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IMPACTQuote in the Act“I feel so empty today, I feel Brandenburg.”

Judika Zirzow, a 24-year old, visiting her hometown, Hoyerswerda in Eastern Germany, where housing is being torn down because of decreasing population;

quoting the above line from a song by performer Rainald Grebe.

“The next six to nine months are about survival.”

Kapil Arora, of Ernst & Young aviation; talking about Kingfisher Airlines of India which was known for giving royal treatment to passengers, but is presently reckoning with heavy debts from India’s government-owned banks due to

operation losses.

“The anti-corruption campaign is a vehicle to purge resistance.”

Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based analyst; of the recent wave of anti-corruption campaigns that is sweeping through China in the wake of the downfall of two high-ranking officials, but otherwise seen as the government’s attempt to

assuage public discontent at this time of recession.

“They should not be the victims of their government’s provocations.”

Lesley-Anne Knight, Secretary General of Caritas Asia; referring to people’s plight in North Korea saying that aid for the poor is the solution to ending the

crisis rather than military action which will only “cause greater human tragedies and more suffering for the people.”

“We may have declared independence from some nations, but the ones that now ‘enslave and exploit

Filipinos’ are their ‘fellow Filipino’.”

Angel Lagdameo, Archbishop of Jaro and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines; in his message on the occasion of the country’s

Independence Day celebrations.

“A triumph of democracy and the popular will.”

This Day, a national Nigerian newspaper; referring to a 13-1 vote where the legislature in the small state of Imo, Nigeria rejected the Reproductive Rights

Bill, marking a pro-life victory in state whose rich heritage, culture and religious traditions welcome life and respect of unborn children.

Volume 43 • Number 7 3

IMPACT July 2009 / Vol 43 • No 7

EDITORIAL

New art forms .................................................... 27COVER STORY

How bad really is Philippine Economy? ........ 16ARTICLES

The Church's Resistance against Mining ......... 4All the Denarii of Peter ....................................... 9Tweeting all fellow twavellers ......................... 11The New Fair-Trade Label Sets the

Standard .......................................................... 13Freedom gone awry .......................................... 14

DEPARTMENTS

Quote in the Act ................................................. 2News Features ................................................... 22Statements .......................................................... 24From the Blogs ................................................... 26From the Inbox .................................................. 28Book Reviews ..................................................... 29Entertainment .................................................... 30News Briefs ........................................................ 31

CONTENTS

The annual themes from June 19, 2009 to June 19, 2010 are a mouthful.

First, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) decided during their plenary assembly in January 2009, to declare a Year of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary for Peace-Building and Lay participation for Social Change, at the tail-end of the Year of St. Paul. The principal objective being the May 2010 elections: “we invite the Filipino faithful to start preparing spiritually for another crucial transition in the life our nation—namely, the elections in May 2010.

Without the slightest premo-nition of anybody else outside the Vatican, the Holy Father declared on March 16, 2009 a Year for Priests, announcing it first to the members of the Congregation for the Clergy on the occasion of their Plenary Assembly in Rome.

The Pope did this “to encour-age priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends,” and “for making the importance of the priest’s role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society ever more clearly per-ceived.” Apparently, this was

occasioned by the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Cure d’ Ars, Jean Mary Vianney.

In the Philippines, peace-building and lay participation for social change is a very tall order. In fact, while both are still in the stars, bringing them down to actualization or the hopelessness of it, accumu-late a tinge of failure on the part of the Church after over 400 years of Christianity. Working for social change, seemingly has not been a job of the churchgoer who has been dutifully “catechized” to observe religious practices stringently with-out regard for whatever happens to Malacañang or Congress—which, of course, are not within the ambit of the “religious” and, therefore, not part of being Christian, rightly or wrongly.

Truth to tell, the task of moral regeneration is too serious and big to be entrusted solely to religious leaders who, until now, have been too busy with the affairs of the sac-risty and, perhaps, barrio fiestas. The arena of battle is right in the hearts of lay people.

Says the CBCP Statement on the Year of Two Hearts for Peace-building and Lay participation for Social Change: “The participation

of the laity in moral leadership pertaining to every specific discipline and institution in the Philippine society is most essential, if we want the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church to have a tangible and positive impact at all on our life as a nation.”

On second look, it maybe providential, after all, why this is also the Year for Priests, if only to give a serious thought of his role in contemporary society which, for some, has gone far and wide to even run for political positions—which is a way of robbing from the laity what rightly belongs to them or, more seriously, a way of wasting what every priest should be most faithful about, his priesthood.

This issue opens with Rodne Galicha’s Defending Our Beau-tiful Land: The Church’s Re-sistance against Mining. Staff writer Charles Avila writes our cover story, How Bad really is Philippine Economy? Read on.


ARTICLES

Defending Our Beautiful Land:The Church's Resistance against Mining

By Rodne Galicha

The protection of the environment is not only a technical question; it is also and above all an ethical

issue. All have a moral duty to care for the environment, not only for their own good but also for the good of future generations. (John Paul II)

Rattling the world is the financial crunch which continuously challenges the economic stability of nations. In the Philippines, despite the world economic crisis, the government sees a hopeful potential of liberally utilizing mineral resources portrayed as an economic “messiah” with projected investments of $1 billion this year. However, due to an unclear global metal demand, Reuters (2009) reported that the investment target was slashed to only $600 mil-lion considering the total investment of $11.26 million in the first three months

of 2009. This is higher than the total actual Southeast Asian nation’s mining sector investment of $577.25 million in 2008, in which $600 million is quite ambitious.

But looking deeply into this reced-ing reality far from what was projected, the economic crisis and the lack of global metal demand are not the only reasons. If analyzed carefully at the grassroots level, in rural communities where large scale mining is aggressively promoted, the people themselves are learning to resist as they continue to realize the long-term effects of the industry not only in their lives but also on the lives of surrounding communities. With this sense of social understanding among communities, those people outside the applied mining area, realizing that they indeed share in the struggle, start to stand up and take strong position on their basic rights. And to address this

resistance, mining companies have been trying to bribe these people with social development programs and threaten them with displacement. But generally, the resistance becomes stronger.

CBCP’s consistent stand

Disturbed by the emerging fragility of the environment and its impacts on the faithful brought about by ecologi-cal imbalance and human-made abuses, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 1988 issued a Pastoral Letter on Ecology about “our living world and the deterioration we see all around us”, What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land?, that “attempts to reflect the cry of our people and the cry of our land” in which the bishops collectively said that at “the root of the problem, we see an exploitative mental-ity, which is at variance with the Gospel of Jesus.” It further declared that “We

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The Church's Resistance against Mining

reap what we sow; the results of our attitude and activities are predictable and deadly” and “our lands, forests and rivers cry out that they are being eroded, denuded and polluted.” Hence, there is an urgency about this issue which calls for widespread education and immedi-ate action.

The CBCP then asked the govern-ment not to pursue short-term economic gains at the expense of long-term eco-logical damage.

Always considered as the last and only refuge of the Filipino people when it comes to moral and political sensitivities, the CBCP addressing the concerns of affected communities after the passage of the Mining Act in 1995 opposed its implementation.

Consistent to the 1988 statement, another statement was collectively agreed by the bishops in 1998. In “A Statement of Concern on the Mining Act of 1995”, the CBCP declared that the government mining policy is offer-ing our lands to foreigners with liberal conditions while our people continue to grow in poverty, and that its imple-mentation “will certainly destroy both environment and people and will lead to national unrest.”

In 2006, CBCP President Angel N. Lagdameo, DD, signed another state-ment reaffirming the collective stand saying that the Mining Act destroys life. It further stressed that “The right to life of people is inseparable from their right to sources of food and livelihood. Allowing the interests of big mining corporations to prevail over people’s right to these sources” is tantamount “to violating their right to life.”

Again in December 2008, the CBCP issued a new pastoral letter on ecology, 20 years after the issuance of “What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land?” landmark pastoral letter in 1998.

Signed by Archbishop Lagdameo, the statement called for a moratorium on mining activities. Mining as promoted by the government, “having a poor re-

cord of community accountability”, is considered as “uncontrollable plunder” of natural resources with mining com-panies having “systematically engaged in the rape of Mother Earth and left a legacy of impoverished communities and environmental despoliation.”

Protracted local resistance Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), a na-

tional alliance of non-government or-ganizations, people’s organizations, indigenous peoples’ groups, convened by the Philippine Partnership for the De-velopment of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth Phil-ippines (LRC-KsK/FoE Phils.) and Haribon Foundation, has been engaging directly with mining-impacted com-munities through the Social Action Centers (SAC) of ecclesiastical ter-ritories. Through this engagement and partnership, ATM has been working at the grassroots level together with the SAC and various concerned groups, hence getting the whole mining picture in the country.

Known for his unquestionable en-vironmental ism, Dipolog Bishop Jose Manguiran, bishop-in-charge of the Mindanao DIOPIM (Dio-ceses of Dipolog, Iligan, Ozamis,

Pagadian, Ipil and Marawi) Committee on Mining Issues or DCMI, seeks to lib-erate people, especially the indigenous peoples, from the belief that mining promotes sustainable development.

“Mining destroys the soil, it doesn’t just displace it,” Bishop Manguiran said. “And (this is) the destruction of biodiversity, large animals down to microbes. And geological restitution is already impossible. Our laws are meant to protect the indigenous people (and the land). But in implementation they only help the foreign corporations,” he continued. Bishop Manguiran would always compare Filipinos who are pro-environment to the biblical David and the foreign mining companies, and the government to Goliath. “We only have a slingshot to defeat that horrible giant and the battle may be long, but the hand of God is with David,” he explained, “and David always wins”.

DIOPIM has been helping commu-nities in the Zamboanga peninsula and the surrounding dioceses especially with the Subanons’ Apo Manglang Glupa Pusaka (AMGP) through Timuay Jose ‘Boy’ Anoy’s struggles against Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI). TVI has been de-stroying the sacred Mt. Canatuan in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

Down to Southern part of Mindanao, the charis-matic Bish-op Dinual-

Defending Our Beautiful Land:The Church's Resistance against Mining

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ARTICLES

do Gutierrez, of the Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato, has been a front-liner in the anti-mining advocacy in the SOCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani and General Santos).

On Earth Day 2009, Bishop Guti-errez, with SAC Director Fr. Roming Catedral, led a large protest against what they call ‘unholy trinity’. He de-nounced the three industries that would put his flock into uncontrollable risks and disasters: Sagittarius Mining Inc. (SMI) large-scale mining in Tampa-kan, Conal Holdings Corporation and Alsons, Inc. coal-fired power plant in Maasim, and Sultan Mining and Energy Development Corp (SMED) coal mining in Lake Sebu.

“It’s alright to pray and launch education campaigns. But this time, we need to take up bigger actions and let our national leaders know that we are really opposing this, for the sake of ourselves and our future generations,” he declared.

On the presence of SMI, Bishop Gutierrez stressed that it “would affect our peace and order situation. Any im-moral activity breeds social ills. Mining operations in the hinterlands of Tampa-kan would destroy the environment and result into human rights abuses.”

When asked about the development and assistance of SMI to tribal commu-nities, Bishop Gutierrez would always regard it as “inducements” to permit mining operations. For him, if someone takes “advantage of the ignorance and poverty of the people, that is one form of human rights abuse.”

With Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios M. Pueblos, Bishop Gutierrez had been to the United Kingdom’s House of Commons to challenge the Members of Parliament to end British investment in destructive mining.

