Month: May 2020

Ika-15 ng Mayo 2020

Mensahe sa Pag-Alala at Pagpupugay sa mga Manggagawa sa Ika-129 Taong Pagkakasulat ng Rerum Novarum (On the Conditions of Labor)

Ngayong araw, ika-15 ng Mayo, ay ginugunita ang ika-129 taong pagkakalathala ng RERUM NOVARUM (On the Conditions of Labor). Ang unang panlipunang turo ng simbahan na sinulat ni Pope Leo XIII na nagtalakay sa maigting na tunggalian ng kapital at manggagawa nung panahon ng Industrial Revolution. Ito ang unang social teaching na nagpahayag ang Simbahan ng pagkiling sa mga dukha, inaapi at pinagsasamantalahan (preferential option for the poor).

Noong 1890s, nakita ng Simbahan ang di makataong kalagayan at pang-aapi sa hanay ng mga manggagawa kaya’t iginiit nito ang mga kahalagahan ng dangal ng manggagawa; karapatan sa tamang pasahod; pag-uunyon at sama- samang pakikipagtawaran (collective bargaining agreement)

Sa paglipas ng panahon hanggang sa kasalukuyan, tumitindi ang kahirapan at kawalan ng maayos na hanapbuhay. Walang regular na trabaho; walang sapat na kita; walang benepisyo; mataas na presyo ng bilihin at serbisyo; di makataong kalagayan sa mga pagawaan. Kaakibat ng mga pahirap na ito ay ang laganap na kontraktwalisasyon; panahunang trabaho o seasonal work at mga home-based workers na mas lalong mababa ang kita at walang benepisyo. Ang mga ito ang dumadagdag sa paghihikahos ng mga manggagawa at kanilang pamilya. Kapitalista lamang ang umuunlad mula sa dugo at pawis ng mga manggagawa.

Sa panahon ng pandemyang COVID 19, higit na nalugmok sa kahirapan at kagutuman ang mga dukha. Dahil sa lockdown, maraming hanap-buhay ang natigil. Katulad ng mga arawang manggagawa na nawalan ng hanapbuhay at nakaranas ng matinding kagutuman kung kaya’t umasa sa tulong ng LGUs (local government units) na matagal ang dating at hindi sapat,

Ang mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) ay hindi rin nakaligtas sa hagupit ng pandemya sa bansang kinaroroonan ngunit walang sapat na tulong mula sa mga kinatawan ng ating bansa. Karagdagan pa rin ang mga kababaihang nakakaranas ng karahasan sa loob ng tahanan mula sa asawa habang pasan ang paghahanap ng pagkukunan ng maayos na pagkain at pangangailangang medikal. Ngayon napagtanto ng mga tao lalo na sa mga mahihirap na komunidad sa lungsod at kanayunan na hindi lubos na maaasahan ang pamahalaan sa panahon ng krisis tulad ng pandemyang ito.

Nakakabahala ang mataas na bilang ng positibo sa COVID sa ating bansa at ang kaduda-dudang tugon ng Kagawaran ng Kalusugan (DOH). Hindi sapat ang tugon o pamamahala ng gobyerno sa pandemyang ito. Militarisasyon ang iniharap sa kagutuman at pangangailangang medikal. Wala ring malinaw na programang inilahad sa muling pagbubukas ng ekonomiya lalo na sa mga manggagawang karamihan ay hindi alam kung may babalikan pang hanapbuhay sa mga susunod na araw. Kasama pa rito ang wala pa ring pangmalawakang impormasyon ukol sa COVID 19 lalo na sa mga komunidad at proteksyong pangkalusugan

Ngayon pinaplano ng unti-unting pagbuhay ng ekonomiya sa pamamagitan ng pagbubukas ng kalakalan at pagawaan. Mga uring manggagawa ang mga mangunguna o frontlines sa balaking ito. Ngunit naka-amba ang nakababahalang sitwasyon na dahilan ng pagkatuliro ng karamihan. Ito ay maiibsan lamang kung may konkretong pananagutan ang pamahalaan sa pandemyang ito.

Ang Urban Missionaries (UM), bilang bahagi ng Simbahan, na nagtataguyod ng Church of the Poor, ay nagdadalamhati sa kalagayang ito ng mga mahihirap. Ang kalagayang ito ay nananatiling matinding hamon upang isakatuparan ang kanyang misyon. Bilang pagtalima sa turo ng Simbahan at pagtalima sa misyon ni Kristo, pinananawagan ng UM sa ating pamahalaan at sa lahat ng mamamayan ang mga sumusunod:

May 15 is an important date for many farming and fishing communities all over the country. It is the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron of farmers. It is a day of social gathering for farmers who most of the time are alone in their isolated farms. This year, the quarantine surely has an effect on how the farmers celebrate their feast day. Poor farmers, most of the time they toil in their isolated farms, and now the one occasion for them to socialize can even be denied to them.

