RAIN OF FIRE

Cesar G.Bonilla
Preservation of cultural heritage

LAOAG CITY -- Ilocos Norte has a great history not only because of its culture and traditions but its Christian faith.

The most recent religious event was the 6th biennial national convention of Church Cultural Heritage Workers hosted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag under Bishop Most Rev. Sergio Lasam Utleg, DD with the help of Rev. Msgr. Ramon Danilo R. Laeda, vicar general and acting chairman of the Diocese of Laoag Committee of Church Heritage and Architecture.

With the theme, “Heritage on loan: conserving the cultural patrimony of our future generation, Utleg stated in his message "one of the special attributes of local church in Northern Ilocos is the presence of majestic churches. These edifices speak of the Ilocano response to the paltiing (revelation) of Apo Dios (God) of Himself.”

“The marks of the passing of the Lord in our history are visible in religious buildings. We all need education on the proper care of these delicate pieces of art and culture and we are filled with great joy to have it in our place." Rev. Msgr. Ramon Danilo R. Laeda said. “The convention is the gathering of all workers empowered to study preservation and rehabilitation of old patrimonies that has something to do with the enrichment of our cultural heritage for they are the living monuments of civilization that consolidated the unity of the Filipinos.”

He recognized the sacrifices of our forebears in building the churches. The Episcopal Commission on Church Heritage is under the leadership of Bishop Julito B. Cortes, auxiliary Bishop of Cebu.The executive Secretary is Fr.Milan Ted D. Torralba from Bohol. It is the mission of the convention to identify those who are included as parts of the cultural heritage and on how to preserve these edifices. Fr. Laeda said the act of preservation using modern technologies is a gargantuan task considering the hardship in raising funds to build churches.

But God works in many mysterious ways to provide proper solutions to save the deteriorating conditions of our local churches. "These are the enduring monuments of the faith of our forebears who may have worked to build these churches because of the polo or the forced labor system. Nonetheless, these were labors of love for the sake of the Heavenly Majesty and as vassals of the Spanish monarchs,” the Vicar General said.

“These churches now form part of our cultural heritage. They have withstood time surviving forces of nature like: typhoons, floods and earthquakes. hey have deteriorated through the years because of neglect and sometimes well meaning but misplaced maintenance.”

The members of Diocese of Laoag committee of church heritage and architecture are Rev. Fr. Ericson M. Josue, engineers.Eduardo Cid, Atty. Nestor Corpuz and. Elmer Resurreccion, architects Mary Coleen columbia L. Cajigal and Rex Hofilena, and Dr. Perlita Baula.
***
Sex scandals on cameras and videos are clear indications we are backsliding in our values. I am not a moralist but based on what we read and grasp from reports, the effect of this menace is due to lack moral values.

The sacredness of commitment, the privacy of relationship, and the wholesomeness and respect that one afforded to somebody cannot be intruded upon by the lustful eyes of those who prey on their victims like in rooms. Sex videos are committed by psychologically insane individuals. These can ruin our society if no immediate actions are taken by authorities.

Exposing oneself to immoral exhibition is a shame not only to oneself but to family and relatives. Professionals, actors and actresses, youth leaders and public servants must be role models of communities because of the influence and power bestowed on them in fostering values formation needed for youngsters.

The lifestyle of some people might be the root cause of this malignant and abominable actuation. Be that as it may, it is the way we treat people and the emasculation of our Christian values that show our behavior like outlook on sex. Our society is sick if we allow modern technology to make people immoral and behave like animals. Using videos like filming sex scandals is certainly a threat to our peaceful and orderly society.
***
Motorists should properly observe traffic rules and regulations while driving in main thoroughfares for disregarding traffic laws could lead to police headquarters, the hospital, or the point of no return (cemetery).

Many accidents have been attributed to the hard-headedness and recklessness of some drivers like motorcycle daredevils who fearlessly traverse the national highway without protective helmets. They grin like a Cheshire cats in overtaking slow-moving jeepneys and buses as they drive fast.

Filipinos religiously observe traffic rules abroad but sad to say, some are not law-abiding citizens in their own country. Some drive under the influence of liquor. So many warnings but still, some drivers don’t obey traffic rules or take precaution. They would not be able to learn their lessons when they meet an accident and die.
***
Two intellectually-gifted educators, Dr.Vicente Bonoan, vice-president for academic affairs of DATA Center College of the Philippines and Dr. Ernesto Ma. Cadiz shared their opinions about the present educational system in our country. Cadiz said there is a great mismatch when it comes to skills trainings provided by schools with requirements of jobs being offered nowadays causing unemployment. He said we are producing more graduates with few job opportunities so, the government should determine the needs of the job.

Dr. Vicente Bonoan said colonial mentality is still the pitfall of some Filipinos making them travel for work abroad particularly in the US creating “brain drain” in the country needed to steer the government. Bonoan said educators should not institutionalized in their system the so- called "envelopmental thinking" for they are duty-bound to help students in their quest for a better future.
Teachers should act as second parents to their students, he said, adding schools are the center of scholarly thoughts or a marketplace of ideas and not a marketplace of consumer goods. In the same vein, Cadiz said students should participate in class discussions and mentors should be prepared all the time to answer questions intelligently.
***
I would like to greet Madam Leilani A. Mendoza and Sir Roger for their kindness and generosity. They came all the way from the United States of America to visit Ilocandia. A pleasant day to Mr. Nicolas Aubert of France and Ms. Jenny Pan of China. May God bless you. More power to Philexplorer!