Backed by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the two bishops managed to present the real situation of mining industry in the Philippines speaking in behalf of their flocks urging the Parlia-ment to “stop destructive mining in our country.” They also stressed that “it’s a lie to say that poor people are being helped by it” and “the small islands in the Philippine archipelago can easily be destroyed.”

Bishop Pueblos has been deeply concerned with militarization, eco-

logical threats and displacement of indigenous peoples as results of the increasing mining ventures in his dio-cese especially in Agusan del Norte. Speaking over Church run Radio Veritas, he said, “It’s a lie to say mining saves people for there would be no more land to till and it will alter the climate in their area.”

Recently, Bishop Nereo Odchimar of the Diocese of Tandag expressed his disappointment on the government despite the issuance of Proclamation 1747, declaring the portion of the pub-lic domain of Alamyo, Buyaan, Paniki Rivers and Sipangpang Falls situated in the Municipalities of Carascal, Cantilan and Madrid, Province of Surigao del Sur and in the Municipalities of Jabonga, Santiago and Cabadbaran, Province of Agusan del Norte as critical watershed forest reserves.

During an Earth Day event in Su-rigao del Sur, the bishop said that he “felt betrayed upon learning that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had already issued Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) to Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation (MMDC)

and Carac-an Development Corporation (CDC) two months prior to government assurance through a dialogue with Sec. Lito Atienza, that it would look deeply into the watershed proclamation vis-à-vis mining.

Meanwhile, deeply etched in the memories of the faithful of the Arch-diocese of Cagayan de Oro was the devastation brought by flooding in January 2009 which affected more than 30,000 individuals.

Consistent with his stand, Arch-bishop Antonio Ledesma has renewed the call for environmental conserva-tion pointing out that flush mining has silted the river of Iponan; and logging upstream has brought devastation not only in the interior of Cagayan de Oro but also in the downstream areas in Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur.

“Fourteen years of the implemen-tation of the Mining Act of 1995 had brought about the physical and economic dislocation of many indigenous peoples and other upland rural communities, as well as aggravated the already dire situation of our environment by handing over our lands and mineral resources for corporate exploitation. All these, in


to care for the environment as a matter of common and universal duty.”

The presence of People's Recovery, Empowerment Development Assistance (PREDA) founded by Columban mis-sionary Fr. Shay Cullen, SSC, in Iba diocese has been vital in protecting the indigenous rights of the Aeta com-munity especially in Sitio Maporac in Cabangan town. With Maporac Aeta Association (MAO) led by Tribal Chief Salvador Dimain, PREDA partners with PMPI and ATM to address issues regarding Ancestral Domain claims vis a vis mining.

In Marinduque, people are still suf-fering the aftermath of the Marinduque mining disaster caused by Marcopper's floodings of some 1.6 million cubic meters of tailings many years ago. Boac Bishop Rey Evangelista lamented the government’s inaction to remedy the situation.

“After 27 years of Marcopper's operation, Marinduque remains a 4th class province,” he said.

Asked about the accountability of Marcopper in an interview over Radio Veritas, Bishop Evangelista said that he has “grown tired of meeting government officials on our plight and nothing good has happened.”

Despite the disappointments, resi-dents of Marinduque recently flocked to Mogpog River and put sandbags along the banks to reduce the risk of floodings.

“After long years of neglect by higher officials of the country who lend deaf ears to our cries for the mining company’s cleanup of the Boac and Mogpog rivers, we decided to mobi-lize the people to clean the Mogpog River ourselves,” said Myke Magalang, executive director of the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC), which initiated the sandbag-ging activity.

Due to the opposition of the people of Bagamanoc to magnetite mining of Shun Fong Transport Co. in the coastal towns of Bagamanoc and Panganiban in the Diocese of Virac in Catanduanes province, Bishop Manolo delos Santos and the clergy are now at the forefront of the anti-mining advocacy. Together with the I-Care Bagamanoc organiza-tion, the Diocese of Virac Social Action Foundation, Inc. (DVSAFI) formed a technical working group versus min-ing to address the emerging threat not only of magnetite mining but also of

the possible massive consequence of the Department of Energy’s coal mining to be operated by Monte Oro Resources and Energy, Inc.

DVSAFI Executive Director Rev. Fr. Laudemer Jose Gapaz said that “mining has been a big problem for the Philippines as its social effect has been disastrous and the industry has not proven to be economically beneficial despite claims by its backers, adding that only one percent of the gross rev-enues go to the coffers of the national government, not to the area of mining operation. This has resulted in economic exploitation, injustice, and ecological degradation.”

Because of the threat of large-scale open-pit mining by Filminera Mining Corp. (FMC) backed by Australian-based Central Gold Asia Ltd., the Diocese of Masbate formed the multi-sectoral Task Force Aroroy in which Bishop Joel Baylon was chosen as Chairman. In a statement, the diocese stressed that “that we are stewards of God’s creation and are accountable to Him who created everything in our world to be good.”

With the Association of Concerned Residents of Aroroy (ACRA), the Evan-gelical Churches, through Fr. Leo Casas of the Diocese of Masbate Social Ac-tion Foundation Inc. (DMSAFI) and various peoples’ organizations, series of protests have been held in front of the mining area. Worth mentioning is the priest-in-charge of a quasi-parish, Fr. Edgar Mamforte, who has been re-ceiving threats and was even harassed by the armed security of the mining company.

Alarmed by the opposition of the people and the reality of mining devasta-tions in Albay province and possible ef-fects in Bicol Region, a letter-statement was issued by the Bicol bishops and sent to His Holiness Benedict XVI, saying that their opposition have “have fallen on deaf ears,” and “since it is also a most important human responsibility, the Church is duty-bound to offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical formation, her own specific contribution towards understanding the requirements of justice and achieving them politically.”

In the Apostolic Vicariates of Cala-pan in Oriental Mindoro and San Jose in Occidental Mindoro, a series of protests have been conducted to oppose Intex Resources’ public scopings and hear-

exchange for a grossly disadvantageous amount from mining revenues,” he said as he criticized the mining policy being implemented.

The situation of mining in Mindan-ao has been haunting rural communities. Lumads and Bangsamoro communities have joined hands in opposing mining companies, opposition that led to the killing of Eliezer ‘Boy’ Billanes, a lay leader, who opposed the activities of SMI and other companies in SOCSK-SARGEN. Bishop Gutierrez hailed Boy as a “prophet, a voice of God.” “He was killed because of his advocacy against mining…he’s a protector of the integrity of creation.”

In the Diocese of Mati, Sr. Stella Matutina, OSB, had been illegally de-tained by the military due to her efforts to educate the people on the ill-effects of mining. The Military tagged here as a Communist member, hence, the explicit condemnation of the Sisters As-sociation of Mindanao (SAMIN) saying that “amidst this state of oppression, we remain steadfast to fulfill the mission of the Church which is to assert the dignity and rights of the people and the integrity of Creation. We carry this task


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ings. Recently, five thousand people were mobilized in the town of Pola with Calapan's clergy and seminarians from St. Augustine Seminary, thousands in Victoria and another five thousand in Mamburao where Bishop Antonio Palang joined the protestors together with his clergy in staging a walk out from the public hearing venue.

In his latest statement, Most Rev. Warlito Cajandig said that “considering the situation of our country, it is impos-sible to have the so-called responsible mining because of the prevailing culture of corruption in the government—many are abusive of their powers, and many can also be bribed. Even the on-going mining in Palawan that is being taunted as beneficial to the people does not really pursue the well being of the people, as reported to me by my friends—priests coming from the area.”

In the island of Mindoro, the Church is joined by various anti-mining orga-nizations such as Alyansa Laban sa Mina (ALAMIN) and Kaagapay. Both provinces have been expressing their opposition to the unjust and irrespon-sible processes undergone by Intex and the DENR.

In Sibuyan Island, under the Dio-cese of Romblon, the clergy with Bishop Jose Corazon Talaoc, are very

supportive to the position of the ma-jority of the island-people. The anti-mining advocacy is being maintained through the Basic Ecclesial Com-munities (BEC) in coordination with Sibuyanons Against Mining/Sibuyan Island Sentinels League for Environ-ment Inc. (SAM/Sibuyan ISLE). Some 85 church-workers, teachers, farmers, among others, are still facing grave coercion charges filed by the employees of Sibuyan Nickel Properties Develop-ment Corp. (SNPDC) because of their participation in a rally in which Hon. Armin Rios-Marin, president of a Par-ish Pastoral Council, was murdered by SNPDC's security guard.

Most Rev. Ramon Villena of the Diocese of Bayombong, where vari-ous human rights violations have been documented and brought to the attention of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), commented on OceanaGold's human rights abuses and injustices in Didipio, Kasibu, “The company is doing an overkill on this. It is now wielding its octopus hands and power in order to overwhelm and oppress the people, and disregard their human rights.”

"These human rights violations are indicative of the fact, a sign that what we have been telling all along that min-ing is very destructive and many more

destruction will follow if we allow it,” he added.

Just like Bishop Villena who was declared by Nueva Vizcaya province as persona non grata ten years ago because of his strong position against illegalities, Fr. Emiliano Ibera, OFM, parish priest of Quezon town, through a resolution of the said town was declared the same and was petitioned to be ousted from the parish recently. This was due to his position against illegal logging and large-scale mining. But Bishop Villena called the resolution “rubbish.”

Fr. Ibera, true to his calling as a Franciscan, said, “I knew it was com-ing but I just shrugged it off, my work mandates me to advocate social issues, and as God’s servant, I will continue to do it in accordance with the teachings of the Church.”

Nueva Vizcaya hosts a number of mining companies such as OceanaGold, Rolayco, and FCF Minerals/MTL Phils., among others.

Going up to the North, the Archdio-cese of Tuguegarao clergy, through Aux-iliary Bishop Ricardo Baccay, issued a statement of concern on the emerging threat of mining especially on the shores of Northern part of Cagayan province particularly in Buguey, Aparri and Lallo

Resistance, page 15


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In early July, the Vatican will publish its financial report for 2008, as it does every year, in two chapters plus an appendix.The first chapter will list the income and expenditures of

the Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica, APSA, which manages the fixed and current assets owned by itself, the curia, the diplomatic corps, the publishing house, the radio and television stations.

The second chapter will list the income and expenditures of the governorate of Vatican City State: land, services, mu-seums, stamps, coins.

The appendix will present the total of the Peter's Pence, the collection for the pope taken all over the world every year on June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, plus the donations made directly to the pope over the course of the year.

In 2007, for example, the collection and donations totaled 94.1 million dollars, 14.3 million of which came from a single

donor who wanted to remain anonymous.This is what is published each year.Nothing else. Not a line about the other income, apart

from the Peter's Pence, that feeds into the "pope's charity." And not a line about how this sum is used.

There is an office in the secretariat of state that deals with precisely this matter. It was directed for many years by Monsignor Gianfranco Piovano, who was replaced a few months ago by Monsignor Alberto Perlasca. Both men are career diplomats. In addition to the Peter's Pence, its fund-ing is provided by the contributions that the dioceses all over the world are required to make to the successor of Peter, according to canon 1271 of the code of canon law. Money is also sent by the religious congregations and foundations. In 2007, according to a confidential report that the Vatican sent to the dioceses, these contributions amounted to 29.5 million dollars, which together with the Peter's Pence total 123.6 million dollars.

