Wrong Prayer!

Before November 8, 2013, Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) struck and heavily hit the Philippines.  Prior to that date I deeply prayed that the above-mentioned typhoon would rather hit China and not my beloved country.  You must know for a fact that China had been bullying the Philippines for a long period of time so I asked the indulgence of the Almighty to instead strike forcefully China and not my country.  Wrong prayer!  What happened to my country?  Parts of the country had been heavily devastated by the typhoon.

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Days ago, the driver of the van (Pasig-Quiapo) I been riding  did not give the change (sukli) that rightfully belongs to me and I totally forgot about it until I left the vehicle.  While walking, I remembered about the change.  Oh that bitch... I immediately whispered a silent prayer that this driver suffered an accident and worst stumbled upon the biggest structure.  Wrong prayer!  While walking, I was bumped by this wide-bodied man along Ortigas Avenue and minutes after that I stumbled upon the smallest stone and almost suffered head contusions.  Whew...

Moral of the story:  Always pray for the good of others.

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At the office, I learned a very important lesson from the story shared by my colleague...

BOY:  When do we pray?

OLD MAN: Pray as if it is your last day in this world.

BOY: How do you know it is your last day?

OLD MAN: No one knows.

Moral of the story:  Always pray. 

The Department of Education is Mourning!

The Department of Education (DepEd) deeply mourns on the sudden and unexpected death of Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco Varela who, many believe, was one of the greatest officials of the department.  He died last August 29, 2015 in an accident at Pililia, Rizal.

In my long years of stay at DepEd, I have noticed his advocacy on anti-graft and corruption and his relentless efforts on instituting educational reforms in the biggest public organization in the country. Not only that he possessed good looks envied by many, he was also a smart guy -- he graduated Magna Cum Laude in Mathematics at Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan and finished Master of Science in Industrial Economics at the Center for Research and Communication now known to be the University of Asia and the Pacific.

He is definitely a big loss to the department but a huge gain to heaven.

Flowers everywhere - DepEd
September 3, 2015
(Photo Credit:  Beth Soriao-Urbano)  

Farewell to Usec. Varela at Deped,  September 3, 2015
(Photo by the author)

DepEd employees and friends prior to releasing the white balloons
September 3, 2015
(Photo by the author)

DepEd officials
September 3, 2015
(Photo by the author)