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“ Quote in the Act
“What is more important? Is it my personal
justice or the public good?”
Ehud Elmert, Israel’s prime minister; decided to resign in September
acknowledging that the corruption allegations against him made it
impossible for him to continue in office.

“We all support the Olympics. But why are you

building a wall around us?”
IMPACT
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2 IMPACT • August 2008

 CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
The real problem ..................................................... 27
COVER STORY
Contraception is a Barren Agenda ........................ 16
The malevolent reproductive health and population
control agenda in Congress
The bigger issue about contraception .................. 18
ARTICLES
Sustaining the Sugar Lands ..................................... 4
The Church’s Social Teaching on the
Environment ............................................................. 9
IT has become treacherous and dangerous. That is
how satirically, if obliquely, Archbishop Oscar Cruz
describes the latest State of the Nation Address
(SONA) in his blog, pointing to deployment of the
hundreds of policemen, contingents of the Armed
Forces geared for battle and throngs of street rallies
and protest actions. Because, come to think of it, why
prepare for a literal battle ground if all is well—if
nothing is really treacherous and dangerous?
And it makes more sense when the Archbishop adds:
“Since 2001, the State of the Nation Address has
always been great in words but puny in realities—
earning prepared claps in the bubble house called
Congress while getting many and loud insults out-
side in the real world.”
But sincerely, one may perhaps understand how dif-
ficult it must be to deliver a SONA when everything is
in shambles. That is why some radio commentators
understandably just settled talking about the latest
fashion of the ladies in Congress during the SONA,
their designers, hairdressers and make-up artists for
lack of sensible content. This is kind of reminiscent of
martial law when well-meaning people busied them-
selves talking about the games of PBA to conveniently
drown themselves of stark and painful realities.
But as if our burdens of the day are not enough, here
comes the issue of the Reproductive Health Bills being
pursued in Congress. One knows, of course, that there
are more to this that meets the eye. Basically, this is
maneuvered by global agenda to decelerate the popu-
lation of poor countries, especially non-white na-
tions, in the guise of development. There is nothing
substantially wrong with it except that, and more so
in fact, demographic goals or rather the pursuit of it
infringes on morals, human rights and, believe or not,
imperialism.
Morals because, obviously, this will entail eventually
murdering defenseless fetuses; human rights, because
the so-called “reproductive rights” are actually ac-
complished ironically through a systematic violation
IMPAC T August 2008 / Vol 42 • No 8
Señor Pedro transforms Libertad households ......... 13
DEPARTMENTS
Quote in the Act ....................................................... 2
News Features .......................................................... 21
Statements ................................................................ 23
From the Blogs ......................................................... 26
From the Inbox ........................................................ 28
Book Reviews .......................................................... 29
CINEMA Review .................................................... 30
News Briefs .............................................................. 31
of the rights of the unborn; and, imperialism because
its operational agenda is dictated by global institu-
tions that finance heavily in political lobbies, massive
media campaign and the subtle establishment and
support of people’s organizations that work on the
grassroots—and even within the parameters of
churches.
These well-fed and well-funded people’s organiza-
tions that call themselves pro-quality of life advocates
(there is one that questionably even hold office in
Congress—how did they do that?— to make sure that
lobby funds roll tactically according to the scheme)
have been relentlessly attacking the bishops for cru-
sading against these bills now pending in Congress.
They call the bishops liars by spreading disinformation
(really?), irresponsible for withholding communion to
public sinners, and arrogant for not attending to the
plight of the masses who are suffering in poverty
because of over population. Because money is thicker
than water, these tirades from such organizations are
understandable. And nobody should judge them for
that in the face of pitiful Philippine economy that
drives people to do even the awkward and the impos-
sible.
But what is sorely pitiful is their blurb that the cause
of poverty in the Philippines is overpopulation. This
myth is false and heavily worn-out, even Mang Ando
down the street, who knows about anomalies and
corruption in government, does not believe this any-
more. It is like blaming the hunger of children on
themselves while their father is out gambling and
drinking or junketing.
More is said by Jo Imbong in our cover story, “Contra-
ception is a Barren Agenda: the malevolent reproduc-
tive health and population control agenda in Con-
gress.” Read on.
Volume 42 • Number 8 3
ARTICLES

By Gemma Rita R. Marin

J
une 2008 was a crucial time for agrarian
reform advocates.
With the passage of the Comprehen-
sive Agrarian Reform Law twenty years
ago under the Aquino Administration, the
corollary comprehensive agrarian reform
program or CARP was then declared as the
centerpiece program of the government

Sustaining the
for the next ten years to alleviate the plight
of the poor farmers in the countryside.
With performance way below target in

Sugar Lands
1998, the program was given another ten
years for the Department of Agrarian Re-
form (DAR) to complete land distribution,
address the needs for program beneficiary
development, and resolve the pending
cases filed for agrarian justice.
Yet two to three years before the 2008
deadline, it was more of the same. As of 30
June 2006 1 or 18 years from the landmark
legislation of CARL, 3.74 million hectares "Farming the 68 hectares of sugar
out of 4.43 million hectares or 84 percent of
target lands, have been distributed. The land collectively was key to
balance of around 700,000 hectares was
mostly private agricultural lands, 27 per-
maintaining production levels
cent of which have more than 50 hectares. and to the overall success of
The Department of Environment and Natu-
ral Resources, on the other hand, reported NaGlo’s operations. Big input
that 2.9 million out of its target 3.7 million
hectares, equivalent to 78 percent, have requirements and an acceptable
also been distributed.2
Reports indicate too that DAR’s ac- output of 70-80 tons of sugar per
complishments in Land Acquisition and
Distribution were merely “paper victories”. hectare meant the ability of the
Several certificate of land ownership
awards (CLOA) have been cancelled, and
coop to leverage resources,
some agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) negotiate lower-cost funds and
have been prevented to work in the lands
due to the delaying tactics of a number of inputs for its operations and sell
landowners to avoid the program, e.g.,
employment of armed guards, bribing of at a favorable price."
local DAR officials. Other issues include
issuance of erroneous CLOAs by DAR
leading to cancellations, and lack of real
support from DAR and Land Bank. menting CARP. One legislator expressed developments, there are
Support services to make the land that it would take a miracle to pass a five- positive stories to be hope-
productive continued to be lacking. Agrar- year extension without any assurance that ful about. In November
ian justice cases took years before getting the same mistakes in implementation would 2006, John J. Carroll Insti-
resolved, if ever. The strategy of estab- not be committed. And even if certified by tute for Church and Social
lishing agrarian reform communities (ARC) the President as urgent, approval of the Issues (JJCICSI) received a
to focus the resources for assistance and consolidated House Bill 4077 could not letter from Mr. Gerard
to enable an integrated approach of inter- obtain the support of her allies. The bill has Reonisto, General Manager
vention during the Ramos administration been watered down even before substan- of Chinabank Insurance
proved quite useful, but was not able to tial arguments could be placed forward to Brokers Inc. who at the
cover all ARBs. warrant its approval.3 same time belongs to a fam-
Come the day after the CARP deadline ily owning several hectares
on June 10, 2008, the news was only dis- Sugar-based Agrarian Reform Ben- of sugar land in San Carlos
heartening. The Senate, whose version of eficiaries City, Negros Occidental,
the bill is still at the committee level, wants ready for distribution un-
an accounting of the funds used in imple- Despite the foregoing discouraging der CARP. He wanted the

4 IMPACT • August 2008


Institute to conduct a study on sugar
farmers who count among the poorer sec-
tors in the country. He wrote, “For the past
years, I have been appalled at the deterio-
rating living conditions of the sugar work-
ers in Negros, and my observation has
been made mainly in our family-owned
hacienda located in San Carlos City…there
are huge sugar estates in Negros still
owned by a few families, and the plight of
the sugar workers has been all but forgot-
ten…” His family specifically wanted to
know whether the tenants who have long
been dependent on the graces and com-
mand of the landowner will be able to stand
up on their own after the land has been
distributed to them, ensure the productiv-
ity of the land, find their markets and bring
home more income to their families.
In response, JJCICSI documented the
Sustaining the Sugar Lands
experiences of three agrarian reform orga-
nizations in Negros Occidental which were
able to secure the sugar lands they have
tilled for many years from their former
landlords, sustain production levels, sell
the produce at better prices, and gain
higher incomes. They accomplished these
with much struggle, even going against
the deeply embedded patron-client rela-
tionships in the province
Victorias Milling Corporation
After the fourth city/municipality
north of Bacolod City, Victorias City is
home to one of the biggest milling com-
pany in the province, Victorias Milling
Corporation (VMC). The city boasts of a
magnificent landscape and grounds that
display a skating rink, pavilion, children’s
playground and a mini lagoon surrounded
by plants and flowers. The City Hall of
Victorias also displays a quite imposing
façade.
Hacienda Gloria
The 105-hectare hacienda was origi-
nally owned by Gloria Montinola Tabiana.
She gave the land to an adopted niece
who, in turn, sold it in 1984 to Eduardo
Lopingco who was residing in Sta. Clara
Subdivision, Bacolod City, and had an-
other residence in Manila.
Of the 105 hectares, 80 hectares were
planted to sugarcane, 19 hectares were
devoted to home lots and related struc-
tures, and six consisted of rice fields cul-
tivated by 47 households. One cropping
period of sugar production spans from 10
© Otto Lang/Corbis
Volume 42 • Number 8 5
Sustaining the Sugar Lands
to 11 months. Land preparation is con-
ducted during the month of August. The
sugar farmers begin to plant in September
until May. The fields are not planted at the
same time. “Iba-ibang tao ang
nagtatrabaho” (Different farmers/work-
ers worked on different fields), and there
are usually 15 laborers per hectare. The
workers cultivate portions for two weeks,
and go to work on other fields for the rest
of the cropping season.
Harvesting and milling take place al-
most the whole year except from July to
August when the central milling is closed
for maintenance. The harvest of 60-70 tons
per hectare is milled with VMC which re-
tains 31 percent of the milled produce.
As in any hacienda in Negros Occi-
dental, Hacienda Gloria is mono-cropped
with sugar. “Sanay na kami sa pagtutubo,
di na namin pinoproblema. Hanap-
trabaho na lang kami sa ibang hacienda.
(We’re used to planting sugarcane alone,
we don’t consider it a problem. We will
instead find work in the other haciendas or
plantations),” echoed most members of
Nasipunan Gloria Integrated Farmers
Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Inc. (NaGlo)
when asked if they ever considered plant-
ing other crops especially when the price
of sugar is low.
Work Stoppage in the Hacienda
In 1987, Mr. Lopingco decided to cease
work in the sugar fields for lack of funds to
pay the workers. Standing crops filled the
area. Meantime, the manager and the staff
then were paid only half of their salary. “Di
na nagpatrabaho, wala raw ipasasahod
(The landowner did not have the fields
cultivated because he had no money to
pay the workers).” With sugar farming as
6 IMPACT • August 2008
the only work they knew how to do best,
the farmers and workers sought to work in
nearby haciendas such as Hacienda
Estrellas owned by Mr. Wesley Ferrares
and Hacienda Romana of Luis Benedicto
Montinola.
Meantime in the early 1990s, DAR
was processing papers for possible ben-
eficiaries of agrarian reform. It was about
the same time when this government
agency encouraged and assisted the
farmer-workers to form a cooperative. It
took around eight years, or by December
1998 for a mother CLOA. Out of the 105
hectares, three hectares were retained by
Lopingco. Of the 102, 68 hectares were
planted to sugarcane, and the balance was
dedicated to houses, homelots, roads and
some planted to rice. Land, however, has
not been actually distributed to the indi-
vidual farmer-beneficiaries. “Kailangan
pa raw sukatin ng pare-pareho (There
was a need to measure and apportion the
land in equal parts).”
Nasipunan Gloria Integrated Farm-
ers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Inc.
Having seen that the land was kept
practically idle and unproductive around
the early 1990s, DAR personnel asked the
former hacienda workers if they wanted to
form a cooperative which can eventually
work on the land. They encouraged them
to organize themselves and get some in-
spiration from Pusan Cooperative, the so-
called “mother” and model coop in Victorias
City at that time. The City Cooperative
Development Council (CCDC) also pro-
vided assistance in the areas of training,
including the pre-membership training,
organizing and managing the coop.
Located in Brgy. 12, Victorias City,
Photo courtesy JJCICSI
NaGlo is four kilometers from the city proper
and takes about 25 minutes to reach due to
rough roads.
On June 3, 1993, NaGlo was registered
with the Cooperative Development Au-
thority (CDA) with 84 members. An amount
of PhP100 was collected from each member
as initial capital. The main business of the
coop was sugar farming and credit opera-
tions. It put up a consumer store in 1999,
but had to close it down having been laden
with staggering debts from almost all mem-
bers.
The Cooperative’s Operations
To jumpstart its operations, NaGlo
secured a crop loan/line of PhP1 million
from Land Bank in 1994. Aside from using
the funds for working capital, the loan was
used to acquire two trucks and one tractor.
The coop though owned another truck
and tractor to run the sugar operations. In
1999, NaGlo accumulated a past due loan
of PhP2.7 million with LBP, which was
eventually settled in 2002. It requested the
renewal of a loan amounting to PhP900
thousand, but paid all outstanding debts
and stopped renewal of its loan/line with
Land Bank by 2004.
Sugar production in the 68-hectare
farm of NaGlo requires a budget of
PhP35,000 per hectare to produce 60 to 70
tons per hectare or 180 50-kilogram (Lkg)
bags of sugar. The land has been rejuve-
nated with mud press, limestone, rockpost,
chemical and some organic fertilizers. While
the coop has learned about new and or-
ganic ways of planting sugar, it largely
applies the old formula of mill ash, mud
press, chemical fertilizers and fertilizer in-
puts from the plant itself. Workers number
30, of which 15 to 20 are hired laborers.

