It is Christmas Eve and we were greeted by another shocking news from the Vatican that blared, "Pope Francis: A Curia that is outdated, sclerotic or indifferent to others is an ailing body." This is the Pope attacking the very Curia that serves him. It is tantamount to Japanese Emperor Akihito attacking the Imperial Household or Queen Elizabeth of England attacking the Royal Household, which never ever happened with the past Popes.
In a meeting in the Clementine Hall where Pope Francis held his annual meeting with the Roman Curia to exchange Christmas greetings with the members of its component dicasteries, councils, offices, tribunals and commissions, the Pope made this stunning remark:
"It is good to think of the Roman Curia as a small model of the Church, that is, a body that seeks, seriously and on a daily basis, to be more alive, healthier, more harmonious and more united in itself and with Christ".
"The Curia is always required to better itself and to grow in communion, sanctity and wisdom to fully accomplish its mission. However, like any body, it is exposed to sickness, malfunction and infirmity.
I would like to mention some of these illnesses that we encounter most frequently in our life in the Curia. They are illnesses and temptations that weaken our service to the Lord", It is the sickness of the rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity, and of those who transform themselves into masters and believe themselves superior to others, rather than at their service".
That was just the beginning of his speech, which gives you the idea that Pope Francis from the very beginning of his reign does not want the Curia to rule over him…rather he wants to rule over the Curia. This is why from the very start when he became the Vicar of Christ, the next day Pope Francis took a bus together with the Cardinals back to his hotel and paid his hotel bill himself. You can read the Pope's recent attack vs the Curia in many publications today and see for yourself what a great Pope Francis is.
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It is Christmas Eve and it is just sad to note that the millions of commuters who take the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit have to endure a new round of fare increases…from the current rate of P15 per ride from North Avenue to Taft Avenue, which is now pegged at P28 per ride on the MRT. While the LRT rates have zoomed up from the current rate of P20 per ticket from Baclaran to Monumento on LRT-1 and for the LRT-2 from Recto Ave. to Santolan Road, which has been increased from P15 per ticket to P25 per ticket.
I gathered that a group of concerned commuters that calls themselves Train Riders Network is planning to hold a huge protest rally this week. Wow! A Protest on Christmas Day? Why not! This should not be surprising because the Aquino Regime has shown no compassion for the Filipino people… and the commuters of Metro Manila in announcing that fare hike this week! Why couldn't it wait until January? Well, let's see how big that protest rally will be. I suspect that since it is Christmas week, it will not yet gather steam. But after the Christmas Holidays… it would be a huge protest.
Then we heard Press Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. trying to justify this fare increase, as it was "long overdue!" Well, finally someone from Malacañang Palace admitted what I've been writing all along and let me quote Sec. Coloma who said, "60 percent LRT/MRT subsidy by taxpayers from Visayas and Mindanao - who are not train riders - should stop, and train fares should be closer to those of air-conditioned buses."
Again let me repeat… the taxes that are collected in the Visayas and Mindanao help subsidize the LRT/MRT operations by as much as 60%... so therefore, we the people who live in the Visayas and Mindanao should be extremely happy that finally, the people of Metro Manila has to pay the proper or the right fares for their convenience. This is exactly what I've been harping for many years as a journalist that due to the greed of Imperial, they make the people of the Visayas and Mindanao pay for their convenience.
But then it is the Christmas season and how dare Sec. Coloma use this as their excuse to increase the fares of the MRT/LRT at this time? While we do not have any mass transit systems outside Metro Manila. We in the Visayas and Mindanao are stuck with the old jeepney in the last 50-years, which is a visible proof that the thinkers for the future of our nation, many of whom come from Luzon has only caused the stagnation of our country.
However in the spirit of the Christmas season, how I wish Malacañang would show that they have a heart for the poor commuters who have been suffering from bogged down trains, mismanaged ticket booths that cause a kilometric queues and that MRT crash in the corner of EDSA and Taft Avenue. We can have that fare increase after the Pope's visit on January, where everything can return back to normalcy.