cbcp monitor vol13-n21

8/9/2019 CBCP Monitor vol13-n21

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Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009 Php 20.00

The CROSSA Supplement Publication of KCFAPI

and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

A3 C1B1Your hands, your lips,become... the Hands

and Lips of God

CBCP asks Congress to upholdinmates rights to suffrage

THE Episcopal Commission on Prison Pas-toral Care (ECPPC) of the Catholic BishopsConference of the Philippines (CBCP) calledon Congress to modify election laws to ensureprisoners of their right to vote.

In a press statement, the Commission lauded

both COMELEC and Bureau of Jail Manage-ment and Penology (BJMP) for allowing pris-oners in detention to register to exercise theirconstitutional right to vote in the upcoming2010 elections.

Reiterating the Commissions statement, ECPPC

Prelate favors P10-B calamityfund for storm victims

MANILA Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillofavored the allocation of P10 billion calamityfund and said huge chunk of the budget mustbe earmarked for reconstruction.

Speaking over Church-run Radio Veritas,Pabillo said giving housing to the poor whose

houses were ravaged by typhoon Ondoy mustbe prioritized.That calamity fund should be allocated for

housing so as not to put at risk once more thelives of the poor, he said.

Pabillo chairs the National Secretariat for So-Suffrage / A7Fund / A6

CBCP head asks priests toreclaim prophetic leadership

By Roy Lagarde

THE head of the Catholic Bishops Conferenceof the Philippines called on church leaders tolive their prophetic role more effectively.

This is more so because, according to Archbishop AngelLagdameo, the countrys current situation challenges churchofcials to move into more prophetic expressions of their roleas key actors in civil society.

As the church marks Year for Priests, he said its also abouttime to see whether the clergy have truly played a prophetic

role in church and society.Lagdameo said such celebration expressed the need todevelop a theology of leadership: the prophetic role of priestsand their call to stewardship.

Year for Priests gives us priests the opportunity to regainand reclaim our prophetic leadership, exercised in the presentcontext or realities of church and society in the Philippines,he said.

Discernment

The CBCP head made the statement in his homily during

Pope: RP needs honest political leadersPOPE Benedict XVI said the Philippines continuing struggle frompoverty signals the imperative need for upright political leaders.Speaking to new Philippines Ambassador to the Vatican MercedesArrasitia Tuason, the pope urged public ofcials to rediscover thereal ethical foundation of their political authority.

The struggle against poverty in the Philippines calls for honesty,integrity and an unwavering delity to the principles of justice, es-

pecially on the part of those entrusted with positions of governanceand public administration, Benedict XVI said.

The pontiff made the remarks on Oct. 2 at a function to welcomethe new Filipino envoy to the Holy See.

He also called on Filipino ofcials to work for peace especially inMindanao which, according to him, is a region scarred by conicts.

THE Catholic bishops leadership said theyare saddened over the kidnapping of an Irishpriest held hostage by still unknown kidnap-

pers in the restive southern Philippines.Columban missionary Michael Sinnott wasseized from his home on the evening of October11 in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur.

Authorities said six armed gunmen burstinto Father Michael Sinnott at his residencewhile he was strolling inside the MissionarySociety of Saint Columban compound in whatappeared to be a well-organized operation.

Dragging him to a waiting car, he wasthen trundled into a waiting speed boat ata nearby beach.

The whereabouts of the octogenarianpriest, born in Ireland, are still unknown,while no group has yet to claim the respon-sibility for the terrorist act.

Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president

CBCP saddened overabduction of priest,worries of fragile health

A MULTI-SECTORAL group led by Catholic bish-ops urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec)to make public the source code of the Optical MarkReader (OMR) it would use in the 2010 elections.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo andKalookan Bishop Deogracias Iiguez joined someinformation technology experts, lawmakers andnon-government organization leaders in asking thepoll body to reveal the code for public scrutiny.

In a joint statement sent to Comelec chair JoseMelo, they said that asking for the source codeis meant to ensure transparent, fair and credibleelections.

We reiterate in strongest terms our call for theComelec to comply with Section 12 of RA 9369and release the source code of the PCOS-OMR

TWO offices of theCatholic BishopsConference of thePhilippines (CBCP)

have appointed aL e g a l M a n a g e -ment graduate ofthe University ofSanto Tomas to takethe helm of its offi-cial website for theFil ipino Catholicyouth.

Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon and Fr.Conegundo Gargan-ta of the Espisco-pal Commission onYouth, together with Msgr. Pedro Quitorioof the CBCP Media Office, have appointedEilleen Esteban of the Dominican Networkas the first president of YouthPinoy, a

THE Church does not say that the dreadful ashoods recently was a judgment of God but a prelatebelieves there is a message in the disaster.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippinespresident, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, said suchterrible tragedy can, in the mysterious providenceof God, also serve as a warning sign.

In the destruction wrought by typhoons, wemust see not so much God lifting His hand topunish but moral evil having its trail of harm andruin because we have destroyed Gods world,Archbishop Lagdameo said.

We are challenged to open our hearts to Godswarning signs. Should we not at least ask ourselvesif all the corruption and lies, the loss of integrityand the mounting destruction of morality and

moral values in the present government and thepresent calamities: is there a connection? Is Godnot giving us hints regarding the future and

Dominican Network bagsleadership of YouthPinoy

coalition of different youth groups andministries working behind the www.youthpinoy.com portal.

CBCP head sees warning sign incalamities, calls for praying the rosaryeven the coming elections? Were just asking! Wedo not have the answer! That is why let us alsopray, he said.

While the country is yet to recover from wrathof typhoon Ondoy, another typhoon, Pepeng leftmuch of northern Luzon devastated and sub-merged in water.

The prelate said the situation calls for the faithfulto pray and seek Gods intervention to spare thecountry from further calamities.

In this month of October, Archbishop Lagdameosaid the church recommend that the Rosary beprayed by individuals, families or by communitiesin parishes for the said intention.

Our countrymen, still reeling in physical an-guish and emotional distress, which many of them

hide in their smiles and sense of humor, need alsoto be prayed for, he said.

Bishops renewcall for Comelec torelease source code

and CCS computer programs now before it is toolate, it read.

Pabillo heads the CBCPs National Secretariatfor Social Action while Iiguez chairs the CBCPs

Permanent Committee on Public Affairs.Among those who signed the statement are Sr.

Prophetic / A6

Honest / A7

Abduction / A7 YouthPinoy / A6

Rosary / A7 Source code / A6

Pope Benedict callsfor revolution ofholiness in Africa

CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo exhorts priests to exercise their prophetic role and the call to stewardship more effectively amidst challenges of present societal conditions. The archbishop leads the Mass on October 13, at theopening of the three-day National Discernment of Priests at the Lay Formation Center, San Carlos Seminary, Makati City. The National Discernment of Priests assembly is a response to the call of the hierarchy for the formation of circles of discernmentamong the clergy.

IllustrationbyBladimerUsi

RoyLagarde/CBCPMedia

RoyLagarde/CBCPMedia


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A2 Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009

CBCP Monitor

World News

Holy Father canonizes five

new saintsVATICAN CITY, Oct. 11, 2009Pope Benedict XVI has canonized ve new saints in St. Peters Basilica,including Fr. Damian of Molokai. During his homily, the Holy Father noted that all of the saints fol-lowed the invitation of Christ: "Come, follow me!"

Speaking to the faithful packed in St. Peters Basilica, the Pope described the invitation of Christ,saying that he "invites his disciples to the total gift of their lives, without calculation and human self-interest, with a wholehearted faith in God."

This call, the Holy Father continued, is welcomed by the saints who "place themselves in humbleobedience" to follow the Lord.

They no longer focus on themselves, the Pope explained, but by their "logic of faith." They choose"to go against the trends of the time living according to the Gospel."

Benedict XVI then gave a brief description of each of the ve newly-canonized saints: a bishop, aTrappist brother, two priests and a nun.

Archbishop Zygmunt Szczesny Feliski of Warsaw, founder of the Congregation of the FranciscanSisters of the Family of Mary, was committed to evangelization and support for the poor, defendingthe oppressed during the Russian occupation of Poland, and was sentenced to 20 years in exile inJaroslaw on the Volga. "His gift of himself to God and man," the Holy Father said in Polish, was "fullof condence and love," and "becomes a shining example for the entire Church."

To those younger generations today who "are not satised with what they have," the Pontiff gavethe example of Rafael Arnaiz Baron, who came from a wealthy family and was a bit "of a dreamer." ACistercian oblate, he died when he was 27 years old, and is considered one of the greatest mystics ofthe twentieth century.

The Pontiff next spoke of Dominican Father Francisco Coll y Guitard, founder of the Congregationof Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation Blessed Virgin Mary.

Through his preaching, the saint spread his love of the Word of God and the Sacrament of Reconcili-ation among all people especially the young.

Father Damian, the famous apostle to the lepers, left Flanders, Belgium at the age of 23 to go on a mis-sion to modern day Hawaii. "Not without fear and loathing," Pope Benedict underlined, "Father Damianmade the choice to go on the island of Molokai in the service of lepers who were there, abandoned byall. So he exposed himself to the disease of which they suffered. With them he felt at home. The servantof the Word became a suffering servant, leper with the lepers, during the last four years of his life."

