CBCP Message for the Victims of Typhoon Jolina

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

(Psalm 33:22)

On the day we joyously celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, our brothers and sisters in the Philippines, particularly in Visayas and Southern Luzon, had faced another devastating disaster due to Typhoon Jolina. Recent reports show that the aftermath of the typhoon’s wrath had destroyed homes, opened economic deficiencies, left people missing, and unfortunately, declared a number of victims as deceased.

On behalf of the bishops of the Philippines, I offer my condolences to those bereaved. May the souls of those who died be looked upon by God with mercy and compassion. On behalf of the bishops of the Philippines, I offer my condolences to those bereaved. May the souls of those who died be looked upon by God with mercy and compassion. As one Church, I invite all of you to pray for our fellow Filipinos who were affected by the typhoon so that they may feel hope amidst their suffering. Let us ask for the intercession of Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted, that they may find consolation in the warmth of God’s love.

As we all continue to strive under the hardship dictated by the pandemic, may our hearts be open to look upon our neighbors who are in a great need.

Let us remember the words of the Holy Father when he visited Japan way back in 2019 in which he says. “The path to a full recovery may still be long, but it can always be undertaken if it counts on the spirit of people capable of mobilizing in order to help one another.” Indeed, our healing takes time, but with the help of each other, through the words of Pope Francis, may we realize our duty to extend our hands rooted in our capability to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Let us pray that Typhoon Kiko may not be as devastating as Typhoon Jolina.

May God the Father embrace our country so we may find comfort and peace.

+ROMULO G. VALLES, D.D.
Archbishop of Davao
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
10 September 2021

Probe into rights violations in Philippines alleges ‘damning evidence’ against Duterte

Investigate Ph called on the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Sept. 13, to conduct a probe into alleged rights abuses in the Philippines

Jose Torres Jr.
September 14, 2021

High Commissioners composed of parliamentarians, lawyers, religious leaders, and activists from across the world lead the launch of the Third Report of the independent international body on Sept. 13. 2021. (Screen grab from Investigative Ph webinar)

An international investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines claimed to have found “damming evidence” linking President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration to human rights abuses.

People’s organizations and civil society groups behind Investigate Ph called on the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Sept. 13, to conduct a probe into the alleged violations in the Philippines.

Investigate Ph, an independent investigation on alleged abuses in the Philippines to substantiate the June 2020 report released by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCR), issued its final report on Monday.

The report examines alleged violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of the Filipino people, and the reported denial of the people’s rights to self-determination, development, and peace.

The report claims that it found that the Duterte administration “was deliberately violating these rights through its submission to US domination and neoliberal economic policies.”

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PPCRV launches 9-month novena Masses for 2022 polls

By CBCP News
Manila, Philippines

https://www.facebook.com/ppcrv/videos/902739213665605/
Please WATCH from PPCRV FB Page https://www.facebook.com/ppcrv/videos/902739213665605/

A Catholic Church-backed poll watchdog yesterday launched a nine-month novena Masses in preparation for next year’s elections.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said the “Prayer Power Campaign 2022” will run until the May 9 polls.

It said this is “to implore the aid of the Divine Providence for Filipinos to do their share” for orderly and credible elections.

The Masses are also intended to seek God’s guidance for voters to choose the right leaders for the country.

“Let our every action in these elections be guided by these basic values for good citizenship so that those elected be exemplars of these values,” the PPCRV said.

The first novena Mass was presided over by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The Masses are streamed via the official Facebook page and Youtube channel of the PPCRV.

Joint Pastoral Message on the Culture of Murder and Plunder

Our dear people of God in Northern Philippines:

The Messiah must be killed and after three days rise again. The Lord predicted His fate and by His death and rising, our sins are forgiven. It was a necessary sacrifice born from His total obedience to the Father. His death is the only death we need. There is no other death needed anymore to improve our situation or to merit God’s mercy. The death of Jesus was the death once and for all.

How may we describe the present social condition of our nation?

It is like living in the valley of death—killing of drug users and opponents; helpless death in the pandemic, death by governance without vision, death by shameless corruption that seems to break all records. Killings! Murders! Deaths!

