Month: June 2021

June 25 2021

Peasant advocate Carmilo Tabada, a barangay councilor and the program coordinator for Bohol of the Central Visayas Farmers Development Center (FARDEC), was arrested in his home in Trinidad, Bohol at 1:00am today, June 25.

A composite team of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reportedly planted firearms and explosives in his home.

Tabada is now detained at the Trinidad Police Station.

In March 2021, Tabada was subjected to an anti-communist rally in front of his house, with the rallyists claiming that he was hiding firearms. (Read: https://www.facebook.com/…/a.1275…/10157545800062331/…)

FARDEC reports that since this incident at Tabada’s home, red-tagging and surveillance of Tabada has increased.

Tabada has been a member of FARDEC since 1998. According to FARDEC, Tabada has contributed significantly to the rice mill in Trinidad, which aided farmers’ orgs like Nagkahiusang Mag-uuma sa San Jose (NAMASAJO) in setting rice prices and breaking buyers’ monopolies before the rice mill’s forced closure in December 2020.

FARDEC has previously been red-tagged by government agencies in 2019. In June 2020, Elena Tijamo, the Sustainable Agriculture Program Coordinator of FARDEC, was also abducted from her home in Bantayan Island, Cebu. She remains missing to this day.

Aninaw Productions also earlier reported the arrest of UCCP pastor Nathaniel Vallente in his home in San Jose, Mabini, Bohol at 3:00am today. Vallente is a counselor for NAMASAJO. (Read: https://www.facebook.com/118591512330/posts/10157718393717331/?d=n)

FARDEC says the midnight raids is similar to the Synchronized Enhanced Managing of Police Operations (SEMPO) of Negros Oriental and other parts of the country.

Dear fellow youth ministers,

Greetings in our Lord Jesus!

This Thursday, June 24, is not only the Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist but also the 15th anniversary of the signing of RA9346, which prohibited the death penalty in the Philippines.

May we extend these invitations to these two activities relevant to this significant occasion:

• Thanksgiving Mass and Solidarity Gathering (June 24), organized by the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC)
• Webinar (June 26) organized by the Coalition against Death Penalty (CADP)

Slots inside Zoom for both events are limited; if registration into Zoom is unsuccessful, then participation may also be via the Facebook Page of CADP, ECPPC or Youth Campaign against Death Penalty.

We trust that your respective youth ministries will work on being represented in these events, as the issue of the death penalty is something affecting our young people (whether as dependents of those in prison or as persons deprived of liberty themselves), and significant for our Christian faith, especially in the light of recent teachings from Pope Francis.

Thank you for your kind attention!

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Fr. CONEGUNDO B. GARGANTA
Executive Secretary

The Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-ECPPC) joins the Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CADP) in the joyful celebration of the 15th year of the abolition of the death penalty in the Philippines.

We at the CBCP-ECPPC maintain that no person is beyond reformation. Every person deserves a second chance in order to correct his/her wrongdoings.

Our Holy Father Pope Francis in his teachings, has constantly stressed that the taking away of life is inadmissible. Every person is valuable as he/she is created in the image and likeness of God.

Thus, we strongly and unequivocally oppose the move of the present Congress to restore the Death Penalty in our Justice system.

We maintain that the death penalty is violative of the inherent dignity of the human person. No person, no matter how evil he is perceived to be, is beyond redemption and reformation.

The death penalty will only mostly victimize the poor. Our past experiences show that most of those who were meted the death penalty were indigent and poor individuals, who simply could not afford quality legal representation to defend them before the courts.

Lastly, the death penalty cannot work in an imperfect judicial system like ours. Once carried out, the death sentence is irreversible, and there is no possibility for rectifying an erroneous judgment.

Let us instead continue affirming our Option for Life, and clamor for the State to pass laws which will make our criminal justice system more restorative and not merely punitive.

We challenge all sectors especially our youth to elect people who will rightfully serve the nation by championing the cause of life and fight the existing culture of death.

Manila, June 24, 2021

Sgd.

+JOEL Z. BAYLON, D.D.
Bishop of Legazpi
Chairman
CBCP-COMMISSION ON PRISON PASTORAL CARE (CBCP-ECPPC)

June 14, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The peace and love of the Lord!

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has launched a new website on “Initiatives for the formation of the lay faithful” http://laityinvolved.org/ The website is a good resource for updating and improving the formation of our respective groups.

We encourage everyone to make use of this valuable tool for the formation and growth of our members.

Sincerely yours in the service of the Lord,

Noted by:

+ MOST REV. BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D.
Chairman CBCP-Episcopal Commission on the Laity