1. The act of Masturbation lies in a gray area of conflicting views.

Masturbation, considered a form of self

gratification, in some religions, is viewed as a baneful act which offends the will of God. Modern
view/perceptions of masturbation is likened it to a norm where it is part of human nature to do such act. It is
neither moral nor immoral. But as a Christian where our society is deeply rooted in the practices and teachings
of the church, I find offensive not just to God but also as to me for it violates my honored principle of self
respect and preservation. Self gratification should not be as instant, where it can just be done when one wishes it
to be done. There has to be a certain threshold or limits as to please oneself. For if not, we will just lower
ourselves to the level of bestial animal, doing things out of whim and bestiality to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

2. Sex must always be done as a conjugal act where if it is done outside of conjugal means falls under
masturbation and if done in a coercive way falls under acts of rape. Depending on religious affiliations, region,
ethnicity, and generational mindset, views on sex whether to be done outside the context of marriage or after
marriage, greatly differs. To some, sex outside the context of marriage is an accepted norm, while others
contradict such view. An ongoing debate that holds no true answers, as evidenced by history, taken from certain
stories in the Bible, where certain characters, are allowed to have sexual relations with someone that is not of
their wife, as a means to conceive a baby due to their wives inability to conceive as compared to modern
Church Doctrine which forbid it, for it amounts to adultery/concubinage (in the case for married individuals). In
the case for unmarried persons, although no law expressly provides punishment for those who engage in sexual
relations, certain religions calls to abhor such acts, for it is not in conformity to the will of God. Christian
doctrine and teachings hold it that a persons body is a temple of God which must be cared and respected. But
with the changing times, it cannot be denied that the churchs doctrines are no longer being aptly followed. The
concept of Maria Clara/Juan Crisostomo Ibarra type of decorum and standard in our society nowadays is but
slowly waning. The concept of sex after marriage has become obsolete. It has but become irrelevant at all. What
matters most is that, sex is done/must be done in the context of love. Where it must not become into a habitual
activity done out of ones whim and mercy, but must be done out of affection bridled with reflection on the
possible consequences of such action. Sex only becomes a perversion when done out of self gratification.
Definitions of self gratification vary per person and generation.
3. The best way to make an individual abstain from committing a horrendous activity is reformation through
education and also providing a means to deter such acts to be committed and or from being committed again. In
the Philippines, our penal system has always resorted to punishing criminal acts by imposing the most severe
penalty with the hopes that the offender will not resort to commit criminality again in the near future. Rather
than fostering reformation, the present criminal/justice system ushers the offender into condemnation.
Imposition of the severest of penalty does not guarantee reformation, but only isolation. A person subjected to
isolation is more susceptible to resorting to criminality again than those who have been placed in a system that
fosters education by treating these offenders of law with care by teaching means to reintegrate themselves into
society.
4. Self defense is both a duty and a right for a right can be waived, wherein a duty is not. A right can be
reserved, while a duty needs to be carried out at all times. It is both a duty and a right to defend oneself from
external harm, for its one of the most basic instinct imbued in a person, the concept of survival. Self defense
though does not give a person a license to kill although certain circumstances permit the taking of another
persons life especially when the only means of ending the danger to oneself is through the death of the
aggressor. Self defense is the duty and the right to abate the danger to one and also to the one that causes such
danger.

1. Law is an ordinance of reason and convenience made by the legislature/law making body in order to facilitate
a smooth functioning of the state with the inhabitants of its territory. The law is primary rooted with morality,
yet not all times will conform to it. Morals are fluid, changes from person to person, from time to time. Laws
are created to maintain a synergy/harmony of these conflicting morals, for in reality there is no such thing as a
universal standard for morality.