Since the past five years, more than thirty thousand poor Filipinos have been killed in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Journalists have been killed, political opponents have been murdered, court judges have been assassinated, priests have been shot and critics have been bullied and threatened. The killers are at large and the blind supporters of these murderers applaud the killers.

The pandemic was a calamity of nature that we could not control. We saw death in our homes and offices. The heroic medical health workers risked their safety and some perished with their PPEs on. While other nations have risen from the pandemic, our death toll continues to rise.

The poor are slowly dying from joblessness due to ridiculous confusing quarantine classifications. Incompetence kills peoples. Ineptitude kills nations and economies. Hunger kills slowly.

Bullets kill. Viruses kill. Governance without direction kills. Corruption kills. Trolls kill with fake news. Hunger kills. When will the killings stop? The poor pay for the corruption of the powerful. The nation is sinking in debt.

Are we facing a dead end and are we helpless? NO. We overcome evil by the power of good. Our help is from the Lord!

This is the time for PENITENCE AND ATONEMENT for our national and personal sins. We can organize penitential rosaries and reparation prayers to the Divine Mercy that the Lord may forgive our murders and our support of murderers. May our penitence lead us to generous and courageous works of mercy and charity in our own personal little ways! “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love,” said Mother Teresa.

We citizens must be law abiding but we are not pacifists.

We must RESIST a murderous and corrupt public order guided by the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church #400…admitting that it is legitimate to resist authority should it violate in a serious or repeated manner the essential principles of natural law.

Saint Thomas Aquinas writes that “one is obliged to obey … insofar as it is required by the order of justice“. Natural law is therefore the basis of the right to resistance.

Non-violent resistance, such as peaceful assemblies of dissent or sober discussions of social issues guided by the Gospel or rallies for honesty and heroism, is the path we must choose always (#401). This is the only morally acceptable resistance.

We have a moral duty to resist and correct a culture of murder and plunder as much as the prolonged pattern of hiding or destroying the truth. “As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism” (#407)

In #408 of the same Compendium, we are taught that “In the democratic system, political authority is accountable to the people. Representative bodies must be subjected to effective social control…The obligation on the part of those elected to give an accounting of their work is a constitutive element of democratic representation.”

Guided by this, we commend, bless and encourage the FULL INVESTIGATION, by those in authority, of any whiff of corruption; as we also reproach, rebuke and censure those who obstruct the legal process to arrive at truth and justice. To them we use the rebuke of the Lord “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Mark 8:33).

FREE ELECTIONS which allow the selection and change of representatives is the most effective way to make political authority accountable (cfr. #408). In this spirit, we plead with our youth and first time voters to register themselves. We appeal to the sense of patriotism of the reluctant candidates to bring back ethics in our political life and run according to your conscience not according to the surveys.

This is not the time for despair but courage. This is not the time to be quiet but to stand up for God. Against the tide of murders and plunder, let us bear witness to TRUTH and LIFE!

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Groups Hit DOE for Pushing “Bad” Policy to Promote Garbage Incineration

September 6, 2021

Quezon City, Philippines— Climate and health groups expressed opposition to the Department of Energy (DOE) draft Circular on Waste-to-Energy and the agency’s inclination to circumvent existing laws just to promote garbage incineration, disguised as WTE,  in the country.

“Renewable energy is defined as energy created from natural processes that do not get depleted. DOE’s claim that WTE technologies are a form of “renewable energy” is fallacious. Waste, the feedstock for WTEs, cannot be properly classified in the same category as wind, wave or solar energy. Waste consists of discarded materials (e.g., paper, plastic and glass) that are produced from the extraction and processing of finite natural resources such as minerals and fossil fuels. Moreover, burning these materials will do more harm to our environment and climate,” said Atty. Lievj Alimangohan of EcoWaste Coalition.

The DOE’s draft circular which is now undergoing public consultation wants to package garbage incineration as “renewables” and provide special incentives for this type of technology such as priority dispatch, double equivalent in of RE certificates per MWh of production and exemption from competitive selection process for incinerator projects involving LGUs.

