Year: 2019

February 8, 2019

Greenresearch joins the urgent calls about the Manila Bay:

NO  to the reclamation of the Manila Bay!
YES  to the rehabilitation of the Manila Bay!

Greenresearch Executive Director, Patria Gwen M.L. Borcena,  an environmental sociologist  who was one of the civil society representatives-members of the Planning Committee (PC) for the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for both the Aquino and Duterte administrations, reminds the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Manila Local Government officials and other concerned policy makers:

Given our country’s vulnerability to  climate change, economic development blueprint for Manila should place a high premium on the conservation, protection, and rehabilitation (CPR) of the environment and natural resources (ENR) towards sustainable development,   so that the city will be  more climate-resilient and very equipped to lessen the occurrence of major disasters and handle these effectively and efficiently if these occur.

The development, utilization and management of  the  natural capital in Manila and other parts of the country should be guided by the precautionary principle, environmental impact assessment (EIA), cost-benefit analysis/economic valuation studies,  as well as a national industrialization plan which will rationalize the  extraction and use of  natural resources  towards nationalist industrialization.

Thus, the ecology of the Manila Bay should not be sacrificed for the pursuit of short-term gains or profits.

As stated in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care for Our Common Home:

 “The protection of the environment is in fact  “an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.” (Laudato Si, No. 141)

Sustainable development does not necessarily mean  balancing economic agenda and environmental protection.   As stressed by this green encyclical:

 “It is not enough to balance, in the medium term, the protection of nature with financial gain, or the preservation of the environment with progress. Halfway measures simply delay the inevitable disaster. Put simply,  it is a matter of redefining our notion of progress.  A technological and economic development which does not leave in its wake a better world and an integrally higher quality of life cannot be considered progress.  Frequently, in fact, people’s quality of life actually diminishes – by the deterioration of the environment, the low quality of food or the depletion of resources – in the midst of economic growth. ((Laudato Si, No. 194)   

Thus, instead of pushing for  the establishment of a “Manila Solar City” catering to the interests of foreign tourists, transnational corporations, and a few local elite in the business sector,   Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and the rest of his local government unit should improve their efforts in rehabilitating Manila Bay, implementing  ecological solid waste management, creating more “green spaces,” and preserving cultural heritage.

Greenresearch  urges  a stronger synergy among non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs), religious groups, youth, academe, green champions in the industrial sector  and legislative branches in order to block proposed reclamation projects in Manila Bay.   We also hope that the  present emerging discourse  about the Manila Bay will eventually lead to  participatory ecological governance in Metro Manila.  

Attached are two published articles which critically discuss the dangers of  the proposed Manila Bay Reclamation:

“Why Reclamation of Nearshore Manila Bay is A Very Bad Idea”

By Kelvin Rodolfo, Ph.D.

Kelvin S. Rodolfo, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a corresponding member of the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology. He lives in Viroqua, Wisconsin and comes to the Philippines regularly.

 “7 Reasons Why We Should Oppose Manila Bay Reclamation Projects”

by Mark Anthony Abenir

Mark Anthony Abenir is an associate professor and director of the Simbahayan Community Development Office of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He is also a development worker and serves as chairman of the Community Development Society of the Philippines.

Christiana Figueres who is a key person in the climate justice movement is visiting the Philippines on February 14 -15, 2019. She would like to have a focused group discussion around the climate change issue with key persons from the civil society organizations, academe and religious sector. 

As executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) from 2010 to 2016, Christiana was responsible for rescuing the process after the disaster at COP 15 in Copenhagen and steering the talks that led to the Paris Agreement in COP21. Currently, she is the convener of Mission 2020. “Mission 2020 is a global initiative that seeks to ensure the world bends the curve on greenhouse gas emission by 2020 in order to protect the most vulnerable from the worst impacts of climate change and usher in an era of stability and prosperity.”

On behalf of Mission 2020, the Global Catholic Climate Movement – Pilipinas (GCCM-Pilipinas) and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) would like to invite you to this focus group discussion which will be held on February 15, 9:00 – 11:00am at Dolcelatte, 1616 Quezon Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. We can only accommodate one (1) participant from each organization/institution. Kindly submit the name of your group’s representative, together with their position/role, email address and contact number to Sr. Elizabeth (Bing) Carranza at gccmpilipinas@gmail.com on or before February 11.

