Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007 ... · Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007 Php 70.0000. ... portion going to Shiite or Sunni

Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007Vol 41, No 12 • DECEMBER 2007 Php 70.00Php 70.00

IMPACT IMPACT IMPACT IMPACT IMPACT • December 20072

“““

Quote in the Act“Selling atheism to kids.”

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights (New York), curtly criticizes“The Golden Compass” which is based on the award-winning trilogy by

religious skeptic Philip Pullman, “His Dark Materials”; conservativeRoman Catholics and evangelicals have joined the condemnation chorus.But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops rates the film “intelligent and

well-crafted entertainment.”

“Thank God, our hardworking media men have beenreleased; were it not for them the nation would be inthe dark as to what our country is undergoing at thispoint in time.”Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference

of the Philippines, on the release of 30 journalists from detention forcovering the Trillanes stand-off in Makati City last November 29.

“Everyone is stealing from the state…It’s a verylarge meal, and everyone wants to eat.”Adel al-Subihawi, a prominent Shiite tribal leader in Sadr City, says of the

staggering corruption in Iraq which, according to TransparencyInternational, is the third most corrupt country in the world, after Somalia

and Myanmar; estimates have it that as much as a third of what Iraqspend on contracts and grants ends up unaccounted for or stolen, with a

portion going to Shiite or Sunni militias.

“Where can these Tamil youths go? The only placeleft for them is the Indian Ocean.”

Moderate Tamil Leaders, in reaction to the indiscriminate search,detention and arrest operation of Tamil youths by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of

Defense; perceived by many to worsen President Mahinda Rajpakse’shandling of the ethnic problem.

“There has been great turbulence. We have never hada dull moment.”

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf describes the effects of his decisionto declare emergency rule, calling it “extraordinary” but necessary; after

taking an oath of office for a third time as president, a day afterabandoning his post as military chief, he announced that he will end astate of emergency on December 16 ahead of the January elections—which is a tactical way of consolidating his power, according to critics.

“Refuse crass consumerism and rejoice in a simpleand ecological celebration of Christmas.”

Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez and EcoWaste Coalition, in a recentcampaign, have encouraged householders to think green this Christmas

and the planet from generating wasted energy and millions of tons oftrash.

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IMPACT

Volume 41 • Number 12 3

GROWING up in a predominantly Christian nation,it never occurred to me that Christmas is noteverybody’s business—until lately when inter-reli-gious concern became a contemporary issue as theenvironment and gender sensitivity are. CelebratingChristmas came as naturally as the changing of theseasons that are remarkably studded with variousChristian observances.

This issue opens with Carolyn Moynihan’s MerryChristmas and Happy Holidays, too, just to cover the bases.Interestingly, she posits that the present global villagewith multi-religious sentiments and convictions, infact, may just do well with Christmas around. For,how could one imagine a year without it—despiteChristmas having been defrocked, but understand-ingly enough among those of different religious back-grounds and those in the business and entertainmentcommunity, of its real Christian significance.

Like it was originally in Bethlehem, the birth of theSon was intended not only for the children of Israel,but also—and especially so—for those who closedtheir doors in the faces of Joseph and Mary which ledthem ultimately to the simplicity and poverty of themanger.

By reason of its intention, Christmas indeed is univer-sal. Which is why, it is not very missionary to keepsaying that people are removing Christ from Christ-mas. It is just that Christians are rather slow in theirmission “of giving birth to Christ” among their com-munities and in their circle of influence.

This issue hastened to add the story about the SumilaoFarmers who have been trekking on foot for almosttwo months now all the way from Bukidnon inMindanao to Manila. They did this in order to pushtheir claim of a 144-hectare land that has been awardedto them under the Comprehensive Agrarian ReformProgram. It is good to note that the original conversionof the land, was approved by Malacañang in 1996and upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999.

But by sudden twist of fate which anyway unfoldedthrough legal—or was it illegal?—machinations ofthe rich and influential, the land landed on the soiledhands of San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI) that boughtthis land in bad faith, if not really in the ambit ofdeception, despite their due diligence of the propertyin question. What happened to the social responsibil-ity that San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI) has been mouth-ing all these years?

Contemplating on Mary this Christmas is the lead ofour cover story. Tarlac priest, Fr. Melvin Castro, whois the Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commis-sion on Family and Life, writes, “Theotokos: the Love,Veneration, and Imitation of Mary, the Mother of God.”Mary is the perfect icon of Christmas. It is in this sensethat every Christian is to be a “theotokos”, not in theway of “divine maternity”, but as an itinerary of faithby giving birth to Jesus in every one’s life. Read on.

CONTENTSEDITORIAL

Truth, Justice, Change ........................................... 27COVER STORY

THEOTOKOS: The Love, Veneration, andImitation of Mary, the Mother of God ............. 16

ARTICLES

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, too, justto cover the bases ................................................ 4

Demystifying Biofuels ............................................ 6Love to Feed, Feed to Love ..................................... 9Walk for Sumilao.Walk for Justice ...................... 12The corruption of power ........................................ 23Why a National Rural Congress II? .................... 24

DEPARTMENTS

Quote in the Act ...................................................... 2News Features ......................................................... 14Statements ................................................................ 20From the Blogs ......................................................... 26From the Inbox ........................................................ 28Book Reviews .......................................................... 29CINEMA Review .................................................... 30Quotes in Quiz ........................................................ 30News Briefs .............................................................. 31

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ARTICLES

Merry Christmas andHappy Holidays, too,just to cover the basesBy Carolyn Moynihan

All my life I have looked on Christmasas a celebration that united people.Even if it only amounted to a lighted

tree in a window, presents and a familydinner, it was something that made every-one happy. The fact that, in my part of theworld, it was the start of the long summerholidays certainly helped to put people ina relaxed and expansive mood, but it wasthe magic of Christmas itself that seemedto make people smile and greet perfectstrangers.

Of course, there were exceptions: lon-ers and drifters always stood out more atChristmas, and still do, disturbing anyfeelings of smug well-being and remindingus to open the family circle to the elderlyneighbor or the new immigrant and give ofourselves. But there was no sign that peopleof other faiths were offended by the Chris-tian character of the festival. I never heardthat the Jewish community might be un-happy or that Chinese and Indian shop-keepers might regard the holiday as animposition.

Until recently. Distant rumblings of aculture war over Christmas finally reachedour shores early this month as a clear salvoin the form of a card to householders fromthe New Zealand postal service wishing

Can the West celebrate Christmas withoutoffending its non-Christian minorities, ordo we have to settle for mere holiday spirit?And what will happen if we do?


us “Happy holidays”. Perhaps they havedone it before and I didn’t notice, but I wasalerted this year by the sparks flying in theUnited States over this substitute for“Merry Christmas”, which has featuredprominently in news bulletins from myusual sources.

Generic “Seasons greetings” and thelike are not new. Apparently PresidentKennedy started it for a portion of hisChristmas card list at the White House in1962 and in recent years even PresidentGeorge W Bush has been wishing every-one “Happy Holidays”. This was contro-versial. But with national retail chains likeWal-Mart and Target following the trend,some Christian groups believe they arewitnessing a veritable “war on Christmas”and have been returning fire. Boycottshave proved an effective weapon, bring-ing Target and Sears stores back to “MerryChristmas”.

“This is a nation where surveys show96 per cent of the population celebratesChristmas,” says Robert Knight, directorof the Culture and Family Institute of Con-cerned Women for America. “There is nosurvey showing that people of other faithsare insulted when the majority celebrateChristmas or wish anyone a ‘Merry Christ-mas’.”

Yet there is no denying that thingshave changed in countries of the once-Christian West. Globalization and large-scale immigration from non-Christian partsof the world do constitute a challenge inview of the long-term secularization ofEurope, North America and Australasia.Where Christmas often seems at best afamily get-together, and at worst an ex-cuse for a spending spree, excessive feast-ing and subsequent torpor, who reallyminds if no longer masquerades in publicas a Christian festival?

After all, there would be nothing tostop Christians privately making as muchado as they wish about the birth of theSavior. They could celebrate their feasts intheir communities just like Jews and Mus-lims and Hindus and all the others. Theymight even be given some public space inwhich to do so, like the others, and themedia could write nice feature articles onthe interesting rituals of the Christian com-munity around December 25, or Easter orany other time. A totally secular publicestablishment could bestow tolerant at-tention on all alike.

But some questions arise about thissecular utopia.

In the first place, what other culturehas followed this path or is likely to? The

religious minorities for whose sake we areto abandon Christmas can all look to partsof the world where their religion is anintegral part of public life. Some even comefrom theocracies where other religions,and secularism to boot, have few or norights. This is not what Christians in theWest want, but are they to be the onlyones with no country, only toleration?

Secondly, what would a Western na-tion celebrate apart from religion? TheAmerican Thanksgiving Day would be outbecause it was instigated by Christians(thanksgiving to whom?) and so wouldanything similar. That leaves indepen-dence days, royal anniversaries, war me-morials and labor days—none of whichare entirely free from controversy thesedays. In my country we struggle to makeour national day—marking the signing ofa treaty between the British Crown and theindigenous Maori tribes—a celebration ofunity. It is hard to agree on what it repre-sents apart from an extra day at the beach.

Which brings me to a third question:Can holidays themselves unite us happilyas a nation? Everyone enjoys a holiday, soperhaps the “Happy Holidays” people areonto something. It’s true that not every-one has the same amount of holidaysaround Christmas and some have to workright through, but hey, everyone can enterinto the holiday spirit.

Hmmm. The holiday spirit:rest, relaxation, family together-ness, friendship. These are allgood and necessary thingswhich can bring pleasure anddispose people towards greatersolidarity with their countrymen.But enough people already de-pend on the “holiday spirit”—more or less living for the nextholiday—for us to see what ef-fect it has on individual happi-ness and social cohesion, andthe signs are not positive. Na-tions are less united than for-merly and individuals suffermore mental illness than ever.

The truth is that we humanbeings need more than holidaysto make us happy. We need asense of purpose in life whichcan only come from a sense of itsmeaning. This is what religionsdo. The monotheistic religions,at least, teach us that our livesare not an endless cycle of workand holidays, but that they aregoing somewhere—and, whatis more, to Someone. And that

Someone motivates us to live well, re-specting others, even though we do notalways live up to his demands.

Nothing is as persuasive in this re-gard as Christmas—the festival of Godwho became a baby and was born in a cavein order to win the love of his creatures. Itmay be true that many in the West nolonger appreciate that the light on theirChristmas tree comes originally from thestable, or that the joy and hope it stirs inthem could not exist without Christ. Butthen again, many do still have an inklingthat is the case, precisely because thecelebration still publicly bears his name.Take that away and soon the celebrationitself will go, along with the special light-ness and human warmth that it brings.

In that case, people of other religionsand none would have more and not lessreason to resent the dominant culture ofthe West. If they think Christians behavebadly now, when they still celebrate theirreligious roots to some degree, that be-havior is nothing to what they will see ina future where all public reminders of theChristian Lord and his gospel are wipedout. The rest of society needs Christmasas much as Christians do.Carolyn Moynihan is Deputy Editor of MercatorNet.She writes from Auckland, New Zealand. This isreprinted with permission.

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ARTICLES

The rising demand for oil due to thewinters in the North, the doubledigit growth in China and also the

booming economy of India and other coun-tries have altogether propelled the increasein oil consumption. (An increase of aver-age world GDP by 0.1% leads to an in-crease in final energy demand of about0.2%). The reduction in Nigerian oil outputand the disturbance in the Middle East arefurther fueling oil supply uncertainties. Inturn, this has led to an oil price spike of $92/barrel as of the 3rd week of October 2007.The inflation–adjusted price of crude oil inApril 1980 at $101.70/barrel may be reachedsoon (PDI, 22:324). As the era of cheap oilis gone, the whole world is now experienc-ing difficulties on how to adjust to thehuge mismatch between the soaring de-mand for oil (at 29 billion barrels/year) andits declining supply. Peak oil has been

Demystifying BiofuelsBy Teodoro C. Mendoza, PhD

reached last year (2006) (Campbell, Colin J.and Jean H. Laherrère. The End of CheapOil. Scientific American, March 1998. http://www.dieoff.org/page140.htm )

Briefly, how important is oil to human-ity? Oil accounts for 98% of the globalenergy used for transportation and 11% ofgenerated electricity. It is the energy formused in the manufacture of many products(plastics, chemicals, road asphalt, cement,fertilizers, pesticides, to name a few)(Rodolfo, 2007. “Peak Oil”: The globalcrisis of diminishing petroleum supply,and its implications for the Philippines).It is no surprise that any increase in oilprice is triggering a chain reaction in theprices of various commodities and ser-vices. The great importance of oil in every-day life pushes both public and privateindustry leaders into frenzied search foralternative energy sources .

President’s Bush State of the Unionaddress (2007) pronounced that “biofuelis a silver-bullet solution to global warm-ing, the savior of depressed rural econo-mies and the key to reducing dependenceon foreign oil”. Globally, biofuel as renew-able energy source, is considered ashumanity’s salvation to the energy prob-lem. From a practical point of view, anyconceived solution by human beings willalso mean problems. This paper is an at-tempt to demystify the general perceptionthat biofuels are good for humanity. Acritical analyses of the more complex andinterrelated problems is necessary as theworld suddenly jumped into this band-wagon-like initiative—the biofuel fad. Thepublic needs to be properly informed onwhat to expect should the world enter intoa break-neck pace of biofuel production.

To initiate the analysis, it must be


Demystifying Biofuels

made clear that biofuel production is atypical agricultural crop production. Itstarts from the field. It is on this basis thatthe term biofuel is deemed inappropriate.The word bio is so encompassing. It isclearer and more specific if the term agrifuelis used since the feedstock sources areagricultural crops. Agreeing on this basicframework sets the tone of the discus-sions. To begin with, agrifuel productionis influenced by the common resourcesand factors affecting agricultural food cropproduction. The immediate effect is thatagricultural crop production dichotomizesinto two major ends: food and fuel. Anyagricultural crop production venture ei-ther for food (or feed for livestocks) oragrifuel will rely on land, water and agricul-tural crop production technologies. Toproduce the current supply of food, all theprime agricultural lands (1.7 billion ha.world agricultural land) have been culti-vated or developed. In the Philippines, asearly as the 1970s, all the prime agriculturallands (10 Mha) have already been culti-vated. On a good yielding year, the worldis producing more than enough food for all(20 to 30% excess of the RDA require-ments). But producing this food also en-tails the use of large amount of resources(notably water) and oil-based energy forcultivation, fertilizer, harvesting, process-ing/storage and transport; and also in-vestments in infrastructure (roads, bridges,factories and irrigation facilities to provideirrigation water).

