Do firms fight corruption?

2

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By Mia A. Aznar

Saturday, November 3, 2012

WHILE the business community has long asked the government to rid itself of corruption, a recent anti-corruption survey among business owners showed majority of them have done little to curb corruption on their end.

The Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) enterprise survey on corruption for 2012 found that 57 percent of respondents spent nothing in the last two years to combat fraud and corruption in their companies.

Seventy-six percent spent nothing to contribute to any private anti-corruption program in the last two years.

Although they found 67 percent of enterprises willing to contribute to fund a program that would halve public sector corruption in 10 years, those willing to contribute are only willing to shell out five percent, at most, of their net income.

‘A little corruption’

Results of the enterprise survey on corruption were presented by SWS president Mahar Mangahas in a recent road show by the National Competitiveness Council.

The results show that 67 percent disagree that they cannot do anything to reduce corruption in the government. Fifty-two percent expect a positive change in net income if corruption is reduced to that of Singapore.

Most in the business sector said they believe there is “a little” corruption in the private sector, with just 11 percent thinking there is a lot. But when the SWS asked the general public, 38 percent felt there is a lot of corruption in the private sector as well.

In the survey, the SWS listed seven areas where government personnel probably solicit for bribes.

These are in getting local government permits and licenses; assessment and payment of income taxes; getting national permits and licenses; complying with import regulations and payment of import duties; supplying government with goods or services; collecting receivables from government; and availing of government incentives.

Fifty percent said they were solicited for at least one of the seven bribes; at least 31 percent claimed they were solicited for a bribe in getting local government permits and licenses. Twenty-seven percent said they were solicited during assessment or payment of taxes, while 19 percent were approached in getting national government permits or licenses.

In Metro Cebu, 56 percent claimed to have been solicited for any of the seven bribes; 32 percent of them said this happened while they were getting local government permits and licenses. Twenty-six percent said they were solicited for bribes in getting assessments or in paying taxes.

About 20 percent received solicitations while getting permits and licenses from the national government; 28 percent in complying with import regulations and duties; 18 percent in supplying the government with goods or services; 11 percent in collecting receivables from government; and eight percent in availing themselves of government incentives.

‘Nothing would be done’

Despite these cases, 95 percent of the Cebuano respondents did not report the bribe solicitation, close to the 91 percent national figure.

Majority of those who did not report the bribe reasoned that nothing could be done anyway if they reported it.

Thirty-nine percent said they could not prove it happened while 34 percent feared reprisal if they dared to report anything. Twenty-six percent said it was too small a problem to bother reporting it, and 25 percent did not know how or to whom they should report the bribe solicitation.

Twenty-one percent claimed it was standard practice not to report, while 21 percent felt they would spend too much if they did. Thirteen percent said they did not want to betray anyone while eight percent said they would be embarrassed if they reported it.

It is the area of procurement that they consider the most vulnerable to corruption, while human resource management is the least. Sectors considered most vulnerable to corruption include construction, mining and quarrying, and government services.

Sought for comment on the results, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Prudencio Gesta said these should be taken positively because it means there is more room to improve in both the public and private sectors.

SWS surveyed 826 persons nationwide from July 16 to Sept. 7 for this round of the survey and reported an error margin of plus-minus three percent.

The group surveyed 100 in Metro Cebu, where the error margin was pegged at 10 percent.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

ASEM To Adopt Vientiane Declaration

By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA

November 6, 2012, 8:44pm

VIENTIANE – Asian and European leaders yesterday reached a consensus to adopt the Vientiane Declaration during the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held here in Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic.

Section 5 of the Vientiane Declaration will serve as a reminder to ASEM leaders of their renewed commitment “to refrain from the act of threat or the use of force in any manner inconsistent with the United Nations (UN) charter and international law against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of any state and to seek peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue, negotiations and other means in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.”

President Benigno S. Aquino III joined 19 other Asian countries, 29 European countries, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary General of the ASEAN in adopting the Vientiane Declaration.

Aquino, himself, reiterated before Asian and European leaders the Philippine government’s commitment to resolve its diplomatic disputes against China over maritime and territorial issues before international lawmaking bodies, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“This effort is consistent with our country’s position on the disputes surrounding the West Philippine Sea, which is merely a portion of the South China Sea within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” Aquino said during his keynote address at the ASEM summit which was held at the National Convention Center, Lao PDR.

