Category: Documents

By Ritche T. Salgado, O.Carm
March 31, 2023
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Sicut Christus Vivit. (As Christ Lives)

This is the motto that has guided Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos in Negros Island.

Despite this Christian mindset, he faces challenges and receives criticisms for championing the marginalized and speaking out on issues affecting them.

For example, Bishop Alminaza was red-tagged in February 22 by former government officials Lorraine Badoy and Jeffrey Celiz in their program “Laban Kasama ang Bayan” that airs on SMNI News Channel.

SMNI is owned by one of the FBI’s most wanted, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. According to the FBI’s website, he is wanted for “conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion and sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; conspiracy; and bulk cash smuggling.”

He is also a known ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

On March 1, Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, spokesperson of the Legal Cooperation Cluster of the Western Visayas Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF6-ELCAC), was quoted in posters spread by the 303rd Infantry Brigade, echoing Badoy and Celiz’s red-tagging of Bishop Alminaza.

Amid the government’s red-tagging, Bishop Alminaza continues to earn the support of human rights groups and religious communities locally and internationally.

Peter Murphy, the chairperson of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, said in a statement, “ICHRP supports the work of Bishop Alminaza and shares his conviction that pursuing peace should not be one-sided, militarized or highly politicized.”

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, an ecumenical church group, pointed out that “(w)hat Badoy, Celiz, and Gonzales are doing is putting the life of Bp. Alminaza in danger. Being red-tagged can lead to more serious human rights violations.” They expressed support for Bishop Alminaza who is also a spokesperson of the group Pilgrims for Peace. “We are one with him in his call for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and his appeal to free the political prisoners, including former priest Frank Fernandez.”

The statement was signed by Archbishop-Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, Rt. Revd. Rex B. Reyes Jr., Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez Jr., and Sr. Mary John Mananzan.

Recently, Bulatlat interviewed Bishop Alminaza and he shared his thoughts on red-tagging and his mission as the shepherd of one of the country’s most militarized dioceses.

Please tell us about your motto and how this defines the way you shepherd your diocese.

“Sicut Christus vivit” is my motto. “As Christ lives” in English. Taken from 1 John 2:6 – “He who says he abides in Christ ought to live as He lived.” But instead of using the past tense, “as He lived” I use the present tense, “as Christ lives” to signify that our basis or standard for deciding or acting is not just what Jesus Christ did in the past but as He – present in the midst of people who love each other or who are united in His name (cf. Mt 18:20) – would do it. This makes me favor a more participatory approach, taking time to consult, listen, and dialogue with our collaborators, with our people, especially those not often heard, in the margins, disadvantaged, oppressed, or persecuted. We value the perspectives, voices and contributions of each one, even those who disagree with us. Our ideal is to strive to make unity the point of departure and arrival of our every action or program. Today we call it synodality and its challenge to “enlarge the space of our tent” (cf. Is 54:2), that is, to be more inclusive.

Is this your first time to be red-tagged? Were there other instances?

I got an unverified confidential report before that the Armed Forces of the Philippines has included my name in its “order of battle.” But I consider this the first time that I am publicly linked with the CPP-NPA, and labeled as “demonic and diabolical.”

How did red-tagging affect your mission in the diocese? How did it affect your diocese, your priests, and pastoral workers?

For now, I did not allow it to affect my mission in the diocese. I continue to do what I need to do. It even inspires me to do even more. It even called the attention and awareness of a greater number of people both here and abroad. I and our diocese received more expressions of support which highlighted and even clarified further our mission and our various advocacies. I am particularly touched by the courageous support of my brother bishops, our priests and pastoral workers, and cause-oriented and ecumenical groups and movements.

What do you think is the danger of being red-tagged?

Based on what happened to others who have been red-tagged and got killed in the past, I am aware that it can also happen to me. But I am clear with my motivation and conviction. I am fully aware of what happened to Christ and the cost of following Him. Sicut Christus vivit!

Why do you engage yourself with social issues? Why do you take a stand?

Any Christian disciple worthy of that name cannot do otherwise. Vatican II in Gaudium et Spes, no. 1 is clear: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.”

“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation”(Justice in the World, Synod of Bishops 1971, #6)

PCPII calls for renewed and integral evangelization which includes both proclaiming the message of salvation and liberation.

