By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW

The population issue is hot in the country, particularly with the pending bill on reproductive health in Congress. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) released its position against the said bill branding the measure as anti-life.

Recently in the news, the Philippines was identified among the top 15 most populous nations of the world registering 88.7 million people. The population could have been more if not due to the high infant mortality rate and abortions, illegal or otherwise. Read the rest of this entry →

By MARY ANN MANJA BAYANG

Mary Ann Manja Bayang is giving way to Atty. Cheryl Daytec-Yangot’s article. — Ed.

It was another bad week for the Philippines. The Supreme Court just strengthened the culture of impunity pervading “The Queendom” by expanding the scope of executive privilege.

This is in relation to the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) signed in 2006 but still awaiting ratification by the Philippine Senate. The long and short of this agreement is this: It will make the Philippines the trash can of Japan. Let us grant that there are perks for the Philippines. But still, a trash can is a trash can. No Japan-made perfume can annihilate the stench of garbage. No Japan-made chemical can purify polluted air. No Japanese technology can reverse death from cancer or other illnesses that come from garbage. Read the rest of this entry →

By ARTURO BOQUIREN

A few days ago in the University of the Cordilleras, Executive Director Juan Ngalob of the National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera Administrative Region (NEDA-CAR) reported the findings of a survey done about a year ago.

The survey covered a few thousand respondents, 2,809 to be exact, and is supposedly representative of the pulse of the voting age population of the Cordillera. Ngalob claims that random sampling or a type of random sampling was used. Read the rest of this entry →

By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN

“I tell you whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!” – Matthew 25:40

Third of 3 parts (click here for the 2nd part)

Some lessons and challenges

Nevertheless, there are some significant lessons as well as challenges we could glean from the experiences of Protestant witness in our country. Firstly, there was an affirmation of the truth that the Christian Gospel is, indeed, a liberating gospel. The liberating message of the Gospel could not be hindered. While it is true that Protestantism was introduced in our country as an instrument of American colonialism, it is also equally true that the effect on the people might not necessarily be the same as that which was intended by those who tried to make religion an instrument of political and economic causes.

Certainly, there are prophetic elements in the Protestant faith itself that would serve as a critique of American colonialism and neo-colonialism. As a matter of fact, this is the very nature of the Christian faith and of the Christian God. The cross, which is considered the central symbol of the Christian faith, is meant to stop the Jesus Movement, but it turned out to be the very reason for the Movement to go on. Indeed, God has a way of turning misfortunes into blessings. Read the rest of this entry →

By INNABUYOG-GABRIELA

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan condemns the massive military operations and human rights violations against the Aetas of Porac and Floridablanca, Pampanga, where the 72nd Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been deployed since July 10 as part of the Investment Defense Force scheme of the Arroyo government.

“The deployment of military troops in indigenous communities under the guise of protecting the national economy but at the expense of the IPs is ridiculous. It is unlawful as it violates the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which state that the rights of indigenous cultural communities should never be compromised for the sake of development, “ Ilagan said in a press conference with the Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP). Read the rest of this entry →