Council of Laity Walk for Life (Feb 16 @Quezon Memorial Circle) and Catholic Church Network Against Human Trafficking (CCNAHT) united call for action and celebration of the Eucharist on Feast Day of St Josephine Bakhita (8 Feb)

8 February 2019    |    Friday    |    11:00 AM
Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas
LAIKO Building, 372 Cabildo St., Intramuros, Manila Philippines
Tel: (02) 5275388/ 09771794938
e-mail: laiko_phils@yahoo.com.ph

The Council of Laity of the Philippines/ Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas announces its call for respect of human dignity and human life by action – Walk for Life – and invites all who are concerned with different current issues and debates related to Life, to join by walking on February 16 at Quezon Memorial Circle, QC from 4:00-9:00am;  this announcement is joined by the call of Catholic Church Network Against Human Trafficking (CCNAHT) composed of CBCP Cluster Against Human Trafficking and the Association of Major Religious Superior of the Philippines, for awareness and action to combat human trafficking especially recent trends on vulnerable children, on this day of International Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking and Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita, Patron saint of victims of slavery and human trafficking (February 8).  The Joint Press Conference culminates in a mass at the Manila Cathedral at 12:10pm concelebrated by Manila Auxillary Bishop Most Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo and Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos, Chairperson of Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People.

Contacts:

Joseph Jesalva
Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (LAIKO)
09771794938
laiko_phils@yahoo.com.ph

Pass SB 1826 Now!

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition believes that the reported signing of a MOA between DOLE and ECOP is nothing but a ploy to thwart the passage of the End ENDO Bill in the Senate.  The timing is suspect. It is being executed and advertised widely while the Senate is on the verge of passing the End ENDO bill. 
The MOA cannot change the miserable situation of our contractual workers. Only a new law can do that.

And what is more shameful of this turn is that the signatories to this pact represent the party of pathological liars and hypocrites as they have ever since been, together with DTI, the first line of defense against the workers’ struggle for the abolition of contractualization.

DOLE deserted from this anti-ENDO battle since day one when it issued department orders that would legitimize ENDO further. ECOP and DTI on the other hand have resorted to blackmail and the consequence of their actions was executive paralysis which contaminated even the Office of the President.

Now they are making a pact for voluntary compliance on ENDO?  Were they not the same party who were making a fool of the workers by mocking their own decisions? Was it not DOLE which issues compliance orders on regularization but only to be defied by ECOP members?  And now they are making a new pact?

Besides, what kind of pact on regularizing workers can DOLE and ECOP agree on, if it is done without workers, who are the supposed beneficiaries of this agreement? Clearly, in this case, workers are yet again the victims of their evil design. The mere act of signing with employers, behind the back of workers—an equal partner under the principle of tripartism and social dialogue—exposes DOLE’s betrayal of the workers.
Our senators must be getting bad signals from this insidious operation.  DOLE’s action can be interpreted as the official position of the executive absent the OP’s strong push for the passage of the End ENDO bill. ECOP on the other hand may have succeeded in convincing DOLE and the Executive to abandon the End ENDO bill and opt for this MOA template instead. Or they might have been working on it together since day one to block any effort at changing the rules of the game in favor of workers.

We call on our senators not to be swayed by DOLE-ECOP’s fake advertisement. The End ENDO Bill is about social justice. It’s about decent work and decent life. The DOLE-ECOP MOA is just a PR stunt, perhaps fake news personified, meant to mislead the policymakers.

Participants condemn deadly bombings of Catholic church and mosque in the southern Philippines last week

Jigger Jerusalem, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
February 4, 2019

Christians and Muslims in the Philippines held “unity walks” to call for peace following deadly blasts that rocked the south of the country last week.

In Manila, hundreds of people gathered for a prayer rally on Feb. 3 to show “the world that Filipino Muslims and Christians are one.”

They condemned the bombing of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo province that killed at least 22 people on Jan. 27 and a grenade explosion in a mosque in Zamboanga City that killed two on Jan. 30.

In Mindanao, an interfaith prayer rally was also held in Cagayan de Oro City on Feb. 2 to mark the start of the observance of “World Interfaith Harmony Week.”

Monsignor Rey Monsanto admitted that there was “a sense of fear” among Catholic clergy in Mindanao and that the bomb explosions in Jolo and Zamboanga could spark further violence.