Our source and motive for action are not from outside of us but from inside of us. It springs from our baptismal identity, reaffirmed and strengthened in confirmation and in my case, from a personal commitment to follow the Lord as His disciples expressed when I embraced the Sacred Orders as deacon, priest, and bishop.

No one and nothing can stop us from fulfilling that solemn promise!

How is the economic and political situation of the people in your diocese? As a church, how can we help in addressing their most basic needs?

Much of the feudal system is still embedded in the hacienda system. At the heart of our social problem in Negros is related to land for its ownership is only in the hands of a few families. The ones who hold political power are possessing economic power and vice versa. We have our own share of political dynasty. I don’t think we have a fair playing field in the exercise of our democratic processes. Land rights are very much linked with human rights!

The recent brutal and violent murder of Governor Roel Degamo, which killed eight innocent victims and wounded others right in his own residence, and the various issues that were brought to public attention in the succeeding investigation only confirmed what we have repeatedly espoused in our crusade and which Fr. Niall O’Brien, a Columban Missionary in Negros for 20 years, expressed it so well: “Violence has a source, and that source is injustice. Violence is the fruit of the tree of injustice and hatred is its evil flower. If we sow seeds of injustice, we reap violence. If we want to remove violence, we must first remove injustice.”

In a news article published by the Manila Bulletin on November 15, 2022, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla was reported to have told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that there is no culture of impunity in the Philippines. His exact words: “We will dispel the mistaken notion that there is a ‘culture of impunity’ in our country. We will not tolerate the denial of justice nor any violation of human rights.”

Yet in less than four months, he described the situation in Negros Oriental after the assassination of Gov. Roel Degamo and other killings in the province as a “seeming failure to bring culprits to punishment.” He was quoted by CNN Philippines on March 9, 2023 to have said, “What comes out is a pattern, a pattern of impunity that we did not sense before.… But now that this happened, the stories are beginning to make sense that there was a pattern of impunity within the area.”

It has now surfaced that political dynasties have private armies composed mainly of former army soldiers who were dishonorably discharged. There are indeed extra-judicial killings and they are related to illegal drugs and illegal gambling.

The Church is for integral development, integral peace. “We cannot continue the fake model of peace that is one-sided—using pseudo development, that is militarized and highly politicized. We all want a peace that is integral and inclusive, benefitting the common good—that uplifts the poor and promotes authentic development.”

General audience of the Pope Wednesday March 15 on being apostles in a missionary church.

MARCH 15, 2023 04:33 ZENIT STAFF GENERAL AUDIENCE

(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 03.15.2023).- Today, March 15, Pope Francis held Wednesday’s traditional General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square. After the tour in the popemobile, the Holy Father imparted the seventh catechesis on apostolic zeal, which on this occasion he dedicated to the theme “To Be Apostles in a Missionary Church.”

Let us continue the catechesis on the passion of evangelizing: not only on “evangelizing,” the passion for evangelizing and, in the school of Vatican Council II, let us try to understand better what it means to be “apostles” today. The word “apostle” reminds us of the group of the Twelve disciples chosen by Jesus. At times we refer to some Saint, or more generally the Bishops, as “apostles”: they are apostles, because they go in the name of Jesus. But are we aware that being apostles concerns every Christian? Are we aware that it concerns each one of us? Indeed, we are required to be apostles — that is, envoys — in a Church that, in the Creed, we profess as apostolic.

So, what does it mean to be apostles? It means being sent for a mission. The event in which the Risen Christ sends His apostles into the world, passing on to them the power He Himself received from the Father and giving them His Spirit, is exemplary and foundational. We read in the Gospel of John: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me even so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (20:21-22).

Another fundamental aspect of being an apostle is the vocation, that is, the calling. It has been thus ever since the beginning, when the Lord Jesus “called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him” (Mark 3:13). He constituted them as a group, attributing to them the title of “apostle”, so they would come with Him and send them on their mission (cf. Mark 3:14; Matthew 10:1-42). Saint Paul, in his letters, presents himself as “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle”, that is, an envoy (1 Corinthians 1:1), and again, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle” (Romans 1:1). And he insists on the fact that he is “an apostle not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1); God called him from his mother’s womb to proclaim the Gospel among the nations (cf. Galatians 1:15-16).

The experience of the Twelve Apostles and the testimony of Paul also challenges us today. They invite us to verify our attitudes, to verify our choices, our decisions, on the basis of these fixed points: everything depends on a gratuitous call from God; God also chooses us for services that at times seem to exceed our capacities or do not correspond to our expectations; the call received as a gratuitous gift must be answered gratuitously.