Water is a basic resource input re-quirement for agrifuel production. For in-stance, India and China use 60% of theirpotential usable water for human purposesincluding food agriculture; 75% is theirthreshold water scarcity. By 2030, it isestimated that Indian cereal demand willincrease by 60% (equivalent to a require-ment of 80 billion tonnes of water). Bythen, they will need 9 B li of ethanol to meet10% of their country’s ethanol + gasolinemix, thus, increasing their water needs by26%. Their water needs would then be11% higher than their water threshold.They will now decide where to use water:for the production of sufficient food for 1.3billion people or ethanol for their cars?

Depending on the feedstock source,1 li of ethanol consumes about 2,000-10,000li of water. (Producing 1kg of rice con-sumes up to 5,000 li of water). Agrifuelcrops currently consume just 1% of thetotal water used globally. If agrifuel pro-duction will increase as projected, it will beusing 80% more water by 2030. DavidMolden (Sri Lanka-based International

Water Management Institute) asked“Where shall we get all the water we need?” It is obvious that agrifuels would worsenwater shortages (Alister Doyle (2006) http:// t o d a y . r e u t e r s . c o m / N e w s /CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L18850725 8/24/2006 ). At present, 1 in 3 people isalready experiencing water shortage(IWMI).

Agrifuel and Energy SecurityA US government-sponsored study

revealed that global energy consumptionshall increase 71% by 2030. Includingagrifuel, the contribution of renewableenergy shall only be 9%. Agrifuel contri-bution to energy supply is miniscule, yetits impact on water as pointed out earlier isso severe and on food supply is so enor-mous as will be discussed below.

In the US, even if the entire cornharvest will be converted into ethanol, itcan only provide 12% of all their gasolineneeds while their entire soybean harvestcan only provide 6% of their diesel fuelsrequirements. Even if the entire UK will beplanted to agrifuel crops, the fuel energyproduced could still not run all its cars. If60% of all arable lands in the Europeandomain will be devoted to agrifuels, itcould only replace 20% of the fossil fuelsused in transport. In the Philippines, fer-menting all sugarcane produced in the380,000ha of land into ethanol will onlyprovide 17% of the gasoline requirementof the country by 2011.

Depending on feedstock sources,producing agrifuel from crops does notnecessarily lead to more energy. For in-stance, producing ethanol from corn con-sumes 25% more energy than it yields asestimated by Pimentel and his group. Theyestimated an energy balance of only 0.75.Other scientists refuted the low energybalance estimated by Pimentel. Comput-ing the average energy balance given bydifferent researchers led to an energy bal-ance of 1.12. It means only that 12% more

energy is produced for every 1 unit of oilenergy spent. Sugarcane though producesmore energy than it consumes as the en-ergy balance is 3.0 (in the Philippines) to ashigh as 8.0 (in Brazil)

Agrifuel and the EnvironmentAs claimed by the proponents, pro-

ducing and using agrifuel for transport isenvironment-friendly. This should, how-ever, be examined further. In Brazil, moresugarcane and soybean for agrifuel willmean growing these by burning and clear-ing large forested areas of the AmazonJungle as shown in the picture below.More oil palms will have to be planted inIndonesia by clearing the forest and dry-ing/burning their peat soils. It was esti-mated that 1 tonne palm oil emits 2-8 tonnesof CO2in Borneo and Sumatra.

As revealed byFriends of the Earth,production of palmoil is the biggestcause of rainforestdevastation. Grow-ing crops foragrifuel follows theindustrial planta-tion agriculturaltechnology nowproven to be themain factor behindglobal warming. For

instance, ethanol production from cornuses oil at every stage. The largest sourceof greenhouse gas, are the chemical fertil-izers used in growing corn. First, hugeamount of oil is consumed in the manufac-ture of Nitrogen fertilizer (1.8-2.04 li of oilper kg nitrogen). Second, once applied inthe soil, 3-5% of it escapes as nitrogenoxides (NOx). NOx has 350X global warm-ing potential (GWP). For every 1 kg nitro-gen, more than 10 kg CO2 equivalent isemitted in the atmosphere. Also, growingmaize leaves eroded soils, pollutes bothsurface and ground waters (due to fertil-izer run-off and deep percolation).

The greenhouse gas contribution ofagriculture and land use change has beensummed up to 32% (IPCC, 2006). Primaryagriculture contributes 14% while land usechange/ deforestation, 18%. As moreagricrops will be grown, more fertilizers willbe used and large land clearing/deforesta-tion will be done. In turn, this shall lead tomore GHG emission. The FAO World FoodSummit (2006) Report revealed that con-ventional agriculture, together with defor-estation and rangeland burning, are re-sponsible for 30% CO2 and 90% of nitrous


oxide emissions worldwide. Large scalecultivation of crops for agrifuel will, thus,add more greenhouse gases (GHG) in theatmosphere which will aggravate furtherglobal warming and global climate change

Likewise, producing agrifuels like etha-nol is accompanied by the generation ofhuge liquid wastes called distillery slops, at12-18 li per li of ethanol. While ethanolcontains considerable amount of potashand many other nutrients and has fertilizervalue, it is highly acidic, high in biologicaloxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygendemand (COD), and is foul smelling. It is ahighly pollutive waste if not properly treatedand disposed. The production target of 120billion li of ethanol would yield about 1.68trillion li of slops. The waste from biodieselis 3x more pollutive than ethanol waste; 1 liof biodiesel produces 3-5 li of wastes. Thismeans that 9-15 li of slop waste equivalentper li of biodiesel is produced. About 12billion liters of biodiesel is the productiontarget by 2030. This will produce 1.2-1.8trillion liters of liquid wastes equivalent toslops. A total of about 3 trillion liters ofliquid wastes will be generated. Where shallall these liquid wastes be thrown? Is etha-nol the answer to the world’s oil problems,or just a green pipe dream? Asked by MikeMcCarthy (June 29, 2006).

Agrifuel and Food SecurityAs the agrifuel industry competes

with the food industry for raw materials, itis causing cost pressure to the food indus-try and is pushing crop prices for wheat,corn, sugar and practically all commodi-ties (Goldman, 2006). In China, pork pricesare up by 20%, eggs by 16%, while theoverall food price index in India (Jan. 2007)increased by 10%. In the United States,the wholesale price of chicken is up by10%, eggs by 21% and milk by 14%. InMexico, the price of tortillas increased upto 70%, pushing thousands of angry Mexi-cans to launch massive streets protest,thus, forcing the Mexican government toinstitute price controls on tortillas (Brown,

Lester.March, 2007).Filling up a 25 gallon tank of SUV with

pure ethanol consumed about 204 kg corn.This is more than enough to feed 1 personin a year. 1 SUV fueled by ethanol con-sumes the food of 30 persons/year (1 SUV= 30 persons). By next year (2008), theethanol production target in US is 11.4billon gallons. This is equivalent to thefood caloric requirements of 450 millionpeople. By 2017, their ethanol productiontarget is about 35 billion gallons per year(based on Pres. Bush’ SONA, 2007). Thisproduction level of ethanol is equivalentto the food requirements of 1.4 billionpeople. (The production target of 120 bil-lion li of ethanol by 2020 if processed fromcorn only could supply the food caloricRDA of 3 billion people).

People of the world cannot dictatehow the US should dispose or use theircorn but what they do to their corn shallpractically affect everybody. Why? TheUS produces 40% of world corn and sup-plies more than 50% of all corn exports.(What about Europe and Canada or Chinawho are also producing ethanol from corn)?Their use of corn as feedstocks for ethanolis creating unintended consequencesthroughout the global food chain. Addingsalt to injury, the U.S. government is

subsidizing cornfarmers and ethanolproducers at $8.9billion and hasgranted an ethanoltax allowance of 51cents per gallon ofethanol (in 2005) tomake ethanol pro-duction from cornfinancially viable.This is like subsi-dizing hunger of themany poor people

of the world as discussed by Ford Rungeand Benjamin Senaue in their paper “Howbiofuels could starve the poor ?” pub-lished in Foreign Affairs, May/June 2007,pp. 41-53.

The increase in demand for corn forethanol directly contributes to more hun-gry people. This year (2007), US purchasedless than half of corn for aid than it was in2000 (Celia W. Dugger. PDI A23, Sept. 30,2007). The political rush to produce etha-nol, just because it is believed to be greenand people have heard of it, is a mistakesaid Dr. Venter. (http://w w w . e c o n o m i s t . c o m / s c i e n c e /displaystory.cfm?story_id=9861379 )

Agrifuels could starve an enormous

number of people considering its effects onfood prices and the low food purchasingcapacity of many people in the world (OECDRprt. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,508089,00.html). There are 2.7billion people in the world living on lessthan $2 a day (World Bank, 2001). In thePhilippines, about 85% of all Filipinos liveon less than $2 per day (CIA, 2007).

In ConclusionAgrifuels, in general, are the greatest

burden to humanity from hereon if pur-sued unabated and without checks andbalances. It is the single greatest threat tofood security especially for the low in-come groups in view of its influence on theprices of staple foods.

As a whole, agrifuel does not contrib-ute to energy security especially if cornand other energy-intensive crops are usedas feedstocks for agrifuel production .Thetipping point could be seen on its effect inpropelling water scarcity into crisis pro-portion in 2 ways: a) feedstock productionshall use tremendous amounts of waterputting severe pressure on water alloca-tion for food or for agrifuel crop produc-tion, b) processing shall produce volumi-nous liquid wastes polluting both surfaceand ground waters, thus, reducing furtherthe supply of clean and potable waterwhich in turn, shall heighten the need forexpensive bottled water that only mon-eyed people could afford.

Agrifuel production shall further in-crease environmental degradation in thefollowing ways: a) more land clearing/de-forestation to grow the feedstock sourcewhich in turn shall lead to more soil erosiondue to tillage; b) drying of peat soils to growmore palm oil which will release more CO2 inthe atmosphere; c) the industrial plantationtechnology that will be used in feedstockproduction will lead to greater use of fertil-izers particularly nitrogen which shall re-lease more NOx and CO2 due to N-fertilizermanufacture, and greater use of oil in thevarious stages of feedstock productionand processing; and d) as an agri-industrialproduction set-up, agrifuel productionthrives on large scale monoculture planta-tion. This will trigger land concentrationwhich shall displace agrarian reform benefi-ciaries, thus, reversing the gains of redis-tributive agrarian reform achievements ofmany Third World countries.Teodoro C. Mendoza, PhD., is a Professor of CropScience, U.P. Los Baños, Laguna and a scientistawardee of the University of the Philippines SystemsScience Productivity Award Programme. He teachescourses in farming, systems and ecological agriculture,an advocate, and practitioner of Organic Agriculture.

ARTICLESDemystifying Biofuels

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ARTICLES

Love to Feed,Feed to Love

By Diana Jean V. Moraleda

“For he satisfies the longing soul,and fills the hungry soul with

goodness. (Ps. 107: 9)”

Food is any substance that a personpartakes for nutrition or pleasure.God created food with the intention

to bless us. Just as God poured Himselfinto incarnation and dying on the cross, healso pours Himself into His creation. Therecognition of God’s presence in everyfood we eat can give us not only a senseof being nourished in body but also beingnourished in spirit.

Since Bread and Body are both ex-pressions of God’s Love, it is not surpris-ing that it is in eating together or breakingbread that we feel nurtured, comforted andfulfilled. It is in eating and the relation-ships cultivated at the dining table that welearn to accept and share God’s abundantlove, that is, that we become in “commun-ion” with Him and with others.

But what happens when people donot get by enough to partake of the won-ders of food? What if eating merely be-comes a mechanical biological imperativein order to not feel pain and survive? Whatif, in order to get food for the day, parentsand even children are forced to work longhours or just steal? What happens wheneven if people do eat, they remain under-nourished because of inadequate nutri-tion?

The evils of hungerIn the Philippines, we only have to

look around to see faces of hunger. Streetchildren dot our side streets and mainthoroughfares begging for alms. We hearstories of people having to live on justkaninbaw daily—a mixture of rice andsoup made from scrap meat and bones. Atnight, we see people scavenging for left-over food from the garbage dumps nearfast food chains in the metro. In the ruralareas, we meet people who eat just salt orsoy sauce with their rice. We are so usedto seeing hungry people that we havebecome desensitized of them. To most ofus, the hungry are but permanent fixturesin our national landscape.

According to The Bread of the WorldInstitute’s 2004 Hunger Report, 854 mil-lion people across the world are hungry.Hunger incidence is most high in SouthAsia, Africa and East Asia and the Pacificand parts of Latin America.

If you’ve experienced being trulyphysically hungry, you would know thathunger is a serious matter as it can be agreat source of evil. When one is hungry,one becomes irritable, angry, lethargic,unproductive and even violent. More thatthat, hunger is fatal and children are themost susceptible. Every day, almost 16,000

children die from hunger-related causes.That’s one child every five seconds!

When we read these facts, we imag-ine extremely skinny children unable tomove due to disease or absurdly low foodintake. Unfortunately, those scenariosdo happen. But hunger also manifestsitself in ways other than starvation andfamine. Most poor people who battlehunger deal with chronic undernourish-ment.

UNICEF defines the term undernutri-tion, as “the outcome of insufficient food

intake (hunger) and repeated infectiousdiseases. Undernutrition includes beingunderweight for one’s age, too short forone’s age (stunted), dangerously thin(wasted), and deficient in vitamins andminerals (micronutrient malnutrition).” Inthe Philippines, the 6th National NutritionSurvey shows that 30.6 percent of thechildren aged ten below are underweightand 31.4 percent are underheight. In rawnumbers, this means that there are 7.5million undernourished children here. Ofthese, 1.5 million are wasting.

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Because lack of food can stuntgrowth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinderfetal development and contribute to men-tal retardation, these 7.5 million under-nourished children will grow up to beunproductive and lacking a sense ofhope and overall well-being. This willhave alarming economic implications inthe future. In addition, persistent secur-ing of food depletes valuable time andenergy of poor people, allowing lesstime for work and earning income.

Third world countries like the Phil-ippines often lack social safety nets thatfirst world countries enjoy, such as soupkitchens and food stamps. When a fam-ily that lives in a poor country cannotearn enough in one day to buy food,there is nowhere to turn for help. So-cially, the lack of food feeds shame sothat those most in need of support areoften least able to cry for it. Occasion-ally, the daily news tells of stories ofmothers going crazy and killing theirown children because of extreme hun-ger.

No to extreme hunger andmalnutrition

Brad Pitt and other Hollywood starshave put extreme poverty in the lime-light. By establishing The One Cam-paign, they aim to make hunger andpoverty history one by one by raisingpublic awareness, discussing issues re-lating to poverty, and affecting policyformation in the process (www.one.org).In our country, we don’t have a Brad Pittto do this but we do have many NGOsand parish-based groups trying to endhunger and poverty one community at atime.

