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 Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, hits the gong to signal the formal opening of the celebrations of FABC’s 50th year in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 22, 2022. FABC
By Jose Torres Jr. LiCAS.news October 12, 2022
Asia’s Catholic bishops opened a two-week general conference in Bangkok on Wednesday, October 12, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
“The Archdiocese of Bangkok, the Catholic community of Thailand and our friends, extend the warmest welcome to all the delegates of the FABC’s general conference,” read a statement from the organizing body in the Thai capital.
“We proudly and joyously join in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the FABC and pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the success of this historic conference,” it added.
At least 270 Catholic Church leaders and guests will be welcomed by Thailand’s Minister of Culture Itthiphol Kunplome, Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanich, archbishop of Bangkok, and Bishop Joseph Chusak Sirisuth, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.
“We will start a monumental task of reaffirming, renewing, and revitalizing the Church in Asia,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, convenor of this year’s celebrations, in a statement during the opening ceremonies that were held in Bangkok on August 22.
“We will gather to commemorate, celebrate and chart the direction that we, as Church in Asia, will take on our journey together in the next decades,” said the prelate.
In his message for the occasion, Pope Francis expressed hope that FABC’s general conference will “renew the Churches in Asia in fraternal communion and in missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel among the richly diverse peoples, cultures and social realities of the vast Asian continent.”
The gathering aims to “reaffirm, renew and revitalize” the Catholic Church in Asia under the theme: Journeying Together As Peoples of Asia, which is inspired by the scripture “then they went another way.”
Italian Catholic news agency Fides reported that some key questions will be asked during the conference, including how the Church in Asia continue to be “Good News” in under “emerging realities.”
“How can the FABC serve and support the bishops and their episcopal conferences in Asia? How can Catholic communities on the continent contribute to a better Asia?” said the report.
The gathering will witness a “multicultural picture” of prayers and hymns that will be sung in Asian languages.
With the usual reflections and group work for the bishops, special events have been planned, such as a “Talk Show with Asia” where believers from all over Asia participate in a videoconference.
The extraordinary consistory of cardinals meets at the Vatican’s Synod Hall, Aug. 29, 2022. VATICAN MEDIA
By Courtney Mares Catholic News Agency October 17, 2022
VATICAN— Pope Francis announced on Sunday that the Synod on Synodality will be extended to 2024.
Speaking in his Angelus address on Oct. 16, the pope shared his decision to divide the Synod of Bishops into two sessions that will meet in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024.
Pope Francis explained that he made the decision “in order to have a more relaxed period of discernment.”
“The fruits of the synodal process under way are many, but so that they might come to full maturity, it is necessary not to be in a rush,” Francis said.
“I trust that this decision will promote the understanding of synodality as a constitutive dimension of the Church, and help everyone to live it as the journey of brothers and sisters who proclaim the joy of the Gospel,” he said.
The two sessions of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place from Oct. 4 to 29, 2023, and in October 2024, bringing together bishops from across the world to discuss and prepare a document to counsel the pope.
Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality in October 2021 as a worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were encouraged to submit feedback to their local dioceses.
The Catholic Church’s massive multi-year synodal process has been divided into stages. The initial diocesan listening phase concluded with the participation of 112 out of 114 of the world’s Catholic bishops’ conferences, according to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.
According to a report from the U.S. bishops’ conference, about 700,000 people participated in the diocesan phase of the synod in the U.S. out of 66.8 million Catholics in the country.
The second, continental phase is taking place from September 2022 to March 2023. In this stage, Continental Synodal Assemblies will be convened between January and March of next year.
The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops describes these continental assemblies as a meeting to “reread the journey made and to continue the listening and discernment … proceeding in accord with the socio-cultural specificities of their respective regions.”
An Instrumentum laboris — or DTC (Documento per la Tappa Continentale), as the Synod of Bishops is calling it — will guide the continental phase discussions. The document is expected to be published by the end of this month or early November and is being drafted by the synod’s leadership, advisory committee, and a group of approximately 20 “experts.”
