After PCSO controversy, Church brings back fight vs RH bill

MANILA, July 14, 2011—And the fight against the reproductive health (RH) bill continues.

Now that Senate has cleared the seven Catholic bishops from the PCSO controversy, the Church will bring back its focus in fighting the birth control measure.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said several activities are lined up in the Church’s campaign against the proposed reproductive health (RH) bill.

“The fight against the RH bill continues,” said Figura, CBCP secretary general.

He said preparations are being made for the July 25 Humanae Vitae’s 43rd year, the landmark encyclical by Pope Paul VI that deals with the Church’s uncompromising stand on birth control.

But since the date fall on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Benigno Aquino III, the celebration will be held in advance.

“We’ll be doing activities a week before that just to stay away from the SONA,” said Figura.

Aside from Humanae Vitae, the Church is also marking the 20th anniversary of Familiaris Consortio (The Role of Christian family), an apostolic exhortation written by Pope John Paul II.

The document describes the church’s position concerning the meaning and role of marriage and the family, and outlines challenges towards realizing that ideal.

The apostolic exhortation also defines marriage "as a personal union in which the spouses reciprocally give and receive."

The document restates the opposition to artificial birth control stated earlier in Humanae Vitae, and (briefly) mentions opposition to abortion.

During the bishops’ plenary assembly last week, Pope Benedict XVI urged them to continue protect the sanctity of life and marriage.

CBCP President and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar earlier said that they will continue to speak out against the RH bill as this is their duty to the people.

“We are the last bastion standing against the RH bill, divorce and now there is also the possibility of same-sex marriage and we won’t be surprised if after that would come euthanasia,” he said. [CBCPNews]

NGO urges P-Noy gov’t to ratify maritime convention

MANILA, July 14, 2011—With the increasing number of abuses against Filipino seafarers, Manila-based International Seafarers’ Action Center (ISAC) Foundation, Inc. in Manila appealed to the Benigno C. Aquino III government to ratify the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Maritime Labor Convention of 2006.

Attorney Joseph T. Entero, ISAC secretary-general, in a statement said that their organization has been handling numerous cases of abuse, ranging from nonpayment of salaries and benefits, up to mysterious deaths of Filipino mariners boarded in different foreign ships.

It is saddening, he said, that despite the significant contribution of the seafarers in the country’s economy, the government seems to neglect them.

“Last year, our seafarers had remitted as much as $3.7 billion—an increase of more than 11 percent from the total dollar remittance by our mariners in 2009. However, the government seems [to be] continuously disregarding our mariners by having the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 left unratified,” Entero stated.

He said that there are already 13 countries that adopted the 5-year old Convention, but unfortunately, the Philippines is not one of them.

“The MLC provides a more comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world's more than 1.2 million seafarers. Its primary aim is to provide decent work for seafarers and to secure the economic interests of ship owners which follow high shipping standards. It consolidates and updates the 68 international labor standards related to the Maritime sector, which the ILO and the stakeholders had adopted for the last 80 years,” Entero explained.

He added that with Filipinos constituting the 25 per cent of the entire mariners’ population in the world, it is high time for President Aquino and our lawmakers, to consider its ratification and adoption. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

Believe it or not, PhilRice executive urges Filipinos to eat less, less rice

SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ, Nueva Ecija, July 14, 2011-An economist from the Philippine Rice Research Institute who is the country’s premier rice-production research  agency has advised Filipinos to eat less and less rice and diversify their diet by feasting on cassava, banana and other crops to help contribute in attaining national food security and rice self-sufficiency within three years.

Dr. Flordeliza Bordey, spokesperson of the Food Staple Plan of the Philippine Food Staples Self-sufficiency Roadmap (FSSR) for 2011-2016 said that the Filipinos should follow the lead of Japan and China which are rice-sufficient despite their meager rice area harvested per capita because of their people’s diversified diet.

PhilRice is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) which is mandated to produce high-yielding, cost-reducing rice and superior technology for the Filipino farmers and the citizenry.

