‘In this month of January, we can take up the prayer of Saint Francis: Lord, make us instruments of your peace, that it may give a new light to our whole year’

January 02, 2020
by Fr. Daniel Regent, SJ

In January 2020, Pope Francis invites Catholics to pray “so that Jesus’ disciples, believers and persons of good will may foster together peace and justice in the world.”

Here is a translation of Father Daniel Regent’s editorial on the subject.

Together, Let’s Restore Peace!

“Let us pray so that Jesus’ disciples, believers and persons of good will may foster together peace and justice in the world.”

To celebrate the New Year is not to add another weight to the previous ones; it’s to come to drink at the source of Life and receive in depth a creative energy that changes one’s outlook. Moreover, to pray for justice and peace is not to dream about a better world, while amassing arms to preserve one’s tranquillity and private preserve. War is already lodged there. Justice and peace are in need of being built every day. It is necessary for us to work every day to come out of war, which interferes in us and between us. Attention, this work is not done with any weapon. The word given by the Pope for his intention is “together.” Jesus’ disciples, believers and persons of good will. Each person is called to come out of himself and his own interests and go to encounter the other. This work begins with oneself.

Humanly, this might seem pure folly. It’s the folly of Jesus’ Gospel, in part of Gandhi or of Lanza del Vasto, disciple of Jesus. Therefore, prayer begins by asking for oneself the grace go let oneself be taken by this movement that can lead to the cross.

Can religions, businesses, States engage on such a path? A unilateral disarmament doesn’t honor the invitation to work together. To hold out for balance out of fear is already to consent to defeat. It’s necessary to go further and that passes by men. Saint Francis went to encounter the Sultan at the height of the crusade. Gandhi was a man of State. The Franco-German reconciliation happened thanks to the courage of a few. Those that take up the path of justice and peace are the first to be transformed.

In this month of January, we can take up the prayer of Saint Francis: Lord, make us instruments of your peace, that it may give a new light to our whole year. Happy New Year to each one!

January 02, 2020

Quezon City, Philippines – The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. demands from DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu an immediate investigation on the 12-Year Extension granted to Sagittarius Mines, Incorporated (SMI) and the Tampakan Mining Group for its Tampakan Copper and Gold Project as executed by Leo Jasareno, former Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.

 According to the MGB Order, the 12-year extension was due to “Force Majeure” or “acts or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of contractor,” underscoring the following circumstances in the SMI case: rebellion, insurrection, civil disturbance, blockade, sabotage, any dispute with surface owners, and adverse action…  

For PMPI, the said extension order reeks of deceit, as the group points out that any contract entered into by any agency of the government, or in this case the Financial/Technical Assistance Agreement between the Office of the President and the Sagittarius Mining Incorporated, should be made public.

The said extension order was made during the term of Leo Jasareno and former DENR Sec. Ramon Paje in 2016 through a so called “sweet deals” but was not made known to the public until last 2019.

Environmental groups describe the extension of the Tampakan Copper and Gold Project’s Financial/Technical Assistance Agreement as ill-natured because of the many controversies surrounding the project. The group cites its tremendous impact to the water sources and irrigation of South Cotabato and nearby Provinces, and biodiversity and territorial integrity of the Blaans’ Ancestral Domain that may lead to the demise of its of culture and Indigenous way of life, if TCGP operates.

According to Rene Pamplona, Advocacy Officer of the Convergence of Initiatives for Environmental Justice (CIEJ), an environmental group in South Cotabato, issues such as the questionable   Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) conducted by NCIP, the issue on the integrity of the project as it sits above an active fault line, as well as the human rights violations against the Blaans, and the cancelled Environmental Compliance Certificate, are strong  enough reasons why the extension should not have been granted. He added that the manner by which it was granted is foul and deceitful.

The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) National Coordinator, Yolly Esguera further said extension and the FTAA itself is crazy, in a time when half of the world is declaring Climate Emergency in recognition of the potential threats to life, biodiversity, and livelihood, to a further increase in greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature. She continued that South Cotabato and nearby Provinces will not be spared from a catastrophe driven by climate change. Food and water security for Mindanao is achievable given a climate crisis if Marbel-Buluan Watershed is spared from the Tampakan Copper and Gold Project and declared as critical and locally conserved.

