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Month: August 2017

Ipagtanggol ang kasal at pamilya at itaguyod ang kaganapan ng buhay.

Pahayag ng Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas Tungkol sa House Bill 6027
“An Act Providing for Grounds for The Dissolution of a Marriage”

Ang Panukalang Batas bilang 6027 ay nagmumungkahi na gawing ligal ang paglusaw sa kasal o diborsyo ayon sa dalawang batayan: di-mapagkasundong pagkakaiba at talamak na kasiphayuan. Nararapat lamang na pagnilayan muna ang kahulugan ng kasal sa kulturang Pilipino bago bigyang puwang ang mga ideya ng paglusaw nito.

Ang mga Katolikong Kristiyano na bumubuo ng karamihan ng mga tao sa Pilipnas ay nagtatakwil sa paglusaw ng kasal o diborsyo. Nakakintal sa atin ang paniniwalang ang kasal o matrimonyo ay nanggaling mismo sa Diyos na siyang may-likha ng sansinukob. Ang Panginoong Hesukristo mismo ang umangat sa kasal sa karangalan ng isang sakramento.

Ang sakramento ng kasal ay isang panata higit sa isang kontrata. May kasunduang magpalitan- subalit ang pinagkakasunduan ay hindi lamang mga serbisyo o produkto kundi ang pagkatao ng mismong lalaki at babaeng nagsasagawa ng kasunduan. Ang kasunduan ay may bisa habang sila’y parehong buhay. Kapag lahat ng mga rekisito para maisagawa ang kasal ay natupad, ang kasal ay may bisa sa simbahan at sa batas.

Babaling tayo sa mga paniniwala at katotohanang ibinaba ng Inang Simbahan tungkol sa katangian ng kasal na siyang gagabay sa atin kung paano titimbangin ang panukalang ito.

Una sa lahat ang kasal ay makatao. Ang mga nagkakasundo ay lubos na kumikilala sa kanilang dignidad bilang tao, gamit ang kanilang intelektwal na kakayahang alamin ang katotohanan at ang kanilang kakayahang malayang piliin ang maganda, tama at mabuti.

Pangalawa, ang kasal ay buong buo. Ang natatanging kasunduang ito ay matutupad sa pamamagitan ng buong paghahandog ng sarili. Hindi bahagi lamang, walang taning ng panahon, at walang kundisyon. Ang kabuuang ito ay nangangahulugan ng pagbibigay at pagtanggap ng kalakasan at kahinaan, sa kalusugan at pagkakasakit, ng kabutihan at kahinaan, sa kasaganaan at kahirapan. Ang bawat isa ay pumupuno sa kakulangan ng kanyang kabiyak.

Pangatlo ang kasal ay matapat. Ang pagpapakasal ay kasunduang natatangi para sa lalaki at babae lamang na nagsumpaan. Hindi maaaring makipagkasundo silang muli sa ibang mga tao. Hinihingi nito ang katapatan na nararapat sa Diyos at hinihingi Niya sa kanyang mga nilikha.

Pang-apat, ang kasal ay mabunga o bukas sa buhay. Ang layunin ng kasal ay para sa kabutihan ng magkabiyak at sa pagkakaroon ng mga supling at pagbibigay sa kanila ng edukasyong Kristiyano. Ang kasal ang daluyan ng pagpaparami ng sangkatauhan.

Tinitiyak sa magkabiyak na ikinakasal na ang Diyos ay kasama nila sa kasunduang ito. Hindi Niya sila pababayaan sa buong panahon ng kanilang pagsasama. Ganundin, ang Simbahan ay may tungkuling tiyakin na ang mga taong ikakasal pa lamang ay nauunawaan at tinatanggap ang mga katuruan at paniniwalang nabanggit.

Ang totoong kasal ay hindi pwedeng pawalang bisa. Ang totoong kasal ay hindi maaaring lusawin ng batas na gawa ng tao.

May mga kasal na hindi nagkabisa dahil sa kakulangan ng mga rekisito at pagsasagawa ng kasal. Matapos ang sapat na pasisiyasat at paglalahad ng mga ebidensya, magsasagawa ang simbahan ng deklarasyon na walang naganap na totoong kasal. Dumadaan ito sa isang proseso. Hindi ito kaparehas ng paglulusaw sa isang kasal na totoo at mabisang naisagawa. Ang kasal na totoo at may bisa ay hindi maaaring ipawalang bisa sa kadahilanang may di mapagkasundong pagkakaiba o talamak na kasiphayuan.