He continued, "To follow Christ, Father Damian not only left his homeland, but has also staked his

VATICAN CITY, Oct. 12, 2009Pope Benedict prayed a Rosarywith university students from both Rome and Africa on Saturdaynight at the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. Following the Marian prayer,the Holy Father remarked that students must be passionate seek-ers of truth.

Synod Fathers from the ongoing Synod for Africa, Roman univer-sity students and via satellite, university students from eight Africancities: Cairo, Egypt; Nairobi, Kenya; Khartoum, Sudan; Johannes-burg, South Africa; Onitsha, Nigeria; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic

Benedict XVI prays Rosary with college

students, tells youth to seek the truthof Congo; Maputo, Mozambique, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasoparticipated in the event.Following the Rosary, Benedict XVI spoke to the students and

asked them to be workers of intellectual charity in both the Churchand society. Living out this call is so necessary if we are to face upto the great challenges of the present time, the Pope said.

While at the university, he continued, the students must be pas-sionate seeks of truth, and must build academic communities ofthe highest intellectual standard, where it is possible to exercise and

enjoy that open and all-embracing rationality which paves the wayto the meeting with God.

He then exhorted the students to also also collaborate among theirvarious institutions, especially with the African schools.

Speaking to the African students, the Pope invited them to usetheir years of study as preparation to carry out a service of culturalanimation in your countries.

New evangelization in Africa also depends on your generousefforts," he concluded. (CNA)

VATICAN CITY, Oct. 12, 2009Benedict XVI held a brief meetingwith Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss preparations forthe 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid.

Miguel ngel Moratinos was in the Rome as the head ofthe ofcial Spanish delegation that attended the canonization

of the rst two Spanish saints canonized by this Pope: FatherFrancisco Coll and Brother Rafael Arniz.

"Among the topics discussed was the prepara-tion for World Youth Day, which will take placein Madrid in August of 2011, and the meaningof the canonizations for the Spanish Church andsociety," the Spanish Embassy to the Holy Seereported.

The communiqu added that after the meetingwith the Pontiff, the minister had a "lengthy con-versation" with Archbishop Dominique Mam-berti, the secretary for relations with states.

It added, "In an atmosphere of great cordial-ity, the interlocutors addressed among othertopics: the priorities of the Spanish presidencyof the European Union beginning in January of2010, the Alliance of Civilizations, international

Pope discusses World Youth Day withSpanish delegate

issues of mutual interest and other points that affect Church-State relations."

The Holy Father also received the delegations from the nativecountries of the other newly canonized saints.

Attending on the Belgian side, in honor of St.Damien De Veuster, apostle of the lepers in Molokai,were King Albert II and Queen Paola of his home-land.

As Molokai is in Hawaii, the ambassador of theUnited States to the Holy See, Miguel Daz, also at-tended the ceremony along with one of the state's

senators, Daniel Kahikina Akaka.In honor of St. Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski

of Poland, the president of the Republic, LechKaczynski, was present in the Vatican.

France, which was celebrating the newly canon-ized St. Jeanne Jugan, was represented by Prime

Minister Franois Fillon. (Zenit)

ROME, Italy,Oct. 12, 2009The semi-ofcialVatican daily,LOsservatoreRomano, hascalled the deci-sion to awardP r e s i d e n tObama w i ththe Nobel PeacePrize prema-ture and moreof an invitationto choose peacethrough politics. The award is also questionable because of hisposition on various bio-ethics issues, especially abortion.

The article points out that the awarding of the Nobel PeacePrize to Barack Obama has taken everyone somewhat by surprise,rst and foremost the U.S. president himself.

During the last 90 years, L'Osservatore noted, the prizehas never been awarded to a sitting U.S. presidentwhen it wasawarded to Jimmy Carter in 2002 he had been out of ofce alreadyfor some time[but was] involved in politics and susceptible,therefore, to making a range of decisions related to peace.

Perhaps for this reason, the newspaper said, Analysts havealmost unanimously interpreted his selection as a way of pres-suring Obama to make pacist choices as his administrationcontinues forward.

L'Osservatore also questioned the administrations actionsin Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that the decisions seem aimedat trying to nd a middle way between delity to the paciststatements made during the campaign season and a more realisticpolicy, which some have dened as a continuation of that of thewarmonger Bush.

This back-and-forth policy, the paper observed, is very similarto the approach that Obama has taken to the great bioethics is-sues, with abortion being rst and foremost. His way of doingthings has generated great controversy among Catholics in thecountry, the daily added.

The Vatican newspaper also brought to mind Mother Teresa

being honored with the Peace Prize in 1979, and said, Obamaought to recall that in 1979 he was preceded by Mother Teresa,who had the courage to state in her acceptance speech that theharshest war with the greatest number of fallen is the practiceof abortion, legalized and facilitated as well by the internationalstructures.

Pointing out an inconsistency, L'Osservatore noted that PopeJohn Paul II was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize for yearsbut was never chosen for the award, not even in 2003 after hiscondemnation of the war in Iraq.

Pope Wojtyla was considered by the members of the com-mittee as too conservative in other areas, and they feared thatawarding it to him would be seen as favoring the Catholic Churchover other religions. Their fears were evidently overcome in themuch more controversial case of the selection of Obama, theVatican daily said, noting that the selection process has becomemired in being politically correct.

Nevertheless, the article concluded, at the same time, as thedirector of the Holy Sees Press Ofce has stated, we cannothelp but rejoice at the recognition of President Obamas effortsat nuclear disarmament and his personal disposition towards apolicy that seeks peace more than the afrmation of U.S. powerin the world. (CNA)

Vatican paper calls NobelPrize for Obama premature,highlights his abortion stance

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 12, 2009The Archbishopof Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto RiveraCarrera, warned last week that the divorcebetween Church and State could cause ourruin, as he commented on those who want tooverlook the countrys religious roots.

The cardinal made his remarks during theopening of the 2009 Guadalupan Congress,saying he rejects the attempts by some tocelebrate Mexicos bicentennial by disre-garding the religious roots of our country.He criticized those who wish to follow theideologues of Europe and turn Mexico intoa secular country, forcing Mexicans to denya part of who we are.

After noting that many thinkers in historyhave tried to dene the Mexican people, Car-dinal Rivera explained that it is necessary to

health so he, as the word of Jesus announced in today's Gospel tells us, received eternal life."The gure of Father Damian, Benedict XVI added, "teaches us to choose the good ght not those that

lead to division, but those that gather us together in unity."And nally, the Pope spoke of Jeanne Jugan. Referring to her by her religious name of St. Mary of the

Cross, from the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Holy Father commented on her "wonderful work to helpthe most vulnerable elderly." He noted that her initiatives and goals are "still valid today, given thatmany elderly people suffer from multiple poverty and loneliness, sometimes even being abandonedby their families."

The Pope concluded by inviting all present "to allow themselves to be attracted by the shining ex-ample of these saints, to be guided by their teachings so that our entire lives become a hymn of praiseto God's love." (CNA)

www.vancouversun.com

Divorce between Church and State could ruin Mexico,Cardinal Rivera saysrecognize that in ournational context, HolyMary of Guadalupe isa fundamental forcefor national unity,and devotion to her isnow totally indepen-dent of the Mexicanstate She has con-tributed to cementinga national Catholicidentity, because allMexicans are in someway Guadalupans.

He went on tostress that the popu-

lar phrase, To be Mexican is to be Guada-lupan, does not mean that we all have to think the same about Guadalupe, or that weall have to practice a Guadalupan devotion.But there is a part of being Mexican thatsignies an unique relationship with HolyMary of Guadalupe, he said.

Although at times we manifest it andother times we want to hide it, he said, OurLady of Guadalupe is very present in ourcultural roots, in very concrete events: whenour mixed race began, at our Independence,during the Revolution, during importantnational events, and she is also present inour daily lives, for this reason [there is] theinsistence that to be Mexican is to be Gua-dalupan, the cardinal said.

The Archbishop of Mexico City also saidthat Our Lady of Guadalupe was instrumentalin uniting the divided people of what is nowMexico. And then came the Guadalupanevent, and what seemed irreparable became apathway, what seemed irreconcilable became

a nation. Holy Mary of Guadalupe is theremedy that God provided for what seemedto be our destruction, he said. (CNA)

European bishops promote solidarityGDANSK, Poland, Oct. 12, 2009The Euro-pean bishops gathered representatives from29 countries to create strategies for buildingsolidarity on the continent in the rst everCatholic Social Days for Europe.

These days, sponsored by the Commis-sion of the Bishops Conferences of the Eu-ropean Community, took place in Gdanskfrom Thursday to Sunday.

In the closing statement, titled Solidar-ity Is the Future of Europe, the bishopsrecalled the 70th anniversary of the begin-ning of World War II, and the resultingquest for reconciliation that gave rise tothe European Union.

They underlined the need to uphold theprinciples of solidarity and subsidiarity so

as to promote the common good through-out Europe.

The bishops afrmed, Selsh behavior,utilitarianism and materialism need to giveway to sharing, as has been clearly demon-strated by the current economic crisis.

They added that the inalienable dignityof human life from the moment of concep-tion to natural death must be respected.

