The Institute of Family Studies (IFS) in VA, U.S.A. stated on 18 September 2013 in its website that:
âSustainable societies depend upon strong families. Nations that seek to remain economically and politically vital must reproduce themselves; children are most likely to thriveâsocially, emotionally, and economicallyâwhen they enjoy the shelter and stability of an intact, married family; marriage is most beneficial for children when both parents are positively invested in their lives; and families are most likely to flourish when they can be built upon strong economic foundations. These are the truths that inform the work of the Institute for Family Studies, a new initiative dedicated to strengthening marriage and family life, and advancing the welfare of children through research and public education.
âThe strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.â ~ Confucius
âStrong families make a strong nationâ. â âFirst Focus on Childrenâ, (firstfocus.org), 16 March 2017
âStrong families are necessary for a strong nationâ â âGuyana Chronicle, The Nationâs Paperâ, (guyanachronicle.com), 28 September 2017
In our own âchronicleâ, The Philippine Star, in its 23 September 2002 Editorial posted on its website, it says: âStrong Family, Strong Nationâ, and we quote:
âIn the age of s*xual liberation and rapidly changing mores, some people may find it old-fashioned to believe that one of the pillars of a stable nation is a stable family. But a nationâs first line of defense against drug abuse and other evils of society is the family. Children of dysfunctional families or broken homes are vulnerable to drug abuse and involvement in crime.
Today the nation starts marking Family Week. The annual event, now on its sixth year, aims to foster public awareness of the social ills that threaten families. One of the biggest problems is violence against family members, especially women and children. While the problem is prevalent in depressed communities with low literacy, it is by no means unique to the poor and uneducated.
Last year, the Philippine National Police received 5,668 complaints of wife battery nationwide. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, meanwhile, provided assistance to 5,504 women in especially difficult circumstances, with 37 percent victims of physical abuse, 15 percent of s*xual abuse and 12.6 percent of trafficking for various illegal purposes. Of the s*xually abused women, 70.4 percent had been r***d, 28.2 percent were victims of in**st while 1.5 percent complained of acts of lasciviousness by family members. Children are just as vulnerable to physical, s*xual and verbal abuse. Many child s*x workers roaming city streets were forced into prostitution by their own parents.
Few people are willing to intervene in family relationships. Neighbors are reluctant to help even when they hear a woman or child screaming in pain next door, victims of an abusive family member. Most people who see children getting cheap thrills from sniffing rugby simply shrug, believing parents should discipline their own children.
If you poke your nose into such problems, you risk being told that itâs none of your business. Yet some government agencies and concerned non-government organizations are doing just that, intervening where possible, providing counseling to those interested, and even calling in the police where needed. Itâs difficult, sometimes thankless job, but it has to be done if we want every citizen to live a decent life and contribute to nation-building. Strong families make for a strong nationâ.
BCIDP Exclusive School for Couples Philippines was born at a time where the country was greatly stricken by the pandemic NCOV-19 virus and the government has to impose a total lockdown called Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) for sixty (60) days starting in 15 March 2020 until 30 May 2020. During this lockdown period, 783 murders were recorded[1], or equivalent to ten (10) killings a day in different places and reasons; 602 people were r***d[2] for different places and reasons, or equivalent to eight (8) r***d a day; then on 21 June 2020, it was reported that 214,000 lockdown babies are about to be born after nine (9) months[3]. Studies have shown that the major problems being continuously solved or handled by the Philippine government for the last thirty-three (33) years are i.e. poverty, corruption, criminality, illegal drugs, among others. BCIDP Exclusive School for Couples believes that all these problems emanated from the homes of every Filipino family because of a very weak âfoundationâ.
A worldwide news magazine on the net called âN-IUSSPâ conducts scientific findings from demographic research carried out all over the world, published on 10 July 2017 the âRise of Divorce, Separation, and Cohabitation in the Philippinesâ. It reported that: âAlthough most Filipinos still value marriage, the proportion who separate from their spouse, both legally and informally, is increasingâ.