For every ton of sugarcane, 69 per-
cent of the milled cane goes to quedan
while the balance of 31 percent is paid to
VMC as milling expense. Quedan is the
receipt issued by the milling station used
as the instrument to bid and sell to traders.
Manager Alex Guansing would go to
Bacolod City every week to sell available
stocks. For the past years, prices of sugar
have ranged from PhP800 to 1,450 per Lkg.
NaGlo displayed a favorable financial
performance in 2006. As the coop was able
to fetch better prices for its produce for as
much as PhP1,450 per Lkg, sales grew by
26 percent from PhP5.5 million in 2005 to
almost PhP7.0 million in 2006. Volume sold
was practically unchanged based on har-
vests of 70 to 80 tons per hectare. Con-
trolled expenses resulted in a satisfactory
income of PhP2.7 million in 2006.
The million-peso incomes from opera-
tions, in turn, raised equity from about
PhP3 million to PhP5 million for the review
period, while assets accumulated to PhP7.2
million in 2006. High incomes also allowed
liquid operations.
Socio-Economic Situation of NaGlo
Sugar Farmers/Workers, Post-
Lopingco
It has almost been 15 years from the
time NaGlo was born, and the members
have only themselves and their coopera-
tive to bank on for their living. Since the
formal inception of the coop in 1993 and
the awarding of the mother CLOA in 1998,
NaGlo has always operated on a collective
farm of 68 hectares. Production level has
increased, albeit faintly to 70 to 80 tons per
hectare. Through the help of seminars
from CCDC, DAR, Department of Agricul-
ture and non-government agencies, the
coop has been applying various fertilizers
and inputs, both organic and inorganic, to
restore the fertility of the soil. “Pero lamgot
na (But the land has been planted over and
over again, thus wearing off soil fertility).”
Daily wage for men has increased to
Table 1. Production and Income Profile of Members During & Post-Lopingco Ownership
PhP175 while the
women still receive a
lower amount —
PhP160. The coop
hires 15-20 workers
for one to two
months of work
since a number of the
coop members are
getting too old to
work in the farm. In-
clusive of members,
workers number
more than 30.
The coopera-
tive has been ably
supervised by the
Manager with the
guidance and sup-
port of the Board. It has a one-year farm
plan, and assesses operations at the middle
of the period to see if the coop is gaining
or losing. It then decides on ways to im-
prove production and selling, such as
applying additional bags of fertilizer or
finding other venues to trade the quedan.
The manager personally attends to the
processing and marketing of the sugar-
cane. He regularly goes to Bacolod for
bidding. The highest price and volume of
sugar sold thus far was PhP1,450 for a 50-
kg sack, and more than 800 Lkg of 4-
months harvest, respectively.
With the able management of opera-
tions, NaGlo has been able to distribute
dividends for the past three years.4 “Sang
una ang kita sang hacienda pumunta kay
Lopingco ang ganansya sa iya makadto.
Indi kami makaparti sa ganansya; sang
may coop na ang ganansya nga makita sa
amon tanan nga coop member mapunta
(Before, the income from the hacienda
accrued to Lopingco; we could not get a
part of the earnings. Today, income is
shared by all the members of the coop),”
commented a coop member. Workers are
still paid daily wages for their labor. But the
net income of some PhP60,000 per hectare
from sugar farming that used to accumu-
ARTICLES
Photo courtesy JJCICSI
late to the account of Mr. Lopingo, is now
around PhP80,000 per hectare divided
among the members after setting aside an
amount back to operations.
Favorable incomes, supported by in-
terest-free and long-term loans offered
through the cooperative’s credit opera-
tions, translated to better access to basic
needs and social services. The members
have been able to completely put up with
the education expenses of the children.
Houses are now in concrete, and are worked
up for repairs and improvements. More
diligent remittance of SSS contributions
facilitated by the cooperative helps the
members in their other social and personal
needs.
A crucial service provided by NaGlo
is the transportation facility for the mem-
bers’ children who go to school. A
Mitsubishi mini-bus was bought in 2003 to
bring them to and from school situated at
the town proper. Payment is PhP200 per
student per month. The member may pay
by salary deduction if he or she is a staff
of the coop.
Strategies and Lessons Learned
Farming the 68 hectares of sugar land
collectively was key to maintaining pro-
duction levels and to the overall success
of NaGlo’s operations. Big input require-
ments and an acceptable output of 70-80
tons of sugar per hectare meant the ability
of the coop to leverage resources, negoti-
ate lower-cost funds and inputs for its
operations and sell at a favorable price.
Land preparation including the provi-
sion of inputs, hiring of labor, and use and
maintenance of tractors and other equip-
ment, needed a budget of PhP35,000 per
hectare. Making this amount of working
Volume 42 • Number 8 7
Sustaining the Sugar Lands
capital available was not a problem for
NaGlo which enjoyed a million-peso credit
facility from Land Bank, not to mention
having sufficient profits from operations.
Huge requirements of fertilizer and other
inputs moreover allowed the coop to pur-
chase in bulk and pay at a discount. On the
other hand, selling the produce in large
quantities afforded the Manager to deal
with the traders in negotiated prices.
The foregoing resulted in net profits
for NaGlo and distribution of dividends for
its members. Having experienced this up-
side of sugar farming, several member-
farmers chose to break away from the group
and engage in individual farming instead.
But it was only after one cropping when
these farmers came to realize that farming
some 1.5 hectares was a losing venture
due to lack of funds to continue opera-
tions.
From gross sales of PhP80,000 per
hectare, the individual farmer usually nets
PhP5,000 per hectare which is not enough
to pay for food, clothing, shelter and other
basic necessities of the household. Major-
ity of the income goes to the moneylender
who may have been a reliable provider of
funds, but the exorbitant rates charged to
his loan practically erode what he could
have earned from sugar farming. For effi-
ciency reasons, formal creditors who lend
at affordable interest rates do not choose to
accommodate these small borrowers. With
lack of funds to sustain his family and his
production, the farmer tends to borrow
more from the moneylender until he has no
choice but to lease or assign his land to his
creditor, or altogether abandon the land.
Manager Alex revealed that there have
been many cases of cooperatives collaps-
8 IMPACT • August 2008
Table 2. Access to Social Services During and Post-Lopingco
ing once the individual member-farmers receives from government as well as non-
decided to engage in individual farming government institutions have been help-
(“Damong bumabagsak na coop pag nag- ful to constantly improve its operations
iindividual”). and overall organization. These interven-
Sustaining the sugar lands which have tions range from new technologies on
been used over and over again is not an sugar farming, and linking up with markets
easy task. NaGlo is open and in fact applies to planning, monitoring and organizational
various inputs like lime, mud press, or- development. I
ganic. as well as chemical fertilizers as long Gemma Rita R. Marin is a Research Associate of
as the level of production was maintained. John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues
Interesting to note, individual farming has of the Ateneo de Manila University.
also taken its toll on productivity and
production. Because of the tightness of
funds, the individual farmer reduces the Notes
application of fertilizers from 16 bags to 10
bags. This 1
Latest report on land distribution as
results in posted from DAR website is as of 30
poor quality June 2007. The scope of distribution is
of sugar- 5.16 million hectares. Already distrib-
cane pro- uted was 3.86 million hectares with
duced and remaining balance of 1.30 million hect-
the difficulty ares.
of selling at 2
The scope of distribution according to
good prices. latest report from DENR is 3.96 million
Finally, hectares. Distributed was 3.09 million
running the hectares with remaining balance of
cooperative 0.87 million hectares.
effectively is 3
As of this writing, AR advocates led by
not an easy AR Now! have been meeting to come
task either. up with more exciting and engaging
NaGlo does campaigns for CARP extension with
not deny reform
Photo courtesy JJCICSI
that the as- 4
Actual amounts received by the indi-
sistance and vidual members differ depending on
continuing the amount of work labored on field
education it and capital share of the member.

