The Ilocos Times

IT’S sad to note that some people simply cannot be pleased. That is exactly what Jesus exposed in Gospel reading of September 16, Memorial of St. Cornelius and Cyprian, Martyrs (cfr. Lk 7,31-35). The people of his time rejected John the Baptist because he fasted too much. Then they rejected Jesus because he mingled with ordinary people, ate with sinners, and attended celebrations. John was "too strict." Jesus was "too friendly." The problem was neither John nor Jesus. The real problem was the hardened heart . This Gospel is more relevant than ever. We can easily fall into the same trap. We become experts at criticizing. If someone is prayerful, we call him fanatical. If another is approachable and cheerful, we accuse him of lacking seriousness. We find fault with almost everyone while refusing to examine ourselves. It’s an attitude blocks grace . God comes to us in many forms. Sometimes he challenges us through demanding people. Sometimes he consoles us ...

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo Here’s a summary of the famous book of the same title by best-selling author Ryan Holiday .   First, Mr. Holiday tells us about the Three Areas in Life when the problematic ego appears.   First area is aspiring.   Aspiring in the wrong way means we are more of talking than doing.   Or we end up not walking our talk.   The author says, “It’s a temptation that exists for everyone—for talk and hype to replace action.”   It is that constant concern of what people would think of us, making comments on social media of what we plan to do, instead of doing it.   Mr. Holiday made the example of Emily Gould , a famous novelist and blogger who was constantly posting on the plans she had for her book and what her followers on Twitter would say about it that she ended up wasting her time on her comments and replies to her fans instead of working on the book.   The second area in our life that makes the problematic ego rear its ...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is like electricity in the early 1900s—full of promise, but also full of dangers for those who do not know how to handle it. For me, the priority groups needing protection are clear: minors and older adults . In the Philippines, we define minors as anyone below 18, and “older adults” as our senior citizens, those aged 60 and above. These two groups are often the least equipped to recognize the risks created by rapidly advancing AI tools. And make no mistake: AI is already being used for harm.   The rise of AI scams Scammers today are no longer satisfied with text messages or suspicious emails. With AI, they can now produce videos that look and sound like your own family members, claiming they’re in danger, asking for money urgently, or begging for help. This is the era of deepfakes —videos so convincing that even tech-savvy adults sometimes pause. How much more for a 12-year-old child or a 72-year-old lola ? Most minors don’t have the cri...

I remember when the internet was simpler. Back then, if you wanted to file a complaint, you could say confidently: the server’s location was the crime scene. There was clarity. There was accountability. If a website published defamatory content, you knew where to start: trace the server, identify the network, and hold someone responsible. But those days are gone. Today, websites deploy multiple servers across different countries. Content is mirrored, cached, shared on social media, reposted under new names. The physical “scene of the crime” has dissolved into bits and bytes scattered across clouds. So where do we draw the line when it comes to cyberlibel? If a post stabs someone’s reputation, if it spreads misinformation, if it damages a person’s name—the “platform” isn’t the perpetrator. The crime is not committed by a set of servers or by a tech company. The real suspect is the content creator —the individual behind the keyboard.   Cyberlibel : law meets the digital wi...

Pardon me for introducing these strange new words— fraternimisia (hatred of fraternities) and fraterniphobia (fear of fraternities)—but how else do we describe what we are witnessing today? There seems to be an entire industry of online creators whose main pastime is to hate fraternities, fear fraternities, or simply demonize them for clicks and traffic. When I talk about fraternities, I do not refer only to campus groups. There are also off-campus fraternities such as the Knights of Columbus , the Freemasons , and many civic brotherhood organizations that have existed long before the invention of social media. Are these groups also to be feared and hated? Should the same suspicion applied to young students be applied to long-established civic organizations? Fear is one thing. Hatred is another. I can understand fraterniphobia—some people may have had traumatic experiences, or perhaps the word “fraternity” evokes images of hazing cases splashed across the headlines. Fear can be ...

