Abducted minor rescued by Nueva Ecija police

GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija, July 27, 2011-Police Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo, Operatives of the provincial public safety company (PPSC) chief of the Nueva Ecija police revealed that they successfully rescued a teenager from her abductor who was arrested in this town Monday. 

“The rescued minor was Donita Anne Baylon, 15 years old, high school student of Purok 1, Barangay Malapit, San Isidro town,” Okubo said.

The PPSC team conducted operation led by SPO2 Jaime Magno Jr. at around 1 in the morning, Monday at Purok 4, Barangay Kawayang Bugtong here. Baylon was rescued and her abductor was arrested who was identified as Sherwin Syegco, 25 years old, a cook, and a residence of Tinio St., Barangay San Nicolas, Gapan City.

“The successful rescue of Baylon was the result of a five-day intelligence build-up. The victim went missing last July 20, apparently when she went out of the house of her guardian Rosita Arribe shortly after the latter scolded her,” Okubo said, explaining that the victim found her way in nearby Gapan City and met Syegco in a nearby store in Barangay San Nicolas where the suspect works as a cook. The suspect, who was known to Baylon and her guardian, was able to convince the girl to go with him.

Aribe, together with her brother, barangay chairman Noel sta. Ines of Malapit, San Isidro tried to locate Baylon but to no avail. Then they were told by Joan Manrique, class adviser of Baylon, that the girl was last seen with Syegco.

Sta. Ines immediately called up Syegco asking the latter if Baylon was with him, which the suspect denied.

Sta. Ines later received information that Syegco brought the girl somewhere in Kawayan Bugtong in this town. Sta. Ines then sought the assistance of the PPSC which deployed a team to scour the area.

Sta. Ines accompanied the police team to help them identify both Syegco and Baylon.

“We have already filed charges of violations of Article 343 of the Revised Penal Code for consented abduction against Syegco,” Okubo ended. (Jason de Asis)

CBCP assures Aquino help to fight corruption

MANILA, July 26, 2011—The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is with the government in its efforts to combat corruption, a Church official said.

“The Church had long been involved and continues its crusade against corruption and if the government is really serious, we can work together, said Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez.

The prelate, who heads the CBCP’s Committee on Public Affairs, said Aquino’s pronouncement against his administration’s campaign against corruption deserves the support of the public.

“He wanted to call us to participate in the fight versus corruption… That is indeed called for,” said Iñiguez.

Last Monday during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), Aquino said his fight against corruption is “personal” and should be similarly pursued by the general public.

It can be recalled that then CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, in February 2008, had called for “communal action” against corruption in the government of then president Gloria Arroyo.

The statement of Iñiguez comes at a time when the CBCP and the government are at odds over the controversial reproductive health bill. [CBCPNews]

P’Noy flagship against corruption should be filed by yearend-Sen. Miriam

MANILA, July 26, 2011-“If President Aquino fails to set a deadline, his flagship program against corruption will become unsustainable,” Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said.

Santiago, who won her Magsaysay Award for fighting governmental corruption advised President Aquino that there is a pressing need to set the yearend as the absolute deadline for resolving the entire backlog of cases pending with the Office of the Ombudsman, explaining that the Ombudsman has a term of seven years, and Pres. Aquino should appoint a muscular, adrenaline-packed nominee, because of the high caseload.

“The President should order that in the resolution of cases, priority should be given to criminal cases unearthed recently, such as corruption among generals in the military, generals in the police, and officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Pagcor,” she said, adding that the way to dispose of the backlog is for the President to authorize the justice secretary to appoint special prosecutors with the sole function of resolving pending cases in the Ombudsman.

“Unless the Congress practices self-restraint and shortens public hearings on anomalies, Malacañang should not wait for the result of legislative probes,” she said where the Congress takes forever to investigate anomalies.

