Philippine Population Control Issues - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 9

bongax

March 2nd, 2010, 11:50 AM

Why would you want the Philippines to have one of the highest birth rates in the world? The target of the gov't is 1.9% annual growth but sadly, they failed to achieve this because of strong opposition from the Catholic church. Even if our economy will grow, if Filipinos continue to produce more babies, the burden on the part of the government is so heavy. Our GDP per capita is constrained. That is the economic aspect.

On health issues, giving condoms and having a sound choice i.e. artificial method, should be continued by Department of Health.

Congrats to Sec. Cabral.

related news:
Population rate not falling fast enough–Cabral

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:53:00 02/28/2010

Filed Under: Family planning, Population

MANILA--The government's family planning program has “not (been) as successful as we would want it to be,” Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has acknowledged.

Cabral told the Inquirer that “even as population growth is coming down, it is not coming down at the rate necessary to improve the socioeconomic status of the country.”

In an interview last week, Cabral said: “Our goal for the population growth rate by 2010 is 1.9 percent per year. It was 2.04 percent in 2008.”

Cabral said the government needed to “bring it down much more than that, like to a level of 1.3 to 1.4 percent per annum where the population will stabilize.”

Family planning remains one of the DOH’s thrusts, Cabral said, as she stressed the need to “fulfill our commitments as embodied in the (government’s) Medium-Term Development Plan and the MDG (United Nations Millennium Development Goals).”

Informed choice

“And they’re related to the reduction of infant and maternal mortality, as well as the control of widespread chronic diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and HIV-AIDS.”

Asked about problems facing the family planning program, Cabral said, “Principally, it’s because we do not have programs that should provide our families with an informed choice and with the means to exercise their choices.”

“It’s because our focus was really just on natural family planning,” she said.

“There’s nothing wrong with natural family planning,” she added, “It has been shown to also reduce the rate of unwanted pregnancies.”

“But it’s not the best method. There are other methods even better than natural family planning,” she said, apparently referring to artificial birth control means.

“The point is a person or a family must have a choice. And the choice must be informed,” she said.

On the Catholic Church’s opposition to the Department of Health’s population control program, Cabral said, “They are very open about it.”

Willing to negotiate

But she said that the DOH was “always willing to discuss and negotiate [the program].”

In its report on the Philippines, the UN Millennium Campaign (on the MDGs) said that “while the country is progressing well in its bid to achieve most of the MDG targets, a faster pace of gains is urgently needed to reach some of the 2015 goals, especially because poverty has increased in the country.”

“The country’s high population growth rate is diluting the gains of economic growth. The larger the population a country has, the greater will be the pressure on basic social services and on natural resources,” it said.

Here, “more than one million babies are born every year. They will be needing resources in the future, such as health care, schooling, food, clothing and later on, employment. Even today, these needs are not being met.”

Cabral: I’ll keep giving out condoms

By Maricar Cinco, DJ Yap
Inquirer Southern Luzon, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:14:00 03/02/2010

Filed Under: Health, Diseases, Family planning

SAN PEDRO, LAGUNA—Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said she would continue distributing condoms until June 30 or until her term ends despite calls from Catholic bishops to remove her from office.

“I serve at the pleasure of the President,” Cabral told reporters after the inauguration of a new government hospital in Barangay Narra here Sunday.

She said her term was coterminous with the President.

“By July 1, the [new] president is entitled to appoint his own secretary of health,” she said.

Cabral said the thrust of the government’s nationwide information drive to fight the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is the ABC campaign that has three components—abstinence, being faithful and the use of contraceptives.

“The third comes in if you can’t practice abstinence or fidelity,” she said.

Cabral said there were 4,400 registered cases of HIV in the country—an alarming 100-percent increase since 2008.

She said the department started “counting” the HIV cases in 1984 and noticed that the number had doubled in the last five years.

The government’s distribution of condoms on Valentine’s Day drew the ire of Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, and Bishops Dinualdo Gutierrez and Arturo Bastes from Marbel and Sorsogon, respectively. The prelates called for Cabral’s resignation.

Meanwhile, Akma-Partido Tinig ng Masa, a party-list group of call center agents, Monday called attention to the rising incidence of HIV-AIDS cases in its ranks.

Citing government statistics, Akma-PTM said about 50 percent of the estimated 5,000 HIV-AIDS cases in the country were workers in the call center industry, many of them unaware of the dangers of the sexually transmitted virus.

RonnieR does the catholic church strongly oppose?

On the Catholic Church’s opposition to the Department of Health’s population control program, Cabral said, “They are very open about it.”[/B]

Willing to negotiate

But she said that the DOH was “always willing to discuss and negotiate [the program].”

Jake_noypi

March 2nd, 2010, 11:52 AM

Ang mali lang nmn kasi is over populated tau ng mahihirap. Bakit kasi kung sino pa ang mahirap un pa ang anak ng anak. Ung mayayaman dapat ang nag aanak ng marami para maraming mayaman satin,hehe

xxxriainxxx

March 2nd, 2010, 11:55 AM

nadali mo rin, thats my point..
educate everything without biases..
teach everyone the consequences of these and those..
marami pa namang options..

yun naman talaga ang ginagawa ng government, pinipigilan lang ng mga Taliban na yan ang gobyerno to disseminate info and access to the artificial family planning methods. Dun ako bwisit.

bongax

March 2nd, 2010, 11:55 AM

hahaha right on. yun naman lagi nilang sinabi eh abortion na ang susunod. at may pa-trend trend pa silang nalalaman eh hindi nga maipatupad ang RH bill then may trending agad. ano to twitter?:bash:

kidding aside, the only trend that has been existing since the 70's is the unending poverty due to overpopulation. yun lang ang trend!

siyempre, di binibigla yan..

ok, nice arguing with you guys..
i'll visit this thread soon..
Thanks and God Bless....

Wind Shear

March 2nd, 2010, 07:04 PM

Honestly, I prefer contraception rather than abortion. The latter is too gruesome, it's like killing your own child.

Maxxclip

March 3rd, 2010, 01:48 AM

Bishops want Cabral’s head over condoms
by Leila Salaverria

... Because if you are a Catholic and in the government, you should be living the teachings of the Church. But she is doing the opposite,” he said.

4 out of 10 Pinoys won’t heed Church’s call vs pro-RH candidates (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/03/02/10/4-out-10-pinoys-won%E2%80%99t-heed-church%E2%80%99s-call-vs-pro-rh-candidates)

xxxriainxxx

March 3rd, 2010, 01:58 AM

4 out of 10 Pinoys won’t heed Church’s call vs pro-RH candidates (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/03/02/10/4-out-10-pinoys-won%E2%80%99t-heed-church%E2%80%99s-call-vs-pro-rh-candidates)

Salamat sa link. ;)

Retro

March 3rd, 2010, 08:26 AM

Metro Manila squatters balloon to half a million families :bash:
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 03/03/2010 9:56 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The problem of informal settlers continues to grow in Metro Manila, with at least 517,175 families identified in 13 local government units for the past year.

Of the total number of settlers, 232,123 families are occupying government-owned lands while another 173,536 families are occupying private-owned lands.

On the other hand, 81,628 families are living in houses in danger areas, 16,890 are from areas for priority development, and 11,866 families are from areas affected by government priority projects.

The Metro Manila Development Authority said the total number of informal settlers could swell above the 2007 record of 544,609 families once they receive updated figures from Pateros, Mandaluyong, Marikina and Paranaque.

MMDA Chairman Oscar Inocentes said the Metro Manila Inter-Agency Committee on Informal Settlers (MMIAC) will have more teeth to deal with illegal squatting issues when the MMIAC Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) finally gets approved by the committee.

The MMIAC is composed of the MMDA as the lead agency, the National Housing Authority as vice chair, and other member agencies such as Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, National Anti-Poverty Commission, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, Caritas Manila Housing Ministry, National Urban Poor Sectoral Council, and other agencies attached to the Office of the President.

MMIAC is the creation of the Executive Order 803 signed by President Arroyo on May 21, 2009 to carryout housing and resettlement of homeless citizens under the CSP.

Inocentes convened the MMIAC last February 26 to finalize the IRR framework, which will govern the implementation of the Comprehensive Shelter Program (CSP) in the National Capital Region.

The MMDA chief said one of the significant provisions of the draft MMIAC-IRR is the inclusion of the Department of Justice (DoJ) as the MMIAC’s prosecutorial arm against illegal and professional squatters.

“When everything is finalized, it will be the DoJ, through its provincial, municipal and city fiscals’ office, which will handle the prosecution of the illegal squatters. This way, we will be able to deal with squatters effectively and swiftly and move forward towards providing housing for qualified beneficiaries,” MMDA Chairman Oscar Inocentes stressed.

The chairman said instead of the local government units concerned, the DoJ would be the one to pursue the filing of charges against professional squatters or squatting syndicates who negate the government efforts to provide housing projects to underprivileged and homeless families.

It has been observed by the committee that some local politicians tolerate informal settlers since they rely on vote-rich colonies of informal settlers during elections.

The committee also agreed to change the schedule of its meeting to last Friday of each month, not quarterly as originally suggested, to fast-track the implementation of the its plans and programs.

absinthe_888

March 3rd, 2010, 09:03 AM

^^ I relocate ang mga yan sa lupain ng Simbahang Katolika.

Retro

March 3rd, 2010, 09:06 AM

Catholic Church seeks ban on condom ads
By Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:08:00 03/03/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Church hierarchy is not about to back down on its campaign to stop the distribution of condoms and is calling for a ban on its advertisements in media and public places, a statement from the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Wednesday.

“Condom advertisements should be banned from television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth's delicate conscience and weaken their moral fiber as future parents,” said Bishop Nereo Odchimar, CBCP president.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has been leading the charge in the distribution of condoms after health officials monitored the doubling of the deadly HIV-AIDS cases in the past year.

But Odchimar countered that the lucrative condom business has been targeting the adolescents and would, therefore, imperil their morality and family life.

HIV (human immuno-deficiency virus) leads to AIDS (acquired immuno deficiency syndrome), a condition in which the body’s immune systems are attacked and weakened, eventually leading to death.

The United Nations has blamed unprotected sex for the rising HIV cases in the country.

The virus is mainly transmitted through sex. The country’s first record of an HIV-AIDS case was made in 1984.

The UNAIDS has estimated that around 8,300 Filipinos are now living with HIV. The DoH has recorded only 4,400.

Retro

March 3rd, 2010, 09:14 AM

In support of Secretary Cabral
Opinion - Are we there yet by Bong Austero
Manila Standard Today - March 3, 2010

If I didn’t have my hands full with other pressing engagements last Monday, I would have been there at the Department of Health compound on Tayuman Street in Manila joining hands with women’s groups, non-government organizations, and people living with HIV/AIDS in support of beleaguered Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral.
From what I gathered from friends who were there, the crowd turnout wasn’t bad. Certainly not huge if we are to use El Shaddai or Jesus is Lord standards—but being able to gather close to three hundred live bodies is already a feat given the level of demonizing the cause, and Cabral herself, have been getting from the Catholic Church. Rallying in support of condoms is not exactly something one would usually like to be known for. Also, getting people to rally around and in support of a cabinet secretary of the present dispensation does not sound like a wise move.

But people did show up—and I am glad that they did. About time some people actually stand up to the bullying being done by the Catholic Church on the issue of condoms.

Cabral has been the object of heavy criticism from the Catholic Church on account of her steadfast commitment to promoting the use of condoms to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. At least three influential Catholic bishops have openly asked for her resignation as Health Secretary while other bishops have continued to crucify her in media and at the pulpit calling her immoral and incompetent. She’s not a good Catholic, they say.

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles labeled Cabral a bad leader since her condom-distribution program supposedly endangers people’s morals. “It is immoral for a government official to support the distribution of condoms which we know does not really reduce or stop the spread of HIV-AIDS,” Arguelles was quoted in various newspapers. The archbishop was quick to condemn Cabral for simply doing her job, which is to save lives while remaining oblivious to the fact that he perpetuated a blatant lie. Arguelles should be reminded of what former senator Juan Flavier used to say to admonish them: “It’s a sin to tell a lie.”

Two of the world’s leading experts on health, the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control in the United States, have repeatedly come out with position papers backed by empirical proof which firmly establish the fact that condoms are effective in preventing HIV infections. Laboratory studies have found that HIV does not pass through intact latex condoms even when these devices are stretched or stressed.

One comprehensive study conducted in Thailand specifically found that use of condoms led to dramatic decline in HIV infections. There have been hundreds of studies conducted all over the world to test the effectiveness of condoms against HIV—and all of these studies showed that the correct and consistent use of condoms have led to dramatic declines in HIV infections. One of the most convincing data on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV infection has been generated by studies conducted among couples where one partner was infected with HIV while the other was not. These studies showed that, with consistent condom use, the HIV infection rate among uninfected partners was less than 1 percent per year.

I am aware of course that some studies commissioned by the Catholic Church and other similar organizations that have been campaigning against the use of condoms showed—as can be expected given the intent of these studies—mixed results. But even these studies, despite their lack of objectivity and the absence of scientific rigor, recognize that condoms, even if only in principle, help prevent the spread of HIV. Of course these studies belabor certain contextual factors or statistical nuances to support their contention that condoms are not 100 percent effective.

Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said Cabral should quit as Health secretary because she was not a good Catholic. Gutierrez intoned: “Secretary Cabral should not continue serving until June because the culture and morality of society will be endangered under her. First, she does not respect the big number of Catholics in the country who oppose the distribution of condoms. Second, is she Catholic? I doubt that she is. Because if you are a Catholic and in the government, you should be living the teachings of the Church.”

I have a few points that I would like to ask the bishop. First, where is it written that being a Catholic—or being a good Catholic if he so insists—is a qualification for public office? Second, where in the Constitution does it say that the government should please Catholics in this country? And third, aren’t bishops supposed to lead by example and live the teachings of the Church? I ask this last question because I have always been of the impression that the Church is against lying and condemnation.

So yes, I am very glad that finally we have a health secretary who is standing up to the Catholic church on the matter of condoms (and if the scuttlebutt is to be believed, even on the issue of reproductive health). As some women’s groups have noted, Cabral is one of the very few—probably the first cabinet secretary after Juan Flavier—who has not capitulated to the demands of the bishops. It is my hope that she continues to be brave and resolute in her advocacy.

I’ve already written about this many times in this space, and I will say it again: The HIV/AIDS situation in the country has already reached an alarming stage. Just last December, the national registry recorded 126 cases of new HIV infections. That’s 126 new cases in only a month’s time and that figure is more than triple the monthly infection rates posted in 2009. And we are just talking reported cases here, we’re not talking about the cases that are hidden and not detected.

This is how alarming it has become: Most everyone I know has intimated to me that they know someone who has been diagnosed with HIV.

When we come to think about it, Cabral’s program of action to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS is actually not new or even unique. It’s the same three-pronged strategy that has been operationalized in the past two decades, as ABC: A for abstinence, B for being faithful to one partner, and C for correct and consistent use of condoms.
The Church wants the government to stick to the first option, which is to promote abstinence. There is nothing inherently wrong with teaching people to abstain from sex. The problem is that what do we do with people who can’t abstain from sex? What do we do with people who are not Catholics and who need tools to protect themselves from HIV infection? If we don’t teach people to use condoms, what do we do with couples where one partner is living with HIV? Its position on condoms is just one more proof of the growing irrelevance of the Catholic church. It seems the church is becoming more and more isolated and insulated from mainstream Philippine society.

rally

March 3rd, 2010, 10:02 AM

Does a mediocre player being part of a champion team makes him a superstar?
The Church has a stand on certain issues. Its the Church, not the priests. If they have done bad things, does it make you stop believing in God. We go to church not because of the priests.

modern slaves?binabayaran ba mga slaves?
again guys, huwag natin maliitin mga trabaho nila..

my point here is educate.
education is a powerful tool, way powerful than the elasticity of the condom and the strength of the RH bill..
eh, kung gusto natin hindi lolobo yung population meron nang ginawa ang Diyos na natural contraceptives diba and makikita lamang yan sa bawat kalendaryo ng bawat bahay..

I am reminded of the conflict between Rondo of the Boston Celtics and De Paul of Memphis Grizzlies ( not sure if this his team) on who is the best point guard in the NBA. sports analyst are one that de paul is the best point guard but he has no chmapionship ring to show for it. on the other hand rondo already has a championship ring but analyst point out that its largely because of his team consisting of Pierce, Allen and Garnett, that putting a mediocre pointguard with that kind of team will produce a championship. So i guess, yes a mediocre player in championship team gets to be a superstar. Ask any bench player in a championship team, they get their own 5 minutes of fame.

You have a point but they should practice what they preach and not be hypocrites appearing holier than thou. And yes, thats why i have remained a Catholic DESPITE of the priests.

As for education, well look at our present edcuational system and tell me if its helping at all.

And no I am not putting down the ofws but rather i pity them. NO question they are big help to our economy but at what cost, specially to the affected families.?

RonnieR

March 3rd, 2010, 10:19 AM

utmost hypocrisy!

Catholic bishops want condom ads banned

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 03/03/2010 4:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday called for a complete ban on condom ads in the country, saying that condoms only imperil the morality of the youth.

In a statement, CBCP President Nereo Odchimar said the condom business is a "multimillion dollar industry that heavily targets the adolescent market, at the expense of morality and family life."

"Condom advertisements should be banned in television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth’s delicate conscience and weaken their moral fiber as future parents," Odchimar said in a statement on the CBCP website.

The CBCP president questioned the Philippine government's thrust to promote condom use to combat the rising number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in the country. He said condoms should be required to have warning labels that say "Condoms may fail to protect from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases."

Odchimar said it was unjust for government to use the money of Catholic taxpayers for purposes that are against their moral beliefs. He said the funding and effort involved in promoting condoms should rather be used to fight diseases that afflict millions of people in the country each year, such as diarrhea, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, hypertension and influenza.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has come under fire from the CBCP for promoting condoms as part of the battle against HIV-AIDS. The health secretary said the distribution of condoms is part of the health department's 3-pronged approach to combat the spread of HIV in the country.

Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed a total of 4,400 HIV/AIDS cases from 1984 to December 2009. Since the Philippines started monitoring the disease, the number of cases has gone up from 1 to 4,424 confirmed cases.

The highest number was recorded in 2009 with a total of 835 cases. For the month of January 2010, new HIV cases reached an all-time high of 143. The figure has surpassed the 2009 high of 126 HIV cases, which was recorded in December last year.

"At the rate we are going, in 3 years, we are going to have more than 30,000 people with HIV/AIDS in the Philippines," the health secretary said.
as of 03/03/2010 4:52 PM

xxxriainxxx

March 3rd, 2010, 10:26 AM

^^ I relocate ang mga yan sa lupain ng Simbahang Katolika.

VERY GOOD IDEA! APRUB AKO DYAN!:cheers::cheers:

xxxriainxxx

March 3rd, 2010, 12:36 PM

The dangerous lies coming from the Philippine Taliban

CBCP Statement On the Government’s Revitalized Promotion of Condoms

THE Church, like the Good Shepherd, has always shown love and compassion towards those who suffer any form of affliction. Consistent with the truth and meaning of human sexuality, and God’s plan for the family, the Church reiterates that formation in authentic sexual values, more concretely expressed in premarital chastity and fidelity to spouse, is the only effective way to curb the spread of AIDS.

Given its high failure rate, the condom cannot really put a stop to AIDS. Moreover, by creating a false sense of security, it condones and encourages promiscuity outside of marriage, and hence contributes to the further spread of AIDS. Given their medical, social and moral implications, questions related with condom promotion and failure have to be seriously studied by the public, including:

a. The funding and effort involved in promoting condoms should rather be used to fight diseases that afflict millions of people in our country each year, such as diarrhea, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, hypertension and influenza. Available resources should instead be channeled to provide basic needs such as food, medicines, education and work. Furthermore, it is unjust that the taxes of the people including Catholics be used for purposes against their moral beliefs.
b. The condom business is a multi-million dollar industry that heavily targets the adolescent market, at the expense of morality and family life. Condom advertisements should be banned in television, radio, movies, newspapers, magazines, and public places, as they desensitize the youth’s delicate conscience and weaken their moral fibers as future parents.
c. Rich countries with ageing and imminently dwindling populations spend huge amounts to encourage their citizens to have more children. Why should they be allowed to also spend huge amounts to discourage Filipinos capable of having more children from doing so?
d. In the same way that the government requires warnings for certain substances (“Cigarette smoking is dangerous for your health” for tobacco, “Drink moderately” for alcoholic beverages, and “No therapeutic claims” for herbal medicines) the Department of Health should also require a Government Warning that states, “CONDOMS MAY FAIL TO PROTECT FROM AIDS AND OTHER SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES.” Consumer groups should insist on the right to know the real characteristics of products they use, and that corresponding labels be conspicuously displayed in packaging.

As explained in the CBCP’s document, In the Compassion of Jesus. A Pastoral Letter on AIDS, dated January 23, 1993, the Church spares no effort to help prevent the spread of AIDS. She serves and ministers to AIDS patients, and helps protect them from stigmatization, ostracism and condemnation. She educates the public on the prevention of the disease.

We urge parents, professional associations, civil society, youth organizations, the government, and the mass media, to be vigilant and take positive steps in guarding the total health and welfare of our people, and to form families in real loving and responsible relationships. This we should all do not only out of a religious concern, but in obedience to the Constitution as well. Parents in particular should stand for their Constitutional right to rear their children according to their values, and not allow any ideological, commercial, political or international strategic interest to stand in their way.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+NEREO P. ODCHIMAR, DD
Bishop of Tandag
President, CBCP
March 2, 2010

http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/12425

xxxriainxxx

March 3rd, 2010, 01:09 PM

Health execs in East Visayas back Cabral on condoms
By Joey A. Gabieta
Inquirer Visayas
First Posted 19:14:00 03/03/2010

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines—Department of Health officials in Eastern Visayas are standing by their embattled secretary who has been heavily chastised by Catholic bishops for the DOH condom distribution program.

