Volume 32, Issue No.1 (2015)
Women Small-Scale Miners’ Households in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte: Tactical Creativity or Resignation?
Abstract: This paper seeks to present and describe the double-edged character of the household space of women small-scale miners in Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte. Using De Certeau’s concept of tactics, the daily and ordinary experiences of women in the household, on the one hand, can be reckoned as locations of creativity and imagination. Living in a community where women are not provided with equitable livelihood opportunities, women small-scale miners reinvent themselves in the household and create something new, inspiring, and useful. On the other hand, from Foucault’s perspective, the household may be regarded as space of women’s resignation to power relations and hierarchical structures that compound their daily struggles to make ends meet. Their decision to continually reside in their neighborhood where they do small-scale gold mining is a manifestation of their disciplined resignation to the unfair and impinging structural and cultural relations in the mining community.
Keywords: Women small-scale miners, Foucault, De Certeau, tactical creativity, resignation
Documentation and Grammar of Bahasa Sug
Abstract: Before there was the Philippines, the Sulu Sultanate existed as a unified state governed under the principles of Islam, hence the title Sulu Darussalam. Bahasa Sug, the language of the Sultanate of Sulu, is still used by the people of the Sulu archipelago, Zamboanga, Palawan, Davao, and in the Malaysian state of Sabah. This paper has a dual purpose: 1) To present a survey of the documentation done on Bahasa Sug, and 2) to study the grammar of Bahasa Sug for pedagogical purposes. Native language speakers of Bahasa Sug and experts in linguistics were consulted in this qualitative research. Findings revealed that only a few studies are done on Bahasa Sug, and are focused on lexicography, linguistics, and literature. As studied, Bahasa Sug is a predicate-initial language. The Bahasa Sug sentence is basically composed of a verb phrase and a determiner phrase. Like the nations with royalty in Southeast Asia, it is of great importance that the Philippines preserve its indigenous languages, in this case, Bahasa Sug.
Keywords: Bahasa Sug, morphosyntax, argument structure, Tausug, linguistics
Community Communication: The Journey of Radyo Tacunan
Abstract: This paper describes the experiences of Tacunan residents in running a Community Public Address System particularly the trials and triumphs of Tacunan rural folks in setting up their organizational structure and in operating this community radio. This article also describes the benefits that the residents gained from operating this facility, specifically technology transfer, travels, training opportunities and development and progress in their barangay. This paper, moreover, probes into the facility’s sustainability amidst the rapidly changing landscape of Tacunan and the younger generation’s waning interest toward this community radio. This paper recommends the reorganization, review of policies, retooling, reestablishment of ties with partner agencies, and resource mobilization for its sustainable operation.
Keywords: Radyo Tacunan, community communication, community public address system, community audio tower, community radio
The Technologization of the Generation of Life of in Homologous IVF
Abstract: The current practice of generating a new human life through in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) has generated conflicting opinions within the Catholic circle, with the Church magisterium’s firm stand against it and with moral theologians coming from both sides of the camp. The paper brings into discourse some moral issues raised by the practice of IVF-ET from the perspective of moral theology. The discussion limits itself to simple or homologous IVF-ET. It will not include the issue on the moral status of the “wasted” embryos. The focus is on the validity of the principle of inseparability, which is the basis of magisterium’s position against IVF-ET, and on the proper understanding of the natural law. The paper further clarifies whether or not the technologization of the generation of life leads to an instrumental attitude toward the embryo and the child-to-be.
Keywords: Technology, IVF, morality, Catholic Church, inseparability, procreation
Jesuit Notes
Neither Theocracy Nor Civil Religion Can Serve the Common Good
This saying of Jesus was for centuries a cause of great anxiety for those who held power and for their advisors, if they happened to believe that the essence of their power lay in their ability to punish, including the taking of life. Many such people will have taken to heart Machiavelli’s advice to a prince that it is better to be feared than to be loved. He reasoned that fear was reliable as a motive while love or gratitude could so easily be silenced or drowned out by pressing concerns. Jesus’ words are placed in the context of his foretelling of the persecutions that will be suffered by his disciples, who will be delivered up to councils and governors and kings (Mt. 10:16-23). ‘Have no fear of them’ (Mt. 10:26) is the advice which Jesus gives.
