The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas supports the position and appeal of the representatives of farmers, fishers and the private sector who unanimously oppose the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement. We join them in urging the Senate to withhold its concurrence on the treaty.
The RCEP agreement, including its legal text and schedule of Philippine commitments, was finalized without consulting the agri-fisheries stakeholders, many of whom are directly affected by the treaty’s trade rules and concessions. Since there is no more opportunity to modify these commitments, at the detriment of our own economy and people, we strongly ask you our Senators not to give your concurrence.
In this same breath, we call upon our legislators to establish, fund and implement dedicated and sustained programs to improve the competitiveness and profitability of our farmers, fishers, traders, processors and exporters. This is what we truly need in order for us to recover from the economic impact of the current pandemic.
We trust that you will protect the genuine interests of the real economic builders of our society… our agri-fisheries heroes.
For the CBCP Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas Board,
We, the 210 participants representing the 35 Lay Organizations and Movements (LOMAS) and the 20 Diocesan Councils of the Laity (DCLs) are gathered during the 22nd National Biennial Convention of the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas held on October 22 & 23, 2021 with the theme: ‘Celebrate as One in 2021 – the Gift of Christianity, the Gift of Mission and the Gift of Unity’ which is aligned to the celebration of the 500th Year of Christianity in the Philippines.
Aware of the restrictions imposed on the mobility of persons and of mass gatherings, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Convention is held online using Zoom as the virtual platform.
1: SOCIO-ECONOMIC
As Catholics, followers of Jesus whose life and example have shown preferential love for the poor and the suffering, we are called to be our sisters’ and brothers’ keeper by living the spirit of solidarity and simple lifestyle. Aware of the devastating socio-economic strains brought about by pandemic/prolonged quarantine restrictions that weigh most heavily on the poor and those in the peripheries of society, we resolve to:
Be stewards of our economy by patronizing Filipino-made products and supporting local on-line businesses
Include an Integral Formation Program in our activities (human, social, civic, spiritual).
Address hunger and malnutrition among children (e.g. by promoting feeding programs and education on nutrition for parents)
Take the initiative to go out of our way and reach out to others to offer a listening presence, companionship and support
2: EDUCATION
The inevitable shift to online-learning due to the pandemic has heightened the existing challenge of the digital divide between the rich and poor population, the urban-rural communities. This was further aggravated by the inadequacy of most parents to provide support and accompaniment to their children as school learning is carried out at home. To strengthen the partnership between the parents/home and the school, we resolve to:
Create a Program of formation and empowerment for parents (family communication and dynamics, discipline, conflict management, mental and emotional health issues.)
Promote networking to strengthen communication and coordination between home and school
Lobby for laws that will expand the digital infrastructure to rural and marginalized areas, and provide access to essential gadgets and affordable internet connection.
3: POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
The Second Vatican Council asserts that the renewal of the temporal order is the special obligation of the laity. The lamentable political situation of our country, made more pronounced by the immediate and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has made it a moral imperative for us as lay faithful to take seriously our mandate to be frontliners in the Church’s mission in society. Heeding the call of our own Bishops urging us to engage in principled partisan politics as part of our mission to renew the temporal order, particularly in view of the forthcoming national elections, we resolve to:
The Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Council of the Laity of the Philippines) supports the graft case filed against the Malampaya Stake Sale to Udenna involving Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Businessman Dennis Uy.
No less than Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said that in the three recent hearings conducted by the Senate, documents coming from the Department of Energy (DOE) itself show that Udenna is not qualified. The DOE, as the records will show, violated P.D. 87 (the law which governs this type of transaction) and its own Circular (DC 2007) as well, and customized its approval to make it appear that Udenna is qualified to buy the shares of Chevron.
We agree with how the complainants describe this sale as the most incredible crony agreement in history. The undue advantage given to Dennis Uy, a known close supporter of President Duterte is horrendously appalling, tantamount to theft of our precious natural resources and putting the country’s energy security at risk.
This 28 Billion Peso deal was arrived at while encountering “insufficient foundation of legal basis”, thereby making the DOE approval invalid and its processes utterly defective.
We call on the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines and the Office of the Ombudsman to exert every effort to protect the interest of the government and of our people.