We should not be afraid, the prel-ates stated, as solidarity is our commonfuture.

They continued: The unity of Europehas been the dream of some. It has becomea hope for many. Today it is our duty to

ensure that it continues to serve the objec-tive of global solidarity. (Zenit)

www.ourladyofmercy.info


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A3Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009

CBCP Monitor

look on thesituation ofthe inmates,the reason oftheir deten-tion and howl o n g t h e yhave been in-

side prison.It has beenno ted thatmany of theinmates haveb e e n l a n -guishing injail for a longperiod of timewhile still await-ing trial.

News Features

VATICAN CITY, Oct. 4, 2009In St. Peters Basilica, during Sun-days Opening Mass for the Synod of African Bishops, Pope BenedictXVI preached holiness as a means to societal reconciliation andpeace. The Holy Father also called for a new evangelization of Africa,highlighting the primacy of God, marriage and protecting childrenfrom violence as the areas most in need of the Gospel.

Benedict XVI, who visited Cameroon and Angola in March of thisyear, began by stating the unity between this Synod and the rst oneopened in 1994 by Pope John Paul II.

This spiritual lung that is Africa risks two dangerous diseases,he warned. "First, a disease that has spread throughout the Westernworld, namely practical materialism, combined with relativistic andnihilistic thinking. The second, he said, is religious fundamental-ism. Mixed with political and economic interests, groups claimingdifferent religious afliations are spreading in Africa.

For Pope Benedict, the work of the Synod must focus on two

themes: marriage and children."Marriage as the Bible presents it does not exist outside of ourrelationship with God, he said. "To the extent that it preserves anddevelops its faith, Africa can nd huge resources to donate to thebenet of the family founded on marriage."

The Synod, the Pope advised, should pay attention to "the realityof childhood, which is a large and unfortunately suffering part of theAfrican population." The Church in Africa, he said, "manifests herown motherhood towards the smallest children, even those not yet

Pope Benedict callsfor revolution ofholiness in Africa

born, for as the Lord Jesus, the Church does not see them primarilyas recipients of care, lesser still as vessels for pietism or exploitation,but persons in their own right.

To address these challenges, the Holy Father continued, theChurch in Africa must implement a new evangelization, whichtakes account of the rapid social changes of our time and the phe-nomenon of worldwide globalization. In addition to numbers, "Weneed to focus increasingly on the 'high standard' of Christian life,that is holiness. Pastors, and all members of the ecclesial community,are called to be saints.

He added: The lay faithful are called to spread the fragrance ofholiness in the family, workplace, school and all other social and po-litical spheres. May the Church in Africa be a family of true disciplesof Christ, where the difference between ethnic groups becomes amotive and stimulus for mutual human and spiritual enrichment."

"Reconciliation, the Pontiff recalled, is a gift of God that men

have to plead for and accept. It is the stable foundation on which tobuild peace, a prerequisite for true progress of mankind and society,according to the design of justice willed by God.

By the redeeming grace of the Risen Lord, he proclaimed, Africawill be ever more enlightened by his light and, guided by the Holy Spirit,it will become a blessing for the universal Church, contributing their ownand qualied to building a world more just and fraternal world.

At the conclusion of his homily, Benedict XVI asked the cloisteredmonasteries and religious communities in Africa and spread all

www.scross.co.za

over the world, parishes and movements, the sick and suffering toaccompany with prayer the work of the Synod Fathers "so that theLord render fruitful this second Special Assembly. (CNA)

ARS, France, Oct. 9, 2009St. Jerome is said to have removed a thorn fromthe paw of a lion who would attack him. The archbishop of Boston says thisimage is a calling for priests to love even their enemies.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley reected on the legend of St. Jerome when headdressed priests on retreat in Ars, in the context of the Year for Priests andthe 150th anniversary of St. John Vianney. The seven-day retreat ended last

Sunday.The cardinal pointed to St. Jerome's description of the rst Christians, aboutwhom it was said, "They live near us, in our midst, but they do not abortand they respect marriage. This is strange!" The cardinal suggested this letter"could have been written last week."

Christians are called to be different, the cardinal illustrated, pointing to the"golden legend" of St. Jerome. This story depicts the saint surrounded by agroup of monks. When they are attacked by a lion, they all ee, but Jeromestays: He sees that the lion is lame and he removes a thorn from his paw.

Cardinal O'Malley extracted this lesson: "We must behave like this. Christis our physician, our Savior. We must be convinced and convince others andhave the grace that our enemies become our brothers."

Nevertheless, the cardinal acknowledged, priests also sometimes betraytheir mission. He spoke of the Apostles abandoning Jesus in his passion.

"Peter, on the afternoon of his ordination, cut off Malchus' ear, saw thesoldiers, and ed," he said. "He tried to do what all of us have tried at sometime, to follow Jesus, but at a prudent distance. However, someone recognizedhim, not a soldier armed with a sword, but a servant who treated him withcontempt and he denied his Master."

Yet, Cardinal O'Malley continued, at the moment of "breakfast" on the shoreof the lake, after the Resurrection, Christ asks Peter three times: "Do you love

Me?" Peter answers that he loves him and Christ says to him: "Follow me."Spiritual authors evoke this second calling, the "second opportunity" a

new opportunity after our slips, our withdrawals. We, as priests can all receivethis grace of a new calling, like St. Teresa of Jesus who received a secondconversion before the image of the Ecce Homo, he afrmed.Truth and liberty

Cardinal O'Malley also commented on the rst reading from the day'sMass, taken from the Book of Nehemiah: "The king saw Nehemiah's sad-

Cardinal calls priests in Ars to love enemiesness and asked that he open hisheart to him. Nehemiah said thathis heart was broken because theHoly City, Jerusalem, and theTemple were in ruins."

"We also see the problems of

secularization, the sexual scan-dals, the Church scorned andabandoned by so many people,"the prelate reected. "But the kingacceded to Nehemiah' solicitudewho requested: 'Send me to Ju-dah to reconstruct the city of myforefathers.'"

Christ's homeCardinal O'Malley referred

as well to the young man of theGospel of the day, who said toJesus, "I will follow you whereveryou go." The cardinal recalled that Jesus' reply afrms "the Son ofMan has nowhere to lay his head."

Similarly, the Boston prelate observed, the rst disciples asked: "Where doyou live?" And they hear the answer: "Come and see..." and "they discoverthat he is a Teacher without a home."

"He was born in a stable and was buried in another's tomb," the cardinal said.

He proposed that this image can be applied to priestly celibacy: "Our celi-bacy is a participation in the fact that there is no home for the friend of theBridegroom and the other disciples. Celibacy without love has no meaning.[...] It should, on the contrary, be the sign of the joy of the faith in the spirit,in the risen Christ."

"May the holy Cure d'Ars help us nd our way of Ars here on earth," thecardinal prayed, "our way in a renewed interior life of profound friendshipwith Christ and with our brother priests." (Zenit)

MANILA, Oct. 12, 2009Saying that imprison-ment is counterproductive for the rehabilitationand wellbeing of prisoners, an official of theCatholic Bishops Conference of the Philippinescalled on Congress to think instead of alternativesto detention.

Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of theEpiscopal Commission on Pastoral Care, said ina statement that the sorry state of the countryspenitentiary system impinges on several humanrights [of prisoners], like provision on basic needslike food, shelter and medicines.

Prisoners are often held in grossly overcrowdedconditions, poorly clothed and underfed, hesaid.

Due to this dismal condition, prisoners are par-ticularly vulnerable to disease, and yet are givenpoor medical treatment, he added.

Diamante said policy-makers should take a close

FABC Secretaryreports of similaritiesbetween Asian and

African ChurchesMANILA, Oct. 9, 2009The Secretary Generalof the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference(FABC), Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo,OMI, told African bishops in the presence of theHoly Father that there are similarities betweenAsian and African Churches.

The two conti-nents bear simi-lar experiences ofsorrow and joy,s a i d Q u e v e d owho representedthe FABC in theSecond SpecialAssembly of theSynod of Bishopsfor Africa nowon progress inRome.

T he F i l ip inoprelate said thereis sorrow becauseof the many forc-es of a culture of

death such as the increasing poverty and mar-ginalization of our peoples; injustices againstwomen and children; our inability to competewith the powerful in a global economic order un-guided by juridical and moral norms.

He also referred to the religious intoleranceinstead of a dialogue of reason and faith prevalentin both churches.

Quevedo however added that both Asia and Af-rica experience great joy and hope in movementsof justice and peace; ... in the solidarity of people ofgood will from different social classes and religioustraditions to work for a more just, more peaceful,more fraternal social order.

He added that as far as he understands theChurch in Africa is exploring the theological andpastoral implications of the Church as the Familyof God.

In Asia, we have been led by the Holy Spirit, webelieve, to explore in the Asian context the theologyof Church as communion and as humble servant ofthe Gospel and of Asian peoples, he said.

Quevedo was president of the Catholic BishopsConference of the Philippines (CBCP) before hetook leadership of the Federation of Asian BishopsConferences. (CBCPNews)

CBCP Ofcial urges Congress to consider options to detention

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo

The Episcopal commission argues that other ef-fective measures can be applied to meet the goal ofimprisonment, since not all socially undesirableconduct can be classied as crime.

