Month: May 2021

Fr. Shay Cullen

4 May 2020

The horrific scenes in Brazil and India show people dying in the streets from the lack of preparation by government for the protection of its citizens against the surge of Covid-19. They failed to impose control of mass gatherings and election rallies and now they reap the tragic results- a massive wave of infections. In India, 314,835 infections were recorded and as many 3,000 died in one day and every day. It still rages on.

 The government has failed to provide oxygen to the hospitals and see that there are enough beds in response to a catastrophic calamity. Television shows people dying at the gates of the hospitals. The hospital wards are crowded with relatives, for sure they will be infected and many will soon follow their relatives to the grave. There is no way to save them with the lack of medicines and oxygen. The vicious virus attacks the lungs and racks the body with fever. It is a terrible disease and hundreds of thousands are dying around the world.

Everybody needs to know this and act with intelligence and protect themselves, their families and neighbours from the horrible virus. It knows no bounds, has no restrictions and is almost unstoppable. We have to live with it and hope that a rapid roll out of the vaccine distribution plan everywhere and especially in the Philippines will start soon and at least slow its rapid progress ripping through the population.

In the meantime, everyone should wear masks, wash their hands frequently with disinfectant and keep physical distance at all times. That is a small sacrifice to make to stay healthy and not get infected or infect someone else. There is no vaccine that will give 100 percent protection even if one gets a second jab. They all have a different efficacy. Science is terrific in discovering vaccines and cures and healing and giving people protection and teaching us about many things going on in the world around us.

Sinovac is all that is available in the Philippines at present but it is much better than no vaccine at all and everyone ought to get it when and where it is available. Published reports show AstraZeneca is 70.4 percent effective after the second shot. Pfizer-BioNTech is effective up to 94.70 percent after secind dose; Moderna 94.1 percent; Sinovac 50.40 percent after second dose.

The AstraZeneca vaccine-maker made a deal with the Philippines to supply 2.66 million injections. It has an average 70 percent effectiveness. However if a half-dose is first given and then later a full shot is given, the efficacy rate jumps to 90 percent. Pfizer and Moderna claim similar results. AstraZeneca is a much lower cost vaccine.The one thing the vaccine will do is to prevent a severe attack of the Covid-19 and a person will suffer a mild attack and recover quickly, some doctors say.

There is no reason for people to fear or hesitate to get vaccinated. There is just a feeling of nervousness, lack of confidence and knowledge and understanding and a fear perhaps of getting the Covid after the injection. That is unfounded and the person will be protected as the vaccine stimulates the immune system to resist the virus if it enters the person. Vaccines work and they have eliminated smallpox and polio in the world allowing millions to live a healthy life.

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40b)

The latest onslaught of cases filed against UCCP leaders for their ministry with Lumad in the sanctuary at UCCP-HARAN in Madapo Hills, Davao City, Mindanao is yet another example of the weaponization of the law under the Duterte administration.  Since bank accounts of UCCP-HARAN were frozen a few weeks ago for supposed ‘terrorism financing,’ the reported warrants of arrest for Bishop Hamuel Tequis and others for various other infractions at the UCCP-HARAN lay bare the repressive state efforts to close this Church ministry and force another displacement of Lumad that they view as critics of the Duterte administration. 

The Promotion of Church People’s Response stands in solidarity with the UCCP and the affected Lumad to call for peace-building and healthy resolution of any identified weaknesses in the administration of the UCCP-HARAN ministry with displaced Lumad.  We stand firmly on the imperatives of Christian faith that guide the mission and ministries of Bishop Hamuel Tequis and other leaders of the UCCP.  Furthermore, we sound the alarm on these latest efforts to label as ‘terrorism’ what is clearly Church ministry; this is another manifestation of the clear and present dangers for increased repression and oppression under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and other similar laws. 

The UCCP-HARAN ministry with displaced Lumad has been an effort to care for the ‘least of these’ among our fellow Filipino brothers and sisters, as an expression of Christian faith.  By shifting our lens to peacebuilding and upholding the civil liberties and human rights of the Lumad, we can instead seek to address the roots of armed conflict in the countryside. This is a more viable course of action, so that the displaced Lumad who sought sanctuary at the UCCP-HARAN would be able to return to their ancestral lands. In the meantime, we urge the Davao City government and other civil society groups to support the noble efforts of the UCCP to improve the sanctuary at UCCP-HARAN.  Any deficit in compliance with regulations would simply be a reflection of the great need vs. limited resources, cultural differences, and much-desired improvements in social services. 

The weaponization of the law against Church ministries and Church leaders exposes the callousness of this government, which seems to prefer repression and meting out more suffering, both on the marginalized and on those who try to help them.  Thankfully, it also highlights the Christian values and hearts of service of those who dare to provide sanctuary and engage in mission, despite clear challenges and great need.  These last years under the Duterte administration have exacerbated the ‘un-peace’ in Mindanao. We stand in solidarity with Bp. Hamuel Tequis and other leaders of UCCP: their charity, kindness, and services demonstrate hearts that are in the right place.  Using a peacebuilding framework, the government could more productively engage any concerns on the UCCP-HARAN sanctuary. Instead, they have chosen to haul Church leaders into court, as if serving the poor is now criminal in the Philippines!

#StopTheAttacks #DefendTheDefenders
Hands Off Bishop Hamuel Tequis!

Reference:
Fr. Rolly de Leon and Rev. Mary Grace Masegman,
Co-Chairpersons
Promotion of Church People’s Response