On Honorary Degrees

The students at the University of the Philippines are outraged that the University has offered to confer an honorary doctorate of law on President Duterte.  Even though the UP has a tradition of conferring every president with this degree the students think tradition should be ignored and the degree withheld because of Duterte's war on drugs.  Luckily for all involved the president has declined the honorary degree.

He explained that he does not accept awards “as a matter of personal and official policy.”  

“With due respect to the University of the Philippines, I do not accept (awards). Even when I was mayor, I do not accept (awards),” the President said in an interview in Bohol yesterday. “Wala sa pagkatao ko (It goes against my personality).”

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/20/1692071/duterte-declines-honorary-doctorate

Duterte is neither the first to be offered this honorary degree nor is he the first to decline it.

Other former Philippine presidents conferred with the degree were Manuel Quezon (March 16, 1929), Sergio Osmeña (March 25, 1930), Manuel A. Roxas (April 13, 1948), Elpidio Quirino (Feb. 12, 1949), Emilio Aguinaldo (June 12, 1953), Ramon Magsaysay (April 5, 1955), Carlos García (April 7, 1959), Diosdado Macapagal (May 30, 1965), Ferdinand Marcos (May 22, 1966), José Laurel Sr. (April 20, 1969), Corazón Aquino (April 20, 1986), and Fidel Ramos (April 24, 1993). 

Estrada and Arroyo were also offered the honorary degree but they turned it down. 

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/890125/up-offers-honorary-doctorate-degree-to-duterte

It is not true that Duterte does not accept awards.  While he may have rejected the world mayor award in 2014  he did accept the highest honour bestowed by the Knights of Rizal in 2017.

http://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/25/duterte-receives-highest-knights-of-rizal-award/

Duterte already has a law degree.  What use has he for an honorary version of something he already worked hard for.  But knighthood?  Now who would turn that down?  Even if it doesn't come with a trusty sword and steed and shiny metal armour?

Is it hypocritical that Duterte declined an honorary degree from the University of the Philippines yet he himself created an even more empty and meaningless award to honour those who honour him?

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/17/1691158/duterte-creates-order-lapu-lapu-honor-service-his-campaigns

Leni Robredo had no problem accepting an honorary degree nor did anyone raise a fuss.

http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/167390-robredo-honorary-degree-university-saint-anthony-camarines-sur

But really though, how much honour is there in an honorary degree? Here is a list of honorary degrees bestowed upon several celebrities.

1. Meryl Streep has three Ivy League honorary doctorates.
2. Ben Affleck was honored with a Doctorate of Fine Arts at Brown University's 2013 commencement.
3. P. Diddy received an honorary doctorate from the college he dropped out of.
4. Oprah Winfrey has four honorary doctorates.
5. J.K. Rowling has earned seven honorary doctorates on two continents.
6. Alec Baldwin earned an honorary doctorate from his alma mater.
7. Robert De Niro was was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Bates College 
8. John Legend has two honorary doctorates for his musical talents.
9. Aretha Franklin reportedly holds some 12 or more honorary degrees, including Doctorates of Music and Arts from Princeton and University of Pennsylvania.
10. Kanye West was honored with a doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
11. Dolly Parton was honored with a Doctorate of Humane and Musical Letters from University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
12. Jon Bon Jovi received an honorary doctorate from Rutgers University this year.
13. Magic Johnson is the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate in business. 

http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-who-have-honorary-degrees-2015-8/#yoko-ono-has-three-honorary-doctorates-for-her-activism-17

And that list is not even complete! Lawmakers, actors, singers, musicians, architects, anyone and everyone can and has received an honorary degree.  All you need to do to get one is to be nominated and approved.

Leni Robredo accepted her one honorary degree but what is that to Aretha Franklin's twelve! Somebody needs to show Robredo a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

While Robredo will never be able to compete with the Queen of Soul, having one honorary doctorate puts her in the same category with Kermit the Frog who was awarded an honorary Doctor of Amphibious Letters in 1996.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/recognition-for-great-and-green-6vr6wj6cbrp

It's not easy being Yellow.