Sa malalim na pagkahulugan, ang di-mapagkasundong pagkakaiba ay tumutukoy sa kawalang kakayahan ng dalawang ikinasal na pakinggan o kilalanin ng lubusan ang isa’t isa. Kawalan ito ng pagtanggap ng kapwa sa puso, upang magagap ang kahulugan ng kanyang pagkatao, at magawang makibagay, makisama, makiisa, at tanggapin ang kanyang persona.

Ang talamak na kasiphayuan ay sakit ng mundong lukob ng pagkamakasarili kung saan ang mga indibidwal ay sinasagasaan ang karapatan ng kapwa makuha lamang ang sariling gusto. Ang paghahabol sa kaligayahan at personal na kaginhawaan sa kasalukuyang lipunan ay nagbunga ng kaisipang kanya-kanya at makasarili.

May mga paraan upang pagkasunduin ang mga pagkakaiba at baguhin ang mga pag-uugali at kalooban ng mga tao. Sa pakikipagtulungan ng mga institusyong panglipunan at medikal, may mga gawain ang simbahan na umaagapay sa mga mag-asawa at indibidwal na nais dumaan sa proseso ng pagkakasundo at paghilom.

Ang talamak na kasiphayuan ay maaring palatandaan ng iba’t ibang uri ng pabigat sa damdamin o sa isipan, o marahil ng karamdaman. May pamamaraan ng paggagamot sa ganitong mga karamdaman. Maaring tulungan ang taong nasisiphayo na tanggapin at baguhin ang kanyang sitwasyon. Ang pagkakasakit o kasiphayuan ay hindi batayan upang sabihin na may depekto ang kasal.

Kung kaya tungkulin ng bawat mag-asawang tumanggap sa sakramento na pagbutihin ang kanilang pagsasama hindi lamang para sa kanilang sarili kundi para rin sa sangkatauhan. Ang kasal ay may mabigat na impluwensya sa kabutihan o kasiraan ng ating sibilisasyon. Bawat mag-asawa ay may pananagutan sa kanilang komunidad na ipakita ang magandang modelo ng pag-aasawa at iwaksi ang masamang larawan nito.

Ang batas na nagbibigay katwiran sa paglusaw ng kasal ay mapanganib sa lipunan dahil ito ay magbibigay ng madaliang pagtakbo sa isang kamalian na gawa ng kasalanan at kawalang responsibilidad ng tao. Kapag nagpapakita ng kahinaan ang isang tao sa loob ng relasyong mag-asawa, ang tamang pagtugon ay patatagin siya nang maigpawan ang kahinaan at masumpungan niya ang kanyang pinakamahusay na sarili. Ito ang disenyo ng Diyos sa pag-aasawa: na ang magkabiyak ay magkatulong na lakbayin ang landas ng kabanalan na madalas ay may kaakibat na sakripisyo at paglalaan ng sarili upang maranasan ng mag-asawa ang presensya ng Diyos sa kanilang buhay.

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Bayan… Nasadlak sa Dusa: Binigkas na Salita ng Isang Kabataan

Magandang araw sa inyong lahat
nakaaliw kayong tingnan
nakagayak ng makabayang kasuotan
narito kaming muli sa inyong harapan
upang magpahayag ng aming kamalayan
# hindi po ito pirated
walang bahid ng internet
promise!

Ang pamagat ng tulang ito ay
BAYAN… NASADLAK SA DUSA

Isang mapagpalayang araw sa inyong lahat
Ang tulang ito ay inaalay namin
Sa aming mga kapwa kabataan
Mga kabataan na pag-asa ng bayan
Mga kabataan na pag-asa ng tunay na pagbabago
At tunay na kapayapaan

Mga kabataan, sino tayo?
Ako, ikaw, tayo
Meron ka bang narinig sa panahong kasalukuyan?

Nahagip ba ng iyong kamalayan
Ang nangyayari sa ating bayan?
Ano ang iyong narinig?

Ano ang iyong nakita?
Ano ang iyong naramdaman?

Mula sa kanluran
Patungong timog ng ating bayan
Kaydami nang pinaslang|
Libu-libo ..
kahit inosente
Namamatay
Pati mga kabataan!

Sino ang may pakana?
Sino ang dapat sisihin?
Sino ang kawawa?

Ang sabi ng ating lider
Pagbabago .. kapayapaan
Ngunit.. kaninong pagbabago?
Kaninong kapayapaan?