City jails in Metro Manila and provinces areoften filled up to capacity with petty crime of-fenders.

Congress can decriminalize those crimes, Dia-

mante said.We can also use diversion strategies, divertoffenders to alternative programs like community-based program, treatment centers or work andstudy furlough, said Diamante.

The statement was released in time for the up-coming celebration of Prison Awareness Week onOctober 25. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)

MANILA, Oct. 7, 2009The Philippinegovernment has been accused of racismby a Catholic Church-backed advocacygroup in United Kingdom for its disre-gard of indigenous rights.

The agency berated the Arroyo admin-istration for its position in two disputesin environment and indigenous claims,accusing it of favoring mining companiesat the expense of ethnic minorities.

The Catholic Agency for OverseasDevelopment (CAFOD) refuted govern-ment reports that rights of indigenouspeoples (IP) in the Philippines are re-spected well.

On paper, CAFOD policy analyst So-nya Maldar said, the government givesits 12 million IP extensive legal protec-tion, including rights to approve or rejectplans for any large-scale developmentslike mining on their ancestral lands.

But legislation is not being enforcedand there are countless examples ofthese rights [that] are being violated inpractice, she said.

On Philippine President Arroyos

recent visit to UK, CAFODs partnerIndigenous Peoples Links (PIPLinks)challenged her to act on racial discrimi-

Arroyo govt accused of undermining indigenous rightsnation against indigenous people.

The UK-based support group pre-sented the president with a letter whichdrew attention to new ndings from theUN Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination.

This high-level committee, made upof experts from 18 countries, has raisedcritical concerns about how well indig-enous peoples rights are respected inthe Philippines.

PIPLinks contributed evidence fromIPs to a shadow report for the com-mittee to counter Arroyo governmentclaims that there is no racial discrimina-tion in the Philippines.

"We await a response from thegovernment, but in the meantime areconcerned that the President prioritizedmeeting mining companies in London,when their activities are the source of somany of the ongoing concerns raised byindigenous peoples in the Philippines,said Andy Whitmore from PIPLinks.

In its nal report, the committee citedthe case of the Subanon people who

have lived on the west of the islandof Mindanao for hundreds of years.Canadian company TVI Pacic began

operating a new open-cast mine in thisarea in 2002.

Since then, local people have reportedthat their farmland has been bulldozedby the company without consent, warn-ing or compensation. Some also claimedthat they have been threatened or vio-lently forced to leave their homes.

The farmland is on Mount Canatuan,an area considered sacred by localSubanon indigenous people. Part of thismountain has now been destroyed bylarge-scale mining.

As part of CAFODs Unearth Justicecampaign, its partners are helping indig-enous communities exercise their consti-tutional right to give or withhold free,prior and informed consent for miningon their lands, as well as helping themrelocate and re-build their livelihoods.

Further recommendations from theUN committee included ensuring thatIPs are protected in situations of armedconict and that fair investigations areconducted into all allegations of humanrights violations.

The committee asked the governmentto report back in one year on progress.(Roy Lagarde)

www.boston.com

Cardinal Sean OMalley

Migrant chaplains raise funds fortyphoon victimsMANILA, Oct. 1, 2009Filipino mi-grant chaplains stationed overseasquickly spearheaded a fund campaignamong Filipino communities to helpood victims back home.

Migrant chaplains from Tel Aviv,

Berlin, Spain and Kuwait were amongthe very rst to respond to the appealfor assistance, according to Fr. EdwinCorros, Executive Secretary of theEpiscopal Commission for Migrantsand Itinerant People.

As early as 11 a.m. [of] Sept. 26, Ihave written some of the chaplains andfriends overseas describing the hugeamount of [rain that ooded] MetroManila It was very spontaneouson the part of our migrant chaplainsoverseas to raise funds particularly inTel Aviv, Berlin, Spain and Kuwait,because they were immediately in-formed of the disastrous effect of therecent typhoon, Corros said.

Fr. Ric Fernando, chaplain of the Di-vine Mercy Chapel in Tel Aviv said hewould launch an appeal so Filipinosin Tel Aviv could participate in the

re-building of lives of [those] hardhit by this natural calamity.

I am thinking rst of all of extend-ing needed help to those in the DivineMercy Chapel whose families havesuffered total loss, he stated in hisemail to Corros.

For his part Fr. Adonis Narceles, anSVD based in Berlin, Germany saidthat he was able to collect little amountfor the victims after reading Corros let-

ter to the people during the Mass.Likewise, Fr. Ben Barrameda, chap-lain of Holy Family Cathedral inKuwait and Fr. Casey Ureta based inSydney, Australia are also spearhead-ing a campaign drive to collect dona-tions for the ood victims.

We are doing fund raising herefor the victims of Ondoy. I appealedto our parishioners in Narraweena tohelp, Ureta said.

He said many groups in Sydney haveexpressed their willingness to contrib-ute to help the victims. Aside fromsecond collection during masses, theyare also planning to hold dinners withproceeds intended for the victims.

Fr. Fabio Baggio, director of ScalabriniMigration Center in Manila, who is cur-rently in Madrid, also sent word thatFilipino migrants in Spain are collecting

donations and will send aid either in cashor in kind. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)

ECPPC Exec. Sec. Rodolfo Diamante

RoyLagarde/CBCP

Media

RoyLagard

e/CBCPMedia


4/20

A4 Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009

CBCP Monitor

Now its the Popes wordAFTER that very courageous post-election statement ofPhilippine Catholic Bishops in February of 1986, many more

pastoral statements followed denouncing bad governance andthe way politics is done in the country. In that statement, theone-liner that has launched a thousand courageous moves seemsto be this: Now is the time to speak up. Now is the time torepair the wrong. The wrong was systematically organized.So must its correction be.

The removal of the dictator appeared to have been thecorrectionor at least as long as the yellow euphorialasted (which maybe said to be lingering still today with thereappearance of yellow candidates though without muchcredentials to speak of beyond sentimentalities.) But, truth totell, nothing much has really changed. The collars have beengaily changing, but the dogs are substantially the same. Thekillings and disappearances, the corruption and name it duringthe dictatorship, are really not foreign today.

Which is why in 1997, or eleven years after the exile of theconjugal dictatorship, the crispiest verbiage came with thePastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics that goes Philippine

politicsthe way it is practicedhas been most hurtful ofus as a people. It is possibly the biggest bane in our life as anation and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving thefull human development.

And now the Holy Father takes the stage. During thepresentation of the Letter of Credence by the new PhilippinesAmbassador to the Vatican, Mercedes Arrasitia Tuason lastOctober 2, the Pope retorted: The struggle against poverty inthe Philippines calls for honesty, integrity and an unwaveringdelity to the principles of justice, especially on the partof those entrusted with positions of governance and publicadministration.

Protocol-wise, such events are usually occasions for afrmationof friendship and goodwill between nations. But this time the

pope, who may have been shown the real plight of Filipinos,wrapped in the rather dirty hands of their political leaders,had to go beyond the ordinary call of diplomacy. Ironically,he actually showed true friendship and goodwill by playingthe child, as in the old fable, to be able to tell that the kinghas no clothes.

Now, its the Pope saying. The Philippines needs honestpolitical leaders.

Destruction in the name of progressHOW can the sh swim in running sewers like the Pasig andso many more rivers which we have polluted? Who has turnedthe wonder world of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereftof color and life? Imagine: only 5% of our corals are in their

pristine state! The blast of dynamite can still be heard on ourcoastal waters. We still allow muro-ami shing methods whichtake a terrible toll both on the young swimmers and the corals.Mine tailings are dumped into fertile seas like Calancan Bay inSta. Cruz, Marinduque where they destroy forever the habitatof the sh. Chemicals are poisoning our lands and rivers. Theykill vital organisms and in time they will poison us. The ghostof the dreaded Minamata Bay disease hangs over towns in theAgusan river basin and the Davao gulf.

Most of this destruction has taken place since the beginning ofthis century, a mere wink of an eye in the long history of ourcountry. Yet in that time we have laid waste complex livingsystems that have taken millions of years to reach their presentstate of development.

We often use the word progress to describe what has takenplace over the past few decades. There is no denying that insome areas our roads have improved and that electricity is morereadily available. But can we say that there is real progress?Who has beneted most and who has borne the real costs? The

poor are as disadvantaged as ever and the natural world hasbeen grievously wounded. We have stripped it bare, silencedits sounds and banished other creatures, from the communityof the living. Through our thoughtlessness and greed we havesinned against God and His creation.

One thing is certain: we cannot continue to ignore and disregardthe Earth. Already we are experiencing the consequence of ourshortsightedness and folly. Even though we squeeze our landsand try to extract more from them, they produce less food.The air in our cities is heavy with noxious fumes. Instead of

bringing energy and life it causes bronchial illness. Our forestsare almost gone, our rivers are almost empty, our spring andwells no longer sparkle with liv ing water. During the monsoonrain, ash-oods sweep through our towns and cities anddestroy everything in their path. Our lakes and estuaries aresilting up. An out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality allows us toush toxic waste and mine tailings into our rivers and seas inthe mistaken belief that they can no longer harm us. Becausethe living world is interconnected, the poison is absorbed bymarine organisms. We in turn are gradually being poisonedwhen we eat seafood.