The region’s health officials agree with Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral that the distribution of condoms has been primarily intended to fight the increasing number of cases of HIV-AIDS in the country and not as a means to gain more adherents to birth control, health assistant regional director Dr. Minerva Molon stressed on Wednesday.

“(We) are supporting the campaign of our secretary. The DOH is very strong on this campaign even to the point of being criticized by the Church,” Molon said.

She said the regional office here has not received any communication from the DOH central office about a possible distribution of condoms in the region.

Molon said the regional health office had no supply of condoms of its own but would distribute them if they were provided with condoms, Molon added.

The DOH records show 4,400 HIV cases throughout the country since 1984, when the DOH started monitoring cases. Eighteen of them are in Eastern Visayas.

Of the 18 HIV cases in the region, three of the have developed full-blown AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), according to Molon.

Molon also shrugged off the Church’s criticism that the distribution of condoms would promote promiscuity.

“Which is the lesser evil, the disease or the promiscuity?” she asked.

Molon stressed that her being a Catholic should not be confused with her stand on the use of condom.

But Fr. Amadeo Alvero, spokesperson of the Archbishop Jose Palma of the Palo Archdiocese, maintained that the distribution of condom would not do any good.

“Condoms would only lead to sexual promiscuity, loss of respect for women, conjugal infidelity and consequently to marriage separation,” Alvero said Wednesday.

“Contrary to the claim that it would prevent HIV-AIDS, condom helps such sickness to spread wide and uncontrollably because our society would become promiscuous,” he added.

HIV or the human immuno-deficiency virus is transmitted through sex or the sharing of syringes. It leads to AIDS, a condition in which the body’s immune systems are attacked and weakened, eventually leading to death

hakz2007

March 4th, 2010, 03:03 AM

CBCP seeks total ban on condom ads on tv, radio, in newspapers, etc. (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=262093)

MANILA, March 3 (PNA) -- The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is calling for a ban on condom advertisements in mass media as well as in public places.

CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar said condom ads should not be allowed on television, radio, in movies, newspapers, magazines, and also in places frequently visited by the public.

The Tandag prelate said they call for the banning of the promotion of condoms because it not affects morality and family life but also desensitizes the youth’s delicate conscience and weakens their moral fibers as future parents.

Meanwhile, the bishops’ group head urged the government to instead use their fund for condom promotion in fighting diseases such as diarrhea, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, hypertension, and influenza, which had affected many people in the country

“Available resources should instead be channeled to provide basic needs such as food, medicines, education and work. Furthermore, it is unjust that the taxes of the people, including Catholics, be used for purposes against their moral beliefs,” part of the CBCP statement read.

Likewise, the bishops said the government should just help in promoting premarital chastity and fidelity to one’s spouse saying these are more effective in curbing the spread of the dreaded AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

“The condom cannot really put a stop to AIDS. Moreover, by creating a false sense of security, it condones and encourages promiscuity outside of marriage, and hence contributes to the further spread of AIDS,” the statement added.

The group also urged the parents, professional associations, civil society, youth organizations, the government, and the mass media to be vigilant and take positive steps in guarding the total health and welfare of the people, to form families in real loving and responsible relationships.

“Parents, in particular, should stand for their Constitutional right to rear their children according to their values, and not allow ideological, commercial and political or international strategic interest to stand their way,” the statement furthered.

The issue on the use of condoms resurrected after the Department of Health (DOH) distributed free condoms at the Dangwa Flower Market in Manila last February 14, Valentine’s Day which was criticized by the Catholic Church.

The statement entitled “On the Government’s Revitalized Promotion of Condoms” was issued March 2 or a day after the bishops conducted their Permanent Council meeting at the CBCP main office in Intramuros, Manila. (PNA)

xxxriainxxx

March 4th, 2010, 03:52 AM

Minsan naiisip ko, kaya ang rason kaya gusto ng madaming Pinoy ng Simbahan Katolika ay para marami sumimba at umasa sa Diyos. Marami magbibigay ng pera sa kanila.

Chaka naisip ko, gusto nila na t@nga lang ang Pinoy. Kz kapag nakapag aral na, MAGIISIP.

Hindi mo lang guni guni yun - 333 years of frailocracy in the Philippines under the Spanish period proved that keeping the Indios ignorant means we will always be fractious, divided. If you have noticed, we are the only former colony by Spain that dint really speak Spanish - the language of the Spanish Cortes - it is because most of the friars here never bothered to teach everyone that in fear that we may press for greater freedoms and actual representation in the Cortes as a full fledged province of Spain or worse, rise in revolt (which we did anyway). On the other hand, our native dialects/languages thrived and flourished which was actually a good thing. Imagine all our languages/dialects wiped out in the name of one colonial tongue? Tsk.

Bricken Ridge

March 4th, 2010, 05:15 AM

le Reine

March 4th, 2010, 05:19 AM

^^pati ba naman ads? Lahat na lang ata. Feeling ata nila sa kanila ang Pilipinas.

xxxriainxxx

March 4th, 2010, 05:20 AM

^^pati ba naman ads? Lahat na lang ata. Feeling ata nila sa kanila ang Pilipinas.

Korek, I think we are fast becoming a theocratic state.

hokage

March 4th, 2010, 05:30 AM

Korek, I think we are fast becoming a theocratic state.

^^

The INQUISITION here we come!!!

Sleepwalker

March 4th, 2010, 05:32 AM

^^The Catholic church always talk about morality...Pretty ironic, because the church is not that popular in helping people except telling us that being poor here on earth will make us rich in heaven. People who are supposed to be the men of God are the most pretentious. Known some of them, who sings Halleluahs (church choir) but owns a cabaret and prostitution dens.

I am a Catholic, but now I started to connect to God directly. As @Maxxclip said before, how can a blind guide another blind?

Forgive me for being OT. I just want to share, that if we give all our faith to those men in cassocks, we will all go down. In the past, those "holy" men were noted of using the most notorious form of torture to those who oppose church. Talking about mercy and compassion... :ohno:

tigidig14

March 4th, 2010, 08:31 AM

tapos may mag assassinate sa bishop hehehe
pati naman condom pinaba-ban talagang backward ang katoliko sa pilipinas...haayz
dapat sa mga bishop na ganyan sinusumbong sa roma, para maparusuhan... latigo hehe

absinthe_888

March 4th, 2010, 09:12 AM

^^pati ba naman ads? Lahat na lang ata. Feeling ata nila sa kanila ang Pilipinas.

Korek, I think we are fast becoming a theocratic state.

^^The Catholic church always talk about morality...Pretty ironic, because the church is not that popular in helping people except telling us that being poor here on earth will make us rich in heaven. People who are supposed to be the men of God are the most pretentious. Known some of them, who sings Halleluahs (church choir) but owns a cabaret and prostitution dens.

I am a Catholic, but now I started to connect to God directly. As @Maxxclip said before, how can a blind guide another blind?

Forgive me for being OT. I just want to share, that if we give all our faith to those men in cassocks, we will all go down. In the past, those "holy" men were noted of using the most notorious form of torture to those who oppose church. Talking about mercy and compassion... :ohno:

Minsan naiisip ko, kaya ang rason kaya gusto ng madaming Pinoy ng Simbahan Katolika ay para marami sumimba at umasa sa Diyos. Marami magbibigay ng pera sa kanila.

Chaka naisip ko, gusto nila na t@nga lang ang Pinoy. Kz kapag nakapag aral na, MAGIISIP.

xxxriainxxx

March 4th, 2010, 10:56 AM

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 01:24 AM

Intolerance
Editorial

IN THE EYES OF SOME CATHOLIC BISHOPS, HEALTH Secretary Esperanza Cabral has committed a crime worse than the Maguindanao massacre, a sin deadlier than the election fraud that marred the 2004 presidential vote. She has distributed free condoms.

Bishops who were not heard from after the gruesome massacre hit the news, or kept quiet after President Macapagal-Arroyo gave her infamous “I am sorry” speech, have attacked Cabral for abetting immorality, if not being immoral herself.

It is immoral for a government official to support the distribution of condoms which we know do not really reduce or stop the spread of HIV-AIDS,” Archbishop of Lipa Ramon Arguelles said in a radio interview. Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez raised the stakes, calling on Cabral to resign. “First, she does not respect the big number of Catholics in the country who oppose the distribution of condoms. Second, is she Catholic? I doubt that she is. Because if you are a Catholic and in the government, you should be living the teachings of the Church. But she is doing the opposite.

The two good bishops are not only being uncharitable (by refusing to understand Cabral on her own terms, or denying her even the consolation of good intentions); they are also being mentally dishonest. Do we “know,” as a matter of fact, that condoms do not “reduce or stop the spread of HIV-AIDS”? The best we can say is that each side has statistics to back its stand. Is Cabral, in fact, arguing that condoms are the only means, or even the best means, to stop the spread of the dreaded disease? The Department of Health has patiently explained that its strategy for stopping the deadly spread is three-pronged, summed up in the acronym ABC: A for abstention from sex, B for being faithful to one’s partner, C for use of condoms. Has the Church, in fact, learned to adjust its arguments by factoring in popularity? With equal precision, Cabral can point to “the big number of Catholics in the country” who are open to the idea of condom use to stop the spread of HIV-AIDS. Not least, is a layman’s disagreement with Church leaders on their most controversial teaching now more important, from the Catholic perspective, than the grace of baptism, the commitment to faith and good works, the conduct of a blameless life? The vehemence of the good bishops’ tirade against Cabral is shocking, to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

We understand where the bishops are coming from. The Catholic Church considers all acts “to render procreation impossible” (such as, for example, the use of condoms) intrinsically evil, a teaching that took its present shape over 40 years ago, with “Humanae Vitae.” But even if all Filipino Catholics were to accept that teaching in full, it is still “only” a religious teaching; it cannot be used to decide state affairs.

Consider the following scenario. If a respected Muslim leader passed away, let’s say of a rare and potentially widely infectious disease, and the health secretary issued an order that effectively prevented the eminent leader from being buried according to the strictest Islamic code, Muslim communities might be justified in feeling outraged. But will they be justified in asking for the resignation of the offending government official based entirely on religious considerations?

The problem with the intolerant attitude of the two good bishops is that, as far as contraception is concerned, they want Catholic doctrine to effectively dictate government policy. The difference with the welcome stance of the Catholic bishops on the death penalty is instructive: while the very many bishops and priests and nuns who have come out against capital punishment base their opposition on fundamental Christian doctrine, their arguments are not religious alone, but moral as well as practical: a flawed justice system cannot correct a legal execution; almost everyone on death row is poor; and so on and so forth.

On the other hand, the DOH’s avowed purpose for distributing condoms is literally life-saving: to save Filipinos from the deadly disease. As Cabral has explained, the “doubling time” for HIV-AIDS cases has accelerated from 10 years to one year. “So, at this rate, now we have a total of 4,400 cases of HIV and AIDS known to us. At the end of the year, that would be 8,800.” It would be immoral—and indeed against the very precepts of the Catholic faith—not to do all that we can to stop that.

Sleepwalker

March 5th, 2010, 04:04 AM

^^Why are the men of the church so against this condom campaign. Dr. Cabral is not forcing them to use it if they don't like.

I know they prefer the pure heavenly glory.

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 04:15 AM

^^

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/10/07/po3.jpg

The pontiff said condoms were not the answer to the continent's fight against HIV and Aids and could make the problem worse.

The Roman Catholic church encourages sexual abstinence and fidelity to prevent the disease from spreading, but it is a policy that has divided some clergy working with Aids patients.

The pontiff, speaking to journalists on his flight, said the condition was "a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/17/pope-africa-condoms-aids)".

Sleepwalker

March 5th, 2010, 04:20 AM

^^The combination of both is better (a little of abstinence and 100% rubber). Too much abstinence will make people crazy. Sex is part of human life. Isn't it a sin also for not using fully of what you have?

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 04:52 AM

according to the New Testament:

we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+21:25&version=NIV)

let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

the body is not meant for sexual immorality,...

so

Flee from sexual immorality.

We should not commit sexual immorality

..., for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

RonnieR

March 5th, 2010, 05:04 AM

Philippines is a secular state. WE should remind these bishops. Maybe these bishops don't understand the meaning of secular:

SECULAR: having no relation to religion or church. :)

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 05:11 AM

the government will decides what is best for our country; the Church for our soul:)

Maxxclip

March 5th, 2010, 05:19 AM

ibinigay ang utak para sa ikabubuti ng tao

ibinigay ang puso para sa ikararangal ng tao

Reginon

March 5th, 2010, 04:08 PM

It is most encouraging to see so many Catholics recognise how absent from reality the Catholic hierarchy are. The more society recognises there is a big difference between "Catholics" as a whole and the dirge that comes out of the Vatican the better. More power to you and I hope your views as Catholics start to get more media attention than your "leaders".

Another take on the Philippine scenario...

http://www.mockgod.com/blog/

Maxxclip

March 6th, 2010, 02:29 AM

Condoms find defender in Estrada
by Christian V. Esguerra

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Presidential candidate former president Joseph Estrada on Friday branded as unrealistic the call of Catholic bishops to ban advertisements of condom products, adding such a ban could restrict the freedom of consumers to choose the kind of products they could buy.

“It’s an overkill, I would say,” he told reporters at the Waterfront Hotel here. “To me, it’s out of touch with reality.”

Estrada, who is known to have fathered several children out of wedlock and possibly a non-condom user himself, said that even predominantly Catholic Italy where the Vatican was based was not strict about the sale of condoms. He pointed out that such contraceptives were openly sold on the sidewalks of Rome.

“In our case, how come we have to ban these advertisements?” he asked in Filipino. “The Filipino should be given the right to decide.”

He further said that the matter of reproductive health and the related issue of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) should be studied closely by the government.

Jose Apolinario “Jun” Lozada, a former envoy to the Holy See and a member of Estrada’s senatorial ticket, said both the Catholic Church hierarchy and the government should come up with a “middle ground” on the issue.

Reginon

March 6th, 2010, 12:06 PM

Condoms find defender in Estrada
by Christian V. Esguerra

Jose Apolinario “Jun” Lozada, a former envoy to the Holy See and a member of Estrada’s senatorial ticket, said both the Catholic Church hierarchy and the government should come up with a “middle ground” on the issue.

The 'middle ground' only needs to come from the Catholic Bishop's side. Abstinence and monogamy is already part of the campaign, a campaign to prevent HIV/AIDS not to stop catholic babies from being born.

Still, it's good to see some more sense being spoken http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/smilies/beer.gif

Maxxclip

March 9th, 2010, 01:46 AM

The Catholic debate on condoms
by Ted Laguatan, Esq.

CALIFORNIA, United States—“I don’t get as much pleasure using condoms, but I don’t like playing Russian roulette either.” says Jun who is into massage parlor sex.

Despite calls for her resignation by some Catholic Bishops, Philippine Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral says: “I’ll keep on distributing condoms until my term ends.” She wants to prevent the rapid spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a deadly sexually transmitted disease (STD).

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and other bishops take the position that condom distribution promotes promiscuity and that it leads to the increase of AIDS as the use of condoms is not an absolutely fail-safe protection, suggesting that abstinence is the best policy. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) even wants a total ban on condom advertisements and condom distribution announcements, clearly a violation of constitutionally protected free speech rights.

Should the government distribute condoms?

Here’s my take on this issue:

Abstinence is a good policy, but it’s not the only policy and may not be realistically workable.

If the objective is to stop the spread of AIDS and other STDs, in some circumstances, the abstinence admonition is clearly wishful dreaming. Let’s look at two situations.

Thousands of indigent Filipinos work in the sex industry because of crushing poverty: Men and women, boys and girls, some as young as 12 or even younger all face the likely probability of being infected with the AIDS virus or some other equally deadly STDs. “We now have 4,400 registered HIV cases out of probably 5,000 victims, a 100-percent increase from 2008,” said Cabral.

Another situation pertains to married or unmarried individuals with STD-positive partners.

In both situations, sex is already an ongoing fact of life reality. Admonishing the players to stop and expect them to obey is about as realistic as Kris Aquino becoming Pope. Telling desperately poor sex workers to quit when neither the government nor the church is in a position to provide alternative livelihoods is like telling them to starve.

Rather than for people becoming seriously sick, suffer much, and die early, a more humanistic and Christian attitude is to provide protection. Preventing the spread of AIDS saves already stretched government health care resources, allowing for services in other areas. Educational information campaigns and condoms will help prevent STDs more than harsh lecturing about the evils of sin, although that also may be relevant.

Government condom distribution is good policy. Used properly, condoms protect against deadly STDs and will prevent the lightning spread of these terrible diseases. Granting that there is a 10-percent failure rate due to misuse or manufacturing defects, 90-percent effectivity is still very acceptable.

Whether the easy availability of condoms leads to promiscuity or not is a matter of uncertain conjecture.

A promiscuous person will constantly be looking for sex whether condoms or other contraceptives are available or not. On the other hand, a non-promiscuous person does not necessarily become promiscuous even if he or she has a bagful of contraceptives.

It still boils down to the individual making a choice. It’s not as if he or she is compelled to have sex simply because contraceptives are available. A non-alcoholic with a bar full of liquor does not necessarily mean he will be an alcoholic.

Let’s even assume for the sake of argument that easy access to condoms leads to promiscuity and easy access leads to preventing the rapidly spreading deadly AIDS disease, that is a higher good in the order of discretion priorities.

Consider also that sans condoms, a good number of pregnancies inevitably occur with sex worker girls and women. Some resort to abortion. It’s better to avoid pregnancies by having their customers use condoms than to resort to the greater evil of abortions.

Many Filipino males lose their virginity in their early teenage years and it’s usually with a prostitute. It’s best that they know how to protect themselves from AIDS and other STDs than be infected. They should be made aware of the use of condoms.

Some anti-condom groups claim that in Thailand, despite the government policy of condom distribution, there’s still a high rate of AIDS incidence.

Consider how much higher it would be without condoms. It cannot also be assumed that those who have AIDS in Thailand used condoms and still got infected. More likely than not, many did not use condoms. Many men do not use condoms because of the diminished pleasure. As such, they get infected with AIDS.

The incidence of AIDS in Thailand does not mean the government condom distribution policy is a failure. Some AIDS will always be present in a country’s population because unprotected sex inevitably does happen. Some also live high-risk lifestyles.

The bishops and their supporters mean well. They understandably want to prevent sinful unbridled sex from proliferating which is of course good, but I believe they fail to see the bigger picture. They focus on preventing sin and not so much about caring for human beings despite their sin. The sin we should condemn, but not the sinner. We do so if we don’t save him or her from STDs.

Which is more moral or immoral? Distributing condoms to prevent the spread of deadly STDs that cause people to suffer and die or advocating an unrealistic abstinence policy that factually absolutely does not work.

I believe God gave us two commandments: “Love God above everything else; and love our fellowmen as ourselves.” He also admonished us not to fear life, meaning among other things to have the courage to use our God-given intelligence when we are in good faith even if we have to go against a sometimes blind establishment. In the end, it is not the church which will save us but our own good conscience and God’s love and mercy.

We cannot have a church that proclaims love but does not show love to AIDS-challenged poor and powerless sex workers. We cannot have a church that proclaims life but sows the seeds of death by refusing to allow the use of effective practical means against AIDS. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+41:29&version=NIV)

There are those who see God as a punishing God who brought AIDS into the world to punish sinners.

There are also those who see God as a forgiving loving God who gives us the opportunity and freedom to express our love helping our AIDS-positive fellowmen and preventing others from being infected, and in so doing find meaning in our lives.

I chose to believe in a loving forgiving God. And yes I am a Catholic.

Maxxclip

March 9th, 2010, 03:23 AM

Women activists present condoms to Catholic bishops

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Catholic bishops, already waging a bitter battle with the government over birth control, received an unwelcome gift Monday when female activists delivered them two baskets of condoms.

Members of the leftist Party of the Workers presented the condoms to mark International Women's Day as they picketed the headquarters of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila.

They also asked the bishops to bless the two baskets but no bishop was present at the time to respond.

"We humbly ask the bishops to bless the condoms as a conciliatory gesture to unite for reproductive health and women’s rights," said Judy Ann Miranda, the party's secretary-general.

The picket came after the bishops angrily demanded the resignation of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral for handing out condoms on February 13 as part of an information campaign on HIV-AIDS.

The bishops have since also called for a ban on condom advertising but the government has shrugged off their demands.

In reaction to the protest by the Party of the Workers, the bishops' spokesman Monsignor Pedro Quitorio said they could not compromise on the church's opposition to birth control devices.

"If contraceptives are immoral, nothing can change that... not even the vote of the whole country can change that," (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100308-257496/Women-activists-present-condoms-to-Catholic-bishops) he said.

About 75 million Filipinos, out of a national population of some 93 million, are Catholics, a legacy of the country's Spanish colonial past.

The Roman Catholic Church disallows the use of artificial contraceptives like condoms, even for preventing the spread of disease.

Health Department records say there are 629 confirmed cases of HIV-AIDS in the country but experts say many cases go unreported.

Retro

March 9th, 2010, 03:41 AM

^^ Yesterday in DZXL RMN radio show Sec. Favila of DTI was being interview by local RMN broadcaster. According to him one conclusion he learned from working in Gov't. is the annual population growth rate of 2% is hard to balance with our GDP. He think this would be main problem the next president should address immediately. Either to increase our GDP figure or lower the annual population growth rate number.

