The Ilocos Times

B y Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo The term powerful here means authoritative and forceful. Holy Scripture contains many powerful statements and one of them is from the Gospel of St. Matthew that says, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet lose their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:26) No human being past, present or future could utter those words. No wise man, such as Confucius or Buddha could ever think of making those statements because it is not an earthly statement. It is not earthly wisdom but heavenly wisdom. An out of this world statement. It is not earthly because it talks about the soul not the body. And because it is an out of this world Person that talks about it. The gospel passage basically means that you might gain all the things that this world would cherish such as wealth, honor, pleasure, and power in great abundance and yet that’s nothing compared to losing one’s soul.   The losing of one’s soul does no...

UNLESS our human laws can capture the logic behind that divine commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us and continues to love us, even to the extent of loving our enemies, we can only say that indeed our human laws, despite all the good things they can accomplish, can only do so much for us. Our human laws can only struggle to capture the divine wisdom of loving our enemies because they are designed more to maintain order, human justice and protection within a society, whereas the commandment to love our enemies is a moral and spiritual teaching that certainly goes beyond the scope of legal codes. Our human laws can mandate behaviors like not harming others, but they cannot legislate things that are mainly on the spiritual and supernatural levels which actually are the ultimate dimensions that shape our life not only as persons but also as children of God, created in God’s image and likeness. While we obviously need to be governed by the rule of law, we should also ...

Houston , we have a problem. No—on second thought—it’s not just a problem. It’s a dilemma. Actually, let’s not kid ourselves. It’s both. So, what is it? We’re producing so much used cooking oil that if we’re not careful, it could be clogging our drainage systems—assuming, of course, that we have proper drainage systems in the first place. If we don’t, then it’s clogging whatever passes for a drainage system in many of our cities. The logical thing to do would be to collect this oil and recycle it. But here’s where the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” part kicks in. If you do collect it, you could be accused of transporting hazardous waste and fined. If you don’t, you risk pouring it into our waterways, blocking pipes, causing floods, and polluting aquifers. Why? Because under Republic Act 6969—the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act—used cooking oil can be classified as hazardous waste. That means it’s subject to strict rules on collection, st...

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo In Genesis Chapter 22 of the Old Testament, God put Abraham to test by asking Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a human sacrifice only to be held on when Abraham was about to kill Isaac. Many atheists would point out to this Scripture story as another proof of the absurdity of a God who asked a father to kill his son but stops him when His creature was almost done obeying Him. Atheists would claim that this Christian God is playing games with His creatures. Therefore, according to them, it’s another proof that He does not really exist. What the atheists don’t understand was the purpose of the test. It was all about fulfilling the virtue of Charity. God wanted to see if Abraham loves God above all, even more than his son. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the Theological Virtue of Charity as the virtue by which “We love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.”   (CCC 1822) Theologians would s...

A NUMBER of times, Christ complained about the lack of faith of the people of his time. “This generation is a wicked generation: it asks for a sign, and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet ,” he once said. ( Lk 11,29-32 ) We need to see to it that our faith is strong, deep, and abiding so we can go on with our daily activities with a profound sense of commitment and not just go through them with the attitude of simply complying with what is expected of us. To do things and to live with a sense of commitment means that we should be driven by some core belief which in none other than a belief in God. We would always be aware of doing things with and for our Lord and because of that, we would do things in the best way we can, despite our limitations and the various conditionings that we are subject to. When we have a good sense of commitment, we would show determination in fulfilling it, a determination that can only spring from love. We make a promise...

Technically speaking, farm tourism is just a subset of eco-tourism . Eco-tourism is the big umbrella—it covers everything from marine sanctuaries to mountain trails, from mangrove parks to wildlife reserves. But lately, I’ve noticed something interesting: here in the Philippines , farm tourism could become bigger than eco-tourism, at least in the domestic market. Why? Because while eco-tourism may have more to offer to foreign tourists—especially those who want untouched beaches or rare bird sightings—farm tourism has far more to offer to local tourists. And I don’t just mean sightseeing. Local visitors go to farms not only to look, but also to learn, taste, and take home something fresh. In fact, many farms have evolved into Learning Sites for Agriculture (LSAs), where visitors can get hands-on experience in farming before they decide to go into the business themselves. These LSAs are under the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) of the Department of Agriculture . Some even off...