One example is The John J. CarrollInstitute on Church and Social Issues’(ICSI) Sagip-Bata Feeding program.

Sagip Bata Feeding Program, for-merly known as the Payatas Supple-mental Milk Feeding Program, startedin 1990 as part Fr. John J. Carroll’s per-sonal apostolate. Fr. Jack, as Fr. Carrollis more commonly known, may very wellbe the Brad Pitt of Payatas, albeit a morehands-on one. Fr. Jack was able to gatherfinancial assistance from friends and,after some time, through word of mouth,news of the program spread and it beganreceiving contributions of people fromdifferent parts of the world.

With Ms. Marcelina Concepcion, aresident there, Fr. Jack oversaw theweighing of the children and the distri-bution of milk to the mothers. In 2005, a

new strategy wasimplemented: frommerely distributingthe milk to runninga daily supplemen-tal feeding pro-gram. The staffgrew from one tofour with some ofthe children’smothers volun-teering daily tohelp prepare foodfor the partici-pants of the pro-gram.

Sagip-Bata iscurrently assisting36 children agesone and a half tosix years old. Thechildren are pro-vided morningsnacks of milk andbiscuits around9.30 a.m. and lunchat 11.30 a.m. fromMondays to Fri-days. In betweenmeals, they aretaught to pray,sing, write, drawand dance. Thechildren are alsogiven vitamins andundergo regularmedical check-upsat the PayatasHealth Center. They are dewormed ev-ery six months.

Most of the children in the programstay about three to six months depend-ing on when they are able to achievenormal body weight based on their age.Some stay longer than the others be-cause they are treated for diseases likeprimary complex (tuberculosis) which isvery prevalent in the area because it isvery near the garbage dumpsite.

To really help the undernourished,feeding them is not enough. Certain ac-tivities must also be done to empowerfamilies to improve their health andchildcare practices. Since 2006, the SagipBata Feeding Program has been usingthe Pabasa sa Nutrisyon modulesdrafted by the National Nutrition Coun-cil to train mothers on health and propernutrition. The Pabasa sa Nutrisyon semi-nars have already trained two batches ofmothers and have inspired other feedingprograms in Payatas to conduct similar

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activities.After Pabasa sa Nutrisyon, moth-

ers are gathered to join the program’sannual cooking contest to practice whatthey have learned. Contestants aregrouped and tasked to come up withdelicious, nutritious and affordabledishes for the whole family. This isindeed a fun way to engage the mothersin friendly competition while learningmore. The winning team then competesin the annual Inter-feeding ProgramCooking Contest to represent the Sagip-Bata Feeding Program.

Last October 11 and 20, parents ofSagip-Bata kids were also invited toattend the Children’s Rights and Posi-tive Discipline Workshop. The seminarwas facilitated by Ms. Melanie Ramos-Llana of ICSI and is a part of the cam-paign against the use of corporal pun-ishment at home. Instead, parents weretaught more positive methods in disci-plining their children.

Love to Feed, Feed to Love


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inspires goodness and love grows ex-ponentially.

Eating with JesusAt this point we are reminded of a

painting by Joey Velasco called Hapagng Pag-asa where he portrays Jesussharing the last supper with very hungrychildren. In a corresponding book thatfeatures the painter’s search for his mod-els and his subsequent healing and trans-formation, he shares an anecdote whereinhe was talking with a mentally derangedwoman who took a photo of the paintingfrom him and observed, “You know myfriend, they are actually not poor… theyhave Jesus.”

Indeed, food does not only feed thebody. It also feeds the spirit. SharingGod’s blessings, in effect, introducesJesus to those whose faith is the least oftheir priorities because they have tostruggle daily to survive. Sharing God’sblessings also makes Jesus known to thegiver who is stirred enough to be able toshare himself in love and humbledenough by the outpouring of supportfrom his fellow men to be able to sustainthat love.

For the Sagip-Bata Program staffand volunteers,and countless oth-ers who are in-volved in the sameactivity the worldover, it is in lovingthat they are ableto feed, and feed-ing that they areable to love likeJesus does.

(The SagipBata Feeding Pro-gram accepts cash,milk or rice dona-tions. You maysend these to theJohn J. Carroll In-stitute on Churchand Social Issues,2/F Benigno MayoHall, Ateneo deManila University,Loyola Heights.Q.C. Cash dona-tions may also besent to John J.Carroll, S.J.through BPI Ac-count no. 3085-8066-36.)

Spreading HopeAfter seventeen years, it is amaz-

ing how the Sagip-Bata Feeding Pro-gram keeps running and improving eachday. Now, Sagip-Bata has evolvedfrom being a stand-alone project to beingpart of a whole family program in Payatascalled the Pag-Asa ng Pamilya (PnP)Program. Aside from feeding the chil-dren, PnP also has the Tahanan NaturalFamily Planning program that teachesparents to plan their families usingmodern natural family planning and theLandas ng Pag-asa Scholarship pro-gram which provides educational as-sistance to poor and deserving stu-dents.

For the most part, the program ismade possible because of generouspeople who are kind enough to sharetheir time, effort and money. Peoplesend donations, and some even do somonthly. Last October, for example, thegrade four class of St. Aloysius CollegeJunior School in New South Wales,Australia chose Sagip-Bata to be theirpet project for their school’s ArrupeOutreach Program. The students walkedaround their neighborhoods to look forrubbish which were not disposed cor-rectly. They raised $900 in the process.These children a continent away simplyhoped that the money they have raisedwill be able to help the Payatas kids geta delicious and healthy meal.

Aside from donors, the program isalso sustained by the volunteer moth-ers and staff in Payatas who never tireof working each day to feed the chil-dren. For them, seeing the children getbetter and happier is enough to keepthem going. Aside from increase inweight, volunteers and staff report in-creased stamina, attentiveness and live-liness among children who are enrolledin the program.

The Sagip-Bata program is only oneof the many programs that help under-nourished children in our country. If weput the number of children it helps tothe statistic on world hunger and un-dernutrition, it would seem that our ef-forts are but a drop in a vast area ofparched land. But every drop of watercounts. If many people or groups arestirred into contributing tiny drops ofwater too, then perhaps, life can actu-ally bloom and be able to sustain itself.As Jingle Mira, a Sagip-Bata volunteeronce said, “If people outside of Payatascan help us, why can’t we in Payatashelp each other?” Indeed, goodness

References:Bread for the World. June 2007 Hunger

Facts: International; World Hungerand Poverty: How They Fit Together.Available at http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html

Food and Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations. The Food Insecu-rity of the World 2006: EradicatingWorld Hunger, taking stock ten yearsafter the World Food Summit. 2006Available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0750e/a0750e00.htm

Food and Nutrition Research Institute.The 6th National Nutrition Survey.2003

Joey A. Velasco. They Have Jesus: TheStories of the Children of Hapag.Kenosis Publications. 2006

UNICEF. May 2006. Progress for Chil-dren: A Report Card on Nutrition No.4. Available at http://www.unicef.org/p r o g r e s s f o r c h i l d r e n / 2 0 0 6 n 4 /index.html

Diana Jean V. Moraleda is a research assistant ofChurch and Family life desk of John J. CarrollInstitute on Church and Social Issues of the Ateneode Manila University, Quezon City.

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Walk for Sumilao.Walk for Justice

By Jane Lynn D. Capacio


By Jane Lynn D. Capacio

The Sumilao farmers are presentlywalking their 60-day journey fromBarangay San Vicente, Sumilao,

Bukidnon to Manila. They began theirmarch on October 10, 2007 and have al-ready crossed Mindanao and Visayas bywalking everyday beginning at 3:00 or 4:00in the morning. At the moment, they aretraversing the highway from Tabugon toGumaca, Quezon amid the impending ty-phoon Mina. They covered today whatthey would have walked for two daysbecause of fear that they would be strandedin a venue that is not fit for flood and heavyrains. They are determined to walk for 52kilometers just so they could be in Gumacabefore 5:00 pm, approximately two hoursbefore the center of “Mina” is expected tohit the Quezon province.

The Sumilao farmers, who are mostlyHigaonon indigenous peoples, are takingthis long and tiresome form of campaignbecause they are determined to reclaimwhat is truly theirs: the 144-hectare agri-cultural land in Bukidnon. This propertywas part of their ancestral land until theywere forcefully evicted in the 1940s. In the1970s, the land was owned by NorbertoQuisumbing Jr.

In 1988, when the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Law (CARL) was passed,the 144-hectare land was covered for dis-tribution to the 137 farmers of theMapadayonong Panaghiusa sa mgaLumad Alang sa Damlag (MAPALAD), allof Higaonon lineage. They were issuedCertificates of Land Ownership Award(CLOAs) in recognition of their ownershipof the awarded land.

In a move to circumvent agrarian re-form, Quisumbing applied for the conver-sion of the 144-hectare land into “indus-trial/institutional area.” It connived withthe local government of Sumilao in order toremove the property from the ambit ofasset reform. Quisumbing presented hisBukidnon Agro-Industrial DevelopmentAssociation (BAIDA) project which con-tains the following:

Development Academy of Mindanao,which constitutes the establishment of anInstitute for Continuing Higher Educa-tion, Institute for Livelihood Science, In-stitute for Agribusiness Research, mu-seum, library, and a cultural center;

Mindanao Sports Development Com-plex including facilities that would be usedfor international competitions such as atrack and field oval, baseball, softball,basketball, and tennis courts, swimmingpools, equestrian court, and games ofchances;

ally productive and irrigated. As providedunder the DAR’s administrative orders onconversion, irrigated lands are consideredas “prime agricultural lands” and cannot beconverted to non-agricultural uses. In 1995,instead of filing an appeal to the DAR or theOffice of the President, Quisumbing filed apetition at the Court of Appeals while thenBukidnon Governor Carlos Fortich, never aparty to the case, sent a protest letter toPresident Fidel Ramos. In the same year, theCLOAs were issued to the 137 farmers.

In March 1996, the Office of the Presi-dent through Executive Secretary RubenTorres treated Governor Fortich’s letter asan Appeal and set aside the decision ofDAR Secretary Garilao. The “Torres Deci-sion” stated that “converting the land inquestion would open great opportunitiesfor employment and bring about real de-velopment in the area towards a sustained

Bukidnon Agro-Industrial Park thatconsists of corn processing for corn oil,starch, and other corn products, rice pro-cessing for wine, snacks, and exportablerice, cassava processing for starch, alco-hol, and food delicacies, processing plantsfor vegetables, cold storage and ice plant,cannery system, commercial stores andpublic market;

Forest Development including thedevelopment of open spaces and parks forrecreation, horseback riding, and mini zoo;

Support Facilities including the con-struction of a 360-room hotel restaurants,dormitories, and housing facilities; and

Commercial MallThe BAIDA project was not approved

by the Department of Agrarian Reform(DAR) under Secretary Ernesto Garilao in1994 by stating that the land is agricultur-

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"Their main issue is valid: theconverted 144-hectare land remains

to be prime agricultural land. Thepromises of industrialization and

wealth did not materialize. It is onlyimperative that the land be

redistributed to the Sumilao farmersunder the Comprehensive Agrarian

Reform Program."

economic growth in the municipality. Onthe other hand, distributing the land towould-be beneficiaries do not guaranteesuch benefits.”

To protest such injustice, theMAPALAD farmers staged a 28-day hun-ger strike in front of the DAR compound inQuezon City. The hunger strike solicitedthe support of local governments, the Houseof Representatives, and the public. At theheight of the Hunger Strike, Cardinal Sinand Bishop Rosales visited the farmers.This pressured President Ramos to issue a“win-win” solution by dividing the 144 landinto two: Forty four (44) hectares would beconverted to agro-industrial purposes whilethe remaining 100 hectares would be dis-tributed to the farmers.

Quisumbing protested against the“win-win” solution at the Supreme Court.Eventually, the SupremeCourt ruled on technicalitiesover substance against theMAPALAD farmers and itdeclared that the latter weremerely “recommendeefarmer beneficiaries” andtherefore are not real partiesin interest. This is in spite ofthe fact that the farmers arealready CLOA holders.

The farmers respectedthe decision of the SupremeCourt, which upheldQuisumbing’s applicationfor conversion. However,ten years have alreadypassed and Quisumbing’spromises of agro-industrialization never ma-terialized. There was nothing in the BAIDAproject that was implemented. Worse,Quisumbing sold the 144-land to San MiguelFoods, Inc. which intended to put up apiggery in the area. This is clearly a viola-tion of the DAR’s strict rules on conversionwhich states that within a year, the imple-mentation of the conversion plan shouldhave begun and within five years, the planshould have been fully completed. Whatadds insult to injury is the fact that theHigaonon farmers’ ancestral land, consid-ered as a sacred land, would be used as a bigboar house.

In 2004, the Sumilao farmers(MAPALAD and 90 landless farmers) fileda “Petition for cancellation and/or revoca-tion of the Conversion Order covering the144 hectares of land at San Vicente,Sumilao, Bukidnon, with prayer for theissuance of cease and desist order” at theOffice of the DAR Secretary. The DARthrough Secretary Nasser Pangandaman

dismissed the said petition by saying thatthe conversion order was issued by theOffice of the President and not the DARsecretary. The title of the Order inadvert-ently states, “Application for Land UseConversion Involving 144 Hectares fromAgricultural Lands to Industrial Uses…”indicating the DAR’s perspective that thepetition was a continuation of the previ-ous Supreme Court case, instead of a sepa-rate and noble petition for the revocationor cancellation of the conversion order.

The farmers filed an Appeal before theOffice of the President. They also decidedto launch a campaign knowing that they areup against a powerful opponent: San MiguelCorporation owner Eduardo “Danding”Cojuangco, Jr. They know that their fight isnot purely legal; as in the case of strugglesfor social justice, theirs is also political.

Hence, they decided to walk their wayto Manila on foot. They called their cam-paign “Walk for Sumilao Land, Walk forJustice.” They began marching on 10October 2007 from Barangay San Vicente,Sumilao, Bukidnon and they have crossedtowards Southern Leyte, Visayas on 24October. They reached the tip of Luzon on9 November and they are expected to ar-rive in Muntinlupa City on 3 December.