This money is earmarked for the "pope's charity." In a lecture to diplomats from various countries in the Middle East and North Africa, given in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University in May of 2007, the banker Angelo Caloia, president of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione, IOR, the "Vatican bank," described the use of this money:

"It is directed above all to the material needs of poor

All the Denarii of PeterVices and virtues of the Vatican Bank

By Sandro Magister

dioceses, to religious institutes and communities in grave difficulty: the poor, children, the elderly, the marginalized, victims of wars and natural disasters, refugees, etcetera."

In that same lecture, moreover, Caloia referred to another funding source of the "pope's charity": the profits of the IOR. In March of every year, in fact, the IOR makes entirely available to the pope the difference between its income and expenditures during the previous year. This total is kept se-cret, but it is believed to be close to that of the Peter's Pence. At least this was the case in the four years for which figures were leaked. It came to 60.7 billion Italian lire in 1992, 72.5 billion in 1993, 75 billion in 1994, and 78.3 billion in 1995. During those same years, the Peter's Pence was just slightly above these amounts.

Given this state of affairs, 2007 should have brought Benedict XVI, for his "charity," a sum total of about two hundred million dollars.

During that same year, the ledgers showed a deficit of 9.1 million euros for APSA, and a surplus of 6.7 million euros for the governorate. Chopped liver, by comparison.

Caloia said little about the IOR in his lecture to the dip-lomats. He emphasized that this "does not have a functional relationship" with the Holy See. And he stated that the only authorized depositors are "individuals or persons juridically endowed with canonical legitimacy: cardinals, bishops, priests, sisters, brothers, religious congregations, dioceses, chapters, parishes, foundations, etcetera."

But the reality has not always corresponded to this de-scription. When Caloia became head of the Vatican bank in 1990, it had just emerged from a terrible deficit connected to the name of Caloia's predecessor, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, and to the reckless operations he undertook with the financiers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, both of whom later died violent deaths under mysterious circumstances.

Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the secretary of state at the time, had resolved the dispute by ordering that the creditors be paid 242 million dollars as a "voluntary contribution." In an agreement with the Italian government, Casaroli appointed two specialists in finance and administrative law, Pellegrino Capaldo and Agostino Gambino, to investigate the operations of the Vatican bank, together with a prelate in the curia with his absolute trust, Monsignor Renato Dardozzi. Dardozzi was

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Two hundred million dollars for the “pope's charity.” Where does it come from? Where does it go? New revelations on the

malfeasance of the Institute for Works of Religion. And on the obstacles posed to its rehabilitation.

born in 1922 and became a priest at the age of 51. He received degrees in engineering, mathematics, philosophy, and theol-ogy, and was a telecommunications manager before finally becoming director and chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

From that time until a few years before his death in 2003, Dardozzi continued to oversee the operations of the IOR on behalf of the Vatican secretariat of state, with Casaroli and his successor, Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

Dardozzi documented his work of oversight. And this documentation has now been made public in a book recently released in Italy, written by Gianluigi Nuzzi and published by Chiarelettere.

The documents cited and reproduced in the book are absolutely reliable. They demonstrate that the removal of Marcinkus and his replacement by Caloia in 1990 was not enough to purge the IOR of malfeasance right away.

In fact, Monsignor Donato De Bonis stayed in the key role of "prelate" of the Vatican bank until 1993. And during those years, he launched a sort of parallel shadow bank, under his exclusive command, that again risked plunging the IOR into deficit.

It was in the spring of 1992 that Caloia began to suspect that there were irregularities. He ordered a thorough investiga-tion, and verified that in effect De Bonis controlled accounts

attributed to fictitious foundations, which in reality concealed illegal financial operations, for tens of billions of lire.

In August, a detailed report on these fake accounts came to the desk of the secretary of John Paul II, Monsignor Stan-islaw Dziwisz.

De Bonis was removed from the IOR in March of 1993. No one replaced him in the post of the bank's "prelate," which remained vacant. De Bonis was consecrated bishop and ap-pointed military chaplain of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a role that enjoys diplomatic protections.

But even after his departure from the IOR, De Bonis continued to operate through officials connected to him. Alarmed by this, at the end of July Caloia wrote to cardinal secretary of state Sodano:

"... It is increasingly clear that criminal activity is being conducted deliberately by those who, according to their cho-sen way of life and the role they fulfill, should instead have provided a strict critical conscience. It is becoming more and more difficult to understand the continuation of a situation such that the person in question [De Bonis] continues, from a no less privileged position, to manage indirectly the activi-ties of the IOR..."

The risk was all the more severe in that, precisely during those months, the Italian judiciary was investigating a colos-

All the Denarii of Peter

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day 2008. No prizes for guessing who this demographic voted for.

Just as Obama used social media in a sophisticated way to mobilize his target audience to win last November’s elec-tion, every one who considers himself a political or social conservative needs to learn and master this new means of communication. Social media are to our age what the printing press was to the Reformation. We neglect it at our own peril.

‘Friend’ is a verb now—get used to it Unfortunately, I am dismayed by

everything I read about social media by writers on conservative websites, including MercatorNet. All they can do is point fingers, complain and ridicule the medium because they are dismayed by all the bad stuff you can find on social media sites. True. It is all there—pornography, internet bul-lying, bad manners, and bad grammar and spelling—and I am dismayed by all those as much as any of my fellow conservatives.

But shunning social media, from Facebook to Twitter to Youtube, is not the answer. Obama’s win proved it.

Rather we need to be engaged. Just as the Counter-Reformation also had to leverage the printing press, we need to leverage social media. It is time to open accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Youtube, to start “friend-ing” others and stop complaining that “friend” is not a verb.

Just as politicians and major cor-porations are using social media to get their messages out, thinking conserva-tives need to do so too. Unfortunately, if you go to the blogs or Twitter accounts of many leading conservative thinkers,

Tweeting all fellow twavellersDon't be a trog, get with the blog;

or if that's a bad fit, try tweeting a twit.By Alistair Nicholas

I have a very simple proposition: It is time conservatives got with the times and grabbed Web 2.0 by the

horns. Otherwise we should pack our bags and concede defeat to the left in the culture wars.

Here is the problem. By eschewing social media—for fear of technology, fear of what we don’t understand, and in order to protect our children from its unsavory excesses—we are in danger of becoming the troglodytes of the intellectual battlefield. We are handing victory—on every point of contention from abortion and gay marriage to na-tional security and social welfare—to the other side.

Conservatives simply are losing political and moral ground in the in-formation age because, armed with the propaganda instruments of a previous age, we cannot enlist the support of a generation that is growing up immersed in social media. Just look at the results of the last US presidential election. It was overwhelmingly won by Barack Obama on social media platforms that the Republicans did not understand. Barack Obama may have won the elec-tion regardless thanks to the ineptitude of his Republican predecessor; but the Obama camp’s use of social media to mobilize supporters and organize their campaign ensured an overwhelming vic-tory for the Democrats with the highest youth voter turnout on record.

Conservatives lost the battle on Twitter, on the blogs and the vlogs, on MySpace and Facebook, and on You-tube. We are losing the war because we continue to cling to dying traditional media platforms (TV, radio, newspapers

and magazines) and their static, one-way communications websites while failing to grasp the basics of the new media.

Nabbing the youth vote The numbers tell the story. By the

time President Obama was elected more than 500 million blog articles could be found online about him, his campaign and policies, compared with just 150 million on John McCain. No doubt a good many of those posts were criti-cal of Obama; but then so were a good number of the blog posts on McCain. In this case it is the volume of posts that speaks volumes.

On social networks like MySpace, Obama had more “friends” than McCa-in—a lot more. By the time the election was held Obama had some 844,927 friends compared to McCain’s 219,404. On the micro-blogging site Twitter, Obama trounced McCain with 118,107 followers compared with 4,942.

The US election has always been a popularity contest. But, whereas Thomas Jefferson and John Adams only had to influence a few hundred Electoral College delegates directly by targeted letter writing campaigns and visits by their proxies and surrogates, today’s candidates need to reach a mass audience with the tools of modern com-munication. What Obama demonstrated was the ability to bypass the traditional media (which is in decline anyway) and take his campaign directly to the vot-ers, young voters in particular. Indeed, figures show that 52 per cent of users of the Facebook social networking site are aged 18-25, a demographic strongly targeted by the Obama cam-paign. Consequently the youth voter turnout record was broken on election


like Peggy Noonan and Anne Coulter, you realize they have an appalling lack of knowledge of social media and how to leverage it. They have plain failed to friend the right people or achieve sufficient numbers of followers to re-ally drive political and social debate on Web 2.0.

The key failing of the McCain campaign was to understand that social media is about user-generated content. The McCain camp seemed to think they had to drive it all from the top down as they had always done with traditional media.

But social media is different. It’s very difference is highlighted by the word “social”. This means it is about individuals interacting with others who share their views and experiences.

It is time conservatives started to friend, blog, vlog, and tweet in genu-inely social ways—or die.

Tweeting purposefully Blogging and vlogging are not

for everyone and I don’t recommend everyone try those. They are heavy lifting and, if done well, take a serious commitment. Good blogs need to be well written and good videos need to be well made. They take time, effort and real thought. Of course, if you have something to say and can commit the resources, go for it.

But tweeting is a different ball game and should be adopted by everyone with purpose. While Twitter has been ridiculed as the Internet medium for telling people about the most mundane details of your life (“having coffee in Starbucks” and “bought milk at the gro-cery store”), it is fast evolving beyond that. Companies have discovered it as a way to get their messages out, directly to their stakeholders and media outlets, like CNN and the Financial Times, are now using Twitter to drive traffic to their websites for breaking news and op-ed pieces.

How can conservatives use Twitter to drive the political and social agenda? It’s easy. Start by registering an account. If you don’t want to show your real

name, make up a name like “Republi-canRapunzel” or whatever works for you. If you want to see what leading conservatives are tweeting, search for them under their real names and then link to follow them on Twitter. You’ll find that other people who follow them may start following you as well.

The math of it is simple—the more people you follow, the more followers you will acquire. You can either build up a mass following by following masses of other tweeters, or you can take a strategic approach and just follow a select group of people, such as fellow conservatives and conservative websites.

While you will get the tweets of all the people you follow, you don’t have to read them all. So don’t worry that Betty-Sue is tweeting about being at the hairdresser’s or the grocery store. Be selective. Only read the tweets of the people that interest you and that you trust. For example, while I’m technically following more than 70 people on my personal Twitter account and more than 200 on an account I manage for a client, I am in fact only reading the tweets of about seven people. They are a couple of journalists that I know, or media outlets that I trust, or opinion websites that I like. That’s it. I don’t read the tweets of everyone else I am following and you don’t have to either.

Nor am I under the illusion that everyone following me is reading my tweets. I know most of them are not. Indeed, many are companies linking to me to build their own following. It’s all part of the game. But the way I look at it is, if there are seven good people following then I must be having an impact. Because those seven people will have seven people truly following them. And their seven true followers will have their own seven true follow-ers and so on and so forth. You get the idea. It’s about creating a tidal wave by starting a ripple.

The other big myth about Twitter is that you need to be plugged in and hooked up to it 24/7. There are people who live their lives on it, but you don’t have to. I check in about every two

days—when I have something valuable to tweet. At that time I check what the seven people I follow are saying to see if they are pointing me to good informa-tion. Maybe someone has a comment about a good article in the Washington Post, with a link to it. I follow the link. In a lot of ways, Twitter has made my research more efficient—my fellow netizens are doing the work for me and pointing me in the right direction. It saves me hours of Googling for the same stories and I have the verification of those I trust.