Deceiving, Disgraceful, De Lima

Disgraced Senator Leila De Lima keeps disgracing herself and her office.

DETAINED Senator Leila De Lima admitted Monday that she did not sign the petition she had filed with the Supreme Court (SC) before notary public Maria Cecile Tresvalles-Cabalo last February 24, contrary to her earlier claim.  

"Due to the fact of the conditions of incarceration that petitioner was suffering on that day, the act of signing was not done face to face with notary," the senator's lawyers said in a memorandum submitted to the SC.  

"But the signature was presented to her immediately after the act of signing, with the notary having knowledge that petitioner was signing the petition. Despite these uncertainties, the notary public still took the additional step to verify the signature of the petitioner by asking for her proof of identification from her staffers," it added. 

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/04/18/de-lima-admits-faking-portion-sc-petition-537049

De Lima did not sign her petition to the Supreme Court in front of a notary as the law requires.  But the notary knew she was signing it and took steps to verify that she did sign it without actually witnessing the signing.  So everything is ok right?  I mean it's just a technicality right?

Wrong.  It's the law.  And now De Lima has admitted to violating it.  This after insisting everything was above board.

"Senator De Lima said today that the Office of the Solicitor General's statement on the alleged defect on the notarization of her petition to the Supreme Court is a false allegation. It has no factual basis. The notary public met with her in Camp Crame; the notary public was in Camp Crame when she was brought there," Hilbay told the high court, reading portions of a statement De Lima made.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/21/17/did-de-lima-falsify-notarization-of-supreme-court-petition

This is the second time she has been caught lying.  When confronted with allegations she was having an affair with her driver she denied it.  Until the video came out and then she chalked it up to her "frailties as a woman."

Despite the fraud she is still insisting that her petition is genuine and valid and that she is not seeking any special treatment.

De Lima in her memorandum stressed that no one questioned the authenticity of the signature in the petition.  

Her petition, she insists, was "genuine" and "valid."

In her memorandum, the senator said that she was not seeking special treatment from the SC when she decided to seek relief directly with the high court. 

"She seeks only the fundamental right of every citizen to invoke the Constitution as shield and sword against government abuse," the memorandum read.  

The senator, however, claimed that her petition is special, not because she is a senator but because of the "government's willingness to use its power to pin her down, as fulfillment to the promise made by President Rodrigo Duterte. 

What a feat of double speak.  In a single breath she admits she is lying yet insists her petition is genuine and then she denies seeking special treatment but declares her case is special. And who cares is no one questioned the authenticity?  She knew it was inauthentic and submitted it anyway.

Is Leila De Lima so corrupt that she must have an external conscience to guide her?  Does she need Jiminy Cricket to lead her down the right path??

Her case is not special. She is charged with running drugs out of Bilibid Prison.  She is charged with corruption which is about as ordinary a charge as a politician can get in the Philippines.

Her whole reason to have her case dismissed in the first place was because of a technicality.

De Lima went to the SC after Guerrero ordered her arrest, despite a pending motion to dismiss her case on the basis that the Muntinlupa court lacked jurisdiction. 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/17/17/de-lima-im-not-asking-for-special-treatment

At no time has De Lima ever confronted the actual charges against her. Instead she has baselessly alleged that every witness who testified against her in the Senate last year was lying under duress. When confronted with an arrest warrant she attacked the court for not having the proper jurisdiction. Her mode of defence has been to ignore the charges and focus on technicalities.

 That makes her charge against Solicitor General Jose Calida all the much more ironic.

"Desperate." This is how Senator Leila de Lima described the move of the Solicitor General seeking the dismissal of the senator's petition to nullify her arrest. 

Solicitor General Jose Calida told the Supreme Court in a manifestation that De Lima supposedly falsified the notarization of her pleading. 

"The senator said that the OSG attack is obviously borne out of desperation," it added. 

In the same press release, De Lima maintained that Calida's allegation "has no factual basis." 

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/21/17/de-lima-solgen-resorting-to-basest-of-technicalities-not-arguments

And not just ironic but an outright lie.  Turns out De Lima was the desperate one seeking to keep her lie from being discovered. 