She said that we lose a lot of time because the senators and representatives are fishing for evidence. Some of them also try awkwardly to varnish their image in front of the TV cameras where the public gets exasperated.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, she gives the following grades for President Aquino's first year: general administration - 6.5; anticorruption - 7; family behavior – 8,” the senator said, saying that the SONA event should be supported by the entire political community, because it symbolizes national unity.

“All three branches are present in the SONA event, the only time that we are all together. The ceremony is a symbol of governmental unity. It is not the proper venue for political protests, because contrary to misimpression, this is not beneficial to the President. During this event, all of us in the government should be respectful and civilize,” she said.

Santiago is set to start this week her defense of the RH bill in the Senate, by delivering the first of three parts. “My defense on RH bill is over 60 pages long. I have to break it up into three separate speeches,” she said. (Jason de Asis)

New Nolcom chief assumes post

TARLAC CITY, July 25 2011-The new top official of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) formally assumed his post last Friday replacing Lt. General Gaudencio Pangilinan who retired from the service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Major General Jessie Dellosa, new Nolcom chief is now leading the unified armed forces command whose jurisdiction covers the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Central Luzon regions

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Oban witnessed the change of command here at the headquarters of Nolcom inside Camp Aquino, Tarlac.

Dellosa lauded his predecessor and vowed to continue his legacy revolving around for the “daang matuwid” or straight path advocacy of President Aquino.

Dellosa is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA ) “Matapat “ Class of 1979. He served as the commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, Deputy Commander of AFP Central Command and the Commandant of Cadets of the PMA, prior to his assignment.

He was also designated as head of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, Chief of Staff of the 4th Infantry Division, Officer-In-Charge of the AFP Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability and Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, G 3 of the 1st Infantry Division. (Jason de Asis)

Youth leaders warned of moral corruption if RH bill is passed

MANILA, July 25, 2011―Youth leaders were warned of the destructive outcome of the reproductive health bill on marriage and family life if the proposed measure pending in Congress is ever passed.

The passage of the highly controversial RH Bill will lead to the moral corruption of the youth and foster a decadent lifestyle destructive of Filipino values and tradition, according to a pro-life lawyer.

Lawyer George Dee, pro-life advocacy coordinator of the Commission on Family and Life of the Diocese of San Pablo, aired the warning in a special symposium held July 23 before a gathering of 200 youth leaders at the St. Michael's Retreat House in Antipolo City.

Dee told youth leaders not to be deceived by how the bill is crafted, with nice words and seemingly harmless language purporting to advance the interest and the well-being of women and the youth.

He said the apparently harmless words are merely used as a cover up for the real design of the proposed measure which is a coercive birth control program intended to depopulate the country through an aggressive contraception and sterilization program.

The lawyer stressed that the massive proliferation of contraceptive pills and devices readily accessible even to the young, plus the mandatory sex-education component of the bill geared for grade V to fourth year high school will lead to moral corruption of the youth.

He said the bill's objective of "satisfying and safe sex" for partners regardless whether they are married or not will destroy the sacredness of human sexuality as God-given gift for the exclusive enjoyment of married couples and would treat women as mere objects of pleasure.

This mentality will foment a decadent lifestyle where the sanctity of marriage will be meaningless and the youth would be its foremost victim, he said.

Dee also pointed out that the youth's early exposure to sex education based on the population control agenda will strip them of their innocence and takes away from the parents the primary right to educate their children.

He further explained that in situations where married couples have to space their children for grave reasons, resort to natural methods of fertility regulation is perfectly and morally acceptable.

He urged the youth leaders to take their stand in the fight against the RH Bill and in other similar anti-life bills.

The forum was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Diocese of Antipolo whose bishop, the Most Reverend Gabriel Reyes was recently elected Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

He will take over the ECFL Chairmanship from Archbishop Paciano Aniceto in December this year.