It doesn’t get better than that. Of course, there are unsavory peo-

ple on the Internet, pornographers, child molesters and other scoundrels. But then they may be living in your neighborhood as well. But you don’t know. So what do you do? Move to another street, an-other city or another country? No. You lock the door so they can’t get in; and if you find out about them you report them to the police. Do the same with Twitter. When the pornographers and other creeps come knocking or try to friend me I block them. It’s easy—you just have to check on who is trying to become a follower on a regular basis; I receive an email as soon as someone links to me on Twitter. If I am suspi-cious I get online as soon as I can and I read their profile. If they prove to be a creep, I block them.

It’s time to stop twitching at the thought of tweeting and get on Twit-ter. Come on; I’ll follow you if you’re a fellow traveler. The more conserva-tives that get on Twitter and other social media sites, the more balance we can introduce into the debates taking place on Web 2.0.

(Alistair Nicholas is the founder of AC Capital Strategic Consulting, a China-based communications advisory and training company. He also advises companies on the use of social media and search engine optimization strate-gies. He blogs at Off The Record and he tweets under the name alinicholas on Twitter. This article is printed with permission by MercatorNet)

Tweeting all fellow twavellers

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The New Fair-Trade Label Sets the Standard

By Fr. Shay Cullen

No matter how many times I told Dado Santos to leave his big sack of recovered recycled drink pouches at the bottom of our steep driveway and we would send

down the pick-up to get his heavy sack, he always insisted on carrying that heavy sack up the driveway on his back by himself.

He was making a statement, “look at me, he was saying, a poor uneducated jobless man turned recycler, collector and sanitizer of discarded drink pouches and here on my back is the evidence of my success”. Then he collects his hefty and fair-trade payment. That is at the heart of fair trade—just wage for good products.

These discarded drink pouches are recycled and sewn into super quality colorful and attractive back packs, rucksacks, shopping bags, purses, computer bags and every other bag you could think of. They sell all over the world and give sustainable work to more than fifty sewing families that have a good living, making them in their own homes.

They can now feed their families with plenty of healthy food, dress them well and parents stand tall and proud as they send their kids to school. The cycle of poverty has been broken. All this thanks to the good people around the world that buy Preda recycled products.

Despite all the worry and problems caused by an eco-nomic recession, one thing has not diminished and that is the commitment of the people who love fair-play, and a fair-go and dislike buying anything made by a company that gets rich on child labor or exploiting women in sweat shops or farms.

Preda Fair Trade saw the plight of small mango farmers over 15 years ago. The farm gate price was so low because there was a price fixing cartel. They only bought the best and biggest fresh mango fruit for export and the rest were left to rot. But a friend and partner found a way to dry the fruit and dried mangos had a terrific taste and everybody wanted

to buy them. Preda fair-trade mangos were born.Soon we were exporting tons of dried mangos to the

fair-trader importers in Europe. They are the healthiest of all, a special secret Profood drying process gives them a long shelf life without using preservatives. So they are chemical-free and we even have unique great tasting dried mangos with no added sugar.

Preda and Profood were soon buying hundreds of tons of fresh mangos of all shapes and sizes and paying higher prices. The farmers were delighted, there were no rejects. They only wanted to sell to the Preda-Profood project and soon the members of the price fixing cartel were starved of mangos and had to offer higher and higher prices and compete with each other for a supply of mangos.

The cartel soon disintegrated and the price of mangos almost doubled and thousands of small farmers and their families were ecstatic. They too could stand proud and prosperous and send their children to school, well dressed with full stomachs and much more. Dire poverty was over for them. Preda Fair-Trade had scored again and continues to keep on scoring in the grim game against poverty and exploitation. Preda fair-trade dried mangos are in major quality supermarkets in the UK and Ireland. Support small farmers and ask for Preda dried mangos under the Forest Feast brand and have a taste of justice and take a bite out of crime as they say.

How can we be sure that a product is really a fairly-traded product and not made with child labor or sweat shop slaves? That's where the new and upcoming IFAT Fair-trade label is essential. The International Fair Trade Association (IFAT) has the highest standard for certifying that an organization is truly doing fair trade and Preda is one of those. Look for the Preda name and IFAT, the only names you can trust to be truly fair trade.

(Fr. Shay Cullen, a Columban Missionary, is the Founder and Director of Preda Foundation, Inc. in Olongapo City.)

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FREEDOM GONE AWRYBy Fr. Roy Cimagala

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impulses from improper if not false sources.

This is the freedom we see in the world today, deeply embedded in the culture and people’s way of life. This is also the kind of freedom that gives shape and direction to the vision and authority of some world leaders.

It’s a freedom that acknowledges no abso-lute law outside of one-self or of some subject. Everything is made rela-tive to the subject who now considers himself his own God, perhaps with some support from a consensus.

We need to recover the true and objective nature of freedom from the clutches of subjec-tivism, secularism and relativism. And perhaps the more challenging predicament from which freedom has to be extri-cated is the double-life culture so widespread

even among professed Christians. It’s this culture that fails either to distinguish or

link, or both to distinguish and link God and us, what’s inside us and what’s outside us, the subjective and the objective, our freedom and autonomy in relation to law and the virtue of obedience, the mundane and the sacred in our affairs and concerns.

For me now, the US has become a big, interest-ing and illuminating theatre where the battle for the true nature of freedom is waged. Of course, the drama of freedom is played everywhere. But it’s in the US where this drama of freedom gone awry is large and closely monitored, as if you’re watching YouTube.

At the moment, I cannot get over that view of Presi-dent Obama who says he is still for abortion but wants it to be as rare as possible. It’s a crude, Solomonic if foxy way of resolving an issue, as if a baby can be divided

I remember that when the Iron Curtain col-lapsed, Pope John

Paul II warned the world to the effect that while freedom was restored in the Communist bloc, freedom in the West needed also to be re-covered. In fact, that is the more urgent and important task.

Implied was that the freedom in the West, heavily infused with the capitalistic ideology, was of the trickier kind, since it tended to scream that it was free when in fact it was not.

So the effort to re-cover it would be more challenging, more de-manding, since we can-not easily point a finger at what’s missing with the freedom so far practiced and enjoyed in the West. In the communist and socialist system, these missing elements could easily be identified.

The Western freedom has the appearance and trappings of freedom but without its proper substance. It’s a self-generated freedom, which starts and ends with oneself or with a certain collective subject, as in a family, group, country or even the whole world. It’s a freedom gone astray.

It’s a freedom that refuses to acknowledge where it comes from and for what and for where it should be used and directed. It’s a freedom incapable of transcend-ing itself.

That’s the meanest cut it inflicts on itself, the most subtle and pernicious virus that can attack it. With that understanding, freedom gets totally imprisoned in its subjectivity with no link to its objective nature.

It’s a freedom intoxicated with its own powers and privileges, very vulnerable to getting abused and spoiled. Detached from its basis on truth, from its proper origin and end, from God, it can easily get blinded. It gets its

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FREEDOM GONE AWRYtowns. Bishop Baccay said that the priests are in solid mind and heart in concluding that the larger socio-economic and environmental costs of mining operations far outweigh the people's economic benefits.

The statement further said that the mining operations will endanger the river’s ecosystems, cause deple-tion of resources, result to the destruc-tion of sources of livelihood and will seriously threaten the people's health and environmental safety.

It has been known recently that the shores in the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao from Sta. Ana, Cagayan to the Ilocos Region down to the coastlines of Zambales are being applied for by mining companies to extract magnetite.

Fr. Manny Catral, SAC Direc-tor of the Archdiocese of Tugue-garao, said that the SACs of the Ilocos Region had already expressed their concern not only on magnetite mining but also the emergence of large-scale mining operations and explorations.

These are just some of the mas-sive protests of the people within the Church across the Philippines in the first half of 2009, not mentioning some areas such as those being led by CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, Taytay Bishop Ed-gardo Juanich, and Palawan Bishop Pedro Arigo, among others.

An urgent MissionIndeed, the words of John Paul II

echoes through the Church's concern on ecological issues: “We are quickly learning how vital it is to respect the ecology of nature, if we are not to cause serious harm to the world future generations will receive from us. More urgent still, though more difficult, is the need to learn to respect the ecology of the human world, by which I mean the truth of the human person and the social implications of this.”

This certainly nullifies the allega-tion of some economists and pro-mining advocates that the Church is just a use-less noisy gong. No, not useless. The Church is the voice of the voiceless. Is it not true that the last resort of the people to help them seek justice and refuge are always the men and women within the Church?

In this time of injustice brought about by the aggressive promotion of mining in the Philippines, various people's organizations and non-gov-ernment organizations are all working together with the Church and other religions to bring back the integrity of creation. Leading the anti-mining campaigns are the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP), the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) with its Mis-sion Partners (MP) and the Philippine

Misereor Partnership (PMP), among others.

The Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), consistent to the call of the CBCP, aims to put a stop to large-scale min-ing in the Philippines and the imple-mentation of the fiscal regime.

If the government claims that the mining industry is the “messiah” of our ailing economy, then it is not true, for the real Messiah is Jesus Christ Himself. To save the economy is to follow the egalitarian character of Christ that is brought about by His unconditional love.

John Paul the II further says that “When man disobeys God and refuses to submit to his rule, nature rebels against him and no longer rec-ognizes him as its 'master', for he has tarnished the divine image in himself. The claim to ownership and use of created things remains still valid, but after sin its exercise becomes difficult and full of suffering.” (Solicitudo Rei Socialis, S. 30)

Indeed, “development which is merely economic is incapable of setting man free; on the contrary, it will end by enslaving him further. (Solicitudo Rei Socialis, S. 46).

(Rodne R. Galicha is the Sites of Struggles Officer of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), a coalition of non-government and people organizations against destructive mining.)

into two to satisfy the opposing parties. And this mindset seems to be widespread, and

even supported by a systematic ideology with practical script and methods. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for example, is now promoting worldwide abortion-on-demand and other questionable causes.

A bill is now pending approval in the US Congress to create among other things an Office for Women’s Global Issues in the State Department, a thinly veiled effort to promote abortion all over the world and to overturn pro-life laws in other countries, including ours.

In fact, in our country there is already a slow but

steady trend to approve population-control laws and decrees in the city level. Of course, the Trojan horse used are concerns like Reproductive Health and now, Health Care.

We have to help one another in understanding the true nature, meaning and purpose of our freedom. We have to learn how to overcome the obstacles to this understanding, exposing the many myths and lies about freedom and showing the practical ways true freedom can be lived and enjoyed.

But for all this, let’s never forget to pray, offer sacrifices, study and act!

Resistance, from page 8

Freedom gone awry

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How bad really is Philippine Economy?


COVERSTORYHow bad really is

Philippine Economy?By Charles Avila

The Lost Decades

A t a U.N. Conference on Financ-ing for Development last De-cember in Doha, Qatar, Member

States requested the General Assembly to organize a meeting “at the highest level”—a United Nations summit—which they scheduled for 23-26 June 2009 in London (UK).

The aim was to identify both emer-gency and long-term responses to miti-gate the impact of the crisis—increas-ingly perceived to be the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression—especially on vulnerable populations. The hope thereafter was to initiate a needed dialogue on the trans-formation of the international financial architecture, taking into account the needs and concerns of all countries of the world.

Assessments of the impact on the ongoing economic crisis highlighted the deteriorating social and political fallout in the least developed countries and middle-income countries as well. Prospects for an early recovery have faded, forcing countries to prepare for a prolonged downturn in trade, invest-ment and employment.

The stark reality is that the situation in the world’s developing countries—which contributed least to the crisis and yet are the ones most severely affected—has led some economists to warn of “lost decades for development” which could have catastrophic consequences for rich and poor countries alike. It seems to be bad news all around.

