Freelance writers to help Sendong victims

ANTIPOLO City, January 22, 2012—The Freelance Writers’ Guild of the Philippines (FWGP) is now gathering textbook donations for the student-victims of massive flooding in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro caused by typhoon Sendong (International name: Washi).

“Typhoon Sendong did not only ruin lives, wrecked homes and damaged properties. It also destroyed books and with it drastically affected the education and future of the students,” reads FWGP statement posted in Facebook.

Teena Estrada, a member of the FWGP steering committee, said that the flood victims in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro are trying to rebuild their lives and the FWGP believes that education plays a big role in renewing the lives of the young people there.

“FWGP, in its own small way, would like to help the students slowly ease back into school by sending books to the libraries and school supplies to individual students,” Estrada said.

Donations can include textbooks and reference books for elementary and high school students; school supplies such as sharpeners, pencils, ballpens, erasers, scissors, pad papers, notebooks, envelopes, crayons, rulers, rolls of tape, pentel pens, manila papers, and other supplies; materials that students need in school like bags, socks, underwear, towels, toiletries, etc.; and cash.

“Donors can send their cash, if they are comfortable depositing it into individual accounts, since FWGP doesn’t have a bank account in its name yet. The said amount will be used in buying more school supplies and materials mentioned,” she said.

Estrada said that donors can send or deliver their donations in the following addresses:

Quezon City drop-off points
1. Bookay-Ukay bookstore, #55 Maginhawa St., QC
2. 78-C General Segundo St., Heroes Hill, QC

Makati drop-off points
1. Kanto Gallery (The Collective, 7274 Malugay St., Makati)
2. YesPinoy Foundation (4F Jose Cojuangco & Sons Bldg., dela Rosa cor. Palanca St., Makati)

Manila drop-off point
1. National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP Compound, 470 General Luna St., Intramuros, Manila)

For cash donations, please get in touch with FWGP through the numbers and email addresses below:

Ime Morales (FWGP) 0917.937.8617 / imelda.aznar@yahoo.com
Teena Estrada (FWGP) 0915.391.3129 / teena_osorio@yahoo.com
Jofti Villena Delizo (FWGP) 0908.894.5174 / joftivillena@gmail.com.

The deadline for sending donations is on January 28. [Noel Sales Barcelona/CBCPNews]

PH Anti-corporal punishment bill, first in Asia

MANILA, January 21, 2012—The anti-corporal punishment bill for children currently pending in the Philippine Senate, would be the first of its kind in Asia, if passed.

This according to Marta Santos País, the United Nations’ Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) on Violence Against Children, who visited Manila for a dialogue with children and children rights’ advocates, yesterday.

The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act authored by Bagong Henerasyon Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy and Tarlac (2nd District) Rep. Susan Yap, seeks to prevent hitting or any other forms of violent and humiliating punishment as a form of discipline to children. On the other hand, it promotes “positive” disciplining techniques among parents in order to eliminate the alleged cruelty against children.

País said that she will mention her visit in Manila and about the bill when she speaks before the delegates of the UN meeting on violence against children in Geneva on March.

“I will mention my visit in Manila and tell them that the Philippines is one of the most important countries where I had a dialogue with the children themselves and heard their recommendations on how to eliminate violence among them. I will also tell them that a law on anti-corporal punishment has been passed in the House of Representatives but is still pending in the Senate. I will also tell them that the bill needs to be passed as quickly as possible,” said País.

Hopes for a quick response of the PH Senate

Child Rights Network (CRN), meanwhile, hopes for the quick response of the Senate regarding the legislation of the law in Asia that prohibits the use, literally, of the stick as a tool for disciplining erring children.

“We hope that these recommendations will not fall on deaf ears and that our lawmakers and the concerned agencies will seriously consider enacting laws, strictly implementing existing laws, and establishing mechanisms to eliminate violence against children,” said child protection adviser of the non-governmental organization, Save the Children and CRN member Wilma Bañaga.

