Year: 2021

Christina Mendez | The Philippine Star | July 18, 2021 – 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte said yesterday that he has considered running for vice president next year to get immunity from lawsuits, after his critics and the political opposition threatened to bring him to court.

Following attacks from his political enemies such as former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, the 75-year-old leader said he mulled running as vice president to deter his critics from bringing him down.

“I don’t know what I can really do, what a vice president can do to have an impact in policies of the president. The Constitution is very silent. It does not have a job at all. The job for the vice president is to lay down on his official residence and wait until he dies,” Duterte said.

Duterte openly talked about his views during his speech at the National Assembly of the PDP-Laban, which is divided between Duterte, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and the group of PDP president Manny Pacquiao and executive vice chairman Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.

Not on good terms with incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo, Duterte played with his words on thinking ill of anybody when he talked about the role of the vice president. He did not say in particular if he was generalizing his views or referring to Robredo in his speech.

“Yan lang ang trabaho ng vice president hanggang mamatay siya, hindi yung presidente… kung yung presidente, eh di mas OK. Pero tingnan naman natin kung sino yung president (That’s the only job of a vice president until they die, not the president… if it’s the president’s, then it’s more than OK. But let us see who is the president),” he added. “Hindi lahat ng presidente gustong mamatay (Not all presidents want to die).”

At the same event, Duterte led the oath-taking of new members, including chief presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello III.

Duterte also called for unity among party officials and members, while he belittled Pimentel and Pacquiao’s camp.

“I am urging all our party officials and members to remain focused on uplifting the quality of life of the Filipino people, especially now that we are still grappling with the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“Let us not be blinded by wrong ambitions. Let us not allow this party to be used to advance personal interests,” Duterte added.

The Chief Executive admitted that the “foolish” statements of his critics made him think about seeking another elective post.

“Sa totoo lang, yung akin is a reaction to the foolish statements nung mga dilawan, threatening me as if, parang bat ba ako… na pagbaba mo may kaso ka (In truth, my reaction to the foolish statements of the ‘yellows’ threatening me as if… it’s like, when I step down I have a case),” he said.

Duterte then hurled invectives against Trillanes before daring him. “It was almost like a knee-jerk reaction. Tatakbo ako ng vice president, kaya ninyo? (I will run for vice president, can you take it?) Ngayon (Now,) from a knee jerk reaction to an applause every time I mention the vice president…,” he said.

EcoWaste Coalition
info@ecowastecoalition.org
July 17, 2021

Manila, Philippines—Health groups are calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to uphold the Clean Air Act by ensuring that dirty technologies such as waste-to-energy garbage incinerators will continue to be banned in the country.

“Medical waste incinerators have been banned for 18 years in the country in compliance with the Clean Air Act. The present Covid-19 pandemic brought a surge in biomedical waste challenging waste management programs in the country. Yet incineration is definitely not an option. This demonstrates that we do not need dirty and very costly technologies which cause more harm to our health and climate,” said Dr. Paula Sta. Maria of Philippine College of Physicians.

“We need to rally to protect the integrity of the air that we breathe since our primary survival depends on it. We need to have a healthy environment, free of toxins and pollutants to win the battle against COVID-19 and other unforeseen public health concerns,” said Dr. Sta. Maria.

The Philippines is the first country to nationally ban municipal and medical waste incineration by virtue of Republic Act 8749 or Clean Air Act of 1999. In compliance with the said law, the Department of Health (DOH) phased-out and banned the use of medical waste incineration on July 16, 2003.

“Allowing again the use of incinerators will undermine years of hard work in pushing for safe and effective ecological solid waste management solutions in our cities and healthcare facilities. Incinerators are very costly to operate and it will promote further production of garbage to make it economically-viable. We should focus on waste prevention and minimization, and not through dirty technological solutions,” said Dr. Maricar Limpin of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Philippines.

According to the pollution watchdog EcoWaste Coalition, there are various bills lodged in Congress that aim to amend the law which would then allow the promotion and use of incinerators, disguised as waste-to-energy technologies.

“We are calling on President Duterte to veto these toxic bills and instead push for priority laws that will further improve public healthcare and environment,” said Dr. Limpin.

July 12, 2021

Dear friends,

That time of the year is upon us again, when the President presents his State of the Nation address. For us Catholics, urged by our faith to listen to the “cry of the poor” and the “cry of the Earth” (Laudato Si), and inspired by the vision of one big human family where all have a seat at the table (Fratelli Tutti), what is the state of the nation today, and what does it call forth from us?

To aid you in your reflections, we offer 2 tools for discernment.

1.      Lights & Shadows

The first is a mid-year edition of Lights & Shadows (L&S), a review of the policy decisions and responses of the Duterte administration during the first half of 2021, in the second year of a pandemic that is still raging across the world. Using the principles of Catholic social teaching, ICSI presents government pronouncements and actions that provide hopeful prospects (the “lights”) and matters of concern (the “shadows”) across eight select themes. We hope that this latest release of the L&S will help us all to reflect on the state of the nation today and the opportunities and challenges we face in building an inclusive and just world for our people.