Filipinos still upbeat on the economy?Given all this, many UN Summi-

teers were incredulously surprised, if not shocked, when told that 44 percent of Filipinos nationwide believed that while the economy was still weak, it would soon start to recover. In the most recent 2,000-people survey by global market research firm Synovate 43 percent of respondents even said that they had earned more in the last six months! And 12 percent of Metro Manila respondents said they were actually spending more on luxury items. In fact, the “Malling” of the country goes on unabated.

This is not to say that the current economic situation has not impacted the lives of everyday Filipinos. All across the Philippines, according to the same survey, people have become more

Unless people-powered participation is organized by change agents, the government’s economic resiliency plan will be short of details and long in sub rosa appropriations, and last minute looting may even lead to worse economic misery and heightened social

unrest—or, maybe, at last, to real change.

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conscious when it comes to spending, with close to two-thirds (or 59 percent) paying more attention to prices of food items before making a purchase. In ad-dition, high-tech gadgets and branded goods topped the list of items that people from Metro Manila avoided, while over a quarter (28 percent) from Mindanao said they were giving up on outside meals with friends, choosing cheaper dining options instead. People are definitely making changes to their spending habits.

Despite the worrying trend, how-ever, the survey interpreted the majority of people to be generally upbeat, with over three quarters (86 percent) agree-ing that they will always find a way to afford some items that make them feel good.

But aren’t more people losing their jobs?How many people do you know

who have not lost their jobs? How many do you know who have? Some private survey groups say one thing. The official statisticians of the State say another. Being in some measure part of a globalized economy, let us hear from the ILO, the United Nations’ Interna-tional Labor Office. The ILO puts out an annual Global Employment Trends report (GET).

The report says global unemploy-ment in 2009 could increase over 2008 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate. Giving a report it called “realistic, not

alarmist” the ILO said that last scenario of 50 million unemployed would easily mean some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty.

The number of working poor—people who are unable to earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the US$2 per person, per day, poverty line, may rise up to 1.4 billion, or 45 % of all the world’s employed.

“In 2009, the proportion of people in vulnerable employment—either con-tributing family workers or own-account workers who are less likely to benefit from safety nets that guard against loss of incomes during economic hardship—could rise considerably in the worst case scenario to reach a level of 53 % of the employed population,” the report said realistically, not trying to be alarmist.

Meanwhile in the Philippines, in its latest survey, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported last May that unemployment among Filipinos has risen to a record high of 34.2 percent. This would translate into 14 million Filipinos who had no jobs during the first three months of the year. Of that number, some 2.9 million had lost their jobs within the previous three months. Of these 2.9 million, 13 percent volun-tarily left their old jobs, while 12 percent were retrenched—9 percent were laid off and 3 percent had unrenewed previ-ous contracts.

On the other hand, for contrasts, the National Statistics Office (NSO) survey showed that the unemployment

rate rose by only 7 percent. Although a state agency, the integrity and indepen-dence of the NSO has yet to be seriously impugned.

The SWS survey on unemployment was conducted from February 20 to 23 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, with the balance spread in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Margins of error are plus or minus 2.5 percent for national percentages and plus or minus 6 percent for area per-centages. The NSO, for its part, had a much bigger number of respondents at 50,000 individuals.

A third think-tank voice, IBON foundation, said that “the real unem-ployment rate is not 7.7 percent as officially reported but likely to be at least 11.2 percent.” IBON estimates that some 2.5% of the working age popula-tion 15 years and over should still be considered part of the labor force, which implies an additional 1.5 million job-less on top of the 2.9 million officially reported—for a total of roughly 4.3 million. The officially-released figures already show an increase of 180,000 jobless Filipinos, which was reported to have reached 2.9 million in the latest labor force survey. Combined with the 6.2 million underemployed, it means that there were at least 10.6 million Filipinos jobless or otherwise looking for more work and pay in early 2009, per IBON interpretation.

As many Filipinos are fond of saying these days, “whaaatever…” Between NSO and IBON, it may be merely a matter of definition. Whom do you include in “unemployed” and “underemployed”? Between NSO and SWS it could be additionally a matter of respondent coverage. Among all of them, there is no question: a good number of Filipinos are looking for jobs, have been out of a job, have given up looking, or are precariously hanging on to a dear job.

Is work in the First World drying up?Quite relevant to our job situation is

overseas opportunity. A team of writers for the Wall Street Journal recently re-marked that full migration numbers for most countries are only available after a long lag, and so don't yet capture all the effects of today's economic crisis. But anecdotal reports and data from government ministries and outside orga-nizations already indicate that “the flow of immigrants from poor to wealthier

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countries is slowing significantly for the first time in decades while more people are returning home.” Any sig-nificant number of Filipinos with these returnees—it would be quite relevant to ask. The answer is not yet clear.

Generally, however, it seems to be a fact that the biggest turnaround in migration flows since the Great Depres-sion has now begun. Unemployment is rising in the First World, and backlashes against foreign workers are mounting. Of course, these migratory shifts will have profound consequences for First World nations as well, especially in places where domestic populations aren't growing fast enough to fill jobs or pay for social needs. And in the Third World countries of migrant origin, remittances sent home by workers are also slowing, meaning less income—and potentially, less growth.

The World Bank foresees worker remittances declining by up to 8% this year, after rising to $305 billion in 2008, or more than double the level of 2002. In this area, the Philippine share has always been quite significant and

it is still unsettled whether our remit-tances will also decline, following world trends.

Was it not only recently when econ-omists and policymakers eloquently argued that widespread labor movement is a win-win because it boosts opportuni-ties for people from Third World coun-tries while giving First World employers more options for labor, allowing them to increase efficiency and keep costs low? That, in turn, can keep inflation in check and contribute to higher standards of living. Can these economists keep up the argument when unemployment surges, income gaps widen and home-grown workers increasingly view foreigners as competitors for scarce jobs?

Given all these, is then the Over-seas Filipino Worker unique—uniquely skillful and charming? It is an egoist observation based on the fact that last year did not see his deployment decline or his remittances diminish.

According to the BSP Governor: “Robust remittance flows have been shored up by strong overseas demand for Filipino skills, and the greater avail-

ability of expanded money transfer services to overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries.” The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) also said that the number of Filipinos deployed abroad grew by 25.9 percent to 1.005 million last year compared with 798,731 the year before. And last year they sent home $14.4 billion, equivalent to 10 percent of gross domestic product. This year Manila is projecting remit-tances to exceed $16.4 billion, despite the crisis which could make the figure difficult to achieve.

What about FOREX reserves?The measure of a country’s ability

to service obligations and engage in commercial transactions with the rest of the world is called its Gross Interna-tional Reserves. The Philippines’ GIR registered a new historic high in May: $39.5 billion—keeping the Philippines sufficiently liquid despite the lingering global economic crunch.

Third World nations like ours have been urged to tap the international credit market to borrow and support their BOP

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and GIR as the lingering global turmoil is seen creating pressure on their liquid-ity positions. The BSP, however, said the Philippines need not borrow, noting that the country’s foreign exchange liquidity was still relatively healthy. The GIR in May was estimated to cover at least six months’ worth of imports.

The BSP said the gradual revival of market confidence in the Philippines was helping increase the amount of foreign portfolio investments enter-ing the country. Increasing inflow of investments in securities and equities to the Philippines was partly a reason the peso has strengthened somewhat in May than the previous month. After hovering mostly in the 48 level, the peso moved into the 47-to-a-dollar territory last month.

What about inflation?Are we in great danger of having

more and more money chasing fewer and fewer goods? What the monetary authorities have said is they expect inflation to hit bottom in the third quarter this year and slightly pick up in the following months to hit an average of 3.4 percent by the end of the year, within the government's 2.5-4.5 percent target in 2009.

Consumer price index rose 3.7 percent in May from a year earlier, a Reuters poll of 12 economists showed, marking the slowest annual rise since November 2007 when inflation was at 3.2 percent. The central bank had forecast May annual inflation to come in between 3.3-4.2 percent from 4.8 percent in April.

Economists said the inflation drop was due to a stronger currency and base effects from rapid increases in commod-ity prices in the same period in 2008.They logically expect the central bank to deliver its sixth consecutive interest rate cut at its next policy meeting on July 9 to lift economic growth, and probably mark the end of its current rate easing cycle that began in December.

The BSP policy was to bolster the banking system, instituting measures to provide liquidity where needed to support the functioning of the credit markets. Banks were exhorted to con-tinue lending freely and boldly—to show the public that there’s money in our system. It does seem true that the impact of the global financial crisis on the Philippine banking system was muted due to its relatively minimal

exposure to the affected financial in-stitutions abroad—a statement that may not have been taken as a compliment a year and a half ago!

What about the real economy? If the news in the banking system

is not all that bad, how bad is it in the real economy? Are monetary policy responses to restore confidence in credit markets ever enough to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the economy? The sum of the value of goods pro-duced and services rendered within an economy in a given period is generally considered the most common measure of an economy and it is called the GDP or Gross Domestic Product. Economists cite the drop in our GDP growth from 7.2 percent to 4.6 percent in 2008.

Moody’s Economy.com, the re-search unit of credit-rating firm Moody’s Investors Service, said the Philippine economy most likely shrank 1.2 percent in the first three months of the year from the last quarter of 2008. They see the full-year growth at only 2.9 percent—slower than the government’s official economic growth target of between 3.1 and 4.1 percent. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said earlier the economy needed to grow by at least 7 percent over several years in order to reduce poverty incidence.

Weak external conditions such as the steep decline in exports outweighed whatever positive factors the domestic economy had during the first three months. In the first quarter, exports plunged 36.8 percent to $7.92 billion year-on-year. This was due largely to the decline in exports of electronics, the country’s major dollar earner ac-counting for about half of total export revenues.

Coconut oil exports slid 72.6 per-cent in April from a year earlier, marking its 10th consecutive month of decline. The Philippines expects exports of coco-nut oil, which is used in food, cosmetics and biodiesel, to dip to 835,000 tons this year from 847,626 tons in 2008, on soft global demand as well as its increasing use as feedstock by local biodiesel producers. Actual shipments slumped to 31,638 tons last April from 115,632 tons in April 2008.

Besides the drop in exports, the move of some producers to cut output signaled a contraction of the economy on a quarterly basis. Fearful that weak demand will persist, producers rapidly

COVERSTORY


cut back on staffing and investment. If inventory levels have not fallen sharply, further production and investment cut-backs may be forthcoming. The National Statistics Office reported recently that factory output, measured in terms of volume of production, fell at an annual rate of 12.7 percent in March and 20.1 percent in February.

What about our debt burden? It is almost settled doctrine that

the current crisis demands unabashed government spending. But the Philip-pine government may not have enough flexibility to shore up spending to a level necessary to achieve its economic-growth target for the year, set at between 3.1 and 4.1 percent. Fitch Ratings, the credit ratings agency, has already said the government debt, at nearly P4 trillion, was still high and a drastic increase in public spending could lead to a worrisome fiscal condition.

The latest is that the economy plunged to a decade-low growth of 0.4 percent in the first quarter despite the expansion in bank lending, and not-withstanding the fact that remittance flows have held up reasonably well so far. A steady rise in bank lending should sustain, if not accelerate, the growth of the economy. Through all that, it seems it is the high debt burden, along with possible inflationary pressures, that’s weighing down the fiscal and monetary policies of the government and affecting the country’s growth.

Systemic CollapseThe radical economist, Paul L.