Corporal punishment has negative effects—studies

The CRN argued that violent and/or humiliating forms of discipline has negative effect on children. And some studies, sadly, show the truthfulness of this assertion.

In an essay published by the International Child and Youth Care Network (CYC-Net), an Africa based non-profit network of child care experts and advocates in 2001, it says that spanking, as a form of discipline, does not work most of the time; rather the painful punishment leaves a psychological and emotional scar on children being punished.

“The long-term use of corporal punishment tends to increase the probability of deviant and antisocial behaviours, such as aggression, adolescent delinquency and violent acts inside and outside the family as an adult. One explanation is that after living with violence that is considered ‘legitimate’, people expand this to accept violence that is not considered legitimate. For example, violent acts that are considered legitimate include maintaining order in schools by punishing children, deterring criminals and defending one’s country against foreign enemies. The ‘cultural spillover’ theory proposes that the more a society uses force for socially legitimate ends, the greater the tendency for those engaged in illegitimate behaviours to also use force to attain their own ends. Corporal punishment has been associated with a variety of psychological and behavioral disorders of children and adults, including anxiety, alcohol abuse, depression, withdrawal, low self-esteem, impulsiveness, delinquency and substance abuse,” the CYC-Net said.

What makes spanking and other forms of “cruel” punishment wrong is that its administration is during the “heat” of the moment, or the very instance when the child has done something that is perceived to be wrong.

“It seems that mild physical punishment will have some effect on aggression and delinquency if the punishment is administered in an atmosphere of warmth, reasoning, and acceptance. However, studies indicate that few children are spanked in this type of rational and warm emotional environment. Punishment is usually administered in the heat of the moment, when anger is the strongest emotional influence. Children tend to perceive corporal punishments administered in anger as rejection by the punisher – usually a parent or other person important to the child. The strength of this perception is determined by the severity and frequency of punishments received. The more rejected children feel, the more impaired their psychological adjustment tends to be. Perceived rejection and physical punishment each negatively affect the child’s emotional and psychological development,” the CYC-Net further explained.

Furthermore, the punishment of children comes not as a correction of the perceived misbehavior or wrongdoing of a child, but a symptom of the frustration of the adult allegedly disciplining the child.

“Caregivers who use corporal punishment are often angry, irritable, depressed, fatigued, and stressed. They apply the punishment at a time that they "have lost it," and caregivers frequently express remorse and agitation while punishing their children,” states Dr. Angelo Giardino, a WebMD Health Professional Network fellow in his article about child abuse published on April 19, 2011.

“To avoid this risk of harming the child and in order to model nonviolent behavior for children, many health care professionals advocate child discipline via consistent, nonphysical force based approaches such as time out, loss of privileges, expressions of parental disappointment, and grounding,” said Giardino. He added that approximately, 50 percent of US pediatricians are opposed generally to corporal punishment while about a third is completely opposing its use for they have also suffered much when they were children. [Noel Sales Barcelona/CBCPNews]

Pangasinan’s first cloistered monastery to be inaugurated

MANILA, January 20, 2012— The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan’s first cloistered monastery will be inaugurated on Saturday, January 21.

The Poor Clare Monastery of Saint James the Apostle, located at the Brgy. Nancapian, Malasiqui in Pangasinan is the result of almost a year of work by its parishioners.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who initiated the project, will lead the blessing at 10 a.m.

According to him, one of the very first concerns he immediately attended when he was appointed to the archdiocese was build a contemplative monastery as the “powerhouse of our active ministry.”

“One of the very first concerns I attended to was to insure that a community of contemplative nuns be present in our midst to pray for the sanctification of priests and to offer their hidden sacrifices to sustain our mission in the world,” said Villegas.

The prelate also said that the blessing of the monastery will be the only opportunity for the public to see its interior.

“After the blessing, the monastery will be closed perpetually and the life of sacrifice of the nuns will hence begin inside the cloister,” said Villegas.

The inauguration coincides with the start of the archdiocese’s jubilee year. [CBCPNews]

THE SON(NY) ALSO RISES

The above title is no play of words. Neither is pun intended. Truly, Congressman Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara is fast rising, following in the footsteps but not necessarily mimicking or imitating his illustrious father, Senator Edgardo J. Angara.

