Your Eminence, Your Excellencies, and Reverend Administrators:

Please be informed that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense announced the cancellation of the 1st Quarter 2020 Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) activity on 12 March 2020 to ensure public health safety of the drill participants and to prevent the possible risk of contracting COVID-19. 

Attached herewith is the memorandum on the said cancellation.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Sincerely in the Lord,

Msgr. Bernardo R. Pantin
Assistant Secretary General

March 9, 2020

Seeing the link between landlessness and poverty and how the latter could worsen health risks amid the coronavirus scare, 1,000 Negros Occidental tillers led by peasant women leaders have decried the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)’s insincerity to complete land distribution via the 31-year-old Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Wearing white anti-virus masks and protesting against their continued servitude and exploitation under the centuries-old hacienda system, the farmers on Monday, March 9, during Women’s Month, trooped to the DAR Provincial Office on San Sebastian Street in Dawis, Bacolod City and lashed out at the department, saying its “empty CARP promise is making their and their family’s future more hopeless and frightening.”

Coronavirus amid lingering poverty ‘virus’ in Negros

“Landlessness has made us poor and in turn, poverty has caused many of us to suffer from poor health. With a highly contagious coronavirus entering our doors amid the poverty virus lingering in Negros, the DAR has made us more  vulnerable to health threats and complications,” Teresita Tarlac, president of national peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM)’s Negros-Panay Chapter, said, days after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

“While COVID-19 is not a death sentence, older adults like us, who are landless and poor and are mostly suffering from underlaying health conditions but don’t have access to adequate health care will be at higher risk of contracting and dying from the infectious disease if it worsens and spreads in our impoverished communities,” said Tarlac, noting that the Filipino farmers’ average age is 57, but among TFM farmers, many, if not most are already in their 60s. 

“Among aging but still landless women farmers of Negros, health risks could also be greater because we work hard without end  ̶  from households to haciendas and back to our homes again. When somebody gets sick in the family, women are the ones expected to provide health care,” the TFM leader added.

Credibility gap

In October last year, TFM compared the CARP performances of post-Marcos government administrations in terms of land acquisition and distribution (LAD) in their first three years in office and bared that the Duterte administration had the lowest average annual LAD accomplishment of 30,592 hectares or just 8 percent of the accomplishment of the Ramos administration, which was 371,006 hectares yearly.

In January this year, while in North Cotabato, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his vow to complete the CARP’s LAD component within his term, adding that he had directed DAR Secretary John Castriciones to fully implement the program, particularly in Negros Occidental, the province with the biggest LAD balance nationwide.

In May 2019, as a response to the chief executive’s directive to complete the distribution of agricultural landholdings to their tillers, the DAR said its target was for CARP to be LAD-free by 2022.

However, according to TFM, there remains a big credibility gap between what President Duterte promises and what the DAR does.  

Low land distribution accomplishments and targets despite LAD-free promise by 2022

Tarlac cited the fact that while the President’s directive was to complete LAD and prioritize the distribution of landholdings in Negros Occidental, the DAR had kept its LAD target low.

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       As the Catholic Church in the Philippines dedicates this year 2020 to “Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue and Indigenous Peoples,” we can recall the historical statement signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the two highest leaders of Christianity and Islam, on February 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi.  The joint statement is entitled, “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.”  This is addressed to the peoples of the East and the West, particularly to the world-wide Christian and Muslim communities represented by the Catholic Church and Al-Azhar.  This is the first time that two supreme leaders of the two largest world religions have signed a common statement addressed to all their members and to all people of good will.

       The document starts with the keynote statement: “Faith leads a believer to see in the other a brother or sister to be supported and loved.”  It points out the remarkable scientific and technical progress achieved by the modern world.  However, it also notes the somber realities of mass poverty, conflict and suffering in many regions of the world due to “the arms race, social injustice, corruption, inequality, moral decline, terrorism, discrimination, extremism and many other causes.”   The document points out some of the major causes of the crisis of the modern world, such as “a desensitized human conscience, a distancing from religious values and a prevailing individualism accompanied by materialistic philosophies…in place of supreme and transcendental principles.” 

       To counter this, both religious leaders “declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.”  Thus, our CBCP motto for this year is “Dialogue Towards Harmony.”  For the Holy Father and the Grand Imam, “dialogue among believers means coming together in the vast space of spiritual, human and shared social values and, from here, transmitting the highest moral virtues that religions aim for.”

