“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” –Mark Twain

A septuagenarian Fil-Am religious leader called on faithful in both the United States and the Philippine to rally behind President Rodrigo Duterte as he “faces the difficult task” of solving both problems of insurgency and terrorism within his first year in office.
“I support the style of President Duterte,” said Falls Church-based Christian Evangelization Ministry head and preacher Mariano C. Evangelista.
According to the religious leader, Duterte must succeed as president because the problems the country faces with the ISIS-basked terrorism from the Maute group are not ordinary.

Engage
Maute rebels continue to engage government troops in a bloody battle in Marawi City. The gun battle has been raging for over three weeks and killed hundreds on both sides, including civilians caught in crossfire.

Duterte has declared Martial Law in Mindanao
The peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) are also in jeopardy amid efforts from both sides to resume discussion.
“You maybe a born again, a Baptist, a Catholic, a Hindu, a Buddist, a Muslim, a Seventh Day Adventist, a Mormon, or an Iglesia (Ni Kristo), God doesn’t discriminate,” sighed Evangelista. “We all need to unite, let us not fear death because we will all go there anyway.”
“That alone can give us salvation and peace of mind,” he added.
The preacher said he believed in the statement by former US President George W. Bush, who reportedly claimed in a TV interview, “The Philippines is the richest country in the world.”

Rich
“I knew what President Bush meant,” said Evangelista. “He meant that the Philippines is the richest in the world because of the bullions of gold that have been hidden in various islands during the World War II.”
“Until now, the gold bars are still there [in the Philippines] and thousands have died just to protect their secret locations,” he added.
According to Evangelista, the late President Ferdinand Marcos knew some of the codes where the bullions of gold were hidden.
“That’s why Marcos was already rich even before he became president,” he argued. “He was ousted not by People Power, what we all saw on TV in 1986, he was ousted by a powerful person because Marcos knew too much and refused to be manipulated.”/WDJ