Aquino brought up the issue when the ASEM leaders tackled regional issues during the summit, and reiterated the country’s sovereignty over the so-called “highly contested body of water.”

Aquino, who attended the ASEM summit for the first time, said it is imperative that countries and stakeholders in the Asian region to work together to enhance maritime cooperation and security.

“This is an issue that, we believe, concerns even non-claimant countries. After all, this is an area through which 50,000 ships – many of them from Europe – pass annually, facilitating trade between all our countries and many others,” Aquino said at his keynote address.

“As such, its implications on freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce make it a priority issue not only for the Philippines and the region, but also for the wider international community,” the Chief Executive said.

Aquino emphasized to Asian and European leaders that the Philippines has always advocated a rules-based approach as the most “legitimate, most appropriate, and durable means” to address conflicting maritime and territorial claims” from the very beginning.

“This has not changed. We remain firmly committed to the fair and peaceful settlement of disputes in the West Philippine Sea, in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” he stressed.

China has insisted that Scarborough Shoals or Panatag shoals as part of China’s inherent territory and claimed they have sufficient legal basis to prove ownership over that huge body of water.

China has also refuses to bring its claim on the Scarborough Shoals before the UNCLOS.

Besides the Philippines, other Asian nations, in particular, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei  also claim ownership of some parts of the West Philippine Sea.

Aquino said the Philippines is now looking forward to the early convening of negotiations on a legally binding regional Code of Conduct which was one of the agenda agreed upon when ASEAN leaders reached a consensus on the Six-Point Principle on the West Philippine Sea last July.

The Philippines looks forward to the early convening of negotiations on a legally binding regional Code of Conduct, parallel to the full and active implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Aquino, however, assured that despite its maritime conflict with China, which has somehow hurt bilateral relations between the two countries, both the Philippines and China remain committed to enhancing bilateral ties, towards the benefit of their peoples.

“Through measures such as these, founded on a collective desire for stability and on the importance of continued international engagement, we can best ensure that whatever tensions are present do not escalate into open conflict,” Aquino said.

“And this is an endeavor in which we must all take part. After all, it is in our collective interests to ensure peace, harmony, stability, and safety and freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea. This is fundamental not only for the continued economic growth and prosperity of Asia, but for the rest of the world as well,” exhorted Aquino.

“In these times, where the state of individual economies and the stability of individual countries depend so much on events all over the world, it is becoming more important for us all to work together towards mutual progress, and towards a stable and peaceful ASEAN Community and Asia-Pacific region, which will, in the end, benefit the entire global community,”  he concluded.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. (053)555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

Philippines gets EU support on West Philippine Sea issue

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Monday, November 5, 2012

THE European countries of Norway, Switzerland, European Council and European Commission on Monday expressed support for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III's stand to resolve the longstanding territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea diplomatically and peacefully.

Presidential spokesperson Herminio Coloma Jr., who was with the President in Laos for the two-day 9th Asia-Europe Meeting, said that during the President's bilateral meetings with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Swiss Confederation President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, European Council Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Varroso, the four leaders supported the Philippines' position to resolve issues in the disputed area peacefully and in accordance with international laws.

"We noted the increased importance of maritime security in the West Philippine Sea and there was an agreement that it was a matter of international interest as a significant amount of trade passes by the West Philippine Sea," Coloma said.

"In particular, Switzerland and the EU and in part Norway indicated their firm support to our position that conflicts or disputes in that area are to be resolved peacefully and following international law and in particular there is firm support for an Asean-centric approach, which has always been the position of President Aquino considering four out of the 10 members states of Asean have specific stakes in the West Philippine Sea," he added.

"Therefore, the only logical approach to any conflict resolution will have to be multilateral and involving all stakeholders therein," he noted.

Coloma said Aquino underscored the importance of bilateral meetings as an opportunity for the Philippines to further enhance friendship and partnership with other countries.

"The President is in a very upbeat and optimistic mood. He is satisfied with the outcome of the bilateral meetings and he feels that this is an important opportunity for the country to enhance its friendship and partnership with the countries of both Europe and Asia," he said.

In the President's meeting with Stoltenberg, Coloma said the discussion centered on improving the working conditions of migrant Filipino workers, particularly in the healthcare sector.

"Norway confirmed its assurance for support in our efforts to land better jobs for Filipino migrant workers particularly in the healthcare sector in Norway and the easing or procedural improvements to create better opportunities for qualified Filipino workers," he said. 