“We are worried that Christians and Muslims will begin blaming each other,” said the priest, adding that they might use religion as an excuse to wage war.

Abdulnasser Masorong, director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, said the violence “has caused harm to the entire nation in a divisive effort to further widen the gap between Muslims and Christians.”

Alec Mohammad, a Muslim religious leader in Cagayan de Oro, however, said the violence “will not break the spirit of the long-standing relationship” among Mindanao’s peoples.

A long-lasting peace will allow children to live a life free from fear and threats

Mark Saludes, Manila, Philippines
February 5, 2019

The Philippines has a new law that aims to protect children caught in armed conflict, but a 17-year old tribal girl from Mindanao doubts it will keep her from harm.

Those who are supposed to uphold the laws are among the worst offenders when it comes to breaking them, she said, citing her own experiences.

Last year, Jenny (not her real name) and several other children from the southern province of Davao del Norte sought refuge in Manila after they were labeled “rebel sympathizers.”

Jenny’s home in the town of Talaingod has become a battleground between communist guerrillas and government troops in recent years.

Local villagers have sought shelter in churches in nearby provinces and even in Manila because of the presence of soldiers in their communities.

“The only law that exists in remote places like ours in Mindanao is martial law,” Jenny told ucanews.com.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the southern Philippines following the terrorist attack on Marawi City in 2017. It has since been extended on several occasions.

However, since its declaration, tribal people have reported a sharp increase in incidents of harassment, intimidation and displacement of people, including children.

On Jan. 21, about 500 tribal people, including 96 schoolchildren fled to safety due to military operations against communist rebels.

“Who is going to protect tribal people, especially our children, if the reason for our suffering is the government?” said Imelda Belandres, chairwoman of the tribal group Mapasu.

It was not the first time that tribal people have fled their homes in recent years.

In July 2017, at least 1,600 people from different communities in Surigao province fled due to conflict.

They stayed away for more than a month and affected at least 400 children.

“We understand that the military has a job to do, but civilians must be left unharmed,” said Father Raymond Montero-Ambray of Tandag Diocese.

The priest said shows of “military might” within civilian communities “endangers the lives of residents and traumatizes children.”

He cited a 2015 incident when members of a government-backed militia killed two tribal leaders and a school director in front of residents, including children.

The killings resulted in an exodus of about 3,500 tribal people who sought shelter in an evacuation center for a year.

“Some of the consequences on the children who witnessed the killings were extreme,” said the priest, adding that some of them now suffer anxiety attacks and depression.

Frances Bondoc of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center said some children still need to undergo psychosocial treatment even though the incident happened several years ago.

“The effect on the children is lingering,” she said.

“What they witnessed could cause irreparable damage, especially if they continue to be victims of armed conflict.”

February 1, 2019 ·

Fr. Shay Cullen
1 February 2019

On Monday, 4 February the Philippine Senate may decide whether to change the law and lower the age of criminal liability from 15 years of age to 12 years of age. If they do, that will make 12-year old children liable as criminals if they steal a banana in the market and they may have to stand trial. Then they may be sent to a children’s detention center. These places are no better than prisons where it is life behind bars.

They will be bullied, beaten and made slaves by the older, 17-year olds inmates and made to do sexual acts with the older boys. There is nothing else to do inside most of these places. We are appealing to the senators not to lower the age of criminal liability for these children. The swing votes are with the senators whose email addresses are below. We appeal to you to act and help save the children: send a short message to the senators not to change the existing law, not to lower the age that would make children criminals at 12 years of age.

Sen. Sonny Angara    sensonnyangara@yahoo.com
Sen. Gregorio Honasan II      piu0720@yahoo.com, gringobhonasan@gmail.com
Sen. Loren Legarda   loren@lorenlegarda.com.ph, appointments@osl.ph
Sen. Ralph Recto        ralphgrecto@257dcggmail-com
Sen. Cynthia Villar     sencynthiavillar@gmail.com