For the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas,
ROQUEL A. PONTE National President 28 October 2021
Anger after govt allowed people to flock to a Manila beach but banned Catholics from marking All Souls celebrations
Joseph Peter CallejaJoseph Peter Calleja, Manila Published: October 26, 2021
People troop to the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach along Roxas Boulevard in Manila after authorities eased its quarantine restrictions in the nation’s capital. (Photo; AFP)
Church people in the Philippines have blasted a decision to allow people to flock to an artificial beach in Manila while banning Catholics from marking All Saints and All Souls celebrations from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3.
Father Aris Sison of St. John Paul II Parish in Quezon City and Divine Word Father Flavie Villanueva said the decision to allow thousands to flock to Dolomite Beach in Manila Bay at the weekend flouted the government’s social distancing rules.
More than 4,000 people visited the artificial beach, according to officials.
The priests questioned why this was allowed when All Saints and All Souls celebrations, where people head to cemeteries to honor departed loved ones, were banned.
Father Sison said the government should at least provide some consistency when making decisions on mass gatherings.
“These decisions are very, very inconsistent, to say the least,” Father Sison told TeleRadyo on Oct. 25, stopping short of accusing the government of hypocrisy.
Which is more important? Our deep religious tradition of visiting our departed loved ones or visiting a fake beach?
“The government could have allowed limited movement in the cemeteries rather than allowing thousands of people to flock to Dolomite Beach,” he added.
He said he could not understand why the government banned traditional memorial days for the dead but allowed a super spreader event like a day at the beach to go ahead.
“Which is more important? Our deep religious tradition of visiting our departed loved ones or visiting a fake beach?” he said.
Father Flavie Villanueva, director of the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Center, a foundation that feeds Manila’s homeless, also condemned what he said were double standards by the government.
“We encourage people to visit a … beach. But we forbid them to visit our beloved dead,” Father Villanueva, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, posted on Facebook.
The government, although admitting to opening the beach, said it did not expect so many people to descend on it.
“Crowding could become a Covid-19 super spreader. We urge everyone to exercise extreme caution,” Health Department spokesperson Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
Duterte’s spokesman reminded people that they should avoid crowded places. “There is still an ongoing pandemic. Minors are only allowed outside when absolutely necessary, so should not be visiting beaches,” Harry Roque said.
Future generations will look back to this day the seventeenth of October 2021 as a historic milestone in the life of the Church. The Holy Father convokes a General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. Because the topic is on the process itself of Synodality, he wishes all the local churches to be involved in the two-year preparation for the said event. He will launch it universally on October 10, 2021 and expects every bishop to launch it in every local church around the world on October 17, 2021. The pre-synodal consultations on the diocesan level will lead to parallel event on the national level (episcopal conference), the continental level (regional federations of episcopal conferences) and the global level (General Assembly in Rome). The Pope believes that the path of synodality is the plan of God for the Church of the third millennium. Let us walk together listening. We grow by listening.
A synod is not just an event; it is a journey. A synod is not just a meeting; it is the life of the Church. A synod is not just an assembly in view of administration; it is a convocation guided by the Spirit for the challenge of mission. St. John Chrysostom aptly said that the “Church and synod are synonymous”.
Two Landscapes
What will happen in the next months? We will gather together in small circles in parishes, schools and basic ecclesial communities to pray together and ask the Spirit to lend us His eyes and mind and heart. We will look at two landscapes not with our eyes but with the eyes of the Lord.
The first is “How is our Church within?” The Pope asks us: “How is this journeying together happening today in our local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”? How are the shepherds and the shepherded? How is the life of worship brought to the life of charity? How is faith lived and shared? How is our Church discipline and life?
The second is “How is the Church together with the entire human family?” Are we still salt and light for the world? Is dialogue our way of life? How willing are we to listen with humility and respect despite differences? Have we become haughty or insensitive to the groans of suffering humanity?
Many Signs
In looking at the Church from the inside and looking at the Church with the entire human family, we cannot ignore the signs of our times. We are not blind to the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has confronted us with. We cannot disregard the sexual and financial scandals in the Church and in government. We cannot overlook the attraction of secularism and materialism and the double-edged power of the digital world. We cannot brush off the erosion of ethical values and the idolatry of relativism. We are aware of the antipathy and disdain against traditional institutions foremost of which is our Church. The effects of ecological abuse, terror and violence are too glaring to overlook.