What is happening to our beautiful land,A CBCP Pastoral Letter on Ecology, 1988

EDITORIAL

Promoting Culture of Respect,Dialogue and Friendship in

the Digital Generation

Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD

In and Out of SeasonWE are now in the part of human history in which everything isdigital. It is characterized by the invasion of modern technologieslike computers, internet, cell phones, electronic mail and social

network websitesOur experience in this digital generation redenes our paradigms,our sense of community, our relationships and our self-identity.

The Church in order to be relevant and able to evangelize andproclaim the gospel has to know this new era. She has to identifythe benets of this generation and the challenges that it brings us.The Church has to sow seeds of Christian values in this news spacewe are intothe cyberspace.

Benets of the Digital GenerationThere are benets of the present generation of internet and com-

puters: easy access to information, easy communication that canfacilitate efciency in business and constant contact with familiesabroad.

There are now social networks in the internet where our desireto nd friends, express ourselves and be in a community is catered.We could enumerate some like: Friendster, Facebook , and Twitter.As a result we enter into a new realm of social relationship or com-munity, the virtual community. The sim card of our cell phones areour new community; it contains the names of people we considersignicant to us, our community within a small gadget.

With this new digital technology boundaries break down, geographi-cal or even cultural boundaries. We could now go to different places justbrowsing the internet. We could share our views based on our religiousbelief on a certain issue to other people of different religious orientationjust by blogging in the internet; sitting in front of a computer.

Many schools for aeronautics have beneted in the training of fu-ture pilots by using the simulator wherein the students sit in a roomand the experience of a cockpit in an airplane is simulated.

Challenges in the CyberspaceLet us not be overwhelmed by the benets provided to us by this

era of computers, let us also look into the challenges that it bringsto humanity.

First we dene cyberspace. Cyberspace according to WesleyCopper in his work Internet Culture is the information highway.It is a space where all the interconnections of the networks in theinternet, data and online communication take place. In laymans termcyberspace is the place between the phones; an indenite place outthere where two or more persons meet virtually and communicate.According to Pope Benedict XVI, it is the new digital arena.

Here, in this space the new challenge emerges when the issue of

the identity of the human person and relationship in the communityis taken into consideration.

The identity of the human person in cyberspace. One could hidehis/her identity in the internet. He could use a lot of pseudo-identity.Taking away from his/her the responsibility of whatever he/shemay do in this space. Here the problem of accountability surfaces.I usually read comments on my statements in the internet but the

identity of those who commented on my statements remain hiddento me because they are pseudonyms.

One could pretend in the internet or in the cell phone to the one he

is communicating that he is a bachelor, but in reality he is not. Herewe see the possibility of deception in cyberspace. We include herethe issue of hackers who would pretend to have legitimate accessto some computer programs of banks, business establishments andgovernment institutions.

Another phenomenon in this age is the ooding of information,because of the accessibility of information in the internet; we couldjust research and gather data from any sources with different searchengines like Google. However, there is a drawback here in thissituation, indeed, there is ooding of information but it diminishesdepth. As a result, our young today may have a lot of information intheir head but they have difculties on matters of decision makingor critical thinking. Here, personal identity is reshaped. The focuson value has been changed to information. The young now receivesinformation and do not bother to evaluate or critically check if theinformation is true and valuable.

Virtual community. In this new space we acquire a new experi-ence of community. It is what we call virtual community which ismanifested in the many social networks in the internet. We seem tond ourselves very happy to have friends through this new innova-tion. However, looking at it closer we discover that this community

could be devoid of commitment, real dialogue, real friendship andit detaches us from our real community.The possibility that in this virtual community we could have real

dialogue, real friendship and commitment is based on the proposi-tion that a person could hide his/her identity in relating to others.When the truth of the identity is withheld then no real relationshipcould ourish.

Then there is the possibility that you are communicating not to areal person in the internet but internet robots specically chatter-bots. They allow people to ask in plain English and then formulatea proper response. There bots can often handle tasks, includingreporting weather, zip-code information, sports scores, convertingcurrency or other units, etc.

Lastly, the internet brings us together, but it also keeps us apart.The time one spends in front of the computer with his virtual com-munity detaches him/her from the real people around him/her.Our young today spends many hours updating their Facebook, theirFriendster but could not nd time to be with their family to go tomass or have a meal with them.

Church Teachings

We have enumerated above both the benets and the challengesthat is brought by the present digital generation. On the part of thechallenges we presented, the messages of our Holy Fathers, theServant of God John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI provide us withattitude that we should have as we immerse ourselves and use thisnew technologies in our evangelization.

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

Opinion

Organ Donation

I RECEIVED an email from my brother yes-terday, reminding us that it was the tenthyear since he received the kidney of mysister and both of them are doing well. Thisgood news is of course a source of rejoicingfor our family.

It seemed only a few years ago when wewere all lled with anxiety that my brotherskidneys were failing due to nephritis, acondition he has had since he was a child. Iremember my mother praying novenas forhim as she, a physician, knew more thanany of us, the seriousness of his condition.Well, he survived high school, then college,and way into his 52nd year of lifeand thatis when he had his kidney transplant.

He and his wife and daughter were al-ready living in Virginia, USA. So the surgerywas done there. My youngest sister (theeighth in the family) was the most compat-ible donor. And she whole-heartedly offered.My offer to donate was rejectedsince Iwas nearing 60 years old by then, and theysaid my kidneys would age faster than hisbody (ha ha). Anyway, the transplant wassuccessful, my sister was discharged from

the hospital in three days and returned tothe Philippines within two weeks whilehe was discharged within a week and was

back to work in two months. She has onlyone kidney now while he is running aroundwith three (I guess they do not remove anyof the defective ones and leave them theretill they conk out completely!)

To many people, organ donation is still astrange and frightful idea. Especially withnews that some organs are removed fromdying patients, even when they are not yetd-e-a-d. And that is a challenge to the bio-ethicians, to help the medical professiondene when is the moment that a person canbe declared dead. When one stops breath-ing? When ones heart has stopped beating?When the brain waves have ceased?

Another issue concerns the selling oforgans by the poor people who are willingto give up their kidney or important bodyorgan even for a small amount of cash, andoften are prey to unfair middlemen. Some-times they are not informed enough of therisks that they as donors are taking, in givingup the organ, especially when they are not intiptop health due to their poverty.

Fr. Fausto Gomez, OP, Dr. Angelita Alora,and the members of the UST Bioethics Com-

mittee have written many useful articles onthis topicand they can be read in theirpublications and website.

We in the health profession know themany advantages and miracles that hap-pen because of organ transplants, thanks tothe generous organ donors. Most preferredare relative donors, since often, they are alsothe most compatible. Organs from the deadare obtained easily when he/she has giveninstructions, orally or in writing, that bodyparts can be taken immediately after death.Sometimes, the hospital asks the relatives ofan accident victim permission to obtain bodyparts before the remains are turned over tothem. And many families have done so, withthe thought that their son or daughter willlive on in the life prolonged through theirgenerosity, no matter how painful was theloss of their loved one.

I am a willing organ donor, and I hopethat many people will sign up too. Beforeour Religious Profession of Vows, we writeout our Last Will and Testament and Instruc-tions regarding our death and burial. I havegiven instructions and the members of mycommunity know my intentionthat imme-diately after my death, all parts of my bodythat the doctors can make use of I willingly

offer. I pray that there will still be a goodnumber of parts that they can still make useof by then.

Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS

Love Life

Pinky Barrientos, FSPAssociate Editor

Melo M. AcuaManaging Editor

Roy Q. LagardeNews Editor

Laurence John R. MoralesLayout Artist and Online Editor

The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Com-munications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial andbusiness ofces at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila.P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO.

Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.ISSN 1908-2940

Kris P. BayosFeature Editor

Laarni BergadoMarketing Supervisor

Ernani M. RamosCirculation Manager

Marcelita DominguezComptroller

Pedro C. QuitorioEditor-in-Chief

[email protected]

In and Out / A6


5/20

A5Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009

CBCP Monitor

Have you heard ofthese churches?

UNKNOWN to many, there is a proliferation of cyber churches inthe internet, attracting millions of advocates and members. One ofthese is the Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua. Hundreds ofinternet surfers visit the website daily. The church describes itself as

the sacred place in cyberspace named after a little dog with cataractsthat barked sideways at strangers because he couldnt see wherethey were. The blind Chihuahua is supposed to symbolize all ofus who, when praying, bark at a God we cannot see. Its main creedis: We cant be right about everything we believe, and thanks Godwe dont have to be. The church strongly recommends its teach-ings to everyone, except thefundamentalists whom it considers asbeyond redemption. Fundamentalists are hopelessly sure that theyare always right.

People who doubt and suspect everything will nd solace in theChurch of Reality. It calls itself an alternative church for those whowant to see the world the way it really is. Its basic tenet is: If itsreal, believe in it. Members are called realists, dened as those whodedicate their life to the quest for truth, not those who necessarilyknow it. Members of other churches are called sheep because theydo not know how to think for themselves.