“To maintain the country’s per capita consumption of rice at 120 kilograms per year, diversifying diet will improve the Filipinos’ nutrition,” Bordey said, saying that white corn, sweet potato, cassava, and banana can be used as substitutes for rice. 

In the country’s FSSR, a document produced through a series of workshops spearheaded by the Rice Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), it was mentioned that substituting other staples for rice is seen as strategy in preventing further increase in per capita rice consumption.

Bordey said that the DA’s Rice, Corn, and High-Value Commercial Crops programs will work on augmenting the supply of alternative staples by 3.5 percent a year and increasing their accessibility and affordability. She said there is a pressing need for the country to be rice self-sufficient with the threat of climate change in the traditional rice-exporting countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, and the US, which control 84 percent of the world rice export.

She added that “the thin and heavily concentrated international rice trade also continues to be a major concern for food policymakers,” noting that in 2008,  the world price of rice increased dramatically owing to export bans issued by exporters and panic buying of importers.

Roberto Alingog, PR Bank president and 2011 UP outstanding alumnus in entrepreneurship and employment said that eating sweet potato, a crop with more complex carbohydrates and high fiber content, is not only good for the health but also helps the country save millions of pesos from rice exportation.

The less-rice consumption advocacies have seen popular showbiz personalities like actress Gretchen Barreto, whose best remembered health regimen include the sweet potato diet, which she ate boiled, coupled with fruits.

The FSSR said that for the country to be rice self-sufficient, government must embark on such interventions as development and maintenance of irrigation systems; increasing farmers’ access to high-quality seeds; research, development, and promotion of appropriate technology; extension and farmers’ education; reducing post-harvest losses; and developing upland rice-based farming systems using sustainable agricultural practices. (Jason de Asis)

Maritime institute creation is the key to solve Spratlys dispute says Angara

MANILA, July 14, 2011-Senator Edgardo J. Angara, vice chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations said yesterday that an institute on maritime affairs that will train a pool of diplomatic, economic, maritime and legal experts on territorial disputes will provide the solution to the Spratlys dispute.

“The creation of the institute I am proposing will enable our country to have experts who can competently uphold the Philippines interests in international dialogues, including territorial disputes such as the Spratlys,” Angara said, explaining that he is now discussing with the Law Center of the  University of the Philippines of which he is a former president to iron out the details of the formation of an Institute of Maritime Affairs which will advance the country’s ocean-related interests.

“I am sure that the maritime institute will serve in beefing up the country’s capacity to protect our maritime and territorial interests like the conflict over the Spratly Islands continues to simmer,” Angara said.

He added that there is a need to have an authoritative representative in international dialogues which was made all the more urgent by the persisting tension with China.

Earlier in March, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest after Chinese military ships bullied a Philippine seismic exploration vessel in the Recto (Reed) Bank, 80 nautical miles from Palawan and clearly within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Angara said that the government rightfully protested the incursions and unwarranted harassment, adding that the renaming the West Philippine Sea is likewise a strong assertion of the country’s territorial claims. He said, however, that these disagreements cannot be allowed to escalate into a violent clash.

“The Spratlys Islands dispute involves multilateral interests and hence should be resolved multilaterally, with countries agreeing to thresh out not only political but also economic interests,” he said.

“Our country could engage stakeholders on how to jointly maximize available resources for the collective benefit, saying that there are national interests that must be pursued vigorously but there are also multilateral interests that may be sought cooperatively.

“We should strive to strike a balance between the two,” he stressed, believing that maritime institute creation could help dispute in the Spratlys issue. (Jason de Asis)

27 Nueva Ecija towns ban use of plastic bags

PENARANDA, Nueva Ecija, July 13, 2011-“Bawal ang plastic sa Nueva Ecija (Plastics are a taboo in Nueva Ecija).”

With this, municipal mayors in Nueva Ecija have declared a ban on the use of plastic bags in the province in support of the campaign for environmental protection and the fight against global warming.