TECHNOLOGY is one of humanity's great achievements, but it is not humanity itself. The Christian vision welcomes progress while insisting that every invention remain ordered toward human dignity , freedom, truth, and authentic flourishing . The first question is not simply, “What can technology do?” It is, “What should we do with it?” Technical power has no moral direction by itself. Its value depends upon the purposes it serves and the person it protects. To remain fully human begins with remembering that a person is never merely a function, product, consumer, data point, or biological organism. Each human being possesses dignity because each is created in God's image and called to communion with Him. Artificial intelligence can imitate conversation, compose music, analyze information, create images, and assist decisions. Yet imitation is not identity. Human intelligence includes embodied experience, conscience, relationships, wonder, moral responsibility, and openness...

I still remember—not so long ago—when responsible newspapers would print the news on the front page and tuck commentary inside, separated neatly so that readers could distinguish fact from opinion. Back then, every news story had a byline , and a whole chain of editors—from copy editors to the editor-in-chief—stood as gatekeepers of accuracy and truth. Today, much of the news we consume is online — and with that shift, we’ve seen a blurring of lines. Some online outlets continue the tradition: reporters write bylines, stories pass through editors, and readers can trace the chain of accountability. Others present themselves as “news,” yet offer neither bylines nor editorial credits. The difference between an online newspaper and a blog can become dangerously subtle. That’s why I ask: Should online newspapers have formal editorial boards? I believe the answer is yes—and here’s why.   What Is an editorial board—and what is it for? An editorial board is a group of senior edi...

I still remember a time—not even that long ago—when newspapers followed a simple but sacred rule: the front page was for news; the inside pages were for opinions. There was no confusion, no overlap, no sneaky editorializing masquerading as journalism. You always knew what you were reading and who wrote it. Every piece of real news carried a byline , because truth has a name. And behind that name stood an entire battalion of editors—the copy editor, the desk editor, the managing editor, all the way up to the editor-in-chief —carefully cross-checking facts and holding every reporter accountable. Fast forward to today. The online versions of traditional newspapers still follow this discipline. They still publish bylines. They still employ editors. They still observe a chain of accountability . Generally speaking, most broadsheet newspapers that come out with online versions could be deemed as responsible, because the same editors that serve in their paper versions also serve in t...

WE often recognize physical age without recognizing emotional maturity. Someone can be forty yet react to criticism like a child, while another quietly accepts disappointment, takes responsibility, and remains kind. Psychological maturity is not simply growing older; it is learning to live truthfully and responsibly. Psychological maturity means becoming more fully oneself: knowing strengths and weaknesses, accepting reality, regulating emotions, making responsible decisions, forming healthy relationships, and pursuing worthwhile goals. It is gradual, not finished. We mature as experience, reflection, virtue, and grace reshape how we live. A mature person does not mean someone who never becomes angry, afraid, disappointed, or sad. Maturity enables us to recognize emotions without becoming their prisoners. We can acknowledge pain, think calmly, choose a fitting response, and continue doing what love and responsibility require. This distinction is important for Christian life. Sp...

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo Compassion means empathizing and caring for the unfortunate situation of the others.   When we have compassion, we put yourself in the shoes of others in their misfortunes and feel what they feel.   Compassion is supposed to not only feel pity but also to try to remedy the sufferings of others.   When we feel compassion for a friend who has lost a loved one, we try to tell him we feel his sorrow and that we are united with him in his suffering perhaps with a word or two of condolence.   We could not fully remedy his pain and our condolences are all we could offer. But it would be a big help to alleviate his pain.   St. Thomas Aquinas discussed the virtue of compassion in his Summa Theologiae by asking a question: “Whether pain and sorrow are alleviated by the compassion of friends?” The question may seem odd to the modern mind because the answer seems obvious.   But St. Thomas reasoning however is enlightening.   He ...