Yes, poor farmers! For so many years we have neglected them, especially those of us who are in the cities. We do not see them around. We do not know how they toil and strive to survive. Yet because of their labor we are fed and nourished. This quarantine experience has once more brought to the fore the essential services that the farmers render to us. For a long time we have thought that this globalized world will support our needs, even the basic ones such as food. The virus has unexpectedly and suddenly stopped international trade. How do we get our food from abroad? Fortunately, other countries where we get our food are not very much affected by the virus, such as Vietnam and Thailand where we get our rice. If these countries stop exporting rice to us, how will we feed our people? We have not given enough support to our farmers. We prefer to import, even staple as rice. We have no food security – and yet we are an agricultural country!

Most of our people live on agriculture and fishery. These sectors do not get the budget and the services that they need. So we have the phenomenon of farmers and fisherfolks among the poorest in the country, and consequently many of them flock to the urban centers which receive the bulk of services and government attention. Hence we have rapid urbanization which bring along with it congested urban poor communities, pollution, and even lawlessness.

Now the government wants the people to go back to the provinces to ward off the danger of massive contamination in our urban centers. Thus the Balik Probinsya Balik Pag-asa (BPBP) Program is being trumpeted. There have been so many back-to-the- province programs in the past and they all have failed. The people they sent to the provinces came back to the cities after some time. Now they promise to give skills training to the people and give them a bit of a capital for them to stay there. This is already a positive realization. People come to the cities because they have no livelihood in the provinces. But this is not enough. The government and businesses should pour massive investment in rural areas so that they get adequate human services and jobs in the provinces. There are still areas without electricity. What basic service can they get without electricity?

Many areas have no health clinics, and if they happen to have, they are just empty buildings because there are no healthcare workers – no doctors and nurses, and poorly trained and supervised barangay healthcare workers. Many rural roads are impassable during rainy seasons and dusty on dry seasons. Because of the bad roads the transport system is unreliable and expensive. In a word, the development plan – and the budget – should all be aligned to give importance to the rural areas in order to develop the agricultural and fishery sectors of our society.

I hope the corona virus should be a wake up call for the government and business to pay attention to our farmers and fisher folks. They are essential to our economy and to our survival!

Broderick Pabillo
May 14, 2020

We are living through historic times as the Corona virus pandemic has turned our world upside down. But Laudato Si’ teaches us how to build a better world–together.

Pope Francis has invited Catholics everywhere to participate in the Laudato Si’ Week, 16-24 May 2020. We’re coming together as a Catholic family to reflect, pray, and prepare for a more just and sustainable tomorrow.

As a leading partner in this global initiative, Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences – Office of Human Development and Climate Change Desk invites you to stand with us and Catholics all around Asia as we grow through the crisis of this moment to build a better world together.

We have prepared a short booklet of various activities that could be held by groups and families to celebrate Laudato Si Week for each day during the lock down period.

I humbly request you to share it with other bishops, priests, religious, communities, families and become part of the global church movement.

On behalf of our Chairman Emeritus Archbishop Yvon Ambroise, I invite you to accept the invitation of Pope Francis and celebrate Laudato Si Week. You can also Join in here.

With Prayerful Regards
Fr. Joseph Gonsalves
Executive Secretary FABC-OHD/CCD

Circular No. 20-33
May 12, 2020
TO ALL BISHOPS AND DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATORS
Your Eminences, Excellencies, and Diocesan Administrators:

RE:  MAY 14 – DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING

We are respectfully sending you the statement of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, FABC President, joining in the appeal of religious leaders to believers in God worldwide to set aside May 14, 2020, as a day for prayer, fasting and supplications. This is supported by the Holy Father Pope Francis.

In this regard the CBCP Permanent Council requests you to invite all men and women “believers in God, the All-Creator, to join in the said appeal in whatever available means of communication currently at your disposal.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Fr. Marvin S. Mejia
Secretary General, CBCP

Living a crisis with hope

A time to stretch our imagination and intelligence to learn in new ways, to prepare for a changed world

By Charles BO (9- May 2020)

The Covid-19 pandemic around the world is now a “perfect storm”. It challenges our ways of living, working and celebrating. The impact in Myanmar until now has been slower in coming, but that may only mean it will last longer. Country by country the impact has differed depending on geography, border controls, government leadership and decisions, and preparedness of public health systems. These are testing times for all. In every case the worst affected are those who cannot socially isolate, who do not have water to wash, who have lost their jobs and so have no daily income, who return to their country as unemployed, hungry migrant workers, who do not have a government that looks out for them. For many the priority is to Uflatten the curve” of hunger.

I want to encourage all to live this time fruitfully, generously, and  with hope. Let us look out for one another. I join in the appeal of religious leaders to believers in God worldwide, to set aside “a day for fasting, prayers and supplications” next week on 14 May.

In most countries of Asia we live now under restrictions. Schools are closed, factories are closed, markets are running out of stock, travel is forbidden. Yet with unbelievable, obscene folly, conflicts continue. Military commanders of government and ethnic armies, as if they believe that their weapons are more powerful than this virus, continue to expose their soldiers, continuously endanger civilians, and risk a conflagration of contagion among the people of their nations.

