TUKLASIN NATIN

The Knights of Columbus in the Philippines threw its support on the call of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to recite the “prayer of reparation” in all Masses within the archdiocese for the sin of sacrilege and blasphemy committed by the controversial art exhibit in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

The cardinal has urged all parishes and religious communities to recite the “prayer of reparation” in all masses, from August 21-28.

On August 22, President of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) Guillermo N. Hernandez distributed a copy of the “Prayer of Reparation” to staff members and recited the prayer during the regular Monday Mass held at the KCFAPI chapel in Intramuros.

Likewise, Fr. George J. Willmann Charities Executive Director Roberto “Bobby” Cruz said they also support the prayer of reparation that is to be prayed kneeling during all Masses throughout the week.

“…of course, especially since the Foundation is part of the Knights of Columbus which strongly supports the teachings of the Catholic Church,” said Cruz.

The controversial CCP exhibit, a mixed media installation on contemporary themes, that portrayed religious images accentuated with condom and other prurient objects, has riled the Catholic Church and the Christian faithful. “

Many agree that the work over reached the boundaries of freedom of expression. Most say it is offensive and a great affront to Catholics and Christians, and to all people who value decency. To them the work is a “trash.” And we agree,” Cardinal Rosales said.

The Manila Archbishop emphasized that for Catholics and Christians, the offense goes beyond visual senses. And the public exhibition of the repulsive work is sacrilege and blasphemy.

“It is a sin. It has deeply offended the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and our Church,” Rosales added.

The cardinal has also declared August 26 as a day of penance for the whole archdiocese, enjoining the faithful to do an act of penance or sacrifice in reparation for the sins committed against the majesty of God. Yen Ocampo

KUSANG nagsara ang Imperial Health Palace kaninang tanghali (Hunyo 17, 2011) bunsod ng paglabag sa Quezon City Ordinance No. SP-91, S-93 as amended by Ordinance No. SP-1080, SP-2001 and further amended by Ordinance No. SP-1148, S-2002.

Ayon sa Mission Order na inilabas ni Business Permits and License Office (BPLO) Officer-In-Charge na si Pacifico F. Maghacot, Jr. kay Head Inspection Division Alfonso L. Mora para sa Imperial Health Palace ay may paglabag ang anim (6) Therapists nito na walang yellow card at isinumiteng FSIC, LC, CP, CEI at sinasabing may ‘view room’ o parang aquarium ang nasabing establisyemento.

Bago pa naibigay ang nasabing Mission Order ay nagsagawa na ng kusang pagsasara ang may-ari na si Arlene Advincula. Subalit nananatiling pinababantayan ni G. Pacifico Maghacot ang nasabing establisyemento liban na lamang kung isasaayos ang mga paglabag na nakasaad sa ibinigay na kopya ng Violation Report ni G. Mora.

Kasabay din nito ay nagsagawa na rin ng inspeksiyon sa karatig lugar ay ilan sa mga nakitang may paglabag ay ang FHM Club o Frenzy Hot Models Disco & KTV na pagmamay-ari naman ni Romeo Yu, gayundin ang kalapit ng Imperial Health Palace na Queen’s Chamber na pagmamay-ari naman ni Cesar D. Dolores.

Sinabi ni G. Mora na araw-araw ay nagsasagawa ng operasyon ang mga inspektor ng BPLO subalit dahil sa dami ng mga establisyemento sa Lungsod Quezon ay hindi nila kakayanin na bantayan ang mga ito kaya’t malaking bagay umano na maging katuwang nila ang publiko na magbantay at magsumbong sa kanilang upisina upang kaagad nilang aksyunan. Cathy Cruz/Raffy Rico  

SA isinagawang Communication and News Exchange (CNEX) Forum ng Philippine Information Agency (PIA) ay inamin ni Commissioner Angelito A. Alvarez na may malaking kakulangan sa tauhan at pasilidad ang kanyang ahensya upang maibigay ang garantisadong serbisyo at masawata ang ‘smuggling incidence’.

Ayon sa kanya araw-araw ay libo-libong ‘container’ umano ang dumarating sa bansa at 45 lamang ang Auditors ng kanilang ahensya na tumitingin sa sampung libong (10,000) Porters. Sa katunayan aniya, apat na libong tauhan lamang ang kasalukuyang empleyado ng Bureau of Customs at nangangailangan sila ng mahigit sa 800 na tauhan upang lubos na maipatupad at magampanan ang trabaho.

