The final battle between good and evil

I'm a conservative Catholic and I fully agree with Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Jaime Florencio that the bill that House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez announced which seeks to legalize the dissolution of marriage would be disadvantageous to the children. First of all, the Philippines is a Christian country and as such, we already know what God wants from us Christians. When our Lord Jesus Christ was asked about divorce and he clearly stated in Matthew 19: 6, "So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let no man separate."

We know too well about what happened to the marriage of SpeakerAlvarez, which is why he is seeking a law to legitimize his broken marriage, which his own wife warned us about. But the Philippines is the last remaining Christian bastion that still has no law on divorce. So there should be a thorough study on the effects of divorce in countries that legalized divorce and you will get to read that harsh reality that divorce has brought to families in those countries.

As the Fatima seer, Sister Lucia dos Santos wrote to Cardinal Carlo Caffara saying, "Father, a time will come when the decisive battle between the Kingdom of Christ and Satan will be over marriage and the family. And those who will work for the good of the family will experience persecution and tribulation. But do not be afraid, because Our Lady has already crushed the head of Satan."

Remember that old saying, attributed to Edmund Burke, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing!" I dare say that Sister Lucia gave us a prophecy that is happening to us today.

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Last November 9, the New People's Army (NPA) staged an ambush in Talakag-Bumbaran Road in the town of Talakag and struck a Toyota Fortuner and ended up killing a four-month old baby girl. If you look into this NPA ambush, it was one of the usual activities of the NPAs, which is one of the principal reasons why despite the end of the shooting war in Marawi City, Martial Law has not yet been lifted.

But an unexpected thing happened when in a publicized statement, the National Democratic Front (NDF) spokesman for Mindanao Jorge Madlos a.k.a. Ka Oris expressed their apologies for the death of the four-month old baby girl that the NPA's ambushed in Bukidnon. Ka Oris said, "The NPA takes full responsibility and expresses remorse for the unfortunate and unnecessary death of an infant and injury to two adult civilians arising from the ambush by an NPA unit in Barangay Tikalaan, Talakag." This statement was quite uncommon with the NDF/NPA/CPP.

The NDF statement added, "We hope that the aggrieved families and friends could find it in their hearts, however difficult, to accept our profound apologies. The local NPA unit is already exerting efforts to make amends, including extending necessary indemnification." This was the first time in a long time that the NPA officially admitted responsibility for killing people that they ambushed. This is an admission to their crime!

Capt. Norman Tagros, 403rd Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said the baby was with her mother in a Toyota Fortuner that was following a police vehicle when the NPA staged their ambush. The baby girl died, but the mother was unharmed. Five other civilian companions including those inside the police vehicle were wounded. The NDF communiqué added, "The higher NPA command has already initiated an investigation in order to identify the weaknesses and mistakes and draw lessons to avoid a repeat of such an unfortunate incident." No amount of apology would bring back the dead and I dare say that the NPA should stop their senseless attacks.

Last Saturday, a visibly fed up Pres. Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte announced that he would classify the New People's Army (NPA) as a terrorist group. Pres. Duterte also warned of a possible crackdown on left-wing groups such as Bayan that he said were conspiring with the communist rebels. No doubt the President is sick and tired of what the leftist have been doing and he is planning to order a fresh offensive against the NPA after soldiers have had enough rest, after fighting pro-Islamic State militants in Marawi City over the past five months. Finally Pres. Duterte is right on the nail on treating the NPAas terrorists, which they really are!