He added that Norway the European Commission and the European Council had pledged their support for the country's bid to retain our standing in the International Maritime Organization white list.

"This means that we will be complying with all the requirements of the standards for training and certification watch-keeping of seafarers (STCW 198 Convention)," he said. 

The President also met with Swiss Confederation President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf where he extended the Philippines thanks for its assistance in "heightening" and further developing our expertise in disaster risk reduction and management.

Aquino's last meeting, a trilateral meeting with European Council President Herman Von Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at 11 a.m., centered on improving maritime security within the West Philippine Sea to ensure the safety of goods and people traversing the highly travelled body of water.

Coloma said all meetings the President had "went very well" with all discussions on "increased opportunities and intensified cooperation."

He said the three nations were "enthusiastic" in congratulating the Philippines for finally achieving peace in Mindanao with the signing of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement.

"We see this as a genuine opportunity for reaping peace dividends including increased investments into the Philippines and Mindanao in particular," Coloma said.

He added that in return, the Philippines expressed its support for the requests of Norway and Switzerland in its bid to become members of ASEM.

"And in reciprocity, we supported the requests of the various delegation with which we met, for Norway and Switzerland as they are joining the ASEM meetings and would like to become involved in the dialogues with Asean as future dialogue partners," Coloma said. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)

When in Cebu City, please visit http://gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. (053)555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

Democracy: Dying From Within?

OPINION: The core values of personal freedom and equality have been narrowed to the point that they are now vices.

by FRANK CRONIN 

– Shutterstock

Our declining democracy seems to be dying a slow, certain death. And this death comes not from outside threats and circumstance. It is degenerating from within, dying from the inside out. And the causes are many. Oddly, two of the primary causes are two of democracy’s core values: personal freedom and equality.

Even though our nation was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” our democracy declines for these very reasons. It declines because many of our present political and cultural leaders see the principles of individual freedom and equality so narrowly and childishly that these noble virtues have become vices.

Today, personal freedom has become an insistent, incessant individualism. It is a childish, immature, spoiled view of personal freedom, a freedom without boundaries or judgment. And that view of liberty is not a moral, rational or even a practical vision. It is, by definition, self-indulgent and, by extension, sociopathic. It is, by implication, the doorway to decadence and depravity.

And, like spoiled children, the leadership elite and their complicit followers also demand equality, interpreted to mean mathematical fairness without regard to effort or free will. They want everyone to get the same amount, have the same thing, no matter what. And, to make this happen, they will use governmental authority to enforce equality without regards to morality or justice or even personal freedom.

This is why many politicians and socialistic ideologues enviously vilify the wealthy. This is why their policies undermine the virtue of hard work and commandeer the accrued rewards that derive from effort and enterprise. This is why they no longer strive for equal opportunities, but insist on the equality of outcomes.

Like children, they are envious of those who have achieved a measure of success. And they wrap it in the rhetoric of fairness and compassion. They accuse the wealthy of greed and reveal their own greedy envy by their rapacious rhetoric and their high-handed tactics of big government, rather than properly balancing their rhetoric and tactics in a manner that appeals to the moral obligations inherent in the rewards of effort and enterprise.

These leaders and their followers have lost the necessary integration inherent in all sound morality. For any moral virtue left untethered from other pertinent virtues inevitably becomes a vice. Just think of any person who values honesty over all other moral principles. If honesty is not restrained and tempered by discretion, compassion and love, it becomes a character flaw, a moral vice. Such is the case with equality.

Similarly, freedom is not a virtue unless it is used rightly. Real freedom is always subject to moral review. And all decisions become a matter of morality. But because our culture distorts freedom, denying the essential moral evaluation of all free-will acts, our nation and our culture endorse sins of all types and castigate those who rightly judge freedom’s uses along moral lines.

This is why our leaders and our culture despise any attempt to judge any belief or behavior on moral grounds. Now, personal freedom has become immune to evaluation and judgment. But freedom without moral evaluation is not freedom. It is license, plain and simple.

So, how has this childish philosophy that distorts equality and denies moral judgment caused our democracy to decline? The evidence is all around us.

Familiar examples of the tyranny of untethered equality are evident in the monotonous rhetoric of “race,” “class” and “gender.” While equity of opportunity is a fair, moral goal, the equality of outcome is the product of envy, not justice or compassion, despite their rhetoric.