So this conclusion draw-up to my mind that the best presidentiable candidate should be a good economic manager and has no tie-up with religious sector in order to balance the GDP vs population growth rate :cheers:

Maxxclip

March 9th, 2010, 03:49 AM

So this conclusion draw-up to my mind that the best presidentiable candidate should be a good economic manager, not corrupt, and has no tie-up with religious sector in order to balance the GDP vs population growth rate :cheers:

Maxxclip

March 10th, 2010, 12:41 AM

Militants in full support of condom distribution
Sec. Gen. Judy Ann Miranda
Partido ng Manggagawa

SHE MAY HAVE ANTAGONIZED THE ROMAN Catholic Church for distributing condoms during Valentine’s Day but Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral’s effort to make condoms available to Filipinos is supported by militant workers.

However, we urge the DOH to distribute artificial contraceptives not as a PR gimmick but as a permanent program and on a “large-scale” to enable men and women, especially the poor, to have access to reproductive health services.

The DOH should provide Filipinos, especially the poor, with condoms and other artificial contraceptives on a regular basis through the barangay health centers. The distribution should go hand in hand with educational discussions on the use of contraceptives in relation to the spread of HIV-AIDS, spacing of children, unwanted pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, among others.

The government, through the health department, should address the unmet need for effective contraception among women, especially poor women. Reproductive health is a primary concern of individual women yet a woman’s choice has always been challenged by institutions based on moral standards.

Contrary to the Church’s pronouncements that this is a moral issue, the distribution of condom to address the spread of HIV-AIDS is rather a reproductive health concern that should be practically addressed through widespread education and provision of appropriate social services.

According to “The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and Recent Trends” by Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheeia Singh and Rubina Hussain (Guttmacher Institute, New York, 2005), “one of every two married women did not want a child soon or wanted no more children, but were not using a contraceptive method.”

This only means that women and men actually want to reduce the number of children but do not have the means to do so. In poorer communities, one condom would amount to a pack of noodles. To countless half-starved families, food would definitely come first over safe sex.

We support the passage of the reproductive health bill which promotes active government role in providing reproductive health care and education among women and men, including the use of artificial contraceptives.

Maxxclip

March 10th, 2010, 02:39 AM

Catholic Church open to dialogue on contraceptives
by Leslie Ann Aquino

The Catholic Church is open to dialogue with Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral on the issue of artificial contraceptives, Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Media Director, said.

“In principle it's best if there’s discussion. The communication lines are open. It’s better than building fences,” Quitorio said.

Quitorio also clarified reports that it was not the bishops who challenged pro-life activist Dr. Ligaya Acosta to a debate on the effectiveness of condom use in preventing the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rather a representative of the Human Life International. “It was not the CBCP or the bishops who summoned that (debate) rather it was Ligaya Acosta. But it came out in the media as if we were the ones who called for it,” said Quitorio.

“But on our side we see nothing wrong with that. It’s better to talk than not to talk,” he added.

manila_eye

March 10th, 2010, 04:02 PM

Out of Topic:

Hi Maxxclip. Could you give me a link of the Antonio Luna - Cojuanco connection??? I belive you were the one who posted it in Halalan thread before. I was trying to pm you but yours is disabled. Thanks.

Maxxclip

March 11th, 2010, 12:36 AM

^^nope:) i think it's @TheAvenger who posted it:colgate:

here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=454245&page=40)

Maxxclip

March 11th, 2010, 01:03 AM

Bishops asks actors not to push for condom use
by Leila Salaverria

MANILA, Philippines—Catholic bishops implored movie stars on Wednesday not to endorse condoms, saying they must remain good examples and should safeguard "the morality of the people."

Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, former President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said actors and actresses are emulated by the public who adore them, and should thus be more responsible in choosing what products to support.

“The Catholic Church disagrees with the use of artists to promote condoms. That is why we are appealing to them not to allow themselves to be used by the Department of Health because as artists, they have a public image that is emulated by people,” he said in an interview over Radio Veritas.

“As public figures, they have an obligation to society to safeguard morality, especially that of the youth who admire them,” he added.

Earlier reports said the DOH was planning to use celebrities to promote the use of condoms to curb the spread of HIV-AIDS.

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes also made the same call over Radio Veritas, and implored celebrities to use their conscience and not allow themselves to be convinced by the DOH to support condom use.

Bastes had harsh words for Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, whom he described as a “stubborn woman… leading the innocents to hell."

The Catholic Church has been up in arms against the DOH's promotion of the prophylactics, saying the act was tantamount to "advocating immorality."

But women's and workers' groups have thrown their support behind the DOH and Cabral, saying the distribution of condoms was beneficial to women's reproductive health.

rally

March 11th, 2010, 01:54 AM

^^ he he he you can do anything else for so long as you do not promote condoms, then its ok with the RC.:) just like the politicians, you can be corrupt nad what else but if your anti RH bill, your ok with the RC church.:nuts:

Sleepwalker

March 11th, 2010, 04:45 AM

^^Good point, Sir Rally...I wonder what is the best description for that kind of reasoning or logic... :)

Anyway, let us not forget that Catholic church is also know for it's dark past - unimaginable tortures, wars and murders of the so called "heretics". :)

Maxxclip

March 11th, 2010, 08:44 AM

Bishops asks actors not to push for condom use
by Leila Salaverria

Palace sees nothing wrong in tapping celebrity endorsers

MANILA – A Malacañang official sees nothing wrong if the Department of Health (DOH) will seek the help of celebrities in spreading awareness against HIV-Aids.

Deputy Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo said the celebrity endorsers would be a good idea but the concept of the advertisement should still be given primary consideration.

“If a certain policy seems to be good whatever that policy seems to be, well celebrity endorser helps to promote. So if a policy is good, then that’s fine but whether that policy is a policy of the government or not it’s a different issue,” he said.

Saludo avoided mentioning about condom advertisement which has been a hot topic between the DOH and the church groups.

He stressed that the DOH does not only promote the use of condoms as solution to curb HIV-Aids spread.

manila_eye

March 11th, 2010, 09:18 AM

^^nope:) i think it's @TheAvenger who posted it:colgate:

here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=454245&page=40)

hehehe thanks!

i hope that DOH will get "popular actors" to promote safe sex. i remember rosanna roces did that before and the CC went loco over it.

RonnieR

March 11th, 2010, 10:08 AM

^^ Robin Padilla has an ad for condom, right? but he is a Moslem convert. It would be good to see Catholic actors/actresses promoting the use of condom.

RonnieR

March 11th, 2010, 10:41 AM

Concerned parents, youth groups to storm DOH office
By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) Updated March 11, 2010 03:25 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Concerned parents and youth groups are set to hold a rally tomorrow morning at the main office of the Department of Health to protest the agency’s distribution of condoms to the public.

The protest rally will start around 9 a.m. and will be spearheaded by members of the Subtle Attack Against Family Explained (SAFE), Human Life International, and National Coalition for Family and Life (NCFL).

The groups said DOH Secretary Esperanza Cabral should stop the condom distribution drive because it only destroys the morality of women and the young people.

"The DOH is teaching the youth how to have pre-marital sex. What would be Secretary Cabral’s reaction if ever someone uses a condom on her own daughter? This shouldn’t tolerated,” NCFL spokesman Bro. Richard Licas told Church-run Radio Veritas.

Licas also said they will call for the total ban of condom advertisements on radio, TV and print media.

After the rally at DOH office in Manila, the groups will proceed to the Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) in Makati City to file a formal complaint urging radio and TV stations to stop airing condom ads.

manila_eye

March 11th, 2010, 11:13 AM

^^ ROLL EYES!

Kris Aquino should do a free ad for DOH since she had STD before.

Maxxclip

March 13th, 2010, 12:47 AM

The endless ‘condom dilemma’
by Solita Collas-Monsod

OH NO, HERE WE GO AGAIN, DEBATING ON an issue that has been medically resolved. I am of course talking about condoms. There are, at last count (from media reports), one Catholic archbishop (Ramon Arguelles of Lipa), and one bishop (Deogracias Iñiguez of Caloocan) challenging Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to a debate on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections or diseases (STI, STD). Then we have Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro warning celebrities against endorsing condoms. All this after a couple of them (three actually—Arguelles, Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez and Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes) demanded Cabral’s resignation after the Department of Health’s much publicized distribution of condoms last Valentine’s Day, as it announced a program to distribute them to MARP (Most At Risk Population).

I have great respect for those prelates mentioned above with whom I am familiar. And I have at least as much respect for Secretary Cabral who not only has the courage of her convictions but did an excellent job as social welfare secretary in effectively implementing anti-poverty programs, in the face of financial constraints and political interference.

We all know the position of the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines on condoms or, for that matter, on any artificial contraceptive. We also know that Secretary Cabral has come out publicly in favor of the reproductive health bill that is anathema to conservative Catholics. So dwelling on these will not shed any additional light on the issue.

But let us at least get our facts straight—on how serious is the HIV/AIDS problem in the Philippines and what medical studies say about the effectiveness of condoms.

HIV/AIDS data gathered by the DOH National Epidemiology Center and published monthly in the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry show that, between 2001 and 2009, the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS reported almost quintupled: 174 in 2001 and 835 in 2009. But it was not a steady growth rate. Between 2001 and 2005 the reported number of infections grew by only 21 percent over the four-year period. But in the next four years—between 2005 and 2009—it almost quadrupled (from 210 to 835). Not only that, the number of cases reported in January 2010, 143, was more than double (2.2 times) the preceding year’s 65. Are these data reflective of what is going on globally? The answer is “No.” Because globally, the number of reported new HIV infections did not rise but fell by 17 percent. In other words, where the rest of the world shows a declining number of new cases, the Philippines is increasing figuratively by leaps and bounds. Which is probably the basis of Secretary Cabral’s worry. And which should be cause for worry for the rest of us too.

And while our official data show that the total cumulative number of reported HIV/AIDS cases was 4,567, another set of estimates puts it at a much higher number. This alternative data set can be found in “The Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS—Philippines, 2008 Update,” published by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS (UN Joint Program on HIV/AIDS). What are their estimates for the Philippines? Not 4,567, but an average of 8,300—with a low estimate of 6,000 and a high estimate of 11,000. And this was as of 2007, mind you, while our official estimates were for up to 2010. In other words, the Philippine official estimates are very conservative (or much more optimistic) than the international estimates.

Now let’s go to the condom effectiveness issue. Are they effective in preventing HIV/AIDS? The answer is “Yes,” if we listen to the WHO circa 2000 and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health circa 1999. (Why are there no studies which are more recent? Apparently because the issue of condom effectiveness has been resolved all that long ago. Maybe there are countries other than the Philippines where questions are being asked, but I couldn’t find any.)

WHO Fact Sheet No. 243 states: “Laboratory studies have found that viruses (including HIV) do not pass through intact latex condoms even when the devices are stretched or stressed …. In Thailand, the promotion by the government of 100-percent condom use by commercial sex workers led to a dramatic increase in the use of condoms (from 14 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 1994); an equally dramatic decline in ... STD cases (from 410,406 cases in 1987 to 27,362 cases in 1994) …. Studies undertaken on serodiscordant couples, when one partner is infected with HIV and the other is not … show that, with consistent condom use, the HIV infection rate among uninfected partners was less than 1 percent per year … inconsistent condom use can be as risky as not using condoms at all.”

Johns Hopkins is more of the same (and probably one source of the WHO fact sheet): “Condoms provide highly effective protection against HIV infection when used correctly with every act of intercourse. All 10 cohort studies conducted through 1995 that evaluated condom use among heterosexual couples showed that consistent condom use protected against HIV.”

The caveat in all this is that the condoms should be used consistently and correctly, and that the condoms must be of good quality. But, as Johns Hopkins says, “Still, some use is better than none,” and “Narrowing the gap between condom need and use is a major public health challenge …. Efforts to increase condom use are a good social, economic and health investment.”

But, according to our Catholic prelates, definitely a bad moral/religious move.

The question therefore is: Will the beneficial social, economic and health aspects outweigh the disadvantageous moral/religious aspects, or will it be vice versa?

Maxxclip

March 13th, 2010, 12:50 AM

4 of 10 voters favor pro-RH bets
by Lawrence de Guzman

MANILA, Philippines—Four of 10 registered voters, or 38 percent, will vote for candidates who favor the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey.

The survey found that 68 percent favored giving couples access to all legal means of family planning from public health services.

Another 52 percent found natural family planning methods to be “almost always effective” or “effective most of the time,” according to the survey which was sponsored by the Forum for Family Planning and Development.

The RH bill, which is pending in Congress and is being strongly opposed by the Catholic Church, seeks to promote the use of both artificial and natural family planning methods.

The survey, conducted from Jan. 21 to 24, found that support for pro-RH bill candidates was 39 percent among Catholics and 34 percent among non-Catholics.

Survey question

The survey respondents were asked this question: “In the next election, on the issue of the proposed RH bill, will you vote for candidates who support it, will you vote for candidates who oppose it, or does this not matter to your vote?”

While 38 percent said they would favor candidates who support it, 20 percent said it has no effect on their vote, and 6 percent said they would vote for those who oppose it. However, 35 percent said they do not know the contents of the RH bill.

Across regions, those who said they would vote for pro-RH bill candidates were 43 percent in Metro Manila, 40 percent in Luzon outside Metro Manila, 36 percent in Mindanao, and 34 percent in the Visayas.

The same was true across socio-economic classes: 39 percent in class ABC, 38 percent in class D, and 37 percent in class E.

Major support

Meanwhile, 68 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: “All of the legal means of family planning that a couple might choose to use at a particular time should be available from the government health service.”

There was major support for access to all legal means of family planning, both in terms of regions or socio-economic class. It was 78 percent in Metro Manila, 68 percent in both Luzon outside Metro Manila and the Visayas, and 61 percent in Mindanao. By class, it was 75 percent in class ABC, 68 percent in class D, and 65 percent in class E.

There was also great support for access to legal means of family planning among Catholics (69 percent) and non-Catholics (64 percent).

The survey also asked respondents: “In your opinion, how effective is the natural planning method? Is it almost always effective, effective most of the time, effective only sometimes, or hardly effective?”

Twenty-six percent said it is almost always effective, another 26 percent said it is effective most of the time, 31 percent said it is effective only sometimes, and 16 percent considered it hardly effective.

The survey used face-to-face interviews of 2,100 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

Askal82

March 13th, 2010, 04:03 AM

ralfy

March 13th, 2010, 01:38 PM

With the current global population, the earth can provide only around two global hectares of resources per capita. In order to maintain a middle class lifestyle, around four global hectares are needed. And for most of the current global population to receive that, we will need at least two earths.

For now, that can't happen because two-thirds of human beings live on only around one or two dollars a day, with between .5 to 1.5 billion earning 10-20 dollars daily. If wages go up for more people (likely due to increasing total money supply running after increasing consumption of resources being depleted), then more will be striving for a middle class lifestyle. Lower birth rates can also cause problems if they lead to population ageing, which in turn leads to additional expenses for the elderly. For capitalists, a declining population won't be desireable too since continuous economic growth requires expanding markets and more consumption per capita.

In short, we're in big trouble. What will likely happen is that global population will keep going up, but the rate will slow down due to increasing suffering due to lack of resources (e.g., food production problems due to topsoil destruction, drought and floods, lower fish production due to overfishing, etc.) followed by lower life expectancy rates due to lack of medicine, electricity, etc., and possible more incidences of epidemics, conflict (higher crime rates, countries fighting over oil and other resources, etc.), and other problems.

In the end, it won't matter if one is or isn't in favor of population control or ways to achieve it, because nature always bats last.

hakz2007

March 13th, 2010, 11:33 PM

Angara sees RP population to reach 115M in 5 yrs. (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=264134)

CEBU CITY, March 13 (PNA) – Sen. Edgardo Angara said Friday that the next administration after the May 10 elections will have to deal with the country’s population that increases every year.

With the population of the country expected to increase from 95 million to 115 million in about five to six years or less, whoever wins the 2010 elections will have to face problems like limited water supply and increasing demand for power, Angara said.

Angara, who attended the awarding ceremony for the Top 10 Outstanding Councilors in the Philippines, said in his speech that the next administration after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would be most critical of all the presidencies as it serves as the turning point for the country’s future.

He said that between the years 2010 and 2016, major changes in the country would be felt as a result of a booming population.

One of the problems will be about the environment, with climate change affecting everything including commodities.

Scarcity of food would also be felt, Angara said.

At present, Luzon is experiencing the worst effects of the El Nino phenomenon, with water and food supplies depleting steadily.

The Visayas and Mindanao are experiencing shortage of power.

But Angara said while the country would suffer from the effects of population increase, the country would also benefit from the advancement of technology and play a role in the global financial market.

But all these depend on how Filipinos will vote in May, Angara said.

”Let us examine and analyze every platform of government, track record and background of every candidate in order to make a proper choice. This is a challenge that I am issuing to you, as your choice will determine the course of the country in the next years,” Angara said. (PNA)

Maxxclip

March 16th, 2010, 01:47 AM

Palace won't stop condom distribution
by Marvin Sy

Palace won't stop condom distribution
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) Updated March 16, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang reiterated yesterday that it would not stop the condom distribution program of the Department of Health (DOH), saying it is legal and consistent with public policy.

The Palace has reaffirmed its support for the program despite strong opposition from prominent Roman Catholic bishops.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral has insisted that the program, which started on Valentine’s Day, is meant solely to check the spread of HIV-AIDS and not to promote sexual promiscuity.

“Based on the requirements of law, it appears that what the Department of Health is doing is aboveboard. That is if we are talking about its mandate to protect public health,” deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said.

“If Secretary Cabral is doing something that is against the law then the President would be the first to say something about this,” Olivar said in Filipino.

“The fact that nothing like that is happening means that it (condom distribution) is legal and consistent with public policy,” he added.

He said groups or individuals opposed to the DOH program would not be prevented from airing their views.

Olivar cited survey results that show voters’ strong preference for candidates who are supportive of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

“If we leave aside religious, moral and ideological issues that come with something like that, it is clear that safe sex or protected sex is always going to be less risky than unsafe sex,” Olivar said.

The RH bill promotes the use of contraceptives as one of the options for family planning.

“The fact that nothing like that is happening means that it (condom distribution) is legal and consistent with public policy,” he added.

He said groups or individuals opposed to the DOH program would not be prevented from airing their views.

Olivar cited survey results that show voters’ strong preference for candidates who are supportive of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

“If we leave aside religious, moral and ideological issues that come with something like that, it is clear that safe sex or protected sex is always going to be less risky than unsafe sex,” Olivar said.

The RH bill promotes the use of contraceptives as one of the options for family planning.

Maxxclip

March 16th, 2010, 01:57 AM

“practically a king without a kingdom” (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7055437.ece)

Bishops are not kings
by Connie Veneracion

In a predominantly Catholic country, it takes guts to go around flower shops and give away free condoms on Valentine’s Day—even if it’s part of a campaign of the Department of Health. But Secretary Esperanza Cabral did it anyway and she’s now under fire from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and “pro life” groups. The CBCP is demanding her resignation. Let’s have a look at the situation from various perspectives.

The condom freebie campaign is in consonance with the mandate of the DoH to promote health. To be more specific, to curtail the spread of the HIV virus. Meanwhile, the bishops say use of contraceptives promotes promiscuity and “weakens the moral fiber” of the youth.

While the Health Department has the data that shows the alarming rise in HIV cases, the CBCP has no statistics to show a correlation that access to condoms leads to promiscuity which my Mac’s dictionary defines as the “undiscriminating or unselective approach” in acquiring sex partners. What the bishops have is a belief based on the presumption that if people weren’t so afraid of unwanted pregnancies, then, they would engage in sex more often and with more partners.

Clearly, Health and the CBCP are approaching the issue from two different perspectives. The DoH does not delve on the motivations of Filipinos for engaging in sex, it does not impose moral standards nor pass judgment, as it shouldn’t. Its responsibility is the health of the population.

Imposing upon itself the role of moral guardian, the CBCP does everything that the DoH does not—it dictates what a person’s motivation should be each time he or she engages in sex (for procreation only), it imposes moral standards on acceptable sexual behavior (it still calls homosexuality as something abnormal, doesn’t it?) and it passes judgment—and condemns—all those that do not live by its standards.

Let’s note at this point that although the Vatican sanctions its existence, the CBCP is an entity separate and distinct from the Catholic Church. Essentially, it is simply an organization, duly incorporated in accordance with Philippine laws, made up of men who wear long gowns. Not only does the CBCP dabble in spiritual and moral issues; according to its official Web site, when it was first incorporated in 1946, “its purpose was to unify, coordinate and organize the Filipino Catholics in the works of education, social welfare, religious and spiritual aid under the direction of the Filipino bishops.”

While religious and spiritual aid are logically within its domain, education and social welfare are within the purview of the state. So when the CBCP imposes its own standards in matters involving education and social welfare, not only does it undermine the constitutional mandate on the inviolability of the separation of Church and state—it actually seeks to substitute its will for the will of the state.

This is a situation that is both amusing and ironic, really. The CBCP is a corporation and, therefore, its existence (a “juridical personality” created by legal fiction) is based on law which is an act of the state. In essence, therefore, its very existence is an acknowledgment of the power and authority of the state over it. Yet, here it is, seeking to replace the policies of the very authority that makes its existence possible and even implying that its standards are superior to those of the state. I am reminded of the allegory of the “langaw” (common house fly) that alighted on the carabao’s back and fancied itself to be taller than the carabao.