Well now the tables have turned, her lie has been admitted, and if she wants to play the technicality card then the Supreme Court should toss her petition because she did not sign it in front of a notary as the law requires.

What will the international community she appeals to have to say about this revelation?  Will the Inter-Parlimentary Union take this into account when they visit the Philippines for their investigation in the the matter?

De Lima lied about her affair and she lied about her petition even going so far as to impugn the Solicitor General. What else has she lied about?

How soon until she confesses her guilt in running drugs out of Bilibid Prison? If she does admit her guilt it will be a non-confession chalked up to her "frailties as a woman" or some other such nonsense.

"The Beheading Was More of A Necessity"

Abu Sayyaf has executed another hostage.  This time a Filipino sailor they captured last December.

http://www.philstar.com:8080/headlines/2017/04/17/1691057/abu-sayyaf-beheads-filipino-hostage

Malacañang Palace has issued the standard condemnation of this horrendous act and life continues on as cheap as ever in the Philippines.

"We strongly condemn this senseless and cold-blooded murder committed during the Holy Week," Abella said in a statement on Monday.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/17/1691154/palace-condemns-killing-abu-sayyaf-hostage

At least they called it a senseless and cold-blooded murder and did not apologise for Abu Sayyaf which is exactly what the AFP did.

The military said the beheading was more of a necessity on the part of the bandit group, as the victim was reportedly getting sickly.

The beheading was a necessity because he was getting sickly?  What?  A necessity on their part??? Why would the AFP even issue such a callous statement?  Who cares about the sick and perverted motives of these evil men?  

Sobejana said dragging a sick captive hampers the movement of the bandits, who have constantly been on the run to evade pursuing soldiers.

Oh those poor terrorists. Gotta put yourself in their shoes. Being hampered with a sick guy and unable to evade the AFP easily. When you think about it it's really more of a euthanasia than it is a murder. It's understandable they would want to get rid of a sick guy who was so much dead weight. It looks like they have being doing a bang-up job of avoiding the AFP because they are still in operation.  Or perhaps the AFP is not even looking for them.

Initially, the AFP did not believe the information, thinking it was just propaganda.

Despite the fact that Abu Sayyaf has executed others and has shown no willingness to quit.  Despite the fact that just a few days prior Abu Sayyaf was in Bohol looking for more victims to kidnap.   Despite the fact the Abu Sayyaf has been doing the same thing for 25 years. Despite all this the AFP thought it was just propaganda!? When will the AFP start taking the threat posed by Abu Sayyaf seriously? 

Never forget that the Chief of the AFP, Eduardo Año, despite knowing the movements of Abu Sayyaf declared he saw no terrorist threat prior to the Bohol incident.

Never forget that Abu Sayyaf has aligned themselves with ISIS.  Never forget that ISIS is funded by  Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the very nations Duterte visited this week and to whom he pledged military support.

Never forget that Duterte absolved Abyu Sayyaf from being criminals.

And never forget Noel Besconde, a poor fisherman who was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf because the Philippines refuses to destroy the terrorist group and secure the safety of the country.

There will be more victims. More heads will roll. More condemnations will be issued and more hands will wring.  And nothing will continue to be done to protect the country.  Instead the politicians will continue to do vain and ridiculous things like create awards to honour those who honour them.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/17/1691158/duterte-creates-order-lapu-lapu-honor-service-his-campaigns

What do President Duterte and 4chan founder moot Have in Common?

They both won Time Magazine's Most Influential Person online poll due to massive voting and trolling campaigns.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/04/4chan-time-moot.html

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/17/1691152/duterte-wins-times-2017-most-influential-poll

However Duterte only won 5% of the total vote. With his skills the 400 pound hacker known as 4chan gave moot a 300% total.  Better luck next time Duterte.

Death Penalty Debate in the Philippines

One of Duterte's most controversial and popular campaign promises was the reinstatement of the death penalty.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36297583

This promise reflects his "get tough on crime" policy and now it is one step closer to becoming a reality.

http://time.com/4694718/philippines-death-penalty-congress/

Death penalty for drug-related and other crimes?  Which crimes?