PMPI extends its full support to the Blaans, the Communal Irrigators’ Association, the Provincial- , Municipal- , and Barangay-level Local Government Units of South Cotabato and nearby Provinces, and the Civil Society Organizations for standing up for 25 years for the protection the Marbel-Buluan Watershed, thereby securing Mindanao’s water and food sources, against the SMI and the Tampakan Group of Companies.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Greetings of Peace and Solidarity!

In commemoration of the 33rd year of the Mendiola Massacre, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Tanggol Magsasaka, and Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in cooperation with PATRIA and CLAMOR and the Movement Against Tyranny will hold a Forum on LAND, JUSTIC, and PEACE on January 22, 2020 from 1:00 – 4:00pm at the KKFI Gym, Paredes St. Sampaloc, Manila and will be followed by a protest march and torch and candle lighting at Mendiola. Attached is the concept note of the forum.

January 22, 1987, the heinous Mendiola Massacre in which 13 farmers calling for genuine agrarian refrom were killed and scores were injured.

More than three decades after the massacre, farmers are still fighting for genuine land reform, free land distribution, and seeking for the elusive peace and justice that they have long fought and died for.

We are seeing a slight glimmer of hope despite the many adversities besetting the Filipino people. The previous year ended with the possibility of the resumption of the peace negotiations. It is in the interest of the peasant masses and the Filipino people if the peace talks would eventually resume to significantly conclude substantive discussions and approve major documents including the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) and an Interim Peace Agreement.

John Aaron Mark Macaraeg
January 14, 2020

Out of the 4.1 trillion recently signed budget, P 16 B was appropriated for National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council or Calamity fund which is 20 percent lower from the P20 B last year.

By JOHN AARON MARK MACARAEG | Bulatlat.com

MANILA — As Taal Volcano continues its ash eruptions and volcanic earthquakes, farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas called on the Philippine government to provide due assistance to affected farmers and fisherfolk in the vicinity.

“Those in affected areas are in desperate need of urgent assistance, especially as farmers still reel from the effects of rice liberalization, chronic government neglect, and climate change,” said Danilo Ramos of KMP.

The Taal began spewing ashes last Sunday, destroying at least P74.55 million in agriculture and affecting at least 752 hectares of lands, mostly coffee farms, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture secretary William Dar announced yesterday that farmers and fisherfolk victims may avail of a P25,000-loan with zero interest and payable in three years.

In a released statement, however, Ramos called out the loan as “mere alms or palimos meant to save face.”

Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, for its part, referred to the loan as “callous.”

Citing government data, they said the province of Batangas has produced more than 16,400 metric tons of bangus, which is four percent of the country’s total production in 2018.

Thus, the group’s demand for Secretary Dar to “at least temporarily disrobe his neoliberal suit to humanely aid the affected fisherfolk and peasant families” and appeal for the reparation for the loss of potential income.

Redirect intel budget for relief efforts

Interior and Local Government secretary Eduardo Año received backlash from netizens over his statement, appealing to the public to donate drinking water, food and other essentials needed by evacuees.

Ramos called Año’s statement as an “admission of the insufficiency of government supplies and funds, and reveals his shameless lack of sense of responsibility.”

He advised instead for the Duterte administration to make use of the P4.5 billion intel funds of the President’s office to help the Taal victims’ need for food and drinking supplies.

Many have also pointed out in social media the cut in calamity fund under the 2020 approved budget.

Out of the 4.1 trillion recently signed budget, P 16 B was appropriated for National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council or Calamity fund which is 20 percent lower from the P20 B last year.

Critics are only hopeful that the allocated budget and donations would reach peoples needing it and not end up in anyone’s own pocket. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

“Sagip Kanayunan” is KMP’s initiative to directly provide relief for affected farmers and rural communities. Donations can be dropped off at No. 56 K-9 St. West Kamias, Quezon City.