What does it mean when the bishops’ group insinuates itself in state affairs such as safe sex campaigns to curb the spread of HIV? Let’s go even further. What is the real significance of the CBCP’s imposition of its beliefs in any issue that is related to governance? First, it implies that the CBCP is the one true government whose policies the Filipinos must accept and obey. Second, a natural consequence of the first, that all Filipinos, irrespective of spiritual beliefs (or lack thereof), or membership or non-membership in any religious denomination, must abide by the dicta of the CBCP.

Last I heard, we live in a democracy. Despite the limitations (and fallacies) of a democracy, and despite an electorate that is prone to make mistakes because it can be duped by the flowery words and false images of politicians, at least we are not ruled by a handful of men who are chosen by a select few. Moreover, we live in a society where there are mechanisms for booting out officials when they become abusive or when they put their personal interests ahead of the people’s. Not that we always utilize those mechanisms. Still, it is still good to know that they are there, they are available, and anyone can make use of them.

The CBCP likes to play it out as though it were the rightful government of this country so that its will must be obeyed. Does it provide similar mechanisms as the state does, so that when the bishops turn despotic, we the people have the power to remove them from power? Of course not. They are monarchs subject only to the rules of their class.

In modern society, the powers and privileges of monarchs are limited by organic laws (a.k.a. Constitution) and the healthy existence and participation of multi-faceted political groups. Only in dictatorships do monarchial powers remain absolute. Examples? Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and—did you guess?—Vatican City.

Is that what we want? To allow these wanna-be-kings to wield absolute power over all of us? If six out of every ten people say yes, then the future of the Philippines is a dark and dingy pit where the real demons, ignorance and lunacy, await to devour us and our children.

x12y12

March 16th, 2010, 03:16 PM

I saw this pic on some online newspaper.... my heart goes for this little girl and for all filipino children.... hope we can do something about our polution. lets give our children a quality of life they deserve...

C:\MyDocs\New Picture.png

sandwindstars

March 16th, 2010, 03:44 PM

Bishops are not kings
by Connie Veneracion

In a predominantly Catholic country, it takes guts to go around flower shops and give away free condoms on Valentine’s Day—even if it’s part of a campaign of the Department of Health. But Secretary Esperanza Cabral did it anyway and she’s now under fire from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and “pro life” groups. The CBCP is demanding her resignation. Let’s have a look at the situation from various perspectives.

The condom freebie campaign is in consonance with the mandate of the DoH to promote health. To be more specific, to curtail the spread of the HIV virus. Meanwhile, the bishops say use of contraceptives promotes promiscuity and “weakens the moral fiber” of the youth.

While the Health Department has the data that shows the alarming rise in HIV cases, the CBCP has no statistics to show a correlation that access to condoms leads to promiscuity which my Mac’s dictionary defines as the “undiscriminating or unselective approach” in acquiring sex partners. What the bishops have is a belief based on the presumption that if people weren’t so afraid of unwanted pregnancies, then, they would engage in sex more often and with more partners.

Clearly, Health and the CBCP are approaching the issue from two different perspectives. The DoH does not delve on the motivations of Filipinos for engaging in sex, it does not impose moral standards nor pass judgment, as it shouldn’t. Its responsibility is the health of the population.

Imposing upon itself the role of moral guardian, the CBCP does everything that the DoH does not—it dictates what a person’s motivation should be each time he or she engages in sex (for procreation only), it imposes moral standards on acceptable sexual behavior (it still calls homosexuality as something abnormal, doesn’t it?) and it passes judgment—and condemns—all those that do not live by its standards.

Let’s note at this point that although the Vatican sanctions its existence, the CBCP is an entity separate and distinct from the Catholic Church. Essentially, it is simply an organization, duly incorporated in accordance with Philippine laws, made up of men who wear long gowns. Not only does the CBCP dabble in spiritual and moral issues; according to its official Web site, when it was first incorporated in 1946, “its purpose was to unify, coordinate and organize the Filipino Catholics in the works of education, social welfare, religious and spiritual aid under the direction of the Filipino bishops.”

While religious and spiritual aid are logically within its domain, education and social welfare are within the purview of the state. So when the CBCP imposes its own standards in matters involving education and social welfare, not only does it undermine the constitutional mandate on the inviolability of the separation of Church and state—it actually seeks to substitute its will for the will of the state.

This is a situation that is both amusing and ironic, really. The CBCP is a corporation and, therefore, its existence (a “juridical personality” created by legal fiction) is based on law which is an act of the state. In essence, therefore, its very existence is an acknowledgment of the power and authority of the state over it. Yet, here it is, seeking to replace the policies of the very authority that makes its existence possible and even implying that its standards are superior to those of the state. I am reminded of the allegory of the “langaw” (common house fly) that alighted on the carabao’s back and fancied itself to be taller than the carabao.

What does it mean when the bishops’ group insinuates itself in state affairs such as safe sex campaigns to curb the spread of HIV? Let’s go even further. What is the real significance of the CBCP’s imposition of its beliefs in any issue that is related to governance? First, it implies that the CBCP is the one true government whose policies the Filipinos must accept and obey. Second, a natural consequence of the first, that all Filipinos, irrespective of spiritual beliefs (or lack thereof), or membership or non-membership in any religious denomination, must abide by the dicta of the CBCP.

Last I heard, we live in a democracy. Despite the limitations (and fallacies) of a democracy, and despite an electorate that is prone to make mistakes because it can be duped by the flowery words and false images of politicians, at least we are not ruled by a handful of men who are chosen by a select few. Moreover, we live in a society where there are mechanisms for booting out officials when they become abusive or when they put their personal interests ahead of the people’s. Not that we always utilize those mechanisms. Still, it is still good to know that they are there, they are available, and anyone can make use of them.

The CBCP likes to play it out as though it were the rightful government of this country so that its will must be obeyed. Does it provide similar mechanisms as the state does, so that when the bishops turn despotic, we the people have the power to remove them from power? Of course not. They are monarchs subject only to the rules of their class.

In modern society, the powers and privileges of monarchs are limited by organic laws (a.k.a. Constitution) and the healthy existence and participation of multi-faceted political groups. Only in dictatorships do monarchial powers remain absolute. Examples? Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and—did you guess?—Vatican City.

Is that what we want? To allow these wanna-be-kings to wield absolute power over all of us? If six out of every ten people say yes, then the future of the Philippines is a dark and dingy pit where the real demons, ignorance and lunacy, await to devour us and our children.

Time to see more hard hitting articles like this. It doesn't make one less religious or Catholic. It's called democracy. The Catholic church seems to have regained their stranglehold on the Philippines just as the curas, the frailes of the Spanish era. I would suggest to the Catholic church and all the religious zealots their job is to influence the hearts and minds of the individual to be better individuals, with integrity and greater sense of values, not interfere in temporal, government affairs which is not a religious activity unless one is Iran or Saudi Arabia etc. Maybe if they did a hell of a better job, there could be a lot less people having wanton sex, popping unwanted babies, relieving the stress on govt to spend on condom distribution. To top it all, there could be less corruption because individual politicians and bureaucrats can exercise "morality" and "integrity" in the performance of their job. Based on the how Philippine society is, they're doing a very poor job. Sheer hypocrisy.

Maxxclip

March 18th, 2010, 04:16 AM

Dr. Cabral's condoms
by Fr. Roy Cimagala

You would know summer is here when all of a sudden you see the bougainvilleas around bloom in exploding profusion and color. Seeing them makes you forget the inconveniences of summer. It tells you summer has its own blessings, its own fun and beauty. You just have to know how to make use of them.

I was reminded of this bougainvillea-in-summer image as I reviewed all this issue about the new Secretary of Health distributing condoms to the public last Valentine’s Day and, as latest news would have it, up to when she ends her term.

Her act offers a precious opportunity-to clarify things. Like the bougainvillea, this task of clarifying may have thorns, but it also has those beautiful flowers.

Frankly, I was amused by all the antics surrounding the controversy. No, I was not irritated or disturbed. Just that, amused.

As a doctor, she is free to prescribe anything she thinks is good for the patient. Of course, that is not infallible. Many doctors have given wrong prescriptions after making wrong diagnoses too. Besides, I still have to convince myself that human fertility is a disease to be cured by some drug or gadget.

But as a public official with zeal to serve the people, she must have felt she has to go beyond simply prescribing. She has to go out to the streets, walk her talk, and give away condoms. That’s where she starts to get some reactions.

Some bishops called for her resignation, an understandable reaction given our democratic system. She answered by calling the Church “vicious,” lectured professorially on the standard bull about Church-State separation, and instantly attracted the usual following who praised her to high heavens for having balls.

I hope she'll have the bigger balls to admit that in all this condom business, she also has to input the indispensable moral elements. Morality is not optional. It is not a religious peculiarity. It is a universal, natural need. Its nature is not defined only by practicality. It's by the very dignity of a human person.

Her first excuse was that she has to do something to curb the rise of HIV-AIDS, and what better way than to spread prophylactics. Children got hold of them too and promptly made them into balloons. Talking about scandals nowadays has already been considered passe.

She said she’s for the ABC method-abstinence, be faithful, and if these fail, then condoms. So you see it’s really not that bad. She’s just being practical. If the moral fails, then why not the immoral, that is still short of aborting and killing. She has a point. Right or wrong, we’ll see. Anyway, who cares about morality nowadays? That's really our problem today.

Then she also said she has to distribute condoms because our population is just too much or too many. We cannot cope with the people’s needs. In her calculus, condoms will solve the problem or at least give some significant relief.

And by the way, powerful groups like the EU, the US, and others are giving generous grants in Euros and dollars to promote the condoms. We do not know anymore if this open season against morality is driven by conviction or by economic considerations. Knowing our politicians, we have basis to wonder.

What can give a window of hope is that these interfering blocs(?), already morally bankrupt for some time, are starting to bankrupt themselves financially with the current global economic crisis. Let's wait a little for how this development unfolds.

In the meantime, other relevant elements spring up. Robin Padilla-I pray for him-obviously paid, is now going around promoting Godless family planning. In the blogosphere-you have to be extremely careful and game there-an orgy of pro-immoral-family-planning sentiments explodes, dripping with mockery, insults and name-calling.

Imagine, Church and spiritual leaders who appeal for a moral sense in this issue are now called Talibans, holdouts of the dark ages, rigid, dense, detached from reality, etc. The only consolation is that that kind of reaction will just fizzle out shortly. It's like a showy firework only. It cannot stand the test of reason. It cannot cope with the demands of truth and justice.

We are still in Lent. Perhaps, this thorny issue is meant to purify us further. We need to see this whole affair within the context of our faith and beliefs, using it to nourish our ascetical life and sharpen our sense of duty to evangelize forcefully but always in truth and charity.

Maxxclip

March 19th, 2010, 03:02 AM

Kudos for Cabral
by A.T. Ghani

HURRAH for Health Sescretary Esperanza Cabral! I thought nobody in the government will do anything drastic to halt the alarming increase of HIV/AIDS in the Philippines.

While the Catholic Church may have good intentions, its solutions to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS are not as fast as the propagation of the HIV virus.

Moreover, the Church has seen the result of discouraging the use of contraceptives: the explosion of population in such a tiny country as the Philippines to 90 million Filipinos or thereabouts. Has the Church helped to solve the feeding of millions of children from poor families, or to provide schooling or educational facilities and, most of all, jobs for the thousands of job-seekers?

The Church leaves these concerns for the government to attend to as its faithful followers blindly obey its teachings. It is not easy for legally married couples to abstain from sex.

Dreamtofly

March 20th, 2010, 06:25 PM

JOB OPPORTUNITIES should be the goal to be set on by politicians,NOT contraception![/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

Iha eventhought developed country face un employment. Hindi sagot ang employment sa pag lobo ng populasyon. One of the reason is Filipino does not have responsibility. basta makakantot tama na. I think to stop the balloning population is to use contraceptive for a short term then proper education for a long term solution. Like we have here in Europe we are responsible enough and we are economically aware.

ralfy

March 20th, 2010, 08:05 PM

Related:

"Vietnam's two-child policy"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1011799.stm

"UN Praises Vietnam Population Control, But Abortion Skews Gender Ratio"

http://www.lifenews.com/int480.html

"Vietnam Issues New Birth Control Regulations"

http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-issues-birth-control-regulations-issued.html/

Usually, the main reason for high birth rates in poor countries (and several are non-Christian) is dependence on family members to care for the elderly and to continue working on the land. Also, if public health care is very poor, then infant mortality rates may also be high.

Some countries manage through economic growth, but population growth might impede such, and prosperity may lead to ageing populations. Others use coercion, sometimes leading to high abortion rates.

Christian_123

March 21st, 2010, 03:36 PM

The ultimate and extreme way to control the population growth in the philippines is...Spay every men and women so they can never reproduce. Dapat merong spaying operations sa mga squatters area dahil anak sila ng anak na parang aso tapos sabay reklamo sa gobyerno dahil mahirap sila. :bash:

manila_eye

March 22nd, 2010, 10:00 AM

RonnieR

March 23rd, 2010, 07:17 AM

Sex education must be taught, says new DepEd head :)

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:21:00 03/23/2010

Filed Under: Education, Family planning

MANILA, Philippines—While the Department of Health (DoH) is distributing condoms, Education Secretary Mona Valisno is giving interviews, saying that sex education should be taught in schools so the students would “learn responsible family planning.”

Sex education is an important aspect of family planning, Valisno said. It would deal with the country’s “population explosion” and address the problem of students having unprotected premarital sex.

“We should educate our students. When you have sex education, you are opening their minds on how to do it the proper way,” the new education secretary said.

Valisno’s candidness is in sharp contrast to her predecessor, Jesli Lapus, the new trade secretary, who had repeatedly denied the Department of Education (DepEd) was teaching about sex, apparently to avoid incurring the wrath of the Catholic Church, a power in the country.

Lapus said the basic education curriculum only had a health subject that focused on personal hygiene and understanding the changes in an adolescent’s body.

Valisno said sex education was important because “no amount of investment in education” would help the country’s overcrowded public school system if the population growth rate remained high.

“We have so many babies born every minute,” she said.

Valisno, who is also President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser on education, said teaching students how to use condoms was important because some of them were already sexually active.

However, she drew the line on a proposal to distribute condoms in public schools.

“Responsible family planning or sex education is a very important aspect but if you put out a lot of condoms, that’s another thing,” she said.

She said sex education should be “handled very well,” especially if taught to elementary school students.

“Whether it is in elementary [or high school, the] level of sex education [that would be taught] must be determined by experts. It should be at the level of the child’s understanding,” she said.

“There are psychologists, clinical psychologists. We have very good specialists in education,” she added.

Earlier this month, the DepEd and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) launched a program in 29 schools across the country aimed at preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV-AIDS.

The program, launched at Bagong Silangan High School in Quezon City, was designed to raise awareness among students of the importance of abstinence, making the right decisions, and the consequences of “sexual experience either by choice or due to pressure from peer groups.”

Vanessa Tobin, Unicef country representative, warned students and teachers at Bagong Silangan that “the Philippines is currently witnessing an increase of new HIV infections” among 15 to 24-year-old Filipinos, with the number of cases going up from 41 in 2007 to 218 in 2009.

manila_eye

March 23rd, 2010, 10:21 AM

Retro

June 2nd, 2010, 12:54 AM

State draws church ire on sex teaching plan for high school
BusinessWorld Philippines - June 1, 2010

SEX EDUCATION will become part of regular high school lessons for the first time, the government said yesterday, in a move that drew the immediate ire of the influential Catholic church.

Lessons on sex are to be included in regular science and health studies in government-run high schools, acting Education Secretary Mona D. Valisno said, adding that officials would study whether such lessons were also appropriate for younger pupils.

"They should know these things, about the body and how to protect it instead of learning about it on the Internet," Ms. Valisno said.

Church leaders in the devoutly Catholic country immediately hit back at the plan, saying the state had no business to be talking to youngsters about sex.

"The students should not be taught... sexuality based on the physical aspect but as a gift from God," said Monsignor Pedro C. Quitorio III, a spokesman for the country’s Catholic bishops, adding that sex should be taught by parents.

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz said that instead of sex, boys should be taught how to respect girls and women, while girls should be taught self-defense and how to avoid becoming victims of sexual abuse.

Ms. Valisno said her department was willing to discuss the matter with the Catholic church, which counts over 80% of the population as followers. The issue is the latest point of conflict between the government and the church and follows a heated debate over condoms. -- AFP

Ady001

June 2nd, 2010, 01:56 AM

^^ If they're so vehement with their policies, they should teach that on their own schools, not preach what they say on the government.

If they are so pro-life, what about the life of the soon to be borne that will lay waste with sins?

rally

June 2nd, 2010, 03:31 AM

hey, this thread is back. great!

As for the new issue of sex education in the curriculum, im in favor of this. Its not like the students would be taught pornography. The approach is to emphasize how to keep ones body well and healthy. or would the oppositors prefer that the youth learn it from the internet?

Retro

June 2nd, 2010, 05:07 AM

^^ Its about time that gov't should teach those kids in highschool how to handle and be responsible young adult.

Just go to those health center in urban areas. You will be surprise some of those young pregnant woman lining up for monthly maternity medical check-up are even below 18years old. Some are still studying in highschool.

Its hightime those highschool kids should be able to learn those things from a professional teacher/health worker and rather than getting this info from the net.

Better be prepared in life than waiting sorry for today... :cheers:

RonnieR

June 2nd, 2010, 06:24 AM

I'm happy that this thread is back. Thank you MODS.

Philippines tests sex education in public schools
AP
By OLIVER TEVES,Associated Press Writer - Wednesday, June 2

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine elementary and high schools will start teaching basic sex education as a pilot program in the conservative Roman Catholic nation, officials said Tuesday, brushing aside concerns by church leaders that it may encourage promiscuity among the youth.

The classes, however, won't include information about contraceptives _ another controversial topic in this heavily Catholic nation.

Starting this year, sex education will be integrated in regular subjects including science, health, English and physical education, said Assistant Education Secretary Teresita Inciong, who is heading the project funded by the U.N. Population Fund.

"It will be better if the schools teach sex education rather than children just picking this up from just anywhere like the Internet," said Education Secretary Mona Valisno.

The Adolescent Reproductive Health program will be initially tested in 80 public elementary and 79 high schools, starting with grade five pupils aged 11-12, Inciong said.

The initiative, which Inciong said will mainly focus on explaining bodily changes and relationship with the other gender, has run into opposition from the dominant and influential Catholic Church, which earlier this year also objected to the free government distribution of condoms for fear of encouraging promiscuity.

Monsignor Pedor Qitorio, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said the church believes sex education should be the primary responsibility of parents. If it is taught to students, it should not start in grade school but in college, he said.

He said the church is opposed to the government style of teaching that is "too focused on the reproductive faculties because parents feel this will lead to promiscuity among the youth, encourage what we are avoiding _ early practice of sexuality outside of marriage."

Inciong said the use of condoms and other contraceptives will not be part of the curriculum, citing opposition from parents.

"They say that if you teach that, you are telling (children) you can have sex, but only safe sex," she said. "But I have no doubt (children) know about that already."

Instead, the lessons will discuss personal hygiene and physical changes during puberty like menstruation, Inciong said. More importantly, they will include teaching children to say no to inappropriate behavior by older relatives or strangers that lead to child molestation and sexual exploitation.

She said sex is a taboo subject in Philippine families and children learn about it from peers or the Internet rather than from their parents.

A more recent social phenomenon of children left behind by their parents working abroad also has taken a toll on the traditional family structure in the Philippines, where many kids are now brought up by grandparents, relatives or neighbors. A tenth of the population works abroad.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ap/20100601/tap-as-philippines-sex-education-fe2a5de.html

Retro

June 9th, 2010, 08:13 AM

Life goes on . . .
Opinion - CTALK By Cito Beltran (The Philippine Star)
June 09, 2010 12:00 AM

If Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral ever needs a new career, she should apply for the position of Senior Lightning Rod in the next administration or in a public relations firm.

Cabral has consistently managed to draw national attention to DOH concerns to the point that when she makes a pronouncement, one group or another will undoubtedly get ruffled or antagonized. Once again Cabral has the ire of the moralists and the Catholic Church concerning sex education in schools.

While critics of the plan are busy getting all fired up about the dire consequences of sex education, I need to ask what else have they done regarding the issue and parallel concerns.

It seems that the prudish people of the cloth are so afraid about knowledge that ignorance would be the preferred state of mind for the flock. This is quite similar to the practice of telling people in the dark ages that only priests, or friars had God’s authority and the ability to read and understand the Bible.

That serious and sorry mistake is one of the reasons the Catholic Church was weakened monetarily and morally. Having failed to educate and empower their believers, the flock became subservient and in time became disenchanted or rebellious.

In the case of sex education, there is never anything exciting or titillating in the mechanical or even graphic materials used to teach kids in private school. As far as I remember, the charts and illustrations did not seem any different from the ones they used in Botany and science.

If the priests and pastors are truly concerned and sincerely want to carry the battle against sexual immorality or premarital sex, they should consult “experts” or former practitioners such as myself, and others like me who know how to address the situation.

I am presuming that priests and nuns, based on their presumed or declared chastity and celibacy would not know the first thing about the problem. Knowledge is not the problem. The examples around us are the problem.

If fathers send daughters to buy “sexy” magazines such as FHM, MAXIM, Playboy etc., if parents don’t raise hell about the presence of pornography or screen TV programs shown at home, if mothers are “Inappropriately dressed to look younger and sexier than their daughters, what can we expect.

Rather than criticize and battle people who are doing their jobs, the churches should rally around actors and actresses who refuse to do kissing scenes. What noise have the churches made about companies and entertainment outfits who try their most to pressure wholesome actors and actresses to become “Hottie”. What noise have the people of the cloth and their flock made about billboard commercials that are just as “pornographic” or “sexy” in selling lingerie?