Volume 31, Issue No. 1 (2014)
A Historico-Biblical Appraisal of Christian Religion vis-à-vis Violence: The Nigerian Christians’ Experience
Some scholars count Christianity as one of the violent religions. Their evaluation is often based on the violent texts in the bible, the Crusades and the Inquisitions of the Medieval Age. Scholars of this opinion do not bother much about the wars some Islamic groups, like Boko Haram in Nigeria, wage on Christians. In Nigeria, many lives and properties have been lost due to these horrendous onslaughts. This article establishes that Christianity is a ‘pacific’ religion which preaches and practices ‘love of enemies.’ The Crusades and the Inquisitions were only a stage in the development of the true Christian doctrine on war and violence, which has been long overtaken by the modern teaching. This paper will attempt to give some recommendations that could lead to a better rapprochement between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria and worldwide.
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Comparative Ecclesiology: A Way Toward a More Accountable Roman Catholic Church
This paper examines the importance of comparative method in today’s ecclesiological reflection. The appearance of ‘historical-comparative ecclesiology’ in Roger Haight’s recent writings on ecclesiology counters the prevailing belief among many in the ecumenical circle that comparative ecclesiology has met its end in the Lund’s (Sweden) Faith and Order Conference (15-28 August 1952). Haight’s version of comparative ecclesiology takes a step forward from Lund by creating a space for the churches to learn and embrace the common ground of human existence, which is no other than the God revealed in Jesus. Karl Rahner’s theology of grace is expounded in this paper to support the claim that the foundation of comparative ecclesiology is inherent in the very human and divine exchange. It is, likewise, argued that comparative ecclesiology is a ‘learning ecclesiology,’ which makes ‘love’ as both its source and aim.
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Jesuit Notes: Serious Problems with the K-12 Senior High School Curriculum
During the Mindanao Summit of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), organized by CEAP’s National Basic Education Commission (NBEC) and co-hosted by Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) on 17-18 February 2014, the intention was to appreciate progress attained in the implementation of the K-12 educational reform and to understand the requirements of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (Republict Act [RA] 10627) for the Mindanao schools.
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Philosophy and Nation Building: The Case of the Philippines
The Philippines, being a divided nation, is still unable to catch up with the development of her Asian neighbors in the globalization process. Questions related to nationhood such as “Who is the Filipino?” and “Why is there a lack of patriotism among Filipino people?” remain despite the two historic events— the People Power I and II—showing the spirit of the Filipino. Filipino sociologist Randolf S. David defines nationhood as not a static concept based on territorial boundaries, common language, religion, shared history and cultural heritage but a project, a continuing work of creation that requires a solidarity that is based on national imaginary. This paper attempts to define the role of philosophy in the project of building the Filipino nation. It argues that the project of nationhood needs a philosophy that is recuperative, critical, and projective. The project entails a philosophy of history, a philosophy of education, and an ethics of discourse.
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Quality of Leaders and Barangay Finance
This paper attempts to answer the question: Is the financial capability of local governments affected by the quality of its leaders? Financial capability is measured in terms of the Own-Source Revenues generated by every barangay’s net of their Internal Revenue Allotment. Ordinary least squares method with log transformations in a multiple regression analysis is used to estimate how much of Zamboanga City’s ninety-eight barangays’ own-source revenues are affected by the qualities of their chairpersons. The regression results support the existing literature that education of punong barangays positively affect the level of barangays’ financial capability in Zamboanga City. The leaders’ age and experience are also positive contributors. Other qualities of the punong barangay such as civil status, family affiliation, and gender do not significantly affect barangay own-source revenues. These research findings imply that for village councils to have sufficient and sustainable funding, the electorate has to choose quality local leaders who are well-educated, experienced and are old or mature enough to be able to generate and maintain local funds.
