​Righteousness is essential when it comes to government service. It acts as a compass, directing the choices and deeds of individuals, especially those assigned to leadership positions. Righteousness, based on moral character and ethical behavior, is a lighthouse that illuminates the way to a just government and peaceful society. 

In the Scripture, righteousness is pursuing goodness, fairness, and morality in all facets of one's life. It explores issues of conscience and character and follows laws and regulations. Maintaining what is reasonable and moral in the face of difficulties and temptations means being righteous. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled," says the apostle Matthew. 

Righteousness is essential to ensure justice, equity, and honesty in government service. Righteous leaders and public servants put the welfare of their people before their interests or the interests of politics. To establish a society where every person is treated with respect and dignity, righteous public servants base their decisions on justice and compassion. 

Despite its significance, righteousness in governance frequently encounters obstacles and temptations. Even the most well-meaning leaders and public servants can have their integrity tested by the desire for power, the temptation to sacrifice morality for convenience, and the temptation to engage in corruption. However, at these trying times, the dedication to righteousness must not waver. It takes guts to stand up to injustice, humility to own up to your mistakes, and a commitment to putting the public interest first above everything else. People in the government and private service fulfill their obligation to advance justice, equality, and the general welfare by adopting righteousness.

In implication, may you always aim to do righteous acts in the eyes of God and before people, and may the ageless wisdom of the Scriptures guide you as you go through the complexities of public service. Remember, as Dr. Laurence Mascay, one of CRVF's speakers and facilitators, says: "You may be mistreated, but live righteously, and you will emerge victoriously."

 Who doesn't love light, righteousness, and good to rule every day? We want to see good things happen in our lives. We desire to be always righteous, but the sad reality is that we live in a world full of chances to compromise. The struggle of bearing our sinful nature sinks in when we fall into sin and get attached to any form of wickedness that leads us to suffer destructive consequences, find ourselves condemned, and be regretful of our mistakes. We suffer the torture of condemnation from people around us, and worst is the soreness of our self-condemnation.

As we find guilty, people convicted of their crime receive their judgment from a court hearing, which makes us reflect on the dire effect of one's wrong choices and actions. We cannot deny that we get so lax that we are safe from judgment if we don't get caught in our wicked actions and sins. As St. Paul once said, God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what He sows, we will bear the consequences of our sins if not today; it will come in time if we fail to realize the greatness of our wicked actions and repent of our sins.  

We respond differently when we are caught in our sins. Some of us rationalize our wrongdoings to protect ourselves from being judged. Some hide and leave the life of a runaway and are afraid to suffer the consequences that await us. Others tend to do things to cover the sin and pretend innocent to be acquitted. Some of us acknowledge our faults but are unwilling to do anything about them. Others humbly admit wrongs and are willing to go through the restoration process and try to correct them.

As we commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, let it be a time for us to reflect the real meaning of repentance. Our sins indeed have consequences. The consequences of suffering in all aspects. We are afraid of acknowledging and admitting our faults because we don’t want to go through a painful and even long process of restoration. The process of going through a lot of pruning to make as new again.

Both Judas and Peter, who were with Jesus, betrayed Him. Judas turned innocent Jesus to be imprisoned and received a lot of pay from the Pharisees, while Peter denied himself as one of Jesus' disciples. Both of them felt guilty but repented in different ways. Judas hanged himself because of guilt, while Peter went back to where he was until Jesus restored him after His resurrection and became faithful to the end of his life.

Every day is a struggle between light and darkness, righteousness, and wickedness, good and bad. We struggle to be always righteous, and we find ourselves falling into sin. Because of our guilt, we tend to condemn ourselves and repent the wrong way, destroying our lives.

True repentance is not doing another sin to correct the sin; it is an action. It is not only a word being uttered that we are sorry. It happens when we realize our fault, its dreadful impact on us and others, and how it displeases the Almighty God, who sees all things. Our realization will cause us to acknowledge and admit our wrongs and do something about them. We start to make the necessary changes to correct our wrongs.

True repentance brings us hope that there is still a chance for us to be restored. An opportunity to turn our wicked past into a righteous present and future. It is a gift that Jesus had on His mind when He died on the cross and was resurrected. As St. Paul said, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. A psalmist once said, A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

The Almighty God created all of humanity equal. It might have been a centuries-old debate because of observed differences in socio-economic status, gender roles, and ethnic practices. One thing stands out: God allows the sun to shine on both good and evil. As it was written, "He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." In addition, the Book of Genesis expresses that God created both man and woman in His image and likeness, and he equally blessed them. His image and likeness in the man and woman provided that we all have dignity and identity that must be honored and respected. Article 1 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." This has become the bedrock for all human rights documents and activities. Moreover, this has attested to the Holy Scriptures' portrayal and conception of man and woman according to God's grand design.

Here in the Philippines, equality is highly esteemed, as it was mentioned in our Constitution in the preamble and its contents. To quote, "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.  The first word, "we," explicitly says that despite their uniqueness and differences, every Filipino calls on to the Almighty God. It denotes that as we acknowledge God, who is sovereign and above us all, we recognize that we are all equal under Him and heaven. Then, we notice that "equality" is one of the sixteen values mentioned in this exordium. Thus, it would be deemed an essential foundational element in building a moral, decorous, and altruistic society if cited.   This was concretized in our AmBisyon 2040, our very own Philippine Development Plan championing a "Matatag, Maginhawa at Panatag na Buhay" (Strongly rooted, comfortable, and secured life) for every Filipino. It is a dream for all and a hope for all that equally benefits everyone.

In pursuing this promising and glorious future for the nation and the people, the Constitution accentuated Social Justice and Human rights in Article XIII, Section 1. It stated that “the Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good. It encapsulates the concept of fundamental human rights and safeguarding the belief that all people are of equal value and dignity. It implies and epitomizes that no person, organization, government, and its instrumentalities should prevent someone from living with dignity and open opportunities. The state should promote laws and enactments that set the tenor for how it deals with its people and how its people regard each other. We must believe that it is meant for everyone equally, no matter what region they're from, their tribe, race, religion, culture, nationality, age, sex, preferences, beliefs, disability, sexual orientation, or intelligence.

This year's women's month celebration theme is "Lipunang Patas sa Bagong Pilipinas; Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!" Although it is focused on women's and girls' empowerment and provision of equal opportunities, gender equality is not a woman's issue but a human issue. It's not about women longing to be superior to men. It's all about equal rights, respect, self-worth, and access to and control of resources as part of decision-making. It's about having equal choices for our future in general.

Where do we go from here? Where do we fit in? What can we do? Several suggestions were enumerated on how we could help promote equality. We must first be sensitive and humane as we become conscious of every person's rights. Let's be open to learning and listening to each other as we create a safe atmosphere and environment for everyone. We should be flexible and prepared to accustom and fine-tune our views, thoughts, perspectives, and judgments as we develop a culture of inclusivity and sensitivity. We move with the same frequency in our hearts, having the same mindset as the Sovereign God who willed all these things to exist and happen.
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We can make change for everyone. "We make change work" for everyone as we uphold equality.