The Church’s
Social Teaching
on the Environment
By Charles R. Avila
The garden of human origin: cre-
ation and co-creation
F
rom the standpoint of the Church’s
faith-vision, nature is not an adver-
sary to be conquered or destroyed
nor a hostile environment or an evil from
which one must be freed. It is, rather, the
gift itself of God, the work of God’s cre-
ative action.
The world, the cosmos, the environ-
ment is the garden from which God fash-
ioned the human being, and which God
gave as gift to man and woman to keep and
till (cf. Gen 2: 15). It is the place and plan for
which man and woman, who were made “in
his own image” (Gen 1, 27) are to feel truly
responsible. Patently the Creator willed
the human to evolve more and more into a
co-creator, not an exterminator, though
this latter role is what we’ve seen humans
often choose to play.
God made all things, and with regard
to each created reality “saw that it was
good” (cf. Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) mov-
ing the Psalmist to pray: “O Lord, how
manifold your work! In wisdom you cre-
ated them all” (Ps 104:24). And, with the
evolution of the co-creator, creation con-
tinued. Creation, indeed, is not finished for
the human person was called to evolve
into a partner in dialogue with the Creator
on the level of both word and deed. “I
create new heavens and a new earth” (Is
65:17), says the Lord through the prophet.
In it “the wilderness becomes a fruitful
field ... and righteousness [will] abide in
the fruitful field ... [where] people will abide
in peaceful habitation” (Is 32:1518).
This dialogue reaches its peak of mani-
festation with the entrance of Jesus Christ
into history. Not only is Jesus a knowl-
ARTICLES
edgeable interpreter of nature, speaking of
it in images and parables, but he also
manages it masterfully, as in the episode of
the calming of the storm (Mt14:22-33; Mk
6:45-52; Lc8:22-25; Jn 6:16-21) - in the style
of miracles.
Then he asks his disciples to look at
things, at the seasons and at people, with the
trust of children who know that they will
never be abandoned by a provident and
almighty Father (cf. Lk 11:11-13). He urges
them not to be enslaved by things in the
world but, rather, learn to manage the things
of the world in the service of sharing and
brotherhood (cf. Lk 16:9-13), following his
example. He inaugurates a new world in
which he creates anew those relationships
of order and harmony that sin had destroyed.
“Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has passed away, behold,
the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).
Volume 42 • Number 8 9
ARTICLES
Human genius and a planetary crisis
The Second Vatican Council affirmed
that human beings are right when they
think that by their spirit they transcend the
material universe, for they “share in the
light of the divine mind”[ Gaudium et
Spes, 15]. Recognizing the progress made
by the tireless application of human ge-
nius down the centuries in the empirical
sciences, the technological disciplines and
the liberal arts [GS, 15] the Council ob-
served that “especially with the help of
science and technology, man has extended
his mastery over nearly the whole of na-
ture and continues to do so”[GS 33].
Not all is good news, however, for
today a planetary crisis affects all exis-
tents on Earth due to the fact that, instead
of increasingly becoming co-creators in
the on-going multi-billion-year story of
creation, humans became more and more
like “exterminators.” They became the one
main cause of the massive extinction of
plant and animal species by the way they
chose to produce and reproduce their
means of life and livelihood. You see, they
had chosen mainly an extractive rather
than an organic way of undertaking eco-
nomic actions.
Down the centuries, they had labored
“to better the circumstances of their lives
through a monumental amount of indi-
vidual and collective effort. …[T]his hu-
man activity accords with God’s will” [GS
34]. And “far from thinking that works
produced by man’s own talent and energy
are in opposition to God’s power, …Chris-
tians [should be] convinced that the tri-
umphs of the human race are a sign of
God’s grace and the flowering of His own
mysterious design”[GS 34]. In a certain
analogous sense, they continue the man-
agement of nature in the style of miracles
inaugurated by Jesus Christ.
But now we also see that modern
technologies and the industrial establish-
ment went into the unqualified human
conquest of the forces of nature. The inte-
gral functioning of Earth’s life systems
that had been going on for 4.6 billion years
came under the assault of humans deter-
mined to use and absolutely own Earth’s
resources regardless of the consequences
for the natural systems of the planet or the
integrity of creation. The words of counsel
came late: “one must take into account the
nature of each being and of its mutual
connection in an ordered system”
(Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34), although
much, much earlier the same thought, long
since forgotten, was often discussed by
10 IMPACT • August 2008
early Christian philosophers known as the
Church Fathers.
Humans first embraced the organic
economy—which by its nature is an ever-
renewing economy, living within the
bounty of the seasonal renewing produc-
tions of Earth’s biosystems, making it ca-
pable of continuing into the indefinite
future. Later, however, humans got into an
extractive economy, which by its nature is
a terminal or biologically disruptive
economy, dependent on extracting non-
renewing substances from Earth, surviv-
ing only so long as these very finite re-
sources endured.
The Church, for her part, cautioned
that the human being must not “make
arbitrary use of the earth, subjecting it
without restraint to his will, as though it
did not have its own requisites and a prior
God-given purpose, which man can in-
deed develop but must not betray”
(Centesimus Annus, 37). When the human
being forgets this, he “ends up provoking
a rebellion on the part of nature, which is
more tyrannized than governed by him”
(CA 37).
Thus, “it is now clear that [many dis-
coveries and technologies] in the fields of
industry and agriculture have produced
harmful long-term effects.” We cannot, for
instance, “interfere in one area of the eco-
system without paying due attention both
to the consequences of such interference
in other areas and to the well-being of
future generations” (1990 World Day of
Peace, 6).
Humans, of course, may intervene in
nature without abusing it or damaging it;
then, they would intervene “not in order to
modify nature but to foster its develop-
ment in its own life, that of the creation that
God intended” (JP II, at the World Medical
Association, 1983).
Features of the extractive economy
The Church’s Social Teaching rejects
the Extractive Economy because it dis-
turbs the chemical composition of Earth’s
air, water and soil affecting the entire net-
work of organic life on the planet; it weak-
ened the ozone layer that protects life on
Earth from the ultraviolet rays of the Sun;
it destroystropical rain forests and Earth’s
biodiversity on a massive scale; it brings
about an excessive amount of carbon diox-
ide in the atmosphere by its burning of
fossil fuels, causing disastrous changes
in the global climate, which is why, in 200
years or less, a level of species extinction
was reached that is unprecedented in the
The Church’s Social Teaching on the Environment
past 65 million years.
It has brought about processes giv-
ing off toxic residues for which there are,
at present, no adequate methods of dis-
posal, especially in products from metals
and petroleum for the making of fuel and
plastics and the consequent dispersal of
contaminants and toxic residue through-
out Earth’s air, water and soil.
It has used engineering technologies
to turn even renewing resources into non-
renewing resources! For example: exploit-
ing the soils of Earth through chemical
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to a
degree that it has exhausted these soils
and made them toxic; for another example:
in the fishing industry, through electronic
instruments and draft nets, factory fishing
vessels so exhaust the resources of the
seas and rivers of the world that their
capacity for self-renewal is terminated.
Species extinction
Today, ironically due to human civili-
zation and human activity, it is estimated
that more than a hundred plant and animal
species go extinct daily. There are about
10-12 million species of plants and ani-
mals, of which around 2 million have been
identified and named. Extinction means
the disappearance of an entire species,
with no possibility of replication or regen-
eration.
Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
In the 1800’s the rate of extinction was
one species a month. Currently it is esti-
mated to be one every 15 minutes, or a
hundred a day since the past twenty years
or so. Many scientists use the word
bluntly: an on-going mass extinction!
The last mass extinction happened
about 65 million years ago, with the demise
of the dinosaurs, which are included among
the 75% of all species that became extinct.
A mass extinction signals the end of
an era, hence, the end of the Mesozoic Era
after about 200 million years. It was the
fifth mass extinction that the Earth had
seen.
In any case, the past 500 million years
of life—and humans have not been around
more than a hundred thousand years—
have been divided by scientists into three
ages: the Paleozoic, or the age of fishes;
the Mesozoic, or the age of dinosaurs; and
the Cenozoic, or the age of Mammals. The
age of Dinosaurs came to an end because
of an asteroid crashing to Earth. The age
of Mammals is coming to an end because
of human activity. Incredibly, yes, this is
the big problem: humans do not know that
they have become such a planetary power,
for better or for worse. To date, it has been
greatly for worse.
But, starting immediately, they can
usher in a new age and call it the Ecozoic
era, as modern prophets have suggested.
The word “Ecozoic” or ecological living
refers to an era where humans will be able
to live with the planetary community in a
mutually enhancing manner, as Earth’s
heart and voice, and as protector of Earth’s
living existents rather than their destroyer.
Down the millennia, we have become
the most powerful Earthlings of all but
have forgotten that we are made out of
Earth’s air, water and soil. Thus, the Church
feels obliged to remind us once a year at
Ash Wednesday to reflect “that you are
dust, and unto dust you will return.” We
did not merely come into this world, we
grew out from it. Earth is not our surround-
ings; in great part, it’s our source. Earth is
the larger body of which we are an organic,
but by no means indispensable, part. You
and I are not entities apart from but more
accurately a part of Earth.
Down the years we cut down trees
and constructed buildings everywhere.
We figured out how to power cars and
planes by burning ancient fossil fuels. We
learned to make plastic and molded it into
a zillion things. We discovered the use of
chemicals to grow more food. We acted as
though we owned everything absolutely
to use as we wish. We didn’t realize we
were poisoning Earth’s lungs, veins and
skin – yes, Earth’s, of which we are a living
part.
The new consciousness: human
and non-human rights equally
Fortunately, through the efforts of
modern prophets from Teilhard de Chardin
to Thomas Berry, a growing number of
humans now see Earth no longer as a mere
rock with enough gravity to keep Earth-
lings from falling off and out to wherever
in space imagination will throw them. That
is not Earth.
Earth, rather, from both a scientific
and religious viewpoint, is a single integral
community of life manifesting itself in dif-
ferent modes—as tree, as insect, as river,
as mountain, as human, as a whole diver-
sity of many other kinds, human and non-
human—who live in relationship with all
others, each being having its own role to
play and fulfill, its own dignity, its inner
spontaneity, its own rights—yes, the
Volume 42 • Number 8 11
The Church’s Social Teaching on the Environment
Church’s social teaching recognizes not
only human rights but, equally and differ-
ently, also non-human rights like tree rights,
insect rights—all limited and relative to
each other in a continuity of being. “With
the progress of science and technology,
questions as to their meaning increase and
give rise to an ever greater need to respect
the transcendent dimension of the human
person and creation itself” (Gratissimam
Sane, 17).
Responsibility for the environment
extends not only to present needs, need-
less to say, but also to those of the future.
“We have inherited from past generations,
and we have benefited from the work of our
contemporaries: for this reason we have
obligations towards all, and we cannot
refuse to interest ourselves in those who
will come after us…” (Populorum
Progressio, 17) This is a responsibility
that present generations have towards
those of the future (Centesimus Annus,
37).
Features of the organic economy
To usher in the Ecozoic era, we must
promote the organic economy that recog-
nizes the environment—the universe or
the cosmos, the solar system, Earth—as
the primary given in the material human
order, the primary source of existence.
Therefore, whatever we think or do must
be done, planned, and looked at as by
people who are part of and not apart from
the universe.
12 IMPACT • August 2008
Second, the universe, which is one,
exists as highly differentiated forms. For
example, the one Earth is a highly differen-
tiated complex of life systems. As soon as
its diversity diminishes, the security for
each life form is also weakened. Nothing
exists in isolation: the honeybee and the
flower, the tree and the soil.
Third is the fact of absolute interde-
pendence. No living being nourishes it-
self. Animal forms depend on plant forms
that alone can transform the energy of the
Sun and the minerals of Earth into the
living substance needed for life nourish-
ment by animal and human alike. There-
fore, the organic economy recognizes that
the well-being of soil and plants must be a
primary concern for humans.
Finally, the organic economy must
establish our basic source of food and
energy in the Sun, which supplies the
energy for the transformation of inanimate
matter into living substance capable of
nourishing the larger biosystems of Earth.
It must shun monoculture in agriculture
and excessive uniformity in industry be-
cause it is closer to nature to produce
diversity.
The wisdom of science and the new
attitude
On July 2004 then Cardinal Ratzinger,
now Pope Benedict XVI, said the follow-
ing: “According to the widely accepted
scientific account, the universe erupted 14
billion years ago in an explosion called the
‘Big Bang’ and has been expanding and
cooling ever since. Later there gradually
emerged the conditions necessary for the
formation of atoms, still later the conden-
sation of galaxies and stars, and about 10
billion years later the formation of planets.
“In our own solar system and on Earth
(formed about 4.5 billion years ago), the
conditions have been favorable to the
emergence of life. While there is little con-
sensus among scientists about how the
origin of this first microscopic life is to be
explained, there is general agreement
among them that the first organism dwelt
on this planet about 3.5 - 4 billion years
ago.
“Since it has been demonstrated that
all living organisms on earth are geneti-
cally related, it is virtually certain that all
living organisms have descended from
this first organism.” (Paragraph 63, from
“Communion and Stewardship: Human
Persons Created in the Image of God,”
plenary sessions held in Rome 2000-2002,
published July 2004) A very literal, physi-
cal, material sense, then, the spiritual leader
of Christendom scientifically accepts and
theologically asserts the brotherhood and
sisterhood and the profound oneness of
all living existents. It is the scientific con-
sensus reached only in recent years that
we are all related genetically, in energy, in
the material elements that compose us, all
of which started many long years ago,
long before we were “born”, thirteen bil-
lion seven hundred million years ago to be
precise: itself a calculation that is a feat of
modern-day science.
But this, too, long ago, was the very
heart of the Church’s social teaching on
the environment. All beings are interde-
pendent in the universal order established
by the Creator. “One must take into ac-
count the nature of each being and of its
mutual connection in an ordered system,
which is precisely the ‘cosmos’”
(Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34). Humans
have lived in harmony with creation for
eons. We were, as we still are, part of a
journey that is so much more than we can
even imagine. It is a journey that is pro-
foundly inclusive – everyone and every-
thing is in a continuity of relationship with
each other. Let us overcome our disconti-
nuity with the universe and rejoin the great
community of life. That is the great work
before us pithily summing up the Church’s
social teaching on the environment. It is
the story of the Creator Spirit reminding us
humans to rise to the challenge of becom-
ing co-creators. It is an exciting challenge
we must take up anew. I
 ARTICLES

E
arning a net income of P2,000 to
P6,000 every two months, added to
whatever they could earn from sell-
ing copra, corn or rice has changed and
continues to transform Barangay Libertad
in Gingoog City.
The additional income is derived from
raising broilers on contract. But isn’t poul-
try contract growing a big agribusiness
that only people with capital in the millions
of pesos could afford?
A happy synergy of social prepara-
tion by an NGO in cooperation with a
responsive community, a businessman
who recognized the value of social disci-
pline after failing in other communities and
a thriving market for a popular food item,
lechon manok—these elements have con-
verged in this bustling barangay less than
20 kilometers away from the poblacion of
Gingoog City.
Libertad is composed of five sitios
with a total of 237 households. Started in
early 2006 with a few participants, some 42
households concentrated in one of the
five sitios are now backyard contract grow-
ers that supply broilers to the well-known
lechon manok chain, Sr. Pedro.
The business scheme engages women

© www.flickr.com/photos/pixelfork27
in the community who otherwise would be
doing less productive activities or unpro-
ductive past time like gossiping and bet-
ting in games of chance.

Simple and short business cycle

The business cycle of about two

Señor Pedro transforms

months—32 days to grow the chicks to
broilers of one to 1.5 kilograms and 21
days, after harvest, for cleaning up and
bio-security protocols—is short enough

to keep the barangay folks focused.
The Farm Technician of Balay
Mindanaw Foundation Inc. (BMFI) con-
ducts an orientation for interested partici-
pants. Now that more households are
engaged, one also gathers informal orien-
tation from a neighbor who is already into
the business.
Minimum requirements
After going through orientation, the
minimum requirement is for a participant to
build, a chicken house of about 200 square
feet for 200 chicks. The house is made of
indigenous materials like bamboo and co-
conut leaves. Other growers have ex-
panded to 400 and 800 chicks per cycle and
have built bigger houses to comply with
the required one square foot per chicken.
They also need some woven plastic
Libertad households
By Sally Bulatao
sheets that are unfurled to cover the walls
when it gets too windy or too cold for the
chicks. There are feeding tubes for chicks
and for the bigger broilers. There are incan-
descent bulbs to keep the chicks warm if the
temperature gets too cold. One grower has
devised a heater with coals on sand.
Maintenance
Feeds are supplied by Sr. Pedro to
Balay Mindanaw which handles the deliv-
ery of supplies to the barangay. A resident
technician, also a grower, has been trained
to administer vaccines, distribute feeds
and vitamins and monitor the farms.
Growers are provided with a guide
that shows the feeding regimen and the
expected weekly weight gain. Every week,
20 out of 200 chicks are weighed to check
if expected weight gain is being achieved.
If not, the resident farm technician may be
sought for technical advice. BMFI also
has a supervising farm technician who
goes around for consultation and moni-
toring.

