Geneva, Switzerland – The government tried but miserably failed in convincing the international community that the human rights situation in the Philippines has vastly improved. At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) fourth cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in this city Monday, many countries expressed concerns about ongoing human rights violations in the country and the Philippine government’s inadequate responses to recommendations made in the last cycle in 2017.
Governments from at least 35 countries called on the Philippines to put a stop on extrajudicial killings and exact accountability on the perpetrators, particularly state security forces, while 38 countries called on the Philippines to protect human rights and indigenous defenders, lawyers and judges, environmentalists, and journalists. This clearly indicates that the world knows the real situation despite lies, empty rhetoric and distortion of facts by the Philippine government delegation.
The Philippine government delegation brought nothing but empty words and vague promises to the review. Its presentation did not reflect realities on the ground.
Geneva_4th_UPR
As documented by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, there have been 127 deaths connected with the drug war from July 1 to November 7 this year, mostly by state security forces. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to only use force when necessary is either being ignored or is simply a blatant lie. Many countries during the review were justifiably skeptical to government’s claims of success of investigating perpetrators of rights violations when there have been zero final and successful convictions. What are a few investigations and dismissal of policemen in the face of thousands of deaths after all?
“We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home”
Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan
November 8, 2022
Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan (Photo from CBCP News)
Beloved Clergy, Religious, and People of God in the Diocese of Borongan:
This is the 9th year of commemorating one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters that happened in our very own shores on November 8, 2013, the Super Typhoon Yolanda. It was a story of grief and sorrow for those who have lost their loved ones, of acceptance, of humility and redemption.
The threats and challenges remain, and in an uncertain future may again happen, but what we have are the lessons of the past, something we have learned, and by all means we have to sustain – continue educating ourselves, our young ones especially for they will be the ones who will bear the consequences of our decisions and actions of today.
For this commemoration, let us continue with binding hopefulness and solidarity in the face of so many challenges coming our way and be thankful to the Lord that we have risen from the horrible destruction that super typhoon Yolanda had brought. We have seen God’s saving acts at work in our own history. We thank individuals, groups, and organizations who helped us rise and recover, and never forget them in our prayers.
We pray for our loved ones who died during and shortly after Yolanda’s wrath. We continually entrust them to God’s mercy in our Masses. We also remember the lives that were spared that they may find comfort and strength in God to rebuild and move forward in their lives.
As we face an uncertain future let us continue to pray for deliverance from all calamities, both natural and man-made, and other vagaries of weather. Many of the calamities we face are related to climate change and global warming as pointed out by scientists and experts. We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home. For this to happen, we must heed Pope Francis’ call for ecological conversion. We must move away from the sins of environmental abuse and neglect to show that we are truly returning to the Lord and we truly care for one another.
May God always bless you!
MOST REV. CRISPIN B. VARQUEZ, DD Bishop of Borongan
The government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts”
LiCAS News November 8, 2022
Activists call for a stop to attacks on environmental defenders in the Philippines during a campaign in 2019. (Photo supplied)
A group of environmental activists rebuked the Philippine government for its “empty climate rhetoric,” saying it should undertake concrete climate actions.
In a statement, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts.”
The green group’s statement came on the heels of the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the Philippine government’s fifth periodic report on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations on October 28, 2022.
The release of the report coincided with the opening of the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“The government should immediately heed the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee to strengthen the Philippine legal framework on climate change and enact laws that will hold climate polluters accountable for their pollutive acts,” said Clemente Bautista, Kalikasan PNE’s International Networks Coordinator.
“The concluding observations made by the Committee on the fifth periodic report are timely and appropriate,” said Clemente, adding that it echos the reality of “continuing human rights violations, injustice and climate inaction happening in the country.”
In its observations, the Human Rights Committee highlighted the lack of information on measures taken by the government to implement actions to address climate change impacts on human rights and the role of business corporations in climate pollution.
Bautista said the Human Rights Committee is “on point in its declaration that the Philippine government failed to provide information to show that there is an improvement in the country’s civil and political rights situation.”
Heads of state and government are meeting, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries devastated by the effects of rising temperatures
Agence France Presse November 8, 2022
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a joint press conference with Pakistan’s Prime Minister at the Pakistani pavilion at the COP27 climate conference at Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of the same name on November 7, 2022. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)
The UN’s chief warned Monday that nations must cooperate or face “collective suicide” in the fight against climate change, at a summit where developing countries reeling from global warming demanded more action from rich polluters.