Congressman Sonny has been of late, pushed into the spotlight, first because of the Pulse Asia survey which ranked him among the top 12 Senatoriables in the coming 2013 elections and secondly, because of his uncanny role as one of the spokespersons of the House panel in the Coronavela involving the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The young lawmaker, although owing tons of gratitude to his surname, has been gradually moving out of the shadows of the senator, catching the discriminating public eye because of his quotable quotes and making a good account of his self in media interviews.

For someone who is a product of Harvard and the prestigious London School of Economics, the congressman’s phenomenal rise in the ranks of senatoriables is not stunning or earth-shaking surprising if you ask me. He is considered one of the brilliant minds in the august halls of the House of Representatives, one who can articulate and explain in layman’s terms legal issues which other lawmakers could not adequately explain.

I was told that the truly gifted lawmaker is not one who can play to the gallery or grandstand in the plenary during the session but someone who can engage in a truly intellectual discussion of issues during committee hearings. One can always engage in sound-bytes for publicity and pa-pogi points but in the committee hearings, that guy will instantly transform into a member, if not chairman, of the committee on silence for lack of ideas to churn out during panel discussions.

I was also told that two of the incumbent senators used to play to the gallery when they were still congressmen but during committee hearings, they groped for explanations, prompting Cong Sonny to butt in a number of times and explained to them the intricacies of the subject matter that was being discussed.

‘Yan si Cong Sonny, simple lang pero astig. Ganyan ang mga taga-Aurora, matatalino at magagaling.

Back to the recent Pulse Asia survey, considering that the elections are two years away and given that those up the ladder of the senatorial survey are veteran legislators and prominent government officials, Cong Sonny is no doubt up there with the best and the brightest.

Consider this: those in the surveys are Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas II, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, ex-Vice President Noli de Castro, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr., Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, ex-senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Congressman Angara, and ex-senators Jamby Madrigal and Richard Gordon.

No less ecstatic about Sonny’s emergence as a senatoriable is his own father who said that the Senate needs people who can articulate, interpolate and argue intellectually on any issue under the sun in the Senate.

“The Senate needs fresh blood now and someone brimming with intelligence. Now, we have non-performing senators na ‘di mo man lang makadebate,” says the senator.

Sounds arrogant but true and nothing but. We need not name names to argue our point.

Truly, Cong Sonny will be a refreshing face in the Senate. We Aurorans should keep our fingers crossed that he ends up victorious so that we will continue to have a voice in that august chamber immortalized by the men and women of our times.

As Congressman, Sonny Angara assures the public that he is independent from his father in his performance of duty particularly where decision making is called for. This is a strong manifestation that Cong. Angara is not working under the shadow of his father but rather working independently and pursuing his own program and agenda as a law maker. (Jason de Asis)

2 bishops call for speedy impeachment trial

MANILA, January 18, 2012— Two leaders of the Catholic Church called on the senate to fast track the impeachment trial against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and save people’s money.

Both Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable and Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz believe that the longer the trial gets, the more financially taxing it becomes for the people.

“I would wish that the impeachment process be fast-tracked because we are spending the people’s money,” Afable said.

“All those involved in the impeachment court from lawmakers, prosecutors, senator-judges, the staff and the witnesses are paid by the people… their wages are paid by the tax payers,” said Cruz.

This, according to the prelates, is unacceptable since the money could instead be channeled to more useful things for the public.

“(Typhoon) Sendong caused heavy damages but where’s the government’s attention? They are more focused at the Senate,” said Cruz.

On Tuesday, the Senate, seating as an impeachment court, was forced to postpone their proceedings after the House prosecution panel came unprepared to present their evidences.

The second day of impeachment proceedings lasted for about two hours or just a little longer than the opening day last Monday. [CBCPNews]

Aurora governor eyeing for new doctors and nurses

Sunrise at Sabang beach, Baler, Aurora. 