Fr. Melvin Castro is currently the Executive Secretary of the ECFL. (CBCPNews)

Enrile calls to promptly act on the proposed 2012 national budget

MANILA, July 25, 2011-As the senate deliberation will start on the proposed general appropriation act of 2012 today, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile bats his colleagues to promptly act on the proposed national budget for 2012, citing the need for Congress to pass bills that would help government in building the nation’s fiscal and economic capabilities, as well as to strengthen the country’s environmental and defense mechanisms. 

“Early approval would allow the chamber to assess the various programs of the Aquino administration under a ‘reform budget’,” Enrile said, adding that the ideal scenario is for Congress to pass the budget earlier than the date it passed last year’s budget.

As the Senate prepares to buckle down to work today, Enrile said that the people expect the senate to make tough decisions, saying that the citizenry elected them to see to it that they have a voice in helping reform the society, and owe it to them to see to it that their needs are met. This is the time to crank the gears of the engine of sustainable development and use these available resources for the common good,” Enrile explained.

Enrile pointed out that the Congress needed to pass important legislative measures that will show the Filipino people that their government meant business.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“The heavy flooding in various parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, the recent findings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on alleged fund misappropriations in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and the allegations of electoral fraud committed last 2004 and 2007 elections which have brought to light the need for Congress to enact legislation that would address these problems,” Enrile cited.

During the first Legislative-Executive Advisory Council (LEDAC), Senate sources said that with the opening of the 2^nd Regular Session of the 15^th Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives are set to focus on bills discussed.

The priority measures included in the LEDAC main concerns were signed into law by the president before the end of the 1^st Regular Session such as R.A. 10151, rationalizing the night work prohibition on women workers; R.A. 10149, promoting financial viability and fiscal discipline in government-owned and controlled corporations; RA 10153, synchronizing the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the national and local elections; and RA 10154, which mandates all government agencies to ensure the early release of a retiring state worker’s retirement benefits within 30 days of his or her actual date of retirement.

Two pro-poor bills were enacted into law were the Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act of 2011 (R.A. 10152), and the Act Extending the Implementation of the Lifeline Rate (R.A. 10150).

The Senate also passed on second reading three bills discussed in the first LEDAC meeting such as the Whistleblower’s Protection Act of 2011 (SBN 2860), which sought to provide better protection, security and benefits for whistleblowers; the Kindergarten Education Act (SBN 2700) which called for the institutionalization of kindergarten education into the basic education system and prescribing a mother tongue-based multi-lingual education; the National Health Insurance Act (SBN 2849) which sought to amend and improve the country’s current national health insurance policy. (Jason de Asis)

Priests, student activists list down PNoy’s successes, failures in time for SONA

SAN PABLO City, July 24, 2011—Some priests of Laguna and student activists in Southern Tagalog have separately listed down various accomplishments and failures of President Benigno Noynoy C. Aquino III during his first year in office.

Catholic priest Fr. Albert San Jose of Pakil town said that President Noynoy is on the right track because he prioritizes on discipline which is one of the number one needs of every Filipino but he is quite disturbed by the president’s indifference in promoting morality. He did not elaborate.

Fr. Jerry Oblepias, parish priest of Del Remedio Parish in San Pablo on his part, said in a text message that PNoy’s accomplishments included the silencing of “Wangwang” which were being abused in the past by both government and private commuters just to avoid being trapped during heavy traffic.

He also praised the president for setting the example of not putting his name and pictures on every government projects, road infrastructures during his one year old regime.

But Oblepias also listed down the various failures of the president, namely the Hacienda Luisita issue where land reform was still unimplemented. The problem of corruption is not yet rooted out and he failed to bring the people to moral ground and solve poverty.

Fr. Rudy Carabuena of Calumpang, Liliw Parish however, praised Aquino for the resignation of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez recently and the probe of the alleged over-importation by National Food Authority (NFA) by the previous administration under former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

President Aquino himself had revealed that NFA incurred a debt of P171.6 billion in the over-importation of rice in 2004 and 2007.