Dear Senators:
The Philippines is facing a historical decision regarding its millions of young children under the age of fifteen. Their future is in your rational decision that will save thousands of young innocent children twelve to fifteen years of age from jail.
They will be put on trial charged with criminal acts if you vote to lower the age of criminal liability. Please do not vote to lower the age. Instead, protect the children and uphold the present law.
The nation, child rights advocates and the parents of hundreds of millions of young children will remember you and your vote as the ones who turned the Senate in favor of children and did not act against their best interest. History will remember your vote as the vote that saved these children from jails. More than 300 civil society organizations have signed and published an open letter appealing to you not to lower the age. Majority of Filipinos said they are against lowering the age. The international community is against it.
They are just children and have no knowledge or culpability of what they will do. This is due to their lack of education and being exposed to the bad example of adults and influence by a corrupt society. You as honorable senators are called to protect children from harm and not to expose them to harm. Please do not vote to lower the age. Do not condemn the children to jails.
There are almost no decent government homes or Bahay Pag-asa for children in conflict with the law. The children are placed behind bars in cages without help or hope or education or proper food. This incarceration is illegal under all Philippine child protection laws and international law. But it happens now and everyday hundreds of children as young as ten years of age are jailed.
They languish in subhuman conditions, become sick and are abandoned behind bars for no crime. They are sexually abused by older youth in small, overcrowded cells. This is happening now, today. This is a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of children. We rescue as many as we can and they tell us of the abuse they suffer. Please allow them to testify, view the photos attached.
The vast majority of children are jailed for simple misdemeanors like breaking curfew, taking fruit in the market, sniffing glue to ease pain and because they are hungry. They are on the streets because their parents are beating them at home or sexually abusing them and they have to run away.
On behalf of hundreds of civil society organizations and the majority of the Filipino people who said in a survey they do not approve the lowering of the age whereby their children can be put on trial and jailed, please vote No.
Sincerely,
FR. SHAY CULLEN FRANCIS B. BERMIDO JR.
Founder and President Executive Director

He was fast asleep inside the bus, too tired perhaps to get out and stretch his legs during the stopover in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, at about 2:00 am Wednesday. So when a gunman boarded the bus to kill him in cold blood, the murder went very fast.  The assassin then quickly left the scene on a waiting motorcycle driven by another man.

Randy Felix Malayao, 49, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, was the first NDFP consultant slain in such a manner since late 2017. But his assassination followed a pattern.

In recent months, four other NDFP peace consultants – Rafael Baylosis, Adelberto Silva, Vicente Ladlad, and Rey Claro Casambre — had been individually arrested by state security forces. All were similarly implicated in murder cases, filed in far-flung areas. To ensure their prolonged detention, they were slapped with non-bailable charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.  (Two weeks ago, however, a Quezon City trial court dismissed the charges against Baylosis, ruled his arrest as illegal, and ordered him freed.) 

Randy Malayao may have been considering himself lucky because, unlike these others, no criminal charge had been filed or arrest warrant issued against him. True, he had been falsely arrested in 2008, heavily tortured, detained and prosecuted for four years on trumped-up charges.  But the trial court cleared him of all charges and ordered him freed in 2012.  He then joined the peace talks as consultant and one of the NDFP peace panel spokespersons in negotiations with the Duterte government.

Apparently not too worried about his physical safety, Randy had been travelling by public transport from his hometown in San Pablo, Isabela to wherever he needed to go and returning home the same way. He went about his business as a human-rights activist, unarmed and alone, like anyone who felt secure in his clean conscience.

That he was killed, rather than framed up and arrested on illegal possession of firearms and explosives, has raised alarm in the human-rights community.  Their legalist moves now being exposed  as shamefully contrived, are the state security forces now taking deadlier, offensive action against NDFP peace consultants?

Did President Duterte’s latest flip-flopping on peace talks with the NDFP induce Randy’s killer to hunt him down and pull the trigger?

Consider this shift in Duterte’s mood and outbursts.  On January 4, 2019, speaking in Camarines Sur, he indicated he was again open to talking peace with the Left revolutionary movement.  He said:

 “At this time, [Jose Ma.] Sison [NDFP chief political consultant] and I do not understand each other.  But I’d like you to know that we are keeping the fire burning, and you cannot really close [the door on the peace talks]. You cannot afford to lose all channels of communication. You would have to leave even a small opening.”

On January 29 that sober tone again changed. Condoling with the families of the victims of the twin bombings in Jolo, Duterte declared he would never negotiate with terrorist groups (referring to the Abu Sayyaf). But he added: “Same with the NPA [New People’s Army]. I will never talk to you. I can’t do anything about it.”