       The joint statement calls for the protection of places of worship, alluding to the desecration of the Catholic Cathedral in Marawi on May 23, 2017 and the bombing of the Catholic Cathedral in Jolo on January 27, 2019.  It condemns terrorism and its manipulation by extremists “due to an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts.”  Both supreme religious leaders declare “that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood.”They further state, “God, the Almighty, has no need to be defended by anyone and does not want his name to be used to terrorize people.”

       In the Southern Philippines, we should not forget the mass displacement of families due to the outbreak of war in Central Mindanao in the years 2000, 2003 and 2008, the Zamboanga siege in 2013, the Mamasapano firefight in 2015, and the Marawi occupation in 2017.   We welcome the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao as the outcome of a peace process that addresses the root causes of unrest among Muslim communities.   We likewise join the call for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace talks, along with local peace conversations, to put an end to the protracted conflict between the New People’s Army and government forces in the various hinterlands of the country.

       While deploring religious-inspired violence, the two religious leaders also note that “situations of injustice and lack of equitable distribution of natural resources — which only a rich minority benefit from, to the detriment of the majority of the peoples of the earth — have generated, and continue to generate, vast numbers of poor, infirm and deceased persons.”  Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb thus call for the protection of human rights –in particular, the rights of women to education and employment; the rights of children to grow up in a family environment; and the rights of the elderly, the weak, the disabled, and the oppressed.  “It is likewise important,” they note, “to reinforce the bond of fundamental human rights in order to help ensure a dignified life for all men and women of East and West.”

            The joint statement ends with a directive:“Al-Azhar and the Catholic Church ask that this Document become the object of research and reflection in all schools, universities, and institutes of formation, thus helping to educate new generations to bring goodness and peace to others and to be defenders everywhere of the rights of the oppressed and of the least of our brothers and sisters.”  This is also an appeal directed to all our dioceses and church communities.

       As we continue to engage in dialogue with our brothers and sisters from other Christian churches, and from Muslim and Indigenous People communities, let us heed the invitation of Pope  Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb to pursue “a universal peace that all can enjoy in this life.”  

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+ ROMULO G. VALLES, D.D. 
  Archbishop of Davao 
  CBCP President
  29 February 2020

We are overjoyed at the declaration of Arroceros park as a permanent park as per Ordinance No. 8607 signed last 2 Mar 2020 by the City of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso. We salute the people who have campaigned hard to make this ordinance possible. We commend the Manila Mayor for heeding the call of his constituents to protect, preserve and develop the last remaining lung of the city of Manila.

The ordinance will benefit first and foremost, the people of the city. The trees and plants when preserved can make the city’s air fresher and cooler. Children will have a safer place to play. Senior citizens can have a secured path to walk through. People in general will have space for recreation, for socializing and for communing with nature. Better health for the citizens can be achieved as the park can help rid the city of carbon dioxide and pollution produced by transportation, factories and industries proliferating in the city. It can also serve as a refuge or a safer space in times of calamities. It will be to the people’s utmost interest.

Likewise, the ordinance is needed and timely given the call for bolder actions in view of the worldwide call to declare climate emergency. Eleven thousand (11,000) scientists from 153 countries have warned humanity of catastrophic impact of climate change not only to environment but to humankind itself, if societies all over the world will do their business as usual and if we continue the way we live. Climate Change scientists point to preservation of trees, plants and the whole forest ecosystem as among one of the most natural and effective solutions to the continuing global warming.

More so, with this new city ordinance, the plan to construct a gym and make it a commercial area has been effectively stalled. We need to protect the environment from the hands of greedy businessmen and corporations that only think of nature as source of profit. These kinds of businesses, specifically those into extraction and utilization of natural resources, like mining, have already caused huge damage to our environment. We need to engage them and hold them accountable for all their “ecological sins” so that people’s and nature’s rights are upheld and protected.

But more than the benefits for people and humankind, this is a victory for mother earth. Preserving the Arroceros Park  will save various species of plants, trees and sentient animals living on it.

So far,  this action is  the second most recent victories to protect mother nature by a local government. The first is the Cebuano’s move to save the centuries old Carcar Acacia Trees against the planned road widening project of the government. Both are victories for mother earth, and we expect more and bolder moves of people standing for the environment.

We look forward to a bandwagon of local governments adopting more resolutions and ordinances protecting nature. And even as PMPI pushes for a national bill recognizing the Rights of Nature, a synchronized action with local government units to push for a new legal framework recognizing nature as having rights and parallel drive to implement existing environmental laws are urgently needed.

