Category: Documents

February 14, 2022

Manila, Philippines – EcoWaste Coalition and the Malate Catholic Church convened on Monday at Rajah Sulayman Park to call out the 18th Congress on passing bills that are “false solutions”.

The Senate and House of Representatives (HoR) already passed on third reading the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Bill amending Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.  The HoR has passed the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Bill on third reading, while the Senate version is still pending for second reading.

If there are “red flags” in relationships, there are also red flags to look out for in our waste crisis.

The EcoWaste Coalition and the Malate Catholic Church fear that if the aforecited bills are passed, it will exacerbate not just the plastic, but the climate crisis. The group warned that while these measures sound promising, these are actually “red flags” or “false solutions.” .

“It’s in the nitty gritty. If this is the EPR version that will be enacted, we’d rather not have it. Without clear targets and timeline on reducing plastic  – at the very production stage – our plastic crisis will only get worse. The current version heavily focuses on the downstream approach, recovery and recycling, but not much on redesigning products and innovating business models to eliminate single-use plastics,” said Coleen Salamat, Plastic Solutions Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition

The International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) recently released a report criticizing  increased recycling rates as an insufficient “solution” to the health and environmental problems  caused by the massive overproduction of plastics. The group, which includes the EcoWaste Coalition among its members, pointed out that “almost all plastics contain toxic chemicals that are not removed during recycling but are carried over to the new products, and the recycling process can even generate new toxic chemicals such as dioxins.”

EcoWaste argued that not all recycling is environmentally sound, especially those practices involving the incineration of plastics in thermal WtE facilities.

“WTE facilities are unsustainable “solutions” that exacerbate the waste problem. The claim that WTEs is an effective way to eliminate waste is little more than a bad case of greenwashing. Instead of reducing waste, WTE legitimizes continued extraction from the environment and unsustainable consumerism, while accelerating climate change, polluting the environment, and threatening human health,” said Lievj Alimangohan, Senior Policy Officer, Ecowaste Coalition.

“We have to take bolder actions now that we are facing a climate crisis. As we create measures to ease the plastic pollution, we have to make sure it truly solves the problem. We call for lasting zero waste solutions, not band-aid measures. We need to wake up. 100 years ago there was no plastic. Now it’s in the seas, fish, and the whole food chain. It’s even in the human placenta,” added Fr. John Leydon, Chair, Laudato Si Movement

The groups emphasized “We are watching the 18th Congress. We need laws that slow, not accelerate climate change. We can’t afford quick fixes now that we are facing irreversible climate-change damages.”

About EcoWaste Coalition | The EcoWaste Coalition is a national network of more than 150 public interest groups pursuing sustainable and just solutions to waste, climate change and chemical issues towards the envisioned Zero Waste 2020 goal.

Websites: www.ecowastecoalition.org and www.ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com

The coming National and Local Elections is an opportunity to exercise our Catholic Christian call to social responsibility and love of country. It is happening at a time when our country confronts unprecedented crises of enormous proportions, with millions of our kababayans suffering from the health, economic, and psychological impacts of the pandemic, and the devastation of typhoon Odette. People are afraid of what the uncertain future holds. We are struggling between hope and despair, even toward the leaders we are electing three months from now.

We, the undersigned members of the National Board of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), a national network of private Catholic schools in all regions of our country, believe that our Christian values should be proclaimed vigorously in these elections. These values are at the core of our mission of teaching, research, community engagement, and spiritual formation.

• We value truth, and thus we deplore the massive disinformation that is deceiving our people, especially our youth, in a way that is unparalleled in our history. We vehemently reject the candidates who run under this platform of lies and historical distortion – disseminated in social media by massively-financed trolls – particularly the brazen presentation of the Marcos dictatorship and Martial Law as benevolent regimes in our political history. We denounce candidates who exploit our people’s poverty through vote buying and intimidation.

• We value justice, and thus we reject candidates who have supported the unjust acts of the current administration, particularly its drug war that has killed thousands, mostly poor and powerless, and the blatant lack of remorse and accountability from the country’s leadership. We reject candidates who supported the current administration’s policy toward China’s aggression inside Philippine territory, its rejection of the Hague ruling, and the lack of protection of Filipino fisherfolk.

• We value democracy, and thus we support candidates who uphold it and the rule of law in our land. We reject candidates who undermine democracy through intolerance of critique and opposition, influence peddling in all three branches of government, perpetuation of a culture of impunity, traditional and patronage politics, and through rampant human rights violations.