A church that explicitly excludes lawyers, auditors and tax agentsfrom membership goes with the acronym COQO, which stands fortheChurch of the Quivering Otter. Its set of beliefs is formulatedsomewhat like the Ten Commandments, although the church calls

these The Nine Basic Suggestions. Some of these are: 1) Thou shaltdeal fairly. 2) Thou shalt share. 3) Thou shalt eat plenty of ber. 4)Thou shalt get regular check-ups. 5) Thou shalt smile. Those who areinterested to join COQO are promised membership in the churchs18 fast food restaurants, 37 car washers, and 1 used Kleenex shop.

Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD

DADITAMA

Opinion

Jose B. Lugay

Laiko Lampstand

Fanatics of Tiger Woods will be happy to know that there ex-ists the First Church of Tiger Woods, established to celebrate theemergence of the New Messiah. Its founder strongly believesthat Tiger Woods is God himself. Ample proofs of this can be seen

in the celebrated games of Woods that many golfers themselvesconsider miraculous. The churchs founder said Woods revealedhis divinity when, in one difcult tournament which he eventuallywon, Woods exclaimed: To be under par, as bad as I am shootingtoday, was kind of a miracle. Woods choice of a girlfriend alsoproves that he is God. His girlfriends family nameJagoda containsthe word GOD.

A man named Hacim was visited one night by a chinchillaand wasgiven a message from God. He realized that his name, when readbackwards, was Micah (one of the minor prophets in the Old Testa-ment). Armed with this revelation, he promptly formed the Churchof the Gerbil.A gerbil is a cute mouse with long hind legs and longfurry tail, often kept as childrens pet in many countries in Asia andAfrica. The church believes that God is a gerbil. Its code of conductis summarized in its Ten Condiments, some of which are: 1) Thoushalt listen to the Chipmunk song. 2) Thou shalt not microwave. 3)Thou shalt stand on your head and crow like a chicken.

By the time you read this, another weird-sounding church has beenadded in this list of cyber churches. Incidentally, I came across thislist in the Internet under the heading: HUMOR. It is amazing howpeople would forget that, and seriously join as members. Not onlydoes this prove how desperate people are in their search for God,this also shows how seemingly impotent mainstream Churches arein combating the internets immense inuence on peoples religios-ity and faith.

Sambayanihan forNew Politics

THE Filipino bayanihan spirit could not have been more manifestagain than the overwhelming local and global outpouring of gener-ous sharing of time, talent and treasure for the victims of the recentooding in the country brought about by natural torrential is rains.This shining Filipino trait never fails us. In times like these we areable to manifest brilliantly our true naturemay awa, may pagma-malasakit, may pakikipagkapwa. We could not be more thankfulfor this than when calamity strikes.

The rich and poor, the famous and the unknown, the strong andthe weak all come together somehow and extend a helping handto the needy. Civil society groups, business and government mo-bilize themselves to respond as quickly and as effectively as theycan. Behind these groups are the men and women who transcendthemselves. They bring out the true selessness in the Filipinothecaring and sharing, self sacricing heart of the Filipino. I salute youall and thank you. The common good, which is the good of all, is bestserved when this bayanihan spirit prevails over the opportunisticgreed of wicked people either by commission or omission.

When such bayanihan spirit translated into concrete individualand collective action is inspired and fueled by the Christian virtueof charity, then it becomes sambayanihan. This sense of solidar-ity and pursuit of the common good is driven by Faith in God andbelongingness to an ecclesial community it acquires a transcendentquality that extends to eternityWhatsoever you did to the leastof my brethren, you did it to me. (Mt. 25:40)

I continue, however, to observe with dismay coupled with out-rage, the continued lack of preparedness and incapacity of differentinstitutions of governance to mitigate risks of disaster and more co-ordinated, systematic and effective response to recurring calamitiesespecially in disaster prone areas and regions. This is probably oneof the manifestations of the dysfunction and underdevelopment ofgovernance in our country brought about by decades of negligenceand misuse and wasteful use of political authority and resources.

This is simply symptomatic of the continuing culture of corruptionin the sphere of governance. And the ones most injured by such acondition are the vast majority who are already poor and deprived

and disadvantaged.The CBCP in 1997 in its Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics

noted, If we are what we are todaya country with a very greatnumber of poor and powerless peopleone reason is the way wehave allowed politics to be debased and prostituted to the lowlevel it is now (PEPP, p. 10) Such recurring unpreparedness andincapacity due to bad governance is truly a national man madedisaster. For this wethe governed and governing are responsibleand accountable.

Would it not be great if all our laity, who can and should, wouldharness our Sambayanihanto address not only natural disasters butmore so the continuing human disaster in our society, by repudiat-ing incompetent, corrupt, and useless traditional politicians in thecoming 2010 elections. Traditional politics is hopeless. They have notworked in the past and present, for the vast majority of our people,and will continue to do the same in the future. Using Sambayanihanlet us collectively and truly break away from our own traditionalpatronage politics and usher in a new breed of politicians passion-ate for new politics that will bring us new hope for the future. Whomay these people be in your local communities? Be vigilant andpray and act.

A special challenge to our lay Catholic politicians was made bythe CBCP last January when it said, We challenge all lay peopleinvolved in politics to renounce corruption and bond together in thetask of evangelizing politics for effective governance and the pursuitof the common good. We challenge the laity involved in legislation tounite themselves and consciously allow their actions to b e guided bythe truth of the Gospel and the Christian faith. (CBCP statement,Year of the two hearts towards social transformation and peacebuilding, January 2009)

And to the laity in general, the CBCP gave this directive in theirJuly Pastoral statement, We remind the laity that it is within theirright as well as their duty to campaign for candidates they believeto be competent, honest, and public-service minded in order toreform our country. (CBCP Statement, July 12, 2009). Email [email protected]

Quote in the Act

Very little is said on the indomitable human spirit which,when inuenced by spiritual values, can minimize if not

prevent unnecessary human pain and suffering.

Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, while lauding the hero-ism of individual Filipinos who put their lives on the line to saveothers during massive ooding brought by Typhoon Ondoy, alsonoted that a post-typhoon human development should benetboth body and spirit.

It is a desecration of the religious values and an

infringement against the spirit of human dignity and

solidarity, which the Muslims and Christians are

jointly pursuing.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Manila Auxiliary Bishop and Na-tional Director of CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace; in a statement denouncing the kidnapping ofIrish Columban missionary Fr. Michael Sinnott by still unknownabductors.

Our young today spends many hours updating their

Facebook, their Friendster but could not fnd time to bewith their family to go to mass or have a meal with them.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP President; writing

in his column In and Out of Season, on the importance of usingthe internet to reach out to todays digital generation.

Flood waterthe

great equalizer

SOME of our kind say that being Pinoy isalmost synonymous with calamitous. And,like it or not, there are tons of reasons behindtheir saying so.

First, there is the reality of our predict-able, permanent, yearly visitors programreserved to the most unwelcome tourists,

namely, TYPHOONS and their notoriousrelatives, such as ood-causing rains, life-and-property-devastating winds, diseases,family displacements, unemployment, rise ofcriminality. I might have missed mentioningtheir other relatives but I swear Pinoys nevermiss them one bit. As far as most of us areconcerned the only other thing worse thanbeing in the path of typhoons is being unableto relocate the country to, say, somewherebelow Hawaii.

Then there is also our calamitous poli-tics that largely runs on our patronageand transactional culture for fuel. For theeducated Pinoy this one is among the mostfrustrating occupants of our National Hall ofShame because it keeps on leaving the hallin order to incessantly ravage and possessour people who transfer its bad spirit on toour politicians. The culprit, we all realize, is

less our poverty than our stubborn resistanceto change a deeply-ingrained quid-pro-quocultural mindset. You want my vote? Nota few voters seem to say. Then give me myadvance share of your lucrative access to ourmoney once in power. Even well-meaningpoliticians are aghast over this hushed-overdisease but eventually succumb to conta-gion. Money is expected to abound on theway to next years elections, our poor couldbehave like instant millionaires destined tobe instantly impoverished in subsequentdays. Could massive, no-nonsense votereducation programs such as those beingcontemplated by many sectors, includingthe Church, help? Something in me achesto think so. But reality check might dampenour enthusiasm. For a good start, we should

collectively pray for a miracle to cure themoral cancer inside our culture that basicallywrecks havoc on our spirits.

We should not by-pass our chronicallychallenged (read: lack of a) sense of disci-pline. The massive environmental pollutionin our urban centers and our ubiquitoustrafc mess (Why are Filipinos unable toobey trafc rules? many foreign visitors askin bewilderment) are classic cases in point.I wouldnt be surprised if, upon honestlyassessing the latest ood disaster in vari -ous places in Metro Manila, we will simplyacknowledge a simple truth: we are mostlythe cause of the disastrous effects we seearound us. We do not dispose of our garbageproperly. We hardly follow building rulesfor our houses and establishments. We donot observe our own trafc rules. Now weliterally reap the whirlwind.

No, I dont believe in mere self-agella-tion. I believe in acknowledging the truth,which is why we need to talk turkey aboutourselves, as, I believe, I had tried to above.But there is also so much that is good in be-ing Pinoy. We need not mention how but,especially during the time of calamity, we

also show our better selves.We keep on rediscovering we can be

heroes by our simple bayanihan spirit,bayani meaning hero. Neighbors rescu-ing, feeding and sheltering neighbors are astaple story in our every disaster experience,not excluding that from Ondoy. When mysisters family residing at De Castro, PasigCity, ran out of food as they were battlingmore than ten-feet ood, their neighborscame to offer a share of the little food theyhad. Scenes like that were multiplied inmany other neighborhoods.