The distortion of equality is also clear in the relentless surge of socialistic movements and the expanding power the government and its bureaucracies continue to confer. The “Occupy” movement’s envious and destructive disregard for personal achievement and property is just such a socialistic program fueled by envy. The federal government’s ever-expanding regulatory control and the health-care mandates inflicted on private, religious institutions, regardless of the moral imperatives of religious and moral freedom, are some familiar attempts at equality without regard to other moral principles such as religious expression and the morality of life.

And, when it comes to personal freedom, we need look no further than the television screen or the headlines. The homosexual agenda, rampant promiscuity and pornography, violence, abortion, euthanasia, greed, materialism, divorce and profanity are familiar effects of unrestrained individual freedom. This litany of depravity is significant in its ubiquity and in the endorsement and encouragement of many of these sins in law and in culture.

When government and culture become the instruments of deliberate distortions of such beliefs and a great mass of people are complicit in this, democracy dies. The forms may remain, but the substance is lost. For democracy rests on freedom and equality as two of its principles, but not its only two.

Democracy thrives on the moral conviction that right and wrong exist. It thrives on the fact that we are all equally subject to moral imperatives, moral standards, moral judgments. It thrives on the idea that goodness must be sought and lived and that evil must be acknowledged and avoided. It thrives on the love of truth and the truth of love.

So, what must we do as followers of Christ? First, we must meet these challenges with informed and resolute action. For many in our nation no longer seek to build a more righteous, a more moral society founded on reason and on natural law, as our founders intended. And we must persuade them that their beliefs are bereft of real truth and moral rectitude.

Second, we must recover the real purposes of democracy. Democracy’s purpose is not to create a society devoid of differences, a socialistic society where personal achievement, individual stewardship and personal property are anti-social vices. It is not to create an amoral, personally free society where individuals cross all moral boundaries with impunity. It is to create a good society, a noble society, a virtuous society, a loving society. These are the purposes of real democracy, a democracy resting on the truth of goodness, nobility, virtue and love.

And these purposes are the very purposes God intends for human society. For as children of God, we know we are our brothers’ keepers. We are bound to help the less fortunate, the lost, the blind, the sinful. And, as disciples of Christ, we are also bound to the "Great Commission," to make disciples of all nations. And, as we relentlessly bring the full Gospel of love and of truth to our nation and our world, we must bear the suffering, lovingly preaching and embodying the truth, in season and out of season. For even the gates of hell will not prevail against us, as Jesus assures us.

And finally, let us do so “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.” And “let us strive on to finish the work we are in,” so help us God.

Frank Cronin writes from eastern Connecticut.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

SWS: Corruption In LGUs Rising

By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

October 30, 2012, 7:11pm

MANILA, Philippines --- More Filipinos believe that corruption in local government units (LGUs) is more widespread now than in the past year, based on the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results.

The nationwide 2012 Good Local Governance Survey, conducted among 1,500 household heads from Aug. 20 to 28, found that 56 percent of Filipinos still consider the level of corruption now in the city/municipality government as similar to the level a year ago, 33 percent said it is more widespread now, and 23 percent said it is more widespread last year.

The SWS noted that those who see “a lot” of corruption in the city/municipal government hardly changed from 25 percent this year to 22 percent last year.

As compared to last year, the same offices where corruption is considered most widespread occupy the top three positions, namely, the Budget Office (from 40 percent to 48 percent), Mayor’s Office (from 30 percent to 32 percent), and the Engineer’s Office (from 20 percent to 30 percent).

The SWS also listed the top 11 offices where corruption happens. These are the Treasurer’s Office (27 percent, up from 5th to 6th), Business Permit and Licensing Office (24 percent, stayed at 5th place), Transport and Traffic Management Office (19 percent, up from 7th place), Accountant Office (18 percent, up from 9th place), and Public Market Office (16 percent, up from 12th rank), Barangay Affairs and Public Assistance Center (13 percent, down from 4th place), Assessors Office (13 percent, up from 13th to 14th place), and Agriculture Office (13 percent, down from 8th place).

Over the past three years, Filipinos’ awareness of any anti-corruption effort of the city/municipal government has grown from 26 percent to 35 percent.

The survey also found 73 percent of household heads satisfied, and 14 percent dissatisfied, with the performance of their city/municipal government, for a net satisfaction rating of “very good” +59 (percentage of satisfied minus percentage of dissatisfied).

Net satisfaction ratings are termed as +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; -70 and below, “execrable.”