Mayor Ferdinand Abesamis, president of the 27-member League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Nueva Ecija chapter, said that the prohibition on the use of plastic bags is contained in LMP-NE Resolution 003-2011 passed during its regular meeting last July 5.

Abesamis said each of the member municipalities will convene their respective sangguniang bayan or municipal councils and enact ordinances parallel to the league resolution.  

Abesamis said the league resolution will be transmitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan which will adopt the same and pass an ordinance, including the penalties for violations.

Abesamis said that prior to the passage of the LMP resolution, the ban is now in effect in this town. “We are now enforcing it in Penaranda as part of our environmental plan and in support of the fight against global warming,” he said, adding plastics pose environmental hazards such as flooding because these are hard to dispose of.

“With this resolution, we can really say bawal ang plastic sa Nueva Ecija (plastic is indeed prohibited in Nueva Ecija),” he quipped.

The league, in imposing the ban, took the cue from the city government of Muntinlupa which implemented the plastic bag and styrofoam ban six months ago in order to ease the flooding and reduce the volume of collected garbage.

Muntinlupa City Mayor Alvin San Pedro said that since the ban took effect, the city was spared from flooding at the height of typhoon “Falcon” last month.

In place of plastic bags, consumers now use alternative receptacles to place their groceries such as cardboard boxes, reusable green bags and paper bags made of old newspapers and magazines or the traditional “bayong” (native bags).

According to environmental groups, 12 towns and cities in the country have passed ordinances banning the use of plastic bags. Aside from Muntinlupa, these are Baler, Aurora, Antipolo City and Batangas City, Binan and Los Banos, both in Laguna; Burgos in Pangasinan; Carmona and Imus, both in Cavite; Infanta and Lucban, both in Quezon; and Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

Sen. Loren Legarda has filed Senate Bill 2759 otherwise known as the Total Plastic Bag Ban Act of 2011 which prohibits groceries, supermarkets, restaurants, fast food chains, department stores and other retail stores and establishments nationwide from using non-biodegradable plastic bags.

Abesamis expressed hope all the five cities in the province – Cabanatuan, Gapan, Munoz, Palayan and San Jose – will also pass local ordinances in support of the campaign. (Jason de Asis)

Bishops return vehicles to PCSO

MANILA, July 13, 2011— Catholic bishops who received money from a state-run lottery to buy sports utility vehicles during the Arroyo administration have returned the cars to the government.

The seven bishops did so, during a senate inquiry Wednesday, although underscoring that the vehicles have not been for personal use but for Church-operated missions.

The three prelates from Luzon brought their vehicles to the senate and returned them to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) right there.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said those in Mindanao, including the one for his archdiocese, are ready for immediate turnover to any authorized PCSO office.

“…Regardless of whether the acquisition of the vehicles has been lawful or unlawful, constitutional or unconstitutional, we are returning the vehicles,” they said in a joint statement read by Quevedo.

Six of the seven bishops involved in the controversy faced the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee currently investigating the so-called PCSO fund mess.

Aside from Quevedo, they are Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles, Bishops Rodolfo Beltran of Bontoc-Lagawe, Leopoldo Jaucian of Abra, Juan de Dios Pueblos of Butuan, and Martin Jumoad of Basilan.

Nueva Segovia Archbishop Ernesto Salgado who is currently out of the country was represented by his auxiliary bishop David William Antonio.

Social projects

The bishops decided to return the cars after recent media scrutiny and amid allegations of the present PCSO board that they accepted them from Arroyo in exchange for their political patronage.

The prelates reiterated that the vehicles were used for their social projects and they are “grateful” for the help given to them.

“We express our sadness that our sincere desire to help people and receive necessary assistance for doing so has confused, disturbed and even scandalized many of the Catholic faithful,” they said.

“We still believe that we have not violated any law, or even the Constitution,” according to the bishops.

Lack of resources

The church officials told the Senate body that they are from provinces that have some of “the most difficult areas” that they, as prelates, have to reach.