Halang ang mga kaluluwa
Sino ang tunay na may sala?

Sino ang inosente?
Sino ang kawawa?

Mga kabataan
Dapat mapagmasid
Dapat mapagmatyag

Nasaan ang hustisya?
Nakapiring pa rin ba?
O dilat na ang mga mata?

Para sa mayayaman lang ba?
Habang nawawalan ng halaga
Ang mga nasadlak sa dusa..

Bakit di na tayo marunong umunawa?
Bakit di na tayo marunong umiyak?
Bakit wala na tayong awa?
Bakit kay bilis nating humusga?
Bakit wala tayong pakialam?
Bakit nakalimutan na natin kung ano ang tama?

Ang buhay natin ay pansamantala lamang
Kayong nasa kapangyahiran
‘Wag sanang malasing sa inyong kagalingan
‘Wag sanang palamon sa inyong kamangmangan

Nakamasid ang langit
Sa lahat ng kaganapan
Kailanma’y hindi maaaring isawalang bahala
Ang lahat ng patayan

May hustisya sa lupa
May hustisya sa langit
Kayo ang pipili
Saan nyo gustong manatili?

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Clerical abuse of children has to be addressed

Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos, a Filipino priest, has been arrested by authorities for allegedly escorting a minor to a hotel in a suburb of Manila. (Photo by Noli Yamsuan)

Arrest of priest shows everyone has to answer for their behavior no matter what station they hold in life

Father Shay Cullen, Manila, Philippines

August 24, 2017 

The arrest of a Filipino Catholic priest accused of trafficking a 13-year-old minor is highly unusual.

He has been charged with violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of the Philippines.

Most cases of alleged clerical child abuse go unreported or are covered up in the Philippines. In other countries, the scandal of clerical child abuse has left thousands of child victims without redress, help, therapy, or a chance for justice.

The Philippines’ Child Protection Law has a provision that is designed to criminalize such an act where a child is taken to a secluded place — say a vehicle or motel — by an adult not her relative for the purpose of sexual abuse. This provision of the law aims to prevent any act of rape and to bring the suspect to justice.

The institutional church, that is, the hierarchy in many countries, has been shown to have failed in its obligation and duty to protect children and actively pursue clerical child abusers when the evidence was strong and clear.

In the past, church institutions in various countries even facilitated payoffs to parents of child victims and tried to use its influence to have authorities drop charges against priests and religious. Other clergy were moved to other parishes when child abuse complaints were made.

In many cases, there was no action by church officials to protect the child and report the alleged abuser to authorities for the alleged crimes. There have been big changes in church procedures in dealing with child abuse cases by clergy nowadays, and a zero tolerance policy is in place, thanks to Pope Francis.

Cardinal George Pell of Australia, the highest Vatican official to have been charged, is facing complaints of having allegedly covered up similar cases. While we must respect the principle that everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty and not to be falsely accused, when the evidence is clear, then each person has a case to answer.

The case of the Filipino monsignor is serious as he was apprehended in his vehicle on the way to a motel with the 13-year-old child. The mother reported the incident to the police, so it is presumed that she knows the age of her child. The priest allegedly had a gun. The girl previously told social workers that the man took her to the motel in June and warned her “at gunpoint” not to allow other customers to “book” her.

Everyone has to answer for their behavior no matter what station they hold in life. The higher their ascendancy and position, the greater their responsibility to answer the charges, and all are to be dealt with equally before the law. No privilege or power ought to excuse anyone from facing the truth.

In our experience of helping victim-survivors of child sexual abuse and seeking justice for them, we have found that the majority of abusers are in fact neighbors or so-called friends of the family. The worst offenders are stepfathers, the mother’s live-in partners and the biological father.

This indicates how vulnerable children are to the crimes of adults. The youngest child in our Preda Foundation home for abused girls is 6 years old. The average age of victim-survivors is 14 years old. The fact that there have been no child abuse cases brought out in public against the clergy is very significant, and it can be presumed that they are being protected.

We have had legal successes every year with brave and courageous children who are empowered to testify in court and speak without fear about the abuse they suffered. We win an average of four convictions a year.

This year, we succeeded in having three cases of child sexual abuse and multiple rape elevated to the regional trial courts. We hope for another three cases we filed to go to trial this year. The prosecutors, now mostly female, are dedicated and are people of integrity.

With constant care, gathering and presentation of evidence that is done for all victim-survivors, we can pursue justice no matter how difficult it is. We receive challenges and counter-charges against us but our staff are resilient and knowledgeable and can answer the counter-charges and win.