The +59 rating is five points below the very good net rating of +64 (75 percent satisfied, 11 percent dissatisfied) in July 2011, but 15 points above the good +44 (68 percent satisfied, 23 percent dissatisfied in September 2009.

The survey also found 70 percent satisfied and 7 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), for a very good net satisfaction rating of +63, up by five points from the good +48 (58 percent satisfied, 11 percent dissatisfied) in July 2011.

Very good net satisfaction ratings were also obtained by key local officials and institutions: Governor (down from +67 in July 2011 to +56 in August 2012), Mayor (down from an excellent +73 to +65), Vice-Mayor (down from +68 to +60), Barangay-Chairman (down from an excellent +70 to +63), City/Municipal Council (down from +61 to +57), and City/Municipal Police (hardly moving from +53 to +54).

The 2012 Survey on Good Local Governance was supported through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and The Asia Foundation (TAF) Partnership in the Philippines.

 When in Cebu City, please visit  http://gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs.  

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

Democracy: Dying From Within?

OPINION: The core values of personal freedom and equality have been narrowed to the point that they are now vices.

by FRANK CRONIN 

– Shutterstock

Our declining democracy seems to be dying a slow, certain death. And this death comes not from outside threats and circumstance. It is degenerating from within, dying from the inside out. And the causes are many. Oddly, two of the primary causes are two of democracy’s core values: personal freedom and equality.

Even though our nation was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” our democracy declines for these very reasons. It declines because many of our present political and cultural leaders see the principles of individual freedom and equality so narrowly and childishly that these noble virtues have become vices.

Today, personal freedom has become an insistent, incessant individualism. It is a childish, immature, spoiled view of personal freedom, a freedom without boundaries or judgment. And that view of liberty is not a moral, rational or even a practical vision. It is, by definition, self-indulgent and, by extension, sociopathic. It is, by implication, the doorway to decadence and depravity.

And, like spoiled children, the leadership elite and their complicit followers also demand equality, interpreted to mean mathematical fairness without regard to effort or free will. They want everyone to get the same amount, have the same thing, no matter what. And, to make this happen, they will use governmental authority to enforce equality without regards to morality or justice or even personal freedom.

This is why many politicians and socialistic ideologues enviously vilify the wealthy. This is why their policies undermine the virtue of hard work and commandeer the accrued rewards that derive from effort and enterprise. This is why they no longer strive for equal opportunities, but insist on the equality of outcomes.

Like children, they are envious of those who have achieved a measure of success. And they wrap it in the rhetoric of fairness and compassion. They accuse the wealthy of greed and reveal their own greedy envy by their rapacious rhetoric and their high-handed tactics of big government, rather than properly balancing their rhetoric and tactics in a manner that appeals to the moral obligations inherent in the rewards of effort and enterprise.

These leaders and their followers have lost the necessary integration inherent in all sound morality. For any moral virtue left untethered from other pertinent virtues inevitably becomes a vice. Just think of any person who values honesty over all other moral principles. If honesty is not restrained and tempered by discretion, compassion and love, it becomes a character flaw, a moral vice. Such is the case with equality.

Similarly, freedom is not a virtue unless it is used rightly. Real freedom is always subject to moral review. And all decisions become a matter of morality. But because our culture distorts freedom, denying the essential moral evaluation of all free-will acts, our nation and our culture endorse sins of all types and castigate those who rightly judge freedom’s uses along moral lines.

This is why our leaders and our culture despise any attempt to judge any belief or behavior on moral grounds. Now, personal freedom has become immune to evaluation and judgment. But freedom without moral evaluation is not freedom. It is license, plain and simple.

So, how has this childish philosophy that distorts equality and denies moral judgment caused our democracy to decline? The evidence is all around us.

Familiar examples of the tyranny of untethered equality are evident in the monotonous rhetoric of “race,” “class” and “gender.” While equity of opportunity is a fair, moral goal, the equality of outcome is the product of envy, not justice or compassion, despite their rhetoric.

The distortion of equality is also clear in the relentless surge of socialistic movements and the expanding power the government and its bureaucracies continue to confer. The “Occupy” movement’s envious and destructive disregard for personal achievement and property is just such a socialistic program fueled by envy. The federal government’s ever-expanding regulatory control and the health-care mandates inflicted on private, religious institutions, regardless of the moral imperatives of religious and moral freedom, are some familiar attempts at equality without regard to other moral principles such as religious expression and the morality of life.