Volume 42 • Number 8 13
Señor Pedro transforms Libertad households
The first ten days are most critical,
according to the resident farm tech. The
growers have to observe closely, 24 hours
a day, for any abnormal behavior of the
chicks. A rest area close to the chicken
house is built for the “bantay.”
After 10 days, the chicks are bigger
and have to be dispersed to occupy the full
floor area of the chicken house.
Harvesting
On the 32nd day, the BMFI truck comes
with the cages. The broilers are weighed
at every farm house then loaded in cages.
Sr. Pedro pays P51 per kilogram, live weight.
Broilers that are less than one kilogram are
rejected. In a batch of 200, about 2 or 3
chickens may be found underweight and
the raiser keeps it for a family feast.
The cost of the chicks, the feeds, the
vitamins and biologics are deducted from
the proceeds of the harvest. BMFI is paid
3 percent of the gross to pay for hauling of
feeds and oversight by the BMFI Farm
Tech Supervisor.
Depending on total weight of the har-
vest, a grower receives a net of about
14 IMPACT • August 2008
taking care of their own chickens.
Malou was proud to say that with the
last harvest, the group bought their own
uniform with the proceeds of the business.
They also had a small celebration after the
first harvest. They served lechon manok
from Sr. Pedro in Gingoog City for their
lunch and they all agreed their chicken is
very tasty indeed! During special occa-
sions like Christmas and fiestas, one has to
take a number and wait in queue to be able
to buy a lechon manok at Sr. Pedro in
Gingoog City. This surely makes the
Libertad poultry growers wear a big smile.
The future
BMFI’s Executive Director Ayi
Hernandez is cautious and wishes to ensure
that expansion is done in a deliberate man-
ner. There are factors that need to be studied
including the optimum size of a backyard
grower, the full cost of technical support,
improving production efficiencies, etc.
BMFI farm technicians are, likewise,
© http://www.flickr.com/photos/69806882@N00/
careful and enforce strict protocols in the
cleaning and disinfecting lay off period of
21 days before starting another cycle.
The resident technician, Adela, is
enthusiastic about the future. She testifies
to the positive changes that Sr. Pedro has
brought to Libertad women with whom she
interacts in her daily visits to the 40 grow-
ers in her sitio. She is particularly excited
P1,000 to P1,500 for a batch of 200 broilers. about the exchanges among the growers
There is additional revenue generated from who daily find new ways to improve their
chicken manure that sells for P90 to P100 business from finding the right size of pan
per sack. A batch of 200 chicks produces to put the drinking water to observing
about 4 sacks of manure. The manure of keenly when the chicks are feeling cold.
chicks in the first three days is also suit- She refers to Sr. Pedro like he is somewhere
able as hog feed and is given by raisers for looking over them and says: “ayaw ni Sr.
their pigs in the backyard. Pedro na payat ang manok.”
Mr. Peter Unabia (the Sr. Pedro) is the
Young poultry farmers businessman who put a premium on the
organizing work of BMFI as a guarantee
When visiting one farm, a young that the scheme could work in communi-
woman was feeding the chicks and later ties that have gone through social prepa-
joined the conversation. Malou is an agri- ration. He was willing to do business with
culture student at the nearby agricultural barrio folks who had nothing except their
school. She will be going to class later in willingness to learn and to work.
the afternoon when another student re- These players along the value chain
turns from school to take his turn and of the lechon manok business see the
watch the chickens for the night. potentials for future expansion—engag-
The young people in the sitio have ing more barangays, expanding the basic
organized themselves and sought BMFI’s household module or even operating a
permission to be allowed to have their own dressing plant to process the broilers
business. Some 15 of them got together harvested from these growers. For these
and they take turns to look after the chick- to be realized, each player needs to de-
ens. There are now less than 10 of them. liver.
The other members have asked to leave Observers are equally enthusiastic
the group because their families have also that more Libertads will emerge from this
entered the business and they are now happy synergy. I
Volume 42 • Number 8 15
C O V E R
S T O R Y

Contraception is
a Barren Agenda 1

The malevolent reproductive health and

population control agenda in Congress
By Jo M. Imbong, Esq 2

P romptly as the 14th Congress opened in July 2007, the

reproductive health and population control lobby
foisted on the nation four bills in the Lower House: HB
17 (Responsible Parenthood and Population Development
Act of 2007)3, HB812 (The Reproductive Health Care Act)4,
HB2753 (The Women’s Right to Know Act)5, and HB 3970 (An
Act Creating the Position of Barangay Population Worker,
Granting Benefits Thereto, Amending for the Purpose the ‘Lo-
cal Government Code).6
In the aftermath of a first and only public hearing on April 29,
2008, the four bills were consolidated into one still unnum-
bered bill as of press time. It is calendared for August 6, 2008
in the House Committee on Appropriations for deliberations
on its funding provisions. If it passes in that Committee, it will
be brought to the Committee on Rules which will determine
the bill’s fate for second reading.

In its total impact, the consolidated bill is
awesome—awesome in its defiance and
mockery of the basic rights of the family
and its members as inscribed in the human
heart, which inherent and inviolable rights
are recognized and acknowledged in the
clearest language in the Philippine Consti-
tution.
First, on the expressed premise that
the human embryo is not protectedbefore
implantation in the womb.In understand-
ing an enacted law, it is a basic legal pre-
cept to know the legislative intent of its
writer. In its inception, HB 17’s Explana-
tory Note unabashedly states that the bill
protects the life of the unborn “from the
moment of implantation.” This is saying
that before the early embryo reaches the
womb, it is not protected by law. It defies
biological reality and common sense and it
effectively forecloses any possibility of a
very human embryo 1-6 days old journey-
ing to the womb to ever reach the protec-
tive folds of the mother. The proponent of
this bill sees nothing human in this jour-
neying embryo and by that premise, any
assault or interference to hinder its jour-
ney to the waiting folds of the womb is not
the law’s concern, even as Article II, Sec-
tion 12 of the Constitution protects human
life from conception.
With this language of “implantation”,
HB 17’s promise of “quality of life of the
people in general”7, is bereft of “life” or
“quality.” There is, instead, an open dec-
laration of war against an early live human.
This is a hostile bill, which hostility no
amount of disclaimer on abortion can over-
ride.
The present bill guarantees to pro-
vide citizens with “universal access to
medically-safe, legal, affordable and qual-

16 IMPACT • August 2008


"In corrupting the culture, the bill is
no respecter of conscience. In
effectively transforming objectively
disordered acts (condoned in the
name of reproductive “rights”) into
“legitimate” expressions of individual
liberty, the bill perverts freedom and
constitutes a direct threat to the
entire culture of human rights."
ity reproductive health care services,
methods, devices, supplies.” In reality,
this is a menu of abortifacient mechanisms
latent in the actions of combined oral con-
traceptives, progestin-only pills, combined
injectibles and implants, the transdermal
contraceptive patch, contraceptive vac-
cines, and mifeprestone taken when a
woman’s menses are “overdue.” By their
action, these preparations and devices
like the intra-uterine device render the
womb’s sensitive endometrium impervi-
ous and hostile to an implanting new hu-
man being. Because they hinder its im-
Contraception is a Barren Agenda
© John Wilkes Studio/CORBIS
plantation, there will be, in effect, no un-
born to protect, making Article II, Section
12 of the Constitution empty and useless.
Even as citizen groups and family
associations rallied against the bill in the
Committee, the Department of Health has
long forged an unholy alliance with pro-
viders of the manual vacuum aspiration
device or MVA, and trains hospital work-
ers for its use in government hospitals and
clinics. The MVA evacuates the contents
of the womb. With it, abortions may be
performed under the guise of a “miscar-
riage” or “uterine evacuation” or by the
sanitized procedure of “fertility regula-
tion.” This is the language of the Culture
of Death.
Second, in making a travesty of
parenting. The jurisdiction of parents as
parents occupies a prime place in the frame-
work of civil society as nurturers of their
own children. The educational cradle is—
foremost—the family. For the family ante-
dates any civil authority and it does not
owe its existence to the State. That is why
the Constitution cannot but acknowledge
this pre-existing “basic and primary right
and duty of parents in the rearing of the
youth for civic efficiency and the develop-
ment of moral character”8 which the State
shall support. Being a constitutional man-
date, the State may not lay a hand on how
parents will bring up their own children, for
the State did not create the family, and the
child a creature of the State.9
Neither may the State threaten par-
ents with fines and imprisonment in refus-
ing to expose their children to the State’s
programs for “adolescent reproductive
health” and “the full range of information
on family planning methods, services and
facilities” using a belabored “right to
know” that HB2753 purports to create.
The state’s power to control the education
of its citizens is secondary to the rights of
parents.” 10 That is why, the Bill insults
parents when it makes reproductive health
and sexuality education mandatory.
The Bill attempts to ingratiate itself
with parents by saying that “in the elemen-
tary level, reproductive health and sexual-
ity education shall focus on values forma-
tion and a faith-based teaching method.”
Of this pathetic pandering, we have
these to say: We parents know our
children’s hearts; the School teacher does
not. We parents feel the pulse of our chil-
dren, but the classroom cannot. We par-
ents are sensitive to a fault for our children’s
good, but the co-educational classroom is
not. We parents have infinite forbearance
for our child’s sensitivity, which the
teacher has not. No classroom, no mentor,
no peer counselor can handle with care the
heart of the child we have nurtured in our
womb body and soul.
That is why, “the custody, care and
nurturance of the child reside first in the
parents 11, whose primary function and free-
dom include preparation for obligations
the state can neither supply nor hinder.”
Third, on the corrupted meaning of
“reproductive health”. Promoters of oral
contraception are bound to cite a touted
study on the protective effect of oral
contraceptives against endometrial and
Volume 42 • Number 8 17
Contraception is a Barren Agenda

ovarian cancer. when compared to women not using it.19

However, 21 scientists from 8 coun-
tries comprising the Working Group of
IARC12 (the World Health Organization’s
cancer research arm) also found in the
same study that “combined estrogen-
progestogen contraceptives and meno-
pausal therapy are carcinogenic to hu-
mans,” 13 particularly cancer of the cervix
and hapatocellular carcinoma. This
prompted the World Health Organiza-
tion in 2005 to declare the Combined Oral
Contraceptive to be a recognized car-
cinogen.14 The Mayo Foundation for
Medical Education and Research has
found oral contraceptives to be associ-
ated with an increased risk of breast
cancer.15 Physicians for Life reports that
in 1960 when the pill was first invented,
the incidence of breast cancer was one in
25 women 16; today it is one in eight
women. 17
In New York, U.S.A., the manufac-
turer of the abortion-causing birth con-
trol patch, Ortho Evra, faces a lawsuit
filed by ten women who all suffered from
strokes or serious blood clots.18
The injectible contraceptive
DepoProvera (depot-
medroxyprogesterone acetate) increases
a woman’s risk of acquiring the sexually
transmitted infectious chlamydia and
gonorrhea by approximately threefold
On the other hand, oral contracep-
tives containing cyproterone increase
risk of deep vein thrombosis or venous
blood clots than oral contraceptives that
contain levonorgestrel.
There is an aggressive campaign for
tubal ligations especially among poor
mothers. The fact is, these mothers risk
ectopic pregnancy, even long after ster-
ilization, particularly among women ster-
ilized before age 30. Ectopic pregnancies
are the leading cause of pregnancy-re-
lated deaths in the first trimester.20
The so-called morning-after pill
Levonorgestrel which is touted in West-
ern countries as “emergency contracep-
tion” is a component of the menu of
“reproductive health care” supplies. Its
registration in the Philippines’ Bureau of
Food and Drug was cancelled as early as
Year 2001 because it was found by BFAD
to be an abortifacient.21 Surely, this Bill
does not intend to supplant a ruling of an
administrative agency of the Department
of Health and thereby legalize its use in
the Philippines?
The life advocacy network in the
country, notably Pro-Life Philippines and
Human Life International-Pilipinas, among
others, have in its custody a virtual record
of Filipino women victims of the lethal
side effects of the pill, Depo-Provera