Dagdag pa nya na kaugnay sa nagaganap na Rationalization sa hanay ng pamahalaan ay humiling na sya sa Department of Finance at Department of Budget and Management ng karagdagang mga tauhan lalo na ng mga Auditors.

Nabanggit din nya na ibang-iba ang proseso sa pamahalaan di tulad nang sya ay nasa pribadong kumpanya na madaling matagtanggal at maglagay ng tao batay sa ‘performance’ nito.

Subalit sinigurado ni Komisyoner Alvarez sa publiko na sinimulan ng kanyang pamunuan ang pagtatahak sa tuwid na landas sa pamamagitan ng pagtingin, pag-aaral at pagtitiyak na ang mga pasilidad ay nagagamit ng tama, pagsasaayos ng mga sistema upang mapabilis ang transaksyon at maiwasan ang lagayan. Gayundin ng pakikipag-usap o pakikipag-ugnayan sa sektor ng pagnenegosyo tulad ng Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI).

Inilunsad din nya ang perangbayan.com kung saan maaring magbigay kaalaman sa anumang iregularidad na nangyayari sa Bureau of Customs. Asahan din umano na sa loob ng dalawang (2) linggo ay ipapadala sa Maynila ang mga x-ray machines na mababa ang porsiyento ng paggamit tulad ng Batangas Port na 3 x-machines na tinagurian nyang ‘under utilize’.

Ito umano ay nasa 30 x-ray machines na binili pa noong 2005-2006. Kasama rin sa titignan at pag-aaralan ay ang ‘door-to-door policy’na hindi dumadaan sa ‘scanning procedure’ lalo pa na sa bawat ‘container’ ay tinatayang 400-500 balikayan boxes naglalaman ito. Kaya dapat na umanong magkaroon ng pag-ameyenda ng sistema o proseso dito upang maiwasan na magamit ito sa pagpuslit ng mga kargamento.

Hiling lamang ni Komisyoner Alvarez na tulungan sya na masugpo ang mga katiwalian dahil hindi nya ito magagawang mag-isa. ‘Leadership by example’ yan ang susi kung bakit hindi man lubos ang pagkabawas ng korapsyon ay nasa 80% naman ang nagawang pagbabago ng kanyang ahensya mula nang sya ay umupo.

‘It was a “U.S.-orchestrated coup” that toppled the Marcos government, according to an expose by the Washington-based Executive Intelligence Review (EIR).’

THE “Edsa ‘86″ revolt that overthrew the government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos was in reality a “U.S.-orchestrated coup,” as revealed in an expose by the Washington-based Executive Intelligence Review (EIR). It’s starkly in contrast to the tales peddled by Cory Aquino’s yellow adorers in political, social, business and media circles for a quarter of a century now.

That military coup – led by then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile (now senate President), then AFP Chief of Staff, Gen. Fidel V. Ramos (who became president after Cory’s coup-studded six-year-term), and Col. Gregorio Honasan (now senator) – was “a classic case study of the post-World War II preferred method of imposing colonial control under another name.”

The EIR report disclosed, too, that George Shultz (then U.S. Secretary of state) performed the twin roles of “economic hit man, destroying and taking full control of the Philippine economy, and coup master, in deposing the Philippine President in favor of an IMF puppet while calling the operation people power from the late 1970s through the February 1986 coup, and beyond.”

“This subversion and destruction of one of America’s most important allies, by the supranational financial institutions which Schultz and his ilk represent,” the EIR article continued, “was exposed in both the United states and the Philippines… The lesson of the subversion of the Philippines in the 1980s for today is clear. Shultz is the eminence grise behind the neo-conservatives in Washington who were responsible for the 1986 coup.”

Succeeding paragraphs of the EIR article dealt with the fate of Marcos before and after his overthrow by the Shultz cabal, including what he achieved after his election to the presidency in 1965 and on to the time he imposed martial law in 1972. Here are more excerpts:

“The popular memory of Ferdinand Marcos today, in the U.S. and the Philippine, is largely shaped by the massive disinformation campaign created in the early 1980s by the circles around then Secretary of State Shultz and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz. Marcos was accused of corruption, human rights violations, plunder, and even murder of a political opponent, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. (Noynoy’s father) — and this caricature is repeated ad nauseam still today.”