Meanwhile a press report said that youth leaders in Southern Tagalog particularly expressed dismay on the Noynoy administration’s continued lack of support to improve the state of education in the country. The effects of the budget cut for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) last December have but worsened the state of education in the province.

Students from the Cavite State University (CVSU) – Naic campus for example has faced tuition and other fee increase (TOFI) of more than 100% this semester. Due to the TOFI, enrollment dropped in the campus including its pioneer course of B.S. Fisheries which nearly got dissolved due to lack of enrollees.

“It is disheartening that the very essence of satellite campuses of SUCs in rural areas - which is to allow the poor to have access to quality education, is slowly becoming a myth. We see Aquino’s policies killing the future of the youth as the hope of the nation,” stressed Ruffa Solano, deputy-secretary general of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) - Southern Tagalog.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Christian University in Dasmariñas only received around 300 enrollees this semester. School administrators may opt to close down the school due to this low number of enrollees. Solano said this is but an indicator that more and more parents could no longer afford to send their children to private schools. “But they have nowhere else to go since tuition fees in SUCs are almost at par with private schools,” she added.

Members of Kabataan Partylist at the high school level in CVSU-Rosario expressed opposition to Aquino’s K-12 program. The campus, which is close to the Economic Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), offers primarily technical and vocational skills to college students.

“Here students are blatantly exploited during internship and right after graduation they are automatically hired as welders and assembly men for EPZA. The K-12 program which offers vocational and technical skills to high school discourages tertiary education and ultimately hurries the youth into serving the foreign capitalists interest instead of serving the people for genuine national development,” said Anakbayan Timog –Katagalugan Spokesperson Neil John Macuha. (Fr. Romy Ponte)

CBCP renews opposition to RH bill ahead of SONA

MANILA, July 23, 2011— The Catholic hierarchy has renewed its strong opposition to the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill which is crafted based on “secularist and materialistic spirit.”

The proposed measure, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) warned, could further destroy the society morally just like it had done in other countries.

“It is a spirit that considers moral and religious norms as regressive,” said Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, CBCP president, in a statement.

“The bill ignores moral and religious considerations in the name of democracy and freedom of choice in a pluralist society,” he said.

Odchimar made the statement yesterday ahead of President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

The date also coincided with the 43rd year of the “Humanae Vitae,” the landmark papal letter about the Church's uncompromising stand on birth control.

Aquino is a known supporter of the RH bill which requires the government to guarantee wide access to reproductive health care services, methods, devices, and supplies to the people.

The bill also pushes the use of “modern” methods of family planning, including condoms, birth control pills, intra-uterine devices (IUDs), and injectables.

In a country where government hospitals have long been dealing with scarce equipment and medicines, the bill categorizes artificial family planning supplies as “essential medicines.”

The Catholic Church accepts only natural family planning methods.

The CBCP head also called on the faithful to defend Christian values by rejecting the bill.

“Ignoring moral values is moral corruption; and moral corruption breeds corruption in public and private life. Its fruit is social decay and disintegration," Odchimar said.

He said the people's right to choose must always be guided by the Gospels and the teachings of the Church.

“To ignore this principle is to ignore the light that illumines an upright conscience," Odchimar said. [CBCPNews]

CBCP calls for nominations for outstanding youth ministers, orgs

MANILA, July 23, 2011—The Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is inviting dioceses and parishes to nominate youth ministers and organizations that have made a significant contribution to the growth of the youth apostolate in their respective locales.

ECY chairman and Albay, Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon made the invitation as he announced the start of nomination for the Blessed John Paul II National Youth Ministry Awards. The awards, which will be conferred to 25 outstanding youth ministers and organizations during the National Youth Day 2011 celebration on November 14 to 19, was established in line with the ongoing celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of ECY this year.

