Still more on Faye Nicole B. San Juan
Mr. Federico D. Pascual (click here for bio), former Philippine Daily Inquirer editor-in-chief who presently writes a Philippine Star column, POSTSCRIPT, writes again on Ms. Faye Nicole B. San Juan, the young lady who had caused quite a stir in some circles both on- and offline due to an article that had been circulated by the Bread of Life Ministries in the past month.
Atty. Jose Sison (Of Ipaglaban mo fame), likewise a columnist in the Star, wrote on Ms. San Juan last 5 November, in his A Law Each Day column (link here). He recounts that he also wrote on Faye in his 25 October column, which I likewise read (hard copy--guess where!). Sadly, as Philstar.com does not cache its older editions, I have yet to search for an e-copy of this one.
Yes, Faye is real. But now that her identity had been uncovered (she had also been featured in a couple of TV shows), more issues come to mind. We may ask the following: Are our priorities indeed skewed? Is the Philippine education system indeed lacking in adequately supporting its able students? Was Faye's story used to advance a political agenda, or did BOL have pure intentions when it published its original article?
Questions had been answered, but only eliciting more queries. We have moved on to a higher level in this discussion. More to come?
Excerpts from Postscript, 7 November 2004:
There were just so many loose ends in the story as published by the Bread of Life Ministries. While many readers readily admired and expressed support for Faye, there were others who first wanted confirmation of odd details.
...
What is important is that Faye has been located, properly identified and her story retold for those who had been denied the good news or who had initial doubts about some of the embroidery on the story.
Faye's story as directly told by her on TV and to Evangelista is convincing enough. I cannot say the same thing for the second-hand account as published in the BOL Ministries webpage and print ad. (There are discrepancies between the two versions.)
With that, I say that Faye deserves recognition, however belated, and must be given material assistance to get ahead and accomplish more.
...
STEPPING STONES: But elevating Faye in the public esteem should not be at the expense of anybody. It appears that the girl has what it takes. She has enough spunk and brains to propel her to a higher plane.
There is no need for her handlers to step on anybody or to exaggerate her exploits.
If some persons or entities want to give her financial assistance or to provide seed money for a scholarship fund, I strongly suggest that funds be given directly to her or her mother and not through any religious organization.
Excerpts from A Law Each Day, 5 November:
The narrative would have created the desired impact if the author just came clean and divulged its parabolic nature. To be sure, I fully agree with some of the writer’s observation that: "we have a dearth of real leaders in this country–leaders who would set the nation’s interests above their own. In the same way, our concept of citizenship is damaged. Those seeking for social good for themselves are never willing to grant the same good to others. Hence it is common for us to hear stories of Filipinos who take advantage of their fellow citizens. We want to be served, but we are unwilling to serve… We would rather spend on things that would make us look good instead of on things that would make us grow in character. We prefer stardom glitter over service oriented endeavors".
The moral of Faye’s story is beautiful and goes to the very core of human imperfections as it tells us what really matters in this world and why our priorities are misplaced. Fictitious or real, Faye’s mother so aptly expressed it when she said that: "we all wanted to win, but success is not measured by merely winning. It is measured through our hearts, if it is truly attuned with God all the time. It is all that really matters for we have only an Audience of One."
Atty. Jose Sison (Of Ipaglaban mo fame), likewise a columnist in the Star, wrote on Ms. San Juan last 5 November, in his A Law Each Day column (link here). He recounts that he also wrote on Faye in his 25 October column, which I likewise read (hard copy--guess where!). Sadly, as Philstar.com does not cache its older editions, I have yet to search for an e-copy of this one.
Yes, Faye is real. But now that her identity had been uncovered (she had also been featured in a couple of TV shows), more issues come to mind. We may ask the following: Are our priorities indeed skewed? Is the Philippine education system indeed lacking in adequately supporting its able students? Was Faye's story used to advance a political agenda, or did BOL have pure intentions when it published its original article?
Questions had been answered, but only eliciting more queries. We have moved on to a higher level in this discussion. More to come?
Excerpts from Postscript, 7 November 2004:
There were just so many loose ends in the story as published by the Bread of Life Ministries. While many readers readily admired and expressed support for Faye, there were others who first wanted confirmation of odd details.
...
What is important is that Faye has been located, properly identified and her story retold for those who had been denied the good news or who had initial doubts about some of the embroidery on the story.
Faye's story as directly told by her on TV and to Evangelista is convincing enough. I cannot say the same thing for the second-hand account as published in the BOL Ministries webpage and print ad. (There are discrepancies between the two versions.)
With that, I say that Faye deserves recognition, however belated, and must be given material assistance to get ahead and accomplish more.
...
STEPPING STONES: But elevating Faye in the public esteem should not be at the expense of anybody. It appears that the girl has what it takes. She has enough spunk and brains to propel her to a higher plane.
There is no need for her handlers to step on anybody or to exaggerate her exploits.
If some persons or entities want to give her financial assistance or to provide seed money for a scholarship fund, I strongly suggest that funds be given directly to her or her mother and not through any religious organization.
Excerpts from A Law Each Day, 5 November:
The narrative would have created the desired impact if the author just came clean and divulged its parabolic nature. To be sure, I fully agree with some of the writer’s observation that: "we have a dearth of real leaders in this country–leaders who would set the nation’s interests above their own. In the same way, our concept of citizenship is damaged. Those seeking for social good for themselves are never willing to grant the same good to others. Hence it is common for us to hear stories of Filipinos who take advantage of their fellow citizens. We want to be served, but we are unwilling to serve… We would rather spend on things that would make us look good instead of on things that would make us grow in character. We prefer stardom glitter over service oriented endeavors".
The moral of Faye’s story is beautiful and goes to the very core of human imperfections as it tells us what really matters in this world and why our priorities are misplaced. Fictitious or real, Faye’s mother so aptly expressed it when she said that: "we all wanted to win, but success is not measured by merely winning. It is measured through our hearts, if it is truly attuned with God all the time. It is all that really matters for we have only an Audience of One."
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on Monday, November 08, 2004 at 01:08.
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"Sadly, as Philstar.com does not cache its older editions, I have yet to search for an e-copy of this one."
Roy Tan on Monday, November 08, 2004 4:45:00 AM
Here's a Google cache of Mr. Sison's column.
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Yup, thanks to google, we'll never get to lose the world (or the online-published world, at least)! =)
Unknown on Monday, November 08, 2004 5:00:00 AM
Thanks for the link. I always forget to post google-cached links.
Angelo
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