THAT gospel episode, where some resurrection-deniers among the Jews tested Christ with a tricky question about the resurrection, gave Christ the chance to talk precisely about this truth of our Christian faith. (cfr. Mk 12,18-27) They approached him and posed the question about whose wife a woman who married seven brothers, one after another, would be among the brothers at what they regarded as the so-called resurrection. And so, Christ told them that at the resurrection, everyone would have gone beyond our earthly condition to enter into our spiritualized and supernatural condition. Yes, we will still retain our body. But that body will be fully subjected to its spiritual and supernatural condition where marriage, whose main purpose is procreation, would already be irrelevant. As Christ said, in the resurrection, we would be like angels, but angels with a body. We will not be pure spirits. And then he proceeded to explain about the resurrection by citing some passages in the Bo...

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo The title above does not say, “Why did God create evil ?” because God does not directly create evil. All that God created is good. We men are the ones who have spoiled creation and created evil. God only allows evil to happen but always for a good purpose. Life is full of good things. Some of them are very good. But life is also full of bad things:   sin, suffering, disease, death, disappointments, fears, follies, and failures. A religion that does not take into account the “dark side” of life is unrealistic and incomplete. The Catholic Church , like God Himself, has always taken evil seriously, in real life as well as in thought. First, let’s discuss evil and its nature. Evil is the most serious problem in the world for three reasons:   one, it is the only anti-God thing in the world. Second, evil is the strongest argument against the existence of God, the only reason for atheism :   if God is good why does He allow evil? There are many ...

We already know that coal-fired power plants continue to operate across the country. What we don’t always know is how we are disposing of the toxic byproducts they produce—especially coal ash . Coal ash, which includes both fly ash and bottom ash , is a waste product from burning coal. It contains heavy metals like arsenic , mercury , and lead —substances we do not want to leak into our air, soil, or water. Yes, of course, there are laws regulating the disposal of coal ash. We have a comprehensive legal framework: RA 6969 controls hazardous waste RA 8749 (Clean Air Act) regulates emissions and ash pollution RA 9003 governs solid waste DENR AO 2004-36 lays out how hazardous waste should be handled And even the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) touches on coal ash contracts That’s impressive on paper. But here’s the real question: How do we know how much of these laws are being implemented? There are agencies that are supposed to do the job—the DENR, its E...

Dear Mr . President: There are at least eight government agencies that should be involved in using technology for agriculture, but as of now, they are seemingly not coordinating with each other. These agencies are DICT, DA, DAR, DENR, CHED, TESDA, NAMRIA and PhilSpace. The roles of DICT and DA are obvious, because they are the two major players in the challenge of using information technology for agriculture. The role of DAR comes into play, because agriculture development is the next step after agrarian reform and land distribution. DENR should also be involved, because there are overlaps in planting trees and other crops in mountains and other public lands. CHED should also be involved, because there are many SUCs that have developed new information technologies that have yet to be commercialized. And lastly, TESDA should be involved, because they should already be teaching information and communications technology (ICT) skills to vocational and technical students. NAMRIA is in p...

WHY? Because , first of all, Christ told us so. “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world,” he clearly told his disciples and eventually all of us. (cfr. Mt 5,13-14) But more than just being told by Christ, the basis of such divine command is because as persons we are meant to care for one another, to love one another. We would be contradicting our personhood if we fail to care and love one another. And the basic expression of such personal care and love for others is precisely to be such salt and light as Christ wants us to be so that we can lead everyone to our ultimate good and goal, which is to be with God, to be like God who wants us to be like him. Let’s remember that as persons we are meant to enter into a necessary relation with God and with others. That is why we have been endowed with intelligence and will so that we can know and love God and everybody else. Besides, we have been given the grace from God so that our knowing and loving does not get st...

Our electric power system may not be perfect, but at least we know how it works: there's production (like power plants), transmission (via the national grid), and distribution (done by Meralco or the electric coops). That structure—clear and layered—helps us manage power more efficiently. Now, can we do something similar for the internet? Today, the internet is arguably as essential as electricity. Yet it remains expensive, slow, and—ironically for the digital age—inequitable. The urban rich get fiber connections, while many in the provinces struggle with unreliable or nonexistent service. But the problem isn't just about infrastructure; it's also about structure.   Who owns the internet highway? Let’s use the power sector as a metaphor. If we think of telcos like Globe, PLDT, and Converge as the National Power Corporation of the internet world, they are doing more than just transmitting. They’re also controlling the last mile, the way Meralco controls your neig...