Many people ask “when will all this end so that we return to normal?” The answer to the question “when will this end?” is never. It will not end, not just in the sense that things will never be the same again, which they won’t. But in the sense that what we do now will remain. Asia has lived through many never ending conflicts, wars and crises, the Tsunami, Cyclone Nargis, and frequent, devastating typhoons. We know that each crisis left us changed. This time every country in the world is affected. It will leave our world profoundly changed. Politics will change. International relations will be different.

A catastrophe that hits over 200 countries changes the world. It’s like a world war. Even if Covid-19 can be contained within a few months, the legacy will live with us for decades. It will affect how we see and understand community, it will change how we connect, how we travel, how we construct our relationships. If governments do not meet the challenge they will lose the trust of their people.

In a crisis we see leadership at work. The experts say that key elements of good leadership in crisis are: direction giving, meaning making and empathy. A good leader offers a transparent framework for making decisions, makes sense of what is happening, understands how people feel, and so creates trust. A good leader persuades the collective to take collective responsibility in order to approach collective challenges. Good leaders protect the weak and model inclusiveness, quickly banishing any racism or division. A good leader takes special care of the at-risk communities. A good leader builds community and activates the antibodies against fear, anxiety and dislike. A well -informed people is more effective and powerful than an ignorant people. People deserve to know the facts. Countries with honest reporting are earning the willing cooperation of wellinformed publics. The gravest epidemic we face is the erosion of trust. In a crisis like this the real leaders use their opportunities to build trust.

Nation building does not simply occur in our capital cities and decision makers. Building the nation begins with listening to and accompanying people on the edges of society. It involves building up everyone. All have a role. The world was full of serious problems before coronavirus. Inequality was rampant, between and within nations. The poor will suffer disproportionately in this crisis, the slum dwellers, the day labourers, the returning migrant workers. People on the periphery of society have long been neglected. We now face an epochal change characterized by fear, xenophobia, and racism. Populist leaders arise in many countries today. The antidote to populism lies in the efforts of organized citizens who are ready to promote the experience of the “we” over the cult of the self.

Many decisions and practices adopted in a time of crisis become permanent. That applies to the way governments decide their priorities and it applies to small things at home. How you behave now, the steps you take now, will stay with you through your life. Your way of living as families, the way you face or avoid your neighbours, the way you have fun and the way you rest. These will stick. You will find that you have, you are having, an enduring shift of consciousness. It applies to how we see and relate to our world. There is no return to business as usual. Our lives will not resume as if this never happened. The question to ask ourselves is “what sort of world do we want when the storm passes?”

The absence of social connection makes us more ardent for it. Why did we allow so much division in the world? Why has such conflict been allowed to consume Myanmar for so many decades? Why are parts of the Philippines and Asia subjected to such dispute? Why do we have in Asia the longest running wars in the world? Looking at our histories until now, let us ask why were stronger bonds not built when we had the chance? Why do millions have to migrate abroad, just to be able to live? Now, losing their jobs abroad, they trickle home by the thousands, back to the villages that they left in despair. Going forward from here, can we build an economy that has a place for all, that puts people first? Can we have a solidarity that is tenacious? A desire for the common good that is grounded in respect?

We enter isolation and stay home for the sake of the common good. We go inside, but we must look outside. This is a time for patience, energy and intelligence. Patience is learned by practising it. This is a time for wisely organising our lives and energies; a time for stretching our imagination and intelligence; to learn in new ways; and to prepare for a new world. It is a time to realise how we depend on one another and to learn to work collectively and cooperatively, sharing responsibilities and appreciating solidarity. Above all, this is a time to put hatred and weapons aside and face the common enemy that is attacking all humanity.

Nothing has affected the whole world as radically as this virus. But do not put your lives on hold. The pandemic offers us time to go inside, but it gives us also time to be aware of others, to encourage one another, a time for solidarity with vulnerable people, and a time to pray to understand what is happening in our world. Welcome each day for its freshness. Don’t just wait for all this to be over. Use this time creatively.

Year after year in global surveys, Myanmar citizens are listed among the most generous people in the world. Not because they give more, but because more people in Myanmar give to others. This is evident in our current crisis. Even when we suffer hardship, the generosity of people is manifest. Many international aid workers may have left, but the local non-government organisations are coming into their own, volunteers, selflessly ready to channel basic needs to those in distress.

Across Asia, many people are now hurt, physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually. With its national response to the COVID19 pandemic led by KMSS, the Catholic Church of Myanmar joins this movement of generosity that is typical of our country. We reach out to support others. Neighbours and ward authorities have an eye out for those who may not have enough to eat. This is a time to take to our world the goodness, mercy and love of God.

In any crisis there is a natural temptation to wait it out. But solutions won’t reveal themselves by waiting. As Amartya Sen and many others have said, a better society can emerge from this time of isolation. Don’t just sit down on your hands and wait. Don’t deny reality. We must be proactive. Start moving. Take advantage of this time to find and live the rhythms and relationships that you want to characterise our future. Imagine and prepare for a changed world. Build working relationships of trust that will stand by you for decades to come.

Arundhati Roy says that Covid-19 is a “portal”, a doorway, that it is a moment of rupture between the old times and the new, from a world where a few are privileged and many neglected, to a changed world where the dignity of every human person is recognised. Are you preparing to pass through to that world?