Monisgnor Jeffrey Malanog, during the Regional Lay Leaders Conference in Tagbilaran, reminded the Laity not to separate our faith from our actions! True! It is...
Pope Francis marked 2024 as the Year of Prayer, in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year. Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, together with the Diocese of...
Posted by Anisa Feb 2, 2023 Food Sovereignty and Agroecology
Joint Statement of Agri stakeholders and Trade Justice Advocates: NO TO RCEP! DON’T MAKE PHL AN “UKAY-UKAY” REPUBLIC!
Broad coalition of agriculture stakeholders and trade justice advocates held a pressconference this morning to urge the Senate to reject RCEP! 1 February 2023, Quezon City. Photo by Joseph Purugganan.
Last November 2021, during the 18th Congress, various farmers, fishers, workers, civil society and private sector organizations expressed their opposition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement. At that time, we urged the Senate to withhold its concurrence with the treaty until the necessary policies, strategies and programs are emplaced so that the RCEP benefits, and does not harm, the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole.
We pointed out that agriculture provides 25% of all jobs. Together with agribusiness, it accounts for 35% of our Gross Domestic Product. At least 50% of Filipinos depend directly or indirectly on the sector. Also, most poor Filipinos are in rural areas.
Clearly, the promised gains from trade liberalization — following our membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and subsequent regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) — have not materialized. Our trade performance has actually deteriorated. Our agricultural trade deficit has ballooned to nearly nine billion US dollars annually. Exports have not significantly expanded beyond traditional items like banana, pineapple and coconut-based products. Meanwhile, our capacity to supply foreign markets with competitive products has paled in comparison to our neighbors. In turn, we have become a dumping ground for imports of practically all agricultural commodities – rice, corn, pork, chicken, fish, salt, onions, garlic, mung bean, peanuts, etc.
Baguio’s Panagbenga floral fest, which thanks Mary for the past year’s harvest, is back after a three-year Covid-19 hiatus
The annual Panagbenga festival procession in Baguio on Feb. 1.(Photo: supplied )
By UCA News Reporter Published: February 03, 2023 06:26 AM GMT
Imposing hillsides teeming with gigantic pine trees, the city of Baguio in the northern Philippines saw Catholics dressed in traditional attire kick off their annual Marian flower festival on Feb. 1.
The Panagbenga festival thanks Virgin Mary for the past year’s harvest with cultural shows that feature the history of the mountainous province of Benguet.
This time there was more enthusiasm as the event was being held after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We want to honor Mother Mary through our floats because of our prayers, we believed, she interceded for our people, especially when our farmers had difficulty selling their crops due to pandemic-related restrictions,” Carol Vivar, a Marian devotee in Baguio, told UCA News.
The civic administration is also part of the festival, which ends on March 5, with the theme, “A Renaissance of Wonder and Beauty.”
The Panagbenga festival began in 1995 after five years after an earthquake devastated Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippines.
Representatives of other religious denominations and Baguio mayor Benjamin Magalong and lawmaker Mark Go attended the ecumenical prayer meeting at Panagbenga Park.
The city government is banking on the flower festival to revive Baguio’s economy.
Bishop Victor Bendico of Baguio reminded participants how prayers to the Virgin Mary during the pandemic helped them.
“I express my solidarity and blessing to all the participants. The Virgin Mary has always had a special role in our hearts,” Bishop Bendico told UCA News.
Marian devotees made more than 50 floats with flowers to honor the Virgin Mary during the opening parade attended by hundreds of people.
Catholics walked behind each float, reciting the Rosary and scattering flowers along the streets to mark the season of bloom in Baguio — known as the country’s summer capital.
One float was decorated with white tulips and roses, depicting Our Lady of Lourdes, whose feast is on Feb. 11.
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Our Lady of Lourdes’ image was paraded in the city for healing.
“Our Lady of Lourdes is known for her healing powers,” Marian devotee Pia Halaen told UCA News.
“We were praying the Rosary while the parade stopped at the cathedral’s entrance. It was a beautiful moment … the air was filled with the smell of flowers,” Baguio parish priest Father Ronald Vistan told UCA News.
Farmers in the region attributed to the Virgin Mary the success in disposing of their harvest when there were pandemic-related curbs in the city.
In August 2020, tons of vegetables perished due to a lack of buyers, especially in the capital Manila where restaurants were closed.
Farmers opted not to harvest to save on labor and cost.
“It was so painful because we were just letting our harvest rot. We did not have the market. if we harvested it would have entailed costs on our side also,” a vegetable farmer in Baguio, Louie Magansa, told UCA News.
However, Catholic foundations stepped in and bought their vegetables in bulk to sell them in big cities.
“The Jesuit Tanging Yaman Foundation bought our harvest so we have the capital to plant more,” Magansa added.
Baguio is called the “City of Pines” and is known for its green park spaces. Locals claim the city got its name from a green flowering plant called “bag-iw” which is found here.
Americans during the occupation pronounced it as “bág-ee-yow” and Baguio got its name.
“Being homosexual is not a crime. It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime,” the pope told the AP
Catholic News Agency January 26, 2023
Pope Francis speaks at the General Audience in the Vatican on Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by Daniel Ibañez / CNA)
Pope Francis has reiterated that homosexuality is “not a crime” in a new interview published on Wednesday, January 25.
The interview with the Associated Press covered a wide range of topics, including laws that criminalize homosexuality and sodomy.
“Being homosexual is not a crime. It’s not a crime. Yes, but it’s a sin. Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime,” the pope told the AP.
The remark promises to be a point of controversy. On the one hand, the Catholic Church has condemned the unjust discrimination of those with same-sex attraction. On the other hand, the Church does not teach that same-sex attraction is sinful in itself but that it is “intrinsically disordered.”
In the interview conducted at Pope Francis’ residence in Vatican City on Jan. 24, the pope reiterated the Holy See’s position that laws that criminalize homosexuality outright are “unjust” and that the Church must work to put an end to them.
Under Benedict XVI, the Vatican issued a statement in 2008 urging that “every sign of unjust discrimination toward homosexual persons should be avoided” and that countries should “do away with criminal penalties against them.”
“We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity,” Pope Francis said.
The pope told AP that bishops who support laws that criminalize homosexuality “have to have a process of conversion” and should apply “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”
Pope Francis attributed such attitudes to cultural backgrounds and said bishops in particular need to undergo a process of change to recognize the dignity of everyone.
“Every man and every woman must have a window in their lives where they can pour out their hope and where they can see the dignity of God. And being homosexual is not a crime. It is a human condition,” he said.
In the interview, which lasted more than one hour, Pope Francis also decried the German Synodal Way as unhelpful, revealed that the intestinal problem that he had surgery for in 2021 has returned, and denied that he had any role in the handling of the alleged abuse by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik.
The AP first published the pope’s comments about distinguishing between a crime and a sin with regard to homosexuality before publishing the full transcript of the interview in Spanish.
The Catholic Church does not teach that homosexuality, that is having same-sex attraction, is a sin.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved.”
“The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided,” it says.
“These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”
Luxuries are “unnecessary” and those who can afford them “will be less affected by the increased costs,” said Bishop Bagaforo of Caritas Philippines
LiCAS News January 30, 2023
Civil society groups hold a demonstration in front of the Department of Finance office in Manila on Sept. 23, 2022, as part of the Asian Days of Action on Tax. (Photo by Elmer Valenzuela)
The social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has expressed support for the proposal to impose higher taxes on luxury goods.
“Higher taxes on luxury items can generate revenue without unduly affecting low-income individuals,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, national director of Caritas Philippines.
“These luxuries are also unnecessary, those who can afford them will be less affected by the increased costs,” said the prelate in an interview over Radio Veritas 846.
He said higher tariffs can also “reduce income inequality and provide more funding for government programs and services,” such as state health facilities, farm-to-market roads, and classrooms.”
Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay, an economist, has earlier said that the imposition of taxes on luxury goods is being studied in Congress amid calls to impose higher taxes on the super rich.
The legislator said at least PhP12.4 billion worth of taxes are expected to be generated by the proposal to tax luxury items including cars priced above PhP5 million, beverages above PhP20,000 per bottle, and leather goods worth more than PhP50,000 per unit.
Independent advocacy group IBON Foundation, however, said that while higher taxes on luxury goods is desirable, it cannot be a substitute for a wealth tax, which could raise more revenues for social and economic development.
IBON argued that a luxury tax is an attempt to distract the public from the urgency and necessity of taxing the wealth of the country’s few billionaires.
It said that a wealth tax can generate way more revenues of about PhP468.8 billion annually. This will come from close to 3,000 billionaires in the country who collectively have P8.2 trillion in wealth, IBON said.
Based on IBON’s longtime proposal, there will be a graduated wealth tax of one percent on wealth above PhP1 billion, two percent on over PhP2 billion, and three percent for more than P3 billion.
The group maintained that the proposed tax on luxury consumption goods generates negligible revenues compared to a billionaire wealth tax.
IBON said that the wealth tax is a more effective way to raise revenues for promoting social and economic development and is likewise a social justice measure that redistributes wealth even if only incrementally.
For his part, Father Antonio Labiao Jr., executive director of Caritas Philippines, stressed the need for transparency “about how taxes are collected and used.”
The priest said Filipinos should have access to information on the taxes they are paying. “Additionally, taxes must be used to fund programs and services that are responsive to the basic needs of the citizens,” he said.
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope noted that the “throwaway culture” is predominant in more affluent societies
Catholic News Agency January 30, 2023
In his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis decried a culture that “throws away” unborn children, the elderly, and the poor if they are not useful.
“The throwaway culture says, ‘I use you as much as I need you. When I am not interested in you anymore, or you are in my way, I throw you out.’ It is especially the weakest who are treated this way — unborn children, the elderly, the needy, and the disadvantaged,” Pope Francis said on Jan. 29.
“But people are never to be thrown out. The disadvantaged cannot be thrown away. Every person is a sacred and unique gift, no matter what their age or condition is. Let us always respect and promote life! Let us not throw life away.”
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the pope noted that the “throwaway culture” is predominant in more affluent societies.
“It is a fact that about one-third of total food production goes to waste in the world each year, while so many die of hunger,” he said.
“Nature’s resources cannot be used like this. Goods should be taken care of and shared in such a way that no one lacks what is necessary. Rather than waste what we have, let us disseminate an ecology of justice and charity, of sharing.”
Pope Francis underlined that Jesus’ call in the beatitudes to be “poor in spirit” includes the “desire that no gift should go to waste.” He said that this includes not wasting “the gift that we are.”
“Each one of us is a good, independent of the gifts we have. Every woman, every man, is rich not only in talents but in dignity. He or she is loved by God, is valuable, is precious,” he said.
“Jesus reminds us that we are blessed not for what we have, but for who we are.”
A small stage was set up in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the pope’s Angelus address where young people gathered with balloons and banners singing hymns as part of Catholic Action’s “Caravan of Peace.”
At the end of the Angelus, a young boy and girl in blue sweatshirts joined Pope Francis in the window of the Apostolic Palace and read aloud a letter sharing their commitment to peace.
A young boy and girl in blue sweatshirts joined Pope Francis in the window of the Apostolic Palace and read aloud a letter sharing their efforts as part of Catholic Action’s “Caravan of Peace.” (Vatican Media)
Most Rev. Gerardo Alminaza is the Bishop of the Diocese of San Carlos and chairperson of Church People-Workers Solidarity (CWS).
By Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza
January 23, 2023 Manila, Philippines
What does it say about our society when the economy is up, but wages remain stagnant, prices are increasing, and the poor remain poor?
Last January 13, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno reported that the Philippine economy grew by 7.5% in 2022, and is expected to grow by 6.5% this 2023, a projection touted by President Marcos during the World Economic Forum just this week.
Similarly, this week, the price of a kilogram of onions reached 800 pesos. While the increase in the commodity’s price seems comical, its implications are not. Several farmers have already expressed frustration over their losses despite the increase in onion prices, with at least five farmers reportedly killing themselves because of it. The same farmers express concern over the plans to import more onions outside the country in order to decrease onion prices, even as reports of smugglers and hoarders in the onion trade have abounded.
Onions are just among the many basic commodities whose prices have soared in the past few months. Just last month, economists noted that inflation rose to more than 8%, the highest it has been for 14 years. By this week, diesel will have seen a 0.50 peso-per-liter increase while gas will also increase by 0.95 peso-per-liter. Because of this level of inflation, while economic experts from Mercer forecast an increase of 5.5% in employee salaries this year, they also admit that no real wage increase will be happening.
On paper, it seems as if the economy is doing just fine, so fine that the President – in the middle of rising prices back home – can confidently speak on it in a Forum of billionaires abroad. It is certainly the right audience, as according to Oxfam in a report released this week, the number of those worth $5 million (P278.24 million) and above has increased by almost half or 43.5% since 2012. According to the same report, some $26 trillion or 63 percent out of all new wealth worth $42 trillion was captured by the richest 1% while $16 trillion or 37% went to the rest of the world.
In the Philippines, Oxfam reported that the top nine richest Filipinos have more wealth compared to 55 million or half of the entire Philippine population. This is interesting to put side-by-side with the report by Forbes that the collective wealth of the 50 richest Filipinos decreased from $79 billion to $72 billion “amid the country’s recovery from pandemic headwinds.”
Thus, the question at the beginning of this article. What does it say about our society when we celebrate economic growth when we know that life is getting harder for our impoverished neighbors? What does it mean when the rich not only get richer, but are most profitable during times of crisis, such that their riches lessen as the rest of society recovers? The answer is simple: that Pope Francis was right. We are living in an economy of exclusion.
The pope formally instituted the ministry of catechist in 2021 following his decision to open the ministries of lector and acolyte to women
CBCP News January 25, 2023
Who are the two Filipinos installed by Pope Francis early this week to the ministry of the catechists?
They are Leon Asuncion and Norma Ramos of the Catechetical Foundation of the Archdiocese of Manila (CFAM).
Asuncion, 55, is from St. John the Baptist Parish in San Juan City, where he had been serving as Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Communion.
Blessed with four children, he and his wife, Juliefer, are also members of the Couples for Christ since 2008.
Asuncion’s involvement with CFAM started in 1992, when he served as catechist until 2000.
He also served through the years as CFAM’s area coordinator, ministry assistant for research and development, and human resource development officer.
Since 2019, Asuncion has been serving as CFAM’s catechetical coordinator.
Ramos, meanwhile, is a catechist from St. John Bosco Parish in Manila’s Tondo district and a volunteer servant of the The Lord’s Flock Catholic Charismatic Community.
She has been head catechist of CFAM since 2009.
The 57-year old also anchors Radio Veritas’ “Katekesis Like Ko To” program.
Pope Francis celebrated the fourth annual “Sunday of the Word of God” on January 22 and conferred the ministries of lector and catechist on ten lay people, including the two Filipinos.
The celebration took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, where the pope installed new catechists — four men and six women — from the Philippines, Italy, Congo, Mexico and the UK.
The pope formally instituted the ministry of catechist in 2021 following his decision to open the ministries of lector and acolyte to women.