Baylon said the Blessed John Paul II National Youth Ministry Awards is meant to recognize the selflessness, commitment, and dedication of youth ministers and organizations in championing the cause of the youth and the youth ministry in their respective dioceses and parishes.

“Help us identify these youth ministers and organizations by nominating those you think are worthy of recognition for the contribution they made for the youth ministry in the Philippines to grow, bloom and bear fruit,” Baylon said.

According to Fr. Jose Favie Faldas, SDB, head of the ECY Recognition Committee, this year’s recognition of the sacrifices and dedication of youth ministers is “long overdue” considering that it took 25 years before the ECY established such an award-giving initiative.

“The awarding is long overdue for me. For so many years now, those who are in the youth ministry have been unappreciated, misunderstood and uncared for. It is about time that they are put in the pedestal,” Faldas told YouthPinoy.

Faldas said the National Secretariat for Youth Apostolate (NSYA) has started writing diocesan youth ministry heads, calling on them to submit their nominations for the outstanding youth ministers, who may be ordained, religious, or lay, or groups of persons, institutions or organizations.

From the nominations, the Recognition Committee, members of which were appointed by Baylon, will come up with a shortlist of 50 nominees, from which a 5-man jury will judge the top 25 nominees who will be awarded with trophy for having earned the merits to warrant a Blessed John Paul II National Youth Ministry Award.

Mechanics

According to the NSYA, anyone may nominate. An individual or a group only has to submit their filled out nomination forms. Submissions can be made through post mail addressed to Episcopal Commission on Youth, 3/F CBCP Bldg., 470 Gen. Luna St., 1002 Intramuros, Manila, or e-mailed to ecynsya@gmail.com.

The deadline for submission of nominations will be on September 8, when the Recognition Committee will sift through the nominations and send certificates to all those nominated. The initial nomination fee of P1,000 was waived.

“The award will be a special trophy befitting this first nationwide recognition of youth ministers,” the NSYA added.

Inspiration

According to Faldas, the John Paul II National Youth Ministry Awards was not only created to recognize outstanding youth ministers in the Philippines.

He said the awards also aim to inspire the young and other youth supporters in uplifting the values and morale in the youth ministry.

“More importantly, we want to generate Gospel models for youth ministers and for the youth in general from these awardees,” adding that awardees will be looked up for their commitment to the Catholic faith and outstanding leadership in the field of youth ministry. (YouthPinoy)

Trillanes bill on retirement benefits signed into law by P’Noy

MANILA, July 22, 2011-Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV bill which provides expeditious and timely release of the benefits, pension and gratuities of government workers retiring from the service was signed into law by President Benigno S. Aquino III where he lauded the latter for his swift action on the bill.

The new law, Republic Act No. 10154, provides for the release of retirement benefits of state workers within 30 days from the actual date of their retirement.

“The immediately signing of my bill into law by P’Noy would mean that he effectively recognized the sacrifices of our public officers and employees who have rendered decades of faithful, loyal and dedicated service to the public, often toiling and laboring with salaries and benefits barely enough to meet their personal and family needs,” Trillanes said, the principal author of the bill.

“The least we can do is to ensure that they will receive their retirement pay, pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits immediately or at least within a fixed and reasonable time after their retirement. Retiring government employees should not be made to wait, much less grovel and beg, for what is actually due to them under the law,” he said.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV

Trillanes law seeks to penalize officials who would cause undue delay on the release of these benefits. These erring officials, after hearings and due proceedings, shall be subject to administrative disciplinary action and shall be penalized with suspension from service without pay from six months to one year, at the discretion of the disciplining authority, except in cases of force majeure and other insuperable cases.

“I and other senators received numerous and persistent complaints from civil servants that they were made to wait for unreasonable period of time, sometimes years, before they were able to get their retirement benefits,” Trillanes said.