By Fr. Melvin Castro

T
he letter chet stands for
both the Hebrew word
for sin and the Hebrew
word for life. A sinner can break
the habit of sin through repen-
tance, which brings life. (The
Exodus Experience: Maureen
Fritz, p. 62)
obedience and dissension.
Hence, we ask ourselves,
is the issue of the Church’s
opposition to the reproductive
The bigger
issue about
health bills in Congress simply
about contraceptives?
Definitely not. Unfortu-
nately even within the mem-

Forty years after Pope Paul
VI issued Humanae Vitae, our
own country now faces the
same dilemma that the West-
ern/Northern Hemisphere
faced then: the letter chet to
mean sin or for it to mean life.
But thanks be to God, the
Church in the Philippines has
been spared from internal dis-
sension of the clergy that be-
came the hallmark reaction in
the West. To this day, the
Church in the West still suffers
from this grave wound of dis-
contraception
bers of the Church, the issue
has been relegated to the ques-
tion of the apparent grave need
of the couples to have a choice,
on their own, on what birth
control method they can use.
Many know of Pope Paul
VI’s Encyclical
Humanae Vitae as the
“Birth Control”
encyclical. In fact,
however, the encyclical
treats of control in
another broader sense.
Humane Vitae does not

18 IMPACT • August 2008

 C O V E R
S T O R Y

injectible, implants, or have suffered or

died as a consequence of serious compli-
cations caused by the implanted IUD’s
which public midwives have refused to
remove from the women’s bodies. 22
This is not health. This is not repro-
ductive health. This is harm and peril
inflicted in the guise of health. 23
The anti-life, anti-parent, anti-youth
culture sought to be installed by the bill
threatens not only the life of the human
person.
It insults the poor, whom the bill
takes to task for their sheer number. To
rub salt on the insult, the bill categorizes
contraceptives as “essential medicines.”
In corrupting the culture, the bill is
no respecter of conscience. In effectively
transforming objectively disordered acts
(condoned in the name of reproductive
“rights”) into “legitimate” expressions of
individual liberty, the bill perverts free-
dom and constitutes a direct threat to the
entire culture of human rights. 24
Man is not made greater by a promise
of autonomy, but smaller. Smaller, until he
is dehumanized by the clipping of his
dignity, and the integrity of his natural
institutions. In the end, what will remain
will be a caricature of man, a perversion of
his dignity, a distortion of his family and
the complete deconstruction of its natu-
ral bonds. I

identify the problem in
the realm of sex, birth,
or the pill, but rather in
modern man’s arrogant
desire to control, to
control, to play God
(Message of the
Apostolic Nuncio in the
Philippines, Archbishop
Edward Joseph Adams,
09 July 2008, Manila
Cathedral).
Hence we see the issue in
the greater and bigger picture.
The issue is about God. And
the Church has every right to
speak about God. The issue is
more than what some legisla-
tors see and realize. It is not the
Church against legislators. It is
the Church standing up against
forces going against God. And
we are simply appealing to our
legislators not to be part of
these forces.
Is the Church’s position
outmoded as some would like
us to believe? Allow me to
quote lengthily the late Holy
Father, the Servant of God,
Pope John Paul II:
Thus an anti-life mental-
ity is born, as can be
seen in many current
issues: one thinks, for
example, of a certain
panic deriving from the
studies of ecologists and
futurologists on
population growth,
which sometimes
exaggerate the danger
of demographic in-
crease to the quality of The Church is called
life.
But the Church firmly
believes that human life,
even if weak and
suffering, is always a
splendid gift of God’s
goodness. Against the
pessimism and selfish-
ness which cast a
shadow over the world,
the Church stands for
life: in each human life
she sees the splendor of
that “Yes,” that
“Amen,” who is Christ
himself. To the “No”
which assails and
afflicts the world, she
replies with this living
“Yes,” thus defending
the human person and
the world from all who
plot against and harm
life.
upon to manifest anew
to everyone, with clear
and stronger convic-
tion, her will to promote
human life by every
means and to defend it
against all attacks, in
whatever condition or
state of development it
is found.
Thus the Church con-
demns as grave offense
against human dignity
and justice all those
activities of govern-
ments or other public
authorities which
attempt to limit in any
way the freedom of
couples in deciding
about children. Conse-
quently, any violence
applied by such authori-
ties in favor of contra-
ception or, still worse, of
sterilization and pro-
cured abortion, must be
altogether condemned
an forcefully rejected.
Likewise to be de-
nounced as gravely

Volume 42 • Number 8 19
ARTICLES
Footnotes
1 This title is a take-off from J. Robert Borke’s best-
seller. This Paper was presented at the Joint
Hearing of the Committee on Health and the
Committee on Population and Family Relations,
5
Rep. Narciso D.Santiago III, Sectoral Rep., ARC
Party List .
6
Rep. Jose Carlos V. Lacson, Negros Occ.
7
Explanatory Note to HB17,p. 3, second paragraph.
8
Article II, Sec. 12, Constitution.
9
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268, U.S. 510, 535
10
Brantley v. Surles, 718 F. 2d. 1354,1358-59).
11
Prince v Massachussetts, 321 U.S. 158,166.
12
International Agency for Research on Cancer.
13
International Agaency for Research on Cancer,
Press Release No. 167, 29 July 2005 at http://
www.monographs.iarc.fr
14
Ibid.
15
http://www.jayoclinicproceedings.com/Abstract.
Accessed April 28, 2008.
16
http://www.physciansforlife.org/content/view/188/
36/. Accessed April 27,2008.
17
A study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association supports this definite link
between pill use and breast cancer.
18
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071506.html.
Accessed April 27, 2008.
19
According to a study jointly funded by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development
at the National Institute of Health and the US-AID’s
Office of Population and Reproductive health.
http://’www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2004/nichd-23.htm
20
http//www.physiciansforlife.org/content/view/473/
73. Accessed April 27, 2008.
21
On a complaint filed and prosecuted in the
Department of Health by AbayPamilya Foundation,
with other pro-family organizations joining.
22
Notably, in the Committee hearing of April 29, 2008,
Commissioner Tomas Osias of the Population
Commission stated, in response to interpellations
from Rep. Janette Garin, that in international
usage, the term “reproductive health” includes
abortion. This author notes that this statement of
Commissioner Osias is confirmed by paragraphs
7.6 and 13.14 of the Programme of Action of the
1994 International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD).
23
The State has a constitutional mandate “to protect
consumers from hazardous products” (Article XVI,
House of Representatives, Republic of the Sec. 9, Constitution), and protect women in their
PhilippinesApril 29, 2008. maternal functions. (Article XIII, Sec. 14, Ibid.)
24
2
Executive Secretary, Legal Office, Catholic Bishops’ See Christian Conscience in Support of the Right
Conference of the Philippines, Email: to Life: Proceedings of the 13th Assembly of the
lifewatch08@yahoo.com Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican City, 23-25
3
Rep. Edcel Lagman, Albay. February 2007, Elio Sgreccia & Jean Laffitte,
4
Rep. Janette L. Garin, Iloilo. Editors, pp. 165-167.

unjust are cases where,
in international relations,
economic help given for
the advancement of
peoples is made condi-
tional on programs of
contraception, steriliza-
tion and procured
abortion (Familiaris
Consortio, 30)
Hence, we beg to disagree
with some, who are even mem-
bers of the Church, who think
that we are being myopic in our
view. On the contrary, we see
the greater scheme of things.
The Church, being universal,
sees things in a global manner
and more importantly, in a su-
pernatural manner.
As to the question of what
the Church proposes as an al-
ternative, we simply propose
what is true and good: God
Himself. From that simple and
profound truth follows every-
thing else: love of family and
life; the couples’ openness to
life; the rich sharing to the poor;
the poor having their dignity
intact in the midst of poverty;
leaders governing with wis-
dom; the Church defending life
and family; and you and me
struggling for sanctity.
I was once asked why it
seems the Church is imposing
herself and her teachings to all
while not all our Catholics? Or
that why couldn’t she just let
the couples decide for them-
selves or even just allow the
individual consciences to de-
cide?
The Church—whether her
members happen to be the mi-
nority or majority in society—
will always speak on the truth
of the Gospel and on the truth
of her teachings. In the end, it
is always up to the individual
to decide. However, it does not
mean that the Church would
simply sit back and see her
children do what they want.
True, the couples and the indi-
viduals have to decide in the
final analysis. And it is but the
Church’s role that her mem-
bers decide on the basis of a
well-formed conscience, not
deformed or misinformed one.
Informed decision, not in-
formed choice.
The Church teaches not
to impose but to enlighten and
guide her faithful in the proper
decision making. Freedom and
free will are God-given gifts.
And their proper exercise is to
honor God, it’s contrary is
freedom’s abuse. Freedom
means to freely serve and love
God, and not freedom to sin.
Authentic free choice is not
turn one’s back against God
but to freely follow His Will.
Let us turn the tables
around and ask instead why,
in God’s Name, some would
want to impose their own ideas
on the Church and on her mem-
bers. If we consider some
things as sinful and contrary
to our teaching, why should
we allow such things be
flaunted to our faithful as some-
thing true and morally accept-
able? Would we not then be
derelict in our duty or worse,
expose our faithful to occa-
sions of sin?
The Hebrew letter RESH:
stands for both resha “wicked-
ness” and rachamim “mercy.”
It is symbolic of the choice
between holiness and sin and
also for reconciliation. When
resh, as a sinner, repents, resh,
as mercy, always forgives. I

20
20 IMPACT •• August
August 2008
2008

Bishop mulls communion
ban on some Filipino
Catholics in Kuwait
MANILA, August 1, 2008—
Some Filipino Catholics in
Kuwait face the risk of being
barred from receiving com-
munion, Kuwait Apostolic
Vicar Bishop Camilo Ballin,
MCCI, said.
Bishop Ballin told
CBCPNews that it is mainly
because many Filipinos in
Kuwait fall into having a sec-
ond family while working
abroad.
“There are cases, I just
cannot say how many, when
men are supposed to send
money to his family back
home in the Philippines but
he has to keep some money
for his other family in Ku-
wait,” he said.
Bishop Ballin, a
Comboni missionary from
Italy, said there may be no
hard and fast rule “because
we have to look at every
single case.”
Under the Catholic
Church’s regulations, those
who divorce and remarry are
currently barred from receiv-
ing Holy Communion.
A remarried Catholic
may receive Holy Commun-
ion only if a marriage has
been annulled by the Church.
“What I try to stress is
that they can enter the
Church but they cannot re-
ceive Holy Communion,”
Bishop Ballin said.
“I don’t want them to
feel I sent them away from
the Church so they are al-
lowed to come to pray, at-
tend Mass but cannot re-
ceive communion although
they can participate in prayer
meetings, social meetings
especially on feasts days but
definitely no communion.”
The Church official said
“we inform them of the situ-
ation and we help them un-
derstand that marriage in the
Philippines lasts forever, es-
pecially so in marriages sol-
emnized in Catholic
churches.”
“I understand Filipinos
come to Kuwait to provide a
better future for their family
in the Philippines but please,
if possible, for couples, don’t
separate because the risk is
too much and the risks in-
clude the possibility of hav-
ing another family,” he
added.
The prelate said he un-
derstands the plight of Fili-
pinos in Kuwait because he
comes from a poor family in
Italy too.
“My family’s very, very
poor and my parents were look-
ing for opportunities but there
are many serious dangers for
them (workers) and their fami-
lies,” the bishop said.
He has observed Fili-
pino workers go home at least
once a year for their needed
vacation but added “the
loneliest day in their lives is
when they leave home for
another contract abroad.”
Bishop Ballin was in
Manila for around a week
after attending the 23rd
World Youth Day in Sydney,
Australia. He left the Philip-
pines and returned to Ku-
wait yesterday.
There are around
350,000 Catholics in Kuwait
and from this number, some
130,000 are Filipinos with Fr.
Ben Barrameda as the lone
Filipino priest attending to
the growing Filipino com-
munity there. (Melo Acuña)
Is the Church
Christians and Muslims
interested
show solidarity for
in
ruralattack
Kirkuk progress?
victims
KIRKUK, Iraq, July 31, 2008—
Kirkuk’s top religious and po-
litical authorities visited survi-
vors who were injured in the 28
July suicide bomb attack in which
scores of others were killed.
Kirkuk’s archbishop, Msgr.
Louis Sako, along with Muslim
religious leaders, both Sunni
and Shia, as well as Arab,
Kurdish and Turkmen tribal lead-
ers, went to the city’s hospital
to visit the wounded and offer
them some comfort.
The gesture was signifi-
cant because it saw the city’s
political and religious leaders
show “solidarity towards the
victims of the massacre,” irre-
spective of creed or ethnicity,
and reaffirm their “condemna-
tion of every form of violence’,
whatever its source.
Last Monday a suicide
bomber blew himself up in the
middle of a crowd that was pro-
testing against the new election
law adopted by parliament.
The crowd had gathered
near local government offices,
close to the Cathedral of the
Sacred Heart. Demonstrators
had just begun their march when
a suicide bomber blew himself
up, causing a massacre, killing
28 and wounding dozens.
At the end of the hospital
Volume 42 • Number 8
N E W S
FEATURES
visit, the delegation met the lead-
ers of the most important
Kurdish parties, the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and
the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP), as well as their Turkmen
counterpart, urging all of them
to work together to bring calm
back to the region.
“I call on political leaders
to think about the common good
of the population and fight the
aberrant logic of violence,”
Monsignor Sako said.
The prelate also said that
he hoped all political parties “will
sit together around the table to
talk and discuss,” putting aside
threats and extremisms because
“with violence nothing is ob-
tained,” whilst with mutual “for-
giveness” it will be possible to
rebuilt unity and peaceful coex-
istence for all.
This morning’s initiative,
which the Catholic Church
strongly backed, was unani-
mously welcomed by both
Muslim religious leaders and all
political parties. All local media
covered it.
During the visit the arch-
bishop of Kirkuk handed out
medicines to the wounded,
wishing them a quick recovery,
inviting them to come to “a
brotherly meal.” (AsiaNews)
21
N E W S
FEATURES

