’ other proposed issuances for a revolutionary government: “4. RPD No. 003-82113, Series of 2013, Adopt Substantial Evidence as sufficient quantum of proof of evidence to convict any person, whether government official or employee, and private individual. This new rule on evidence is intended for violation of the Anti-Graft Law, Unexplained Wealth Law, Anti-Plunder of Wealth Law, Code of Ethics for Public Officials, and other related laws, while at the same time repealing the Rule on Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt provided in the Rules of Court, Santos explained. More of this next time.

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 Reports saying that Bibles have been violently seized from a Malaysian Christian group on January 02, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur are shocking believers quite gravely, not because it represented a repression of religious freedom in Malaysia, but more because the seizures appeared to be part of the prophesied events which signal the end of the world. Among Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is God and Savior, what is happening now in Malaysia is perceived to be a fulfillment of what Jesus said in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13 of the Bible as one of the manifestations that His “Second Coming” and the destruction of the world are “right at the door” and are about to occur. In Luke 21:12 for example, Jesus Christ was quoted as saying: “... ‘But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name’...”

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I have often been asked by many well-meaning friends if believers from the Philippines are to be considered a part of the select men and women who will be saved from the fire and worms of hell at the end of time, and whether or not they will have a role in the work of preaching the Word and saving souls. This is a tough question to answer, but, in all humility, my answer is “yes” on both counts: Filipinos will be among those who will be saved and rewarded with eternal life, and who will be given a role in God’s work. To me, there are specific verses of the Bible which prove this, particularly Ephesians 2:11-22, Acts 2:38-39 and, in a way, Isaiah 46:11. In gist, what Ephesians 2:11-22 is saying is this: even those who were originally far away and not entitled to salvation, but who heard of Jesus and accepted and believed in Him as God and Savior, have been “brought near by the blood of Christ”, and have become “fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household”, so that only one community of believers---the body of Christ––is established worldwide. In Acts 2:38-39, we are told that all sinners who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ will receive the Holy Spirit. This promise is no longer just for the Jews who believed in Jesus, but, specifically, even “for all who are far off” who have been called by God. This reference to those who are from a “far-off land” who are called by God is also found in Isaiah 46:11, where God promised that He will call His “bird of prey”,  which is in reality a people from a “far-off land” from the east, to fulfill His purpose and His plan. Indeed, salvation and the work of preaching the Word and saving souls had been given to all believers, including those who are from a “far-off land” in the east. Where is this “far-off land” in the east that the Bible refers to? I am quite certain that this refers to the Philippines which, during World War II, had the distinction of playing host to the Usaffe or the “United States Armed Forces in the Far East”. Evidently, God has called believers from the Far East, the Filipinos, to fulfill His purpose during these last days.   E-mail: melaniolazomauriciojr@outlook.com,  batasmauricio@yahoo.com and  mmauriciojr111@gmail.com