That sharp shift in stance harked back to his Christmas gift-giving talk to Philippine Army soldiers in Compostela Valley on December 22. Speaking of “law and order,” he pointed to the Communist Party of the Philippines “including its legal fronts and infrastructure,” and barked out this order:

 “Do not fight them. Destroy them. Kill them. Just destroy. Who ordered you to do so? I did.” After lambasting Joma Sison, he repeated: “We have to destroy them. Destroy them. Do not believe in human rights. I assume full responsibility.”                    

In consonance with that presidential stance, the Department of Justice has amended its petition for proscription, filed in a regional trial court seeking the declaration of the CPP and the NPA as “terrorist organizations,” to skirt the legal hurdles to the court’s early action on the petition.  Meantime, former military and police officers sitting as congressmen have been pushing hard to amend the Human Security Act of 2007, the basis for filing the proscription petition. Their objectives:  to delete the safeguard provisions and make it easy for the court to declare the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations, broaden the law’s coverage, and impose a harsher penalty (life imprisonment) on anyone deemed as a terrorist or member of a terrorist organization.

«We are members one of another» (Eph 4:25).
From social network communities to the human community

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Ever since the internet first became available, the Church has always sought to promote its use in the service of the encounter between persons, and of solidarity among all. With this Message, I would like to invite you once again to reflect on the foundation and importance of our being-in- relation and to rediscover, in the vast array of challenges of the current communications context, the desire of the human person who does not want to be left isolated and alone.

The metaphors of the net and community

Today’s media environment is so pervasive as to be indistinguishable from the sphere of everyday life. The Net is a resource of our time. It is a source of knowledge and relationships that were once unthinkable. However, in terms of the profound transformations technology has brought to bear on the process of production, distribution and use of content, many experts also highlight the risks that threaten the search for, and sharing of, authentic information on a global scale. If the Internet represents an extraordinary possibility of access to knowledge, it is also true that it has proven to be one of the areas most exposed to disinformation and to the conscious and targeted distortion of facts and interpersonal relationships, which are often used to discredit.

We need to recognize how social networks, on the one hand, help us to better connect, rediscover, and assist one another, but on the other, lend themselves to the manipulation of personal data, aimed at obtaining political or economic advantages, without due respect for the person and his or her rights. Statistics show that among young people one in four is involved in episodes of cyberbullying. [1]

In this complex scenario, it may be useful to reflect again on the metaphor of the net, which was the basis of the Internet to begin with, to rediscover its positive potential. The image of the net invites us to reflect on the multiplicity of lines and intersections that ensure its stability in the absence of a centre, a hierarchical structure, a form of vertical organization. The networks because all its elements share responsibility.

From an anthropological point of view, the metaphor of the net recalls another meaningful image: the community. A community is that much stronger if it is cohesive and supportive, if it is animated by feelings of trust, and pursues common objectives. The community as a network of solidarity requires mutual listening and dialogue, based on the responsible use of language.

Everyone can see how, in the present scenario, social network communities are not automatically synonymous with community. In the best cases, these virtual communities are able to demonstrate cohesion and solidarity, but often they remain simply groups of individuals who recognize one another through common interests or concerns characterized by weak bonds.

Moreover, in the social web identity is too often based on opposition to the other, the person outside the group: we define ourselves starting with what divides us rather than with what unites us, giving rise to suspicion and to the venting of every kind of prejudice (ethnic, sexual, religious and other). This tendency encourages groups that exclude diversity, that even in the digital environment nourish unbridled individualism which sometimes ends up fomenting spirals of hatred. In this way, what ought to be a window on the world becomes a showcase for exhibiting personal narcissism.

The Net is an opportunity to promote encounter with others, but it can also increase our self- isolation, like a web that can entrap us. Young people are the ones most exposed to the illusion that the social web can completely satisfy them on a relational level. There is the dangerous phenomenon of young people becoming “social hermits” who risk alienating themselves completely from society. This dramatic situation reveals a serious rupture in the relational fabric of society, one we cannot ignore.

This multiform and dangerous reality raises various questions of an ethical, social, juridical, political and economic nature, and challenges the Church as well. While governments seek legal ways to regulate the web and to protect the original vision of a free, open and secure network, we all have the possibility and the responsibility to promote its positive use.

Clearly, it is not enough to multiply connections in order to increase mutual understanding. How, then, can we find our true communitarian identity, aware of the responsibility we have towards one another in the online network as well?