Bishops saddened by commodification

of Filipino workforce
QUEZON CITY, August 1, less, when workers do not re- interests. There will be no peace utterly neglected in favor of
2008—Ecumenical Bishops ceive just wages, when urban as long as the peoples’ funda- power, profits and privileges
Forum (EBF) co-chairpersons and rural communities are dis- mental socio-economic rights for the rich few,” added the
Most Rev. Deogracias S. located to cater to big business are grossly subordinated if not statement. (Noel Barcelona)
Iñiguez, D.D., Bishop of
Kalookan (Roman Catholic)
and Rev. Bishop Solito K.
Toquero of the United Meth-
odist Church were saddened
by the “commodification” of
the Filipino workforce, espe-
cially women and children.
In a joint pastoral state-
ment released last July 26, in
line for the communal action of
religious groups done in Cebu
City, members of the religious
communities coming from dif-
ferent Christian denomination
agreed about the injustice
brought by penury and grave
human rights violations now
plaguing the country.
“We are very much sad-
dened that while our nation is
richly endowed with vast natu-
ral resources and hard working
and resilient human resources,
most of our farmers are land-

Food crisis in North Korea,

less and hungry, our sisters
and brothers in workplaces are
denied of their right to just

wages, our indigenous peoples
are denied of their rights to
ancestral domain and self-de-
termination, our fisher folks are
left without enjoying God-
given marine resources, our
women and children are sub-
ject to commodification and
abuse and many of our young
workers and professionals are
forced to earn a living abroad
away from their homes and fami-
lies,” says the pastoral state-
ment.
It added, as Church
Peoples, we long for a kind of
peace in our country that is
fundamentally based on jus-
tice.
“We firmly believe that
there will be no peace when our
people live in hunger and mis-
ery, when the tillers remain land-
millions hungry
NORTH KOREA, July 31,
2008—At least 6.4 million
people are in urgent need of
aid. The population is sur-
viving on grass and wild
berries. The UN fund asks
for 20 million dollars to con-
front the emergency, and
calls for assistance pro-
grams to improve condi-
tions in the country.
P y o n g y a n g
(AsiaNews/Agencies) —
North Korea is going
through a severe food cri-
sis, comparable only to the
famine that struck the coun-
try at the end of the 1990’s.
Jean-Pierre de Margerie, direc-
tor of the United Nations World
Food Program (WFP), says the
poor harvests in recent years
and the flood in 2007 have left
millions of North Koreans with-
out the minimum amount of
food necessary for survival.
The UN fund affirms that
at least 6.4 million people (out
of a total of 23 million) are in
urgent need of food, three out
of four families have drastically
reduce their consumption of
food — including grains and
proteins — and an increasing
number of people are turning
to grass and wild berries just to
survive. For a number of
years, North Korea has re-
ceived aid from the interna-
tional community, but envi-
ronmental disasters and
poor harvests have intensi-
fied the emergency.
According to initial es-
timates, 20 million dollars are
needed right away to con-
front the immediate needs,
ahead of the fall harvest. The
WFP, finally, hopes for the
creation of a longer-term as-
sistance plan, which calls for
the investment of 500 million
dollars by September of 2009.
(AsiaNews)

22 IMPACT • August 2008


Second National Rural Congress (NRC-II)
‘In the Philippines today, God
calls us most urgently to serve
the poor and the needy’ 1
Dear brothers and sisters,
L
ast July 7-8, 2008, we successfully
conducted the Second National Ru-
ral Congress or NRC-II. More than
300 participants representing the rural poor
and the clergy converged at the San Carlos
Seminary, and had a fruitful interaction,
discussing the very important and compli-
cated issues that surround the communi-
ties in the rural poor in the Philippines.
In the context of meaningful dialogue,
the Congress was convened by the Catho-
lic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) and it intended to help strengthen
and sustain the Church-rural poor link-
ages established some forty years ago,
during the 1967 National Rural Congress.
A participatory and transformative course
of action was done that led to the:
• Identification and discernment of ur-
gent national and local issues con-
fronting the rural poor;
• Recommendation of policies and
programmes for both the Church and
the government to address the identi-
fied issues,
• Internalization and elaboration of les-
sons learned on Church-rural poor link-
ages since the First National Rural
Congress, and
• Identification of potential actions and
concrete mechanisms for Church-ru-
ral poor linkages to implement NRC-II
resolutions.
Using the backdrop of the Catholic
Social Teachings, and reflective of the SEE-
JUDGE-ACT framework, this momentous
event allowed both the Church and the rural
poor to expand their understanding of the
situation, the circumstances, and the pos-
sible solutions to the myriad problems that
confront the rural poor – the farmers, the
fisherfolk, the indigenous peoples, the
women and the youth – those that have less
Communique
in life. It is hoped that this event will
strengthen the will to be a “Church of the
Poor”.2
“Before today’s forms of exploitation
of the poor, the Church cannot remain
silent. She also reminds the rich of their
precise duties. Strong with the Word of
God3, she condemns the many injustices
which unfortunately, even today are com-
mitted to the detriment of the poor.”4
The journey to NRC-II
In the journey towards this Congress,
it was emphasized that the actual event was
merely a culmination of a series of equally
important discussions held at the Diocesan
and Sub-Regional Consultations (DRCs/
SRCs) conducted since last November 2007
until March 2008. More than fifty (50) DRCs
and BEC consultations were facilitated by
NASSA and similarly, thirteen (13) SRCs
were convened by the Philippine Misereor
Partnership (PMP). Afterwards, five Re-
gional Rural Congresses (RRCs) were con-
vened between April-May 2008. These
consultations allowed the rural poor to
articulate their concerns, and the Church to
listen and discern their roles in accompany-
ing the rural poor in their voyage.
To ensure that the interface between
the Church and the rural poor is effected,
the ad intra and ad extra approach was
used to add vibrancy to these consulta-
tions. The former refers to the internal Church
structures and the latter to the support
mechanisms and external groups that pro-
vided direct partnership work with the rural
poor and the Church.
A parallel track of several researches,
seminars, and high-level caucuses was simi-
larly completed during the period, comple-
menting the formal consultation processes.
These tracks involved many individuals
and institutions, coming from the academe,
media, civil society, Church groups, legis-
STATEMENTS
lators and the Bishops themselves. Various
publications, papers, statements and docu-
mentations have been produced and com-
piled to supplement the workshops that
came about in NRC-II.
What was seen
In the course of the Congress, several
important information came out clearly. The
rural poor are trapped in a vicious cycle of
dependence and hopelessness, mainly due
to the fact that they do not have enough
access or control of their assets. The boun-
tiful harvest from the God-given endow-
ments of land, forests and waters are not
being enjoyed by the rural poor. The dire
situation is reflected in the circumstances
of the rural poor.
The farmers have not completely
owned their land; the small fisherfolks are
lamenting the displacement of their fishing
activities and communities, due to pollu-
tion and encroachment of large-scale fish-
ers; the indigenous peoples’ culture and
ancestral domains are threatened by large-
scale mining and logging; rural women face
the many challenges of nurturing the well-
being of the children and at the same time,
respond to the economic needs of the entire
family as well. The rural youth are in a
special situation, as they are left confused
and sometimes misguided, because of the
complex problems and situations that they
find themselves due to this poverty.
Complicating this indigence are the
apparent forces that intensify the cruel re-
ality of poverty across the sectors and
across the regions. The environment is
gasping for help, as pollution and degrada-
tion of natural resources are rampant in the
rural areas. The issue of the aggressive
entry of large-scale mining and logging has
been brought out in many of the sectoral
and regional workshops. These extractive
industries are threatening not only the lives
Volume 42 • Number 8 23
Second National Rural Congress (NRC-II) Communique
and livelihoods of rural communities, but
also endangering ecological balance, as it
destroys forests, watersheds, agricultural
lands, and coastal areas. This imbalance in
nature and ecology leads to more disasters
and tragedies at the personal and commu-
nal levels. Another cross-cutting theme is
the phenomenon of migration. This has
distressed the family, and in the process,
introduced a whole new set of moral issues.
“Each person, no matter how poor is
endowed with an inalienable dignity as an
image of God, a child of God5, redeemed by
God and entrusted with an eternal destiny6.
Each person has to be respected as equal
member of the human family,7actively par-
ticipating towards the common good in
solidarity with others.”8
What was realized
Being mainly observers was not the
intent of the Congress. Going deeper into
the dialogue, several causes of this rural
poverty were unearthed. Foremost appears
to be the lack of serious implementation of
laws and policies designed to promote as-
set reform and social justice. Inadequate
resources and capacities to provide basic
services were also mentioned. One other
major concern was the prevailing graft and
corruption and the “culture of helpless-
ness” – that there is nothing anyone can do
to make change happen. On the other hand,
it was also recognized that some problems
on the level of awareness and knowledge of
the rural poor, that they need to learn more
about their rights and responsibilities as
citizens and as followers of Christ. This
involves the responsibility of caring for the
family, and the earth as well. There is also a
24 IMPACT • August 2008
need to organize the sectors and the com-
munities, so that they can enhance and
complement each other towards self-help
and self-reliance. Finally, there is also a
need to reach out, link and partner with the
many institutions that are excited and ready
to serve the rural poor communities.
Roles and involvements of these many
institutions have also been recognized. For
its part, the Church has mobilized its Basic
Ecclesial Communities (BECs) and the So-
cial Action Centers (SACs) to be at the
forefront in responding to the needs of the
rural poor. These institutions have pro-
vided training, organizing, credit services,
disaster response, spiritual and social for-
mation and other modes of support. The
non-government organizations (NGOs)
have worked together with different
peoples’ organizations (POs) in advancing
broadly sustainable development in the
rural areas. The academe and the media
have produced and disseminated informa-
tion and knowledge. In the midst of the
Congress, it was essential that an inter-faith
dialogue was encouraged, with representa-
tion from the Christian groups, the Mos-
lems, and the indigenous religious of the IP
communities articulating the perspective of
their groups.
Emerging proposals
The significance of NRC-II will be
diminished if we fail to highlight some of
the principal themes that emerged, initially
coming from the sectoral discussion
groups and the regional planning ses-
sions. These themes do not comprehen-
sively reflect the detailed discussions and
agreements of the Congress, but repre-
sent the common and most urgent calls of
the rural poor.
On the issue of landlessness and land
reform, two proposals were presented—
the extension of CARP with major reforms
(CARPER) and the enactment of a new
land reform law (GARB). The Congress
recognized that there is a need to further
review and to deepen the understanding
of the implications of both proposals.
From the fisherfolks, they called on
the strict implementation of the Fisheries
Code (or RA 8550), including its review to
address some loopholes in its implementa-
tion. The fisherfolk also identified specific
issues such as landlessness, the presence
of destructive fishing methods and called
for more activities that will enhance the
capacities of the fisherfolk sector, includ-
ing trainings, organizing and partnership-
building within the sector, to address these
issues.
From the indigenous peoples, the call
centered on the recognition of the custom-
ary laws and culture of the IP communities,
the implementation and review of IPRA,
and a specific advocacy on opposing the
transfer of the NCIP to the DENR.
From the rural women sector, they
urged the need to protect and uphold the
welfare and rights of women, through the
enhancement of Filipino values of family
and moral responsibility. They also ap-
pealed to all concerned agencies and insti-
tutions to provide more support to re-
spond to the special needs of women,
such as the issue of domestic violence,
access to basic social services, livelihood,
health, family planning and awareness-
building on women’s rights.