It is never an easy walk. I coordinatedthe Visayas leg of the march and joinedthem in parts of Luzon. The weather couldbe very hot and humid or rainy. There aresecurity risks as the marchers are prone tobe used by groups that are in conflict witheach other. In Leyte and Samar, two to fourfarmers fainted everyday and had to belifted by fellow marchers in a makeshiftcarrier made of malong tied to bamboopoles. There were instances where an am-bulance had to be requested to bring march-ers to the hospital. They were physicallytired and they needed accommodation,

medicines, water, and food on a daily basis.But it is also a very touching walk. The

Sumilao farmers were fed and accommo-dated everyday by parishes beginning inMindanao up until Luzon. In Manila, par-ishes and Social Action Centers have com-mitted to extend the same assistance thatwas given by their counterparts inMindanao and Visayas. The marchers werealso provided with financial and medicalassistance, fetched at night by priests,brought to the next venue by parishioners,prayed for, and faithfully encouraged. Moreimportantly, the bishops, priests, and thefaithful of each and every town and Dioceseoffered their solidarity for the cause of theSumilao marchers. The Catholic Churchprovided the farmers not only their dailyneeds but their support for the return of the144-hectare land to its true owners.

Pastoral messages werealso issued. Bishop HonestoPacana of Malaybalay sent aletter to President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo askingher to take heed of the Sumilaofarmers’ calls. ArchbishopAntonio Ledesma of Cagayande Oro, Archbishop JosePalma of Palo, Bishop IsabeloAbarquez of Calbayog, andBishop Arturo Bastes ofSorsogon all gave strong andinspiring statements. TheDiocese of Legaspi wrote aletter of support for the farm-ers and their families. TheDioceses of Butuan, Maasin,

and Catarman also mobilized the parishes towelcome the marchers.

For these efforts that warmed theirhearts and boosted their morale, the Churchhas become indeed a Church of the RuralPoor, one that restores their dignity andactively works towards addressing funda-mental social justice issues in the country.

They chose to walk from Sumilao,Bukidnon to Manila as their most peacefuland most painful form of struggle. In theprocess, they gained companions, primaryof which is the Church.

Their main issue is valid: the converted144-hectare land remains to be prime agri-cultural land. The promises of industrializa-tion and wealth did not materialize. It is onlyimperative that the land be redistributed tothe Sumilao farmers under the Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Program.Jane Lynn D. Capacio is the Executive Director ofKAISAHAN tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan atRepormang Pansakahan and Co-Convenor of Lakawpara sa Sumilao. Walk for Justice Coalition

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World Day againstAids: progress in Asia

NEW DELHI, India,December 1, 2007—The battle againstAIDS is gainingground in Asia.

Particularly inthe South Westwhere there were“only” 340 thou-sand new cases re-ported compared tothe 140 thousandof 2001 (but it is onthe rise in Indone-sia and Vietnamwhere the numberof those infected

has doubled in 5 years), even if there are still 4 million peoplesufferers (out of the 33.2 million worldwide) and 270 thousanddead in one year (2.1 million worldwide).

According to the United Nations report published on theeve of today’s World Day Against Aids, the situation is stablein the Middle East while it has worsened in Eastern Asia withover 92 new cases of infection compared to 77 thousand in 2001,and above all in central Asia where drug dependency is on theincrease. Infection rates among Asian women are also on therise, now 29% are carriers (only 26% in 2001).

In India, although there are 2.5 million people living withAIDS, infection rates is less widespread than feared and thereare frequent initiatives and information campaigns on preven-tion, promoted both by the government and private groups.

Today Christ Church in Bangalore, is hosting over 5thousand young people to witness, as Archbishop BernardMoras recalls, their will to “stop AIDS and promote life,” byliving the Christian values and virtues on a daily basis.

In Mumbai the diocesan committee Human Fie and theGhandi centre of studies have organized a meeting on “the valueof human life”.

The United Nation’s agency for the prevention of AIDSestimated that there are over 50 million people at risk of infectionin China and have urged the government to decisively inter-vene. But according to Health Minister Chen Zhu, the spread-ing of the virus is falling, with “only” 39.866 new cases of HIVregistered between January and October. Yesterday PresidentHu Jintao visited those dying of AIDS, shaking their hands andspeaking with them. He reiterated the need for “prevention anda collective commitment on a national level” against its spread.

In Thailand infection rates are falling, also thanks to thepublic programs for safe sex and for the distribution ofantiretroviral drugs; but it remains a major problem among drugaddicts. In the last 20 years, between 40 and 60% of them havecontracted HIV, according to data Human Rights Watch. Thecountry is criticized because it treats drug addicts as criminals,without having adequate prevention and care programs.(AsiaNews)

Wombs for rent, foreign demand increasesNEW DELHI, India,December 1, 2007—In November a gayIsraeli couple “had”twins in India, bornof one of the twofertilized eggs do-nated by one womandonor and broughtto term by another.The news has re-ig-nited debate overso-called “wombsfor rent”: thousandsof women who, in exchange for money allow themselves to beimplanted with fertilized eggs and give birth to other people’schildren.

Akanksha Fertility Clinic, run by Doctor Nayana Patel inAnand (Gujarat), is famous: she currently has 50 pregnant Indianwomen cloistered in secret locations.

They “rent” their wombs in exchange for food, healthcare andcompensation in cash amounting to 250 thousand rupees (6.308dollars).

Far more than poor women in India would earn in a lifetime,enough to buy a small home or to pay for her children’s education.But the price is advantageous for foreign couples, above all fromBritain and the USA, who pay between 30 and 40 thousand dollars.

Christina Khajur, 38, who gave birth to a girl last year for anAmerican couple explains “I’ve put the money in a fixed deposit.With the interest, I can pay my two boys’ school fees and have abit of security.”

Khajur said she was well looked after during her pregnancy.“The only difficulty was being totally cut off. But it was necessary.If the people in my village knew, they would disapprove.”

Many of these women are married with their own children; forthose who are single, during their isolation, Patel arranges for themto have computer and English classes so that they can enjoy betterprospects after the birth.

Patel admits money is a consideration, but claims she alsowants to help “couples who cannot have children.” Indiansgenerally tend to accept a woman bearing a child for an infertilerelative, where infertile couples are estimated to reach 19 million,but are somewhat uncomfortable when strangers are involvedoften resulting in protests. In Gujarat over 40% of cases areestimated to involve foreigners.

Many observe that this practice could damage relationsbetween wives and husbands and fear that some husbands mayforce Indian women into accepting it in order to earn easy money.

There are few laws regulating the phenomenon, despite itsbeing widespread for over 5 years. Only this October RenukaChoudhury, Minister of Women and Child Development, said thatguidelines would eventually be formulated to protect the rights ofboth parties observing. Without rules, this will become a commer-cial industry, and we run the risk that women will be exploited byunscrupulous elements.”

The news is greeted with approval by Patel, who expects moreand more childless couples to resort to surrogate mothers as asolution, so “the sooner we clarify rights and responsibilities, thebetter.” (AsiaNews / Agencies)

N E W SFEATURES


CBCP headappeals forLabayen, laudsmediaMANILA, 30 November 2007—Arch-bishop Angel Lagdameo, President of theCatholic Bishops’ Conference has ap-pealed for the immediate release of emeri-tus Infanta bishop Julio Labayen.

“I am appealing to the military that hebe released on account of his age,” hesaid.

Bishop Julio Labayen was one of thecivilians nabbed yesterday following asix-hour stand-off at a hotel in MakatiCity.

The CBCP head and Jaro Archbishopsaid he is concerned with the health con-dition of Labayen, who is already 81yearsold; if he will be further detained by theauthorities.

According to Lagdameo, the retiredbishop was also very active in his fightagainst socio-political issues during theMartial law years but he was never impris-oned.

“The advocacy that Bishop Labayenhad been doing is for the country to berestored to genuine democracy and jus-tice which is worth fighting for,” he said.

Thankful for release from detentionof media people in what he calls a “fore-taste of Martial Law”, Lagdameo laudedthe hardworking journalists.

“Thank God, our hardworking mediamen have been released; were it not forthem the nation would be in the dark as towhat our country is undergoing at thispoint in time,” said Lagdameo.

“In this moment of national crisis,may there be sobriety, calmness, mutualunderstanding among the people in op-posite camps. Let us pray for our coun-try,” he added.

CBCP Media Director Msgr. PedroQuitorio said the work of the media isparamount, adding that even in war jour-nalists are respected in view of their mis-sion to inform the public.

“They are like missionaries, whoshould be in the thick of things for thesake of people’s inherent right to infor-mation,” said Quitorio. (Roy Lagarde /CBCPNews)

Religions backRussian elections

MOSCOW, Russia, December 1,2007—The appeal is always the same:“Turn up to vote!” But this time it isbeing launched by Members of theRussian Presidential Council for inter-action with religious organizations—from Russian orthodox to Muslims—taking part in the national campaignahead of tomorrow’s parliamentaryelections.

In an official document issued thismorning, the Council, which alsogroups Buddhists, Jews, Orthodox,Muslims and Protestants, invites “allbelievers and compatriots to expresstheir maturity and to take part in theelections”, underscoring the impor-tance of thus “defending the Mother-land”.

Mobilization across various sec-tors of society to urge voters to thepolls has been massive, with religiousrepresentatives doing their part. Met-ropolitan Kirill, number two of theMoscow Patriarchate of the RussianOrthodox Church, and head of the De-partment for External Church Relations,stressed “Forthcoming elections willbe ‘key event’ that is why the duty ofeach believer is to come and to vote”.

Tomorrow’s elections are for the

parliament or Duma, but the resultsfrom the vote will certainly influencethe nation’s entire political makeupahead of the crucial March 2008 presi-dential vote.

A landslide win by the “UnitedRussia” Party of President VladimirPutin is being cited as a given.

The only real doubt surroundsthe percentage of seats he will gain inthe Chamber. If United Russia suc-ceeds in gaining the constitutionalmajority—two thirds of Parliament—it could change the constitution byitself.

In practical terms this means thatit could modify the law banning a thirdconsecutive presidential mandate leav-ing Putin eligible to be candidate him-self for March 2nd.

According to recent sociologicaldata just four of eleven parties stillhave a chance to overcome 7-percentbarrier during the parliament electionsof December the 2nd. There are“Edinaya Rossia” (United Russia)which could obtain approximately 62%of votes, Communist party (KPRF)—12%, Liberal Democratic party (LDPR)– 9%, and “Fair Russia”—7%. (MariaAnikina / AsiaNews)

N E W SFEATURES


THEOTOKOS:The Love, Veneration, and Imitation ofMary, the Mother of GodBy Fr. Melvin Castro

THEOTOC O V E RS T O R Y

With the worldwide revelry of ush-ering in the New Year every Janu-ary 1st, the Church, as it were,

silently but gloriously celebrates the So-lemnity of the Divine Maternity of Mary.The other privileges of Our Lady derivefrom this singular grace granted to her byGod, that of being the Mother of Our LordJesus Christ who is God-Man at the sametime.

Her being called Mother of God stemsfrom the basic truth that she is the Motherof Jesus Christ whose divine and humannatures cannot be separated and are abso-lutely united in his one Person. Hence,rather than being a mere Marian privilege

it is actually a Christological truth.Let us take a look, albeit briefly, on

Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of theChurch, and the Church’s Teaching on thedogma of the Divine Maternity, and in thefinal part, let us take a look into our heartsand see what this Marian privilege chal-lenges us to be and to become.

Come and see, the Bearer-of-God,Theotokos, as she was and is continued tobe loved, venerated, and imitated, downthough the ages…

I. The Sacred ScriptureThe Protoevangelium, Genesis 3, 15: I

will put enmity between you and the

woman, between your seed and her seed:he shall crush your head, has been tradi-tionally pointed out as the most basic ofOld Testament text referring to Mary.

It was also made as the basis for thedogmatic bull Ineffabilis Deus (Pope PiusIX, 08 December 1854) defining the dogmaof the Immaculate Conception: taught thatby this divine prophecy the merciful Re-deemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, the onlybegotten Son of God, was clearly foretold:That his most Blessed Mother, the VirginMary, was prophetically indicated; and, atthe same time, the very enmity of bothagainst the evil one was significantly ex-pressed. Hence, just as Christ, the Media-


OKOS: The Love, Veneration, and Imitation of Mary, the Mother of God

tor between God and man, assumed humannature, blotted the handwriting of the de-cree that stood against us, and fastened ittriumphantly to the cross, so the most holyVirgin, united with him by a most intimateand indissoluble bond, was, with him andthrough him, eternally at enmity with theevil serpent, and most completely tri-umphed over him, and thus crushed hishead with her immaculate foot.[i]

Here we see even the union betweenChrist and Mary, the Redeemer and theMother of the Redeemer, the Mediator andthe Mediatrix.

Behold a Virgin shall conceive andbear a Son, and His Name shall be calledEmmanuel (God with us), Isaiah 7,14.[ii]

Later in the New Testament, both St.Matthew and St. Luke will cite this sameBiblical passage as having come true in theAnnunciation of the Angel to Mary thatshe would conceive a Son.

Consistently, this particular proph-ecy by Isaiah has been interpreted as indirect reference to Christ and to Mary, theVirgin-Mother.

There are many women in the OldTestament that are considered to be fig-ures of Mary, let us just take a look on onefigure, among many others. She is Esther.This young Hebrew girl was noted aboveall for her beauty, for which she foundfavor in King Ahasuerus’ sight, such thathe chose her to be queen. Moreover, Estherwas the sole person excluded from thedecree of death passed against her people.Esther’s most glorious deed was that ofhaving saved her people by the wickedscheming of an enemy. [iii]

And once again, we see how a woman,and the Queen at that, acts as Mediatrix onbehalf of the people so that they would beforgiven.

II. The Church FathersLet us take a few words from the

Church Fathers—these holy men who wereso full of wisdom and holiness:

Irenaeus“The Virgin Mary, being obedient to

his word, received from an angel the gladtidings that she would bear God” (AgainstHeresies, 5:19:1 [A.D. 189]).

Hippolytus“[T]o all generations they [the proph-

ets] have pictured forth the grandest sub-jects for contemplation and for action.Thus, too, they preached of the advent ofGod in the flesh to the world, his advent bythe spotless and God-bearing (theotokos)

Mary in the way of birth and growth, andthe manner of his life and conversationwith men, and his manifestation by bap-tism, and the new birth that was to be to allmen, and the regeneration by the laver [ofbaptism]” (Discourse on the End of theWorld 1 [A.D. 217]).

Cyril of Jerusalem“The Father bears witness from heaven

to his Son. The Holy Spirit bears witness,coming down bodily in the form of a dove.The archangel Gabriel bears witness, bring-

ing the good tidings to Mary. The VirginMother of God bears witness”(Catechetical Lectures 10:19 [A.D. 350]).

Ephraim the Syrian“Though still a virgin she carried a

child in her womb, and the handmaid andwork of his wisdom became the Mother ofGod” (Songs of Praise 1:20 [A.D. 351]).

Athanasius“The Word begotten of the Father

from on high, inexpressibly, inexplicably,


C O V E RS T O R Y THEOTO

incomprehensibly, and eternally, is he thatis born in time here below of the VirginMary, the Mother of God” (The Incarna-tion of the Word of God 8 [A.D. 365]).