“We are members one of another”

A possible answer can be drawn from a third metaphor: that of the body and the members, which Saint Paul uses to describe the reciprocal relationship among people, based on the organism that unites them. “Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each to his neighbour, for we are members one of another” (Eph 4:25). Being members one of another is the profound motivation with which the Apostle invites us to put away falsehood and speak the truth: the duty to guard the truth springs from the need not to belie the mutual relationship of communion. Truth is revealed in communion. Lies, on the other hand, are a selfish refusal to recognize that we are members of one body; they are a refusal to give ourselves to others, thus losing the only way to find ourselves.

The metaphor of the body and the members leads us to reflect on our identity, which is based on communion and on “otherness”. As Christians, we all recognize ourselves as members of the one body whose head is Christ. This helps us not to see people as potential competitors, but to consider even our enemies as persons. We no longer need an adversary in order to define ourselves, because the all-encompassing gaze we learn from Christ leads us to discover otherness in a new way, as an integral part and condition of relationship and closeness.

Such a capacity for understanding and communication among human persons is based on the communion of love among the divine Persons. God is not Solitude, but Communion; he is Love, and therefore communication, because love always communicates; indeed, it communicates itself in order to encounter the other. In order to communicate with us and to communicate himself to us, God adapts himself to our language, establishing a real dialogue with humanity throughout history (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 2).

By virtue of our being created in the image and likeness of God who is communion and communication-of-Self, we carry forever in our hearts the longing for living in communion, for belonging to a community. “Nothing, in fact, is as specific to our nature as entering into a relationship one with another, having need of one another,” says Saint Basil.[2]

The present context calls on all of us to invest in relationships, and to affirm the interpersonal nature of our humanity, including in and through the network. All the more so, we Christians are called to manifest that communion which marks our identity as believers. Faith itself, in fact, is a relationship, an encounter; and under the impetus of God’s love, we can communicate, welcome and understand the gift of the other and respond to it.

Communion in the image of the Trinity is precisely what distinguishes the person from the individual. From faith in God who is Trinity, it follows that in order to be myself I need others. I am truly human, truly personal, only if I relate to others. In fact, the word “person” signifies the human being as a “face”, whose face is turned towards the other, who is engaged with others. Our life becomes more human insofar as its nature becomes less individual and more personal; we see this authentic path of becoming more human in one who moves from being an individual who perceives the other as a rival, to a person who recognizes others as travelling companions.

“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

Our dear People of God,

Peace be with you. We are aware that many of you have been wondering why your bishops have kept a collective silence over many disturbing issues, about which you may have felt you urgently needed our spiritual and pastoral guidance. Forgive us for the length of time that it took us to find our collective voice. We too needed to be guided properly in prayer and discernment before we could guide you.

RESPONDING WITH SILENCE

For the past few months now, we have observed how the culture of violence has gradually prevailed in our land. The recent bombing of the cathedral of Jolo where scores of people were killed and several more were injured is a further evidence to the cycle of hate that is destroying the moral fabric of our country. Lately, we have also been on the receiving end of cruel words that pierce into the soul of the Catholic Church like sharp daggers. From deep within, the body of Christ is crying out in anguish as he did to Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus. (Acts 9:4) We have silently noted these painful instances with deep sorrow and prayed over them. We have taken our cue from Pope Francis who tells us that in some instances, “…the best response is silence and prayer.”

FAITH: OUR PEOPLE’S SOURCE OF STRENGTH

We respect the freedom of conscience and religion of people of other faiths, including former Catholic Christians who may have already renounced their faith. We also respect the freedom of expression of our fellow citizens in this country, including their personal opinions about faith and religion. But as far as we know, the freedom of expression does not include a license to insult other people’s faith, especially our core beliefs. We know that this cuts deeply into the souls of our people—especially the poor, because faith is the only thing they have to hold on to. It gives them hope and strength to continue living and working despite all the odds that come their way. It sustains them when they feel alone and defenseless in foreign lands where they work.

When people do not understand our essential doctrines as Roman Catholic Christians, we have also ourselves to blame. It could also mean we have failed in our preaching. Perhaps we have not been effective enough in our catechesis about the faith? Perhaps we should find better and more appropriate ways of communicating the faith. Our preparation for the celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the Philippines could serve as a perfect opportunity to embark on a renewed integral evangelization in word and witness.

