Pro-lifers have renewed the call on legislators to pass two important bills in Congress which support the promotion and defence of life.
The lobby group in a statement urged lawmakers to deliberate on and pass two proposed life bills titled “Citizen Protection Act” and “Protection of the Unborn Child Act 2010.”
The call was made after a Manila policeman turned hostage taker killed eight HongKong tourists as seen in television worldwide.
“Why a dismissed policeman should be allowed to possess a high-powered rifle is an issue that lawmakers should address as they deliberate on a proposed bill calling for stricter measures for the carrying of firearms,” said Andrea Mendigo of Pro-Life Philippines Foundation.
But support for life should be applied in all human activities, said Mendigo, as one cannot condemn a law enforcer in torturing a prisoner and yet advocate the murder of defenceless and voiceless human beings through abortion.
“Respect for life must apply in all human activities, whether it be in sports, sexual encounters, or one’s profession,” Mendigo stressed.
She said doctors “who perform abortions on the one hand, and deliver healthy babies on the other hand, may feel conflicted in their professional psyche.”
“We all are part of the web of life,” she said. “When we begin to devalue the life of one member of the human race, we escalate into the cheapening of the rest of human life,” she added.
Mendigo said legislators should consider this “domino effect” when they deliberate on the bill calling for protection of the unborn child.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Movie proceeds to feed hungry Filipino children
A film that tells the greatest miracle of the 20th century will be shown in special screening to raise funds for the benefits of malnourished children.
Hapag-Asa, a program of the Pondo ng Pinoy that feeds at least 120,000 poor children each year, will be the recipient of the proceeds of “The 13th Day”—a movie on the miracle of Fatima.
The 13th Day, a film on the three young children who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima will be shown in cinema in time for the commemoration of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8.
The Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation and the Assissi Development Foundation which co-manage the feeding program invite the movie-going public to make a difference in the lives of hungry children by watching the film.
Organizers said it only “takes P10 a day or P1,200 for 6 months to feed a hungry child and help him improve his future.”
Being undertaken in partnership with dioceses, parishes and local organizations, the feeding program has already fed more than 500,000 poor and hungry children in the last five years.
Hapag-Asa is the local Church’s response to alleviate the problem of malnutrition and hunger which Pope Benedict XVI considered as “the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty.”
Both Pondo ng Pinoy and Assissi foundation are urging movie buffs to see the film and participate in Hapag-Asa’s mission to feed the hungry and malnourished Filipino children.
The movie’s release in Philippine theaters is made possible through the Marian Solidarity for Pope Benedict XVI.
Based on the memoirs of Lucia Santos, one of the three children of the apparition, “The 13th Day” re-create the true story of the three children chosen by the Blessed Virgin to bring the message of hope to the world.
Tickets at Ayala cinemas are priced at P75.00 for block screenings and at P100.00 for walk-in patrons.
For advanced online ticket purchase, check out Ayala’s www.sureseats.com. Interests for group and block screenings may call 632-1003 or send email to assisifoundation.13thday@gmail.com
“The 13th Day” will open September 8 at Greenbelt 3, Glorietta 4, TriNoma, Market!Market!, Alabang Town Center and in Ayala Center Cebu and in Marqueemall at Angeles Pampanga.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Corruption, sign of lack of democracy—EBF
The pervasive corruption in all levels of Philippine society is just but a symptom of a bigger problem, an ecumenical religious group said.
The Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF), a group of Catholic and Protestant Bishops, priests and nuns, in a statement said the bigger problem in the country today is the lack of democracy in economy and politics.
And it is seen in how the country patterned its economic policies to suit the “demands of globalization, specifically of the world-dominating US economy”, they said.
“…what has been considered as economic growth did not actually translate to jobs and welfare for the people… [but] was characterized by a widening disparity between the glaringly few rich and the numberless poor – the rich became richer and the poor were buried further in debt and poverty,” they further said.
According to statistics the annual net worth of the top 20 richest Filipinos is equivalent to the combined annual net worth of the more than 52 million Filipinos.
The Church leaders said elections may be an expression of democracy, but not the choice of leaders voted into office.
“Our historical experience shows that however repeatedly we underwent elections, the basic situation of our people never changed because those elected to office carry their vested interests instead of their constituents,” they stated.
A typical example, according to them, is the 30-year old agrarian reform program that has seen many presidents into office but was never implemented as required by law.
This lack of democracy is also apparent in the situation of the indigenous peoples and Bangsamoro communities in Mindanao, whose call for self-determination remain unheeded.