“By classifying WTEs as “renewable energy”, the DOE Circular unduly expands the scope of the Renewable Energy Act. Worse, the policy promotes and legitimizes anti-competitive conduct in the power sector by giving special preferences for incineration over genuine renewable energy systems. Also, by providing specific exemptions from the Competitive Selection Process, the policy also exposes consumers to disadvantageous power supply agreements,” said Alimangohan.

“WtE technologies (traditional heat recovery incinerators, pyrolytic incinerators, plasma pyrolysis, gasification, etc.) ALL produce poisonous and toxic substances. These facilities simply transform the garbage problem into a more persistent environmental and health problem. They merely transform the waste into other forms of wastes, such as carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, aldehydes, particulate matter and heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium. This is true even for WtE facilities that claim to be “high-tech and clean”. All WtE are a massive waste of energy. They produce only small amounts of energy while destroying large amounts of reusable materials. Conversely, zero waste practices such as recycling and composting conserve 3 to 5 times the amount of energy produced by waste incineration,”  added Sonia Mendoza of Mother Earth Foundation and a former Commissioner at the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

“Dealing with the solid waste problem sustainably involves reducing the volume of waste at source and promoting a less extractive and more circular economy. Incinerator technologies however, draw attention away from sustainable production and solutions that address the waste problem at its roots. Instead, incinerators legitimize continued extraction and high-carbon economic development. The promotion of WTE technologies as “renewable” is a clear case of greenwashing,” said Archie Abellar of GAIA Asia Pacific.

The groups emphasized that studies in Europe and the United States invariably show that WtE facilities generate very small amounts of energy and have very low efficiency rates of 19-27%. In Europe, WtE facilities contributed less than 1.5% to the European Union’s final energy consumption. Given these low energy conversion rates of WtE facilities, they cannot be expected to actually become baseload renewables in the Philippines.

“Since WtE facilities produce low amounts of usable energy, the power generation segment of these facilities is not profitable. In the United States and Europe, WtE facilities’ main sources of revenue are subsidies, tipping fees, and contractual “put-or-pay” arrangements shouldered by local governments. In other words, not only are WTE facilities inefficient, they need to be propped up through public financing,” the groups said.

The groups further noted that WTE technologies and facilities are not just harmful to health and the environment, but financially burdensome which are harmful “solutions” that have been greenwashed to appear eco-friendly.

# # #

The #breakfreefromplastic is a global movement working towards a future free from plastic pollution. The Plastic-free Pilipinas project is a collaboration of #breakfreefromplastic members EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA Asia Pacific, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia and Mother Earth Foundation.

For more information, please contact:

Geri Matthew Carretero

info@breakfreefromplasticph.org

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

The Facemask: Symbol of Corruption; Downfall of Duterte

       In this time of pandemic where many people are getting  sick or are dying or have already died and where many more are getting hungry and losing their jobs and their businesses, President Rodrigo Duterte, his  loyalist Bong Go and their underlings as well as their  Chinese cohorts have used the health crisis to steal the people’s money in billions of pesos.

       Nothing speaks more eloquently of the symbol of corruption in this present administration than the facemask and faceshield that we Filipinos are required to wear. These protective gears were bought from their Chinese connections at grossly overpriced amounts, totaling into billions of pesos!

       That this plunder of public funds was done at a time when the whole nation is suffering from the ill effects of the pandemic is appalling and unforgiving. It is a brazen act of corruption committed with impunity and without regard to human life.

       The source of the funds are the laws passed by Congress and signed by Duterte known as Bayanihan 1 and 2.

       While poor Filipinos get their “Ayudas” from the Bayanihan laws in small amounts, patiently waiting for their measly share to tide them over for a few weeks under community quarantines, this Duterte Administration awarded more than P8 Billion contract to an unknown small company known as Pharmally Pharmaceutical, Inc. with a small capital of P625,000 and with a fake address and its incorporators linked to a Chinese who was a former economic adviser of the President.

      With the procurement of these grossly overpriced facemasks and faceshields and other medical supplies, Pharmally hit a jackpot, earning billions of pesos at the expense of the poor and suffering Filipinos.

       They literally made a killing out of this corrupt transaction. While Filipinos are dying and more are getting sick, Duterte and his cohorts are laughing themselves all the way to possibly staying in power beyond 2022 with a huge election money to be able to buy the votes of the poor and suffering Filipinos.