• We value integrity, and thus we support candidates with the following qualities: no record of corruption, proven competence in participatory governance, transparency and accountability in public service, love for the poor and their empowerment, ability to sacrifice for the sake of the common good, and readiness to fight for values of truth, social justice, and democracy. We support leaders who wield power as social responsibility and not self-entitlement, and who can connect to the spiritual in their lives, through their conscience, discernment, and faith in God.

• We value our work of educating the youth, and thus we support candidates who will uphold, push, and support legislation to strengthen private education and recognize its complementarity with public education, as critical in nation building.

As educators, we humbly pursue our mission to be beacons of light – to bring the light of truth, justice, democracy, and integrity to our society, now languishing in the darkness of lies, injustice, authoritarianism, and dysfunctional leadership and governance. The May Elections is the opportunity that will break this darkness.

Tagapamuno: Manalangin tayo upang sa papalapit na pambansa at panglokal na halalan ay tunay na maghari ang kalooban ng Diyos, na Siyang gumagabay sa lahat ng bansa.

Sama-sama nating idalangin: Iligtas mo kami, Panginoon.
Mula sa pamimilit, pananakot, karahasan, at terorismo …
Mula sa panloloko, pagsisinungaling, at pagbaluktot sa katotohanan …
Mula sa panunuhol, kasakiman, at sabwatan upang makapandaya …
Mula sa kawalang-muwang sa panlilinlang at makitid na pananaw …
Mula sa pagbabanta, pananakot, at lapastangang pananalita …

Tagapamuno: Sama-sama nating idalangin: Dinggin Mo kami, Panginoon.
Upang ang aming budhi ang siyang gawing tunay na pamantayan …
Upang ang kabutihan ng nakararami ang aming pinakamataas na layunin …
Upang ang dignidad ng tao ay palagiang igalang …
Upang ang kapos-palad at mahihina ay pag-ukulan ng higit na pansin …
Upang ang pangangalaga sa kalikasan ay hindi ipagwalang-bahala …
Upang ang pagkakaisa ay magbigay-daan sa landas ng kapayapaan at kaunlaran …
Upang ang banal na pagkatakot sa Diyos at pag-ibig sa kapwa ang maging gabay ng mga nagnanais manungkulan sa pamahalaan …

Tagapamuno: Manalangin tayo.
Lahat: Pastol ng aming kaluluwa at Tagapagligtas ng sanlibutan, ang pulitika ay Iyong kaloob sa amin; isang paanyaya upang maglingkod sa iba at lumago sa kabanalan. Gabayan Mo ang pulitika sa aming bansa katulad ng pag-gabay mo sa amin. Nawa ang aming pulitikal na pakikilahok para sa mga botante at kandidato ay magdulot ng kaluwalhatian sa Iyong mahal na ngalan at matulungan din kaming yumabong sa kabutihan, ngayon at magpasawalang hanggan. Amen

The Philippines sits at a vital juncture in its history as it prepares for the 2022 Presidential elections.

Internationally, there are whispers of the Philippines becoming a FAILED STATE should the current situation and trends continue. The sparks igniting such whispering are President Duterte’s infamous war on drugs, the failure of government to govern for the good of all, and the parlous economic situation, heighted by the government’s haphazard response to the Pandemic.

Should the Marcos Jr – Duterte partnership win the coming election, we fear for our country, we fear for the future of our children, we fear for the future of our nation.

Faced with such a dire scenario, we do not throw our hands up in dismay, nor clench our fists in anger.

Rather we ACT.

Pope Francis has said: “It is necessary to INTERVENE where evil spreads; because evil spreads where there are no daring Christians who oppose with good.”

Pope Francis calls Christians to fight such evil we now face. There is no sitting on the fence.

Caloocan Bishop Pablo David speaks directly: “We should in fact be ashamed to call ourselves Christians if we don’t actively participate in getting trustworthy candidates opted into office. That is if we care at all about the future of the country!”

And St Paul admonishes us thus, “Do not be overcome by evil, defeat evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.

To defeat the Marcos JR. -Duterte partnership in these 2022 elections, we need to select and actively campaign for a leader who is the antithesis of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr – Sarah Duterte team. We need choose and strongly support a person of opposite morality, educational background and leadership style.

To us in KaalagaD, that person is Leonora Gerona Robredo, or simply LENI to her millions of supporters.

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By: Tina G. Santos – Reporter
Philippine Daily Inquirer | January 15, 2017

MANILA —Bishop Broderick Pabillo urged the Filipino Catholic faithful to show devotion to the Sto. Niño by showing compassion and acceptance toward those considered to be “small people” in the society.

