etch on your epitaph

The news of the untimely demise of pop icon Michael Jackson jolted the world and triggered a cyberspace traffic jam. In many parts of the globe, vigils were held by his loyal followers and even those who suddenly became his fans.

The impact he made on the music industry and the lives of many people cannot be under estimated - he broke racial barriers, paved the way for modern pop music, and made great humanitarian contributions. The unstoppable juggernaut made unparralleled influence in the lives of the old and young generations worldwide.

Although I like a few of his songs, I am not really an "MJ fanatic", but his death made me pause and ponder about the ultimate meaning of life. What is the real meaning of our existence? Definitely, no one, not even the so called "evils trapped in a human body" were brought to this world for nothing - there is always a purpose for everyone and everything.

For his part, MJ declared his life's purpose: "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever." What is mine? I never really had the chance to seriously ponder what is my life purpose, perhaps for the simple reason that I really didn't care much about it.
Maybe as a person comes to age, the idea of life's purpose crosses his mind once in a while. I don't want to think that this is part of mid-life crisis, but, if it is, then I think it is really worth everyone in this age some time.

Whether we consider mulling over our life's purpose or not, one thing is certain - we don't live in this earth forever. Fame and fortune could not stop the grim Ripper from taking away our lives.

What really matters in the end is not our wealth, our fame, positions, titles and social status but our relationship with our Creator and our fellowmen!

When we leave this world, what would be etched in our epitaphs?

This reminds me of the words of Fr. Alfred Delp, renowned Jesuit Priest, who was executed for his resistance to the Nazi regime in Germany who said:
"When through one man, a little more love and goodness, a little more light and truth comes into the world, then that man's life has had meaning"

Behind the uniform...

Several years ago, I remember, he is one of the most admired junior officers, especially girls. He was the epitome of a true gentleman, friendly and oozing with sex appeal. I had the unexpected chance of meeting him again a few days back, and nothing has changed-except the stars added on his shoulders. PNP Chief Jess Versoza remained the police officer I highly admire and salute.
Behind the uniform remains a good-mannered man, and still with so much stories to tell. Yet of all his many words, there is one thought he shared that I was most touched : " There are some things we must correct and there are some things we're doing that we must perfect".
We do so many things every day, but sometimes because the number of things we do, we often neglect the value of what we are doing. More often than not, we tend to finish one task just for the sake of completion. We hardly have the chance to ask ourselves, " have I given my best on it?"
We meet different people everyday but we hardly even notice them. We do not even know why our paths crossed anyway. We tend to forget so many important things, simply because we do not live life - we simply exist in this world. We forget to give importance to the little things which are the keys to reaching bigger goals, greater dreams.
We sometimes treat people as mere post-it notes - whom we remember only when needed. After they have served their purpose for us, we readily crumple and throw them to the trash box, soon, totally forgotten.
The General's message is simple but often neglected and I thank the Lord for having our paths cross again, for he has reminded me to give importance to anything I do, which I often forget!

Who's to say?....(a first step?)

"Damn i hate Cops!".....geesh..been havin these thoughts all over before i set foot on that place...gave me the chills actually....but as soon as i managed to sink my thoughts all together.....well...it kinda hit me..."These guys ain't so bad after all!"...

At first these people really..disgusted me...sort of...why?..well...check the news,the tv,even the locals...they'll elaborate on the "Bad" things these men do...

But,as one could say..."There is always two sides of a coin"..let's just cut em' some slack..give the guys a break...and who knows..the men and women of PNP might prove themselves true protectors of our nation...


and that ends my speech(bow)....eheheheh......

Why MUSCOVADO?

Why MUSCOVADO?

I know you are wondering where in this world did I get the idea of putting Muscovado as the name of this blog, supposed to be a venue for expressing the youths' ideas and expectations of the police force.

Muscovado is a brown, moist, and fine specialty sugar. It battles well with high temperatures and has a reasonably good shelf life! It was once called a "poor man's sugar" because it is not as physically appealing as the regular white sugar. But behind the dark color and unappealing look, it is completely free of harmful chemicals and is rich in nutrition.

The PNP is very much like the muscovado sugar. The organization is void of a good image because this is how they were presented to the public. It is a group of men in uniform with all sorts of impurities. Yet behind these impurities, behind
the marred image is an organization of valiant men, ready to risk their lives and limbs to be of service to the people. These men too are resistant to crisis and pain and would not give up. Just as the muscovado, we only need to know them closely to feel their "real identity".

