Category: Documents

Transgender women (biological men who claim to be women) are invading our safe spaces, especially that of women.

            Men getting into women’s sports (and dominating these, of course).
            Men getting into beauty contests (and winning over real women, as Miss Spain did).
            Men insisting on relieving themselves in women’s comfort rooms.

There have been a number of instances in other countries where such men have sexually assaulted women, including young girls, in such comfort rooms. Transgender women claim the right to use a comfort room of their choice. Well, what about the rights of women and girls, who are not safe in such a situation?

Women’s safe spaces are being invaded. Tomorrow, the space to be invaded will be our freedom of speech. The SOGIE bill will stifle any critical speech that is perceived to be offensive to transgender women insisting on using women’s comfort rooms. Let us have none of it.

Otherwise, there will be no more safe spaces. There will be no more comfort in comfort rooms.

The Holy See

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019  
[29 September 2019]

“It is not just about migrants”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Faith assures us that in a mysterious way the Kingdom of God is already present here on earth (cf. Gaudium et spes, 39). Yet in our own time, we are saddened to see the obstacles and opposition it encounters. Violent conflicts and all-out wars continue to tear humanity apart; injustices and discrimination follow one upon the other; economic and social imbalances on a local or global scale prove difficult to overcome. And above all it is the poorest of the poor and the most disadvantaged who pay the price.

The most economically advanced societies are witnessing a growing trend towards extreme individualism which, combined with a utilitarian mentality and reinforced by the media, is producing a “globalization of indifference”. In this scenario, migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking have become emblems of exclusion. In addition to the hardships that their condition entails, they are often looked down upon and considered the source of all society’s ills. That attitude is an alarm bell warning of the moral decline we will face if we continue to give ground to the throw-away culture. In fact, if it continues, anyone who does not fall within the accepted norms of physical, mental and social well-being is at risk of marginalization and exclusion.

For this reason, the presence of migrants and refugees – and of vulnerable people in general – is an invitation to recover some of those essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity that risk being overlooked in a prosperous society. That is why it is not just about migrants. When we show concern for them, we also show concern for ourselves, for everyone; in taking care of them, we all grow; in listening to them, we also give voice to a part of ourselves that we may keep hidden because it is not well regarded nowadays.

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” (Mt 14:27). It is not just about migrants: it is also about our fears. The signs of meanness we see around us heighten “our fear of ‘the other’, the unknown, the marginalized, the foreigner… We see this today in particular, faced with the arrival of migrants and refugees knocking on our door in search of protection, security and a better future. To some extent, the fear is legitimate, also because the preparation for this encounter is lacking” (Homily in Sacrofano, 15 February 2019). But the problem is not that we have doubts and fears. The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other, the person different from myself; it deprives me of an opportunity to encounter the Lord (cf. Homily at Mass for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 14 January 2018).

August 7, 2019

The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) encourages Congress to allow the conduct of the May 2020 BSKE as scheduled. To do otherwise contravenes the principle of regularity in the conduct of an election and deprives the electorate of seeking accountability from elected officials by submitting themselves to a fresh mandate.

Moving the date of elections set by law can only be justified when any of the conditions mentioned in Section 5 of the Philippine Omnibus Election Code exist: any serious cause such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such a nature that the holding of a free, orderly and honest election should become impossible in any political subdivision. It is the task of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make such determination, which in turn should be through public hearings.

The planned deferment of the May 2020 BSKE to May 2022 (Sen. Go version) / May 2023 (Sen. Marcos version), unwittingly or not, extends the term of incumbent barangay and SK officials without a clear mandate from their constituents.

Periodic elections are an institutionalized governance feature in countries that have chosen democracy as their form of government. Upholding the conduct of periodic and genuine elections becomes an obligation under international law. These are articulated in both Article 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and Article 25 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Both can be described as foundational legal commitments that require free and fair elections to be held on a regular basis.

Regular and periodic elections are part of universal principles and guidelines to promote genuine democratic election processes. These international election standards can be traced back to the cardinal principle that citizens have a right to take part in the governance and public affairs of their countries. Article 21, Section 3 of the United Nations (UN) UDHR enshrines this cornerstone precept: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

Further, the ICCPR stipulates that every citizen must be provided the right and opportunity, without discrimination, based on distinctions of “race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” and without unreasonable restrictions, to “vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections.”

Thus, the regularity of elections is important to establish the mandate, legitimacy and moral authority of elected leaders. Not holding elections regularly could undermine the democratic process of ensuring the citizens’ right to choose their leaders and make them accountable.