The Council says: “the Christian vocation by its very nature is also a vocation to the apostolate” (Decree Apostolicam actuositatem [AA], 2). It is a calling that is common, just as “a common dignity [is shared] as members from their regeneration in Christ, having the same filial grace and the same vocation to perfection; possessing in common one salvation, one hope and one undivided charity” (Lumen gentium, 32).

It is a call that concerns both those who have received the sacrament of Orders, consecrated persons, and all lay faithful, man or woman: it is a call to all. You, the treasure you have received with your Christian vocation, are obliged to give it: it is the dynamic nature of the vocation, the dynamic nature of life. It is a call that empowers them to actively and creatively perform their apostolic task, within a Church in which “there is a diversity of ministry but a oneness of mission. Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling in His name and power. But the laity too: all of you, the majority of you are laypeople. The laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole People of God in the Church and in the world” (AA, 2).

In this framework, what does the Council mean by the collaboration of the laity with the hierarchy? How is it meant? Is it a mere strategic adaptation to new situations as they come? Not at all, not at all: there is something more, that exceeds the contingencies of the moment and which maintains its own value for us too. The Church is like that, it is founded and apostolic.

Within the framework of the unity of the mission, the diversity of charisms and ministries must not give rise, within the ecclesial body, to privileged categories: here there is not a promotion, and when you conceive of Christian life as a promotion, that the one who is above commands all the others because he has succeeded in climbing, this is not Christianity. This is pure paganism.

The Christian vocation is not a promotion, so as to rise, no! It is something else. It is a great thing because, although by the will of Christ some are in an important position, perhaps, doctors, “pastors and dispensers of mysteries on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ” (LG, 32). Who has more dignity in the Church: the Bishop, the priest? No, we are all Christians in the service of others. Who is more important in the Church: the religious Sister or the common person, baptized, not baptized, the child, the Bishop…? They are all equal, we are equal and when one of the parties believes himself to be more important than the others, turning up his nose, it is a mistake. That is not the vocation of Jesus. The vocation that Jesus gives, to everyone, but also to those who seem to be in the highest places, is service, serving others, humbling oneself. If you find a person who in the Church has a higher vocation and you see he is vain, say, “Poor soul”, pray for him, because he has not understood what the vocation of God is. The vocation of God is adoration of the Father, love for the community, and service. This is what being apostles is, this is the witness of apostles.

The matter of equality in dignity asks us to rethink may aspects of our relations, which are decisive for evangelization. For example, are we aware of the fact that with our words we can undermine the dignity of people, thus ruining relationships within the Church? While we try to engage in dialogue with the world, do we also know how to dialogue among ourselves as believers? Or in the parish, one person goes against another, one speaks badly of another in order to climb up further? Do we know how to listen to understand another person’s reasons, or do we impose ourselves, perhaps even with appeasing words? To listen, to be humble, to be at the service of others: this is serving, this is being Christian, this is being an apostle.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to ask these questions. Let us shun vanity, the vanity of positions. These words can help us to confirm how we live our baptismal vocation, how we live our way of being apostles in an apostolic Church, which is at the service of others.

“With this commitment to taking the side of the victims of injustice, I am comforted by the words from the scriptures ‘Lord, you establish peace for us,’” said the prelate

LiCAS News
February 24, 2023

A Catholic bishop in the central Philippine province of Negros Occidental decried what he described as the “red-tagging” and the calling of his peace advocacy as “diabolical and demonic” by hosts of a television program.

“The demand to pursue peace is an echo of Jesus’ command to love. As your pastor, I cannot be silent amid violence and injustices,” said Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos and head of the group Pilgrims for Peace.

He said the recent “red-tagging and the calling of my advocacy as ‘diabolical and demonic’ by [hosts of the television program Laban Kasama ang Bayan] … can never stop our commitment to peace and justice.”

Television commentators Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Marie Badoy came out strongly against Bishop Alminaza who earlier issued a statement calling for the release of political prisoners, among them former priest Frank Fernandez.

In an earlier statement, the prelate said the release of political prisoners should be on top of the list of concerns of the government.

“Excuse me, Bishop Alminaza, Frank Fernandez had ordered the killing of many soldiers, policemen, and civilians when he headed the Negros island [communist rebels] with his wife, Cleofe Lagtapon,” said Celiz said in Filipino over the SMNI News Channel.