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The Sulu Sultanate: Foreign Relations, Contacts and Collaboration with other Asian Kingdoms
This paper explores the importance of founding the sultanate which served as a significant instrument for the propagation of Islam, trade and cultural development in the Philippines. It explores the sultanates’ relationship with traders, missionaries and dwellers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, as well as the Hindu, Arabs and Chinese which shows the vitality of this far and away kingdom—the Sultanate of Sulu. The paper argues that while it remains as a debate whether or not Sulu and its sultanate was in a direct line of communication with the other kingdoms of the Old World, what is certain is that it was not totally isolated on matters pertaining to trade, missionary activities and politics particularly in the fourteenth century.
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Volume 31, Issue No. 2 (2014)
Crisis Management: The Case of Tacurong City
Crisis management is a process that organizations must undergo whenever any action or event may threaten them, their stakeholders, or the people they protect. This paper describes the crisis management strategies of the Tacurong City Peace and Order Council in dealing with the Maguindanao Massacre and the Tacurong City Roadside Car Bombing. Using Coombs’s Three-Phase Crisis Management Model and Poole’s Adaptive Structuration Theory, it analyzes these strategies. The paper shows that these crisis management strategies differed in proximity, established degree of danger, and organizational role during the incidents. It also shows that despite having a standard operating procedure for crisis responses, the Tacurong City Peace and Order Council may have to adjust its approach in dealing with a situation depending on the following: Degree of risk, structure, and context of the crisis at hand. Finally, the paper argues that communication plays a vital role for an effective crisis management.
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Jesuit Notes: Vianney Seminary and the Mindanao Mission of the Restored Society
This paper reflects on the meaning of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus for St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. It asserts that the same spirit of companionship, sense of universal mission, and trust in Divine Providence which inspired its Jesuit forebears in the Mindanao mission also shape the way Vianney seminary fulfills its task of forming future priests for Mindanao and Bohol. Through a brief review of the history of Jesuit mission in Mindanao and of Vianney seminary, the paper shows how seminary formation stands in continuity with the centuries-old Jesuit involvement in Mindanao. The personnel and the times may have changed, but the Jesuit mission in Mindanao continues, thanks to the Ignatian principles which transcend the disruptions in the history of the Society of Jesus
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Mass Media Participation in Democratic Process in Nigeria: From 1999 – 2011
Before 1999, Nigeria had had intermittent democratic process, with the military controlling the administrative machinery of the country for a greater part of her existence. In each of the regimes, mass media played a significant part. Since 1999, print media ownership has been predominantly in the hands of private citizens. While the government at the center does not own any print medium, the few which are owned by the state have limited circulation and are mainly public relations organs of the owner-states. The ownership monopoly of broadcast media which hitherto was that of governments has been broken. Thus, media ownership may have contributed to media participation in the ongoing democratic process in the country. This article examines the level of media participation in the democratic process in Nigeria between 1999 and 2011, given the use of the media in enhancing the relevance of the military government in the past. A step-by-step analysis of media contribution even before the advent of the current democratic dispensation is carried out. The paper argues that the media in the country have learned to be more mature and pro-democratic in their coverage of politics. If this practice endures, the trend could bring the mass media in Nigeria to a level of democratic collaboration with the political class as witnessed in model democracies in the world.
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The Buddhist Parallax and the Nominalism of Freedom
This essay aims to critically position the modern theory of the parallax within some of Buddhism’s familiar principles and the conceptual landscape they provoke. By putting to work the simple analytic force of the parallax in the background of this essay, we think we are able to locate in Buddhism a parallactic coherence such as would establish a critical reading of some of its principles. We can refer here to Buddhism’s radical ethicality, neither metaphysics (or ontology) nor a philosophy in the sense it is conceived in the West.
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The Common Good in Global Perspective
Today’s world is marked by violent conflict, division, and inequality. In the face of these problems, it seems implausible to talk about global common goods, but it is precisely these kinds of issues which drive us to reflect on what it is that we can do together to address them. The paper clarifies what the common good is not, and proceeds to explore and analyze the experience of common goods. In the global dimension of international relations, evidence is sought to show that cooperation is not only motivated by fear or self-interest, but also by the desire to uphold an international order for its own sake. International cooperation for common goods is exemplified in several cases, but the concept of common good as heuristic and the related criteria for identifying genuine common goods are available to guide the construction of further collaboration at an international level.
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Philippines
Email: tambara@addu.edu.ph