Quezon City – More than 250 civil society organizations composed of church-faith based groups, non-government organizations and people’s organization coming from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao gathered for the general assembly to push for radical and strong actions in view of a climate emergency and engage state agencies on what they believe as a shrinking democratic space in the Philippines.

At the start of the assembly, Bishop Gerry Alminaza of San Carlos Diocese, addressing the body during his Keynote Speech asked, “Can we still imagine and bear a world that is becoming uninhabitable for the next generation? We need to radically change our paradigm. Climate emergency according to world scientists is mainly driven by humans. A change in the way we relate with nature is needed. We need to recognize that all creation including humans are interconnected and interdependent.”

During the assembly, the need to secure our people in view of climate emergency was highlighted when the assembly gave the highest vote to the Climate Change Adaptation/Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management resolution. The assembly challenges the government to make a comprehensive plan that would mitigate the impact of climate change to food security and displacement of people. The importance of developing adaptation and mitigation programs is needed given that drought is projected to hit us hard and sea level rise in the Philippines will be three times more than the world average.

Yolly Esguerra, National Coordinator of PMPI said, “One of our focus is to engage the government and policy makers. This is also the reason why good governance is also among the resolutions voted upon by the network.  We will challenge government to act now and declare climate emergency given that we only have less than 10 years to stop a climate catastrophe or face human extinction.”

PMPI Co-Convenor and Executive Secretary of NASSA/Caritas Philippines, Fr Edu Gariguez said that the network will firmly push for good governance by engaging not only on the issue of corruption but also in extracting accountability on human rights violations perpetuated by the government and its instrumentalities. Fr Edu said that the protection of the rights of people is paramount as we are currently in a situation where our institutions of justice and accountability are being eroded and undermined by the very administration mandated to strengthen them.”

Fr. Juderick Calumpiano of SAC Borongan and PMPI Chairperson highlighted the need for laws to protect the environment. He reiterated that the current Mining Act of 1995 is highly skewed to the interest of corporations. It destroys a whole ecosystem without much regard for the people in communities. Mining results to the further decline of carbon sink. He also reiterated that besides people, other species within the ecosystem should be given a voice and their rights upheld and recognized, thus, the call for the passage of the Rights of Nature bill. Simultaneous to the advocacy to pass the said bill is the network’s active push to hold private corporations accountable for their ecological sins.

The PMPI 6th General Assembly concluded with much resolved to uphold human dignity and recognize the rights of nature. It will move forward listening intently to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.

I Look Up to the Mountains

Dear People of God,

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).     

It would be helpful to recall that the CBCP had been issuing pastoral letters on the environment, hoping that the local Churches would respond and act together. In 1988 your Bishops issued a historic pastoral letter –“What is Happening to our Beautiful Land?” Last year, a pastoral letter on the Climate Crisis was issued with the title, “An Urgent Call for Ecological Conversion, Hope in the Face of Climate Emergency”. In the local Church of the Prelature of Infanta, Bishop Bernardino C. Cortez issued on July 26, 2018 a pastoral letter related to the environment and indigenous peoples rights with the title “No to Kaliwa Dam, Yes to Alternative Sources of Water”.

The Church believes in Jesus who came that we may have life, and have it abundantly (cf. John 10:10). Because of this, the Church is not against development as long as it does not sacrifice the common good in the name of progress. The on-going Kaliwa Dam project of the government, in the guise of providing water to Metro Manila, is to our mind against inclusive development. Together with the majority of the Dumagat-Remontados indigenous communities of the Sierra Madre mountain range in the areas of Quezon and Rizal provinces, and the people of the towns of Real, Infanta, General Nakar and Tanay who will be affected by said project, we the Bishops of the Philippines join the Prelature of Infanta and the Diocese of Antipolo in opposing this project of Kaliwa Dam on the following grounds:

1.         Almost 300 hectares of forest eco-systems in the Sierra Madre will be submerged in water, endangering 126 endemic and endangered species of plants and wildlife, thus destroying the biodiversity of that mountain range. Furthermore, the area that is affected by the dam has been declared as protected biodiversity area under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 and extended NIPAS of 2018 within Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve (Proclamation No. 573, June 22, 1968) and portion of this watershed declared as National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (Proclamation 1636, April 18, 1977).

2.         The peaceful Dumagat-Remontados indigenous peoples will be displaced by this project. Their way of life and culture are bound to the forests and rivers of the Sierra Madre. They are also the guardians of these mountains. They have a right to this forest as it is their ancestral domain as recognized by Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) since they have lived in this area for centuries. They should not be sacrificed on the altar of development aggression, which would just benefit big businesses and Chinese investors.