BALER, Aurora, January 17, 2012-Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo is now working for the hiring of additional medical manpower to equip the newly completed P594-million project of the new Aurora Memorial hospital (AMH) at the 3.8 hectare site in Brgy. Reserva with highly competent medical specialists, nurses and other personnels who will cater Aurorans and nearby provinces.

The governor said, for almost 20 years or since the devolution of public hospitals to the provincial government, district hospitals suffered from lack of specialized medical personnel resulting sometimes to the poor delivery of medical services since the old AMH is now almost 70 years old; thus, Angara-Castillo form her medical consultants into a pool of medical specialists who are on call and will serve as roving doctors to the hospital to cope with the medical needs and services of the hospital.

“I and other provincial officials recently met to map out plans and strategies to ensure the effective and efficient management and operations of the public hospitals under the supervision of the provincial capitol,” Angara-Castillo said.

The governor said that the provincial health and budget gave the provincial government officials several suggestions to properly address their concerns on the hiring and placement of competent and capable medical specialists and staff to ensure quality hospital service.

           

“I suggested that chiefs of hospitals, doctors and nurses to undergo trainings on hospital administration which the University of the Philippines offers through distance learning program to further improve the management of these government hospitals,” Angara-Castillo said, pointing out that the good of hospital services lies on the managerial skills of hospital chiefs, and on their constant coordination with their staff, patients and even to the community.

“Aside from our present doctors and nurses, we have now a new anesthesiologist and affiliate surgeon but still there is a pressing need for more medical specialists,” Angara-Castillo stressed.

Relative to this, Dr. Luisito G. Teh, provincial health officer said that since the turned over of the Japanese to Aurora provincial government last December 14, 2011, they were all in dry-run and familiarization of the newly state-of-the-art newly hospital equipment’s and facilities.

“We are all in hospital reforms to cope up with the latest technology of the hospital that was granted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),” Teh said.

Back to Angara-Castillo, she said that the scheduled setup for the hospital full operation on Aurora Day Celebration is now elastic due to the possible visits of President Aquino in the province particularly in the hospital.

It could be remembered that the old AMH has only 25-bed capacity hospital’s license was even lowered from Level 2 to Level 1 when the Department of Health clamped down on hospitals without a trained surgeon and an anesthesiologist; thus, the Angaras sought assistance from the Japanese government which, in response, conducted a preparatory survey in January 2009 and dispatched a basic design team in June of that same year.

On March 15, 2010, the Exchange of Notes was signed in Manila by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura. (Jason de Asis)

Bishops urge public to monitor impeachment trial

SC Chief Justice Corona.

MANILA, January 16, 2012— Catholic bishops called on the public to remain vigilant as the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona started Monday.

Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado stressed the need for vigilance to ensure that truth may prevail in the impeachment trial.

Mercado chairs the Episcopal Commission on Laity of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

According to him, the laity as Christians, are asked to become good citizens.

“So part of our being good citizens is to participate in matters that will pertain to the development of our society,” Mercado said.

“Now, the impeachment, perhaps political in nature, is some of the issues which have to be faced by us,” he said.

Bishops Jose Oliveros of Malolos and Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon also echoed Mercado’s statement, saying that the public should monitor the trial with the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

“The public should monitor it for them to see if it is done properly and for us to know the truth,” said Oliveros.

“An impeachment trial is trying to prove the political unacceptability of the accused. So the public should participate in some way whether the official concerned has betrayed the public trust,” according to Bastes. [CBCPNews]

‘Year of Mission’ highlights need for renewal of faith among faithful

MANILA, January 15, 2012—The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ declaration of 2012 as “Year of the Mission” highlights the need for renewal of faith and missionary spirit among faithful as more and more people veer away from the Catholic Church and its teachings.

This reality was pointed out by Marawi Bishop Edwin Angot de la Peña, MSP after the launching ceremonies of the “Year of the Mission” at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus in Pasay City Saturday, when he said that the Catholic Church needs to do everything it could to keep its flock and win back those who have left.