Ambrose of Milan“The first thing which kindles ardor in

learning is the greatness of the teacher.What is greater than the Mother of God?What more glorious than she whom GloryItself chose?” (The Virgins 2:2[7] [A.D.377]).

Gregory of Nazianz“If anyone does not agree that holy

Mary is Mother of God, he is at odds withthe Godhead” (Letter to Cledonius thePriest 101 [A.D. 382]).

Theodore of Mopsuestia“When, therefore, they ask, ‘Is Mary

mother of man or Mother of God?’ weanswer, ‘Both!’ The one by the very na-ture of what was done and the other byrelation” (The Incarnation 15 [A.D. 405]).

Cyril of Alexandria“I have been amazed that some are

utterly in doubt as to whether or not theholy Virgin is able to be called the Motherof God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God,how should the holy Virgin who bore himnot be the Mother of God?” (Letter to theMonks of Egypt 1 [A.D. 427]).

“This expression, however, ‘the Wordwas made flesh’ [John 1:14], can meannothing else but that he partook of fleshand blood like to us; he made our body hisown, and came forth man from a woman,not casting off his existence as God, or hisgeneration of God the Father, but even intaking to himself flesh remaining what hewas. This, the declaration of the correctfaith proclaims everywhere. This was thesentiment of the holy Fathers; thereforethey ventured to call the holy Virgin ‘theMother of God,’ not as if the nature of theWord or his divinity had its beginningfrom the holy Virgin, but because of herwas born that holy body with a rationalsoul, to which the Word, being personally

united, is said to beborn according tothe flesh” (First Let-ter to Nestorius[A.D. 430]).

“And since theholy Virgin corpo-really brought forthGod made one withflesh according tonature, for this rea-son we also call herMother of God, notas if the nature ofthe Word had thebeginning of its ex-istence from theflesh” (Third Letterto Nestorius [A.D.430]).

III. The ChurchTeaching: TheDogma Defined

And it was atthe Council ofEphesus that theChurch finally anddefinitively definedthe dogma of theDivine Maternity ofMary. It was de-fined in oppositionto the opinion ofNestorius, who heldthat Mary was onlythe mother of the

man Jesus; this Council emphasized theessential meaning of the motherhood ofthe Virgin Mary.

Council of Ephesus“We confess, then, our Lord Jesus

Christ, the only begotten Son of God,perfect God and perfect man, of a rationalsoul and a body, begotten before all agesfrom the Father in his Godhead, the samein the last days, for us and for our salva-tion, born of Mary the Virgin according tohis humanity, one and the same consub-stantial with the Father in Godhead andconsubstantial with us in humanity, for aunion of two natures took place. Thereforewe confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord.According to this understanding of theunconfused union, we confess the holyVirgin to be the Mother of God becauseGod the Word took flesh and became manand from his very conception united tohimself the temple he took from her” (For-mula of Union [A.D. 431]).

And to commemorate this dogmaticdefinition, the first Basilica in the Westdedicated to Mary was constructed, theSanta Maria Maggiore in Rome.

Hence, we should never forget thatjust as the very first Marian dogma isrooted in a Christological truth, true devo-tion to Mary is also rooted in and leadingto Christ.

IV. Devotion to MaryFrom what we have learned from Sa-

cred Scripture, the Church Fathers, andthe Church Magisterium, what springsforth from our heart is true love and ven-eration of Mary. And of this, St. LouisGrignon di Montfort has these wonderfulwords:

Jesus, our Savior, true God and trueman must be the ultimate end of all ourother devotions; otherwise they would befalse and misleading… If then we are es-tablishing sound devotion to our BlessedLady, it is only in order to establish devo-tion to Our Lord more perfectly, by provid-ing smooth but certain way of reachingJesus Christ. [iv]

Probably for us Filipinos, this descrip-tion of true devotion to Mary by St. Louisis all the more challenging. Our being PuebloAmante de Maria is unquestionable yet atthe same time, such devotion to Maryshould lead us closer and into deeperintimacy with Christ, her Son. That is theultimate goal of authentic Marian devo-tion: to be with Christ.

St. Louis lists for us the marks of TrueDevotion to Mary: [v]


OKOS: The Love, Veneration, and Imitation of Mary, the Mother of God

terested. It inspiresus to seek Godalone in his BlessedMother and notourselves… Hedoes not serve herfor temporal or eter-nal well-being butsimply and solelybecause she hasthe right to beserved and Godalone in her.

V. Mary and theDignity of theWoman

From this truedevotion to Marycomes our true loveof neighbor as well.From this true de-votion as well werealize the greatdignity accordedby God to thewomen. However,in this time and ageof ours when it ispolitically correctto ride on the issueof gender equality,the Church givesus the true face offeminism:

Thus the “full-ness of time” mani-fests the extraordi-

nary dignity of the “woman”. On the onehand, this dignity consists in the super-natural elevation to union with God inJesus Christ, which determines the ulti-mate finality of the existence of everyperson both on earth and in eternity.From this point of view, the “woman” isthe representative and the archetype ofthe whole human race: she represents thehumanity which belongs to all humanbeings, both men and women. On theother hand, however, the event at Nazarethhighlights a form of union with the livingGod which can only belong to the“woman”, Mary: the union betweenmother and son. The Virgin of Nazarethtruly becomes the Mother of God.[vi]

The Servant of God, the Great JohnPaul II, states further:

The moral and spiritual strength of awoman is joined to her awareness thatGod entrusts the human being to her in aspecial way. Of course, God entrusts ev-ery human being to each and every other

First, true devotion to our Lady isinterior, that is, it comes from within themind and heart and follows from the es-teem in which we hold her, the high regardwe have for her greatness, and the lovewe bear her.

Second, it is trustful, that is, it fills uswith confidence in the Blessed Virgin, theconfidence that a child has for its lovingMother. It prompts us to go to her inevery need of body and soul with greatsimplicity, trust, and affection.

Third, true devotion to our Lady isholy, that is, it leads us to avoid sin andto imitate the virtues of Mary.

Fourth, true devotion to Our Lady isconstant. It strengthens us in our desireto do good and prevents us from givingup our devotional practices easily. It givesus courage to oppose the fashions andmaxims of the world, the vexations andunruly inclinations of the flesh and thetemptations of the devil.

Fifth, true devotion to Mary is disin-

human being. But this entrusting con-cerns women in a special way¯preciselyby reason of their femininity¯and this ina particular way determines their voca-tion. A woman is strong because of herawareness of this entrusting, strong be-cause of the fact that God “entrusts thehuman being to her,” always and in everyway, even in the situations of social dis-crimination in which she may find herself.This awareness and this fundamentalvocation speak to women of the dignitywhich they receive from God himself, andthis makes them “strong” and strength-ens their vocation. [vii]

VI. Ad Jesum Per MariamIn conclusion, we ask ourselves how

“mature” really is our love, veneration,and devotion to Mary. It is certainly amatter of the heart, so to speak, but amatter of the mind as well. Rooted inScripture and in sound doctrine, ourMarian devotion will be very strong. Andequally as well, our devotion to Maryleads to true love of neighbor, and eventrue love of ourselves.

Mary leads us to Jesus. In Jesus, welove.

———————————[i] Let us also take a note that recent

Biblical studies show that the one tocrush the head of the serpent is theHe, which refers to the seed of theWoman. Nonetheless, it should notbe viewed as contradictory to tradi-tional belief that it is the foot of theImmaculate that will crush the head ofthe serpent. The Woman and herseed are intimately bound, alwaysand forever.

[ii] The person in question is ‘almah,that is a young girl, a girl of marriage-able age, maiden, virgin. The Hebrewterm, however, directly connotingsexual integrity is betullah (Fr. StefanoM. Manelli, FFI, All Generations ShallCall Me Blessed, p. 34)

[iii] Ibid., p. 58[iv] St. Louis Grignon di Montfort, (True

Devotion to Mary, nos. 61-62)[v] Ibid., nos. 105-110[vi] Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Letter,

Mulieris Dignatatem, 15 August 1988,no. 4

[vii] Ibid. no. 30

Fr. Melvin Castro is a priest of the Diocese of Tarlacand the President-Founder of the Confraternity ofMary Mediatrix of All Grace. He is also a memberof the Pueblo Amante de Maria Mariological Societyof the Philippines.

I


Thank God, It’s overTHANK God, the curfew is over. Thank God, ourhardworking media men have been released; were it not forthem the nation would be in the dark as to what our countryis undergoing at this point in time. Yesterday and last night,the people holed-in at Peninsula Hotel had a “foretaste” ofwhat Martial Law could be. God save us from the worse!

Bishop Julio Labayen, Bishop-Emeritus of Infanta,experienced in the hands of the military what he did notundergo even in the time of Marcos dictatorship. BishopLabayen is already 81 years old. I am appealing to themilitary that he be released on account of his age. Theadvocacy that Bishop Labayen had been doing is for thecountry to be restored to genuine democracy and justicewhich is worth fighting for.

In this moment of national crisis, may there be sobri-ety, calmness, mutual understanding among the people inopposite camps. Let us pray for our country.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DDArchbishop of JaroCBCP PresidentNovember 30, 2007

Moral Revolution?Do It

StatementCommittee on Women, Justice, Peace and Integrity ofCreation. Philippine Province of the Good Shepherd

STATEMENTS

GOD help us! God have mercyon the Filipino people. The listof unresolved cases of social,economic and political con-cerns keeps piling up. Suicidesand homicides have been com-mitted because of extreme un-resolved poverty—and theseat a time when the peso isclaimed to be gaining ground.How long have the poor towait? And then, the murder ofa COMELEC official—at a timewhen COMELEC is facing re-newal of its institution.

The alleged bribery ofgovernment officials, thedeaths resulting from the ex-plosion at the Glorietta and morerecently the bomb explosion atthe Batasan Pambansa: theseare the social concerns andnagging issues that are cryingour for solution and closure.

Add to this list the multi-million peso projects sprawl-ing like white elephants be-cause of substandard qualitiesand questionable arrange-ments.

These are not purely socio-economic issues. The Church’ssocial doctrine (Compendium330-331) insists on their moralconnotations. The relationshipbetween morality and econom-ics and poverty is necessary,intrinsic and reciprocal. On theone hand, it will be unfair to thevictims if the real and ultimateculprits are not investigated andmade to answer for their ac-tions. On the other hand, eachcase carries a strong statementabout the different levels of lead-ership as well as about the na-tional state of affairs.

As a response to the stateof moral bankruptcy in publiclife, of probably irremediable lossof credibility and trust, a call hasbeen made for “moral revolu-tion”. If only to stop our coun-try from continuing to become a

“social volcano” (Heaven helpus!), we support the ideal of a“moral revolution”—moraltransformation, moral renewal,moral reform. The CBCP hasproposed it before in many waysthrough the years. And wewould like to say it again. Noth-ing new, but the resolve may be.

We are consoled by thefact that some of our publicofficials and different sectorsof civil society are seeing sucha need for “moral revolution”.Sana magpatuloy ito… sanadumami pa ang bilang nila.May this attitude prevail… maythe number of good-willedpeople increase. Not only in-vestigations one after another.

In our country where 57%are not affected by the gainedpower of the peso, where graftand corruption by the mightyin power and influence still holdsway, we are in search forpeople who would be humble,courageous and decidedenough to do a Zacchaeus,“Here and now I give half of mypossession to the poor, and ifI have cheated anybody out ofanything, I will pay back fourtimes the amount.” (Lk. 19:8).This is the only violent revolu-tion worthy of the name—it“kills” selfishness.

Let us do it. “To start thismoral revolution, I must ceaseto be dishonest, unjust andunfair to my fellow Filipinos. Iwill tell and act on the truth thatI confess or affirm. I will returnwhat I have unjustly and de-ceitfully acquired. Only thencan I ask pardon from God andthe people I have wronged.”Speaking of reconciliation?This is!

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEOArchbishop of JaroCBCP PresidentNovember 20, 2007

GATHERED in our ProvinceAssembly in Quezon Cityfrom November 12-14, 2007,we, the undersigned GoodShepherd Sisters, comingfrom different parts of thecountry decry the recentbombing of BatasanPambansa causing the lossof lives and severe injury tomany. This recent event,added to the long list ofsuspicious events and scan-dalous deals and scams al-legedly attributed to thepresent national administra-tion.

Inspired and challengedby our mission to continueto be “Life-bearers with andfor the Poor” and called toheed Micah 6:8 “to act justly,to love tenderly and to walkhumbly with our God”, webelieve that the common

good and well being andsecurity of the Filipino peopleshould be a great concern ofthe national leadership. Thefact is the majority of Filipi-nos are insecure and fearfulin the face of grinding pov-erty they suffer from.

Who will deny that thenational government haslost the moral ascendancy togovern this country? Wedon’t! Therefore, westrongly ask the Chief Ex-ecutive Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down.

Signatories: Eighty Two(82) Good Shepherd Sisters

(For Reference: Sr. MaureenCatabian, RGS – Chairperson of theW-JPIC Committee of the Sistersof the Good Shepherd (Philippines.Telephone: 913 64 07 Email :[email protected])


STATEMENTS

A Fraternal Statement inSupport of the Sumilao Farmers’

March for Land and JusticeON behalf of my brother priests and the faithful of theDiocese of Calbayog, I welcome you, dear brothers andsisters from San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon, to Samar. I ama witness to your journey and I saw how tired and hungryyou are, not only for food and rest but more importantly forsocial justice.

I join you in prayer so that you will achieve the causefor which you marched: to reclaim the 144-hectare land thatis yours in the first place. You were once robbed of yourland for which your life and future depend on, and deprivedof the comfort of your families, homes, and livelihood, soyou march for land and justice. You remind me of theinjustice, oppression, toil, and friendlessness in Ecclesiastes4:1-4, “Then I looked again at all the injustice that goes onin this world. The oppressed were crying, and no one wouldhelp them. No one would help them because their oppres-sors had power on their side.”

I therefore hope that there will be a favorable end toyour long walk. I pray that the conversion order on theSumilao land be revoked and the land be returned to you.May the Lord give you a fresh supply of strength to do yourtasks, anoint your works, and bless your plans so that evenyour smallest accomplishments will glorify God and sanc-tify yourselves.

The Lord will be with you in your walk for land andjustice. Take comfort for the Lord upholds the cause of theoppressed. He gives sight to the blind and sets prisonersfree. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, watchesover the strangers and sustains the fatherless and thewidow. But He frustrates the ways of the wicked (Psalm146:7-9).

We keep you all in our prayers. Kaming tanan saDiocesis sa Calbayog usa ug uban kaninyo, amongigsoong mag-uuma, sa kawsa nga inyong gibarugan.Abante Bukidnon! Sulong Igsoon! Ang Dios magaubankanunay kaninyo!