Perhaps the CBCP should really call for a summit, but instead of talking to themselves like ten blind men and an elephant, they should bring in “experienced” people to help them refocus and redefine their battle plans.

The pulpit is a nice place to stand, but it’s too far from reality.

* * *

manila_eye

June 9th, 2010, 10:11 AM

^^ She should be retained!

xxxriainxxx

June 9th, 2010, 10:22 AM

^^ She should be retained!

I agree, Cabral did a pretty stellar job with DOH. :)

Sweet@18

June 9th, 2010, 11:03 AM

Yes I agree. Cabral is very effective in her job.

May mga translations na akong nakikita sa TV regarding yung mga ads ng mga herbal at iba pang non-food supplement.

Retro

June 11th, 2010, 09:44 AM

Aquino retreats on population, FOI bills :ohno:
by Christine F. Herrera
Manila Standard Today - June 11, 2010

BARELY an hour after he was proclaimed president-elect, Benigno Simeon Aquino III distanced himself from imposing a national policy on two major issues: reproductive health and freedom of information.

In a press conference immediately after his proclamation Wednesday, Aquino said he would not impose a national policy on population management, a goal of the reproductive health bill that he co-authored.

Instead of supporting the bill, Aquino, a bachelor at 50, said he would push for responsible parenthood and tap the Church to conduct seminars that would produce responsible parents.

Supporters of the reproductive health bill say its passage is critical, with the country’s population standing at 94 million and expected to reach 100 million in three years.

Unchecked population growth, particularly among the poor, would hurt development efforts, the supporters of the bill say.

A pre-election survey showed that 87 percent of Filipinos, including 72 percent who were Catholic, said they wanted the reproductive health bill passed.

But the incoming president said he would push for responsible parenthood and tap the Church to conduct seminars to help mold the country’s conscience and to produce responsible parents.

‘‘The state has no right to declare how many children they can have or how to plan their families,’’ Aquino said.

“We want to remind parents that they are responsible for every child that they would bring on earth. I made that clear several times during the campaign and I would stand by it.’’

The Catholic Church opposes the bill and has threatened to withdraw support from politicians supportint it.

Aquino also invoked the Constitution in refusing to impose a national policy on the freedom of information bill, which the House of Representatives killed this week.

Instead of showing outright support for the bill, Aquino said, he would consult his lawyers to see if he could certify it as urgent.

“I want to follow the Constitution religiously,’’ Aquino said.

“I believe there are requirements if we could certify some bills as urgent like if there are calamities... I am sorry I don’t have the Constitution with me, but there are requirements.”

The freedom of information bill seeks to grant citizens and the media easy access to public documents.

The Senate ratified the bill and Aquino supported its ratification, but the House failed to ratify it.

The reproductive health bill, on the other hand, reached plenary debates and was passed on second reading, but debates were halted under pressure from Catholic bishops, who warned supportive politicians they would suffer the consequences.

Aquino had agreed to be a co-author of the reproductive health bill.

manila_eye

June 11th, 2010, 10:42 AM

^^ flipflop na naman :ohno:

xxxriainxxx

June 11th, 2010, 10:48 AM

le Reine

June 11th, 2010, 01:21 PM

Hala anong nangyari sa FOI bill?! :ohno:

oreotm

June 11th, 2010, 01:27 PM

instead na "in the service of the Filipino people" in the service of the catholic church!! asar.... dapat talaga sa simbahang katoliko lagyan ng tax eh parati nalang nangialam sa gobyerno!! at lahat ng politikong sumusunod sa mga gusto ng simbahang katoliko ay mga trapo!!

regjeex

June 11th, 2010, 02:01 PM

Ibuto nyo uli si Noy sa next election... para lalong sumaya!

Bilat inamo niyooo....:lol:

Bulls2009

June 11th, 2010, 02:06 PM

Kaya lumalaki na ulo ng simabahan...hay naku balik zero na naman tayo nito...malapit na sana nag flip flop pa ang ydft na abnoy:ohno:

oreotm

June 11th, 2010, 02:32 PM

- points kay noynoy! akala ko pa nman malapit na ang pagbabago! un pala ndi pa nakaupo sa pwesto TRAPO na! nung campaign period sinabi nya na he's for RH bill ngaung proclaimed na biglang kambyo!! hay wala na talagang pagasa ang pilipinas...

Retro

June 11th, 2010, 05:14 PM

Bishop wants dialogue with Noynoy on sex ed plan :gaah:
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 06/11/2010 9:48 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic bishop is seeking a dialogue with President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to protest a plan by the Department of Education to incorporate sex education in the curriculum for elementary school pupils.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez joined party-list and child advocacy group Akap-Bata in a protest outside the DepEd office in Pasig City Friday. Iñiguez led the protesters in prayer for education officials to come to their senses and stop the pilot-testing of sex education in 179 schools next week.

The Catholic Church has openly condemned DepEd's plan to include sex education in the curriculum for elementary school pupils, saying that doing so would destroy the values of children.

"Sex is now perceived as pleasure for today's generation," Iñiguez said.

Education Undersecretary Franklin Sunga accommodated the group but assured that the DepEd had already studied how to integrate sex education in subjects like science, social studies and health.

Sunga said modules for elementary students will only include topics on physical changes that occur during adolescence while topics for high school students touch on reproductive health issues like sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV-AIDS and the dangers of early pregnancy and abortion.

The education official said the strong opposition possibly stems from the negative connotation attached to the word "sex" in sex education.

"I will strongly suggest that we change it to sexuality or gender education. Pag narinig kasi nila yung sex akala nila kung ano na. We're not here to titillate the imagination of the students," he said.

Iñiguez, however, said a name change will not solve the issue since the content is the same. Akap-Bata also reiterated the need to address other pressing issues such as the reconstruction of school buildings damaged by tropical storm Ondoy.

The DepEd plans to invite members of the Church and other opposing sectors to the actual teaching of sex education in schools next week so they can have a better idea of how it will be conducted.

manila_eye

June 11th, 2010, 05:57 PM

Hala anong nangyari sa FOI bill?! :ohno:

walang quorum.

b_two

June 12th, 2010, 02:25 PM

responsible parenthood?

wala na bang iba?

:ohno:

nasa 90 million na ang population natin. bakit ba nakikinig ang gobyerno sa simbahang katoliko sa usaping population control? sino ba ang nahihirapan? i am not against the catholic church pero bigyan sana nila ng laya ang gobyerno na magpasya para sa pagkontrol ng populasyon sa bansa. pag nanonood ako ng balita o documentary sa tv at nakikita ko yung dami ng anak ng isang mag-asawa na halos di na kumakain imbes na maawa ako lalo akong naiinis.

obvious naman na walang nangyayari sa responsible parenthood approach pero bakit pinagpipilitan? sana magpatupad naman sila ng mas effective na campaign para makontrol ang populasyon kasi di na biro ang nangyayari sa paligid natin. lahat apektado. damay-damay.

imulat sana nila ang mga mata nila para makita nila kung ano ang nangyayari bunsod ng paglobo ng populasyon ng pilipinas. let government freely effect population control policies kahit pa labag sa kagustuhan ng simbahan. di lahat ng pinoy ay katoliko tulad ng sinabi dati ni noynoy.

oreotm

June 12th, 2010, 06:46 PM

^^ at maasar ka lalo kung sino pa ung mga madadami ung anak sila pa ung malalakas magreklamo na walang naitutulong ang gobyerno sakanila... ang gusto ata nila bibigyan nalang sila ng sustento ng...

regjeex

June 14th, 2010, 10:14 AM

Priority nalang kayang putulan ng matres ang mga anay pag naging 3 na ang anak... hahah joke..

Sleepwalker

June 14th, 2010, 12:08 PM

dvbaicrviser

June 14th, 2010, 12:44 PM

Dapat itong Simbahang Katoliko dito sa Pilipinas, halukayin din ang mga pang-aabuso nila sa mga sakristan, para mawala focus nila sa implementasyon ng RH bill. Saka dapat galing sa Iglesia ni Kristo ang italagang Secretary ng Dept. of Health para di nadidiktahan ng mga pari at obispo.

xxxriainxxx

June 14th, 2010, 01:34 PM

Ngayon ko lang alam na hindi pala pleasurable ang sex noong kapanahonan nang aking lolo at lola...Kawawa pala sila kung ganoon.

malay mo? :D

Christian_123

June 14th, 2010, 05:03 PM

Masyado talagang epal ang simbahan, i hope they go to hell.

dvbaicrviser

June 14th, 2010, 09:51 PM

Cabral willing to serve in Noynoy's Cabinet
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated June 15, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral is willing to serve in the administration of president-elect Benigno Aquino III.

However, Cabral said she has only heard of her possible reappointment from the media but has not received any formal offer from Aquino.

We at the Cabinet serve at the president’s pleasure, she said. Lets give the president the opportunity to choose the members of his Cabinet. I am open to serving the country at any moment, at any time.

Cabral said Aquino must not succumb to pressures from political, financial and religious groups in implementing policies, but must prioritize the welfare of the Filipino people.

Cabral said the Department of Health is involved in several high-profile public health advocacies including tobacco control, food supplement regulation and reproductive health.

“We see a long tough climb ahead in making our policies work for the betterment of Filipino society, but we remain unfazed,” she said.

Meanwhile, Cabral urged governments in the Asia Pacific region to put our poor people at the center of our health policies.

Speaking during the 10th Science Council of Asia conference at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila yesterday, Cabral said: “There must be a commitment among all of us to help reduce the inequities and injustices that have attended the delivery of health in our respective countries.”

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=584432&publicationSubCategoryId=63

Itong si Sec. Cabral, masasabi kong mas may b*yag kumpara sa LAHAT ng mga pinagsama-samang mga b*yag ng mga obispo at kaparian na naduduwag na labanan ang lumalalang paglobo ng populasyon. Buti sana kung maayos ang estado sa buhay at maganda ang edukasyon ng mga nadadagdag sa lipunan, pero hindi e. Buti pa si Cabral, walang takot na ma-excommunicate kung sakali, basta magawa niya lang tungkulin niya sa bayan bilang Secretary ng DOH.

Ady001

June 15th, 2010, 02:39 AM

rally

June 15th, 2010, 03:54 AM

hala! dahan dahan kayo sa pagtira sa RC church baka babalik yung masugid na Defender of the Faith, mawawala na naman ang thread na ito.:)

up_mc

June 15th, 2010, 07:02 AM

Retro

June 15th, 2010, 12:15 PM

^^ Now I realize that having a steady population growth (ave. 2% per annum) is a big business in Philippines.

According to NSO 10years projected statistic data there is an average of 2M new Filipino is being born yearly.

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/popproj_tab1r.html

Ever wonder sino syempre ang possible business beneficiary ng big population?

Yun nasa top ten list are as follow.
1. Hospital, Medical Clinic
2. Doctor - OB Gyne, Midwife
3. Pharmaceutical Company
4. Drug Store
5. Manufacturing (diaper, babyfood, clothing)
6. Insurance (educational plan)
7. Food Industry
8. Educational sector
9. Religious Church (baptismal rite)
10. Housing sector

This just to show maraming sector directly and indirectly have vested interest in keeping a big population since its a good business afterall :lol:

greenice

June 15th, 2010, 01:39 PM

CBCP mulls legal action against sex education
Philstar.com - Tuesday, June 15

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is considering to file legal actions against the Department of Education’s move to teach sex education in public schools, an official said.

"We’re submitting it to the legal department of the CBCP, and on the basis of the evaluation of the legal department, it will be sent to the corresponding Episcopal Commission for study like the Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education then (to the) Episcopal Commission on the Family," CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar said.

He said the CBCP's legal staff is now looking into the possible implications if the plan would be legislated or institutionalized by the government.

Odchimar added that the issue will also be taken during the annual plenary of the collegial body on July - By Dennis Carcamo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

oreotm

June 15th, 2010, 06:02 PM

^^ano na naman mga pinaggagagawa nila? hay talagang gagawin nila ang lahat para yumaman sila at maghirap lalo ang bansa..... mga magnanakaw din pla sila... im beggining to lose my hopes for the Philippines haiiii...

Ady001

June 16th, 2010, 06:22 AM

Retro

June 18th, 2010, 11:46 AM

UN backs Philippines amid row with church on sex education :lol:
Phil. Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:56:00 06/18/2010

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations (UN) on Friday backed a move by the Philippines to introduce sex education among primary and high school students that has sparked a row with the influential Catholic church.

The UN stressed that the Philippines was a signatory to an international treaty on the rights of children that commits member countries to providing proper information to girls and boys about their bodies.

"It is the obligation of the state to ensure that all adolescent girls and boys are provided with accurate and appropriate information on how to protect their health and practice healthy behaviors," the UN said in a statement.

"The United Nations will continue to work with government... to respect, fulfill and protect the rights of girls and boys to comprehensive information regarding their health and their bodies.

"Global evidence shows that giving clear, appropriate information to adolescents does not increase promiscuity but helps them make responsible decisions."

The government this week began introducing its Adolescent Reproductive Health programme in 80 public elementary and 79 high schools.

The scheme will later be expanded nationwide, in what the government said could hopefully reduce the country's high population growth rate, limit unwanted teenage pregnancies and prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines attacked the program, warning that it encouraged promiscuity among the youth.

The bishops demanded that the government stop the program, saying that sex education was better left to parents and taught within the confines of the home.

The UN on Friday acknowledged that parents played a pivotal role in teaching their children about their sexuality, but noted that people in authority such as teachers or doctors could explain the process better.

The government has often locked horns with church leaders over population control issues in this devoutly Catholic nation of more than 90 million people.

In one instance, church leaders called for the sacking of the health secretary after she launched a campaign to hand out free condoms on Valentine's Day this year as part of the battle against HIV and AIDS.

Christian_123

June 18th, 2010, 01:27 PM

OWNED! In your face CBCP!! :lol:

oreotm

June 18th, 2010, 07:05 PM

hmm.. pano kaya un? ang gusto ni noy responsible parenthood...

Retro

June 20th, 2010, 03:29 PM

CBCP to ask court to stop sex education in public schools :ohno:
By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:01:00 06/20/2010

MANILA, Philippines – The legal officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines will ask a court on Monday to stop the ongoing sex education program being enforced by the Department of Education.

Lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong will file the case 8:30 a.m. at the Quezon City regional trial court as a member of the faith-based Ang Kapatiran (The Brotherhood) Party, which fielded her as a senatorial candidate in the elections last May.

AKP president Eric Manalang, in a statement, said Education Secretary Mona Valisno and Undersecretary Ramon Bacani would be named respondents in the case. Imbong will be joined as complainants by officials of the AKP and other pro-life groups.

The suit seeks to declare DepEd's Memorandum No. 26 – which implements the sex education program – as unconstitutional for being anti-family and anti-life.

“The memo is unreasonable and arbitrary, violating substantive due process which proscribes arbitrary and unreasonable policies and actions of public officers. It violates the primary right of parents to the development of the moral character of their children and violates the rights of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies affecting them,” Manalang said.

He said Deped's sex education program has been violating provisions of the 1987 Constitution that has upheld the right of spouses to found a family according to their religious beliefs, the sanctity of family life, the inviolability of marriage, and the protection of the family as a basic autonomous social institution and foundation of the nation.

Ady001

June 20th, 2010, 07:24 PM

^^ Stupid CBCP. The last sentence actually smacks them. We give them the Freedom to choose, to limit and to plan the family. Stupid CBCP. I guess I have to make worship in secret now.

Retro

June 21st, 2010, 02:30 PM

New family planning drive targets 1.3% growth rate :lol:
By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:06:00 06/21/2010

MANILA, Philippines – This year, the country’s population growth rate has been pegged at 1.9 percent.

The government needs to bring it down further to 1.3-1.4 percent for the population to stabilize, said Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral on Monday.

This could be achieved, Cabral said, by employing, among other strategies, an "intensified family planning campaign" that focuses on an "improved quality of life" for Filipino couples.

"Life can be better when couples plan for their future," she stressed, speaking during the launch of the Department of Health's new family planning communication strategy.

"Information is crucial in helping men and women make the right decision for their families," she said.

Backed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the DOH drive calls for the dissemination nationwide of posters, brochures and other information materials bearing the motto "Plan your family, plan your future."

"USAID has been a partner of the DOH in the family planning program of the department for more than 30 years now and we are committed to continue supporting the DOH's health programs in the years to come, such as this campaign," said Roger Carlson, USAID deputy mission director.

Cabral said the posters and print materials were the "first of a series of communication collateral on family planning" that the DOH would be employing.

"We've visited many barangays and interviewed many couples who have expressed their need for proper information (on family planning)," she said.

Citing the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey of the National Statistics Office, Cabral said that "eight out of 10 married women who have not used any family planning method did not receive any information on the matter from government health workers."

She expressed confidence the new DOH drive would help disseminate "key messages" on the benefits of a smaller family size.

In an earlier interview, Cabral said the government's family planning program "has not been as successful as we would want it to be."

She told the INQUIRER that "even as population growth is coming down, it is not coming down at the rate necessary to improve the socioeconomic status of the country."

She has repeatedly stressed the need to "fulfill our commitments as embodied in the (government's) Medium-Term Development Plan and the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals."

Reproductive health and responsible parenthood are part of the country's fifth MDG, which is improved maternal health by 2015.

"They are related to the reduction of infant and maternal mortality," she said.

oreotm

June 21st, 2010, 02:55 PM

^^ i really hope maretain si sec. cabral sa DoH.. any news regarding sa pwedeng maappoint ni noynoy sa DoH?

xxxriainxxx

June 21st, 2010, 03:02 PM

Retro

June 22nd, 2010, 01:18 AM

Only courts can stop sex ed, says DepEd

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:28:00 06/22/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Unless stopped by the courts, the Department of Education (DepEd) intends to proceed with the pilot-testing of sex education in public schools this school year, Education Secretary Mona Valisno said Monday.

Valisno said the program was still in the “consultation stage” and that the DepEd had asked thrice for a dialogue with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) but the bishops have yet to respond.

“Yes, we will pursue it as long as we have consultations,” Valisno said in an interview.

She said the DepEd would only stop the program if the courts decided to issue a temporary restraining order against the teaching of sex education in public schools.

The Catholic political party Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) Monday filed a class suit in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to stop the DepEd plan to teach sex education because it supposedly violated the rights of parents to nurture the moral character of their children.

“I have yet to receive a copy of their complaint but we will follow whatever the decision of the court is. We will obey,” Valisno said.

“This is still in the consultation stage. It has not been implemented. We are not there yet,” she added.

Teen pregnancies

Valisno said the DepEd needed to teach sex education because of the “alarming” rate of pregnancies among teenagers.

“These are 15, 16 and 17-year-olds. They’re still in high school so they are disadvantaged. They can’t afford to get pregnant. Sometimes, they even drop out of school,” she said.

“We need to inform young girls about the need to prevent teenage pregnancies and for them to maintain proper hygiene,” Valisno added.

The DepEd had been teaching sex education but it was integrated in subjects like Biology. This time, however, the Catholic Church was protesting a project that was initiated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to teach sex education initially in 80 elementary schools and 79 high schools around the country.

Nothing to worry about

Education officials said the bishops had nothing to worry about because the DepEd was open to deleting portions of the teaching modules that the Church would find offensive.

The project would be pilot-tested this school year in Grades 5 and 6 classes and in high schools in Olongapo City, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Masbate, Bohol, Eastern Samar, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Sultan Kudarat.

For Grade 5, sex education would be included in the Science and Health subject that would have lessons on the reproductive system.

For Grade 6, it would be integrated in Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan and it would include lessons on the “proper behavior between peers of different gender,” personal hygiene, and the problems caused by unwanted pregnancy.

Valisno explained that the program was initiated in 2005 and that DepEd was on the “second batch” of pilot-testing to decide if some items in the teaching modules should be deleted before it is implemented throughout the public school system. She also clarified that the UNFPA was no longer funding the project.

“We will continue with the consultations and we hope to finish these as soon as possible,” she said.

Petition

Parents, led by AKP lawyer Jo Imbong, Monday filed with the Quezon City RTC a 28-page petition to stop the DepEd from teaching sex education in schools.

The petitioners said that the DepEd’s Memorandum No. 261 on sex education was unconstitutional since it “[violates] substantive due process and [violates] the primary right of parents to the development of the moral character of their children.”

They further claimed that the DepEd memo also violated the families’ right to participate in the planning and implementation of policies affecting them and the spouses’ right to find a family planning method according to their religious beliefs.

The petitioners stressed that there was no need to train children as young as 9 years old on reducing fertility, preventing sexually transmitted illnesses and the reproductive health components like family planning services, condoms and contraceptive pills.

“Are they, especially the grade schoolers, already generally indulging in sex and are promiscuous enough as to warrant HIV/AIDS protection or the use of condoms, IUDs and contraceptive pills? Our kids are not that sex-liberated. Essentially, they still have conservative sex values... DepEd Memo 261 is unreasonable and arbitrary unless DepEd is candid enough to admit that its real agenda is to transform the sex behavior of our kids towards being sex-obsessed,” the petitioners said.

Sex ed not the answer

“Sex education in schools is not the answer to our population problem and poverty,” AKP head Eric Manalang said Monday.

“It promotes promiscuity among children... it does not promote the proper values that we want our children to receive in schools and we believe sex education should strictly remain a family affair,” he said.

Manalang said the chances of the legal bid succeeding were high with the CBCP, as well as various parent groups, supporting the fight.