From the rural youth, their call cen-
tered on strengthening the moral and spiri-
tual foundations of the youth. They re-
quested that Church and the academe
strengthen their programs on spiritual and
moral values formation, in order to equip
the youth with more tools and handles to
guide them in their growing and maturing
years.
Finally, from the consolidated “Other
Sectors”, a set of recommendations were
forwarded that addressed the wide-rang-
ing but distinctive concerns of labor-re-
lated issues, informal urban settlers, per-
sons with disabilities (PWDs), elderly, small
rural traders, migrants and their families
and the informal sector. A common thread
that weaved their discussion anchored on
the themes of addressing the problem of
graft and corruption, strengthening the
roles of the local government units as
direct providers of services to the sectors,
exacting accountability from government,
NGOs and other institutions, and the need
to promote networking and linkaging
among the stakeholders.
Overall, the proposed emerging roles
of the Church in these themes is to become
a facilitator - a moderator or an intermedi-
ary that nurtures a platform for interaction
among the rural poor, the government,
civil society and the private sector. One of
the notable concrete proposals was the
creation of an “institutionalized dialogue”,
a process and venue where the rural poor
can continually and sustainably interact
with the Bishops and the Catholic Church.
There was also a recommendation to acti-
vate specialized desks in the Church struc-
ture that maybe able to specifically imple-
ment sectoral or thematic work at the par-
ish, diocesan, regional and even national
levels.
Moving forward
It is imperative that the dreams and
aspirations of NRC-II must be fulfilled
through action. In the next few months,
several things will happen that can hope-
fully cultivate a sense of hope for the rural
poor and their partners, in order for them to
overcome the forbidding challenges of ru-
ral poverty.
First, the official proceedings of the
NRC-II will be released in Aug. 15, 2008;
Second, the official publication of NRC-
II will be produced, published and issued
by November 10, 2008, in time for the Na-
tional Assembly of the BECs, and also as a
reference document for the many planned
activities of the civil society partners;
Third, the operational structure of NRC-
II, including the Central Committee and its
working groups, will be retained in order to
oversee post-NRC-II activities and estab-
lish clear plans regarding actionable resolu-
tions of the Congress, including the institu-
tionalization of the dialogue process
started;
Fourth, re-echoing sessions of the
NRC-II will be conducted either at the Dioc-
esan or Sub-regional levels, to be convened
by the respective Bishops. These sessions
will expectantly enrich the regional plans,
sharpen the regional translation of the
sectoral discussions, and identify mecha-
nisms by which local action plans can be
initiated;
Fifth, collectively (as CBCP) and indi-
vidually (as Bishops), the Church shall
STATEMENTS
actively pursue in carrying out the pro-
phetic role of the church in articulating and
addressing the issues of the rural poor,
through the provision of programs at the
Church and the mobilization of resources;
Sixth and finally, the CBCP, through its
Permanent Council, shall study and reflect
on the results of NRC-II, and will issue its
Pastoral Statement on its next Plenary As-
sembly, on January 2009.
Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, DD
Chairman-NRC II
Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, DD
Vice Chairman-NRC II
NRC II Secretariats
Notes
1 Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of
the Philippines, 20 January – 17 February 1991, The
Conciliar Document “Go…I am with you always!”,
Part II, A Church Renewed, No. 122
2 Laborem Exercens – On Human Work on the
Ninetieth Anniversary of ‘Rerum Novarum”,
Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, 14 September,
1981.
3 Cf. Is 5:8; Jer 5:25-28; Jas 5:1, 3-4
4
Pope John Paul II to the Cardinals, Members of the
Pontifical Household and the Curia: “The charism
of Peter: To serve universal unity by protecting and
defending the Gospel’s authenticity,” L’Osservatore
Romano, Jan. 21, 1985, p.8
5 Gn 1:26-27; cf Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 12,
14-17; Jn 1:13; 1 Jn 3:1-2; Rom 8:14-17; cf John
Paul II, To the People of the Sugar Plantations,
Bacolod City, Feb. 20, 1981, No. 8
6
Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the
Church in the Modern World 22
7 Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the
8
Church in the Modern World 63
Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of
the Philippines, 20 January – 17 February 1991, The
Conciliar Document “Go…I am with you always!”,
Part II, A Church Renewed, No. 296
Volume 42 • Number 8 25
FROM THE
B L O G S

Money going Gambling unlimited

out of style
A
PART from all the lucrative during the tenure of
shameful and distress- the incumbent administration.

T
his is the best and only way to describe and qualify why ing attributions cred- The gambling situation in the
Malacañang appears to squander the very hard earned ited to the ruling administra- country was already bad seven
people’s money and public funds forcibly taken from tion, such as the double years ago but the grueling years
them in form of exacting direct and cruel indirect taxes, apart from whammy title of the “Most under her saw it at its worst.
the public debts nonchalantly marred by the government and Corrupt” and the “Least Ap- Candidly operating in pub-
infallibly paid by the people as well. proved”, there is another sin- lic places under broad daylight,
This appears to be someone or something supposedly the gular label that it rightfully de- illegal gambling masters work
repository of national pride and trust, gleefully wallowing in the serves to get: “The Biggest through countless bet collec-
putrid waters of corruption while professing competence and Gambling Lord in the Coun- tors while government officials
exhibiting industry. This is not only corny. This is amorality. try!” If the State of the Nation and public authorities, conve-
Incidentally, it is truly a great pleasure for somebody to Address would be truthful, the niently look at it as profitably as
spend someone else’s money without remorse, to throw away one delivering it should not business partners would. Just
money that one has not truly toiled and sweated for, and to be forget to claim the title as a as the 2010 national elections
prodigal with the money of the people, from the people and for debasing accomplishment and come nearer, so does illegal
the people. a disgusting victory - but fac- gambling become more daring.
This is the precise and living picture of practically an eight- tual at least. Never mind if more Filipi-
year-long socio-economic plague besieging the country. This Despite sound opposition nos are getting hungrier as less
national misfortune is certainly being recorded in Philippine of concerned citizens, this gov- children go to school. Never
History—with expressed mention as to the who and what, and ernment has legalized gambling mind if the cost of basic com-
why and how such a phenomenal human authored disaster as a flagship project in the coun- modities goes higher compared
came to exist and continues to persist in the country. try. In fact, it has seen to it that with the purchasing power of
Earlier, it was reported that the Commission on Audit corporate gambling - even in peso becomes lower. Never
(COA) recently released very disturbing and disgusting figures such a strict business zone with mind if the people find it hard to
in conjunction with the so-called “Palace Expenses.” In a flourishing private enterprises purchase rice, to find employ-
nutshell, it was found out that more than P1 billion was spent like the U.N. Avenue in Manila ment, to hope and expect a better
by Malacañang for “travel expenses,” “cash advances” and - slowly but surely invades all future. Never mind all these!
“donation” in year 2007. yielding provinces across the True enough, the government
While such an enormous amount is already hard to write archipelago. This is the pitiful never minds these for they have
down, considering the so many zeros therein, there is the strong state of affairs in a land where all the gambling they want—
probability akin to certitude that very few have ever counted at the government is a gambling on land and in space!
one time such a colossal amount of money. But, Malacañang operator itself. As the 2008 SONA sees
spent even multi-billions of pesos without batting an eyelash. But lo and behold, sur- the best of the present and
Meantime, millions of Filipinos find it hard to buy rice, to prise, surprise! Syndicated le- foretells of even much better
eat three times a day, or to buy medicines. Parents of millions galized gambling has not only things to come in the days
of children can no longer afford to send them to school. Millions proliferated all over the land ahead, the truth is that
of workers are at a lost at how to make their salaries and wages but has also been conquering Malacañang has been fast ex-
satisfy their family needs. This is in addition to millions of space for some time now. Also hausting the patience of the
Filipinos feeling offended and depressed for not finding decent known as “Cybergambling,” people and effectively wasting
employment in the country. this very technical, high end the funds of the nation—to the
This brings us to the reason why millions too leave their and well secured operation is extent that it has been repeat-
families behind to become OFW despite the discrimination they actually maintained in con- edly pronounced “morally
experience and danger they meet as a matter of course. spiracy with the government. bankrupt.” There is valid rea-
And there is the glorious Malacañang—with grandiose Proof of this is the mere son to expect even worst socio-
claims and graceful exhibitions costing the people the following establishment of some 195 political unrest and economic
more detailed scandalous and nauseating expenses as per COA online gambling booths. With debacle to come—especially
report: some P588 million + P34 million in travel expenses, plus the proliferation of stations with the incumbent president
some P594 million in cash advances. being eyed for additional gam- still holding the reigns till 2010,
Meantime, the wealthy and the beggar, the young and the bling facilities, online gamblers or even after.
adult, the children and the elderly are forcibly paying E-VAT are certainly mushrooming too. Something good and admi-
technically translated as “extended - Value added taxes” but Adding insult to injury is rable certainly remains with the
really meaning “universal – Value added taxes”. If this is not the survival of illegal gambling citizens, however, something
revolting, it is hard to say what it is. syndicates that have become fundamentally wrong is still in-
www.ovc.blogspot.com even more aggressive, more grained in their government.
cold-blooded and all the more www.ovc.blogspot.com

26 IMPACT • August 2008


The real problem
T he problem is certainly not the P1 billion funds for
the power subsidy of those consuming less elec-
tricity. It is neither the other P1 billion support for
the micro-financing projects of the transport sector nor
is it the other P1 billion assistance for government
hospital improvement and the sickly elderly. The prob-
lem is certainly not the P1 billion aids for the relief and
rehabilitation of the typhoon “Frank” victims, not the P1
billion sponsorship for scholarship grants and student
loans, and not the additional P4 billion subsidies for food
consumption and energy expenses of the poor.
In fact, even the onerous, cruel, heinous and obnox-
ious E-VAT is not the problem for it is the cost of social
peace and order, of public welfare and common good.
As such, citizens have to pay taxes—be these direct or
indirect—to support their public officials, who are ex-
pected nothing less than to act and work for the good
and the benefit of the tax-paying citizens.
Not even the onerous debts incurred by the ruling
administration constitute a problem although these have
to be ultimately paid by the people from one generation
to another, viz., big debts presumably for the majority’s
advantage. The problem is neither the onerous agree-
ments supposedly meant to satisfy the strict demands
for the Filipinos nor the Executive Order 464 even if the
EDITORIAL
mantle of executive privilege may mean hiding corrupt
acts from being investigated by a separate branch of
government.
What then is real problem? What is the big fuss and
hiss? Why are there so much murmurs and rumors?
Why are there so many rallies, long marches and
interminable demands? The real problem is neither the
junkets abroad to cement regional cooperation and to
beef up international relations, nor going around the
country to hand out groceries and subsidies to these and
those people.
The problem—the huge and real, persistent and
pestering one—is a much distrusted administration, a
highly disapproved government, most dissatisfying na-
tional leadership among all those in tenure of the same
position since 1986.
Where do all those billions upon billions really go?
Expressed in more clear and simple terms: how can
people trust a most distrusted pretending trustee of
immense public funds? Conveyed in more direct and
strong language: how can people repose their confi-
dence on their leader who has the highest grade in
corruption and the lowest rate is satisfaction from 2004
to 2008?
That, Mang Tasyo, is the real hitch.
Volume 42 • Number 8 27
FROM THE
I N B O X

From the emails of Lan Bergado, lanspidey@yahoo.com

The man and

the world
When love T
here was a man who had a little
boy that he loved very much.
Everyday after work the man

discriminates
would come home and play with the
little boy. He would always spend all
of his extra time playing with the
little boy.
One night, while the man was at

A
story is told about a soldier who
was finally coming home after hav-
ing fought in Vietnam.
He called his parents from San Fran-
cisco.
“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but
I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d
like to bring with me.”
“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to
meet him.”
“There’s something you should
know,” the son continued, “he was hurt
pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on
a landmine and lost an arm and a leg. He has
nowhere else to go, and I want him to come
live with us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we
can help him find somewhere to live.”
“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live
with us.”
“Son,” said the father, “you don’t
The Starfish
know what you’re asking. Someone with
such a handicap would be a terrible burden
on us. We have our own lives to live, and
we can’t let something like this interfere
with our lives. I think you should just come
home and forget about this guy. He’ll find
a way to live on his own.”
At that point, the son hung up the
phone. The parents heard nothing more
from him.
A few days later, however, they re-
ceived a call from the San Francisco police.
Their son had died after falling from a
building, they were told. The police be-
lieved it was suicide. The grief-stricken
parents flew to San Francisco and were
taken to the city morgue to identify the
body of their son. They recognized him,
but to their horror they also discovered
something they didn’t know, their son had
only one arm and one leg.
work, he realized that he had extra
work to do for the evening, and that
he wouldn’t be able to play with his
little boy. But, he wanted to be able
to give the boy something to keep
him busy. So, looking around his
office, he saw a magazine with a large
map of the world on the cover. He
got an idea. He removed the map,
and then patiently tore it up into
small pieces. Then he put all the
pieces in his coat pocket.
When he got home, the little
boy came running to him and was
ready to play. The man explained
that he had extra work to do and
couldn’t play just now, but he led
the little boy into the dining room,
and taking out all the pieces of the
map, he spread them on the table. He
explained that it was a map of the
world, and that by the time he could
put it back together, his extra work
would be finished, and they could
both play. Surely this would keep
the child busy for hours, he thought.