Most Rev. Isabelo C. Abarquez, DDBishop of Calbayog

Military OperationsThreaten LumadCommunitiesSINCE the start of this month,around 500 military men, somebelonging to the 58th IB PAhave arrived in Lumad com-munities in Diatagon, Liangaand San Agustin, Surigao delSur. They brought with themtwo 6x6 military trucks, one ofwhich was loaded with riceand other food stuff, two ar-mored personnel carriers(APCs) and two 105 howitzercannons. The military menstayed in the houses of civil-ians, and occupied Lumad Lit-eracy Schools. They also putup makeshift tents near thehouses of the residents.Checkpoints to monitor theactivities of the residents wereset up. When passing thesecheckpoints, residents areasked to present their IDs orcedulas, their names and mo-bile phone numbers are listed,and their belongings are in-spected. The military men in-terrogated teachers and stu-dents of tribal communityschools, telling them that ifthey have relatives who joinedthe NPA, they must surrender.

The ongoing military op-erations have greatly affectedthe lives of residents in 12Lumad communities. Theyhave stopped going about withtheir normal daily activities forfear of their safety. Classes in7 Lumad Primary LiteracySchools with more than 500pupils, and a Lumad HighSchool with 177 students havebeen disrupted as the militaryalso stayed in these schools.More than 200 families havealready fled their homes, andare now staying in evacuationcenters set up by Karapatan inthe town proper of Lianga,some 15 kilometers away fromthe Lumad communities. Ac-cording to Karapatan, 1,512

persons mostly women andchildren who braved the heavyrains, and endured the longwalk to the town proper, arenow housed in the evacuationcenters. No action has beentaken by the local governmentunits up to this time, while Col.Jose Vizcarra, commander ofthe Army’s 401st Infantry Bri-gade, has declared that opera-tions allegedly in pursuit ofNPAs will continue until nec-essary.

The Rural Missionaries ofthe Philippines (RMP) stronglydenounce this unwanted in-trusion to the once peacefulcommunities of our indigenousbrothers and sisters, and callsfor the immediate withdrawalof military troops in the above-mentioned areas. Military op-erations have always posedgreat danger to the lives ofhelpless civilians. We must notwait until someone is hurt oreven killed in the course ofthese operations before con-crete actions are taken to nor-malize the situation. We call onGloria Macapagal-Arroyo, asCommander-in-Chief of theArmed Forces to immediatelylook into the plight of the af-fected residents, and to orderthat the military operations bestopped. The safety of civil-ians is already at risk, and turn-ing a deaf ear will surely aggra-vate the situation. The RMPalso calls on all church peopleto voice out their concern inthe light of these develop-ments, and hold GMA and themilitary accountable for any andall violations of human rights.

Sr. Elenita Belardo, RGSRMP National Coordinator

Fr. Jesus Malit, SSSAMRSP Co-chairperson


STATEMENTS

“Peace, Prosperity and Respect for HumanRights Are Inseparably Linked”Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the members of the U.N. Food and

Agriculture Organization (Nov. 22, 2007)

Mr. President,Mr. Director General,Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you gather for the Thirty-fourthConference of the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations, I ampleased to welcome you to the Vatican.Our meeting today is part of a traditionreaching back to the time when your Orga-nization first set up its headquarters inRome. I am happy to have yet anotheroccasion to express appreciation for yourwork to eliminate the scourge of globalhunger.

As you know, the Holy See has al-ways maintained a keen interest in everyeffort made to rid the human family offamine and malnutrition, in the awarenessthat resolving these problems requires notonly extraordinary dedication and highlyrefined technical training, but above all agenuine spirit of cooperation uniting allmen and women of good will.

This noble goal calls for unwaveringacknowledgement of the inherent dignityof the human person at every stage of life.All forms of discrimination, and particu-larly those that thwart agricultural devel-opment, must be rejected since they con-stitute a violation of the basic right ofevery person to be “free from hunger”.These convictions are in fact demandedby the very nature of your work on behalfof the common good of humanity, as ex-pressed so eloquently by your motto—fiat panis—words that are also at the heartof the Gospel which the Church is called toproclaim.

The data gathered through your re-search and the extent of your programmesfor supporting the global endeavor to de-velop the world’s natural resources clearlytestify to one of the most troubling para-doxes of our time: the relentless spread ofpoverty in a world that is also experiencingunprecedented prosperity, not only in theeconomic sphere but also in the rapidlydeveloping fields of science and technol-ogy.

The obstacles standing in the way ofovercoming this tragic situation can at timesbe discouraging. Armed conflicts, out-breaks of disease, adverse atmospheric andenvironmental conditions and the massiveforced displacement of peoples: all theseobstacles should serve as a motivation toredouble our efforts to provide each personwith his or her daily bread. For her part, theChurch is convinced that the quest for moreeffective technical solutions in an ever-changing and expanding world calls for far-sighted programmes embodying enduringvalues grounded in the inalienable dignityand rights of the human person.

FAO continues to play an essentialrole in relieving world hunger, while remind-ing the international community of the press-ing need constantly to update methods andto design strategies adequate to today’schallenges. I express my appreciation forthe generous efforts made in this regard byall associated with your Organization. TheHoly See has closely followed the activitiesof FAO over the last sixty years and isconfident that the significant results al-ready achieved will continue. FAO was oneof the first international organizations with

which the Holy See established regulardiplomatic relations. On 23 November 1948,during the Fourth Session of your Confer-ence, the Holy See was granted the uniquestatus of “Permanent Observer”, thus en-suring its right to participate in the activitiesof FAO’s various departments and affili-ated agencies in a way consonant with theChurch’s religious and moral mission.

The united effort of the internationalcommunity to eliminate malnutrition andpromote genuine development necessarilycalls for clear structures of managementand oversight, and a realistic assessment ofthe resources needed to address a widerange of different situations. It requires thecontribution of every member of society—individuals, volunteer organizations, busi-nesses, and local and national govern-ments—always with due regard for thoseethical and moral principles which are thecommon patrimony of all people and thefoundation of all social life. The interna-tional community must always avail itself ofthis precious treasure of common valuessince genuine and lasting development canonly be furthered in a spirit of cooperationand a willingness to share professional and


ARTICLES

technical resources.Indeed, today more than ever, the hu-

man family needs to find the tools andstrategies capable of overcoming the con-flicts caused by social differences, ethnicrivalries, and the gross disparity in levels ofeconomic development. Mankind is thirst-ing for true and lasting peace—a peace thatcan only come about if individuals, groupsat every level, and government leaders cul-tivate habits of responsible decision-mak-ing rooted firmly in the fundamental prin-ciples of justice.

It is therefore essential that societiesdedicate their energies to educating au-thentic peacemakers: this is a task whichfalls in a particular way to organizations likeyour own, which cannot fail to recognize asthe foundation of authentic justice the uni-versal destination of the goods of creation.

Religion, as a potent spiritual force forhealing the wounds of conflict and divi-sion, has its own distinctive contribution tomake in this regard, especially through thework of forming minds and hearts in accor-dance with a vision of the human person.

Ladies and Gentlemen, technicalprogress, important as it is, is not every-thing. Such progress must be placed withinthe wider context of the integral good of thehuman person. It must constantly drawnourishment from the common patrimonyof values which can inspire concrete initia-tives aimed at a more equitable distributionof spiritual and material goods. As I wrotein my encyclical “Deus Caritas Est,” “thosewho are in a position to help others willrealize that, in doing so, they themselvesreceive help; being able to help others is nomerit or achievement of their own” (No. 35).This principle has a special application tothe world of agriculture, in which the workof those who are often considered the “low-liest” members of society should be dulyacknowledged and esteemed.

FAO’s outstanding activity on behalfof development and food security clearlypoints to the correlation between the spreadof poverty and the denial of basic humanrights, beginning with the fundamental rightto adequate nutrition. Peace, prosperity,and respect for human rights are insepara-bly linked. The time has come to ensure, forthe sake of peace, that no man, woman andchild will ever be hungry again!

Dear friends, in renewing my esteemfor your work, I assure you of my prayersthat Almighty God will enlighten and guideyour deliberations, so that the activity ofFAO will respond ever more fully to thehuman family’s yearning for solidarity, jus-tice and peace.

Thecorruptionof powerBy Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE have been amply warnedabout this danger. Our Lordhimself said: “You know that

the princes of the Gentiles lord it overthem, and they that are greater, exercisepower upon them. It shall not be soamong you. But whosoever will be thegreater among you, let him be your min-ister. And he that will be first among you,shall be your servant.” (Mt 20,25-27)

We have to understand that anypower that we have in this life is alwaysa participation of God’s power. St. Paulsaid so: “There is no power but fromGod, and those that are, are ordained ofGod.” (Rom 13, 1)

Though we are always free to usethat power as truly our own, it would bevery funny to use it as if it is entirely ours,without due reference to God, its sourceand purpose, and to the others for whomit is used.

And yet that is what we see aroundquite abundantly. Leaders, political andeven ecclesiastical, many times act outthis “lording it over,” eager to dominateand control others, being bossy andeven arrogant and insolent.

Because of this error, they openthemselves to other irregularities: hypoc-risy, greed, lust, envy, hatred, etc. Someeven go to the extent of getting detachedfrom reality and lapsing into insanity.

It’s truly painful to see someonewho at the beginning of a political careerappears meek and then morphs himselfthrough years of wielding power into aninsufferable monster, tinkering with mo-rality and getting inured to rational twist-ing, grand lying, hatching plots and con-spiracies.

It’s hard to understand why someleaders act in that ridiculous way. Ofcourse, there are reasons. Like, theyhave been elected or appointed, havesuperior qualities, have been born lucky,etc. Outside pressures and temptations

are never lacking.But these cannot misrepresent the

truth that any earthly power is from Godand has to be used according to God’swill. One’s proper attitude toward powershould be that of being a minister, aservant, not the author or owner, muchless, a tyrant.

We have to find a continuing way ofeducating everyone about the nature andpurpose of power. We have to activelyinculcate the proper attitudes and dispo-sitions, especially rectitude of intention.

We have to be aware that we aredoing God’s work even as we pursue ourearthly activities. These are not purelyearthly as in being strictly politics. Theycan and should be part of God’s designs.

Aside from being competent, weneed to be humble always, consciousthat we are mere servants and instru-ments though vested with the dignity ofbeing God’s children. We have to beprudent, more of the spirit than of theflesh and of the world.

We have to continually practicedetachment, seeing to it that our heart isfully attuned to God’s will. We shouldnot allow the many privileges and perksgiven to holders of power to spoil us.

We have to learn to distinguish inthe course of using power between whatis of absolute value that has to be upheldalways, and what is of relative value thatcan be open to many interpretations andtherefore should be respected even aswe try to make a consensus.

Problems start when people fail torecognize the source and aim of power,and then develop the correspondinginappropriate attitudes and habits.Worse, without God and on our own, wetend to weave a web of deceit that even-tually will incriminate us.

We cannot underestimate the manydangers that threaten the proper use ofpower. First, we have right now an envi-ronment filled with bad examples of howpower ought to be used.

There also are serious efforts now todiscredit the role of God and of Christianmorality in the use of power. The religiousdimension is often viewed as irrelevant,an unnecessary burden, a mere luxurythat can be discarded anytime.

That’s why we have many reasonsto embark on a systematic campaign toclarify the issue on the use of power.This is an urgent call of our times. I


ARTICLES

Why a NationalRural Congress II?Land: A critical Issue for the Philippines

By Fr. Archie Casey, SX

Given the historical background ofthe current land issue in the Philip-pines and the set of specific con-

cerns around land policy, it is importantnow to ask the question why celebrate aSecond National Rural Congress? I pro-pose that some principles from theChurch’s Social Teaching (CST) can behelpful in providing the framework for ourdiscussion.

By CST, I mean the body of socialwisdom about the human person in commu-nity and the structures and practices thatenable the person to come to full humandevelopment. That wisdom is found in ourscriptures, in the reflections of theologians,in the statements of church organizationsand in the witness of committed men andwomen. The CST is not so much a set ofanswers or detailed plans as a frame ofquestions and guiding principles and norms.It has been described as “a light for ourpaths, not a roadmap for our journeys.”

It is my thesis that this CST does indeedprovide a “value-added element” to publicdiscussions, debates and decisions such asthose going on now in the Philippines (andelsewhere) over land policy. By that I meanthat this public process is enhanced byinjection of the principles, norms and direc-tives found in the Social Teaching. The“value-added element” provides a frame-work within which to focus on what shouldbe the policy based on the priorities of hu-man society.

Selected PrinciplesBefore highlighting some elements in

this CST frame, I want to draw attention to alist of values set down in the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Programme (CARP) thatstill has to be completed. The CARP hasbeen hailed as a centerpiece programme ofthe Philippine Government from the time ofPresident Corazon Aquino. As a major as-set-reform programme, the CARP seeks toaddress the problem of inequitable distribu-tion of land. As a poverty-alleviation mea-sure, CARP seeks to transform agrarian re-form beneficiaries into more productive mem-bers of society who can use the land togenerate more income for their families.

After the lapse of almost twenty yearsfrom the passage of the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Law (CARL), however, theCARP remains an incomplete dream. Whilethe implementation of the programme hasproduced significant gains in terms of distri-bution of agricultural lands, there remains alarge area that should still be covered underthe CARP. Furthermore, farmer beneficiarieswho now own the land should be given the

needed support services that will enablethem to make the land productive. It is thepolicy of the State to pursue a Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP).The welfare of the landless farmers, farmworkers and other qualified beneficiaries willreceive the highest consideration to pro-mote social justice and to move the nationtowards sound rural development and in-dustrialization, and the establishment ofowner cultivatorship of economic-sizedfarms as the basis of Philippine agriculture.

The CARP underlines the followingvalues:

• Rural poor people’s participation• Accountability• Commitment• Self-reliance• Equity and fairness• Justice and human dignity• Impartiality

I believe that this list is a very goodsummary of the CST principles to besummarised below.

It is important to note, of course, that forIndigenous Peoples (IPs), the tradition isthat land is something sacred. It is part of thegracious gift of God who provides for thepeople. Thus traditionally the land belongedto the community, under the guardianship ofthe tiller. Individual families could use part ofthe communal land, with the expectation thatthey would cultivate it and stay there fromone generation to another. Other parts of thecommunal land were for the service of all ora reserve for future needs.

In Judeo-Christian biblical terms, the earthbelongs to God the Creator and people areonly stewards. Leviticus 25:23 reminds thepeople that, “Your land must not be sold ona permanent basis, because you do not ownit; it belongs to God, and you are like foreign-


ers who are allowed to make use of it.”Moreover, land and its fruits should be

equally and equitably shared. Hence thepractices such as the redistribution of landevery Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25:28) and theleaving of some fruits for the poor afterharvest (Deuteronomy 25:19-22). Jesus’ re-spect and appreciation for land is evident inhis many agricultural-based parables and inhis special concern for the poor, most ofwhom were landless.