And, when it comes to personal freedom, we need look no further than the television screen or the headlines. The homosexual agenda, rampant promiscuity and pornography, violence, abortion, euthanasia, greed, materialism, divorce and profanity are familiar effects of unrestrained individual freedom. This litany of depravity is significant in its ubiquity and in the endorsement and encouragement of many of these sins in law and in culture.

When government and culture become the instruments of deliberate distortions of such beliefs and a great mass of people are complicit in this, democracy dies. The forms may remain, but the substance is lost. For democracy rests on freedom and equality as two of its principles, but not its only two.

Democracy thrives on the moral conviction that right and wrong exist. It thrives on the fact that we are all equally subject to moral imperatives, moral standards, moral judgments. It thrives on the idea that goodness must be sought and lived and that evil must be acknowledged and avoided. It thrives on the love of truth and the truth of love.

So, what must we do as followers of Christ? First, we must meet these challenges with informed and resolute action. For many in our nation no longer seek to build a more righteous, a more moral society founded on reason and on natural law, as our founders intended. And we must persuade them that their beliefs are bereft of real truth and moral rectitude.

Second, we must recover the real purposes of democracy. Democracy’s purpose is not to create a society devoid of differences, a socialistic society where personal achievement, individual stewardship and personal property are anti-social vices. It is not to create an amoral, personally free society where individuals cross all moral boundaries with impunity. It is to create a good society, a noble society, a virtuous society, a loving society. These are the purposes of real democracy, a democracy resting on the truth of goodness, nobility, virtue and love.

And these purposes are the very purposes God intends for human society. For as children of God, we know we are our brothers’ keepers. We are bound to help the less fortunate, the lost, the blind, the sinful. And, as disciples of Christ, we are also bound to the "Great Commission," to make disciples of all nations. And, as we relentlessly bring the full Gospel of love and of truth to our nation and our world, we must bear the suffering, lovingly preaching and embodying the truth, in season and out of season. For even the gates of hell will not prevail against us, as Jesus assures us.

And finally, let us do so “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.” And “let us strive on to finish the work we are in,” so help us God.

Frank Cronin writes from eastern Connecticut.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

Blu’s prize seen to propel growth

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By Katlene O. Cacho

Saturday, October 27, 2012

RADISSON Blu’s first hotel property in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia bagged the Carlson Rezidor Asia Pacific Hotel of the Year Award, besting 58 hotels in Asia Pacific this year.

According to Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu general manager Lyle Lewis, the hotel’s recognition proves that they have been competing strongly in the industry during their two years of operation in the country.

Check our new look and tell us what you think.

Lewis said the recognition was based on a whole range of criteria that include profitability, employee and customer satisfaction, and feedback reflected in the social media in the past year.

“The hotel scored high not just in one aspect but scored very high in all areas,” Lewis said in a recent interview.

He said the hotel team is optimistic about growth this year following the recognition it got and on the back of Cebu’s healthy tourism industry. He noted it takes about five years of operation for a new property to stabilize operations and become
profitable.

“We have stabilized quickly and we are quite successful in the first two years of operation. We are aiming to continue the growth we have started and eventually achieve that fair market share in the industry,” said Lewis.

The Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu offers 400 rooms and suites, an in-house spa, fitness centre, business centre, and an 800-meter swimming pool.

The hotel is jointly owned by SM Investments Corp. through SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. and Carlson International.

Given the upbeat hotel industry here, Lewis said they aim to be the top hotel for the leisure, corporate and Mice (meeting, incentives, convention and exhibition) markets by delivering improved hotel services.

Lewis noted that Cebu’s local governments should extend support to the hotel industry by improving tourism infrastructure and attraction.

“Continued improvement in the tourism and hotel industry calls for a joint effort by both private and government stakeholders,” said Lewis.

He said international access is also important to lure more foreign tourists to visit Cebu. Lewis is hopeful that Qatar Airways would soon revive flights to and from Cebu.

Lewis noted majority of the hotel’s guest are from the domestic market. Foreign tourists from the United States, Korea and Japan are also the hotel’s feeder markets.

Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu is also gearing up for the holidays when “balikbayan” or Filipino returnees are expected to stay in hotels.

“We are looking at Filipino returnees from countries like North America and Australia to come home for the Christmas holidays,” he said.

When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. 

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with your own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. No. 555-8464/09164422611/09173373687.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 27, 2012.