Gaea Katreena Cabico (Philstar.com) – January 2, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — It is the failure of the government to address the country’s labor woes that cost domestic worker Jeanelyn Villavende her life, an overseas workers’ group said Thursday.

Villavende was allegedly killed by her employer’s wife, barely six months after she flew to Kuwait.

 “We weep with rage as the Duterte regime’s labor export program has claimed another casualty on the back of the high unemployment rate and absence of job security in the Philippines,” Migrante International said in a statement.

In his speeches to Filipino communities abroad, Duterte often says the government is trying to spur development in the Philippines so overseas workers can come home.

Government agencies said Villavende’s death is a “clear violation” of the 2018 agreement signed by both Kuwait and the Philippines that seeks to uphold and promote the protection of the rights and welfare of Filipino workers in the Gulf nation.

The Department of Labor and Employment also set a partial deployment ban following the death of another Filipina.

Migrante said that while Kuwait’s action in bringing perpetrators to justice is urgently needed, the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte must also be criticized for “denying permanent justice to Filipino workers in their own country.”

‘Many Filipinos forced to work abroad’

It was her desire to escape poverty and help her father that reportedly compelled Villavende to leave the Philippines for Kuwait.

“It is therefore the Duterte regime’s stubborn refusal to address the long-time demands of workers and farmers that deprived Jeanelyn Villavende of fulfilling her yearning to provide a life of comfort and security for her family,” Migrante said.

It added: “Government agencies may rush to provide short-term aid to her grieving family but that will never be enough to terminate the tragedy of forced migration that has cost an OFW like Jeanelyn her life.”

An estimated 10 million Filipinos—roughly a tenth of the country’s population—work abroad as a way of escaping unemployment, low wages and limited opportunities in the Philippines.

In December, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported there were 2.05 million unemployed persons in the country as of October 2019. The number of underemployed Filipinos, meanwhile, was pegged at 5.62 million.

‘Cycle of homicidal enslavement’

At least two other domestic workers were killed in Kuwait over the last two years.

In February 2018, the body of Joanna Demafelis was discovered inside a freezer. An angry President Duterte said Demafelis’ corpse “bore torture marks and indications that she was strangled to death.”

Her death sparked a diplomatic crisis between the Philippines and Kuwait, which resulted in a labor deal.

In May 2019, Constancia Dayag was killed in the Gulf state. She was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted before she died.

“The death cases of Joanna Demafelis and Constancia Dayag in Kuwait point to the endless cycle of homicidal enslavement that OFWs go through as a result of the government’s constant peddling of Filipino workers as export commodities to salvage an ailing domestic community,” Migrante said.

By CBCP News
January 13, 2020
Manila, Philippines

A Church official appealed for prayers and help Monday for thousands of people displaced by a volcanic eruption near Manila.

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa has asked Catholics to join him in praying for the safety of everyone amidst the Taal volcano eruption on Sunday.

The volcano spewed massive ash clouds, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.

The archdiocese’s parish churches have opened their doors to evacuees as the volcano continued to increase its volcanic activity.

The Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Seminary and other religious institutions are also accepting evacuees in Tagaytay City.

Ashfall from the explosion also reached Metro Manila and could possibly spread to Central Luzon.

“Aside from prayers, we are appealing for donations in cash or in-kind for the archdiocese’s ongoing relief operations,” Garcera said over Radio Veritas.

At least 15,000 people have fled their homes in Batangas province as of Monday, according to an initial report from the local disaster risk reduction and management office.

Archbishop Garcera said they are currently assisting more than 3,000 evacuees who are in need of food and water.

Thousands more evacuees who sought refuge in dozens of evacuation centers were reported in Batangas and Cavite provinces.

The archbishop said church workers and volunteers are working round the clock to ensure that the evacuees’ basic needs are met.

The Lipa Archdiocesan Social Action Center also said that more people need face masks, medicine, blankets, towels, flashlights, and fuel.

For inquiries and donations to the Lipa archdiocese, please refer to the following contact numbers: (043) 404-8057 or +63 9255595968.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila and other bishops also offered prayers amid the volcano eruption.