In the documents of the Church, thetopic of land is usually treated in the discus-sion of property. To briefly recall the basicteaching, the CST perspective is that prop-erty is subject to the common purpose of allcreated things, namely the benefit of allpeople. The Second Vatican Council in itsmain document, The Church in the ModernWorld, stated quite plainly: “God intendedthe earth and all that it contains for the useof every human being and people” (GS 69).

Paul VI followed that up in his TheDevelopment of People (1967) with the re-affirmation of a long-held principle that largelanded estates that “impede the generalprosperity because they are extensive, un-used or poorly used, or because they bringhardships to people or are detrimental tothe interests of the country,” can in the nameof the common good be expropriated bynational authorities (PP 24). John Paul IIclarified that further by stating in his TheSocial Concerns of the Church (1987) that“Private property, in fact, is under a ‘socialmortgage,’ which means that it has an in-trinsically social function, based upon andjustified precisely by the principle of theuniversal destination of goods” (SRS 42).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference ofthe Philippines (CBCP) has also advocatedLand Reform. The bishops reiterated the callfor a Comprehensive and Effective Land Re-form Programme in their exhortation “Thirst-ing for Justice.” on 14 July 1987, (Eight dayslater, President Aquino signed Proclamation131 and Executive Order No. 229 which dealtwith the implementation of the Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Program):

“This year we celebrate a NationalEucharistic Year. The heart of the Eucha-rist is sharing - Christ sharing himself withus totally.

In this celebration God is asking us to dowhat we celebrate: to share to the utmost ofourselves with others, especially with thosewith whom Christ himself identifies: thethirsty, the hungry, the naked, and the home-less (Mt. 25:35-46). In the Philippines today,these are the landless, the exploited, thedisadvantaged, and the powerless. Thesehave the single most urgent claim on the

conscience of the nation. To opt for them, toshare with them is a requirement of theKingdom of God.

Therefore, under this perspective of aloving faith that does justice, we, your bish-ops, have no alternative as far as the ques-tion of agrarian reform is concerned:

We are for as comprehensive aprogramme of agrarian reform as possible –one that will make it possible for all, the 70%who live below the poverty line especially, tohave more in order to be more (Cf. Paul VI,Populorum Progressio, 6).

We believe furthermore that a genuineagrarian reform programme must be realis-tic. No programme can be successful if ittranscends the capabilities of government tomanage and finance.” (Ricardo J. CardinalVidal, Archbishop of Cebu, CBCP President)

One very clear summary of the CST onland is found in the 1980 statement of a groupof Bishops from the mid-western part of theUnited States. I believe it has great relevanceto the current discussion in the Philippines.In response to problems raised by landownership and use, the Bishops recom-mended ten principles of land stewardship—principles clearly biblical and in accord withstatements of the Popes mentioned above:

• The land is God’s.• People are God’s stewards on the land,

co-creators with God in guiding theland’s productive power and in con-serving the land’s natural gifts.

• The land’s benefits are for everyone –both for the present and future genera-tions.

• The land should be distributed equita-bly.

• The land should be conserved and re-stored.

• Land-use planning must consider socialand environmental impacts.

• Land use should be appropriate to landquality; for example, prime farmlandshould not be used unnecessarily forurban expansion or highways.

• The land should provide a moderatelivelihood.

• The land’s workers should be able tobecome the land’s owners.

• The land’s mineral wealth should beshared.

Policy ApplicationsGuided by these principles and by the

biblical and documentary references out-lined above, there are at least three majoremphases that are relevant when we con-sider policy land issues of the Philippines.This is where I return to the “value-addedelement” crucial to the discussions, debates

and decisions about public policy.First, the land policy must be grounded

on the recognition that land is not simplyanother economic commodity, but somethingvery central to the well being of human soci-ety. It is not to be bought and sold on simplemarket principles. It is, indeed, somethingsacred since it is so essential to the well beingof every woman and man. This means thateconomic reform measures such as globalizedagri-business programmes cannot be the pri-mary determinant to land policy in a countrylike the Philippines. This calls, therefore, for athorough review of the 1988 CARP Law withextension and reform and all its implications.

Second, a primary concern for the poorin the Philippines (the overwhelming majorityof Filipinos!) must guide the land policies.Land tenure must always be designed in waysthat do not discriminate against the poor—either because of cumbersome and expensivelegal and management requirements to fulfil orbecause available good CARP-able land ispossessed by landlords or investors whohave access to ready cash. Allocation of titlesto land, whether Customary or State, mustrespect the rights and needs of local commu-nities and especially the rural poor—of whomthe largest number are women.

Third, land policies must be holistic,that is, they must be integrated into largerdevelopment planning that takes account ofissues like food security, employment, envi-ronmental concerns, community identity,regional infrastructure, etc. For example, whenthe CARP Law states that “By means ofappropriate incentives, the State shall en-courage the formation and maintenance ofeconomic-sized family farms to be consti-tuted by individual beneficiaries and smalllandowners” plans should be designed inthis holistic fashion.

ConclusionAs the Philippine Government now evalu-

ates whether agriculture is the number onenational priority, it is clear that land policymoves to the forefront in addressing currentburning issues like poverty and hunger. TheChurch’s Social Teaching has many signifi-cant things to say about these issues provid-ing a framework for making decisions, takingaction and achieving the Common Good.How men and women appear in the light ofbelief in Christ and his love is the root causewhy the NRC II process can help re-awakenour Gospel Concern for the dignity of the ruralpoor and fulfil “the joys and hopes, the griefsand anxieties” envisioned forty years ago onFebruary 5th 1967 by the first National RuralCongress and encapsulated in its slogan“THE CHURCH GOES TO THE BARRIOS.”

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FROM THEB L O G S

Lessons Learned

Grand Gambling Lord of the Philippines

The tension in Makati is over. The tear gasis gone. The guns are silent. The soldiers,police and their tanks are back in the camps.A plush hotel suffered some damage. Thelead personalities are held secure. Makatiappears calm and quiet. But as sure as thesun will rise tomorrow, the saga is defi-nitely not ended, the last chapter of thestory is certainly not yet written. The na-tional realities behind the event are stillalive and about. The fundamental factors

that caused the riveting drama remain thesame. The perceived morally bankrupt andcallous government continues to be inpower. The same markedly questionableindividuals with busted values systemremain holding the high critical public of-fices.

What thus took place in a key city inthe country must mean many things tomany people. Just as there were those whowelcomed and cheered it, so did others

looked at it with reservation, apprehen-sion if not condemnation—especiallythose who might suddenly lose their pub-lic profitable offices or juicy positions. It ishowever true that there are definitely biglessons learned from the sobering if notchilling episode witnessed here and abroadby millions of people in living colors andreal time.

First lesson: The present governmentis the problem and the culprit. It is theprincipal author of corrupt acts and prac-tices, the fearsome killing machine of causeoriented men and women, the primary ori-gin of deceit and injustice. It is a govern-ment that effectively divides people andamply gives them strong reasons to dis-trust and disapprove. It makes money fromeven the poorest of the poor whilenonchalantly appropriating huge publicfunds to promote its own political interestand concerns. With such a government,reconciliation is an empty word, nationaldevelopment is but a dream, and socialpeace remains a moral impossibility, hencethe long existing unrest on the part of thegoverned from the left, from the right andfrom the center as well. It is the presentgovernment itself that foments continu-ous dissent and big resentment to thepoint of the Makati attempt.

Second lesson: there are more andmore people who are alienated by the ex-isting government that does as a matter ofcourse what it should not, and avoid doingwhat it is precisely paid for and expectedto do. The dissatisfied and downright dis-gusted people are numbered among theelite and the miserable, the professionalsand the unlettered. They are found in theacademe and the slums, the world of busi-ness and labor—even in the ranks of theAFP. While most of them do not actuallyjoin protest marches and rallies, they areneither that happy much less contentedwith the present administration. But eventhese will not “stand down” forever.

Third lesson: The great majority ofthe Philippine media persons remain thesign of courage and the voice of truth.That is why they are hated by people whowield power simply through weaponry—a symbol of brute power and the tool ofdictatorial figures. They are a constituentelement of the hope of the country, amuch appreciated partner in confrontingthe abuses of public officials. May theirtribe increase. May they remain firm andstay whole

Meantime, the crusade for truth, jus-tice and peace continues.ovc.b logspot .com

It is not an exaggera-tion much less a fabri-cation to say that thepresent government isthe biggest gamblinglord in the country. Thishas no reference to thelong standing and per-vasive illegal numbers’game that itnonchalantly tolerates ifnot openly promotes.Neither has this any-thing to do with the infa-mous gambling opera-tors individually wellidentified practically byeverybody except thesupposedly competentand concerned govern-ment agencies. Needlessto say, this is about thesomehow omnipotent aswell as omnipresent Phil-ippine Amusing Gam-bling Corporation(PAGCOR) placed di-rectly under no less thanthe Office of the Presi-dent as a staff entity.

In order to some-way disguise its omi-nous reality and camou-flage its deleterious op-eration, the same gov-ernment gambling Cor-poration spends nosmall money to loudly

trumpet its alleged socialwelfare projects presum-ably all over the land. Re-cently, it even announcedits glorious and visionaryintention of putting up averitable gambling city cumsome amusement compo-nents for cosmetic pur-poses. Lately, it is stagingcertain entertainment fea-tures with a vague claimthat it intends to embark insome kind of a vague cul-tural development.

There are some stand-ing facts that remain be-yond debate in the gam-bling world. Gamblers areultimately losers, and gam-bling operators are the finalwinners always. Gamblersare continuous liabilities totheir work or profession, totheir business or employ-ment, not to mention theirfamilies and close friends.Gamblers resent beingcalled what they are, andthus hide their identities asmuch as possible. Gamblingis a vice—a bad habit thatdictates thought processesand directs action patterns.Gambling is addictive to theextent that it has acquired aplace in the Diagnostic andStatistical Manual of Men-

tal Disorders. Gamblingwherefore caused theestablishment of “Gam-blers Anonymous” in allplaces where the vicereigns—as there is oneregularly meeting in aknown Hotel some-where in Roxas Boule-vard.

In addition to itsmedals of dishonor suchas in the area of graftand corruption, in thesphere of extrajudicialkillings and forced dis-appearances, in the mat-ter of high distrust anddisapproval ratings, andsimilar socio-moralhandicaps, there iswherefore the addeddistinct title duly earnedby this government, viz.,“Grand Gambling Lordof the Philippines”.Meantime, there is hun-ger and misery in theland. There is a big exo-dus of workers. The Phil-ippine pesos buys lessand less, and the cost ofliving is becominghigher and higher.

And this is the“PHILIPPINES, MYPHILIPPINES.”ovc.b logspot .com


EDITORIAL

is categorically barred from aspiring for the sameoffice. The rationale of this formal and expressedconstitutional provision is rather plain and simple: sixcontinuous years are long enough for the highest publicofficial in the country to demonstrate the national goodwhich it can actualize for the benefit of the people—orsadly evidence national harm when it has the gall toinflict upon the country.

It is already tiring and nauseating even to but recalland list down the long litany of blatant socio-immoralpostures adopted by the present government wherebymoney and power are worshipped; ego and loyaltypolitics are held supreme. Thus rests the unavoidableand unpleasant verdict recently rendered by a Church-man known for his command of moral theology, for hispastoral prudence and personal goodness. The incum-bent government is morally bankrupt! Among otherthings, such a painful evaluation means that togetherwith its cohorts, the head has lost the moral authority tolead, the moral ascendancy to govern. It will take a goodamount of vain amoral gymnastics to arrive at a con-trary conclusion.

HOW much lie, injustice and stagnancy can theadult bear, the young witness, the children inherit?When will the people say enough is enough and

wherefore act to let the truth out, to make justice reign, toeffect a change for the better? What must the Filipinos dolest they find themselves already irredeemably buried ina deep ethical morass the present government keepsdigging for them, from the high pile of moral garbage it hasbeen heaping on them in the course of time?

How long will they endure their inculturation intograft and corruption, in the nonchalant waste of humanlives and wanton violation of human rights? What onearth will bring about a public outrage, a national move,a concerted action to end a continuously and consis-tently distrusted and disapproved government? Theyhave done it peacefully, steadfastly and successfullybefore. They can once more surely do it again the sameway, with the same resolve and spirit.

The fundamental law of the land provides that headof government is given six long years to deliver what thepeople clamor for, to actualize what is promised to thegoverned. Thereafter, the said national governing figure

Truth, Justice, Change


FROM THEI N B O X

A Christmas Story

The Mountain

I hurried into the local department storeto grab some last minute Christmasgifts. I looked at all the people and

grumbled to myself. I would be in hereforever and I just had so much to do.Christmas was beginning to become sucha drag. I kinda wished that I could justsleep through Christmas. But I hurried thebest I could through all the people to thetoy department.

I found myself in the doll aisle. Out ofthe corner of my eye I saw a little boy aboutfive holding a lovely doll. He kept touch-ing her hair and he held her so gently. Icould not seem to help myself. I just keptlooking over at the little boy and wonderedwho the doll was for. I watched him turn toa woman and he called his aunt by nameand said, “Are you sure I don’t haveenough money” She replied a bit impa-tiently, “You know that you don’t haveenough money for it.” The aunt told thelittle boy not to go anywhere that she hadto go get some other things and would beback in a few minutes. The boy continuedto hold the doll.

After a bit I asked the boy who the dollwas for. He said, “It is the doll my sisterwanted so badly for Christmas. She justknew that Santa would bring it.” I told himthat maybe Santa was going to bring it. Hesaid “No, Santa can’t go where my sister is...I have to give the doll to my Momma to taketo her.” I asked him where his sister was.

He looked at me with the saddest eyesand said “She has gone to be with Jesus”.My Daddy says that Momma is going tohave to go to be with her. My heart nearlystopped beating. Then the boy looked atme again and said, “I told my Daddy to tellMomma not to go yet. I told him to tell herto wait till I got back from the store.” Thenhe asked me if I wanted to see his picture.I told him I would love to. He pulled outsome pictures he’d had taken at the frontof the store. He said “I want my Momma totake this with her so she doesn’t everforget me.” “I love my Momma so verymuch and I wish she did not have to leaveme.” “But Daddy says she will need to bewith my sister.”

I saw that the little boy had loweredhis head and had grown so very quiet.While he was not looking I reached into mypurse and pulled out a handful of bills. Iasked the little boy, “Shall we count thatmoney one more time?” He grew excitedand said “Yes, I just know it has to beenough.” So I slipped my money in withhis and we began to count it.