On 31 December 2015, Rappler published: âIN NUMBERS: The State of the Nation Marital Woesâ, where the stateâs lawyer reported an annual average of 10,000-11,000 annulment / nullity of marriage / divorce recognition cases filed since 2010[4]. These âdissolution of marriageâ cases are initiated by whom? The WIVES.
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In a continuous effort of some sectors pushing for the divorce law in the country to seemingly âendâ their marital woes, âannulment and legal separation remedies (available) are not enough for (these) divorce advocatesâ[5]. But âthe Senate did not match the Houseâs enthusiasm for the divorce bill, and it failed to hurdle the 17th Congress[6].
Filipinos have developed a culture of âturning to the governmentâ to provide solutions to lifeâs personal problems despite claims to being âthe only Christian nation in Asiaâ and â80% of its population are pre-dominantly âCatholicsâ[7]. [Those who broke away from being Catholics have called themselves as âChristiansâ]. In other words, despite this fact of being âGodly peopleâ or âconservative peopleâ as foreigners say, majority of Filipinos do not see the âSupreme Beingâ as the only 100% source of solutions to lifeâs complicated problems as evidenced by these studies and continuous findings on âthe state of the nationâs marital woesâ. The Constitutional formula of âseparation of Church and Stateâ seems ineffective for three (3) decades now, to our view.
The Bible gave the formula:
Proverbs 11:14: âFor lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisersâ. â NIV
Right after the Marcoses were thrown out of Malacanang Palace through a âPeople Powerâ revolt, in 1987, an Executive Order No. 209 was issued by then President Corazon Aquino where the âFamily Codeâ was born. Its Article 149 says:
âArt. 149. The family, being the foundation of the nation, is a basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family relations are governed by law and no custom, practice or agreement destructive of the family shall be recognized or given effect. (216a, 218a)â (emphasis ours)
The âfoundationâ, as Merriam & Webster defines it:
âan underlying base or support especially: the whole masonry substructure of a buildingâ;
âa body or ground upon which something is built up or overlaidâ
It is indeed, the strength of every nation without any exemption to this country Philippines, depends on how strong our FOUNDATION is, how strong our Filipino families are.
If you ask the âhuman manufacturerâ who is GOD, it is the MALE MAN who serves as the foundation of the family[8]. The answer is simply found in our âmanufacturerâs manualâ, the BIBLE.
Unless this countryâs leader is equipped with the RIGHT advisers, only then Filipinos will have the opportunity to enjoy the good life they all deserved, even without the need to leave their families behind to find greener pasture overseas.
This country had been suffering for many centuries now due to a âdamaged cultureâ[9], which was already seen over 30 years ago by the outside world. Now, we still âenjoyâ the same impression.
It is for this reason that âBCIDP Exclusive School for Couplesâ advocates âStronger Marriage Foundations & Happier Families in the Philippinesâ since 2013 where its founder, started to propagate the said advocacy through the help of social-media where he branded himself as âPapa Angelo, your âGod & Manâs Laws Life Counselorâ provide the necessary GUIDANCE for our foundation: THE FAMILY.
Because if every Filipino family have the RIGHT GUIDE, every member of the family shall have the RIGHT LIFE towards their familyâs journey. If this RIGHT GUIDE are transferred to children or heirs, applied and maintained consistently and accordingly, this nation shall continue to have a STRONG FOUNDATION to stand firmly for every âpandemicâ of human life.
[1] Philippine Star, 01 June 2020;
[2]Philippine Star, 25 May 2020;
[3]Philippine Star, 21 June 2020;
[5]One News.ph, 10 Feb 2020;
[6] https://www.onenews.ph/why-annulment-and-legal-separation-are-not-enough-for-divorce-advocates
[7] https://www.niussp.org/article/the-rise-of-divorce-separation-and-cohabitation-in-the-philippines/
[8] Dr. Myles Munroe, âThe Male & The Familyâ, Youtube video;
[9] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1987/11/a-damaged-culture/505178/
