Yt Framework

LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God…” (1 Peter 4:11, the Holy Bible).

“SRI”: REVOLUTIONARY WAY OF GROWING RICE IN RP: There is a revolutionary way of producing rice in the Philippines nowadays, and it is called “system of rice intensification” (SRI). Through it, a one hectare riceland can be fully planted with only four kilos---yes, only four kilos---of palay seedlings, which will later on give a yield of triple (or even quadruple, I am told) of the original harvest. Unbelievable?

Yes it is, but my high school classmate who is pushing SRI, Felipe Gabriel, has pictures and other evidence to prove that the unbelievable, and even the impossible in rice production, is achievable and realizable. You want to try this? Call me at the numbers indicated below this article, and let’s see results. And, by the way, this is not a government or a Department of Agriculture project!

BLASTING THE BLASTER: MUTINY IN SINGSON’S HANDS: Sometimes, even the best of intentions get wasted away by careless and thoughtless statements which, surprisingly, come from those who are supposed to be sober and rational. This is the case of the proposed removal of informal settlers---squatters, if you will---who reside along major river banks in Metro Manila, as a preliminary step to address flooding.

While the intentions here are great---to enable water to flow more freely to the ocean and thereby lessen flooding, and to remove the settlers from the danger of rampaging waters every time it rains---Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson’s braggadocio about “blasting” the settlers and the residents is now making the relocation extremely difficult.

Singson is normally sedate in his words, that’s why he has earned the respect and admiration of President Aquino many times in the past, and so it was a surprise that he suddenly became acerbic in his language, addressed to the most sensitive sector of Metro Manila society yet. Now, Singson has a mutiny in his hands which could even cost him his job.

REIN IN YOUR TONGUE, THE BIBLE SAYS: Had Singson read his Bible before he opened his mouth, he would have found out that there are admonitions in its verses that instruct how we should be careful about our tongue all the time. In James 3:3-7, this is what the Bible says:

“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison…”

REACTIONS? Please call me at 0917 984 24 68, 0918 574 0193, or 0922 833 43 96. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.

BY ATTY. BATAS MAURICIO