Quintos, quite perceptively wrote last year that the current global financial crisis—with the US economy at its epicenter—is merely the latest and so far most severe in a series of financial crises that have erupted since the 1970s.

At the most basic, one finds the capitalist system itself to be in funda-mental contradiction between social production which enables great strides in productivity on one hand, and the private ownership of the means of pro-duction which ensures that only a few profit from production by exploiting the many. The contradiction inevitably leads to crises of overproduction rela-tive to the capacity of people to buy the productive system’s commodities and products. Before long, real production that cannot realize enough profits gives rise to shadow financial products that

enable some to make tons of money until reality catches up with the shad-ows, derivatives and other profitable mental figments and thereby manifest real crisis.

Said Quintos: In 1980, the value of the world's financial stock was roughly equal to world GDP, itself bloated. By 1993, it was double the size, and by the end of 2005, it had risen to 316%--more than three times world GDP. Govern-ment and private debt securities ac-counted for more than half of the overall growth in the global financial assets from 2000-2004—which indicated the role of leverage or debt in driving this process. In 2004, daily derivatives trad-ing amounted to $5.7 trillion while the daily turnover in the foreign exchange market was $1.9 trillion. Together they added up to $7.6 trillion in daily turnover of just two types of portfolio capital flows, exceeding the annual value of global merchandise exports by $300 billion.

“While the value of financial assets is ultimately grounded in the value cre-ated by the working class in the process of production in the real economy and cannot [should not] diverge too far from it, asset bubbles can form for a period of time driven by ‘irrational exuber-ance’ (in the words of Alan Greenspan). The positive expectations of financial speculators feed on each other, bidding up asset prices in a seemingly end-less virtuous cycle. But like all ponzi schemes, reality eventually takes over and all it takes is one negative develop-ment, e.g. rising home foreclosures, to reverse expectations and send the entire house of cards crashing down.” And we are told that is what happened. The capitalist system collapsed.

Yes, capitalism became dysfunc-tional but capitalists now want socialism for themselves and dump capitalism on the poor. In short, said Quintos, monopoly capital is using the pres-ent crisis to appropriate more of the people’s (real) wealth, erode and press down on wages and social spending, lay off workers, promote precarious employment, tear up workers rights, clamp down on workers concerted ac-tions and intensify the exploitation of the working class.

And it affected the Philippines as early as last year, said U.P. Professor B. Diokno: “In 2007, 924,000 new jobs were created; in 2008, the number was


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Economy, page 23


NEWSFEATURES

sal "bribe" paid illegally by the company Enimont to the politicians who had fa-vored it. And the investigations also led to the IOR, as a concealed intermediary for these payments through the fake ac-counts operated by De Bonis.

In the autumn of 1993, the mag-istrates in Milan asked the Vatican, by rogatory, to provide information on the disputed transactions. The Vatican complied by providing the minimum required, less than what it had discovered in its own investigations. Some officials were replaced, the fake accounts were blocked, and De Bonis did not recover

so much as a lira of the funds deposited in them.

Along with De Bonis, the cardinal in the Vatican who had been his biggest support also left the scene, José Rosalio Castillo Lara, president of both the APSA and the governorate.

In 1995 Caloia was confirmed for another five-year term as president of the IOR. And again in 2000. And yet again in 2006, after a year's extension "ad interim" amid insistent demands that he be replaced immediately. In the summer of 2006, before leaving the secretariat of state to his successor, Tarcisio Bertone,

Beijing’s new and improved execution method, lethal injection

in lieu of bullet in the head

Cardinal Sodano nonetheless restored the post of "prelate" of the IOR, assigning it to one of his own secretaries, Monsignor Piero Pioppo.

There are still occasional calls for a change at the head of the IOR. But Caloia, 69, with an English wife and four children, is holding an appointment that lasts until March 14, 2011.

Without a doubt, thanks to him the IOR is getting closer—more so than ever before—to the of the virtuous bank described in the lecture two years ago to the diplomats from the Middle East and North Africa.

BY the end of this year China will start executing people by lethal injection rather than bullets. Officially this method is described as a new and more humane form of death penalty, raising China to the level of other modern nations.

In Beijing the authori-ties have built a facility next to a prison outside the city’s limits that houses most of the capital's death row inmates. It is here that lethal injections will be performed, the China Daily reported.

In the meantime would-be executioners are being trained on how to administer the injections, and medical staff is learning how to super-vise the use of drugs, moni-tor executions and confirm deaths.

Hu Yunteng, head of the Supreme People's Court's research bureau, said that lethal injection (legalised in 1997) was a cleaner, safer and more convenient way of executing prisoners than the old-fashioned bullet through the head.

“It is considered more hu-mane as it reduces the crimi-

nals' fear and pain compared with gunshot execution,” Mr. Hu said.

Last year some 1,700 people were executed in main-land China. This represents 70 per cent of the total number of executions world-wide.

However, off-the-record Communist Party members have acknowledged that in past years up to 10,000 people have been executed.

In late 2006 the Supreme People's Court resumed the power to review death sen-tences. This has led to an ap-parent drop in the number of executions, but overall figures remain a “state secret”.

At the same time though, human rights activists have accused Chinese prison au-thorities of involvement in the trafficking of organs taken from executed prisoners as well as of carrying out execu-tions “à la carte” according to organ market demands based on death row inmates’ physi-cal traits.

For this reason some peo-ple suspect that execution by lethal injection was adopted in order to better preserve organs for sale. (Zenit)

Peter, from page 10

Caritas calls for peace talks in North Korea

CARITAS is calling for peace talks in North Korea to ease the tensions and to lower the risk of military actions that will further endanger the poor.

A press release from Caritas reported today the conclu-sions of a meeting in Beijing about the growing tensions in the region. After the North Korean government conducted nuclear weapons tests and announced plans to strengthen its arms programs, U.N. sanctions were imposed on the country.

Meeting participants, including Caritas members from Asia, North America and Europe, called for a denucle-arization of the area and for peace talks to help prevent escalation into military action.

The organization asserted that "resorting to armed confrontation will have devastating consequences for the poor in North Korea" and will "destabilize the region."

The Caritas secretary general, Lesley-Anne Knight, stated, "Genuine negotiations with concrete outcomes for improving the daily living conditions of the people are vital steps in reducing the suffering and engaging with North Korea to find a solution to this crisis."

She continued, "The desperate situation many North Koreans find themselves in needs addressing by the inter-national community."

The agency reported a humanitarian crisis where some 8.7 million of the citizens need food assistance, and many are unable to get any aid.

Knight stated: "A major part of the population is highly vulnerable, living in a precarious state where basic needs are not met. They should not be the victims of their government's provocations." (Zenit)

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NEWSFEATURES

down to 530,000. This level of job generation is unaccept-able for an economy that is expected to generate between 1.0 to 1.5 million new jobs every year.”

According to Diokno, a responsive jobs creation pro-gram should address five sets of unemployed and underem-ployed workers: those who are currently unemployed (2.7 million), those who are underemployed (6.6 million), those entering the labor force (1 to 1.5 million), those who will lose their jobs at home, and finally, Filipino overseas workers who will lose their jobs abroad.

The government, for its part, unveiled a broad spend-ing program called Philip-pine Economic Resiliency Plan (PERP) worth PhP330 billion. It consists of the following:

• PhP160 billion in incre-mental government alloca-tions;

• PhP100 billion for government corporations, financial institutions and the private sector;

• PhP40 billion for cor-porate and individual income tax breaks; and

• PhP30 billion for tem-porary additional benefits from the social security in-stitutions—Government Ser-vice Insurance System and Social Security System—and Philhealth.

Some say this stimulus package may not be large enough to reverse the antici-pated sharp slowdown of the Philippine economy. Others say it may even be grossly overstated. To be sure, unless people-powered participa-tion is organized by change agents of all persuasions, the plan will be short of details and long in sub rosa appropri-ations and last minute looting may lead to worse economic misery and heightened social unrest—or, maybe, at last, to real change.

Nicaraguan bishops chide Ortega: Justice requires

action and not just prayer

Economy, from page 21

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IN response to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s recent “invitation to pray” and to refrain from giving opinions on political is-sues, the bishops of Nicaragua reminded that justice requires action and not just prayer. The one who prays, they said, must always speak out to defend the truth.

Ortega responded to recent criticism of his administration by “exhorting” the bishops to “pray everyday.” According to El Nuevo Diario, Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes of Ma-nagua said, “We don’t belong to any political party, but we do exercise political action at a general level, which means for the common good…” “Generally as pastors we are always in tune with the sense of our people, and we convey that to those who have the capacity to bring about solutions to problems.”

For his part, the vice president of the bishops’ conference, Bishop Juan Abelardo Guevara, responded to Ortega’s comments by saying it was “abominable to use the word of the Lord to justify absurd positions.”

“Tax dollars are not for a specific family or person but for the entire people, and the

people have a right to know how the money is being spent in their name,” Bishop Guevara said. He called on Ortega to be “honest and transparent” in his governance of the entire nation.

Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Jose Baez Ortega of Managua said, “Praying does not exempt you from speaking or working for justice.” He also reminded the president to listen to the opinions of others, to examine his own conscience and to practice self-correction.

“To speak about prayer is to speak of the experience of a relationship with God. Whoever speaks about prayer must be a person who lives his faith,” the Bishop Baez Ortega said.

“He who prays has the obligation to raise his voice in support of the truth,” he added. “Praying does not exempt one from working for justice, from being a prophet. In the Bible, the prayer and the prophet go hand in hand. He who prays, he who speaks with God, speaks also of God and also de-nounces the situations in which God is not present.” (CNA)


STATEMENTS

Your Eminences, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the

Priesthood, I am glad to be able to welcome you at a special Audience on

the eve of my departure for Africa, where I am going to present the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly of the Synod for Africa that will be held here in Rome next October. I thank Cardinal Cláudio Hummes for the kind words with which he has interpreted the sentiments you share and I thank you for the beautiful letter you wrote to me. With him, I greet you all, Superiors, Officials and Members of the Congregation, with gratitude for all the work you do at the service of such an important sector of the Church's life.

The theme you have chosen for this Plenary Assembly "The missionary identity of the priest in the Church as an intrinsic dimension of the exercise of the tria munera" suggests some reflec-tions on the work of these days and the abundant fruit that it will certainly yield. If the whole Church is missionary and if every Christian, by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation quasi ex officio (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1305), receives the mandate to profess the faith publicly, the ministerial priesthood, also from this viewpoint, is ontologically distinct, and not only by rank, from the baptismal priesthood that is also known as the "common priesthood". In fact, the apostolic mandate "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation" (Mk 16: 15) is constitutive of the ministerial priesthood. This mandate is not, as we know, a mere duty entrusted to collaborators; its roots are deeper and must be sought further back in time.

The missionary dimension of the priesthood is born from the priest's sacramental configuration to Christ. As a consequence it brings with it a heartfelt and total adherence to what the eccle-sial tradition has identified as apostolica vivendi forma. This consists in participation in a "new life", spiritually speaking, in that "new way of life" which the Lord Jesus inaugurated and which the Apostles made their own. Through the imposition of the Bishop's hands and the consecratory prayer of the Church, the candidates become new men, they become "presbyters". In this light it is clear that the tria munera are first a gift and only consequently an office, first a participation in a life, and hence a potestas. Of course, the great ecclesial tradition has rightly separated sacramental efficacy from the concrete existential situation of the individual priest and so the legitimate expecta-tions of the faithful are appropriately safeguarded. However, this correct doctrinal explanation takes nothing from the necessary, indeed indispensable, aspiration to moral perfection that must dwell in every authentically priestly heart.