“Most of us are from calamity or conflict-stricken areas. We serve communities some of which are the poorest of the poor. Our vocation is to help them in so far as we can with our resources,” they said.

“When we lack resources, we seek the assistance of others, especially from those whose mandate is to provide assistance, particularly in health services and in charity.”

“Some of us received service vehicles from PCSO that are heavy duty 4 x 4 pick-ups in order for our social, health, and charitable services to reach remote areas. Others received vehicles that have multiple purposes of bringing indigent sick people to hospitals or distribute food, medicines, and clothing to calamity stricken families,” they added.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Monday expressed remorse for failing “to consider the pitfalls to which these grants could possibly lead.”

Arroyo, now a Congresswoman, allegedly gave the vehicles through the agency during a time when she was facing a threat of removal from the presidency due to accusations of corruption.

PCSO officials said an audit showed that P6.9 million in charity funds were used to buy vehicles upon the request of some bishops.

The agency added that using its fund for promotion of a specific religion is also unconstitutional citing the law on separation of Church and State.

List of vehicles

In a letter earlier submitted by the CBCP to the senate, attached was a list of vehicles all purchased in 2009 by seven dioceses using funding from the PCSO.

The Diocese of Bangued in Abra bought a Mitsubishi Strada pick-up worth P1.107 million in 2009 for “transport personnel and carry needed materials for service missions to the poor and needy.”

The Archdiocese of Cotabato got a Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace van worth P1.4 million, for its social action apostolate, like the distribution of “medicines and other relief goods to disaster-hit areas in the diocese.”

The Diocese of Isabela in the war-stricken province of Basilan also bought a Strada pick-up worth P1.225 million for its social action programs.

The Archdiocese of Zamboanga also bought a Grandia van worth P1.518 million on, also for “medical-related services.”

An Isuzu Crosswind utility van worth P720, 000, meanwhile, was received by the Caritas Nueva Segovia for its “health, dental and medical outreach programs.”

Pueblos’ personal request for a Montero included an explanation that it would be used for his “spiritual and social services to the people.”

The Diocese of Bontoc-Lagawe also bought a second-hand Nissan Pathfinder and an L-300 van from PCSO donation. [Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews]

Statement of Bishops at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee

Honorable Members of the Senate:

We thank this august body for inviting us to shed light on an issue that has deeply saddened not only the seven of us but all the Catholic faithful. We hope that our presence will aid your work of legislation. We shall reply with great respect to your questions as far as the facts enable us.

We are from provinces that have some of the most difficult areas that we as Bishops have to reach. Most of us are from calamity or conflict-stricken areas. We serve communities some of which are the poorest of the poor. Our vocation is to help them in so far as we can with our resources. When we lack resources, we seek the assistance of others, especially from those whose mandate is to provide assistance, particularly in health services and in charity.

Some of us received service vehicles from PCSO that are heavy duty 4 x 4 pick-ups in order for our social, health, and charitable services to reach remote areas. Others received vehicles that have multiple purposes of bringing indigent sick people to hospitals or distribute food, medicines, and clothing to calamity stricken families.

We are very grateful for the help extended to us. We still believe that we have not violated any law, or even the Constitution. We express our sadness that our sincere desire to help people and receive necessary assistance for doing so has confused, disturbed and even scandalized many of the Catholic faithful.

As our pastoral statement has said, we honestly “failed to consider the pitfalls to which these grants could possibly lead.” We also express our “readiness to do everything that is necessary to heal this wound so that we can all move forward in hope.”

For this reason, regardless of whether the acquisition of the vehicles has been lawful or unlawful, constitutional or unconstitutional, we are returning the vehicles. The vehicles in Mindanao are ready for immediate turnover to a duly authorized PCSO official. The vehicles in Luzon are right now outside the Senate for immediate turnover to PCSO officials.

Again, we thank Your Honors for this opportunity to voice our sentiments on this matter.

Thank you and God bless you.