“While Marcos was not without faults, he was by far the last Filipino head of state to have understood the challenge of true leadership in a world slipping towards chaos. His overthrow by the Shultz cabal had nothing to do with the charges issued publicly, but these were intended to stop his national development policies…”

When Marcos was elected President in 1965, EIR continued, he “…set out immediately to establish Philippine food self-sufficiency in rice and corn. This required breaking the control of the landed aristocracy left over from the Spanish imperial era…”

Marcos, who did not rise from the elite class, but was trained as a lawyer, “…focused on basic agricultural infrastructure, especially irrigation, in the food-producing regions of Luzon and Mindanao. Credit facilities, mechanization, and the introduction of high-yield rice varieties, which needed irrigation, resulted in the elimination of rice imports by 1968. Land reform, primarily apolitical problem, remained illusive.

“However, when Marcos imposed martial law in 1972, among his first acts was a proclamation that the entire nation was to be considered a ‘land reform area,’ and a declaration that all tenants working land devoted to rice and corn were to be the owners of that land, up to a specified limit.

“Despite the enraged opposition of the oligarchy (composed of the land-owning political families like the Aquinos and Cojuangcos and the landed aristocracy), the program proved to be extraordinarily successful. Coupled with the infrastructure and mechanization improvements, a quarter of a million peasants became land owners, and grain productivity increased by half.

“Another major step after the declaration of martial law was to contract with Westinghouse for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant – which was to be the first and would still be the only commercial nuclear plant in Southeast Asia…” (The nuclear plant, though fully completed, was never used because it was mothballed by Cory Aquino, one of the first acts of her presidency.)

Nuclear energy was not the only innovation of the Marcos regime, EIR reported. In 1979 Marcos announced a plan for 11 major industrial projects, with the intention of shifting the focus of the nation’s economy from consumer goods to basic heavy industry, such as steel, petro-chemical, pulp and paper, a copper smelter, gas and oil, among others.

“During the martial law years from 1972 to 1981, the EIR report noted, the Marcos government tripled the road network, doubled the electrification of homes, increased irrigated cropland eight-fold, and achieved rice and corn self-sufficiency, minimum wage rates tripled. But this level of development was not to be tolerated by the international institutions.” -30- Nestor Mata, Malaya Newspaper

***

Thought of the Day… “Never underestimate the power of one person to have an impact in this world, touching one person at a time.” – Anon.

Amid reports of the recent second Palace and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) dialogue on the Reproductive Health bill, a group of pro-RH Catholics lauded the Palace for its strong position on the issue of providing RH services in particular on the matter of family planning.

In a press conference organized by The FORUM on Family Planning and Development (FORUM), a group of Catholics expressed appreciation for the Aquino government keeping its promise to support the availability of all family planning methods, including both the natural and modern methods.

According to Benjamin de Leon, President of the FORUM, their group is pleased that the Palace has remained undaunted and stood firm in its position to make all methods of family planning, both natural and modern methods, be made equally available.

“By making available all family planning methods and allowing couples to choose what method is best for them is a show of respect to individual’s right to follow his or her conscience and religious convictions,” noted De Leon. “And we are thankful that the Palace has remained strong in this position amidst pressure from the Church hierarchy,” De Leon added.

But even with these developments, the group remains watchful since another meeting between the Palace and the CBCP is set.  While confident that the Palace understands that family planning is an important component in addressing poverty, and that they will stand firm on their decision, the group hopes that these dialogues with CBCP will have positive results that will benefit all Filipinos.

“Our Filipino Catholic bishops have been stubborn on this issue since time immemorial, and there is no way that they will change their position,” explains Atty. Zenaida Reyes, Chairperson of the Philippine NGO Council (PNGOC).  “The Palace can always have a dialogue with them to show their respect but shouldn’t they also dialogue with civil society and women’s organizations?”  The group believes that instead of trying to appease the Church, the Palace should expedite the works to make possible the passage of the reproductive health bill.

Dr. Delen dela Paz, Executive Director of Health Action Information Network (HAIN) and National Coordinator of Catholics for RH also expressed her disappointment saying “I think that we should stop giving in to the whims of the CBCP.  It is unfair to women that the opinions of priests or bishops are valued more than those whose lives are at stake.  They don’t even get pregnant nor have mouths to feed.”

We are Catholics too, and we need access to reproductive health education and services, the Palace and our lawmakers should listen to us and not the Bishops and Catholic leaders,” De Leon stressed.  “Besides, surveys after survey have shown that Catholics need access to reproductive health education and services and that they are supportive of the reproductive health bill,” ended De Leon. -30- Chi Laigo Vallido, THE FORUM.