Precisely to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual

perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends, I have decided to establish a special "Year for Priests" that will begin on 19 June and last until 19 June 2010. In fact, it is the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Curé d'Ars, John Mary Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ's flock. It will be the task of your Congregation, in agreement with the diocesan Ordinaries and with the superiors of religious institutes to promote and to coordinate the various spiritual and pastoral initiatives that seem useful for making the importance of the priest's role and mission in the Church and in contemporary

society ever more clearly perceived. The priest's mission, as the theme

of the Plenary Assembly emphasizes, is carried out "in the Church". This ecclesial communal, hierarchical and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable to every authentic mission and, alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness. The four aspects mentioned must always be recognized as intimately connected: the mission is "ecclesial" because no one proclaims himself in the first person, but within and through his own humanity every priest must be well aware that he is bringing to the world Another, God himself. God is the only treasure which ultimately people desire to find in a priest. The mission is "communional" because it is carried out in a unity and communion that only secondly has also important aspects of social visibility. Moreover, these derive essentially from that divine intimacy in which the priest is called to be expert, so that he may be able to lead the souls entrusted to him humbly and trustingly to the same encounter with the

Lord. Lastly, the "hierarchical" and "doctrinal" dimensions sug-gest reaffirming the importance of the ecclesiastical discipline (the term has a connection with "disciple") and doctrinal training and not only theological, initial and continuing formation.

Awareness of the radical social changes that have occurred in recent decades must motivate the best ecclesial forces to supervise the formation of candidates for the ministry. In par-ticular, it must foster the constant concern of Pastors for their principal collaborators, both by cultivating truly fatherly human relations and by taking an interest in their continuing formation, especially from the doctrinal and spiritual viewpoints. The mis-sion is rooted in a special way in a good formation, developed in communion with uninterrupted ecclesial Tradition, without breaks or temptations of irregularity. In this sense, it is important to encourage in priests, especially in the young generations, a correct reception of the texts of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, interpreted in the light of the Church's entire fund of doctrine. It seems urgent to recover that awareness that has always been at the heart of the Church's mission, which impels priests to be present, identifiable and recognizable both for their judgement of faith, for their personal virtues as well as for the

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVIAnnouncing the Year for Priests


STATEMENTS

habit, in the contexts of culture and of charity. As Church and as priests, we proclaim Jesus of Nazareth

Lord and Christ, Crucified and Risen, Sovereign of time and of history, in the glad certainty that this truth coincides with the deepest expectations of the human heart. In the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, that is, of the fact that God became man like us, lies both the content and the method of Christian proclamation. The true dynamic centre of the mission is here: in Jesus Christ, precisely. The centrality of Christ brings with it the correct appreciation of the ministerial priesthood, without which there would be neither the Eucharist, nor even the mission nor the Church herself. In this regard it is necessary to be alert to ensure that the "new structures" or pastoral organizations are not planned on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of the proper promotion of the laity for a time in which one would have "to do without" the ordained ministry, because in that case the

presuppositions for a further dilution of the ministerial priesthood would be laid and possible presumed "solutions" might come dramatically to coincide with the real causes of contemporary problems linked to the ministry.

I am certain that in these days the work of the Plenary As-sembly, under the protection of the Mater Ecclesiae, will be able to examine these brief ideas that I permit myself to submit to the attention of the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, while I invoke upon you all an abundance of heavenly gifts, as a pledge of which I impart a special, affectionate Apostolic Blessing to you and to all your loved ones.

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Members of the Congregation for the Clergyon the Occasion of their Plenary AssemblyMonday, 16 March 2009

The words of the great nationalist Claro M. Recto in 1960 ring true today: “To this day the colonial rule in the Philippines is not over. Many of our coun-

trymen, deluded by a flag, the name Republic, a foreign office at home and embassies abroad, a seat in the United Nations, and other visible symbols of sovereignty, consider themselves free and independent, unaware that we are in many ways tied and fettered politically, militarily, eco-nomically and culturally. This self-delusion is one of the greatest stumbling blocks to the full realization of Filipino nationalism and the ultimate attainment of complete and real sovereignty.”

And so today we celebrate not full Philippine in-dependence ─ not yet ─ but rather the Filipino people’s continuing struggle for “complete and real sovereignty” ─ that is, a just and ethical, militant and painstaking, personal and collective struggle for authentic national freedom from foreign superpower exploitation and oppression, and for democracy as greater participation of toiling people in political decision making, respect for human rights, and an end to feudalism and bondage to the soil.

We celebrate the people’s struggle and its victories through the years from the crushing of Spanish colonial rule to the erosion of elitist power in this era of monopoly capitalist globalization. Recto and our martyrs for free-dom would be happy to see as we do that today more and more democratic nationalist businessmen, professionals, peasants and workers, women and young people are no longer trapped in illusions of freedom and democracy foisted on them by powers that be. Long and wide, deep and high is social awareness and praxis attained by our people today. The gates of hell shall not prevail, and the Kingdom of God shall be established, step by step, here in our piece of earth

We celebrate the Lord of History who continues to

empower his people with gifts of the Spirit for self-renewal and social transformation for the enjoyment of freedom of the children of God in their economic and political, social and cultural, ecological and spiritual life. We remind all that the people’s struggle for sovereignty and international solidarity, democracy and prosperity is a story not only of people’s love for each other but, above all, God’s concrete historical love for all. “I will be with you always until the end of the world,” Jesus said. (Matt. 28:20b)

We should not miss an essential personal aspect of the struggle for full independence: freedom of mind and heart and spirit from colonial mentality that makes us disregard our individuality as a people taking pride in our heritage and history. And accompanying this must be inner free-dom to choose and commit oneself daily to what makes us all truly happy—the common good. We celebrate this freedom already present and active in many of goodwill. It is here that victory begins.

We join you, our people, in celebrating Philippine Independence Day that is now and not yet. We urge all to continue the struggle as we bless you, In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For the Isabela Ecumenical Conference

(With representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Salvation Army, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines)

Most Rev. Joseph A. Nacua, OFMCap, D.D. Bishop, RC Diocese of Ilagan

Rt. Rev. Alexander WandagBishop, ECP Diocese of Santiago

Isabela Ecumenical Conference (IEC)

Pastoral Message to the Nation on the Occasion of Philippine Independence Day

June 12, 2009

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If there is one very distinct socio-political liability now firmly appended to the present lead Malacañang resi-dent, it is zero moral authority. And this is not in any

way meant to offend the character concerned but merely to state the truth that respects no person or status. While certainly in command of huge public funds, of well armed personnel plus much paid cohorts, all these however in no way can really defend much less truly promote the moral authority of the chief-boss concerned.

The erosion of such honorable attribute began since that sinister day when there was that well known and much remembered foreboding total reversal that the now Malaca-ñang master occupant would categorically and precisely not pursue Malacañang tenancy. When such a welcome public and formal pronouncement was made that aiming for the presidential office was definitely not an option, there was much applause made and heard all over the country.

Such a positive public reaction should have been more than enough indication that such a stand was the right and proper decision to adopt. But, its exact reversal was made—an astonishing manifestation of personal numbness and official insincerity, a remarkable display of self-adulation over and above public good and national interests. Thus no longer thereafter came forth the “I am sorry!” drama—followed later by an extra-long recitation

‘Divorce planner’

There seems to be nothing better than the thought and pursuit of money for man to become cre-

ative, to be imaginative in inventing profitable ventures. Never mind the immoral or even amoral implications of such enterprises. So what if they pro-mote a distorted mentality, a sick value system. Business is business. Money is over and above the sacred and solemn. Money in effect is god just as gold is in fact made divine. Such seemingly “natu-ral” and wherefore “common” posture is precisely what degrades humanity, what destroys society. There is much sense in the saying that “Money is the root of all evil.” Money is good when man uses it—not when it uses man. In the light of right reason, money is a means—not an end.

The greed and pursuant quest for money constitute the powerful motor of such vices as drug peddling, pros-titution and the many other predatory endeavors—having men, women and children as their usual ultimate victims. The very well known, standard and even customary huge money making

enterprise in the country is focused on unconscionable enormous graft and corrupt practices with immense and lasting socio-political costs to millions of Filipinos. They are at the very least all indirect taxpayers from birth to death yet they wallow in poverty and fall into depression due to unemployment, absence of sufficient social welfare—courtesy of their much self-caring and self-serving government.

In attention to month of June, it is interesting to take notice of the latest money making invention in the person of the so called “Divorce Planner” in apt response to the countless divorces sought and obtained in many foreign lands. The cue is that if there is much sought “Wedding Planner” to start a marriage, there should also be a properly chosen “Divorce Planner” to end the marriage—with the proper fees, of course. The truth is that exactly the same person can be both, i.e., one or the other upon employ by the men and women concerned. It is even said that couples intending to get married with proper arrangements with the service of a “Wedding Planner”, now

of one big betrayal of public trust after another.To have the credibility to be duly believed and heeded,

to possess integrity to be properly revered and honored, to maintain honesty to merit real respect and genuine allegiance—this is the essence and meaning of moral au-thority in so many words. Otherwise, someone who has zero in moral authority has to pay much and continuously for the desired applause, respect and obedience. It takes a lot of gold, goons and guns for anyone with no moral authority to stay in power, to maintain leadership and to continue in effective governance.

The now official and blatant attempt to have a Charter Change through any possible way and means such as the infamous CON-ASS—this is the crowning glory of the dire absence of moral authority on the part of the Palace tenant well decided of being its owner for a lifetime and over if at all possible. How shameful and demeaning for the Palace chorus to continue singing out of tune, emphati-cally denying what is evident, repeatedly contradicting what is obvious: Someone is salivating for endless pos-session of power and command as if such were possible. There was once a pair who conjugally ruled and reigned over the Philippines for some 20 long years. Yet this too, ended, remember?

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Zero moral authority

already have the option to enter into some kind of a contract or agreement to the effect that the same third party in their marriage will also stand as their “Di-vorce Planner” when the time has come for them to legally untie their conjugal union. How convenient!

Less certain Filipinos complain that having the services of a “Divorce Plan-ner” is not an option for them since there is no divorce in the Philippines, they might want to consider the figure of an “Annulment Planner”—considering that such civil action on marriage has now become but a matter of fact, provided couples have the necessary amount to pay for the Court proceedings. There is the pervasive thinking and practice in the Philippines that there is no marriage at all that is not “annullable” under the infamous ground of “Psychological Incapacity”—whatever this means.

Such is the continuous and persis-tent human predicament: Singularly gifted with use of reason and freewill, these are exactly the faculties they misuse and abuse!

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FROM THEBLOGS


EDITORIAL

New art formsFear of God and love of neighbor. Generosity and

charity. Honesty and honor. Decency and integrity. Sincerity and fidelity. Veracity and probity. Indus-

try and parsimony. Respect for law and order, harmony, unity and peace. Such were some of the “old Art Forms” in the then dear and endearing Philippines. These were some of the lovely and lovable attitudinal postures and consequent behavioral patterns of Filipinos in general. People were poor but they did not steal. Neighborhoods had no electricity yet kidnapping and murders were non-existent as a rule.

There were not much to have but the little they had was enough. True, there were already certain naughty or even devious individuals but these were relatively few—with most of them landing in jail as the law then respected neither person nor status. “Those were the good old days!”—as elderly people relish saying. And they are definitely not altogether wrong. After all, there were no massacres, forced disappearances and extrajudicial kill-ings. Even Mindanao was then peaceful and orderly.