We have to take a stand and fight on for justice with and for the children. We hope that everybody will support victim-survivors so that justice, elusive as it maybe, will prevail.

Irish Father Shay Cullen, SSC, established the Preda Foundation in Olongapo City in 1974 to promote human rights and the rights of children, especially victims of sex abuse.

Mother fears 10-year-old son fighting in Marawi

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Philippine separatist group, has released more than 800 child soldiers over the years as part of its work with the United Nations. (Photo by Mark Navales)

Woman calls for troops to spare children fighting alongside militants after seeing picture of boy resembling kidnapped son

Divina M. Suson, Iligan City  Philippines

August 29, 2017

A mother whose three year-old child was abducted in 2010 from their Manila home begged military officials Aug. 27 to spare children fighting for an Islamic State-inspired rebel group in the southern island of Mindanao, saying she believed one of them could be her long-lost son.

Rowhanisa Abdul Jabar, a resident of Dagupan, Tondo, Manila, made her appeal after seeing social media posts of child fighters in Marawi.

Media reports have identified children — anyone under the 18 year Philippine recruitment age — as young as 10 fighting in the country’s south.

One of them bore a striking similarity to her son, Azramie Magondacan also known as Ram-Ram, she told ucanews.com.

Jabar said a servant abducted Azramie while she was working in her shop. The servant was later arrested, but Jabar’s son and the servant’s accomplices were never found.

“I’ve had a hard time moving on,” Jabar said. “Then I saw these child fighters. One of them looks like my son.”

“Sometimes, I pray it’s not him. It is too painful to think of a son who has become a fighter for the IS,” Jabar said in a phone interview.

She appealed to soldiers in Marawi to ensure the safety of child fighters.

“I hope they do not kill them. If that is really my son, I hope he survives the fighting. I would like a DNA test to know the truth,” Jabar said.

Col. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of government forces fighting in Marawi, has confirmed the media reports that children have been spotted fighting alongside the Muslim rebel groups.

“Our soldiers have a soft spot for young fighters but they are forced to shoot them if they get too threatening,” Brawner told reporters.

“Once time, they saw a boy running. He was not carrying a gun so they did not shoot. But the next day, the same child was firing at them, so they did not have a choice,” said Brawner.

Col. Edgar Arevalo, Armed Forces public affairs chief, said rescued civilians also confirmed that children are among the enemy fighters.

The U.S. State Department reported that separatist groups in the southern island of Mindanao released last year more than 170 child members.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s biggest separatist group, said it had released 800 child soldiers over eight years as part of a United Nations effort.

But breakaway groups of the MILF were also reported recruiting children these past two years. The Abu Sayyaf, a smaller, extremist organization, is believed to have scores of children fighting or serving in a supporting role.

UCAN News

Sangguniang Laiko Statement on House Bill 6027 “An Act Providing for Grounds for The Dissolution of a Marriage”

 

House Bill 6027 proposes to make legal the dissolution of marriage on two grounds: irreconcilable differences and chronic unhappiness.

Before we entertain the dissolution proposition it is imperative to examine the institution of marriage itself, and how it is viewed in the predominantly Catholic Philippine society.

Catholics and Christians in general reject the idea of dissolution of marriage or divorce. This is because Christian doctrine asserts that marriage is a Divine Institution that God himself gave to man as a gift after God created man and made him in His own image. Jesus Christ himself elevated marriage to the dignity of a sacrament.

Thus to a Catholic Christian, marriage is a covenant- a special contract between two baptized persons, a male and a female, where the terms of the contract do not simply involve exchange of services or goods, but the exchange of the persons executing the contract themselves.The contract is in effect as long as both are alive, and is terminated only by the death of one of the parties.

Catholics believe that a Catholic marriage is valid and sacramental at the same time when all the requirements are fulfilled.

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Professors for Peace Statement

Photo credit: The Summit Express

Statement Calling for a Senate Investigation Into the Death of Kian Loyd Delos Santos and Overhaul of the Government’s Anti-Drugs Campaign

We, the undersigned academics, teachers, analysts and researchers are issuing this joint statement to call on the Senate to open an investigation into the death of seventeen-year-old Grade 11 student Kian Loyd Delos Santos.