The final, universal phase will begin with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in October 2023 and continue in October 2024 on the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.”
Bishop Valentin Dimoc (right) of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP) play the gongs with Bagobo-Klata men during the national celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern city of Davao’s Calinan district on Oct. 9, 2022. NIKKO BALBEDINA
By Nikko Balbedina October 11, 2022 Davao City
A Catholic bishop has called on the government to pay more attention to legitimate ancestral land claims by indigenous peoples living in different parts of the country.
Bishop Valentine Dimoc, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples, said ancestral domain issues remain among major challenges that IP communities face until today.
“Many indigenous groups still do not have their CADT (certificate of ancestral domain title) and are still struggling,” Dimoc said.
“And sometimes, there is no NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples) to help them,” he lamented.
The bishop was speaking during the national celebration of the 45th Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern Philippine city of Davao’s Calinan district on October 9.
Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao presides over Mass to the celebrate the Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday at the Upper Sirib in the southern city of Davao’s Calinan district on Oct. 9, 2022. NIKKO BALBEDINA
Speaking to the Bagobo-Klata tribe, he told them that they are “blessed” to have an NCIP that cares for them.
“I’m sure that your NCIP here, along with your government, your church and other organizations are biddable, merciful and loving that they worked for and helped you to have your CADT. Sana all,” Dimoc added, using a modern-day Filipino catchphrase.
This year’s IP Sunday national celebration was hosted by the Archdiocese of Davao in partnership with the ECIP.
Various activities were held during the day including dialogues, tree-planting and Mass officiated by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao and former CBCP president.
The event was also held a day after the “Panagtagbo 2022”, a local celebration of the indigenous peoples’ “culture, faith and of life”.
A new documentary “on humanity’s power to stop the ecological crisis” facing the world is presented at a press conference at the Vatican on Tuesday. The film “The Letter,” says Cardinal Michael Czerny, “is a clarion cry to people everywhere: we have to act together, we have to do it now.”
By Christopher Wells
A new documentary by filmmaker Nicolas Brown “highlights the key concept of dialogue,” Cardinal Michael Czerny explained on Tuesday, at the presentation of the film “The Letter” at the Holy See Press Office.
The film itself is aimed at conveying the messages of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Laudato si’. Despite the encyclical’s “widespread impact on the global stage” since its publication seven years ago, “the environmental crisis of our common home has worsened drastically,” the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said.
Voices from the peripheries
This led to the DPIHD to collaborate with Brown and his Off The Fence Productions team, as well as the Laudato Si’ Movement and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, to arrange a dialogue between Pope Francis and a variety of voices from “the peripheries”, including an indigenous leader, a climate refugee, a youth activist, and a group of scientists.
These “remarkable leaders,” said Cardinal Czerny, can speak for the often neglected voices of the peripheries, first through their dialogue with Pope Francis, and then by sharing their own stories. “The film and the personal stories powerfully show that the ecological crisis has arrived and is happening now,” the Cardinal said, while warning of the negative effects of climate change that continue to grow.
Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines, speaks during the 1st Simbayanihan National Congress in Tagaytay City on Oct. 3, 2022. CARITAS PHILIPPINES
By CBCP News October 4, 2022 Manila, Philippines
A church-led grassroots movement will organize advocates in parishes across the country who will act as “champions” of good governance and nation-building.
Caritas Philippines announced the plan Monday during the official launching of its “Simbayanihan” movement, a “whole-of-Church” approach to address poverty and corruption.
“So among our next moves is to organize good governance advocates in different dioceses and parishes,” Caritas’ executive secretary Fr. Tony Labiao said. “We have to organize communities.”
“We need to organize the working teams who will lead the engagements for economic empowerment and participation in local governance,” said the priest, who is also the national convenor of Simbayanihan.
The launching was preceded with the first Simbayanihan National Congress at the Caritas Philippines Academy in Tagaytay City, south of Manila.
The whole-day event was attended by representatives from different diocesan social action centers across the country.
The national Caritas said the program also aims to form and support principled politics and politicians and create “critical vigilance” among communities.