A
vacationing businessman was walking along a beach when he saw a young About half an hour later the boy
boy. Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the came to the man and said, “Okay, it’s
tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. finished. Can we play now?”
The boy walked slowly along the shore and occasionally reached down and The man was surprised, saying,
tossed the beached starfish back into the ocean. The businessman, hoping to “That’s impossible. Let’s go see.”
teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, “I And sure enough, there was the
have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know picture of the world; all put together,
you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and every piece in its place.
how many starfish are dying on every beach every day. Surely such an industrious The man said, “That’s amazing!
and kind hearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your How did you do that?” The boy said,
time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?” “It was simple. On the back of the
The boy looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his page was a picture of a man. When
feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he I put the man together the whole
said, “It makes a difference to that one.” world fell into place.”

28 IMPACT • August 2008

 B O O K
REVIEWS

Free Love True Love

Rediscovering Love & Intimacy in John Paul II’s
Theology of the Body
Fr. Joel O. Jason

John Paul II’s book Theology of the Body spoke
on the sacredness of human body and human
sexuality. Drawing insights from the book of Pope
John Paul II this little volume published by Shep-
herd Voice Publications, gives a clear presenta-
tion on how our attitude towards sex and intimacy
should be. Borne out of his own experience of
working and ministering to couples and families,
Jason explains the sacredness and beauty of sex
as opposed to how it is often regarded and treated
by media in our contemporary society. In the fore-
word, His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales extols the ability of Jason to grasp firmly
the pope’s views on human sexuality, thus result-
ing to a work “that speaks to men and women of
today, a work that addresses many of their impor-
tant concerns about love and intimacy.” The au-
thor, a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila is cur-
rently the Dean of Studies of San Carlos Semi-
nary where he teaches Fundamental Moral The-
ology, Bioethics, Special Moral theology and Sexu-
ality and Integrity.

60 More Seasonal Homilies

Fr. William Bausch

A gifted preacher who has written a number of
books on homiletics, Fr. William Bausch has
added yet another equally engaging volume
that will surely appeal to both priests and lay
alike. Just like in his previous volumes of
homilies, Bausch’s style of storytelling draws
the readers to internalize the message thus
becoming a part of the narrative itself. Instruc-
tive and grounded in the realities of everyday
life, the homilies found in the pages of this
volume can be used as they are, or as a frame-
work for other preachers to develop their own
homilies. There are homilies for the seasons
of Advent, Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time. The
book is published by Paulines Publishing
House.

Signs and Times

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, DD

This book, the 28 th in the roster of titles pub-
lished by Archbishop Oscar Cruz deals with
signs that point out to the realities in contempo-
rary Philippine society, which according to the
author’s observation have become a pattern in
the present dispensation. The book lists down
thirteen signs; ominous or not, are symptomatic
of what is going wrong in the country today. The
author’s opinions are not limited on government
and society, but also “pays attention to what the
Church in the Philippines is doing through the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) in terms of providing [Catholic] educa-
tion” to the faithful. Other issues tackled in the
book are the Church’s stand on politics and her
effort to clean up the ranks of her own clergy.

Laughing Christ
Collected Reflections of Joseph Galdon, SJ

The reflections found in this volume are short
but deep in their meaning. Touching on various
topics, the ruminations are grouped into five
parts with specific themes. Part one touches
on love and life, part two on holiness, part three
on philosophical thoughts, part four on stories
and fables to think and pray about, and part five
on prayer. An easy reading, the short insights
found in the pages are like nuggets of gold,
precious and beautiful. The author, a profound
thinker whose earlier works had deeply touched
readers because of their insightful significance
will once again leave a mark on anyone who
read this latest collection. The reflections had
been put together by former Ateneo students
as a tribute to Galdon whose inspiring pres-
ence had transformed the lives of those he
taught and guided during his years as profes-
sor at the Ateneo de Manila University. This book
is published by Jesuit Communications.

Volume 42 • Number 8 29
ENTERTAINMENT

CATHOLIC INITIATIVE
FOR ENLIGHTENED
MOVIE APPRECIATION
Title: Hancock
Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head
Director: Peter Berg
Producers: Akiva Goldsman, James Lassiter, Michael Mann,
Will Smith
Screenwriters: Vincent Ngo, Vince Gilligan
Music: John Powell; Editors: Colby Parker Jr., Paul Rubell
Genre: Action/ Comedy/ Drama/ Fant asy
Cinematography: Tobias A. Schliessler
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Location: Los Angeles , California , USA
Running Time: 92 min.
Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 14 up

John Hancock (Will stand the sight of the boorish

Smith) sleeps at park
benches, swears, is rude,
drinks heavily, and is in the
words of a little boy an
“asshole”. But he is also a
superhero of sorts. He’s
arrogant but he saves lives;
he’s a bum but he can’t
tolerate baddies. When on
call he doesn’t hide and slip
into a signature costume, he
simply skyrockets himself,
crashing through windows,
making a mess of the traf-
fic, leaving downtown Los
Angeles like it’s been
rocked by a mega hurricane.
Half the people adore him;
the other half has filed over
600 lawsuits against him for
damaged property and in-
jured bodies. One day he
saves from sure death a
dreamer of a PR man Ray
(Jason Bateman) who is stu-
pid enough to get himself
stuck on the railroad track
with a train zooming up.
Grateful for his life, Ray
brings Hancock home for a
spaghetti dinner, and intro-
duces the superhero to his
son (who idolizes Hancock)
his wife Mary (Charlize
Theron) who can’t seem to
superhuman around the
house. What Ray really
wants to do is give Hancock
an image makeover—to
make him look good to the
public.
The movie’s trailer and
poster claim there are he-
roes and superheroes (and
more superheroes) and then
there is Hancock. Or some-
thing like that. Which leads
the viewer to expect a dif-
ferent kind of superhero—
but a superhero nonetheless.
So the story brings us this
superhero with an issue—
or rather with unresolved
issues good enough to keep
ten psychiatrists employed
for life. This movie which is
billed as an “action com-
edy” flick seems two mov-
ies in one, but it confuses its
own plot, thus it won’t fit in
a decent genre. So there are
action comedies and action
comedies, and then there is
Hancock, a hybrid that
doesn’t know how to cat-
egorize itself. Even the hero
doesn’t understand his pow-
ers, much less wield them as
a hero is expected to. Okay,
okay, they said this was not
your ordinary superhero
movie—but at least give us
something superior, so we
don’t regret buying a ticket
and having nothing left for
popcorn. Don’t give us an
unidentifiable species that’s
half-hearted comedy turn-
ing into a half-baked
Shakespearean tragedy with
no rationale to engage our
brains. The CGI is passable,
but worthless against all the
questions directed at the eth-
ics of the hero.
Is there a race some-
where? A supercontest of
sorts where superheroes out
to save the world leave in
their wake bigger and big-
ger collateral damage? Who
gets to pay for all that mess
this sloppy superhero cre-
ates? Just count the pot-
holes caused by his land-
ings. Where is this superhu-
man coming from? Aren’t
superheroes supposed to be,
at least, respectful of the
citizens of this planet? Is it
correct for a superhero to
traumatize a kid who’s just
being a kid? Is it moral to
save one and let a hundred
others die? Did Hancock’s
makers mean to say anyone
can be a superhero simply
because he happens to be
superhuman? What do they
want our children to be? Will
Smith the actor became fa-
mous for being a family-
friendly rapper, a good kid in
a very popular TV series.
Why are they now shaking
off his clean image? Do they
want our kids to follow this
likeable actor to perdition?
Many are the ways by which
the evil one will try to lure
our children into decadence.
Beware. If you must allow
your 14-year olds to see this
movie, tell them Hancock is
fictitious, not to be emulated,
idolized, or taken seriously.

30 IMPACT • August 2008

 N E W S
BRIEFS

INDIA NORTH KOREA CHINA PAKISTAN

New Delhi fuel switch N. Korea suffering Gov’t moves to com- Taliban warn suicide
has climate benefit worst food crisis bat Olympic smog attacks across Paki-
Switching New Delhi ‘s The United Nations World Government officials here
stan
public transport fleet from Food Program said hunger in unveiled a new string of mea- Taliban militants are
gasoline and diesel to natu- N. Korea is at its worst since sures to battle the city’s defi- threatening to launch suicide
ral gas has reduced emis- the 1990s, prompting the re- ant smog ahead of the Olym- attacks across Pakistan un-
sions of greenhouse gases sumption of emergency UN pics. The announcement came less military operations against
by ten per cent, according to food shipments. It said dev- as Beijing was again shrouded them are stopped. The threat
researchers. But the switch astating floods have wrought in a cloak of haze. Authorities came after the Pakistani army
wasn’t perfect, with many havoc on the impoverished said they will close more fac- said it had killed 20 Taliban
engines now running less country, forcing millions to tories, further reduce the num- rebels and imposed a curfew
efficiently and losing meth- resort to eating grasses and ber of cars on the road in the in northwestern Swat Valley,
ane to the environment. The roots to stay alive. city and neighboring areas, and where a two-month-old peace
switch was made in 2003 to stop all construction. deal appears on the brink of
reduce air pollution and as- collapse.
sociated health threats. CAMBODIA
JAPAN
Poll result predicted
PALESTINE to boost investment Indo nurses, care AFGHANISTAN
workers to head to Gov’t welcomes com-
Hamas, Fatah ac- The landslide victory Japan mitment to border
cused of torture which the Cambodian
People’s Party appears to The Japanese govern-
security
Security forces on both have secured in the recent ment said about 200 Indone-
sides of the internal Pales- election is expected to boost The Afghan government
sian care workers and nurses said it’s time for Pakistan to
tinian conflict have un- the Kingdom’s reputation as are scheduled to travel to the
leashed a wave of illegal a growing investment desti- take action after its prime
country in August under a minister made a commitment
arrests and torture, a lead- nation. The Leopard Capital bilateral economic partner-
ing rights group said yester- said the poll result was a to US President George W.
ship agreement. Under the Bush to secure the border
day. Human Rights Watch best scenario for investors. agreement, the Japanese and
(HRW), based in New York, The company is one of many with Afghanistan. The gov-
Indonesian governments ernment said it welcomes
said in a report that forces private-equity funds that agreed that 300 care work-
run by Hamas and its rival plans to inject $US500 mil- comments in which the Presi-
ers and 200 nurses will come dent says Pakistan made a
Fatah were committing “se- lion into the economy. to Japan for the first year.
rious abuses.” very strong commitment to
making sure the border is
SRI LANKA BANGLADESH
secure as possible.
THAILAND
Sri Lanka to cut
Ex-Thai PM’s wife Middle East maid Gov’t forms truth MALAYSIA
commission
gets 3 years in prison numbers Anwar’s medical re-
The Bangladesh govern- port ‘looks genuine’
The wife of Thailand ‘s The government here said ment has created a truth com-
former Prime Minister, it will cut the number of maids mission to allow corrupt poli-
Thaksin Shinawatra, has A senior hospital official
it sends to the Middle East, ticians and business owners here said a medical report
been found guilty of tax eva- citing increased complaints to avoid jail if they confess
sion and sentenced to three which opposition leader Anwar
of abuse. The Bureau of and refund any illegally ob- Ibrahim was saying clears him
years in prison. Thailand’s Foreign Employment said it tained money. President
Supreme Court has found of sodomy accusations looks
has received over 3,400 com- Iajuddin Ahmed said the three- genuine. Anwar showed re-
Pojaman Shinawatra and plaints from female workers member Truth and Account-
two other defendants guilty porters a leaked medical docu-
in the first half of this year for ability Commission will be ment recently, which found
of avoiding payment of harassment, breach of con- headed by a former high court
$US16.5 million in tax on a the male aide making the alle-
tract and unpaid or under- judge and will take submis- gations, did not appear to have
share deal in 1997. paid salaries. sions for the next five months. been sexually assaulted.

Volume 42 • Number 8 31