He assailed the prelate over the latter’s claim that there are 200 political prisoners in Negros island alone.

“Where is your proof, bishop?” Celiz asked, adding that the bishops’ statement “is dangerous” because “while you are destroying the image of the military and the police you are praising (communist) killers.

“You copied it so well, bishop, this is the line of the Central Committee of the [Communist Party of the Philippines], the one you are yapping about,” Celiz said.

Bishop Alminaza, however, said that as the program “continues to malign and even invoke vicious threats against the work of church-people, bishops and pastors, dedicated activists, and ordinary persons — we should never be afraid, but rather be brave in speaking for the truth on behalf of the victims of injustice.”

“With this commitment to taking the side of the victims of injustice, I am comforted by the words from the scriptures ‘Lord, you establish peace for us,’” said the prelate in a statement.

He said the Church “cannot continue the fake model of peace that is one-sided — using pseudo development, militarized and highly politicized.”

“We want a peace that is integral and inclusive, benefitting the common good — that uplifts the poor and promotes authentic development,” said the bishop.

© Copyright LiCAS.news. All rights reserved. Republication of this article without express permission from LiCAS.news is strictly prohibited. For republication rights, please contact us at: yourvoice@licas.news

Valentine’s Day, a time to show love, is a welcome celebration for today’s world, which is so lacking in compassion and selfless love, according to Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo of the Diocese of Oyo, in Nigeria.

Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo – Diocese of Oyo, Nigeria.

Saint Valentine, with whom the celebration is associated, lived a life of selfless and sacrificial love beyond flowers, material gifts, kisses and sex.

Love keeps the world sane

All who celebrate Valentine’s Day should really become agents of authentic, life-giving love in all forms. If Valentine’s Day is about showing and spreading true love, then we all need it. Children, youth, adults, the elderly, the dying and even the dead all need love. No matter who we are, Bishops, priests, pastors, politicians, people in business, civil servants, traders, entertainers, athletes and artisans, young or old, we all need love to remain sane and make everyday life meaningful.

I have not found a better description of love than what Saint Paul wrote in the Bible, in his letter to the Corinthians: “Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but finds its joy in truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love never ends” (1 Cor. 13: 4-8).

The healing power of love

That kind of Valentine love is needed in the world today. We need it in our homes; we need it in our churches, mosques and shrines. We need it in our schools; we need it in our streets. We need authentic agents of love in our markets, and we need them in our parks. We need them in our filling stations, businesses, and playgrounds. We need them in our banks where people now suffer for no fault of theirs. We need authentic love in every heart so that our country and world can heal from all our hurts and be sane again.

Paul also said: “If I am without love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 13: 2). Can we ourselves achieve anything worthwhile and enduring without love? I doubt that we can. This is why I call on everybody to welcome and celebrate Valentine’s true authentic love that is selfless, forgiving, empowering, affirming and life-giving.

February 10, 2023

It is time for Filipinos to start worrying about a possible war over Taiwan, now or in the future

If the Ukraine war has taught us anything, it is that any future military conflict especially in the South China Sea, the West Philippine Sea or the Straits of Taiwan will be a war primarily fought with short-range and long-range missiles, even hypersonic missiles, together with all internet systems being disrupted by cyber warfare.

The growing tension in the Asia-Pacific region with the Philippines at the center makes it time for Filipinos to start worrying about a possible war over Taiwan that would rain down Chinese missile strikes on any of the US bases, now or in the future, in the Batanes Islands, Cagayan, Basa Air Base or nearby Clark, Subic Bay and parts of Mindanao and Palawan.

On Jan. 31, The Manila Times reported as follows: “A four-star US Air Force general has warned of a conflict with China as early as 2025 — most likely over Taiwan — and urged his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year. In an internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, the head of the Air Mobility Command, Gen. Mike Minihan, said the main goal should be to deter ‘and, if required, defeat’ China.”

So, if there will be a major conflict here it will be over Taiwan and most certainly not over the Philippine atolls and sand banks taken and occupied by China from the Philippines and the few tons of fish stolen daily from Philippine waters.