“Issues that are not for children should not be taught in schools,” the bishops’ conference had said in a statement. With reports from Julie M. Aurelio and Agence France-Presse

kalbongdad

June 22nd, 2010, 02:07 AM

kapunin lahat na ma L na pinoy.......ay huwag pala.....:lol: sasabit ako...:lol:

Ady001

June 22nd, 2010, 02:11 AM

^^ Katulad din ng Vuvuzela Desensitization yung Sex Ed:

pPVlAhK2j2o

RonnieR

June 22nd, 2010, 04:28 AM

palaban na ang simbahan :)

Church strikes back with high-profile campaign

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/19992-church-strikes-back-with-high-profile-campaign

Tuesday, 22 June 2010 00:00
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A new sex education campaign in Philippine schools has sparked widespread debate in Asia’s bedrock of Roman Catholicism, where the high birth rate is blamed for desperate poverty.
The United Nations-backed program, which is being piloted this month in primary and high schools, aims to promote safe sex, limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The Roman Catholic Church and powerful conservative crusaders, however, have struck back with a high-profile campaign to shut down the project, saying that it breaks the nation’s religion-based moral codes.

“Sex education in schools is not the answer to our population problem and poverty,” Eric Manalang, head of the conservative political party Ang Kapatiran (The Brotherhood), told Agence France-Presse on Monday.

“It promotes promiscuity among children . . . it does not promote the proper values that we want our children to receive in schools and we believe sex education should strictly remain a family affair,” Manalang said.

He added that his party and church had filed a petition in court on Monday requesting an injunction to stop the program.

Manalang said that the chances of the legal bid succeeding were high with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, as well as various parent groups, supporting the fight.

Their legal bid claims that the program impinges on parents’ constitutional right to educate their children based on their religious beliefs.

“Issues that are not for children should not be taught in schools,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement.

While Ang Kapatiran is only a small political party, conservative religious forces led by the Catholic Church hold a lot of sway in the Philippines, where more than 80 percent of the nation’s 90 million people are Catholic.

The bishops last year succeeded in blocking a proposed law in parliament that would have made it easier for the public to access state-funded contraceptives.

Nevertheless, the Department of Education has held firm.

It says the program is aimed at curbing a population growth rate of over two percent, among the highest in Asia, and does not promote out-of-marriage sex.

The scheme covers topics such as reproductive systems and cycles, hygiene, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, according to the department.

Education Secretary Mona Valisno said that teaching modules were designed by professionals, including psychologists, who made sure the discussions would be educational.

“Sex education will be integrated in other subjects such as science and they are designed to be scientific and informative,” she added.

“They are not designed to titillate prurient interests,” Valisno said.

The United Nations has become embroiled in the controversy because it partly funded the project, and issued a statement last week rejecting the Catholic Church’s position.

Manalang hit out at the United Nations Population Fund, the body involved in the project, saying it was interfering with internal Philippine issues.

But the fund’s Philippine director, Suneeta Mukherjee, said that opponents of the program had nothing to fear.

“We are not encouraging people, or children, to have sexual relationships, we are only helping students handle their sexuality as part of the process of growing up,” Mukherjee also told Agence France-Presse.
“Children at this age are very sensitive and must be taught by people in authority,” she pointed out.

Mukherjee said that HIV was on the rise among young Filipinos, and many of the nation’s poor—a third of the population lives on less than a dollar a day—did not have access to sound education on sexual matters.

“We just want the children to make responsible decisions,” she explained. AFP

Retro

June 22nd, 2010, 06:54 AM

Sex education debate heats up in Philippines

by Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse
Posted at 06/22/2010 10:29 AM | Updated as of 06/22/2010 11:21 AM

MANILA, Philippines - A new sex education campaign in Philippine schools has sparked widespread debate in Asia's bedrock of Catholicism, where the high birth rate is blamed for desperate poverty.

The United Nations-backed program, which is being piloted this month in primary and high schools, aims to promote safe sex, limit the spread of HIV-AIDS and prevent unwanted pregnancies.

However, the Catholic Church and powerful conservative crusaders have struck back with a high-profile campaign to shut down the project, saying it breaks the nation's religion-based moral codes.

"Sex education in schools is not the answer to our population problem and poverty," Eric Manalang, head of the conservative political party Ang Kapatiran (The Brotherhood), told AFP on Monday.

"It promotes promiscuity among children... it does not promote the proper values that we want our children to receive in schools and we believe sex education should strictly remain a family affair."

Manalang said his party and church had filed a petition in court on Monday requesting an injunction to stop the program.

He said the chances of the legal bid succeeding were high with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, as well as various parent groups, supporting the fight.

Their legal bid claims the program impinges on parents' constitutional right to educate their children based on their religious beliefs.

"Issues that are not for children should not be taught in schools," the bishops' conference said in a statement.

While Ang Kapatiran is only a small political party, conservative religious forces led by the Church hold a lot of sway in the Philippines, where more than 80 percent of the nation's 90-million people are Catholic.

The bishops last year succeeded in blocking a proposed law in parliament that would have made it easier for the public to access state-funded contraceptives.

Nevertheless, the education department has so far held firm.

It says the program is aimed at curbing a population growth rate of over two percent, among the highest in Asia, and does not promote out-of-marriage sex.

The scheme covers topics such as reproductive systems and cycles, hygiene, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, according to the education department.

Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the teaching modules were designed by professionals, including psychologists, who made sure the discussions would be educational.

"Sex education will be integrated in other subjects such as science and they are designed to be scientific and informative," she said.

"They are not designed to titillate prurient interests."

The United Nations has become embroiled in the controversy because it partly funded the project, and issued a statement last week rejecting the Church's position.

Manalang hit out at the United Nations Population Fund, the body involved in the project, saying it was interfering with internal Philippine issues.

But the fund's Philippine director, Suneeta Mukherjee, said opponents of the program had nothing to fear.

"We are not encouraging people, or children, to have sexual relationships. We are only helping students handle their sexuality as part of the process of growing up," Mukherjee told AFP.

"Children at this age are very sensitive and must be taught by people in authority."

She pointed out that HIV was on the rise among young Filipinos, and many of the nation's poor -- a third of the population lives on less than a dollar a day -- did not have access to sound education on sexual matters.

"We just want the children to make responsible decisions," Mukherjee said.

Ady001

June 22nd, 2010, 11:46 AM

^^ Why does the CBCP always thinks "parents know best?" The question here that arises it how can children openly talk to their parents when there's a feeling of awkwardness sometimes in these situations? Sometimes kasi, in these awkward subjects, we need a feeling of detachment to someone, whom we could talk to and not feel guilty about these things. Certainly not the priests.

Juan Pilgrim

June 22nd, 2010, 02:20 PM

^^ My 12 year old son started learning about sex education in parochial school here in NY a couple of years ago.

Now he seemed to be more confident and comfortable talking and discussing about this subject matter to me and his mother.

Eventhough I am a physician and a parent of 3, I don't think I can do a better job in teaching him what he is learning in school.

:horse:

oreotm

June 22nd, 2010, 03:09 PM

^^ its a very awkward situation not only with the parents but most specially with the sons/daughters... ewan ko ndi ko ata kayang pagusapan ung mga bagay regarding sex with my parents, im sure most if not all teenagers nowadays feels the same

Retro

June 22nd, 2010, 03:23 PM

Existing law already requires sex education, says lawyer :banana:

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:49:00 06/22/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Some sectors may question the legality of sex education in schools but the 1998 Aids Prevention Act (Republic Act 8504) already calls for HIV/AIDS education in schools, a reproductive health advocate said Tuesday.

Lawyer Clara Rita Padilla said that besides RA 8504, the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill would have also required the "much-needed comprehensive sex education in schools."

She added that the legal challenge filed on Monday by groups linked to the Catholic Church would provide an opportunity for the judiciary "to rule with finality on the constitutionality of sex education in schools."

"Such a ruling would uphold the children's right to be informed of their sexual and reproductive health and rights in fulfillment of our obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women," Padilla said.

"Such a ruling will lessen early sex, early pregnancies, maternal mortality and prevent the need for abortion," she added.

Padilla said the UN Population Fund’s State of the World Population report noted that there are 47 births per 1,000 Filipino women age 15 to 19.

"Many of our adolescents have already began childbearing.... Many of these adolescent girls would stop schooling and some would end up in prostitution," she added.

Retro

June 22nd, 2010, 11:48 PM

Gabriela tells DepEd: Proceed with sex education

By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star)
Updated June 23, 2010 12:00 AM :lol:

MANILA, Philippines - Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to pursue the introduction of sex education in public schools despite the class suit filed by parents opposing its implementation.

“They (DepEd) should be true to their mandate. Officials should even be supported instead of being sued. It is a sad commentary on the state of our already beleaguered educational system that certain individuals chose to undermine it further by taking this step.

It is divisive,” said Ilagan, who was a professor at the Ateneo de Davao University for 41 years before becoming a lawmaker. She said sex education should be included in the curriculum of students who are at least nine years old.

“As academicians, it is their duty to teach, and that includes sex education. Besides, the UN (United Nations) declared that sex education should be part of the curriculum,” she said.

“It is a great pity that conservative thinking will deprive pupils of knowledge that is important to a well-rounded education.”

Earlier this week, 27 persons, including defeated senatorial candidate Jo Aurea Imbong of Ang Kapatiran Party, filed a class suit against Education Secretary Mona Valisno and Undersecretary Ramon Bacani before the Quezon City regional trial court.

They sought a temporary restraining order on the implementation of sex education in public schools, arguing they have not been consulted as parents.

Buhay Rep. Irwin Tieng supported the class suit, saying the addition of sex education to the school curriculum will erode the morals of the students.

“It is the basic right and duty of every parent to protect the morals of their children inside and outside the confines of their homes,” he said.

In their petition, Imbong argued that DepEd memorandum 26, which mandates the inclusion of sex education in public elementary and high schools, violates the right of parents to be responsible for the development of moral charter of their children. Imbong heads the legal office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which strongly opposes the implementation of sex education and the passage of the Reproductive Health bill. Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas supports the implementation of sex education but prefers that it be taught in English.

“Of course we would prefer that it be taught entirely in English, as a language is best learned and mastered through constant exposure and use in school and elsewhere,” Gullas said.

“This way, the DepEd also gets to use the new program to advance the English skills of our children at an early age,” said Gullas, an educator and principal author of a bill seeking to strengthen the use of English in schools.

Christian_123

June 23rd, 2010, 12:04 AM

Commercial muna tayo from this heated debate:
9KMWRp83gpU

:hilarious :hilarious :hilarious

epik ll ian

June 23rd, 2010, 02:04 AM

They try and stop sex education which is probably one of the best classes the education system (and the out of control population surge) can use right now, and they also are trying to stop the construction of the economy-boosting BNP (which is only composed of a VERY low percentage of casinos relative to other sources of entertainment) ... I feel like they want to see the country sent back into the stone age. Not a fan.

I took sex-education/health, and I think it's a very valuable class. I got a lot of out it, and it certainly has affected my behaviors. All kids need it, because it's something that can't be comfortably taught by other people like parents and especially priests. This class NEVER taught me or my classmates promiscuity in the least bit. In a matter of fact, it taught me the opposite.

Retro

June 23rd, 2010, 07:25 AM

Teachers air support for DepEd plan :banana:

By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT - Manila Bulletin Online
June 22, 2010, 4:19pm

Public school teachers expressed their support Tuesday to the Department of Education (DepEd) whose top officials are facing a class suit regarding the inclusion of sex education program and the use of sex education modules in the basic and secondary curricula.

Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC), a 30,000-strong organization of teachers, said the move of the Education department in using modules for the inclusion of sex education is a laudable strategy.

“What the DepEd wants to do is to improve its teaching through the use of modules in selected schools for this pilot year,” TDC chairperson Benjo Basas said.

According to Basas, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) should have filed the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) a long time ago “since the concept of the program has been integrated in existing subjects in public schools curriculum for decades now.”

On Monday, a group of parents and members of the faith-based Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) led by member and CBCP legal officer Atty. Jo Aurea Imbong trooped to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court and filed a class suit against Education Secretary Mona Valisno and Undersecretary Ramon Bacani to stop the pilot testing of the sex program in 159 public schools this school year.

The group claimed that DepEd’s implementation of the sex education program is “unconstitutional” based on provisions of the 1987 Constitution which mandates the right of spouses to raise a family according to their religious beliefs, the sanctity of family life, the inviolability of marriage, and the protection of the family as a basic autonomous social institution and foundation of the nation.

The complainants also said the inclusion of the program through the use of the sex education modules is “a violation of parents' rights to nurture their children's moral character.”

Reports say that one of the reasons why critics from pro-life groups and the Catholic Church are against the inclusion of sex education is because the teachers who will use the modules are not “ready and trained.”

Basas said it is unfair for them as teachers to be judged that they are not ready in handling such matters. “Although some of us might say that we are not prepared, it doesn’t mean that we cannot teach our students properly,” he said.

He further explained that the teachers were part of the consultation process conducted by DepEd in the inclusion of the program. “Even in the development of the modules, teachers were part of it,” Basas stressed.

Basas, also a Social Studies teacher in Baesa High School in Caloocan City, said preparedness issues are no big deal to teachers. “We were trained to teach and we can always adapt to various situations given the needed training,” he said.

Critics should not also generalize that the teachers are not prepared in teaching sex education since “not all teachers will be required for the implementation.”

Earlier, the DepEd clarified that the sex education program is not a separate subject and its concept will be integrated in existing subjects like what will be done in the Consumer Laws Education Program and Responsible Citizenship Program.

Valisno also clarified that sex education modules will be used in Science; Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (EPP); Health; Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, at Sibika; and Mathematics. “Under Science, topics on the reproductive system, parts of the body, reproductive cycle, and puberty are discussed,” she said.

Retro

June 24th, 2010, 03:03 PM

Ignorance is not bliss

Opinion by Jenny Ortuoste
Manila Standard Today - June 24, 2010

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and other Roman Catholic church and conservative groups recently launched a high-profile campaign against the United Nations-backed sex education courses to be taught in elementary and high school this month.

Moro Islamic Liberation Fund Da’wah Committee head Sheik Muhammad Muntassir also issued a protest, saying “This is like preparing the child to be competitive for the next world of sex.” (sic)

They believe the Adolescent Reproductive Health program, implemented by the Department of Education, will promote promiscuity among the youth and erode religion-based moral codes.

Let’s take a look at recent statistics. The country’s population is at 96 million and rising at roughly 2 percent yearly; 7 out of 10 new mothers are teenagers; an estimated 64,000 abortions are performed on teenagers yearly; and the incidence of HIV/AIDS cases spread through sexual contact have risen sharply the past two years.

Proponents of the sex education course say that ignorance and lack of knowledge contribute to sex-related problems such as the population explosion, high rate of teenage pregnancy and abortions, and increasing number of AIDS cases.

Opponents say the course will teach teens to be promiscuous. (Given these numbers, aren’t they already?) They argue further that giving young people access to this kind of information will encourage them to engage in sexual behavior. According to Human Life International executive director Dr. Ligaya Acosta, “[This] is actually a course in systematic behavior modification, designed to change the child’s entire belief system.” She claimed that “researches around the world substantiate the fact that the more contraceptive programs are aimed at the young, the more pregnancies, abortions, promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, and cancer of the cervix results.”

In other words, one may argue both ways about knowledge—that it both deters and promotes a desired behavior. A paradox if I ever saw one.

Meanwhile, in cities across the country, mayors, other local government officials, and health-care workers are doing their part to provide solutions. When lawmakers failed to pass the Reproductive Health Bill during the last session, the mayor of a large Metro Manila city remarked, “I don’t wait anymore for Congress and the Senate to act. I see the problems first-hand, so I help directly and immediately by handing out condoms and contraceptives.” What was the reaction, I asked, of the clergy in his area? “Wala,” said the mayor. “None.”

Perhaps the Church officials in that city are turning a blind eye because they see for themselves the pressing need for such steps to alleviate these social problems, which are seen as contributing to the problem of poverty.

Something needs to be done. The question dividing society now is, will the sex ed course help or harm?

The conservative and religious crusaders say matters such as family planning and sex are best taught by parents at home. But not all children have parents—how about the families of overseas Filipino workers? Not all children have parents who are knowledgeable about the science, facts, and theories behind sex education and gender issues. We wouldn’t have these problems to begin with if they were, now would we? Also, parents who do have the knowledge may not be comfortable discussing sex with their children, and vice versa.

In a classroom setting, where gender and sex matters will be discussed by a trained teacher in a clinical manner, young people would be more likely to learn more and freely participate in the discourse and exchange of information. Ideally, from a communication viewpoint, this awareness and knowledge should translate into a change in attitude and practice.

The DepEd has offered to show the course modules to the public for feedback. In this way, those concerned may have a hand in shaping these sensitive and necessary lessons and ensure that our children will receive the information they need to conduct their future sexual behavior along safe and responsible lines.

If there were no such course taught, where would the curious adolescents go for the information? To each other? That’s like the blind leading the blind. To the Internet? Now that, according to one study, is made up of 34 percent porn, though that may be exaggerated.

Isn’t it best then, that trained instructors be given the task of enriching our children’s knowledge, rather than let them grope along unaided, finding out for themselves in the back seats of cars and in the delivery rooms of hospitals?

CBCP Legal Office executive secretary Jo Imbong and 30 other parents filed a suit against DepEd to halt the program, saying it was the “first step to reclaim our culture,” against “the forces that are reshaping the hearts and minds of our children.”

But sex ed courses were only recently started. How can it be a force that “reshapes hearts and minds”? If sex ed courses do contribute to promiscuity, teen pregnancies, more abortions, and so on, as Acosta asserted, then why do we now have such high figures all across the board for these without having had sex education? Therefore such courses cannot be blamed for the increased sexualization of our youth.

It is a growing phenomenon around the world. Where is it coming from? May I direct your attention to the glowing screens in your house—the television and the Internet. Mass media and advertising for the past several years have shown a pattern of sexualization of girls at younger ages; males, to a lesser degree but still at a marked rate compared to before.

I’d say it started with Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” video in 1999. From then on, the clothes got shorter and the moves more obscene. Today artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and Shakira writhe across the stage, semi-clad. We have our own versions of sexy dancers gyrating half-naked on the daily variety shows, with unequivocal names like “Sex Bomb”.

The cultural sexualization of the youth is a global trend. It is alarming, true. But because of rapid advances in communication technology, these types of media are easy to access and consume. This is now our culture, whether you like it or not. Unless you are North Korea or an Islamic country, there is no way no control this trend without taking away people’s basic rights to information and freedom of expression.

Why not fight information with information? Foes of the Adolescent Reproductive Health program are doing a disservice to the UN and DepEd efforts to equip our youth with what may be their best weapon against unwanted pregnancies, HIV, and sex-related issues. Ignorance is never a good thing.

Retro

June 25th, 2010, 10:51 AM

Sex education classes in limbo with priest as education chief

by Christine F. Herrera
Manila Standard Today - June 25, 2010

THE incoming Aquino administration has named a priest as its Education secretary, throwing into doubt the fate of a UN-funded program to include sex education in the curriculum of elementary and secondary schools as a way to reduce teenage pregnancies.

Armin Luistro, the president of De La Salle University, accepted an offer from President-elect Benigno Aquino III’s offer to head the Education Department a statement released by the university said.

Luistro, a member of the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines, was among those who called for President Gloria Arroyo to resign in 2005 amid allegations that she had cheated to win the 2004 elections.

His appointment as Education secretary casts doubt on a program to teach sex education in public grade schools and high schools that the Catholic Church opposes.
Education Secretary Mona Valisno, meanwhile, denied the department had distributed comics on sex education.

In a statement, Valisno denied claims of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines that the comics were part of the modules for the department’s sex education program.

Advocates of the reproductive health bill said they saw Luistro’s appointment as bad news for efforts to establish a national policy on population management, which the Catholic Church also opposes.

“It’s on record. Luistro is not in favor of our advocacy, much less sex education,” said Benjamin de Leon, president of Forum for Family Planning of the Philippines.

Elizabeth Angsioco, chairman of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, said much depended on how the incoming president handled the issue.

“If Noynoy [Aquino] is serious in his pro-responsible parenthood position, he should see sex education as a way for young people to develop into future responsible parents,” she said. “So far, I hear that Luistro might not be as progressive as Valisno.”

In Quezon City, a group of Catholic parents asked the Regional Trial Court to stop the government’s sex education program, saying it usurped their right and duty to teach their children about sex. The hearings continue.

Valisno, in her statements, emphasized that the modules used in the program were carefully developed.

“Among those who prepared the modules are psychologists—because we want to ensure that specific topics for discussions will be made in the appropriate year levels,” Valisno said. “Topics requiring a more mature audience are discussed in the latter years in high school.”

But Valisno also said the program’s fate was in the hands of the Aquino administration.

“The next administration will be the one to decide whether to implement this fully, revise the modules, apply [it to] selected schools, or totally scrap it.”

The incoming Education secretary finished his primary and secondary education at De La Salle in Lipa City before taking up an undergraduate degree in philosophy and letters and a master’s degree in religious education in La Salle Manila.

Retro

June 25th, 2010, 10:57 AM

The coming theocracy :bash:

Editorial - Manila Standard Today
June 25, 2010

THE separation of Church and State in the Philippines is an illusion.

The notion that the government bureaucracy must be neutral to all religions as a safeguard against discrimination and persecution of some is a fiction we subscribe to when we wish to take our place among modern and enlightened secular democracies. Yet, in the day-to-day operation of government, we violate this tenet every day, without a thought.

As a matter of course, we begin official functions with a prayer to a Catholic god, with no consideration for those among the public who might belong to another faith. In matters of health, we allow the Catholic Church, with its arcane views against contraception, to dictate our policies on population management while our runaway birth rate, especially among the poor, strains our resources and erodes our progress as a nation. We allow people with no first-hand experience in sex or raising a family dictate on how we may—or may not—do both.