2.      Webinar: “SONA ALL: the State of the Nation is in Our Hands”

The second is a webinar presented by SLB and ICSI titled “SONA ALL: the State of the Nation is in Our Hands.” Having taken a look at all that we are facing as a nation, what does this mean for each of us, now? This webinar invites us to journey with several change makers in our country who are already working on building a brighter new day. Inspired by their example, let us reclaim once more the fundamental fact that the state of the nation is IN OUR HANDS. The way that each of us chooses to live our lives, share our gifts, work for peace, care for creation, and hold government to accountability affects the state of our nation. Are we willing to take up this power that is IN OUR HANDS?

Join us for a morning of inspiring discussion and sharing on Saturday, July 17, 10.00am – 12.15pm.  Register here: https://bit.ly/SONAallWebinar

We hope that these tools for discernment will be helpful to you, and look forward to continue working with you in building a hope-filled future!

Yours sincerely,

Your friends from Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) and the John J. Carroll Institute on Church & Social Issues (ICSI)

Opening Message

Your Eminences, Your Excellency Abp. Charles J. Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, my brother Archbishops and Bishops, very Reverend Diocesan Administrators:

Welcome to the 122nd Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines! This is our second and last Plenary Assembly for the year 2021. This is also our second Plenary done virtually via zoom platform. During our January Assembly, we welcomed His Eminence Jose Cardinal Advincula as the new Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Capiz. Today, in this 122nd Assembly, we welcome him as the new Archbishop of Manila. Cardinal Joe, magtinagalog na gid kita subong. We also thank Cardinal Advincula for allowing Fr. Carlos del Rosario, a priest of Manila, to continue his work as Assistant Secretary General of the CBCP.

We congratulate Bp. Broderick Pabillo; he is now the new Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay. Our congratulations also to Bishop-elect Noel Pedrigosa, the new Bishop of Malaybalay.

We welcome also a new face, the Archdiocesan Administrator of Capiz, Rev. Fr. Cyril B. Villareal.

On a sad note, we had the deaths of two (2) brother-bishops not too long ago, the Bishop-Emeritus of Mati, Bp. Patricio H. Alo, and the Bishop-Emeritus of the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Bp. Antonio P. Palang, SVD. Both passed away in April this year.

I continue by saying that it is not an exaggeration to say that the past year 2020 and the present year 2021 will be especially and strongly etched in our memory as times of darkness, of misery and suffering, times of terrible sickness and death. We were so worried to know that some bishops were stricken with Covid-19, and we were deeply saddened that some priests and religious lost their lives – all because of this dreaded virus that we continue to endure up to today, a great suffering to everyone but especially to the most poor and vulnerable among us. Sad memory indeed, but the fuller grim picture of this pandemic will take more time to unfold and to be told. This memory can easily envelop us, capture our hearts and minds and lead our spirits into a kind of practical hopelessness and desperation.

But we say to ourselves and to our people that our memory is not simply all of death and suffering.

In faith, we prayed. In faith, we have not forgotten that we belong to the family of the Church. In faith, we struggled to do good deeds, especially for the most suffering among us. In faith, we realized how present God is among us.

I was so inspired to recall what Pope Francis told the Argentinian bishops in a video message on May 7, 2021 as the Argentinian people prepared for their turn to pray the rosary, heeding the call of the Holy Father for a worldwide prayer of the Rosary, and interceding the Blessed Mother for the end of the pandemic. In part the Holy Father said,“A strong memory guarantees a secure future.”

I would like to believe that the Church in the Philippines tried her best, through us bishops, our clergy and religious, our lay leaders, to complete and make the memory of our people strong. In our devotions and in our liturgies, especially the Eucharist, we kept the faith of our people in the ever-abiding presence and accompaniment of the Lord during these very trying times. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in the Sacrament of the Sick, as difficult as it was to celebrate them, we let our people experience theLord’s mercy and forgiveness and healing comfort. We kept his loving memory alive.

In the midst of many limitations, we celebrated and remembered the beginning of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines on April 4, Easter Sunday, when we recalled the first Eucharist, an Easter Mass celebrated in our islands. On April 14, the Archdiocese of Cebu prepared so well the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the First Baptisms in our islands. In our continuing suffering, we were given by the Holy Father the comforting figure of St. Joseph, when he proclaimed the Year of St. Joseph. And how about the food packs that our parishes are continuing to give to the most needy families; the community pantries that good-hearted people have organized; the parish and catholic school facilities that we have offered as vaccination centers.

In giving much comfort and encouragement to our people, last June 12, we led our people in making our National Act of Consecration to our Blessed Mother, reminding ourselves that we are indeed El Pueblo Amante de Maria,because truly, we believe that she is our Mother!

And we remember early on, at the start of this pandemic, we fervently prayed in our OratioImperata that vaccines may be invented and produced. And before the end of last year, we received news that vaccines are coming. Even people among the medical and pharmaceutical circles were unbelieving at first that this is true. Vaccines cannot be produced this fast. But yes, we have the vaccines.

Our memory includes countless people who, we know, witnessed to the light, who witnessed to love in the midst of darkness. In the words of Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter PatrisCorde, “… we experienced, amid the crisis, how “our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines, or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone… How many people daily exercise patience and offer hope, taking care to spread not panic, but shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday ways, how to accept and deal with a crisis by adjusting their routines, looking ahead and encouraging the practice of prayer. How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all.”