       This facemask transaction has unmasked the hypocrisy of Duterte who has vowed to fight corruption and remove officials even if there is just a “whiff of corruption” in any government agency.

       We are indeed stupid as a people if we allow ourselves to be fooled again by this populist President.

       Unmask him now and remove any protective shield of power that he still presently enjoys. Otherwise the virus of complacency and don’t-care-attitude of majority of our countrymen will continue to infect our nation, a virus that is more potent and virulent which destroys not just individual lives but more so the very foundation of our beloved Philippines.

       Kung hindi ngayon, kelan pa? Kung hindi tayo kikibo at umaksyon, kawawa ang Pilipinas, kawawa ang susunod na henerasyon!

Leni vs Sara: Why Robredo is the better choice

By: Solita Collas-Monsod

4 September 2021

Women politicians and leaders—the right kind, of course—are getting to be more and more the attractive choice as we approach the elections next year. Two weeks ago, I presented hard evidence from a study involving 193 countries and their COVID-19 outcomes, which showed that when women-led countries are compared to countries similar to them along a range of characteristics, they have performed better, experiencing fewer cases as well as fewer deaths.

Reader Eugenio S. Jose then emailed me, asking me to see if there were women leaders who turned into dictators. An interesting point, and I followed his suggestion.

My findings: Apparently, as of June 2020, 70 countries in the modern era have seen women-led governments. As far as I can make out, only one of them, Indira Gandhi of India, became a dictator, on the ruse of a state of emergency in India. This after being prime minister for nine years. But then, her dictatorship (involving suspension of civil rights, press censorship, no deaths/tortures) lasted only 21 months—she herself called for elections, where she lost her seat. But she became prime minister again three years later, so obviously she had some redeeming traits.

Understand, this was a quick and dirty look. But it suggests that 1) women don’t become dictators (one among 70); and 2) the only exception was, compared to male dictatorships (think only of Marcos), a rather short, almost benevolent one.

So that’s another argument for women-led governments. They are very much less likely to seize power and hold it till death do them part. Which is something that we should think about, considering what has been happening around the world, and more importantly in the Philippines of late.

Now comes the question: Which woman leader should we choose? There are, unfortunately for us, only two who are in the running, and at that, no one has officially declared. But we know who they are: Vice President Leni Robredo and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

Well, what do we know about them? I went to Wikipedia, and I also googled the two ladies. And I must say, based on what I read from these two sources, there is no question in my mind that Leni Robredo is the better candidate. You are of course free to disagree with me, Reader, as long as you also show your basis.

First, the similarities: Both are lawyers, with Leni an Economics major (UP) and Sara a Respiratory Therapy major (San Pedro College). Leni had to take the bar a second time before she passed—and I can understand why, with a young, growing family to look after while she was studying.

Sara has been active in politics since 2007, with a hiatus in 2013-2016, as vice mayor and then as mayor, with either father or brother as her running mates. Product of dynastic politics.

Leni entered politics in 2013, battling the matriarch of the reigning political dynasty, whom she beat handily (70 percent over 20 percent). Do you remember that picture of her waiting for a bus to take her from Makati to Naga? What does that tell you about her? So eight years in politics, including the vice presidency which she won battling other dynasties.

What is noteworthy, Reader, is that search as I might, I could not google any information about any project or any activity that Sara Duterte undertook as a political leader, much less in civil society. I do remember a picture of her assaulting a sheriff who was trying to do his duty. On the other hand, Leni Robredo has the Sumilao Farmers’ Express, the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal, which extends legal support to the needy, and the Lakas ng Kababaihan ng Naga under her belt. The Office of the Vice President always passes the COA audit with flying colors, and has received awards for excellent management.

Another, and perhaps the most important, difference between the two, is that Leni will come into the presidency with clean hands and a clean heart. No political baggage: She is a widow, her children have no political ambitions, so the corruption potential is minimized. Only remember our previous women presidents who had to contend with either spouse, children, or siblings.

Think of it, folks. Wouldn’t you like to have, finally, a leadership approach that is nurturing, moral, and reconciliatory, after five years of the opposite?

solita_monsod@yahoo.com