“Much like Vladimir Putin, the Chinese president has grandiose imperialistic ambitions”

Taiwan is a small, democratic independent state with a Taiwanese population of 24 million as of 2020, and 150,000 to 200,000 Filipinos living there. It is just 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of the Philippines. It is claimed by China as part of its sovereign territory. China has declared in recent years that it wants Taiwan back under Beijing’s communist control even with the use of force.

Shortly after the then US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island state in August 2020 in a show of US solidarity, China unleashed a mighty military show of force in protest with fly-bys and threats of invasion. Much of that may only have been bluster but in fact, Xi Jinping, the militant-minded leader in Beijing, is determined to get it back. Much like Vladimir Putin, the Chinese president has grandiose imperialistic ambitions, fueled by a desire to go down in history as the leader that won back what China calls its rebel province.

According to some analysts, the missile war will likely be won by those with the most effective and accurate hypersonic missiles launched from the air or those forces with multiple, widely dispersed missile launch sites on land and ships that are too many to be attacked and overwhelmed simultaneously.

Catholic News Agency
February 10, 2023

In a video message released on the ninth World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Human Trafficking, Pope Francis said human trafficking “disfigures” human dignity. The annual day of prayer takes place on Feb. 8, the day the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita.

The Holy Father began his message by addressing this year’s theme — Journeying in Dignity — and specifically encouraged young people to “care for dignity, yours and that of every person you meet.”

“I understand that it was you who chose ‘Journeying in Dignity’ as your theme,” he said. “This is very important: It points to a great horizon for your anti-trafficking efforts: human dignity.”

“Human trafficking disfigures dignity,” he continued. “Exploitation and subjugation limit freedom and turn people into objects to use and discard. And the system of trafficking profits from the injustice and wickedness that oblige millions of people to live in conditions of vulnerability.”

The pope acknowledged the rise in human trafficking and the targeting of women, children, migrants, and those “impoverished by economic crisis, wars, climate change, and so much instability.”

He added: “We know we live in a difficult time, but it is precisely in this reality that all of us, especially young people, are called to join forces to weave networks of good, to spread the light that comes from Christ and his Gospel.”

Pope Francis urged young people to be “missionaries of human dignity, against trafficking in persons and all forms of exploitation” and to “never tire of seeking ways to transform our societies and prevent this shameful scourge that is trafficking in persons.”

“I hope that many will accept your invitation to walk together against trafficking: to walk together with those who are destroyed by the violence of sexual and labor exploitation; to walk together with migrants, displaced persons, and those who are looking for a place to live in peace and family. Together with you young people, to courageously reaffirm the value of human dignity.”

The World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Human Trafficking has taken place every year on Feb. 8 since Pope Francis first introduced it in 2015. The day holds significance as it is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, the Sudanese nun who was kidnapped and enslaved as a child and who is the patron saint of human trafficking.

This day of awareness is promoted by the International Unions of Superiors and Superiors General (UISG) and is coordinated by Talitha Kum, the international network founded by the UISG and committed to fighting human trafficking.

© Copyright LiCAS.news. All rights reserved. Republication of this article without express permission from LiCAS.news is strictly prohibited. For republication rights, please contact us at: yourvoice@licas.news

Posted by Anisa
Feb 2, 2023
Food Sovereignty and Agroecology

Joint Statement of Agri stakeholders and Trade Justice Advocates: NO TO RCEP! DON’T MAKE PHL AN “UKAY-UKAY” REPUBLIC!

Last November 2021, during the 18th Congress, various farmers, fishers, workers, civil society and private sector organizations expressed their opposition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement. At that time, we urged the Senate to withhold its concurrence with the treaty until the necessary policies, strategies and programs are emplaced so that the RCEP benefits, and does not harm, the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole.

We pointed out that agriculture provides 25% of all jobs. Together with agribusiness, it accounts for 35% of our Gross Domestic Product. At least 50% of Filipinos depend directly or indirectly on the sector. Also, most poor Filipinos are in rural areas.

Clearly, the promised gains from trade liberalization — following our membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and subsequent regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) — have not materialized. Our trade performance has actually deteriorated. Our agricultural trade deficit has ballooned to nearly nine billion US dollars annually. Exports have not significantly expanded beyond traditional items like banana, pineapple and coconut-based products. Meanwhile, our capacity to supply foreign markets with competitive products has paled in comparison to our neighbors. In turn, we have become a dumping ground for imports of practically all agricultural commodities – rice, corn, pork, chicken, fish, salt, onions, garlic, mung bean, peanuts, etc.