We also happily realize the power of pray-ing together, the living praying together, theliving asking the prayer of saints or simplyinvoking the all-powerful name of Jesus tospare fellow Pinoys and the whole country

from further suffering born of the much-hyped Super-Typhoon Pepeng. Whenmy sister panicked on seeing ood watersreaching their houses second ood (thankGod, they have a second oor), with therains continually pouring, I counseled her tokeep calm and to pray with me. After fteen

minutes, she texted back and informed methat just as she nished the rosary, the rainsstopped. Please offer our dawn rosariesspecically for the super typhoon to spareour people in Luzon, I beseeched someparishioners after morning Mass. I sawmost nodding in deep sympathy. Wonderof wonders, Pepeng veered away from itsfeared route, even if Northern Luzon waseventually hard hit. The point is that Pinoysrediscovered the power of praying together,something that even a political phenomenonlike Edsa 1 showed them.

Most of all, people like us in Samar Islandwho think we know most what typhoon vic-tims go through, now could offer our mostprofound sympathy, for a change. We havebeen typhoon victims ourselves since timeimmemorial. As my small barangay parishprepared to send the little aid we can affordto our brothers and sisters in Metro Manila,I remembered, as a child, horrible typhoonsthat twisted and felled down our coconuts,trees, crops and houses. Yet we simply pickedup the pieces the next day. There was verylittle evidence of government-sponsored res-cue operations. And I dont remember any-one complaining about it. We simply reliedon family, neighborhood and community.Recently a true-blooded Eastern Samarnonwhose name I wouldnt wish to mentionhere in print made a remark: I used to havea classmate in Manila who kept on asking mea question I often took for an insult: Ano baang bagyo? (What is a typhoon?). Im sorryto know his area was recently ooded. But, atleast, I see one positive spot here. I dont needto answer his question anymore.

Fr. Rolando V. de la Rosa, OP

Posthaste

Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD

By the Roadside

THE rainfall brought about by Typhoon Ondoy was extraordi-nary. Measured by the Doppler radar as 410.6 millimeters from8 a.m. to 5 p.m., this was greater than Hurricane Katrinas 396mm which ravaged the city of New Orleans. The overow of theManggahan oodway carried the imsy homes of the informalsettlers residing along the banks of the Pasig and Marikina Rivers.It inundated as well all the modern homes of the plush subdivi-sions in Marikina, Pasig, Cainta, Taguig, San Mateo and QuezonCity. No one was prepared to face this emergency, least of all thegovernment, to save people trapped in the upper oors and ceil-ings of their inundated homes. Despite the provision of calamityfunds by Congress, only a few rescue boats were available, at-testing to the utter lack of preparedness by the government. TheRegional Disaster Coordinating Council director, Tomas Ortegareported that they had only 4 rubber boats2 were dispatchedto Quezon Province and 2 to Rizal Province.

Heroic deeds were shown equally by the rich and the poor to savepeople trapped in their homes as ood waters rose to the secondoor of subdivision homes in a few hours. A movie star and a con-

struction worker equally showed heroism in spite of extreme dangerto save the lives of people trapped in Provident Village located alongthe curve of the Marikina River. Actor Richard Gutierrez borroweda speedboat to rescue his friend actress Christine Reyes who washeard on television begging for help to rescue her family trappedin their plush apartment. An unknown construction worker, anOFW who worked as a seaman, now a construction worker of theadjacent building of the chapel inside Provident Village, rescued 9or 10 elderly mass-goers trapped in the ceiling of the church. He didit single-handedly by tossing to the group a length of rope whichallowed them including the old ladies to be led to the second oorsteel forms of the unnished convent. From this precarious posi-tion, they were already accessible to rescuing teams.

Filipinos abroad as well as previously uninvolved local citizensvolunteered what best they could give to help the typhoon victims.Students with no cash to contribute gave free services by helpingin preparing relief packages containing rice, canned goods andbottled water. An elite group of ocean surfers contacted each otherthrough text and formed a rescue group led by one of the membersof the team who owned a bodega of surfboards. The team, choseto distribute relief goods to far-ung isolated areas along Laguna

Bay Jala-jala, and neighboring towns which were not accessibleeven by the Red Cross. The trapped families sitting on the rooftopsfor days owe their lives to these modern day heroes.

An owner of a restaurant knowing he had all what it takes toprepare hot soupchicken macaroni sopas used his cauldronsthat could cook for 200 servings. He personally distributed the hotsoup to the drenched evacuees and their children. What he sawtouched him so he decided to triple his feeding program. When hisfunds were becoming low, he sought help through his Facebookbuddies. To his surprise, there was a deluge of contribution fromhis friends abroad and from his rich friends in the Philippines.One of the problems, if you may call it that, is receiving 6,000eggs in one day from another rich friend. He found the instantsolutionpreparing Pospas served with one boiled egg eachserved in a disposable dish. This was consumed with gratitudeby allrich and poor evacuees who were hungry and cold.

The meaning of the Bayanihan Spirit of the Filipinos is clearlydened in the outpouring of unsolicited help and provision ofthe basic needs of those who were victims of the calamity. Thegreat ood caused by Typhoon Ondoy followed by the devas -tating wind and rain of Typhoon Pepeng in Northern Luzon, atyphoon that lingered for days in Batanes and the Ilocos Region,tested the ability of the Local Government Units if they couldfollow new guidelines from the National Disaster CoordinatingCouncil for the evacuation of residents. This was a pre-emptivemove to protect the citizens from becoming victims of TyphoonPepeng. As usual there were homeowners who would ratherstay in their houses for fear that looters will take advantage ofthe situation and haul all their possessions.

There are key questions that the newly elected government of-cials in 2010 will have to answer in the light of the devastation andsuffering caused by the governments lack of preparedness for sucha catastrophic event. It was explained by technical people of the pri-vate sector and the government that there was a study undertakenby the government in 1977 that anticipated the ooding of MetroManila as well as the earthquake that was predicted to happen alongthe Marikina fault line. Environmental Planner Felino Palafox, Jr.observed that if the recommendations were pursued by the govern-ment to construct the Paranaque Spillway, to drain the overowaccumulating on the oodplains of Marikina, Pasig, Cainta, Taguig,to Laguna de Bay and South China Sea, this could have prevented

the Ondoy catastrophic loss of lives and property.This is a prime example of the governments lack of proper andtimely governance. Money was not available for such a hugeproject but more than the amount needed for ood control wasavailable for our legislators pork barrel and infrastructure proj-ects of which 30% to 40% of the appropriation were dissipatedto graft and corruption.

My guess is that, voters in the affected areas will think hardwhether to vote again for the mayors, governors, congressmenand senators who are part of the establishment that fueled thiscatastrophic event for utter lack of good governance.

On being Pinoy duringthe time of calamity


6/20

A6 Vol. 13 No. 21October 12 - 25, 2009

CBCP Monitor

Christ in this area by sowing in a special way Christian values.The Servant of God Pope John Paul II enumerated some Christian

values to be observed in this arena: In order that the very existenceof brotherhood and human solidarity may be made possible, andstill more so that their Christian dimension may be more intenselydeveloped, the elementary values which underlie them have tobe given recognitionrespect for others, willingness to dialogue,justice, healthy ethics in personal and community living, freedom,equality, peace in unity, promotion of the dignity of the humanperson, the capacity to share and to divide with others. (Pope JohnPaul II, Message World Communications Day, 1988)

May we sow the culture of respect, dialogue and friendship incyberspace!

The encouragement of the Servant of God John Paul II in his mes-sage for the World Communications Day gives us that assurance tomove on amidst the challenges of this digital generation. To heartswhich are troubled by the risks of the new technologies of commu-nication, I would reply: Fear not the Church, full of care for manand woman, is aware of the deep aspiration of the human race for

fraternity and solidarityan inspiration often disowned and dis-figured but indestructible because it is sculpted in the human heartby the same God who has created in it the need for communicationand the capacity to develop it on a planetary scale. (Pope Paul II,Message World Communications Day, 1988)

On a more concrete way Pope Benedict XVI responds to the chal-lenges regarding untruthful identity in cyberspace and its effect incommunitarian relationship saying: The new technologies alsoopened the way for dialogue between people from different countriesand religions such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, requirehonest and appropriate forms of expressions together with attentiv eand respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in genuine

and mutual searching for truth if it is to realize its potential topromote growth in understanding and tolerance. He added thatWe should be careful, therefore, never to trivialize the concept orthe experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustainand develop online friendships were to be at the cost of our avail-ability to engage with our f amilies, our neighbors and those we meetin the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation.If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in

fact function to isolate individuals from real social i nteraction whilealso disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that arenecessary for healthy human development. (Pope Benedict XVI,Message World Communications Day, 2009)

ConclusionIn the end, we conclude that we have to take every opportunity

to use modern technologies for our work of evangelization. And thenew sphere that the church has to evangelize is the cyberspace. Asthe Mount Carmel Declaration on Technology and Responsibilityobserved in 1974 in its 8th article, We need guardian disciplines tomonitor and assess technological innovations, with special attention

to their moral implications.