“The Year of the Mission simply wants to keep the people’s faith alive because people are moving away from Jesus Christ and it seems we are a very ‘distracted’ people with so many things that pull us out of our faith,” he said.

The 57-year old prelate said it appears the Filipinos’ expression of their faith is cultural and “sometimes to the point of fanaticism.”

He added the faithful should experience Jesus in their lives and such a situation should challenge Church people, priests, religious and lay.

“Spirituality is what is needed by the people,” he emphasized.

Asked as to what causes all the distraction, De la Peña said advances in technology pull people away from faith along with advances in Science which continue to separate people from the faith of their forebears.

“Somehow, we have lost the sense of the divine,” he said.

Meanwhile, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Mission executive secretary Fr. Socrates C. Mesiona, said there is a need to “fan the flame of missionary commitment.”

He noted the two big Church events that happened in the country, both of which emphasized the role of missionaries, —the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991 and the National Mission Congress held in Cebu in 2000.

“The time has come to [re]kindle the missionary enthusiasm specifically among the young,” he said.

He said that after eight decades of its establishment in the Philippines, still very few people know of the Pontifical Mission Societies’ existence.

Mesiona said they are trying to introduce lay vocation in the mission.

The priest also expressed alarm at the “de-Christianization” of Europe and the Americas which only underscores the connection between the declaration of “Year of the Mission” in the Philippines and the “Year of Faith” which Pope Benedict XVI will launch in October 2012.

He said Filipino missionaries, including religious women from Asia, are sent to Europe, the Americas and “practically, all over the world.”

The Pontifical Mission Society is directly under the Pontifical Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. There are seven mission territories in the Philippines, including the Apostolic Vicariates of Calapan, San Jose de Mindoro, Tabuk, Puerto Princesa, Taytay (Palawan), Jolo (Sulu), and Bontoc-Lagawe. (Melo Acuna)

Evangelization sans helping the needy is failure – Archbishop Soc

MANILA, January 14, 2012— It is unacceptable to evangelize without helping those who are suffering and in need, a ranking official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said.

To not be concerned with life’s temporal problems is going against the Gospel teaching of helping the needy, Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in his homily during the launching of the ‘Year of Mission’ on Saturday.

“Every missionary must reach out, proclaim, teach, baptize, pray and love. But a missionary must be helpful all the time regardless of convictions, regardless of faith, regardless of culture,” Villegas said.

“Helping hands, meaning to say we embrace all the tears, the joys, the successes, the defeats, the discouragements, the frustrations of humanity. Nothing that is human can be alien to the church. Because the Lord came from heaven in order to embrace fully our humanity,” he said.

Hundreds of faithful, mostly young people, graced the launching of the “Year of Pontifical Mission Society” held at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Pasay City.

It was declared by the CBCP this year to help Catholics deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others.

In his sermon, the Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop stressed the need for church leaders to always be engaged in “total development,” saying that the new name of evangelization is “human development.”

“We are not only proclaiming salvation for the soul but it is the salvation of body and soul, of total human development, of total human liberation,” said Villegas.

The prelate also reminded people that praying is not enough, adding that the original vocation of every baptized person is holiness.

“First and foremost in our accepting of the mission of the church we must make sure that we carry holiness of life,” said Villegas.

“Holiness of life does not mean praying all the time. Holiness of light does not mean staying in the church all the time. Holiness of life means loving Lord Jesus and living like Jesus.”

“Because at the sunset of our lives, if the only thing we can say is that I prayed a lot we might have difficulty entering heaven because what’s important in praying is that we love very much,” he added.

He also recalled that even the late Pope Paul VI, in addressing the young people, encouraged them to be saints.

“Do not be afraid to be holy…Do not be afraid to be unique among others. Be holy even if you see sin around you. Be holy even if you see compromise with evil around you,” he said.

Villegas also chairs the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE).

According to him, the Church is a missionary and everyone is called do the same.

“When we speak of the Church, that includes you. The missionaries are all of us because we are the Church that is why even if you are children, even if you are young, you are already missionaries in your own way because you are Church,” he said.