“Filipinos’ devotion to the Sto. Niño is a manifestation of their love for children,” said Pabillo in his homily during Sunday’s celebration of the Feast of the Child Jesus in Tondo, Manila.

“Children depict small people… there are small people in our society who are ignored like the weak, the disabled, elderly, street people, those who are in prison, the indigenous people. The path to greatness is to accept these people. Let us not drive them away,” he added.

Pabillo said fighting abortion, death penalty, and extra-judicial killings could be manifestation of one’s devotion to the image of the Child Jesus.

“That small person inside a mother’s womb has a life already and has a right [to live]. We cannot just eliminate and remove it through abortion. Same reason why we do not agree with the resumption of death penalty even for those who committed crimes. The victims of EJK are the small people, they are those who have less or even nothing in life. They are still humans like us, they should be accepted instead of being sneered at,” Pabillo said.

“Jesus said we should imitate the children’s humility toward the small people; their humility and readiness to obey and understand God. Let us accept the small people in our society. Let’s care for them and let’s learn how to be humble,” he added.

Pabillo also spoke about marriage and divorce during the homily, saying protecting the sanctity of marriage by rejecting divorce can be another way of showing devotion to the Child Jesus because it’s a manifestation of love for children in a family.

“We love children that’s why we identify them with Sto. Niño. We have to care for them, but how do we care for them? When a family breaks, children are the ones who suffer, that’s why we do not like divorce. That is not the solution to the problems in the family. The problem should be fixed not by separation of parents because children suffer,” he said.

“We need the help of God to solve problems in the family, that’s why we have the unique blessing for families and that is the sacrament of marriage. That is why marriage in a church is important. More than the ceremony and papers, the blessing of God is important in a family life,” Pabillo added.

He urged unmarried couples who have been living together and have children to seal their union through marriage.

“Try to get married, or encourage those whom you know are living together but not yet married to get married so they can receive the blessings of God. But remember it’s not enough that you get married in church. We have to shower our family with prayers. Pray as one family. We need that to strengthen our family and to show that we really care and love our children,” Pabillo said. 

Rome, June 22-26, 2022
Catechesis  No.  7
May I, thank you, pardon me

Indeed,  these expressions  open  up  the way  to  living  well  in  your  family,  to  living  in  peace.  They  are simple  expressions, but  not  so  simple  to  put  into  practice!  They hold much  power:  the power  to keep home  life  intact even  when  tested  with  a  thousand  problems.  But  if  they are  absent,  little holes  can start  to  crack  open  and  the  whole  thing  may  even  collapse. 1

As  we can  see from  experience,  the  life of  every  family  is  not  characterized  only  by  wonderful and  enlightening  moments.  Often,  in fact,  the  difficulties  and  trials  of  life  and  history  make  the experiences  of  families  dark and  difficult.  Sometimes  it  is  because they  struggle  to  live together, sometimes  because  their  relationships  are  not  always  easy  and  carefree,  sometimes  because  the couple’s  relationship  goes  through moments  of  disappointment  and  frustration  and  the relationship  between  the spouses  is  marked  by  «a thousand  forms  of  abuse  and  subjugation, misleading  seduction  and  humiliating  ignorance, even  the  most  dramatic  and violent  kind»2.  

In order  to  obtain the  fullness of Love  it  is necessary  to  follow  a  slow  and  gradual  path,  which is  most  often tiring  and  demanding,  and  which requires  a  process  of  growth in  which each day one  must  humbly  and  perseveringly  accept  the  Grace  of  Christ.  This  Grace,  which husband  and wife  already  invoke  on  the  day  of  their  Matrimony  as  an  essential  element  of  their  union,  is  the principal support  of spouses.   It  is  only  with  Christ’s help  that  one  can  in  fact  come  to  love  fully, to  renounce  to  continual  demands,  to  reject  the  ambition  of controlling  every  aspect  of  reality, to  leave  aside  the  desire  to  dominate  the  lives  of  others.  Only  He  has  the  power  to  “change  the hearts  of  human beings  and  render  man and  woman capable  of  loving  one  another  as  Christ  has loved  us”  (cf.  FC  13).  In  fact, it  is in  the  nature  of Love  (Christ)  to  always go  beyond  oneself,  to love  the  other person  with  all  his  or  her limits  and respect  his  or her freedom.

If  this  is  fundamental  in  every  human relationship,  it  becomes  even  more  so  in  the  family:  none of  us  alone  are  enough  for  ourselves.  In fact,  we  are  in  such a condition of  fragility  that  we constantly  need  to  be  supported  in  the  fight  against  our  own  ego, which  struggles to  be  selfgiving  and  recognize  its  very  limits.