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, O.M.I.
Bishop Rodolfo Beltran
Archbishop Ernesto Salgado
Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD
Archbishop Romulo Valles Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos

New papal nuncio to arrive in Manila Friday

MANILA, July 13, 2011— Newly-appointed Papal nuncio in the Philippines, Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, is set to arrive in Manila on Friday, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said.

According to Monsignor Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, Archbishop Pinto will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1 at 9:50am via Cathay Pacific from Chile.

Figura said the papal envoy will be welcomed at the airport by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar and other prelates.

Archbishop Pinto, previously the papal nuncio to Chile, is the 15th Papal representative and the 10th Apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.

On May 10, Pope Benedict XVI officially named the Italian prelate as apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, a seat left by his predecessor, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, last May 7.

Archbishop Adams was reassigned to Greece after almost 3 years in the Philippines.

Pinto holds a doctorate in Canon Law and is fluent in Italian, French, English, and Spanish.

He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on May 1, 1984. He had been posted in Papua New Guinea, Argentina, and Vatican City state secretariat. Pinto also served as apostolic nuncio to Senegal, Cape Verde, Mali, and Guinea-Bissau, and as apostolic delegate to Mauritania.

As apostolic nuncio, Pinto’s principal task will involve strengthening ties between the Pope and the Philippine President as well as the local bishops.

Pinto comes to the Philippines at a time when the Church’s image is challenged after some bishops accepted donations from a state-run lottery and became entangled in a corruption scandal. [CBCPNews]

Phl should use science and technology for poverty alleviation measure-Angara

MANILA, July 13, 2011-In the recent Novartis Biotechnology Leadership Camp, Senator Edgardo J. Angara urged the Philippine government to use science and technology as one of its chief poverty-alleviation measures.

Angara said that there is a need to improve the country's scientific and technological capacity to boost national competitiveness which, in turn, would stimulate wealth and job creation in the annual gathering of young biotechnology and life sciences students and graduates.

“The Philippines' competitiveness, as measured by international rankings, slips every year or improves only marginally because of lack of technological capacity,” he said, adding that the government has to realize that technological R&D is a critical tool for economic growth because it enables a country to produce innovations that would improve overall productivity, whether in manufacturing, agriculture, services or healthcare.

“Keeping to a business as usual attitude will have little effect in denting poverty. A gross domestic product growth rate of 5 percent on average every year is not enough. We need to grow consistently by at least 7 percent to lower poverty incidence from about 40 percent to 15 percent,” Angara said.

“The Philippines has to keep up with the increasing competitiveness of its Asian neighbors in order to capitalize on emerging trends showing that growth and wealth will be centered in Asia this century,” he added.

Angara said that S&T and R&D are the only ways by which the Philippines will prevent being left behind, citing studies by the European Commission and the Asian Development Bank. (Jason de Asis)

Bishop calls for grassroots-based observance of WYD

JULY 13, 2011—Young Filipino Catholics who cannot attend the upcoming World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, Spain next month should still be given the opportunity to participate in this youth event through activities in their parishes, organizations and dioceses.

This is why Legazpi, Albay Bishop Joel Baylon, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is urging youth ministers to set up occasions in the grassroots to create awareness of WYD and echo the global event in the level that is closer to the youth.

Baylon admitted that because of distance of the venue of the upcoming WYD from the Philippines, a great number of would-be WYD delegates have backed off from their plans mostly because they cannot afford the air fare. Proximity

As per ECY’s estimate, each WYD participant must shell out US$1,800 or roughly P78,000 for a two-way trip to Madrid, where the WYD will take place from August 16 to 21.

This amount is apart from those that will cover registration for the WYD event itself and separate registration for participation in the days in the diocese at Coria Caceres.

But Baylon said Filipino youth who cannot attend the WYD in Spain, either because of lack of money or time, could still involve themselves in this global event through activities in their parishes, organizations and dioceses.

“This is where our youth ministry structures get into the picture. They can establish ways to increase awareness on the WYD, most especially starting on the first week of August until WYD culminates on August 21,” he said.