“We pray not only for more missionaries but holy, dedicated missionaries. But my dear young people, the missionaries are not outside, the missionaries are you,” Villegas said. [Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews]

7th ID army chief vows to end insurgency in Central Luzon

BALER, Aurora, January 13, 2012-The 7^th Infantry “Kaugnay” Division chief here renewed his target to totally eliminate insurgency problem in Central Luzon due to the continues dwindling number of rebels in the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga.

7^th ID Chief Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. said that as soon as possible before the end of this year the entire region will be tagged as “Clear Central Luzon (of NPAs-New Peoples’ Army) by 2012 and the next year in 2013 would be in Ilocos Region as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) program to eradicate insurgency problem in the rest of the country in the succeeding years.

“There were more or less 100 rebels left in Central Luzon and half of it are considered as organized crime groups (OCG) with lack of ideology and are just thriving on extortion and illegal activities particular the ‘Marxista-Leninista Partido ng Pilipinas;’ thus, the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan of the AFP was effective against security threats,” Mabanta said.

“It is in line with the AFP IPSP 4Ps strategy referring to People, Process and Systems, Partnership and Policy as the guiding principles of the soldiers to finish their mission for the love of the country,” he added but did not elaborate their strategies.

Mabanta emphasized that he sees his goal of an insurgency free region as first in the Philippine history to attain it as the number of communists in the region continues to decline.

Mabanta was a former military spokesman and a former chief of staff of the Philippine Marine Corps, ex-deputy chief of staff for operations or J3, and replaced Major General Ireneo Espino as commander of the 7th infantry division of the Philippine Army.

Mabanta had also served as commander of the Civil Relations Service (CRS) and as spokesman of the AFP. He graduated from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and was a member of class 1981 “Dimalupig” class. (Jason de Asis)

No need to impose 160% increase PhilHealth members’ contribution-Recto

MANILA, January 12, 2012-“There’s no need to impose a 160-percent increase in the members’ contributions to Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) considering its enormous cash reserves and huge subsidies from government,” Senator Ralph G. Recto said, explaining that PhilHealth could achieve viability and attain efficacy in its delivery of services without having to impose another burden to its members, which is essentially another form of payroll tax.

He cited deductions for withholding tax, SSS/GSIS, and Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth contributions are also automatically deducted from the payroll of workers.

Recto-who chairs the Senate ways and means committee and sits as senior vice-chair of the Senate budget panel said that PhilHealth may always decide to tap its retained earnings, which have peaked to P110 billion in 2010, to bankroll expansion of services and benefits such as reducing out of pocket expenses of members, adding that aside from sitting on its retained earnings that could eclipse by two-fold the entire budget of the Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth is also a consistent top recipient of state subsidies.

“PhilHealth was among the top agencies that have received the biggest slice of the P45.205 billion subsidies given out to state-owned corporations from January to November last 2011,” adding that in the first half of last year, PhilHealth already racked up P5.1 billion in subsidies from government.

The same GOCC is expected to receive the biggest part of this year’s programmed GOCC subsidy of P18.7 billion.

PhilHealth stands to receive P1.5 billion in the 2012 budget to cover premium payment arrears covering 2.9 million indigent families on top of the subsidies.

“What happened to these subsidies, and what are you doing with your billions in retained earnings?” Recto asked.

He said that the planned hike in premium payments would hurt struggling small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which have to contend with a buffet of regulatory compliance like membership in SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG.

“And we’re making it worse by increasing the premium payments of their workers, which are shouldered in part by them,” Recto said, adding that even local government units (LGUs) would be adversely affected by the move and as a result, create havoc in their fiscal planning for this year.

He said job generation would also be stifled as a result of the increase in PhilHealth premiums since companies will have second thoughts hiring more workers for fear of bloating their operating budget.

The senator said that he was not aware of any consultation held on that matter. “We are slashing the IRA of LGUs this year and here we are, making the life of LGUs more difficult by increasing the premiums of PhilHealth members,” he explained.