1. Treason
2. Qualified piracy (including firing upon the vessel, abandoning victims, and murder)
3. Qualified bribery (demanding a bribe from anyone facing the death penalty or life imprisonment)
4. Parricide
5. Murder
6. Infanticide
7. Rape (various circumstances)
8. Kidnapping and serious illegal detention 
9. Robbery with violence
10. Arson
11. Plunder (at least 50 million pesos)
12. Importation of drugs
13. Selling, trading, dispensing, delivering drugs
14. Maintenance of a den, dive, or resort (a drug house)
15. Manufacturing drugs
16. Possession of drugs
17. Cultivating plants classified as drugs or that are sources of drugs
18. Unlawful prescription of drugs
19. Misappropriation of confiscated drugs, paraphernalia, and proceeds by a public officer
20. Planting evidence
21. Carnapping (when rape or murder occurs)

http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_17/HB00001.pdf

That seems like a lot of crimes but mostly the death penalty is being reinstated for the crime of murder.  For example carnapping.  Unless its accompanied by murder or rape then it does not qualify the criminal for the death penalty.

This bill still has to be approved by the Seante before Duterte can sign it into law.  In the meantime there are many voices being raised to oppose it. No voice is as loud as that of the Conference of Bishops.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/20/1682920/church-rallies-faithful-vs-death-penalty

“Dear sisters and brothers in Christ – let us not allow our wells to be poisoned by bitter water; let us uphold the sanctity of life and make a stand against death penalty,” the pastoral letter, signed by CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, read in masses nationwide on the third Sunday of Lent stated. 

The prelates stressed that while victims of heinous crimes deserve justice and reparations, criminals remain “children of God” who should be given a chance to repent and reform.

Its quite funny that there is an Archbishop named Socrates and he is against the death penalty. 

I don't want to take the time and space to analyse his full statement but this:

Jesus was never an advocate of any form of “legal killing”. He defended the adulterous woman against those who demanded her blood and challenged those who were without sin among them to be the first to cast a stone on her (John 8:7).

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/19/1682659/full-text-cbcps-pastoral-statement-vs-death-penalty 

is just plain wrong.  If this woman had been stoned it would not have been legal at all. Where was the man?  It takes two to tango and God commands the death of both.

Leviticus 20:10: ¶And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Also this statement:

Even with the best of intentions, capital punishment has never been proven effective as a deterrent to crime.

The death penalty is first and foremost a penalty, a punishment.  It is not a deterrent. It can act as a deterrent but the heart of man is persuaded by nothing when he is intent on doing evil. Plainly Archbishop Socrates does not know what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

There are many solid reasons to be anti-death penalty. The fact that corrupt prosecutors looking for a conviction have caused many innocent men to be put on death row is the most compelling argument.

However you cannot be a Christian or a Catholic and oppose the death penalty on the basis of the Scriptures. God proscribes the death penalty.

Genesis 9:6: Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Exodus 21:16: ¶And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:17: ¶And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:9: ¶For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Leviticus 20:11: And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:12: And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:13: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Those are just a few verses where the Lord commands that men be put to death for certain crimes. There is no chance to repent or reform.  There is only a swift putting away of the sin from their midst.

"But that's the Old Testament.  We are under grace and not under the law anymore." A good objection and a large subject that will not be covered in the blogpost.  

However here are some verses from the New Testament where the death penalty is also proscribed.

Acts 25:11: For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Cæsar.

Paul acknowledges there are crimes worthy of death and he does not refuse the death penalty if he were guilty of such crimes.

I Peter 4:15: But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

I Peter 4:16: Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

The suffering Peter speaks of is imprisonment and death. He recognises that murderers and thieves suffer death.  He also recognises that Christians suffer death too.  Peter tells us we should shun being put to death as wicked men but rejoice in martyrdom for Christ.

Romans 13:4: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

Paul recognises that the state has the power to execute criminals.  He does not refute this.