In politics, we allow prelates to browbeat and threaten lawmakers into inaction on important legislature, when their arguments are ultimately based, not on facts, but on dogma.

In education, we echo the Church’s platitudes that parents, not schools, must teach sex education, pretending that we didn’t learn about the birds and the bees through whispered discussions with our peers because discussing sex is taboo in many families.

This sad state of affairs can only grow worse as the new administration takes power, with a President who began his political journey with a religious retreat, and who has already backed away from his previous stand to support the reproductive health bill that the Church so despises.

And what will become of the United Nations-funded program to incorporate sex education in primary and secondary schools as a way to head off teenage pregnancies? The program, which simply seeks to give children the scientific information they need to understand their own bodies, now seems doomed, thanks to the incoming administration’s decision to appoint a priest as education secretary.

Will Armin Luistro, president and chancellor of De La Salle University and newly named education secretary, defy the Catholic hierarchy and allow the program to move forward? That, to use a religious idiom, has a snowball’s chance in hell.

great184

June 25th, 2010, 11:05 AM

^^^ Uh oh, could this spell trouble for our sex ed class? AS for the promiscuity, in today's world where TV, internet, others forms of media and the current social scene practically encourage promiscuity, there is a necessity to further inform our youth regarding the potential responsibilities that come with sex.

If the church has done its research, it would have seen the increasing sexuality among teenage women nowadays when compared to 10, 20 years. To oppose sex education IMO is foolish period.

Maxxclip

June 25th, 2010, 11:59 AM

epik ll ian

June 25th, 2010, 02:53 PM

oreotm

June 25th, 2010, 03:11 PM

great184

June 25th, 2010, 05:15 PM

This is ridiculous. I'm expecting zero economic and societal progress until there is a separation between church and state. Everything the Catholic church has been for right now is anti-progress. If they don't think there should be a Sex Ed class, they should use their funds to make their own sex ed class for kids to attend. What about the Muslims though and the non-Catholics? Man, life sucks for you if you're not Catholic in such a theocratic nation.

The problem with their organization is their stubbornness and rigidity. Pretty soon there will be a Philippine version of the "Reformation" if we keep getting dictated with dated orders from the church.

Retro

June 25th, 2010, 05:23 PM

Government lawyers ask court to dismiss case filed by parents vs sex education

By Jerry Botial (The Philippine Star)
Updated June 25, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Government lawyers sought yesterday the dismissal of the case filed by parents seeking to stop the Department of Education (DepEd) from implementing the sex education program because the complainants have no legal standing.

The lawyers asked Judge Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88 to junk the case for lack of merit.

Assistant Solicitor General Renan Ramos said during a court hearing that there is nothing immoral in the DepEd’s sex education modules.

“The modules aim to teach gender development, science, and it is part of the human anatomy
. There is nothing immoral about the project and nothing violative of the petitioners’ constitutional rights,” Ramos told reporters.

Ramos claimed that the parents who filed the case have admitted before the court that their children are not enrolled in the schools where the DepEd is carrying out the sex education program.

“None of the parents are directly affected because they admitted in open court that their children are not enrolled in those schools with pilot testing. They have no legal standing to initiate the petition because they are not directly affected,” said Ramos.

Lawyer Jo Aurea Imbong filed last week the petition for prohibition and temporary restraining order (TRO) against Education Secretary Mona Valisno and Undersecretary Ramon Bacani.

Judge Maglaya said she is inclined to rule in two weeks in favor of a TRO against the sex education program.

The court said the petition has been deemed submitted for resolution following the filing of the DepEd’s comment through the government lawyers.

boom_box

June 25th, 2010, 07:35 PM

^^ bopols talaga nag oppose sa sex ed... pa uto na naman sila sa mga pari..

Retro

June 26th, 2010, 12:05 AM

Luistro to review DepEd sex ed program :ohno:

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:20:00 06/26/2010

MANILA, Philippines — The De La Salle brother who is President-elect Benigno Aquino III’s choice for education secretary intends to review the controversial sex education program of the Department of Education when he takes over next week.

But Br. Armin Luistro FSC, the chancellor and president of De La Salle University (DLSU), said he has yet to decide what to do about the DepEd program that has been exercising the minds of his fellow religious and the influential Catholic Church.

Luistro said he was also waiting for his “marching orders” from Aquino who chose Luistro, 48, to head the DepEd, the second Lasallian brother to do so in 12 years. (The late Br. Andrew Gonzalez served as education secretary in the aborted presidency of deposed President Joseph Estrada from 1998 to 2001.)

“There are programs that need to be reviewed like sex education, which is becoming a big issue,” Luistro told reporters at the Manila Hotel yesterday.

The education department recently began introducing sex education in elementary schools and high schools to promote safe sex, limit the spread of HIV-AIDS and prevent unwanted pregnancies, immediately drawing the ire of the powerful Catholic Church which vehemently opposes the teaching of sex education in schools.

The Church has launched a campaign, including a court petition by a Church-allied political party, to quash the program which has the support of the United Nations.

A militant teachers group said on Thursday that Luistro had to “prove himself,” particularly on sex education, since he is a member of a Catholic religious order.

Too early to comment

Luistro, whose appointment was announced by De la Salle University and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the local church hierarchy, said he had not given the issue much thought.

“I’m still preparing the succession plan at DLSU. I have really not spent any time thinking about that,” he said.

Asked what he would do if Aquino’s position diverged from that of the Church, Luistro said: “For me, there is a need for consultation with all the stakeholders. For any program, I think there should be consultation. There is a need for a review.”

Asked if he was personally open to sex education, Luistro said: “What’s difficult there is that there are different definitions of sex education.”

“The first question there shouldn’t be whether you’re in favor or not. I think what’s being discussed there is what kind of education should be given,” Luistro said.

Luistro said he had “personal views” about sex education but that it was “too early” for him to comment because he has yet to be fully briefed on the DepEd sex education program.

“I don’t know anything about the current program of DepEd so I can’t speak about that. The question is what kind of sex education does DepEd have now,” Luistro said, adding that the age of students that would be taught should also be discussed.

He said he still had to see the sex education teaching modules that are being used, “so I really can’t say anything about the program as of now.”

Priority

“My priority now is who will replace me at DLSU. I just can’t leave. This happened so quickly. This wasn’t planned,” he added.

Luistro said he would also review other programs at the DepEd and would retain those that are helping improve the education system.

“I want to focus on the programs that need to be continued. Maybe there are programs there that are good and need to be continued,” he said.

God said so

“I really don’t know the real situation. What I know is based on what I read from the papers. I need to look at the data,” he added.

Luistro said he decided to accept the offer from Aquino to join the Cabinet after “discerning” in his prayers that this was the path that God had intended him to take.

Luistro said his “discernment” process took a long time because he also needed to get permission from his superiors.

“My discernment was long because for us Church people, the decision was not just mine. Included there are my fellow De La Salle brothers, what would happen to DLSU, and getting permission from my superiors,” he said.

“You know in truth, in my prayers, I felt that this was a calling from God for me to serve the children in the public schools and the out-of-school youth. I think that was a major factor in my discernment process,” Luistro said.

“We, the La Salle brothers, are known for education. If in the past, I served inside the La Salle schools, this time, this is a new way to serve others, particularly the out-of-school youth and the public schools,” he added.

Arroyo critic

Luistro was a vocal critic of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and played a key role in rallying opposition support for Aquino in his presidential bid.

He is a member of the La Salle Brothers, a Catholic order that is charged with education of youth and operates schools throughout the world.

Although the brothers are celibate and are affiliated with the Church, they cannot perform church ceremonies like priests.

The CBCP website, which announced Luistro’s appointment, quoted Sister Mary John Mananzan, co-chair of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, as saying that the education department had “many problems and anomalies” that Luistro was expected to address.

Meanwhile, a reproductive health advocate yesterday said that Luistro should resign from his post as “director at large” of the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP).

Lawyer Clara Rita Padilla said the CEAP had refused readmission in schools of teachers and students “who got pregnant outside of marriage,” in violation of the Magna Carta of Women which was enacted last year.

Padilla said Luistro should implement sex education in schools to address early sex, early pregnancies, maternal mortality and prevent abortion.

Ady001

June 26th, 2010, 03:02 AM

^^ bopols talaga nag oppose sa sex ed... pa uto na naman sila sa mga pari..

Hindi lang bopols, talagang isang malaking katangahan na hindi ito dapat turuan. Anong gusto nilang mangyari? Matutuhan nila ito elsewhere?

boom_box

June 26th, 2010, 10:49 AM

^^ Baka gusto nila siguro maranasan muna bago matuto... hayzzz..

dvbaicrviser

June 26th, 2010, 01:04 PM

Siguro hanggang pagtatanim at pagkain lang ng papaya ang maituturo ng mga pari para makontrol ng isang tao ang tawag ng laman.

:bash:

Ady001

June 26th, 2010, 04:39 PM

^^ Salamat din at may mga telenovela at reality shows to keep our populace entertained. Sa India daw, dahil walang TV yung ibang lugar, AFAIK, tumitikim lang sila ng luto ng diyos para malibang.

Retro

June 26th, 2010, 06:33 PM

US Catholics oppose DepEd's sex ed plan

By Henni Espinosa, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
Posted at 06/26/2010 8:05 AM

SAN FRANCISCO – Many devout Filipino Catholics in the US agree with the Catholic bishops’ opposition to the teaching of sex education in schools in the Philippines.

Robert Raquipiso said his 13-year-old daughter in the Philippines is too young to learn about sex.

“We’re Filipino. Our customs and tradition say we don’t teach sex education in schools,” said Raquipiso.

Josie Baarde is also opposed to the teaching of sex education in schools back home. Baarde said parents are responsible for teaching children about sex even if they work abroad.

“Ang mga anak natin, na-ga-guide natin sila. Napapangaralan natin sila,” she said.

The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd), with the United Nations Population Fund, says the burden of teaching sex education to children lies on them.

They plan to implement the program in 160 elementary and high schools in the Philippines. They said this would help prevent teenage pregnancies and the rise of sexually-transmitted diseases.

MC Canlas, an outreach coordinator for public health in San Francisco, agrees. “Para kapag lumabas sila sa mundo alam nila kung ano ang kanilang nakikita. Hindi sila namamangha sa mga hindi nila nade-decode na mga pangyayari,” said Canlas.

The DepEd plans to consult with Catholic bishops before implementing the program in schools.

Fr. Ed Dura of St. Patrick’s Church insists children should be taught values on love and family, not the biological aspect of sex.

“Both the government and the church should sit down on how to do this better, rather than debating and politicizing about it. You cannot legislate values,” Fr. Dura said.

The DepEd said psychologists helped prepare the modules to make sure they are appropriate for year levels.

Proponents of sex education in the Philippines say HIV is on the rise among young Filipinos and that many of the nation’s poor do not have access to proper sex education.

They said this is about teaching the children, the future generation, how to make responsible decisions in life, for the betterment of the entire nation.
Balitang America

Ady001

June 26th, 2010, 06:56 PM

^^ Oh brother, UN vs. Catholic Church, which works?

Even the Roman Catholic Church doesn't have the grip in Italy anymore

great184

June 27th, 2010, 03:31 AM

True - Besides let's analyze this famous statement:

"Go forth and multiply"

This worked back in the old days because:

Life Expectancy was low
Child Mortality Rate was High
Infant Mortality Rate was High
Death from Childbirth was High
Relatively undeveloped understanding of Disease and Medicine
Rampant Plagues, Epidemics
Lack of Sanitation... etc.

So back in the days yes you had to "Go forth and multiply in dozens or the population count would have dropped! Wasn't that a simple analogy?

But now we have

- A much higher life expectancy
- Lower infant and child death rates
- Lower death rates from child birth
- Much better sanitation facilities
- Better accessibility to medicines
- Advancement in the field of medicine, sciences of health.
- Food is readily accessible to most
- Potential Epidemics have largely been contained

And yes even the poor sectors have benefitted from the marvels of living in todays world. But what if you combine old values of large families with reduced risks of today - We get an ever expanding population in a slower expanding economy. But wait who's expanding - the rich? No.. the middle class? No 2 kids are enough. Yes it's the poor - the guys with less access to the information that help them decide better with the sustainable amount of family members.

Retro

June 27th, 2010, 05:29 AM

Incoming DepEd chief to scrap sex education
:bash:
The Manila Times
Sunday, 27 June 2010 00:00

THE controversial “sex education” modules may be heading back to the drawing board, as incoming Education Secretary Brother Armin Luistro is looking to “defer” the implementation for as long as he is at the helm of the Education department. According to sources from within the agency, Luistro, while considering the importance of such subject, will follow the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) call to shelve the plan.

According to the source, Luistro who meet with CBCP officials before accepting the post, was told to scrap the project.

“Secretary Luistro was actually given marching orders by the CBCP to shelve the project,” the source said.

This as outgoing Education Secretary Mona Valisno said that the modules that were planned to be integrated in the basic education curriculum this school year is now with the CBCP for its perusal and review.

Valisno said Bishop Oscar Cruz told her the modules were already with them and are being reviewed before the CBCP would make its recommendations.

“The good bishop told me that the modules we gave them are now with the Pontifical Council for the Family,” Valisno said adding they got the chance to talk when they met Friday night.

Cruz, she said emphasized that “Sex is sacred. Done inside marriage, which is held as a holy union of two souls, it is a component of procreation.”

The Education department chief who earlier said the department will pursue the teaching of sex education, welcomes the CBCP’s comment and opinion on the modules.

“This exchange of ideas is good,” said Valisno. “We have always maintained that we are open for dialog with any interest groups so we assuage their fears and assure them that what we are doing is child-friendly.”

The CBCP are among the sectors strenuously opposed to teaching sex education in the country’s schools successfully blocking a similar initiative by the education department in 2005.

Education department has repeatedly explained to the public that their sex education learning modules
focus on adolescence, health and wellness, and proper values and character development.

Valisno adds that they will also include lesson guides in spiritual development as recommended by Bishops Reuben Abante and Efraim Tendero of the Presidential Council for Values Formation.

Sex education will initially be pilot-tested in some 80 elementary and 79 secondary schools nationwide though the Education department said they are still in the consultation stage at present.

The topic would be pilot-tested in schools in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Sultan Kudarat and Sulu as well as in Olongapo City, Mountain Province, Masbate, Ifugao, Eastern Samar and Bohol.

Last week, Valisno and Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani were sued by a group of parents led by losing Ang Kapatiran Party senatorial Jo Aurea Imbong before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City.

The petitioners were seeking an injunction to prevent Education department from implementing the plan, which they said is “unconstitutional.”
FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO

MatudNilaBaby

June 27th, 2010, 04:31 PM

ang hindi ko maintindihan many catholic countries for example spain, a lot of latin american countries... most of their population is catholic pero there is a fine line that separates Religion and politics! pero satin, sila na nga di nagbabayad ng buwis sila pa humihila satin pababa!and regarding dun sa appointment ng sec. of education ndi ba unconstitutional un kung ia-appoint nya is connected with the religious sector??

that will become a discrimination case that a person is not appointed to a government position because he is affiliated with a religious order. he might be biased on some teachings like sex education but he should be judge on the basis of his credentials.

Ady001

June 27th, 2010, 04:40 PM

bukid

June 28th, 2010, 03:04 AM

i dont agree that we should teach sex education to those in kindergarten and elementary. yun lang.

epik ll ian

June 28th, 2010, 04:46 AM

“Secretary Luistro was actually given marching orders by the CBCP to shelve the project,” the source said.

CRAP ... He is a CBCP PUPPET ... NOOOO!!! He better not shelve anything else like emphasis in research and development, and the K-12 system. I can't give in to that. If we're going to face a huge population surge in the next few years, they better be smart enough to be able to sustain themselves comfortably in a country unable to support such a huge amount of people. Hence, massive education reforms. No more shelving, no more idling. It's time to get down to business.

I started Sex Education in the 7th grade. I think that would be a good time to start. That's when we all hit puberty and start discovering things about ourselves we didn't know about before haha.

junex

June 28th, 2010, 06:05 AM

i dont agree that we should teach sex education to those in kindergarten and elementary. yun lang.

Meron na po dati pa sa pre-school..kaibahan ng lalaki sa babae..

may "crush" na din sila nalalaman ngaun..psst.

xxxriainxxx

June 28th, 2010, 06:50 AM

i dont agree that we should teach sex education to those in kindergarten and elementary. yun lang.

I think we should teach it to kids as young as elementary para hindi na tatanga tanga pagdating ng puberty which is usually high school.

To think about it, it would even be good to teach them at kindergarten so that they will be aware of their bodies and fend off potential child sex offenders.

dvbaicrviser

June 28th, 2010, 09:15 AM

DoH chief says she would be reappointed

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 13:52:00 06/28/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral on Monday hinted that President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III had reappointed her head of the Department of Health.

Cabral, however, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer "we all have to wait for his announcement."

The DoH head declined to comment further on what some people close to her called the "good news."

The other day, Cabral met with Aquino at his Times Street residence in Quezon City, supposedly to talk about her reappointment as DoH secretary.

Last week, Cabral told DoH reporters she was willing to serve in the incoming administration. "I am open to serving the country at any moment, at any time," she said.

According to Cabral, "we at the Cabinet serve at the president's pleasure. Let's give the president the opportunity to choose the members of his Cabinet."

She urged Aquino not to succumb to pressures from, among others, political and religious groups in implementing government policies, including reproductive health, tobacco control, and food supplement regulation.

Cabral said she remained unfazed despite what she called the "long climb ahead in making our policies work for the betterment of Filipino society."

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has chided Aquino following reports that he would retain Cabral, a known advocate of the controversial Reproductive Health Bill.

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, urged Aquino to "reconsider because there are more efficient government officials that do not subscribe to her way of thinking."

"Cabral's position is very consistent with the RH Bill. So if she's retained, she can effectively promote this contraceptive commotion regarding AIDS prevention and her very aggressive policy on condom use," Castro explained.

Cabral earned the ire of the Catholic church when the DoH distributed free condoms on Valentine's Day, prompting some CBCP members to call for her resignation.

The non-government Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPDFI), meanwhile, has taken up the cudgels for Cabral as it hit the Catholic church for allegedly trying to unduly influence the incoming administration.

"Why can't the bishops just allow (Aquino) to decide on the composition of his Cabinet?" said Ramon San Pascual, PLCPDFI executive director.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100628-278034/DoH-chief-says-she-would-be-reappointed

Sana totoo ito. Mukhang mahihirapan ang Simbahang Katoliko na hawakan sa leeg si Pres. Noy, di gaya nang ginawa nila sa nanay niya. Malakas ang loob niya lalo pa't ang Iglesia ni Cristo ang talagang sumuporta sa kanya at hindi ang mga pari. Pagkatapos, ang dami pa niyang kaalyado na pabor sa RH bill.

manila_eye

June 28th, 2010, 10:50 AM

hay salamat most likely retained si cabral. thanks to carlos celdran for lobbying her. why not make carlos celdran the dot sec? kinakabahan lang ako sa deped sec.

xxxriainxxx

June 28th, 2010, 11:41 AM

hay salamat most likely retained si cabral. thanks to carlos celdran for lobbying her. why not make carlos celdran the dot sec? kinakabahan lang ako sa deped sec.

hindi lang naman si Caloy ang naglobby, but yeah. Anyway, si Bertie Lim na raw ang DoT Secy.

Goner na ang DepEd.

RonnieR

June 29th, 2010, 04:23 AM

xxxriainxxx

June 29th, 2010, 10:35 AM

lh0ZB9OD_fg

Ady001

June 29th, 2010, 10:38 AM

^^ I believe god more than those in the pulpit.

manila_eye

June 29th, 2010, 10:40 AM

si enrique ona na ang health secretary according sa inquirer.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20100629-278220/Aquino-names-Cabinet-members

oreotm

June 29th, 2010, 01:11 PM

i smell something fishy here.. una lumabas ang mga balita na marereappoint si sec. Cabral then merong article just above stating sinabi ni noynoy na marereappoint si sec. cabral and now? iba na ang sec of health.... hhmmmm seems like takot si noynoy sa catholic church bigtime!

Christian_123

June 29th, 2010, 01:33 PM

Dapat ipakalat ng government to:
http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/6b653293-d634-4095-850b-2a1e546dc54e.jpg

At ipakita rin to sa health class:
U0kJHQpvgB8

:hilarious

Retro

June 29th, 2010, 02:12 PM

Aquino on sex ed: ‘Zero education might lead to wrong decisions’

By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:13:00 06/29/2010

MANILA, Philippines—While he withheld his position on sex education, President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III believes that "zero education” “might lead to wrong decisions."

Aquino made the statement on Tuesday amid strong opposition against the inclusion of sex education in public schools.

"I will have to talk to Bro. Armin (Luistro) to discuss with him my views on this," he told a press conference, referring to newly-appointed education secretary.

"Pero bottomline po n’yan, hindi ko maadopt ‘yong policy noong pinaka conservative elements na noong kampanya po iminumungkuhi sa atin ay huwag pag usapan, parang zero education," Aquino said.

"So zero education means ignorance and ignorance might lead to wrong decisions," he said.

Christian_123

June 29th, 2010, 03:01 PM

^^ In your face catholic church :lol:

RonnieR

June 29th, 2010, 04:11 PM

dvbaicrviser

June 29th, 2010, 10:05 PM

Catholic Church to keep tight watch over Aquino administration
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) Updated June 30, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of the Catholic Church vowed yesterday to keep a tight watch over the incoming Aquino administration.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will “make noises” if the administration would adopt policies that run counter to the principles of the Church.

“If there would be issues involving the new administration that the CBCP feels strongly about, we expect the bishops to give their reactions,” Iniguez said at a media forum in Manila.