By  embracing  these three  words  –  may  I, thank you, pardon  me  –  each member  of  the  family is  in a position  to  recognize  his  or  her own  limits.  Acknowledging  one’s own  weakness leads each of  us  to  not  dominate  over  the  other,  rather  to  be  respectful  and  not  claim  possession  over him  or  her.

May I,  thank  you  and pardon  me  are  three  very  simple  words,  that  guide  us  in  taking  very concrete  steps along  the  path  of  holiness and  in  growing  in  love.  Besides, they  were  words typical of  the  style  of Jesus Christ,  who  asks  permission  to  enter3,  who  continually  thanks  the Father,  who  teaches  us  to  pray, saying:  «forgive  us  our  trespasses, as we  also  forgive  those  who trespass against  us»   (Mt  6:10).

Accepting  that we  alone  are  not  enough  for ourselves  and leaving  a place  for others  is the  way to  live  not  only  love  in  the  family,  but  the  experience  of  faith as  well.  

Besides,  every  human  being  has  been  wounded by  love  during  their  life.  Even in  the  family  it can  occur  that  words,  actions  or  omissions  have  deeply  mortified love.

Generally  speaking,  such an attitude  or  behavior  that  is  created  between parents  and  children, between brothers  and  sisters,  between  uncles  and  aunts,  between  grandparents  and grandchildren,  instead  of  expressing  love,  can  harm  or  even destroy  it.

It must  also be  noted  that  there  are  some  wounds, such  as illness and  grief that  are  beyond our  control,  leaving  us  powerless and  often  deeply  troubled.

These  are  experiences  that  sometimes  seem  to  contradict  God’s  promises  and  to  deny  His infinite  and  eternal  Love.  However,  when  lived  in faith and  openness  to  others,  they  are  just  as many  opportunities  for  feeling  loved  and  cared  for  by  God  and  by  others  and  being  the  object  of their  attention.

These  are  often difficult  and  painful  moments,  but  they  also  turn  out  to  be  favorable privileged  periods in  which  the  Lord  comes to  visit  us, because  “the    love of Jesus  was  in  giving health,  doing  good:  this  always  takes  priority!” 4.

Each  of  these  hard, difficult  and  painful experiences become  the  concrete  example  of  our path to  holiness;  opportunities  that  do  not  prevent  us  from  loving  anyhow  and  from  remaining  in His love.

However,  without  presumptions:  the  vulnerability  and  hardship  of  existence  are  embedded  in life  and  do  not  allow  us  to  move  easily  and  quickly  towards  magical  or  unrealistic  solutions.  We need to  be helped  and  to  help.

In the  midst  of  this  hardship,  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanies  us  and  does  so  many  times  thanks to  our  family  members,  our  friends,  and  the  people  who  show  us  their  love:  the  endurance  of love  is  the  beginning  of  hope  and  makes  us  desire  that  the  very  Lord  manifest  Himself  as the Love we  need most.

“Set  me  as  a  seal on  your  heart,
as  a  seal  on  your  arm;
For  stern  as  death  is  love,
relentless  as  the nether  world  is  devotion;
its  flames  are  a blazing  fire.
Deep  waters  cannot  quench  love,
nor  floods  sweep  it  away”.

Song  8:6-7

The faith  and charity  of  the Gospel  are not  life  guarantees,  nor  do  they  preserve  us  from  the suffering  and  pain  that  characterize  human existence.  They  do  not  ensure  our  immunity  from  evil and  hardship.  Rather,  they  are  a  light  that  brightens  our  lives  in moments  of  darkness  and affliction.  Therefore,  even the  most  painful  and  sad  situations,  lived  in unison with Jesus  Christ, can become  opportunities  for  cultivating  relationships  among  each  other,  growing  in our  faith  in God  and  in  the  certainty  that  every  event  in  our  lives  holds  precious  treasures  of  Grace.

1 POPE  FRANCIS, General  Audience, St. Peter’s  Square,  Wednesday,  13  May  2015.
2 POPE  FRANCIS, General  Audience, St. Peter’s  Square,  Wednesday,  22  April  2015.
3 “Behold,  I stand at  the  door  and knock.  If  anyone  hears  my  voice  and opens  the  door,  (then)  I  will  enter  his  house  and dine  with  him, and he  with  me”.  Cf.  Rv  3:20.
4 POPE  FRANCIS, General  Audience, St. Peter’s  Square,  Wednesday,  10  June  2015.