PhilHealth premium contributions for new members will increase from P300 to P600 quarterly or a total of P2,400 per year based in a circular approved by its board and based on their income tax returns-covered by the increase are members who are earning P25,000 a year. (Jason de Asis)

Diocese issues ‘fake priest’ warning

MANILA, January 12, 2012— Catholic Church officials have warned the public against a certain individual introducing himself as priest particularly in the Diocese of Parañaque.

Msgr. Benedicto Aquino, Parañaque diocese’s vice-chancellor, said a certain “Fr. Noel Ormenita” celebrated Mass in a condominium within San Isidro Labrador Parish in the name the church.

“Noel Ormenita is not a Roman Catholic priest and has no faculties to exercise the priestly ministry in the Diocese of Parañaque and everywhere else for that matter,” said Aquino.

In his communiqué, the church official also relayed another warning from the Diocese of Cabanatuan about the suspension order it imposed on Fr. Eliezer Navarro.

Navarro was previously assigned as “priest-on-loan” to the Diocese of Cubao and was suspended “indefinitely” by Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud.

Navarro, therefore, has no faculties to exercise his priestly ministry in any diocese.

“Fr. Navarro and Mr. Ormenita are prohibited from celebrating Mass and/or performing priestly functions in any school, chapel, funeral home, or private houses within the Diocese of Parañaque,” said Aquino.

“In case of doubt about the status of priests from other dioceses, please demand a celebret,” he added.

A "celebret" is a testimonial given to a priest when traveling that he is in good standing, with the accompanying request that he be permitted to say Mass. [CBCPNews]

Senate urged to ignore bickering between parties in Corona trial

MANILA, January 11, 2012— A Catholic bishop called on senators not to be swayed by the squabbling between Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona’s defense team and the House prosecution panel.

“We are hoping that the proper bodies will not be unduly influenced by these obvious maneuvers by the two parties,” said Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez.

Iñiguez chairs the Committee on Public Affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

The prelate, however, noted that bickering between the opposing parties cannot be avoided especially in a highly-politicized issue like the impeachment trial of Corona.

“What is important is the judges will still be objective and rule on the matter based on the facts presented in the trial proper,” stressed Iñiguez.

The CBCP official, on the other hand, appealed to the public to be rational in following the impeachment trial which is set on January 16 and not be judgmental.

“We should be critical observers of the would-be proceedings, follow it closely, and not make judgments immediately,” he said.

Corona earlier asked the Senate impeachment court to impose sanctions against the House prosecution panel for releasing purported evidence against him over the media before his trial begins.

But the prosecution panel countered by accusing Corona of resorting to delaying tactics by attempting to side-track the main issue at hand. [CBCPNews]

Quiapo rector affirms Black Nazarene procession terror threat

MANILA, January 10, 2011— Quiapo Church rector Msgr. Clemente Ignacio said there had been a terrorist threat to yesterday’s Black Nazarene procession but nothing stopped them to hold the yearly tradition.

The church official admitted he himself received the threat even before President Benigno Aquino III announced it to the public.

“Even before President Aquino arrived here (at Quiapo Church last Sunday), our security group in contact with the intelligence is already talking about it. There was a text message sent to me with the very concrete names of the bombers,” said Ignacio.

Over the weekend, Aquino issued a warning on a possible terror attack directed at the annual procession in Manila, which drew millions of devotees from various provinces.

This year’s procession of revered Black Nazarene statue took 22 hours from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church— the longest procession ever in the history of the traditional religious event.

Ignacio, though, said they still decided to push through with the procession especially with the dedication shown by the government in securing the people and the occasion.

“All the stakeholders talked about it and we are confident that the authorities are doing their jobs,” said the priest.

Aside from that, he disclosed that it would be very hard to back out from a religious event.

“Even Pope John Paul II, when he was in Latin America… I forgot the country but even with the armed conflict, the Mass continued. You cannot back out from the Holy Mass,” he stressed.

Police estimates indicate that as much as eight to nine million devotees had joined the religious event throughout the day. [CBCPNews]