3.         The contract with the Chinese investors is onerous to the Filipino people because the contract is not transparent at all.  First, the project is debt-creating with a sovereign guarantee and the country’s territory and properties as collateral.  The loan from China for this project will be paid by all Filipinos, not only those living in Metro Manila. There is even a provision that should any disagreement happen between the Chinese investors and the Philippine government, the case shall be settled in Chinese courts applying Chinese laws.  Besides, the President had even publicly threatened judges who would issue any Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the project,  thus blurring the independence of the judiciary.

4.         Philippine laws are now being violated in the rush to start the project:

a.         The access road to the dam that is now being built has no Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), no Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC), and no clearance from the Protected Area Management Bureau (PAMB) as required by Republic Act (RA) 11038, Section 11.

b.         The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) requirement is deficient and hence the issuance of the ECC from Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) is very suspect.

c.          FPIC procedures are highly irregular6. Sadly, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Provincial FPIC Team failed to protect and uphold the Human and Indigenous Rights of the Dumagat-Remontados.

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Mark Saludes, Philippines 
February 27, 2020

Representatives of member organizations of the Philippine-Misereor Partnership Inc. attend their general assembly in Manila on Feb. 26. (Photo by Mark Saludes)

Misereor, the German Catholic bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation, has resigned as co-convenor of the Manila-based Philippine-Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI).

Steffen Ulrich, Misereor’s Philippine desk officer, made the announcement through a video conference during PMPI’s general assembly in Manila on Feb. 26.

Ulrich, however, made clear that the agency’s withdrawal from PMPI “does not affect its role as partner and donor.”

PMPI is an advocacy network of church-based organizations, civil society groups, and people’s movement.

In a letter to PMPI member organizations, Martin Brockelmann-Simon, Misereor managing director, said the initial reasons for Misereor to act as co-convenor of PMPI are “seen as rather obsolete.”

PMPI was established on Mar. 13, 2003, to convene church institutions and organizations in the Philippines that receive institutional funding from Misereor.

“Today, approximately half of PMPI member organizations do not partner with Misereor in terms of project funding,” noted Brockelmann-Simon.

 “Some of those ‘only’ maintain a regular or ‘when-needs-arise’ exchange; some even do not know Misereor at all,” he said.

“This membership basis acknowledges the fact that PMPI is not a network of Misereor partners anymore,” added Brockelmann-Simon.

PMPI has an institutional capacity of more than 250 member organizations of different types, mandates, and sectors, with active regional clusters across the country.

Brockelmann-Simon said he is “glad about the fact how the membership basis has been developed and about its standing today.”

“The strength of the network’s membership is its diversity and has been and continues to be an important driver for development and innovation,” he said.

Misereor also cited the “changing political and societal climate” for its withdrawal from the partnership with PMPI.

The agency’s said in a statement that “it has been asking itself if the visibility of Misereor as a legal stakeholder of a national organization should not be critically questioned.”

It noted that the inclusion of “Misereor” in PMPI’s name “might give the impression that Misereor, with its role as a donor, is the real power behind the network.”

The agency added that it might also be misinterpreted that Misereor is pushing “for its agenda and interests” in the organization.

Misereor said that such an impression “could make PMPI vulnerable and endanger its political work and agenda.”

“Misereor’s appearance and legal responsibility in the network could have the effect of hampering the work of the network,” added the agency.

Father Juderick Paul Calumpiano, president of PMPI, said the network “respects the decision of Misereor, which we believe underwent thorough deliberation.”

The priest said that “adjustments have to be made,” including the amendment in the registration of the network at the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission.

He assured that the changes within the network “will not affect the amount and quality of services that we render to the communities and the people whom we serve.”

Yolanda Esguerra, PMPI’s national coordinator, said whatever the changes that will be implemented, the organization “will remain a faith-based network of organizations responding to urgent social issues.”

Marielle Lucenio, Philippines

February 25, 2020

Catholic nuns join a demonstration in Manila to mark the 34th anniversary of the 1986 “People Power Revolution” on Feb. 25. (Photo by Jimmy Domingo)

Meliton “Dodong” Oso was a 25-year-old newly-ordained deacon when the 1986 “People Power Revolution” erupted in the Philippines.

After 34 years, now a monsignor, the priest still vividly recalls the days and nights when he and his fellow candidates for the priesthood fought for God and country.

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