ADMITTING OUR SHORTCOMINGS

Like the leaders and members of any other human institution, no doubt, we, your bishops and priests have our own share of failures and shortcomings as well. We have already mentioned in our previous statement that “we bow in shame when we hear of abuses committed by some of (us)…”, that “we hold ourselves accountable for their actions, and accept our duty to correct them…”

NOT AGAINST FIGHTING ILLEGAL DRUGS

There are people who, perhaps out of concern for us, have warned us about being critical of the government’s fight against illegal drugs. Perhaps we need to make ourselves clear about this issue. We are not against the government’s efforts to fight illegal drugs. We do respect the fact that it is the government’s duty to maintain law and order and to protect its citizens from lawless elements. We have long acknowledged that illegal drugs are a menace to society and that their easier victims are the poor. Like most other Filipinos we had high hopes that the government would truly flex some political will to be able to use the full force of the law in working against this terrible menace. It was when we started hearing of mostly poor people being brutally murdered on mere suspicion of being small-time drug users and peddlers while the big-time smugglers and drug lords went scot-free, that we started wondering about the direction this “drug war” was taking.

As bishops, we have no intention of interfering in the conduct of State affairs. But neither do we intend to abdicate our sacred mandate as shepherds to whom the Lord has entrusted his flock. We have a solemn duty to defend our flock, especially when they are attacked by wolves(!) We do not fight with arms. We fight only with the truth. Therefore, no amount of intimidation or even threat to our lives will make us give up our prophetic role, especially that of giving voice to the voiceless. As Paul once said, “Woe to me if I don’t preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16)

GOD’S IMAGE AND LIKENESS

Our faith informs us that no human being in this world deserves to be treated as a “non-human”, not even the mentally ill, or those born with disabilities. This is consistent with our defense of the right to life even of the unborn, because we believe that all human beings are creatures in God’s image and likeness, imbued with an innate dignity. We also must consider the right to life of people who are brutally murdered just because they are suspected of being opponents of government, as well as those who are summarily executed by armed groups. Everyone in the civilized community of nations would agree that even those who may have committed criminal offenses should be treated in a humane way, even as justice demands that they be held accountable for their actions.

SAVE THE CHILDREN

There is no way we can call ourselves a civilized society if we hold children in conflict with the law criminally liable. Children who get involved in crimes, such as those who are used as runners by adult drug pushers, do not deserve to be treated as criminals; they are victims that need to be rescued. It is obvious that most children in conflict with the law come from very poor families and were born and raised in an environment of abuse. We beg our country’s legislators to give the bills they are drafting some serious rethinking and consider the greater harm that such a move can cause on the young people of our country. We commend the initiatives to improve the Bahay-Pag-asa shelters for the care of children in conflict with the law.

THE PERSPECTIVE OF MERCY

Being civilized is not just about more advanced technology and infrastructure but about being more humane to the poor, the weak, the disadvantaged, the elderly, the children, those with special needs and all those who tend to be left out in society. We are not just creatures endowed with intelligence and guided by the evolutionary instincts of “survival of the fittest”. What makes us more superior as creatures is not our impulse to dominate each other but our innate sensitivity and capacity to love, to respect, to care for one another, to be both just and merciful, to be compassionate, to build community and to be genuinely concerned about the common good. The law of retaliation that demands “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24) has long been repudiated in Christian tradition. As Christians, we have to learn the way of Jesus who says, “Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.”(Luke 6:36)

CONQUERING EVIL WITH GOOD

More than ever, as members of the Church, we must realize that our strength lies in keeping our communities of faith intact. We must educate the faithful in the application of their conscience to the complex and myriad problems of life — in the choice of leaders, in the exercise of their vocation as citizens, in the raising of families, in their work and chosen professions, in the efforts to care for the environment, etc. Our faith must try to hold these different aspects of life together into an integral whole — letting conscience speak its wisdom consistently in every aspect of our life.

Finally, we reiterate what we said in the previous statement that “the battles that we fight are spiritual.” (Ephesians 6:10-17). In the midst of spiritual warfare, St. Peter admonishes us to “be sober and alert” especially when the enemy attacks “like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) As members of God’s flock, we must learn to be brave, to stick together, and look after one another. Let this moment be a time to pray, to be strong, wise, and committed. Let this be also a teaching moment for us all—a moment for relearning the core beliefs, principles and values of our faith, and what it means to be a Catholic Christian at this time.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines: