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...
By CBCP News November 16, 2022 Manila, Philippines
The country’s Catholic parishes and institutions are invited to join the churches around the world in the annual observance of “Red Wednesday”, which falls on Nov. 23 this year.
ACN Facebook post
With the theme “Blessed are the Persecuted”, this year’s main celebration will be held at the Antipolo Cathedral.
“Everyone is welcome as we pray and stand in solidarity for Christians around the world being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ,” said the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Philippines in a social media post.
Red Wednesday is an initiative of ACN to pray for, and draw attention to, Christians who suffer and are persecuted for their faith.
“If possible, the building façade of the churches, schools, and participating institutions is to be illuminated or decorated in red,” said Msgr. Gerardo Santos, ACN Philippines’ chief operating officer.
ACN Facebook post
Red is the color of martyrdom in the Christian faith and studies have shown that Christians remain the most persecuted faith group in the world, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.
ACN is the official papal charity for persecuted Christians worldwide with at least 23 offices around the world and one of them is in the Philippines.
“Where there is violence and terror, ACN aids and materially responds to the call of the mission to promote ecclesial and spiritual communion between those who suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ, and those who possess a compassionate and generous heart,” Santos added.
Red Wednesday was first organized in the United Kingdom in 2016; a number of dioceses in the Philippines started joining the campaign in 2017.
In January 2020, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared Red Wednesday as an official church activity in the Philippines.
Geneva, Switzerland – The government tried but miserably failed in convincing the international community that the human rights situation in the Philippines has vastly improved. At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) fourth cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in this city Monday, many countries expressed concerns about ongoing human rights violations in the country and the Philippine government’s inadequate responses to recommendations made in the last cycle in 2017.
Governments from at least 35 countries called on the Philippines to put a stop on extrajudicial killings and exact accountability on the perpetrators, particularly state security forces, while 38 countries called on the Philippines to protect human rights and indigenous defenders, lawyers and judges, environmentalists, and journalists. This clearly indicates that the world knows the real situation despite lies, empty rhetoric and distortion of facts by the Philippine government delegation.
The Philippine government delegation brought nothing but empty words and vague promises to the review. Its presentation did not reflect realities on the ground.
Geneva_4th_UPR
As documented by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, there have been 127 deaths connected with the drug war from July 1 to November 7 this year, mostly by state security forces. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s claim that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to only use force when necessary is either being ignored or is simply a blatant lie. Many countries during the review were justifiably skeptical to government’s claims of success of investigating perpetrators of rights violations when there have been zero final and successful convictions. What are a few investigations and dismissal of policemen in the face of thousands of deaths after all?
“We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home”
Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan
November 8, 2022
Bishop Crispin Varquez of Borongan (Photo from CBCP News)
Beloved Clergy, Religious, and People of God in the Diocese of Borongan:
This is the 9th year of commemorating one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters that happened in our very own shores on November 8, 2013, the Super Typhoon Yolanda. It was a story of grief and sorrow for those who have lost their loved ones, of acceptance, of humility and redemption.
The threats and challenges remain, and in an uncertain future may again happen, but what we have are the lessons of the past, something we have learned, and by all means we have to sustain – continue educating ourselves, our young ones especially for they will be the ones who will bear the consequences of our decisions and actions of today.
For this commemoration, let us continue with binding hopefulness and solidarity in the face of so many challenges coming our way and be thankful to the Lord that we have risen from the horrible destruction that super typhoon Yolanda had brought. We have seen God’s saving acts at work in our own history. We thank individuals, groups, and organizations who helped us rise and recover, and never forget them in our prayers.
We pray for our loved ones who died during and shortly after Yolanda’s wrath. We continually entrust them to God’s mercy in our Masses. We also remember the lives that were spared that they may find comfort and strength in God to rebuild and move forward in their lives.
As we face an uncertain future let us continue to pray for deliverance from all calamities, both natural and man-made, and other vagaries of weather. Many of the calamities we face are related to climate change and global warming as pointed out by scientists and experts. We must hear the poor cry of our planet for common action to save our common home. For this to happen, we must heed Pope Francis’ call for ecological conversion. We must move away from the sins of environmental abuse and neglect to show that we are truly returning to the Lord and we truly care for one another.
May God always bless you!
MOST REV. CRISPIN B. VARQUEZ, DD Bishop of Borongan
The government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts”
LiCAS News November 8, 2022
Activists call for a stop to attacks on environmental defenders in the Philippines during a campaign in 2019. (Photo supplied)
A group of environmental activists rebuked the Philippine government for its “empty climate rhetoric,” saying it should undertake concrete climate actions.
In a statement, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said the government should provide protection for environmental defenders and hold climate polluters accountable for “destructive acts.”
The green group’s statement came on the heels of the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the Philippine government’s fifth periodic report on the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations on October 28, 2022.
The release of the report coincided with the opening of the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“The government should immediately heed the recommendation of the Human Rights Committee to strengthen the Philippine legal framework on climate change and enact laws that will hold climate polluters accountable for their pollutive acts,” said Clemente Bautista, Kalikasan PNE’s International Networks Coordinator.
“The concluding observations made by the Committee on the fifth periodic report are timely and appropriate,” said Clemente, adding that it echos the reality of “continuing human rights violations, injustice and climate inaction happening in the country.”
In its observations, the Human Rights Committee highlighted the lack of information on measures taken by the government to implement actions to address climate change impacts on human rights and the role of business corporations in climate pollution.
Bautista said the Human Rights Committee is “on point in its declaration that the Philippine government failed to provide information to show that there is an improvement in the country’s civil and political rights situation.”
Heads of state and government are meeting, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries devastated by the effects of rising temperatures
Agence France Presse November 8, 2022
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a joint press conference with Pakistan’s Prime Minister at the Pakistani pavilion at the COP27 climate conference at Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of the same name on November 7, 2022. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP)
The UN’s chief warned Monday that nations must cooperate or face “collective suicide” in the fight against climate change, at a summit where developing countries reeling from global warming demanded more action from rich polluters.
Nearly 100 heads of state and government are meeting for two days in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, facing calls to deepen emissions cuts and financially back developing countries already devastated by the effects of rising temperatures.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” Guterres told the UN COP27 summit.
“It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact or a Collective Suicide Pact,” he added.
Guterres urged the world to ramp up the transition to renewable energy, and for richer polluting nations to come to the aid of poorer countries least responsible for heat-trapping emissions.
He said the target should be to provide renewable and affordable energy for all, calling on the United States and China in particular to lead the way.
US-Sino tensions, however, have prompted Beijing to freeze climate cooperation with Washington.
President Xi Jinping is absent from the summit, while President Joe Biden will attend it later this week after US midterm elections.
‘Persisting distrust’
Nations worldwide are coping with increasingly intense natural disasters that have taken thousands of lives this year and cost billions of dollars.
They range from devastating floods in Nigeria and Pakistan to droughts in the United States and several African nations, as well as unprecedented heatwaves across three continents.
“We have seen one catastrophe after another,” said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering?”
Money has emerged as a major issue at COP27, with wealthy countries scolded for failing to fulfil their pledge to provide $100 billion per year to help developing countries green their economies.
This is a “major cause for persisting distrust, and neither is there any sound reason for the continuing pollution”, said Kenyan President William Ruto, who announced an African climate summit for next year.
A salvo of crises — from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to soaring inflation and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic — have raised concerns that climate change has dropped down the priority list of governments.
A participant walks past a mockup of the planet Earth globe at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre, on the first day of the COP27 climate summit, in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, on November 6, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Abed / AFP)
‘Highway to climate hell’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said President Vladimir Putin’s “abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose gas-dependent economy has been squeezed hard by cuts in Russian supplies, also warned against a “worldwide renaissance of fossil fuels”
Guterres called for a “historic” deal between rich emitters and emerging economies, with countries doubling down on emissions reductions to hold the rise in temperatures to the more ambitions Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.
Current trends would see carbon pollution increase 10 percent by the end of the decade and put the world on a path to heat up to 2.8C.
“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator,” Guterres said.
Poorer countries successfully fought to have the issue of “loss and damage” — compensation for the damage caused by climate-enhanced natural disasters — officially put on the COP27 agenda.
“We, the oceanic states that suffer the harsh effects of your activities, have to be assisted in repairing the damage you cause to us,” said Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, whose island nation is threatened by rising waters.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for a windfall tax on the profits of oil companies, that would be funnelled to a loss and damage fund.
Residents wade through a flooded street as they head home after they were stranded overnight in Kawit town, Cavite province on October 30, 2022, a day after Tropical Storm Nalgae hit. (Photo by Ted Aljibe / AFP)
‘Living nightmare’
The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet for years on compensation for climate impacts, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.
“Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue,” Ruto said. “It is our daily experience and the living nightmare for hundreds of millions of Africans”.
Guterres said that getting “concrete results on loss and damage is a litmus test of the commitment of governments to the success of COP27.”
In a possible blueprint for other developing nations, a group of wealthy nations approved a plan paving the way for South Africa to receive $8.5 billion in loans and grants to move away from coal.
COP27 is scheduled to continue through November 18, with ministers joining the fray during the second week.
Security is tight at the meeting, with Human Rights Watch saying authorities have arrested dozens of people and restricted the right to demonstrate in the days leading up to COP27.