The prospects of the PNP is sweet and is even sweeter when we learn to love it.

This space is for all who would want not only to share their thoughts on the country's police force, but to share their ideas too on how to make it even better. All these will be coursed to proper authorities for review and action.

RISE from RAVAGE

GREETINGS...

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

The PNP is faced today with a greater challenge, a challenge beyond overseeing national security. We are all aware that as law enforcers, our main task is to keep peace and order, but with the changing times, our main roles changed. While we continue to perform our assigned tasked on one hand, there is another pressing issue we have to contend with on the other hand – corruption within our ranks.

During the past years and recent months, our organization has been marred by corruption, not only because of misdemeanors of non-officers but officers as well. The public’s trust on us has been severely ravaged. No amount of public relations can turn this around. We need a lot of hard work and self-cleansing to reclaim the trust that has once given honor to our uniforms.

When he took the helm of the organization, PNP Chief Director General Jesus Versoza promised the nation that he will bring back the glory that the police once had. He took off where his predecessor has left – continue to bring back “Mamang Pulis” and rid the PNP of “kotong cops”.

Although this is not far from possible, it is neither easy nor swift. We cannot change the organization overnight. And the first step is almost always difficult. I believe that the first step is to change ourselves--moral recovery for every individual policeman is imperative.

We must admit that corruption within our ranks proliferated because of the decline of our moral standards. Most of us have chosen to follow the culture of corruption in all its forms, that plagued most societies in the world today.

But it is not yet too late for us to take the initial step. Let us go back to basics – change must start within ourselves. Amidst our daily tasks and problems, let us take a few moments to reflect-perhaps we have been remiss in our relationship with our Creator, we have forgotten His teachings, we have lost our faith in Him. Perhaps this is the right time for us to renew and strengthen our faith in Him, from whom all powers come.

Corruption is so powerful that once it is embedded in the system, it is never easy to exonerate but with the help of a more powerful force, it can be totally devastated. Let us not gear our efforts to anti-corruption campaigns that will result in mere superficial effects. It is time to stop the practice of glossing over the façade of the organization with public relations campaigns that do not actually give solutions. It is time to face the problem head-on.

Today, I exhort all of you to start taking the first step so that in no time, our organization will gain back its glory – free of corruption and full of public trust!

Thank you and a pleasant day to everyone.

Note: I wrote this speech for a friend who is a PNP General and was delivered during the command’s flag raising rites.

A HINT OF GLINT

“It is important to emphasize the positive. If your vision of the future is pessimistic, it will be like that, but if it’s positive and grounded, you will create exactly that”.

This best describes my perception now of the country’s only police force, exactly the opposite of how I perceived it before setting my foot on the organization. The Philippine National Police was nothing but a bunch of criminals camouflaged in “respectable” uniforms. Its public image is mud. All its men were crooks, vultures always on their toes for hapless victims, they move around not to protect but to threaten the people – there was really nothing good about them except their posture, so I thought.

Yet, these dogma gradually changed, when I became part of the organization I once considered the worst institution in the country. Although there were a number of flaws, the police force was not actually as bad as it seemed. There were really good men , though there are a few misfits. I am a living witness to some of the transgressions. While some members have their hands full delivering genuine public service, others are preoccupied fulfilling their personal agenda. But well, this is a reality in all organizations, even small circles like the family have their share of this dilemma.

At the end of the day, however, it is not a matter of counting how many mistakes you have made, what really matters is the realization of these mistakes and desire to change. And I am too proud, I have been part of an organization doing all means to reform inside and out, not just its image, its façade.

A few days ago, I was invited to speak at a writing summit sponsored by the PNP for student journalists. It did not come as a surprise for me when they gave negative insights of the police. This is expected, for the simple reason that these are what they were told and what they have read. After the two-day seminar, though, some of their skepticism were erased.

The organizers know that although their negative perceptions cannot be changed overnight, there is a hint of glint. If there was something significant the participants gained from the summit, it was the fact that anyone can be an agent of change. This is even more significant than the lectures of honing their writing skills.

While never apathetic to the ills of society, being writers at a tender age motivated these students to take an active stance. They are aware they will not be able to implement change, but the students know very well they can make a difference.

Behind my awe, I am grateful to these students because I learned so much from them, even more than what they learned from me. I believe, one day, they too will love the PNP, as I do, or maybe even more.