Padlocks of all sizes and makes are new inventions. Steel gates, steel fences, steel window grills are recent arrivals. Massive safes, bank deposits, speculative invest-

ments are “modern” realities. Guns of all sizes and uses, ammunitions with more or less killing power are now a matter of fact. Policemen armed to the teeth plus security guards with impressive weapons and communications gear are recent social accompaniments. And needless to say, high-walled and much wired subdivisions with well placed CCTVs plus a host of serious looking if not mean gate guards are now common societal phenomena.

In a special way and through distinct means, it is definitely much more under the present government that vicious and predatory, treacherous and abominable, base and shocking unlawful serial acts, have become fearful and devastating new art forms.

Self-serving invocations of Divinity. Lewd cheating and obscene lying. Fraud and deception. Crime and re-ward. Injustice and award. Buying allies and discarding over-used ones. Dictatorial executive department with subordinate legislative and judicial sections.

Transactional politics. Public funds spent for private interests and personal gains. Promotion of insatiable greed. Exercise of power and greed unlimited.

Graft and corruption. Political dynasty par excellence. And so on and so forth.

Illustration by Bladimer Usi


FROM THE INBOX

From the e-mail messages of [email protected]

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the Upcoming Easter and Passover days. He hired an attorney

to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presenta-tion by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, “Case dismissed!”

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling.

"Your Honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanuk-kah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.”

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, Counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, ‘The fool says in his heart, there is no God.’ Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.”

“Court is adjourned.”

Florida Court sets Atheist holy day

I t was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches

removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appoint-ment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was

How to dance in the rainin such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?”'

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don't nec-essarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

“Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”

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book Reviews

Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches

Benjamin Locsin Layug

Noted as the largest Catholic nation in Asia, the Philippines has many beautiful and outstanding church structures built during the four centuries of Spanish colonization of the country. These churches, exceptionally important because of their aesthetic and historical value also stand as a lasting testament to the seed of faith sown by the early missionaries. While many of the churches are pilgrimage sites like the Basilica Minore de Peñafrancia, and Minor Basilica of the Sto. Niño, among others, a number are also places of historical significance. Two examples are the Barasoain Church, where the Malolos Constitution was framed and the first Philippine Republic was inaugurated, and Sta. Barbara Church, Iloilo, where in 1898, General Martin Delgado convened a junta and declared revolution against Spain. Four churches have received international recognition and included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 2001, twenty-six Spanish-era churches were cited as National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum.

Out of the OrdinaryPrayers, Poems, Reflections for Every Season

Joyce Rupp

Ever experienced difficulty in composing prayers or rituals on certain occasions? At last, here is a book that provides excellent prayers that can be used during liturgical occasions or any group gatherings. An excellent resource material for prayer sessions or any communal gatherings, the book contains prayers, poems, reflections as well as chants that can be used as a tool for sharing or a means to deepen the solemnity of any spiritual gathering. Rupp, whose previous books have proven to be a source of spiritual wealth to her many readers, is again offering a plateful of prayer resources that can be used for a variety of needs and circumstances. The prayers and reflections found in the book have been composed in the course of Rupp’s years of ministering to various groups. A well known writer and sought after retreat and conference speaker, Rupp has led retreats throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. This title is the latest of her numerous books, some of which are published by Paulines Publishing House, including The Cup of Our Life, Inviting God In, Dear Heart, Come Home and The Star in My Heart.

Faith on the MoveTowards a Theology of Migration in Asia

Fabio Baggio & Agnes M. Brazal, Editors

This book discusses the growing phenomenon of migration in Asia. A collection of essays first presented as papers in a conference on migration, this book of anthology skillfully tackles the issue of migration from the sociological, anthropological, philosophical, theological and spiritual perspective. With millions of Filipinos leaving for abroad to seek better lives for themselves and their families, the social costs of migration has become a growing concern in the Church. Touted as modern heroes because of the billion of dollars they bring into the country that help prop up the economy, the Filipino migrants’ workers also are regarded as modern missionar-ies to their host countries. Living away from home has led them to live deeply their faith and practice their beliefs and devotions in their adoptive land. As Bishop Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle of Imus says: the book will not merely disturb the consciences of readers, but “it does so in order to reawaken a faith that can move mountains, the same faith that impels and sustains migrants in their pilgrimage."

True Love Within our ReachLourdes ‘Bing’ de la Llana Pimentel

Simply written, yet the book easily touches and inspires the heart in its profundity. Autobiographi-cal in sketch, the volume offers readers a rare glimpse into the life of a well known Filipino political family. But far from glorifying herself, the author tells more of the love of God that is very much present in her life and that of her family. Her profound faith in God’s unconditional love colors every story spread across the pages, making readers realize that nothing in life hap-

pens by chance. Wife of former Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., the author is also a gifted composer and lyricist as well as producer of musical shows.


ENTERTAINMENT

CatholiC iNitiative for eNlighteNed Movie appreCiatioN

A psychopath with an axe to grind against New York City’s bureau-cracy, Ryder (John Travolta)

hijacks the subway train Pelham 123, aided by his band of thugs (Luis Guz-man, Victor Gojcaj, Robert Vataj). With the 17 passengers and the train conduc-tor held hostage, Ryder makes known his demands to the train dispatcher on duty, Walter Garber (Denzel Washing-ton), a high ranking transit official fac-ing suspension for suspicion of taking a bribe. Ryder wants $10 million within one hour, or he’ll kill the passengers one by one. When police hostage negotiator Lt. Jack Cambria (John Turturo) takes over as Garber goes off duty, Ryder reacts violently and shoots the conduc-tor dead. He wants only to negotiate with Garber whose unruffled manner of dealing with him seems to rub the psychopath the right way.

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) is a second remake of the 1974 film, novelist John Godey’s best seller (with

the same title) which was also made into a TV movie in 1998. For a psychologi-cal thriller with a lot of action thrown in, this version rather lacks the tension needed to evoke terror in the audience. Is it due to the lighting? The music? The photography? Perhaps Travolta as the hooligan boss doesn’t look menac-ing enough in spite of his handlebar moustache and the four-letter words he relentlessly spews out. When he flashes that smile at Washington, who’d believe he’s sick? Why, he looks “as normal as Kansas in August”—as amiable, in fact, as a headwaiter at an Italian pizza joint. The thugs racing to escape with bags of cash are captured to fast too soon. Washington is credible enough as the low-key Garber, sporting a pot belly for his family-man role, and speaking his lines as though he meant them.

This hijack movie is more about developing an odd friendship than col-lecting ransom. It seems providential that the calm train dispatcher happens to be

on duty when the psychopath hijacker only needs to be listened to. Perhaps if his folks paid attention to him as a kid he wouldn’t be the criminal he is now, frittering away precious minutes mak-ing small talk with the negotiator. Well, not really that small, because it leads to a revelation—without which the story would just annoy you with cusswords that outnumber the bullets fired. Although the ending appears to be redemptive for both Ryder and Garber, the movie’s moral ambiguity should be pointed out. Ryder the psychopath is raised a Catholic, prays, then makes the right decision—fine. Garber risks his life and more than makes up for his past indiscretion—good. The ransom money is recovered—who could ask for more? But what about the body count? Cops dying in line of duty, hapless train passengers shot in cold blood as though in a video game. Due to the troubling content, CINEMA can only approve The Taking of Pelham 123 for mature audiences.

Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Luis Guzman, Victor Gojcaj

Director: Tony ScottProducers: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Scott,

Steve TischScreenwriters: Brian Helgeland, John GodeyMusic: Harry Gregson-WilliamsEditor: Chris LebenzonGenre: Crime/ Drama/ ThrillerCinematography: Tobias A. SchliesslerDistributor: Columbia PicturesLocation: New York, USARunning Time: 106 min.

Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: ½CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and

above


NEWSB R I E F S

VIETNAM

Pro-democracy lawyer nabbed

Police here nabbed Le Cong Dinh, a lawyer who defended pro-democracy activists, for allegedly col-luding with domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the Vietnamese State. He was arrested on June 13 under a law which bans making of black pro-paganda against State.

MALAYSIA

US lists Malaysia for human trafficking

The US has relisted Ma-laysia and 6 others on its blacklist of countries traf-ficking in people. Victims are used for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes. Other countries on the list are Fiji, Burma, N. Korea and Papua New Guinea.

CAMBODIA

Jail chief admits blood draining

Tuol Sleng prison chief, Duch, told Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court that some inmates were completely drained of blood or were used for medical experiments. Duch, who denied know-ing of this practice before, admitted it when answering the judges’ questions about conditions at Tuol Sleng.

SRI LANKA

Jurists accuse Sri Lan-ka of Tamil rights viola-tions

The International Com-mission of Jurists accused Colombo gov’t of breach-ing Geneva Convention. Legal experts estimated that 300,000 Tamil civil-ians have been held in government camps since the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May. Aid agencies described their plight as desperate.

BANGLADESH

Army chief retires Army chief General

Moeen U Ahmed has re-tired defending the military-backed regime that ruled the country for 2 years until January. Ahmed did not have a political position, but was seen as the most powerful man in Bangla-desh after the regime took power following months of deadly violence between supporters of the two main political parties.

THAILAND

Govt to counter insur-gency with dev’t

The Thai government will use development aid rather than aggressive se-curity measures to tackle the rising insurgency in the country’s Muslim south. PM said money will be invested in the region's tourism, agriculture and other industries to raise liv-ing standards and counter attempts by militant groups

to derail the government's peace efforts.

NORTH KOREA

N. Korea to build more nuke bombs after UN sanctions

The government here threatened to build more nuclear bombs after the UN imposed tougher sanc-tions. The country said it would never abandon nu-clear weapons and would treat any attempt to block-ade it as an act of war.

TAIWAN

Bill on renewable en-ergy passed

The government here has passed a bill on renew-able energy which aims at adding between six and ten-thousand megawatts of energy from renewable sources over the next 20 years. Taiwan’s Parliament will offer incentives and loosen regulations on re-newable energy providers, and create a pricing mech-anism for various sources of renewable energy, such as solar or wind.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan faces relief shortfall

A halt or cut back of aid is looming in Pakistan after aid agencies admit-ted a worst funding crisis in the last 10 years. Nine relief groups said they face a shortfall of over $A52 million which is needed to provide basic needs to families uprooted by Paki-

stan's campaign to expel Taliban militants from the north-west Swat region.

INDIA

India wants peace with Pakistan

PM Manmohan Singh urged Pakistan to take strong action and bring justice the perpetrators of terror attacks, including those in Mumbai. Singh said he wants peace with Pakistan but said it takes two hands to clap.

NEPAL

Strike shuts schools, shops

A one day strike called by Maoist sympathisers paralyzed large areas of western Nepal, forc-ing schools and business to shut. The strike which comes a week after an-other protest in the capital Kathmandu appears to be part of a campaign by the Maoists to bring chaos to the Himalayan nation.

INDONESIA

New Islamic halal guide-lines for Australian beefs

Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister said that Austra-lian beef certifying bodies must meet new Islamic halal guidelines or Aus-tralian beef imports will be banned. But Indonesia’s council of clerics which de-cides proper halal practices said that all of Australia’s certifying bodies have been approved so far.

Documents

Php 70 - IMPACT MAGAZINE – Asian Magazine for …impactmagazine.net/pdf/vol43_no07.pdfpines (Health); Maximo T. Kalaw Jr., Philippines, (Alternative Futures) REMITTING ADDRESSES