This Mt. Carmel Declaration is a call for the Church to be the moralguide in this new arena of the digital world. She has to make present

Local News

Isabela rice crop badly damaged by

flooding, food shortage foreseen

In and Out / A4

VAST rice elds in the Diocese of Ilagan have turned into large poolsof stagnant brown water killing rice harvests.

The typhoon may have recorded zero casualties but Msgr. MarinoGatan said it caused considerable damage to the farming sector.

The rice farms in northern Isabela including San Pablo, SantaMaria, Tumauini, Catbagan, Magsaysay, and part of Ilagan wereaffected by oods, said Gatan, Diocesan administrator.

The parish priests have beentasked to take care of their pa-rishioners which according toGatan only proves the situationis not that bad because localchurch and communities canattend to their own concerns.

The government shouldassist the farmers recover fromthe losses they incurred due tothe recent oods, he added.

The priest said assistance in

the form of rice seeds would behighly appreciated.Over at the Diocese of San

Jose in Nueva Ecija, the rice-producing towns of Licap,Quezon, Llanera, Guimba,Rizal and San Jose City were all affected by the oods.

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara said there were farmers who wereable to harvest and dry their crops but were all swept away by theoods brought by the storm.

He said they were able to generate relief goods in the form of usedclothes and nearly a thousand sacks of rice to Metro Manila for On-doys victims but they themselves have to address the destructionbrought by the latest weather disturbance.

Were prepare to send our commitment to Metro Manila, BishopVergara said.

He added they were also to help the Archdiocese of Tuguega-rao with donations from their benefactors in the United States ofAmerica.

He said the Diocese of San Jose has already released relief assis-tance to affected residents but would still need additional data to

focus on rehabilitation of farmers from low-lying areas.We will go for rehabilitation projects and we expect additionalinformation not later than Monday, he added.

In the entire province of Pangasinan, one of the countrys mostpopulous provinces (2,645,395 at the latest census), reels from

oodwaters brought about by typhoon Pepeng and worsened withspilling of ood waters from nearby dams.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz said he is prayinggovernment authorities would stop releasing water from any dam,especially San Roque dam.

Interviewed by CBCPNews, the prelate said the rain has stoppedand oodwaters have begun to subside.

Asked of the archdiocesesresponse to the calamity, Cruzsaid all the church disasterfunds of the four vicariates havebeen released as of today.

Central Pangasinan is stillwithout electric power. Bangusis now sold at P30.00 a kilo dueto the oods.

For his part, Alaminos BishopMarlo M. Peralta said severalparishes in his diocese have

been affected by oods.Our Social Action Center ison standby and will be ready toprovide assistance to affectedresidents in due time, the prel-ate told CBCPNews.

He added while most of the residents would need food andmedicines, priority will be given to affected parishes in westernPangasinan. Floods have been reported in Aguilar, Bugallon andparts of Bolinao town.

The Diocese of Alaminos also launched its relief campaign forOndoys victims in Metro Manila and nearby provinces but willnow raise their own relief goods for the affected residents.

Urdaneta Bishop Jacinto A. Jose said most of the farmers in easternPangasinan will have a bleak Christmas considering the damage torice crops brought about by oods.

The oods affected the towns of San Manuel, Asingan, Nativi -dad, San Nicolas, Santa Maria, Umingan along with Rosales, Car-men, Sto. Tomas and Alcala, the prelate said in an interview withCBCPNews.

He said they were able to generate relief goods scheduled to be

shipped to Manila to help Ondoys victims but will have to dis-tribute them to local residents who need help instead.It will be difcult for farmers to recover because most of them

are about to harvest palay in less than a month, he further said.(Melo M. Acuna)

www.f

ickr.com/p

hotos/dannysky

Manila offers plenaryindulgence, promotes

pilgrimagesPLENARY indulgence can be granted to the faithful who visitsome churches in the Archdiocese of Manila in observance ofthe Year for Priests.

The measure was made by the archdioceses chancery with adecree dated September 25, 2009.

In accordance with the decree, the faithful can receive theplenary indulgence when they make a devotional pilgrimage toone of the designated churches until June 19, 2010.

Still, when the faithful make the pilgrimage, they have to fulllordinary conditions for the plenary indulgence which includeSacrament of Penitence, Eucharistic Communion, and prayerfor Popes intentions.

Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithfuleach time they pray ve Our Father, Hail Mary and GloryBe, or any other duly approved prayer in honor of the SacredHeart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctityof life.

The designated churches in the Archdiocese of Manila are:National Shrine of the Sacred Heart in San Antonio village andSaint John Mary Vianney Parish Church in Cembo, both inMakati City.

We encourage the faithful to avail of these spiritual benetsof the holy year. It is also a good opportunity to hold catechesison the priesthood, indulgences and Saint John Mary Vianney,said Fr. Runo Sescon, Jr., chancellor.

He said the two mentioned churches will gladly welcome pil-grims and delegations, especially those coming from the parishesof the archdiocese.

Let us continue to pray for our priests and for more vocationsto the priesthood. May this year be an occasion for spiritual re-newal in our respective communities, Sescon said.

The Vatican last May also announced that during the Yearfor Priests, which runs June 19, 2009-June 19, 2010, Pope Bene-dict XVI will grant plenary indulgences to priests and faithful.(CBCPNews)

NAMFREL elects new headTHE National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has for-mally appointed its new head.

He is Jose Cuisia, Jr., a prominent businessman and a memberof the Opus Dei, a personal prelature within the Catholic Churchwhose members nds holiness in their daily chores.

Cuisia succeeds Henrietta de Villa who resigned last monthto devote more time to her work as head of the Parish PastoralCouncil for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), which focuses onvoters education.

Namfrel is a poll watchdog accredited by the Commission onElections to conduct quick count of votes.Cuisia is currently the vice chairman of the Philippine Ameri-

can Life and General Insurance Company.From 1986 to 1990, he served as Governor of Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas and from 1990 to 1993 as Administrator of the SocialSecurity System.

The Namfrel chairman-elect also served as a Director of SanMiguel Corporation, Philippine Airlines and Philippine NationalBank.

The organization has also elected, during their recent meet-ing, former Senator Vicente Paterno as its national vice chair-person.

Other members elected for the Namfrels National Councilwere Corazon de la Paz-Bernardo, Christian Monsod, ProtestantBishop Efraim Tendero, Fr. Eliseo Mercado, OMI, David Bal-angue, Joey Bermudez and Telibert Laoc. (Roy Lagarde)

Aside from Esteban, the CBCP has also assigned Xavier Padilla of

the Couples for Christ Foundation for Family and Life (CFC-FFL)and April Frances Ortigas of the Couples for Christ Global MissionsFoundation, Inc. (CFC) as the organizations external and internalvice presidents, respectively.

Meanwhile, Kris Bayos of the CBCP Media Office was ap-pointed as the organizations secretary general, BernadetteFelix of the Chiro Youth Movement and Lea Dasigan of theSalesian Youth Movement were chosen to be the secretaries,and John Paul Atienza of the Pro-Life Philippines was assignedas treasurer.

Baylon, Garganta and Quitorio made the announcement duringthe YouthPinoy strategic planning seminar held at the Bataan Tech-nological Park, Inc. last October 9 to 11. Baylon led the ofcers oathtaking after celebrating a Saturday Mass.

The three have also announced that the rst set of ofcers of theYouthPinoy will have a term of one year. Baylon, however, clariedthat the tenure of ofce can be cut short or even extended based onthe appointed ofcers performance.

The YouthPinoy portal is a joint project of the ECY and CBCPMedia Ofce. The website was established in response to PopeBenedict XVIs call to evangelize the youth through online media.(CBCPNews)

Mass to formally open a national gatheringof priests at the San Carlos Seminary inMakati City to discern on their propheticrole on Oct. 13.

Around 300 priests from various dio-ceses gathered for a three-day assembly inresponse to an earlier call of the bishopshierarchy for the formation of circles ofdiscernment among the clergy.

It underlined the challenges of poverty,corruption, injustice and other issues thattoday challenge the church on what and howthey can help address it.

Lagdameo said the prophetic role of the

priests, an aspect of pastoral leadership thatneeds improvement, must be central to thelife and leadership of the community.

More than proclaim Gods Word, the

Prophetic / A1

YouthPinoy / A1

Mary John Mananzan, co-chairperson of the Association of MajorReligious Superiors in the Philippines; Rev. Rex Reyes, Jr., generalsecretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines(NCCP); Alfredo Pascual, president of the UP Alumni Association(UPAA); Prof. Rommel Feria of UPs Department of ComputerScience; and Profs. Sherwin Ona and Wilmarc Lopez, De La SalleUniversity IT department, among others.

NBN-ZTE whistleblower Rodolfo Lozada, an ICT engineer; law-yer Aquilino Pimentel III, secretary general of PDP-Laban; Bill Luz,chairman of the Movement for Good Governance (MGG); Dr. JudyTaguiwalo, convener of Pagbabago; and Alvin Peters, presidentof the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) a

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