After being released from detention late last year, the said bill is among the first few bills sponsored by Trillanes at the Senate plenary.  After seven and half years of incarceration for his role in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Pen incident, Trillanes was formally granted amnesty by President Aquino last January 2011. (Jason de Asis)

Recto urges P’Noy for joint exploration on the disputed Spratly islands

MANILA, July 22, 2011-Senator Ralph G. Recto, a senior member of the Senate committees on foreign relations and of national defense and security yesterday bated the Aquino government to take the lead in pursuing a joint economic exploration of the disputed Spratly Islands among claimant countries as a way of moving forward on the long pestering issue.

“We just can’t say we’re open to the idea and sit idly. There is a pressing need to take the initiative to make this happen where a joint exploration is the only sensible thing to do in harnessing the economic potentials of Spratlys without having to fire one single shot or sinking a gun boat,” Recto said.

Recto added that the joint exploration initiative could be pushed even while issues on ownership are still being resolved under the auspices of ASEAN or United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Senator Ralph Recto.

“For this issue to resolve there is no need to wait for another 30 years. If claimants would only agree now, whatever natural resources underneath Spratlys could be shared equitably for the economic benefits of all nations,” Recto said.

“Who knows, after 30 years when the oil or natural gas is fully depleted, not a claimant would show interest anymore,” he said, adding that the joint exploration would not mean surrendering one nation's claim or sovereignty but embracing a common workable solution to a long-standing problem.

Recto explained that our country did its own joint exploration with the natural gas find in Malampaya off Palawan not with another sovereign nation but with a private multinational consortium led by Shell and Chevron. The Spratly islands is said to be sitting on large deposits of natural gas and oil.

“For starters, the country could spearhead the forging of another joint marine seismic undertaking (JMSU) among claimant countries, after the first one with China and Vietnam that was signed way back in 2005 and lapsed in 2008,” he furthered.

The JMSU, which was signed last March 2005 by the Philippines and China, called for the two countries’ joint exploration of petroleum resource potential in the South China Sea.

When Vietnam, a claimant of portions of the Spratlys, protested, it was included in the agreement. The JMSU was not renewed after it lapsed in July 2008.

“We probe together for oil then we harvest the proceeds equitably,” the chairman on the Senate committee on ways and means said, adding that the country is in a unique location to mediate a joint exploitation among claimant nations because of its proximity to the disputed islands.

“The Chinese nor the Vietnamese could not singlehandedly lay down their own natural gas or oil pipelines all the way from Spratlys to their home soil. The more economical way is to use our existing Malampaya gas pipeline that stretches from Palawan waters to South Luzon where each claimant would converge to pick up and load their share,” he said.

“In return for the use of the gas pipeline, the country could just charge handling fee,” Recto said, saying that the joint exploration proposal could be part of the talking agenda that the President will bring to the table when he visits China in August or September this year.

“If we could sell this idea to the Chinese, it would not be difficult to convince the others,” he said.

Recto pointed out that there is a pressing need to leave the sovereignty issue to the Department of Foreign Affairs, saying that the focus would be on how to make use of the economic potentials of Spratlys now while zealous foreign ministers debate over the next decade their sovereign claims.

A meeting of senior foreign officials from ASEAN countries and China to finalize the implementing guidelines on the 2002 Code of Conduct of Parties (DOC)  in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea  has produced mixed reviews with other participants griping over a watered down version of the draft guidelines.

He said that the ASEAN secretariat noted with appreciation the proposal of the Philippines to declare South China Sea into a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation in the same meeting.

To start the ball rolling, Recto said that the country's top foreign officials should have been more specific in calling for a "joint economic cooperation" in Spratlys.

Contesting the country’s claim over Spratlys are Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. (Jason de Asis)

Church launches 'anti-RH with a smile' campaign

MANILA, July 22, 2011—The Catholic hierarchy has found a new weapon to fight away the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill – smile.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has launched Friday various campaign materials to bring the Church’s message on the value of human life to the faithful.