We see that the Bible does not refuse to assign death as the lot of certain criminals.  Don't be fooled by the Catholic Bishops Conference.  Signs like this one are lies that twist scripture.

Exodus 20:13: Thou shalt not kill.

When you quote this verse in order to prove that war and the death penalty are evils that God forbids you are making a fool of yourself and making God out to be evil since he commands men but put to death for certain crimes and he commanded the Israelites to kill all the heathen in the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 2:33: And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

Deuteronomy 2:34: And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

I Samuel 15:3: Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

You can be a Christian and be anti-death penalty.  Just don't bring the Scriptures in to the argument because they oppose that view.  It's better if a Christian believes what the Bible teaches rather than oppose it.

II Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Duterte to the Middle East: Use our Troops, Shoot Any Corrupt Officials

From "I will jet ski to the Spratly Islands and plant the flag" to "Kill me if I don't resolve crime and corruption in six months" President Duterte is a man given to making pompous overstatements to prove his sincerity. 

Now he has done it again.  This time he is promising to send troops to the Middle East in case they are needed.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/16/1690862/duterte-ready-deploy-philippine-troops-help-gulf-allies

“I said that if you need us, you just call and if you want even, if things break lose, I hope it will not. I pray to God that it will remain fundamentally on the side of the Middle East this time. But there’s a violent activity going on. But we are ready to help you,” the president said.

“If you need troops here, just in the borders for show, just put it in writing that they are here for training, but they can stay here if you want. If you want us to stay for a moment, fine. If you want to deploy us here, we will agree because of our national interest and the lives of the Filipinos,” he added.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/04/16/1690862/duterte-ready-deploy-philippine-troops-help-gulf-allies

"Just in the borders for show?"  So they wouldn't even be there to fight?  They would only be there for show?  And then he goes on to tell the crowd that they can file false papers saying the Philippine army is only in the country for training but they can stay anyway if the host nation wants.

What the heck is even trying to say? Why would any nation want foreign troops inside its borders under false pretences? Why would any nation accept foreign troops especially if they can't even feed themselves?

"If you are in trouble, if you are short with manpower, I have a very disciplined military and I can send them here. You will not have any trouble with them. They are law abiding, well-disciplined and they can stay here, just to send them to the borders," Duterte told businessmen in Qatar on Saturday. 

"But I would like to ask you to just feed them because we don't have the money to spend to --- for their food. But give them shelters and they will fight for you. I said we will stand by you," he added.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/16/17/ph-to-send-troops-to-gulf-states-for-training-esperon

Why would Saudi Arabia and Qatar even take him up on the offer to use Philippine troops?  Saudi Arabia and Qatar support ISIS both financially and ideologically.  ISIS is in the Philippines. Any reasonable person would conclude that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are therefore supporting terrorism in the Philippines. And Duterte offers them the use of the Philippine Army?

http://www.salon.com/2016/10/11/leaked-hillary-clinton-emails-show-u-s-allies-saudi-arabia-and-qatar-supported-isis/

Any troops free to be sent to the Middle East should instead be sent to where the areas of terrorist activity are occurring in order to destroy them and bring peace to the Philippines.

But wait!  There's more.  

http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/04/16/17/duterte-assures-businessmen-in-qatar-of-corruption-free-deals-in-ph

QATAR-President Rodrigo Duterte assured businessmen here that he will not tolerate corruption in government and among investors in the Philippines. 

"We will honor contracts. We will honor our obligations. That is in the Constitution itself that there shall be no impairment of the obligation of contracts. So insofar as trade is concerned I can assure you, what we sign and I agree with you will be done even if we lose in the transaction, we will honor what we have promised," Duterte said. 

He also told his audience to "shoot" any corrupt officials from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs that will take advantage of them when they do business in the Philippines. 

"I give you the authority to… If somebody from the Internal Revenues, Customs would ask you even P10, shoot him." the President said before a large contingent from the Qatar business sector 

"Everything will be all right. Everything will be followed. There will be no harassment. There will be no asking of money. It will be a truly honest to goodness transaction," he added.