Nearly 100 heads of state and government are meeting for two days in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries already devastated by the effects of rising temperatures.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told the UN COP27 summit.
“It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact or a Collective Suicide Pact,” he added.
Guterres urged the world to ramp up the transition to renewable energy, and for richer polluting nations to come to the aid of poorer countries least responsible for heat-trapping emissions.
He said the target should be to provide renewable and affordable energy for all, calling on the United States and China in particular to lead the way.
US-Sino tensions, however, have prompted Beijing to freeze climate cooperation with Washington.
President Xi Jinping is absent from the summit, while President Joe Biden will attend it later this week after US midterm elections.
‘Persisting distrust’
Nations worldwide are coping with increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year and cost billions of dollars.
They range from devastating floods in Nigeria and Pakistan to droughts in the United States and several African nations, as well as unprecedented heatwaves across three continents.
“We have seen one catastrophe after another,” said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering?”
Money has emerged as a major issue at COP27, with wealthy countries scolded for failing to fulfil their pledge to provide $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies.
This is a “major cause for persisting distrust, and neither is there any sound reason for the continuing pollution”, said Kenyan President William Ruto, who announced an African climate summit for next year.
A salvo of crises — from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic — have raised concerns that climate change has dropped down the priority list of governments.
A participant walks past a mockup of the planet Earth globe at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre, on the first day of the COP27 climate summit, in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, on November 6, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
‘Highway to climate hell’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said President Vladimir Putin’s “abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose gas-dependent economy has been squeezed hard by cuts in Russian supplies, also warned against a “worldwide renaissance of fossil fuels”
Guterres called for a “historic” deal between rich emitters and emerging economies, with countries doubling down on emissions reductions to hold the rise in temperatures to the more ambitions Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.
Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and put the world on a path to heat up to 2.8C.
“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator,” Guterres said.
Poorer countries successfully fought to have the issue of “loss and damage” — compensation for the damage caused by climate-enhanced natural disasters — officially put on the COP27 agenda.
“We, the oceanic states that suffer the harsh effects of your activities, have to be assisted in repairing the damage you cause to us,” said Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, whose island nation is threatened by rising waters.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for a windfall tax on the profits of oil companies, that would be funnelled to a loss and damage fund.
Residents wade through a flooded street as they head home after they were stranded overnight in Kawit town, Cavite province on October 30, 2022, a day after Tropical Storm Nalgae hit. (Photo by Ted Aljibe / AFP)
‘Living nightmare’
The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet for years on compensation for climate impacts, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.
“Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue,” Ruto said. “It is our daily experience and the living nightmare for hundreds of millions of Africans”.
Guterres said that getting “concrete results on loss and damage is a litmus test of the commitment of governments to the success of COP27.”
In a possible blueprint for other developing nations, a group of wealthy nations approved a plan paving the way for South Africa to receive $8.5 billion in loans and grants to move away from coal.
COP27 is scheduled to continue through November 18, with ministers joining the fray during the second week.
Security is tight at the meeting, with Human Rights Watch saying authorities have arrested dozens of people and restricted the right to demonstrate in the days leading up to COP27.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect Of The Vatican’s Congregation For The Evangelization Of Peoples. PHOTO FROM CONGREGATIO MISSIONIS
Cardinal Tagle reminds that Bishops are not “functionaries of the Pope” or “clerics of the State,” but “successors of the Apostles.”
OCTOBER 23, 2022 Gianni Valente
(ZENIT News – FIDES / Rome, 22.10.2022).- “The motive for everything is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China,” with the desire to “calm, console and cheer up” Chinese Catholics.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle uses calm tones and words calibrated to reiterate what moves the Holy See to extend together with the Beijing Government for two more years the term of the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Chinese Bishops, signed in September 2018 and then renewed for the first time on October 22, 2020
The Filipino Cardinal recalls with grateful words the sensus fidei of so many Chinese Catholics, whose witness “has not sprouted in well cultivated and protected gardens, but in a rough and uneven terrain.” He acknowledges that “certain wounds need time and God’s consolation to be healed.” He reminds that “Bishops are not ‘functionaries of the Pope’” or “clerics of the State,” but “successors of the Apostles.” And he acknowledges how and why even the last words he heard from his Chinese grandfather help him today “to consider what can be more useful” in the dialogue with the Beijing Government.
What is the criteria that leads the Holy See to persevere in the decision taken four years ago?
The Agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese Government, signed in 2018, refers to the procedures of selection and appointment of Chinese Bishops. It is a specific question, which touches a neuralgic point in the life of the Catholic community in China. In that country, historical events have caused painful lacerations in the heart of the Church, to the point of casting a shadow of suspicion on the sacramental life itself. Hence at stake were things that affected the intimate nature of the Church and its mission of salvation.
With the Agreement an attempt is made to guarantee that Chinese Catholic Bishops can carry out their episcopal functions in full communion with the Pope. The motive is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China. And this can calm, console and cheer up baptized Catholics in China.
The Holy See has always reiterated the circumscribed character of the Agreement, which touches a vital subject for the Church and, therefore, cannot also be reduced to a contour element of some diplomatic strategy. Any consideration that ignores or darkens this singular physiognomy of the Agreement ends by giving it a false representation.
It’s still not the time to make an evaluation, not even provisional. However, from your point of view, how do you see the progress realized and the effects of the Agreement?
Since September 2018, six Bishops have been ordained according to the procedures established in the Agreement. The channels and areas of dialogue continue to be open, and this is already important in itself, in the given situation. The Holy See, listening to the Chinese Government and also to the Bishops, priests, religious and laity, is aware of this reality, in which fidelity to the Pope has been maintained even in difficult times and contexts, as intrinsic data of ecclesial communion.To listen to the arguments and objections of the Government also leads us to take into account the contexts and the “forma mentis” of our interlocutors. We discover that things that are absolutely clear and almost obvious to us can be new and unknown to them. It is also a challenge for us to find new words, new persuasive and familiar examples for their sensibility, to help them to understand more easily what really matters to us.
And what really matters to the Holy See?
The Holy See’s intention is only to foment the election of good Chinese Catholic Bishops that are worthy and apt to serve their people. However, to foment the election of worthy and ideal Bishops is also of interest to national Governments and Authorities, including those of China. Then, one of the Holy See’s desires has always been to foster reconciliation and see wounds healed and the open contrasts within the Church because of the tribulations they have been through. Certain wounds need time and God’s consolation to be healed.
Does one not run the risk of hiding problems under the veil of hasty optimism?
Since this process began, no one has expressed naïve triumphalism. The Holy See has never talked about the Agreement as the solution to all the problems. It has always perceived and affirmed that the road is long, it can be exhausting and that the Agreement itself can give way to misunderstandings and disorientation. The Holy See does not ignore or minimize the diversity of reactions among Chinese Catholics in face of the Agreement, where the joy of many is mixed with the perplexity of others. It is part of the process. But one must always “dirty one’s hands” with the reality of things exactly as they are. Numerous indications exist that many Chinese Catholics have grasped the inspiration followed by the Holy See in the process underway. They feel grateful and comforted by a process that confirms before all their full communion with the Pope and the universal Church.
Civil authorities intervene in the election of Chinese Bishops. But this does not seem to be a novelty or exclusivity of the Chinese situation . . .
The intervention of civil authorities in the election of Bishops has been manifested several times and in diverse ways in history. Also in the Philippines, my country, the rules of the “Royal Patronage” were in force for a long time, by which the organization of the Church was subjected to Spanish royal power. Saint Francis Xavier and the Jesuits also carried out their mission in India under the patronage of the Portuguese Crown . . . They are certainly different things and contexts, given that each case has its own specificity and historical explanation. But in these situations, what is important is that the procedure used for episcopal appointments guarantees and safeguards what the doctrine and discipline of the Church regard as essential to live hierarchical communion between the Successor of Peter and the other Bishops, successors of the Apostles. And the same happens with the procedures used at present in China.
The Chinese Government always calls the local Church to the demands of “Sinicization”
Throughout history Christianity has always experienced the processes of inculturation also as adaptation to the cultural and political contexts. The challenge in China can also be to show that belonging to the Church is not an obstacle to being a good Chinese citizen. There is no contradiction, no autarchy and, in fact, it is precisely walking in the faith of the Apostles that can help good Christians to be also good citizens.
In this phase of the process, and given the possible slowdown and mishaps, in what can the Holy See trust? In what can it trust?
The sensus fidei is comforting, of which so many Chinese Catholics give witness. A precious witness, which has often not sprouted in well cultivated and protected gardens, but in rough and uneven terrains. When I look at the history of Catholicism in China in the last decades, I always remember Saint Paul’s passage in the Letter to the Romans: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Many Chinese Catholics have experienced in their flesh what Saint Paul writes about – the tribulations, the anxieties but also the victory given by Christ’s love for them.