Baylon urged youth ministers to bring WYD observance to the grassroots level by teaching the young the WYD theme song and animation or produce modules that will emphasize the WYD’s theme “Stand firm in the faith.”

“I’m calling them to set up structures, opportunities, occasions, activities and programs that will help our young people appreciate WYD and participate in this event in their own ways,” he added.

The prelate also consoled those who cannot make it to Madrid because of monetary concerns, saying that the essence of WYD transcends the physical celebration in Spain.

“WYD is not just an event that happens in Madrid. It is an event of young people all over the world and every single young person is invited to participate in it spiritually and in many ways that they can,” he said. (YouthPinoy)

PHL delegates backing out from WYD

MANILA, July 12, 2011―Just twenty-eight days before departure, quite a number of Philippine delegates to the World Youth Day are backing out from joining the event in Madrid, Spain, mostly for financial reasons.

An undisclosed number of delegates who are part of the official Episcopal Commission on Youth delegation of 436 pilgrims are canceling their trips due to monetary concerns.

ECY Executive Secretary, Fr. Conegundo Garganta said even those who have been given visa have decided not to proceed to the WYD because they cannot afford the airfare.

Each delegate will have to shell out an estimated USD 1,800 or Php 78,000 for a two-way trip to Madrid, Spain, aside from the WYD registration fee and other related expenses.

Fr. Garganta, however declined to give the exact number of delegates backing out.

He said some delegates have been phoning the ECY office informing them of their intention to back out but have not officially cancelled their participation.

Exchange students back out from WYD

Despite seemingly disheartening news, there are WYD pilgrims not joining the event for “better reasons.”

According to Milarie Babia, sub-group leader of Institucion Teresiana (IT) youth, there are 12 delegates from their sub-group who chose not to participate in the WYD because they will be sent as exchange students to Barcelona, Spain late this year.

“...They will be sent as exchange students for the ‘alternative learning program’ of their school, St. Pedro Poveda College,” she explained.

The alternative learning program is an annual exchange program of St. Pedro Poveda College where students are sent to schools outside the country to learn the country's culture and to exchange learnings with students there.

Fewer delegates this year

The number of delegates for this year’s WYD is just a little more than half the 800 delegates the ECY was able to send to the last WYD in Sydney, Australia in 2008.

Money is a major concern for most delegates, according to Maria Victoria Tacderas, senior staff of the ECY-NSYA.

“There are some [who] reach[ed] the last phase of the application and still back out because they can’t reach the minimum monetary requirement to sustain their trip,” she explained.

Tacderas also said that the distance of Spain from the Philippines also determines the monetary requirement that each delegate should meet. (Jandel Posion)

SUV scandal is Church ‘biggest wound’

MANILA, July 12, 2011—The Aquino administration has made a history in the Roman Catholic Church.

A senior prelate said the fund mess at state-owned lottery maybe the “biggest wound” inflicted by the government to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

In his 45-year experience as a member of the bishops’ collegial body, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the recent issue has dipped the image and credibility of the Church.

“There’s no other bigger than that. It caught the national attention for over two weeks already. And there’s even a hearing tomorrow. Therefore, this is not yet over,” Cruz said.

In fact, he said, in the history of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, this would be the first time that bishops will be investigated at the Senate.

“My time, I was a resource person in the crusade against jueteng (an illegal numbers game),” said Cruz.

In the past, he noted, the controversies that hounded the CBCP only involved individual bishops that were accused of having children as well as sexual harassment cases.

The CBCP yesterday apologized to the public after some of its members were accused of receiving sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) during the Arroyo administration.

Cruz, however, warned that the issue could turn into a nightmare and might end up to the discovery of more irregularities even at the current PCSO administration.

“I don’t think this will be the end of it. My only fear is that this could boomerang,” said Cruz but did not elaborate.