Duterte is so confident that Qatari businessmen will have a corrupt free time doing business in the Philippines that he has given them permission to shoot any corrupt official who tries to take advantage of them.

Instead of giving facts and figures and showing a systematic reduction of corruption and a flourishing economy and giving them every economic incentive to invest in the Philippines Duterte gives these businessmen his blessing to murder any corrupt official they come in contact with.  

Is that really going to encourage anyone to invest in the Philippines?  No. It's not.  

Much of what he has said this week in the Middle East, not to mention his entire presidency, has not made a bit of sense except in his mind.

What Duterte says reflects on the Filipino people.  When he advocates murder that makes Filipinos look like a violent nation of thugs.  When he says its ok to use Philippines troops under false pretences, that impugns the entire nation and makes everyone look corrupt.  

Who wants to to business with a nation of corrupt murderers?

The Salubong is Based on A Lie

What do you get when your celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Chirst is dictated by the the phases of the moon?

A lot of blasphemy and ridiculous ceremonies that's what.  

Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, March 21. Jesus was crucified on Passover which is always the 14th of Nisan or around the beginning of April in our modern calendar.  There was a sect of early Christians called the Quartodecimians who followed the tradition of the Apostle John and celebrated the Resurrection of Christ on the date of Passover.  After all the scripture says:

I Corinthians 5:7: Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Not content to commit sacrilege by crucifying themselves in imitation of Jesus Christ, Filipinos go a step further and add sin to sin by attributing lies to the Scriptures.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/16/17/filipino-catholics-celebrate-easter-sunday-with-salubong

Catholics all over the Philippines celebrated Easter Sunday with the traditional 'Salubong,' or the reenactment of the Biblical account of the meeting of the Virgin Mary and the resurrected Jesus Christ.

There is no Biblical account of Jesus meeting with his mother immediately after the resurrection. Surely they met later on.  He did show himself to 500 people. But his mother is not specifically mentioned.

I Corinthians 15:4: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

I Corinthians 15:5: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

I Corinthians 15:6: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

I Corinthians 15:7: After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

I Corinthians 15:8: And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of 

As for who is the first person Jesus met the Gospel states unambiguously:

Mark 16:9: ¶Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

 Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. End of story. Salubong is a lie.

So where does this idea the Jesus appeared to his mother first?  Tradition. It comes from the traditions surrounding the growing worship of the Virgin Mary.  The many accolades and events attributed to her (the immaculate conception, Queen of Heaven, Co-Redepmtrix, the assumption and dormition, her perpetual virginity, her presentation in the temple) are all based on traditions related to her worship and have no basis in the Bible whatsoever.

The rooting of these doctrines in tradition is wholly acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Church.

The Gospels relate that our Lord appeared first of all to St. Mary Magdalene (cf. Mark 16:9), but there is a tradition among many saints and theologians that prior to this apparition, the good Jesus had appeared to his Mother Mary.

http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2011/05/did-jesus-appear-first-to-his-mother.html

The theologians of the Church know the scriptures because they read and study them.  Sadly the laity of the church does not read and study the scripture and is discouraged from doing so.  

The problem with religion in the Philippines is total lack of Bible knowledge. 

I encourage everyone to read the scriptures and to reject these man-made traditions.  Jesus himself told us to read the scriptures.

John 5:39: ¶Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Let us hear the testimony of the transformative power of the Scriptures, the Word of God, from the greatest of all  Catholic Saints, St. Augustine.

So was I speaking and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighbouring house a voice, as of boy or girl, I know not, chanting, and oft repeating. ‘Take up and read; Take up and read.’ [’Tolle, lege! Tolle, lege!’] Instantly, my countenance altered, I began to think most intently whether children were wont in any kind of play to sing such words: nor could I remember ever to have heard the like. So checking the torrent of my tears, I arose; interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book, and read the first chapter I should find… 

Eagerly then I returned to the place where Alypius was sitting; for there had I laid the volume of the Apostle when I arose thence. I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: ‘Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, in concupiscence.’ [Romans 13:14-15] No further would I read; nor needed I: for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”

https://aureliusaugustinus.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/tolle-lege-take-and-read/