Kian Loyd is among a growing number of children and youth who have been killed as a result of the government’s anti-drugs campaign. The long and still growing list includes 4-year-old Althea Barbon of Negros Occidental, and two 5-year-old children–Danica May Garcia, an honor student from Pangasinan, as well as Francisco Manosca, who was gunned down with his father in Pasay City.

Whether killed by police, or murdered, allegedly, by unknown assailants, the senseless deaths of so many of our youth and thousands of our citizens are a signal of the worsening environment of violence and lawlessness that now threatens the very communities that the anti-drugs campaign was supposed to protect.

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Statement from the Redemptorist Missionaries of the Philippines

Stop Killing the Poor!

Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;  look, and see our disgrace!
(Lamentations, 5: 1)

We, the Redemptorists of the Philippines composed of the Vice-Province Manila and Province of Cebu, express our outrage for the recent spate of killings in line with the government’s war on drugs. As missionaries dedicated to serving the poor and the most abandoned, we condemn the war on drugs as a war on the poor. Most of the victims of extra-judicial killings are poor people. The police have become more relentless as the President himself had on many occasions incited the police to carry out a murderous war on the poor and admitted that the target of his war on drugs is the poor.

On the other hand, rich drug lords and politicians coddlers of drug suppliers are given the full extent of the due process of law. 6.4 billion pesos worth of shabu freely entered the country due to the connections of the rich drug lords to politicians and Custom officials. In all of these, there was no howl from the President and other high ranking government officials.

As Christians, we are appalled by the utter loss of respect for the dignity of life and human rights of the police operations. We are utterly distressed that in a Christian country like ours, the killings is tolerated, even supported. We dread the reality that a split-level kind of faith exists among our people. Such faith sees no connection between the gospel values and the wellspring of Christian faith and the suffering and killings of the people.

As Filipinos we are gravely concerned with the kind of society we have become. What kind of people have we become? After more than a year of the war on drugs, our country has turned into a big killing field. Death is the order of the day. A culture of killing with impunity is the new normality.  On the other hand, a culture of silence and a climate of fear prevail. In the midst of the daily killings, many people go on with their lives, show no empathy to the victims and accept the government war on drugs as necessary evil.

Condemning the war on drugs does not undermine our stance against drug. Even before the Duterte government, we have denounced the menace of drug addictions in our proclamations and programs. We did not just denounce, however; we also organized programs and services to victims of drug addiction like counselling, livelihood projects and community support mechanisms.

We call on the government to respect the law and uphold life. We call on the government to stop the killings. The “war on drugs” which in reality is a war on the poor has to end. Now!  Continue reading

Keeping Vigil Over Our Nation’s Future

A Call to Radical Mourning For the Loss of Our Vision

21 August 2017

Dear Lasallians,

I am inviting you to raise our voices in silent protest over the deaths that have gone unmourned since our government undertook its efforts to eradicate the menace of illegal drugs from our communities.

We mourn for those who have lost their lives on mere suspicion of being drug addicts and drug pushers.  We mourn for those who, because they are too poor and too afraid, cannot fight for their right to life and due process. We mourn for those whose lives have been reduced to statistics and who are now mere proofs to demonstrate the power of those in authority to procure for us, through whatever means, their twisted vision of an orderly society.

We mourn for the loss of our rights when we allow the police to enter our homes without warrants of arrest.  We are slowly witnessing an order where we are being seduced to secede to those in authority our basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The promise of peace and order and well-being is a sham for what this usurpation of our rights has obtained for us is nothing but fear.

We mourn for ourselves, when we allow our vision for our nation to grow dim.  When, because of our exasperation with the long march to authentic freedom, have allowed ourselves to be seduced by quick results.  Authentic transformation cannot be the result of handing over to one entity, our responsibility to create the kinds of communities we long to see.  If we truly desire peace and well-being in our communities, we must see ourselves as its principal authors.   Let us, in our mourning, re-affirm our right and our responsibility to be the agents of the change we want to see.

I enjoin you all to keep vigil then over our nation’s future.  Let us offer a minute of silence every 8:24 pm (or 8:24 am during school days) in our communities as we mourn the many deaths that have befallen our nation.  In our communities, let us create a wave of awareness over the need to guard our basic rights and freedoms.

Let us courageously re-affirm our conviction in our identity as a people of power – as a people who can create and will what is good for our country. Let us stand side-by-side again so that we will not have to live in fear.  Let us refuse to bequeath to our children a nation deprived of a vision of its better self.

Fraternally,

(Sgd.)
Br. Jose Mari Jimenez FSC
Auxiliary Visitor, LEAD