Of course it was plenty for the doll. Hesoftly said, “Thank you Jesus for givingme enough money.” Then the boy said, “Ijust asked Jesus to give me enough moneyto buy this doll so Momma can take it with

her to give to my sister. And he heard myprayer. I wanted to ask him for enough tobuy my Momma a white rose, but I didn’task him, but he gave me enough to buy thedoll and a rose for my Momma. She loveswhite roses so very, very much.”

In a few minutes the aunt came backand I wheeled my cart away. I could notkeep from thinking about the little boy asI finished my shopping in a totally differ-ent spirit than when I had started. And Ikept remembering a story I had seen in thenewspaper several days earlier about adrunk driver hitting a car and killing a littlegirl and the Mother was in serious condi-tion. The family was deciding on whetherto remove the life support.

Two days later I read in the paperwhere the family had disconnected the lifesupport and the young woman had died. Icould not forget the little boy and just keptwondering if the two were somehow con-nected. Later that day, I could not helpmyself and I went out and bought somewhite roses and took them to the funeralhome where the young woman was. Andthere she was holding a lovely white rose,the beautiful doll, and the picture of thelittle boy in the store.

I left there in tears, my life changedforever. The love that little boy had for hislittle sister and his mother was overwhelm-ing. And in a split second a drunk driverhad ripped the life of that little boy [email protected]

There were two warring tribes in theAndes, one that

lived in the lowlands andthe other high in the moun-tains. The mountain peopleinvaded the lowlandersone day, and as part of theirplundering of the people,they kidnapped a baby ofone of the lowlander fami-lies and took the infantwith them back up into themountains.

The lowlandersdidn’t know how to climbthe mountain. They didn’tknow any of the trails thatthe mountain people used,and they didn’t know

their gear for the descent,they saw the baby’s motherwalking toward them. Theyrealized that she was com-ing down the mountainthat they hadn’t figuredout how to climb.

And then they sawthat she had the babystrapped to her back. Howcould that be?

One man greeted herand said, “We couldn’tclimb this mountain. Howdid you do this when we,the strongest and most ablemen in the village, couldn’tdo it?”

She shrugged hershoulders and said, “Itwasn’t your baby.”[email protected]

where to find the mountainpeople or how to track them inthe steep terrain.

Even so, they sent outtheir best party of fighting mento climb the mountain and bringthe baby home.

The men tried first onemethod of climbing and thenanother. They tried one trailand then another. After sev-eral days of effort, however,they had climbed only severalhundred feet.

Feeling hopeless andhelpless, the lowlander mendecided that the cause waslost, and they prepared to re-turn to their village below.

As they were packing


B O O KREVIEWS

The Way of LoveReflections on Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical

Deus Caritas Est

Before and Beyond “I do”Matrimonial Advisories

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, JCD, DD

The Gospel of the CrossReflections for Lent and Easter

Fr. Gil A. Alinsangan, SSP

Formative SpiritualityThe collected writings of Venancio

Calpotura, SJ

Another instructive volume from aprolific writer, this book is alreadythe 26th in a roster of publicationswritten and published by Arch-bishop Oscar Cruz, DD. As thesubtitle suggests, and the authoracknowledges in his foreword;what is found inside the pages arebut matrimonial advisories, andthe author does not intend to passjudgments but merely counsels.Nonetheless, the counsels andrecommendations found in thisvolume are “nuggets of gold,” so

to speak, for anyone who is intend-ing to get married. And even forsomeone who has already tied theknot, the “words of wisdom” scat-tered through the pages surely areeffective suggestions to keepone’s relationship before and af-ter marriage fruitful and alive. Bothinteresting and informative, thisvolume is truly a helpful guide tocouples who want to make theirmarriages work and achieve atruly rewarding relationship withtheir loved ones.

Edited by Livio Melina and CarlAnderson, this book contains thereflections on Pope BenedictXVI’s first encyclical Deus CaritasEst by professors from the Pon-tifical John Paul II Institute forStudies on Marriage and theFamily who treated the themesraised by the encyclical from vari-ous theological and philosophi-cal perspectives. It open with thePope’s words: “I wish in my firstEncyclical to speak of the lovewhich God lavishes upon us andwhich we in turn must share withothers.” It is from here that thereflections in the volume depart,probing into the “eros” and“agape” in its differentiated andcomplex but ultimately unitary

reality that the Pontiff carefullycrafts so that one realizes thatChristianity does not detach fromhuman existence, but acceptsthe whole person in his searchfor love in order to purify it andreveal i ts news dimensions.“These pages offer the theologi-cal context for some of the in-sights of the document as wellas the new horizons that the en-cyclical opens up for Church’sevangelizing mission. They are in-tended to be a starting point for arenewed reflection on human lovethat shows how to experience loveand in this way to cause the lightof God to enter into the world,”writes Camillo Cardinal Ruini atthe book’s introduction.

The Gospel reflections found inthis volume have been written forand originally published in differ-ent times in the liturgical–biblicaldiary 365 days with the Lord. Thisbook, which is the second volumeof a series of reflections writtenby Fr. Gil Alinsangan, SSP doesnot fail the interest generated byhis first volume which was aboutAdvent and Christmas. This time,the gospel reflections cover theseasons of Lent and Easter aptlytitled “The Gospel of the Cross,”

thus drawing readers reflectivelyinto the mystery of the cross,which is the fount of salvation. Soprofound in insights and deeplyrooted in biblical exegesis, thisvolume indeed “will lead peopleto know and love the Gospel ofthe Cross, and to mirror it in theirlives.” The author, who holds aLicentiate in Sacred Scripturesfrom the Pontifical Biblical Insti-tute, is currently the Rector of St.Paul Seminary Foundation inSilang, Cavite.

Edited by VirginiaCalpotura, RSCJ, this vol-ume is the first of two vol-umes of the writings of Fr.Venancio Calpotura, SJ,grouped into “FormativeSpirituality” (Vol. 1) and“Ignatian Spirituality” (Vol2). This is a collection ofpapers he submitted andtalks he delivered to vari-ous groups, mostly topriests and religiousformators who underwentthe learning process atEmmaus Center, the Insti-tute of Formation hefounded. All through thepages of this book run aninterplay of academicsystems of formation andnuggets of insights thatmay have naturally flowedout of years of profoundspiritual experience of liv-ing the “Ignatian way”. Atthe end pages, one sees

not only the thoughts andmethods of formative spiri-tuality, but gradually thewitness of a person whohas maximized his yearsforming spiritualformators. At his wake inMay 2005, Fr. DanielHuang, SJ, said: “Bennybrought to the PhilippineChurch, to seminaries andreligious formationhouses, to lay people en-gaged in ministry, a newformative spirituality, thatblended modern psychol-ogy and classicspirituality…that broughtprofound healing inpsyche and at the sametime, profound closenessto the God of love and call.The Church in the Philip-pines owes much toBenny. It will take yearsfor us to understand howmuch.”


Three separate events aregoing on at the same time. InWashington D.C., JanineRoth (Meryl Streep), a vet-eran journalist has a one-on-one interview with Sena-tor Jasper I rv ing (TomCruise) who wants her to airan exclusive news materialhe is passing on to her.Around the same time in aCalifornia University, pro-fessor Dr. Stephen Malley(Robert Redford) is seri-ously confronting his stu-dent Todd Hayes (AndrewGarfield) about his frequentabsences from his class andis given a severe reprimand.Also around this time, asmall band of U.S. soldiers

Title: Lions for LambsRunning Time: 98 min.Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom

Cruise, Robert Redford,Andrew Garfield, DerekLuke, Michael Peña,Kevin Dunn Peter Berg

Director: Robert RedfordProducers: Robert Redford,

Matthew MichaelCarnahan, AndrewHauptman, Tracy Falco

Screenwriter: MatthewMichael Carnahan

CATHOLIC INITIATIVEF O R ENL I G H T E N E DMOVIE APPRECIATION

Music: Mark IshamEditor: Joe Hutshing

Genre: Action/ DramaCinematography: Phillippe

Rousselot A/FC/ASCDistributor: United ArtistsLocation: Washington DC,

California, USA;Afganistan

Technical Assessment:½

Moral Assessment: ½CINEMA Rating: For viewers

14 and above

is taken by helicopter to astrategic point in the Af-ghanistan mountains to pre-vent the Talibans from ad-vancing into the territory.Among the soldiers in theair lift are two students ofDr. Malley: Arlan (DerekLuke) and Ernest (MichaelPeña) friends and idealisticstudents.

The three lead actorsand actress are very con-v inc ing in the i r ro les .Though they handledmostly talky parts, theyclearly delivered what theirverbal interchange is allabout, that include effectivebody language and facial ex-pressions. The three differ-ent events are so effectivelypaced, edicted and directedthat these could be easilyput ogether in relation toeach other for the viewersto see and get the centralidea of Lions for Lambs.

In the one-on-one inter-view Janine sees that she isto write about the adminis-tration having a “new plan”to end the deadlock in Af-ghanistan by sending smallmilitary groups to securetheir positions before a realbattle begins. When wouldthis “plan” be put into ac-tion; Irving informs her, “tenminutes ago” as they were

ters whatever the cost. Themedia may thus be used forthat purpose: preserving theimage of power and partyinterest. Roth struggles withher conscience, and prag-matism: she wants to writethe truth but not at the costof losing her job. Arlan andErnest were brave enoughto follow their conscience,while Todd lacked commit-ment and does not have adirection in his life. Dr.Malley is such a competentand conscientious profes-sor that he could light upone’s idealism and removeapathy from his students.Lions for Lambs

ANSWER TO THE LAST ISSUE: WORDS WHICH DO NOT GIVE THELIGHT OF CHRIST INCREASE THE DARKNESS -- MOTHER TERESA

QUOTES IN QUIZ Booklets available at BOOKSALE stores in SM, Robinsons andselected malls in Manila. For mail order text 0919 2803036.

talking. The journalist real-izes that she had helped thegovernment on occasions tospread its propaganda, be-fore this meeting, which hasbeen a costly and tragic mis-take. She is now reluctant todo what Irving wants her todo. Still she has her editorto bring her dilemma to. InAfghanistan, the two bud-dies, who were Dr. Malley’sidealistic students and whostill had faith in the waythings are in their country,became “ the sacr i f ic ia llambs that fed the pride ofthe lions”. Political ambitionand pride lead to the ideathat winning is what mat-

ENTERTAINMENT


N E W SB R I E F S

EAST TIMOR

Male seeks end to vio-lence vs. women

A UN-led campaignagainst domestic violence isbeing taken up with enthusi-asm in East Timor. The UNDevelopment Fund forWomen has launched a newmedia campaign against do-mestic violence.

LEBANON

Army chief can be presi-dent

Lebanon’s western-backed governing majorityannounced early this monththat it would accept armychief Gen. Michel Sleimanas a compromise candidatefor the vacant presidency,clearing the way to an end toa year-old stand-off with theopposition.

MALAYSIA

PM seeks probe vs. cor-ruption

Malaysia’s Prime Minis-ter has vowed to form aRoyal Commission to probeallegations of judicial cor-ruption. It all centers on an8-minute video clip showinga prominent lawyer talkingon his cell phone, telling ajudge he’ll recommend himfor a senior appointment.

VIETNAM

Abortions blamed forglut of sons

Authorities here are wor-ried about a growing imbal-ance in the ratio of boy to girlchildren. There are concernsVietnamese parents are re-sorting to selective abortionto make sure they have atleast one son.

PHILIPPINESPHILIPPINESPHILIPPINESPHILIPPINESPHILIPPINES

Mutineers face morecharges

Authorities are huntingsuspects including civiliansaccused of helping a foiledcoup last Nov.29. Renegadesoldiers holed up themselvesinside a Makati City hotel, andurged other soldiers to jointhem in an uprising againstPresident Gloria Arroyo. Thegroup had walked out fromcourt where they were stand-ing trial over a failed 2003mutiny. But now it looks likethey’ll be facing more chargesafter the government chargedthem with rebellion.

AFGHANISTAN

MPs stage walkout overbombing

A car loaded with bomb,aimed at US-led coalitionarmed forces exploded inthe Afghan capital early thismonth, killing at least twopeople. The incident oc-curred a day after eightyMPs walked out of parlia-ment—hitting the govern-ment of not cooperating inan inquiry into the nation’sworst suicide bombing.

BANGLADESHBANGLADESHBANGLADESHBANGLADESHBANGLADESH

Aid pours on cyclonevictims

Relief efforts are beingstepped up to bring aid tothousands of cyclone vic-tims in southernBangladesh, as the US mili-tary joined aid operations.A new problem, however,has emerged in the after-math of Cyclone Sidr—witharound three million victimsreportedly facing the risk offood shortages. Add to thelist is over 92-thousandhectares of crops destroyedand 350 thousand livestocklost.

CHINA

Poor mental health sideeffect of rising economy

This country’s economicgrowth is having an unfortu-nate side effect. Authoritiesare concerned at the rise inthe incidence of stress anddepression among the popu-lation, including children. It’sadding considerable strainon a system with an ac-knowledged poor record inthe treatment of mentalhealth and serious psychiat-ric disorders. The situationis beginning to change as anational program kicks in.

INDIA

Writer accused of blas-phemy

Troops have been de-ployed in the Indian city ofKolcutta after protestsagainst controversialBangladeshi writer, TaslimaNasreen, turned into riots.The demonstrators are call-ing for Taslima Nasreen toleave India, for allegedly hurt-ing Muslim sentiments.Nasreen has denied makingthe comments. It’s not thefirst time, however, that shehas angered Islamic radicals.

INDONESIAINDONESIAINDONESIAINDONESIAINDONESIA

Muslim groups blastscholar’s ostracism

Two main Islamic orga-nizations here criticized theReligious Affairs Ministryfor “pressuring” a liberalEgyptian scholar to cancel aplanned address. NasrHamid Abu Zayd was con-troversially declared a her-etic by the Egyptian govern-ment in the 1990s for hisresearch into Islam. He wasdue to speak at an Islamicseminar in east Java thisweek, but has since can-celled the plan.

IRAQ

Leader’s guards accusedof handling explosives

The Iraqi governmentsaid that seven detainedguards of Sunni leaderAdnan al-Dulaimi have beentested “positive” for han-dling explosives after troopsfound two car bombs at thepolitician’s Baghdad office.Government spokesman Alial-Dabbagh said one guardalso had the key to the carthat was rigged with explo-sives.

PAKISTANPAKISTANPAKISTANPAKISTANPAKISTAN

Opposition split onMusharraf ’s olivebranch

Pakistan’s PresidentPervez Musharraf has of-fered another olive branchto his political opponents bydeclaring he will end his stateof emergency next month.But while international lead-ers have welcomed the an-nouncement, there has beena mixed response fromPakistan’s opposition politi-cians.

Documents

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