DAR PATULOY SA PAGSERBISYO SA PUBLIKO

SA tuwinang dumaraan tayo sa Elliptical Circle nakikita natin ang malayang pagpapahayag ng mga magsasaka sa harapan ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). Hindi dahil wala ginagawa ang nasabing ahensya para sa kapakanan ng mga mahihirap natin magsasaka kundi talagang hinahayaan ng DAR na maipahayag ang kanilang hinaing sa pamahalaan ngunit nananatiling bukas ang tanggapan upang marinig ang kanilang mga reklamo at pangangailangan sa kanilang mga lalawigan.

Ano nga ba mayroon sa DAR upang hindi lang ito puntahan ng mga magsasaka mula sa iba’t ibang panig ng bansa? Kapansin-pansin din na takbuhan din ito ng mga kapatid natin sa trabaho dahil ito ang sentro ng Lungsod Quezon ng mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan. Higit sa lahat dito rin ang itinuring nang ‘tahanan ng media’ hindi lamang dahil masarap gumawa ng istorya dahil tahimik at nasa kanilang ‘Press Office’ ang lahat ng pangangailangan ng isang media. Mula sa telepono na ginagamit pang-report ng mga ‘field reporters’, ‘computers’ at ‘internet access’ na ipinagkaloob ng Public Affairs Services (PAS) sa pangunguna ni Director Hugo “Buboy” Yunzon.

Ano pa nga ba ang hahanapin ng isang media na tulad ko? Bukod sa sapat na pasilidad at serbisyo kundi maging pantawid gutom na ibinibigay ng ahensya. Subalit talagang may mga tao o grupo na animo asal ‘amo’ ang turing sa kanilang mga sarili. Mukhang nakakalimutan nilang sila ay nakikibahay o nakikisuyo lamang din sa nasabing ahensya.

Sa abot ng aking kaalaman at sa pakikipanayam namin sa butihing Kalihim ng DAR ay bukas ang kanilang tanggapan sa pagseserbisyo gayundin sa mga pasilidad na maaring tamasahin hindi lamang ng mga kasama natin sa hanapbuhay kundi ng publiko sa kabuuan na sya namang ginagawa ng nasabing ahensya.

Sinasabi ko ito hindi dahil nakikinabang ako sa DAR kundi isa rin akong dating kawani ng DAR na higit na nakababatid ng mandato na syang ginagawa ng bawat empleyado ng DAR. Madalas, huwag nating tignan ang maliliit na bagay na hindi karakarakang naibigay sa atin o nagawa kundi ang mas higit nating timbangin ay ang serbisyo sa bayan na patuloy na ginagawa ng kagawaran para maiangat ang antas ng buhay ng bawat magsasaka sa pamamagitan ng imprastrakturang mga proyekto, kabuhayan at tulong pinansyal na ibinibigay.

Bilang isang mamahayag, gamitin natin ang ating talino, lakas at impluwensya hindi para sa mga personal nating kabutihan. Pasintabi sa mga kasamahan ko, ilan sa mga yan ay kapag walang ganansyang makukuha kahit mahalaga ang istorya at sangkot ang kabutihan ng bayan hindi yan pag-iinteresang ilabas o puntahan ang ‘Press Conferences’. Bakit hindi natin gamitin ang ating segmento o kolum sa mas kapaki-pakinabang na bagay? Hindi na ito usapin ng isang tao, grupo o ahensya lamang . . . ito ay isyu na ng bansa na dapat sama-sama nating labanan ang patuloy na pagtaas ng gasolina, kuryente at tubig na syang pangunahing kailangan ng bayan. Kahirapan ang dahilan ng pagkamatay ng marami nating kababayan na resulta ng pagkagutom at pagkakasakit.

Ang DAR ay isa lamang sa ahensya ng pamahalaan na walang humpay sa paghanap ng solusyon upang sinsero at makatotohanan maihatid at maramdaman sa mga lalawigan ang kagustuhan ng pamahalaan na maiangat ang buhay ng bawat magsasaka sa kanayunan.

Impormasyong totoo hango sa mga namumuno ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ang dapat nating ipahatid sa publiko upang malaman nila ang tamang hakbang at proseso upang makamtan nila ang programa ng pamahalaan. Hindi ang banatan ang mga lider ng kagawaran na nagpapala dahil lamang sa personal na kadahilanan. Cathy Cruz DWAD Lingkod Bayan at PSciJourn Mega Manila.-30-