Its national director Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said that the previous elections taught them that “we failed in our old strategies” to bring people together to discuss politics and development.
“Simbayanihan was hoped to bridge the gap between faith and justice, by taking part in concrete social action works on ecology, justice and peace, and good governance,” Bagaforo said.
Fr. Rex Paul Arjona, one of the convenors of Simbayanihan, said the movement is focused on linking existing good governance and community development programs through organization and partnership building, training and formation for responsible citizenship, and principled cooperation with government.
Aside from the Caritas network, Agri Partylist, the Quezon City government, and the People Power Volunteers for Reform are also part of the convening groups.
“We always believe in the influence of the church to effect community empowerment and development, which is vital in ensuring that government programs are enforced properly, and maximized fully,” said Agri Partylist Rep. Wilbert Lee.
“We are working with Caritas Philippines and our partners to provide communities with sustainable economic activities so we will be able to help create empowered communities who can exact accountability among local and national politicians, and be more engaged in local governance,” Lee added.
Simbayanihan will be launched at the regional and diocesan levels in the coming months, involving the civil society, government, and private organizations, through the social action clusters and centers.
TO: ALL PRESIDENTS/HEADS/ SERVANT LEADERS: NATIONAL LAY ORGANIZATIONS ARCH/DIOCESAN COUNCIL OF THE LAITY RE: LAUNCHING OF THE NATIONAL LAITY WEEK CELEBRATION
Dear Brothers & Sisters:
Christ’s love & peace be with you!
As communicated to you, we will be celebrating the National Laity Week on September 24 to October 1, 2022 to highlight once again the laity’s indispensable role in the transformation of our society. This year’s theme is “Journeying Together and Reflecting Together on the Journey that has been Made…Communion, Participation, and Mission”.
In line with this, we are pleased to invite you or your representative to the Launching of the Celebration on Saturday, September 24, 2022, 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the Lay Formation Institute (Layforce) San Carlos Seminary Complex Guadalupe, Makati City. The event is hosted by the Council of the Laity of the Archdiocese of Manila. No registration fee will be collected. Snacks & lunch will be served.
Because of existing health protocols, limited participants could only be accommodated at the venue (only One (1) representative or delegate per National Lay Organizations and Diocesan Councils of the Laity), however, other participants could also join online via zoom. Attached is the program and the Pre-Registration Form for both face to face & online participants. Deadline of the registration is on September 15, 2022.
We pray for your utmost support and favorable response.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ and fellow workers’ rights advocates,
Warm greetings from the Church people-Workers’ Solidarity (CWS)!
CWS is a non-profit, ecumenical organization in support of workers’ rights and welfare. Our solidarity with our marginalized sisters and brothers, is a Gospel imperative. This year marks our 10th year of tireless dedication in serving among the most basic and key sectors in effecting genuine social change in the Philippines — the workers, who face more difficult and precarious times now more than ever. Our support has been carried out through our various programs including Education and Formation, Campaign and Advocacy, Welfare and Support Services and Networking. In so doing, we learn from the workers and draw in more members of the religious community to embrace their cause. CWS is present in key cities in Metro Manila and in the Visayas.
We thus commemorate our decade of service in a simple celebration with the theme, “CWS: Isang Dekada ng Pakikilakbay sa mga Manggagawa”. The activity seeks to i) highlight CWS contributions to the advancement of workers’ rights and welfare, and at the same time find means to address challenges that need to be overcome in the face of worsening state repression especially against workers; ii) further strengthen partnerships with workers’ organizations and other formations especially in parishes and communities; iii) contribute to expanding workers’ rights advocates and iv) contribute to strengthening CWS, including revitalization of national and regional formations. Workers and urban poor community members, religious sisters and brothers, and advocates will be participating.
We invite you to mark this journey with us on Saturday, 24 September 2022, at the Parish of the Risen Christ in Brgy. 128, Balut, Tondo, Manila. The activity will be from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and will start with a Holy Mass officiated by our Chairperson, the Most. Rev. Gerardo Alminaza, D.D. and concelebrated by other priests networks of CWS.