One that notably caught the media’s attention was a sticker depicting a yellow smiley with texts “I am pro-life. I am anti-RH bill.”

Msgr. Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, agrees that smile can influence others and it also reflects how the Church conducts its mission.

“Maybe we can summarize the position of the Church as it continues to do its campaign against the RH, it is peaceful, friendly campaign and we are saying that we are pro-life and we are anti-RH with a smile,” Figura said in a press briefing at the CBCP office in Intramuros, Manila.

The stickers, he said, will be placed in various parish Churches across the country and will be distributed to the public to intensify their campaign against the birth control measure.

“You will see stickers displayed on vehicles. We would place stickers that are more friendly because we are actually not adversarial, not against anybody in particular, not against any group in particular but against the RH bill specifically so we are doing this mission with a smile,” added Figura.

Aside from the stickers, the CBCP also have anti-RH bill tarpaulins. One of which even has an image of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.

“He is not only our national hero but this year we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary. He has always been known for his works and he always said that the youth is the future of the nation,” he said.

“If we teach our youth today the wrong values about life, if we teach the youth today on the wrong values about society and the family what will they become when they become adults and leaders of the nation in the future?” the CBCP official said.

Figura also revealed that the Church has produced a video advertisement which will be shown inside parish Churches.

“We are coming out with TV ads even with our meager income. Maybe you would see the ad not on television, but on the Church projectors before Masses because we are spreading these TV ads exponentially by using our very own network and our resources,” Figura said. [CBCPNews]

Oldest Filipino bishop marks Golden Jubilee

SAN PABLO City, July 22, 2011―Bishop Pedro N. Bantigue, the first Bishop of San Pablo, will celebrate his fiftieth anniversary as a bishop come July 25, Feast of Saint James the Apostle.

The announcement was made by Msgr. Melchor A. Barcenas, the Vicar General of the Diocese of San Pablo, last July 18, during the monthly Clergy Assembly.

A celebration is scheduled on July 25 to commemorate the 50th Episcopal Anniversary of Bishop Bantigue and the 24th Episcopal Anniversary of San Pablo Bishop Leo M. Drona, who was also ordained bishop on the same date last 1987.

To mark the event, a solemn Mass is scheduled at 5:15 pm at the Cathedral of Saint Paul the First Hermit, San Pablo City, and will be followed by a simple dinner at the Bishop’s Residence. Bishops, priests, religious and laity are expected to grace the event.

Bishop Bantigue is currently the oldest living Filipino bishop, by age and by date of episcopal ordination. He was ordained bishop on 25 July 1961 by His Eminence Rufino Jiao Santos, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila, and was given the Titular See of Catula and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Manila.

Upon the creation of the Diocese of San Pablo in the Philippine Islands, Bishop Bantigue was appointed its first bishop by Pope Paul VI.

Born in Hagonoy (Bulacan) on January 31, 1920, Bishop Bantigue proved to be a trusted priest in the Archdiocese of Manila. Shortly after his priestly ordination in 1945, he served as Private Secretary to three archbishops of Manila: Archbishop Michael J. O’Doherty, Archbishop Gabriel Reyes, and Cardinal-Archbishop Santos. As a young prelate, he participated in the third session (14 September to 21 November 1964) of the Second Vatican Council .

Upon becoming the first Bishop of San Pablo, Bishop Bantigue guided the newly erected diocese in its early years. One of his hallmark acts as its Bishop is the convocation of the First Diocesan Synod of San Pablo in 1994.

After twenty eight years of being the Pastor of the flock of San Pablo diocese, Bishop Bantigue retired at the age of seventy five years and four months. He was succeeded by Bishop Francisco C. San Diego.

At present, the Diocese of San Pablo has Bishop Leo M. Drona as its current shepherd.

July 25 is a double celebration in the Diocese of San Pablo, for it marks the celebration of two great jubilees: that of its first shepherd and its current Bishop. (Fr. David Reyes)