Aggressors have taken over the ancestral lands of the tribal communities in pursuit of so-called ‘development projects’ leaving the indigenous people “to fight among themselves for what meager resources are left,” they said.
‘Militaristic approach’
The EBF also criticized the government’s militaristic approach in solving the insurgency problem, saying the launching of Oplan Bantay Laya during Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration led to thousands of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.
The Aquino government has announced on August 16 that it would continue to implement Oplan Bantay Laya as an internal security policy.
“Instead of addressing the root causes of these rebellions, gun powder is addressed with more fire,” the group said on Aquino’s decision.
Resume peace talks
They urged President Aquino to go back to the negotiation table with the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) and resume the peace talks.
The government (under Arroyo) and the NDFP were already advancing into its second substantive agenda of the peace talks when it was stalled due to rampant extra judicial killings.
“We call [on] the GRP and the NDFP to go back to the negotiation table and resume long stalled peace talks immediately and discuss and agree on measures to address the root cause of the armed conflict,” the church leaders said.
They challenged both groups to “manifest that the peace process is on top of their priority; [ have] emissaries from the parties to talk even outside the formal conferences if negotiating panels are not yet ready; constitute immediately their negotiating panels and schedule as soon as possible the resumption of talks; adhere to previously signed agreements such as the Hague Declaration, JASIG, the CARHRIHL, etc; move forward to the discussion of the second substantive agenda which is the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER); and acknowledge that the people are essential stakeholders in the issue of peace.”
“Justice should always be at the heart of our efforts in achieving a sustainable peace – a peace which is not the silence of graves but a peace which is the rightful reign of democracy,” they further said.
The Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF), a group of Catholic and Protestant Bishops, priests and nuns, in a statement said the bigger problem in the country today is the lack of democracy in economy and politics.
And it is seen in how the country patterned its economic policies to suit the “demands of globalization, specifically of the world-dominating US economy”, they said.
“…what has been considered as economic growth did not actually translate to jobs and welfare for the people… [but] was characterized by a widening disparity between the glaringly few rich and the numberless poor – the rich became richer and the poor were buried further in debt and poverty,” they further said.
According to statistics the annual net worth of the top 20 richest Filipinos is equivalent to the combined annual net worth of the more than 52 million Filipinos.
The Church leaders said elections may be an expression of democracy, but not the choice of leaders voted into office.
“Our historical experience shows that however repeatedly we underwent elections, the basic situation of our people never changed because those elected to office carry their vested interests instead of their constituents,” they stated.
A typical example, according to them, is the 30-year old agrarian reform program that has seen many presidents into office but was never implemented as required by law.
This lack of democracy is also apparent in the situation of the indigenous peoples and Bangsamoro communities in Mindanao, whose call for self-determination remain unheeded.
Aggressors have taken over the ancestral lands of the tribal communities in pursuit of so-called ‘development projects’ leaving the indigenous people “to fight among themselves for what meager resources are left,” they said.
‘Militaristic approach’
The EBF also criticized the government’s militaristic approach in solving the insurgency problem, saying the launching of Oplan Bantay Laya during Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration led to thousands of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances.
The Aquino government has announced on August 16 that it would continue to implement Oplan Bantay Laya as an internal security policy.
“Instead of addressing the root causes of these rebellions, gun powder is addressed with more fire,” the group said on Aquino’s decision.
Resume peace talks
They urged President Aquino to go back to the negotiation table with the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) and resume the peace talks.
The government (under Arroyo) and the NDFP were already advancing into its second substantive agenda of the peace talks when it was stalled due to rampant extra judicial killings.
“We call [on] the GRP and the NDFP to go back to the negotiation table and resume long stalled peace talks immediately and discuss and agree on measures to address the root cause of the armed conflict,” the church leaders said.
They challenged both groups to “manifest that the peace process is on top of their priority; [ have] emissaries from the parties to talk even outside the formal conferences if negotiating panels are not yet ready; constitute immediately their negotiating panels and schedule as soon as possible the resumption of talks; adhere to previously signed agreements such as the Hague Declaration, JASIG, the CARHRIHL, etc; move forward to the discussion of the second substantive agenda which is the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER); and acknowledge that the people are essential stakeholders in the issue of peace.”
“Justice should always be at the heart of our efforts in achieving a sustainable peace – a peace which is not the silence of graves but a peace which is the rightful reign of democracy,” they further said.
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