At least seven prelates have been implicated in the PCSO fund mess being probed by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Church leaders that were named as among the recipients of SUVs from the PCSO were Pueblos (Montero Sport), Bontoc-Lagawe Bishop Rodolfo Beltran (Nissan Pathfinder); Abra Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian (Mitsubishi Strada); Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace); Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad (Mitsubishi Strada); Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles (Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace); and Nueva Segovia Archbishop Ernesto Salgado (Isuzu Crosswind).

The said bishops will appear at the Senate probe on Wednesday except Salgado, who is reportedly out of the country.

They also have expressed their readiness to give back to PCSO the vehicles. (CBCPNews)

Farmers question P-Noy’s directive to appeal SC decision on Luisita

MANILA, July 12, 2011—Luisita farmers questioned the sincerity of President Aquino’s instruction to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision over the disputed 6,453 hectare sugar estate of the Cojuangcos in Tarlac.

"It’s a Trojan horse! A mere press release,” said Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) secretary-general Rodel Mesa, on President Benigno C. Aquino III directive to appeal the SC decision to conduct a referendum in order to arrive at a decision of what to do in the disputed hacienda.

UMA, together with other farmers’ and farm-workers’ groups, the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawa sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) and the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) had staged a walkout during the dialogue with DAR officials July 11, saying they sensed a dose of insincerity with the filing of the motion for reconsideration (MR) against the controversial decision by the High Tribunal last July 5th.

“It contains nothing concrete. It is just a press release and what President Benigno Simeon Aquino III really wants is a victory courtesy of a referendum accompanied by guns, goons and gold,” Mesa said in a statement.

The farm-workers’ leader said it is “unsafe” to rely with an MR penned by Malacañang for it is only a ‘cover-up’.

“The MR only means one thing: it is to convince the public that Mr. Aquino has nothing to do with the latest decision of the Supreme Court and the hard line stance of his family on [the issue of] Luisita,” Mesa explained.

Mesa said that the farm-workers and their supporters would continue their struggle for the equal and free distribution of the disputed hacienda.

Meanwhile, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL) assails Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr.’s statement that it was the Leftists and “outsiders” who made the situation worse.

"Actually, the Cojuangco-Aquinos are the real outsiders of Hacienda Luisita as they have never stepped on the mud, dropped sweat and labored on the land. Felix Nacpil, the late Federico Laza, Boy Dizon, the Laderas, the ancestors of Rene Galang, Lito Bais, Rodel Mesa and many others are the original developers of the land. The Cojuangco-Aquinos are also the ones who deploy forces of the military such as the army’s 70th Infantry Battalion to terrorize the farm-workers. They are the troublemakers, menace against the farm-workers who developed the hacienda,” said AMGL president Jose Canlas in an email sent to this reporter.

Canlas stressed that it is their “right and duty to support the farmers of Hacienda Luisita, as their struggle for genuine land reform is also ours.”

“They [AMBALA members] are our members and we have the responsibility to reinforce their struggle [for the equal distribution of Luisita lands],” he said.

Canlas also reiterated that the 6,000-hectare disputed lands are acquired using public funds, under an agreement that it has to be distributed after 10 years, thereby making the farm-workers the legitimate owners of the controversial hacienda.

“It is very clear that the Cojuangcos used public funds to acquire Hacienda Luisita in 1957 with the condition that it would be distributed to the farm-workers in 10 years. But they are now claiming the lands their own, clinging on control and repressing farmers’ struggle for genuine land reform. Peping Cojuangco sounded like a cold-blooded landlord, blaming others for the mess; he could not hide his backward mentality and opposition of land reform. The Cojuangcos are always in amnesia about how they acquired the land,” Canlas explained.

“And if you’re going further back, in history, the hacienda is used to be owned by the Spanish agro-corporation Tabacaleras [and] should have been distributed to the farmworkers as they were compelled by the presence of the Hukbalahap in the 1950s. Then president Ramon Magsaysay facilitated the transfer of control to the Cojuangcos, represented by president Aquino’s grandfather Jose “Don Pepe” Cojuangco,” he added. (Noel Sales Barcelona)