Iniguez, who chairs the CBCP’s public affairs committee, has been openly critical of the Arroyo administration.

Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, CBCP media director, said they will closely monitor the first 100 days of Aquino, as they did in past administrations. “It is part and parcel of our mission to be vigilant,” Quitorio said. “Otherwise we will be remiss with our duties as a Church if we don’t do that.”

Iniguez said the bishops will likely keep an eye on the development of the Reproductive Health Bill under the Aquino government.

“If they continue to push for this Reproductive Health Bill, the Church will definitely make its stand known and oppose it,” he said.

Meanwhile, a senior lawmaker is hoping that the new president may finally pave the way for the passage of the controversial Reproductive Health Bill in the next Congress.

Re-elected Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, a co-author of the RH bill in the House of Representatives, vowed to re-file the measure when the 15th Congress opens on July 1.

“In the history of advocacy for this bill, supportive legislators continue to grow in numbers in each Congress. I have no doubt that we will get more allies now more than ever,” Garin said.

An obstetrician-gynecologist by profession, Garin said legislators are now more aware of the urgency of passing the RH bill.

“Also, the favorable position of the president-elect on the bill that he pronounced even during the thick of the campaign season will be key to getting our colleagues to sign and push for its passage,” she said.

Before, during and even after the campaign, Aquino had repeatedly said he is for “responsible parenthood,” and that he is leaving it up to couples to choose the family planning method they are most comfortable with.

The bill reached plenary debates under the period of interpellation in the 14th Congress but was never approved.

The measure was first filed in the 8th Congress (1987-1992) or during the time of the late President Cory Aquino and has been re-filed in subsequent Congresses for the last 23 years.

However, the principal author of House Bill 5043 on Reproductive Health and Population Development, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, is still hopeful that the measure will be passed.

“This is not the end of the road for the RH bill. We still have the 15th Congress (July 2010-June 2013),” Lagman told reporters earlier.

Lagman’s bloc has supported the move of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to distribute contraceptive pills to interested couples all over the country.

Lagman said this is “consistent with the freedom of informed choice on which the RH bill is firmly anchored.” – With Delon Porcalla

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=588980&publicationSubCategoryId=63

Matindi talaga ang pakikialam ng Simbahang Katoliko sa gobyerno. Ayaw sa family planning, ayaw sa sex education, ayaw sa casino. Nawala nga si Cardinal Sin, pero isang batalyon na pakialamerong kaparian naman ang pumalit. :bash:

Hayaan nila ang gobyerno na kumilos, hangga't ito ay naayon sa batas ng tao. Huwag nilang ipilit sa lahat ng mga Filipino ang batas ng KATOLIKO. Itigil nila ang mga pananakot nila dahil ang gobyerno mismo hindi naman sila pinakikialaman sa mga palakad nila sa mga Filipinong kasapi ng Simbahang Katoliko. :ohno:

Malamang, last minute, ginapang nila para di makaupo si Cabral sa DOH.

Ady001

June 30th, 2010, 02:19 AM

Marami na ang naglalaban sa panukalang ito:

RH advocates ask court to junk petition vs sex ed in schools

Two reproductive health and women's rights advocates asked a local court on Tuesday to dismiss an earlier petition urging the Department of Education to stop sex education from being taught in public schools.

Lawyer Clara Rita Padilla and Anita Visbal, officials of EnGendeRights, filed their opposition and motion to intervene before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88, which handles the petition pro-life parents filed last week.

Over the years, the two have conducted field work with urban poor women who are vulnerable to early pregnancy, sexual abuse, and multiple consecutive pregnancies due to lack of knowledge in reproductive health.

"The DepEd must be allowed to continue conducting its pilot modules on [adolescent reproductive health] through life skills-based education program," Padilla and Visbal said in their motion.

"The children and adolescents are the ones who are bound to suffer irreparable damage due to the lack of essential, life skills-based education that are very crucial..., " they added.

Last week, defeated senatorial bet and lawyer Jo Imbong and other pro-life parents asked the court to prevent the DepEd from implementing a 2005 memorandum that allows the teaching of sex education in public and private elementary and high schools.

The DepEd's "real agenda" was to make children "sex-obsessed," the said.

They added the memo was unconstitutional and arbitrary, and violates parents' rights to be responsible for the development of their children's moral character.

However, Padilla and Visbal argued that the Department of Education's sex education program helps students become knowledgeable about the following:

The risks of early sex including early pregnancies; Vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, reproductive tract infections, HIV; Maternal mortality and morbidity; Dropping out of school due to the demands of pregnancy and childbearing; Risks of early marriage such as violence against women; and Benefits of reproductive health education and responsible parenthood in preventing unwanted and untoward pregnancies

Citing records from the United Nations Population Fund or UNFPA, the two said many adolescents are sexually active and do not practice contraceptive methods.

"In 2008, there were 47 births for every 1000 women aged 15 to 19. Twenty-six percent of women age 15 to 24 have already began child-bearing," they said.

In their field work experience across the country, they have encountered women who started childbearing at 14, a woman who had six children at 21, and women who had multiple consecutive pregnancies including one who had 10 children at 30.

Technicality questioned

Padilla and Visbal likewise said Imbong and the other pro-life petitioners lodged their complaint at the wrong venue because the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has no jurisdiction over DepEd, whose main office is located in Pasig City.

They also argued that it was filed "out of time" because the 60-day period for questioning DepEd's Memorandum No. 26 had already lapsed as Undersecretary Ramon Bacani issued it in September 2005.

"A petition for prohibition must be filed within 60-days from notice of the assailed order or acts. The petitioner’s complaint for prohibition, having been filed way past the 60-day period to file a complaint for prohibition, must be dismissed outright," Padilla and Visbal said. - LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20100629/tph-rh-advocates-ask-court-to-junk-petit-d6cd5cf.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Ady001

June 30th, 2010, 02:20 AM

Matanong ko lang, bakit kaya ganito ang simbahan? Gusto ba nila ng maraming Padre Damaso? Ng maraming mga pedo sex offenders sa pulpit nila? :ohno:

Sleepwalker

June 30th, 2010, 04:31 AM

Maganda yong bagong sinabi ni Noynoy na zero education is equals to ignorance. Sana mapanindigan nya yan.

Sa simbahan naman, dapat linisin at pakialaman muna nila yong mga mutant X-Men(dating lalaki) at mga manyak at molestiyador na mga kapari-an nila.

Retro

July 2nd, 2010, 12:48 AM

New health chief on family planning :)

Business Insight Malaya
Make all methods available
BY GERARD NAVAL

HEALTH Secretary Enrique Ona yesterday said there should be equal promotion of all family planning methods, whether natural or artificial.

Ona, former executive director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute before he was given the health portfolio by President Aquino, said all methods should be made available to couples if only to aid them in practicing responsible parenthood.

"We in government should be able to present it to them (couples) in a very objective manner and at the same time making sure that they are given all the options…be it natural planning, which my Church, the Catholic Church, supports aggressively, or for those who like to use scientific methods," he said.

One reason for the equal promotion, he said, is that the government is for all couples, regardless of their religion.

"Responsible parenthood is the responsibility and the decision of a very well-informed couple, considering whatever religious beliefs," said Ona.

He said it would be a bigger mistake if a couple brings a child in an "irresponsible manner."

The Catholic Church is the most vocal opponent of the proposed reproductive health bill, labeling it anti-life, because it allows the use of artificial contraceptives.

Asked whether he supports the passage of the RH bill in the 15th Congress, Ona did not give a direct answer.

"I’m not aware of certain controversial issues with regards to the RH and I’m going to review more details…I may or may not support it," he said.

He, however, said they would continue to use department funds to procure artificial contraceptives, such as condoms, if the need presents it.

As to the issue of sex education, Ona said he is not concerned with what age group will be taught.

"If it is taught in the context of biology and not in the context of pure pleasure (I don’t think there’s a problem)… in short, it should be scientifically taught. This should be cognizant of the concerns of the family and of the public on how it can be taught," said Ona.

The Department of Education has been pushing for the inclusion of sex education in the curriculum of elementary and high school, sparking debates among different sectors.

Ady001

July 2nd, 2010, 03:57 AM

On a totally unrelated news...

Europe Fights Crucifix Ban
http://www.frumforum.com/europe-fights-crucifix-ban

Yesterday, Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, San Marino, Romania, and Russia joined Italy in arguing against the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that the Court ought to overturn its 2009 ruling banning crucifixes in Italian classrooms.

Italy, like France, claims to be a highly secular state – a state in which religion and government are not formally linked in any discernible way. In France’s public institutions, such as government offices, schools, etc., it is not only illegal to wear religious headscarves, burqas, and yarmulkes, but also illegal to wear “ostentatious” cross necklaces or other Christian symbols.

Similar secular laws and traditions apply in Italy… with one glaring exception: Many Italian classrooms still display a crucifix above the center of the chalkboard.

Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Soile Lautsi, an Italian mother, who claimed that her children ought to be afforded a secular education and demanded that crucifixes be banned in schools. The ban has not been dutifully enforced, to say the least.

While in northern Italy, visiting a friend this past spring, I noticed the crucifix displayed in the classroom of my friend’s secular high school. It was especially interesting that although a crucifix was unabashedly exhibited in the front of the room, the professor maintained a completely neutral tone during the religion class – an hour-long lesson that took on more of a comprehensive philosophical nature than a religious one.

In the government’s June 30th appeal, Italy sought to repeal the ban, insisting that the crucifix is a “passive symbol with no relation to teaching,” and with strong historical roots in the country.

Although Italy maintains that it is a secular state, like France, its religious ties are intensely embedded. Not only is the country’s capital, Rome, the home of the Catholic Church’s headquarters, Vatican City (albeit, Vatican City is technically an independent country, situated in the middle of Italy), an estimated 90% of Italians consider themselves Catholics. The government has required, by law, that crucifixes be displayed in schools since the 1920s, and it was only in 1984 that Italy abandoned Catholicism as the country’s official religion.

“I’m not religious at all,” claims an Italian friend, “neither are many of my friends. But the cross – it is everywhere. No one really minds. Every town has an old church in la piazza (town square). They are beautiful. The church is a part of our culture.”

However, the majority representation of Catholics throughout the country and the unified opposition of nine countries to the crucifix ban may not be enough to sway the Court’s ultimate decision – which is to be made this coming fall by a 19-judge panel.

According to recent polls, “trust in religious institutions is extremely low in most European Union countries,” with only 31% of Italian Catholics attending church weekly.

As fewer and fewer people identify with religious institutions, support for secular institutions grows exponentially – a support which will inevitably lead to the reversal of even the most imbedded traditions.

^^ If they can't keep with the numbers and if they keep on bashing the sex ed ruling, they might end up like this.

Christian_123

July 2nd, 2010, 01:46 PM

^^Sana bumagsak narin ang hold ng simbahan sa pilipinas. Masyado ng sobrang epal ang simbahan sa government issues habang hinde nila maayos ang issues sa sarili nilang pari.

kalbongdad

July 2nd, 2010, 02:48 PM

^^Sana bumagsak narin ang hold ng simbahan sa pilipinas. Masyado ng sobrang epal ang simbahan sa government issues habang hinde nila maayos ang issues sa sarili nilang pari.

that you can do something by not giving donation to the pakialamerong simbahan....give your donation directly to organizations....wag mo nang padaanin sa pari baka makotongan pa...:lol:

Christian_123

July 2nd, 2010, 03:15 PM

^^Hinde na ako nagsisimba dahil sawa na ako sa kanilang kasinungalingan :tongue:

Mynameischarlie

July 2nd, 2010, 09:50 PM

How about asking the PRC-government & VN-government about methods of family planning and dealing with religous groups?

Danny Chua

July 3rd, 2010, 07:08 PM

^^ China and Vietnam are both Confucian societies. Throughout history religion and religious groups never had the kind of overpowering political influence that we find in the Philippines. There might be certain dynasties where one religion was fancied over others by the emperor but it only manifested into more temples and pagodas built for them during that time :lol: , and never ever translated into true influence over official policy.

Add on top of that the current atheist political system and really, there's no comparison, and no methods that we can learn from them as they never had to "deal" with religious groups like we do. Their governments actually control the religious groups and bark down orders to them as if they were just another agency or private enterprise under their command.

epik ll ian

July 4th, 2010, 02:37 AM

I wouldn't use the word Atheist. I'd say secular.

However, the more the Catholic church tries to manipulate politics, the less respect they're going to get. The church isn't a part of the world, and it shouldn't make efforts to control it. It's actually ruining their image. They should do their best enlightening people in their religious sphere and letting people make their own decisions. It would be a better use of their time going out to the world preaching to people instead of trying to puppet the government. The political sphere and Christian religious sphere were not meant to conflict like this, hence the reason why the idea of separation of church and state exist. Instead of refereeing the dirty game, it's now joining in the grand mess of it all. The Philippines is predominately Catholic, but it's not ENTIRELY Catholic. My family's protestant, for example. How are the Muslim/Protestant/Buddhist/Agnostic individuals supposed to get educated on this? It's frustrating to know that something you're not a part of is figuring out ways to throw a rope around you and control your life. This is probably why the Muslims have a hard time assimilating in the south.

Danny Chua

July 4th, 2010, 05:00 PM

Yes, what we have is actually the last remnants of an erstwhile "glorious" tradition of the church manipulating the state, actually states even.

The situation in Medieval Europe was just like what we have now, only even more extreme. The Pope actually had his own domain (the Papal States) not just the Vatican. Kings needed to be crowned by him. Religious zeal could overcome sommon sense and result in needless wars of useless undefendable conquests like the Crusades. It took the Protestant split, the Reformation, plenty of religious wars (like the 30 Years War) and centuries of slow subsequent change before Europe could become secular like what we see today.

RonnieR

July 5th, 2010, 09:48 AM

there is hope...:)

Court denies appeal to stop sex ed in public schools

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 14:32:00 07/05/2010

Filed Under: Education, Government

MANILA, Philippines—A Quezon City court has junked the appeal of around 30 parents seeking to stop the teaching of sex education in selected schools as mandated by a Department of Education memorandum.

In an order, Judge Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya of the Regional Trial Court Branch 88 denied the petition for a temporary restraining order of the parents, led by losing senatorial candidate Lawyer Jo Imbong of the Ang Kapatiran (The Brotherhood) Party, against the Department of Education.

Imbong and her group asked the court to order then DepEd secretary Mona Valisno and undersecretary Ramon Bacani to stop the teaching of sex education, saying it violated the petitioners’ rights as parents in molding their children’s values.

The court said the petitioners were unable to prove that their rights were indeed violated as the parents were unable to show that their children were studying in schools where the sex education module would be pilot tested.

Ady001

July 5th, 2010, 11:42 AM

^^ Heheheh... Take that...

MatudNilaBaby

July 5th, 2010, 08:23 PM

^^Hinde na ako nagsisimba dahil sawa na ako sa kanilang kasinungalingan :tongue:

as if the church goers missed you attending the mass na matulog lang while the priest is delivering a lengthy sermon:bash::bash::bash:

epik ll ian

July 5th, 2010, 10:06 PM

Haha what a relief. Sex ed for the win!

Chrissib

July 5th, 2010, 10:15 PM

The Philippines should still make the policy not that serious, otherwise the fertility will drop below replacement level.

Ady001

July 6th, 2010, 02:05 AM

^^ Even then, we have our replacements abroad. The question here is how we cope. We have a rather young population that doesn't work. Go figure.

Ady001

July 6th, 2010, 02:34 AM

Court won't stop sex education
(The Philippine Star) Updated July 06, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has junked the petition of parents asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on sex education in selected schools by the Department of Education (DepEd).

“Evaluating the respective points raised by the parties, the court finds that the issuance of a TRO is not justified under the circumstances,” Judge Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88 said in an order dated June 28.

Maglaya denied the petition for a TRO filed by individuals led by defeated Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidate Jo Aurea Imbong.

“In the instant case, the petitioners failed to show their clear and unmistakable right alleged to have been violated to entitle them to the relief being prayed for,” the court said, noting that the sex education project is still in its pilot testing stage.

“None of the petitioners were able to show that their children, who may be the subjects of the assailed program, are students of the said pilot schools,” it added.

The judge set the hearing for the petition for preliminary injunction on July 28.

Imbong led the petitioners in filing last month the civil suit against then education secretary Mona Valisno and undersecretary Ramon Bacani to stop them from enforcing the teaching of sex education in schools.

The petitioners asked the court to stop the teaching of sex education and declare DepEd Memorandum No. 261 series 2005 as null and void.

Imbong belongs to the same group that filed the case against advertisements for condoms, including those featuring action star Robin Padilla.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=590710&publicationSubCategoryId=63

epik ll ian

July 6th, 2010, 02:46 AM

Everything is going swimmingly now!

When I comparatively analyzed Area vs. Population between the U.S. and the Philippines here's what I discovered:

U.S.
Area: 9.83 million sq km
Population: ~309 million people

Philippines
Area: 300,000 sq km
population: ~94 million people

We have close to 1/3 of the amount of people in the U.S., and yet the amount of available land (not including the fact that there are lots of uninhabitable jungles and mountains) we have is approximately 33 times smaller than the United States. Yes, I could've included more things such as a crops, exports and arable land comparison, but still this speaks for it self. Point? With a population boom taken into account, this is necessary. Scratch that ... this is vital.

These people need to sustain themselves too. If ever the country had to survive on it's own, or heaven forbid there was a mass food shortage, we'd be screwed.

Ady001

July 6th, 2010, 02:56 AM

^^ Consider as well the Philippines' geographical location, concerns about the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform program, burgeoning young population, improving infant mortality, increasing shortage of supplied, and the like...

epik ll ian

July 6th, 2010, 05:03 AM

Yeah, there's a million things to consider. If we don't take action, I'm afraid we have met our doom.

xxxriainxxx

July 6th, 2010, 03:36 PM

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs488.snc3/26676_445855861209_89076491209_6375686_1976862_n.jpg

Chrissib

July 6th, 2010, 10:40 PM

^^ Even then, we have our replacements abroad. The question here is how we cope. We have a rather young population that doesn't work. Go figure.

The philippines must make an advantage out of it's very young population compared to the rest of Asia. Taiwan, South Korea and the Netherlands show that also densely populated countries can be economically successfull, I would even go as far as saying that a high population density is an advantage in economic progress. Manila has a potential to be the biggest city of the world within a developed Philipino-nation of 160 million. When every nation has the same standard of living, what matters most when you compare the power of nations? Right, the population number.

epik ll ian

July 7th, 2010, 02:28 AM

The philippines must make an advantage out of it's very young population compared to the rest of Asia. Taiwan, South Korea and the Netherlands show that also densely populated countries can be economically successfull, I would even go as far as saying that a high population density is an advantage in economic progress. Manila has a potential to be the biggest city of the world within a developed Philipino-nation of 160 million. When every nation has the same standard of living, what matters most when you compare the power of nations? Right, the population number.

Taiwan, South Korea and the Netherlands all have advanced industrialized countries. We don't.

What's so great about having an enormous population if you don't have an adequate number of resources or a powerful enough economy to support it? You're just going to stress out your economy even further. It's like a poor family with 5 children wanting to give birth to 3 more. Does that make sense?

Example? China. There's a carrying capacity which has been reached. If you look at the status of the Philippines, we're not at a comfortable economic point where we can say, "Yeah, our economy can handle having another 50 million people." There's not even enough jobs for the people who are living right now, and we're having a difficult time trying to provide a quality education to the masses. The thought of not regulating the population boom shouldn't even be entertained.

Ady001

July 7th, 2010, 02:36 AM

^^ I appreciate your concern regarding power in numbers, but there are some things that simply doesn't apply to the Philippine context.

1 - Our young may be boisterous but they don't pay taxes. And there's the surge of unemployment in the country.
2 - High population density is advantageous only if we have a progressive, open-minded and well-educated masses. Without those, there will be a lot of dependents.
3 - 160 million?! sorry, we don't plan to be Brasil. We have very limited land space, we're close to the typhoon belt, and we're also close to the ring of fire. How can we cram in all those people in such a short space? Sure some places in the country are uninhabited but then again, it is unhealthy.
4 - The countries you have mentioned have strong ethnic ties. The Philippines, although one nation with one racial line, has many ethnolinguistic branches.
5 - Have you ever heard of a car that never starts no matter how you tinker or fix it? You'd have to compare that to our mindset, to our lawmaking bodies, to our sluggish judicial system and the lot, and you will see why a bigger population doesn't always translate to a better country.

Sure, bigger populations means more nations to conquer in terms of immigration, but I believe we're destined for better things than that. And we've been lagged in our plans for "world domination" a very long time ago... :lol: -joke-

Ady001

July 7th, 2010, 03:45 AM

RH bill rises from the dead

Posted July 07, 2010 05:52:00

Leila B. Salaverria

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin has filed another version of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill that includes mandated government care for those with HIV and AIDS, as well as those suffering from complications from abortion.

Garin’s bill comes a few days after Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman refiled the controversial bill, which calls for government promotion of contraception and sex education despite objections from the Roman Catholic Church.

The bill failed to get final approval in the previous Congress.

Garin said the new version includes provisions on hospital care because it has been reported that some women suffering from complications of HIV-AIDS and abortion are refused treatment by some private hospitals.

“While nothing in this act changes the law on abortion, the government shall ensure that all women needing care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, nonjudgmental and compassionate manner,” the bill states.

Garin, in a phone interview, said the provision aims to make sure that those who are suffering from the ill effects of illegal abortion receive proper medical attention. It has been the practice of some private hospitals to turn away patients who they know had induced abortion, she said.

Mandatory medical attention

“The point is there is a life involved. It’s not for the hospital to judge them. A few minutes of medical attention will matter. But what usually happens is that they pass on the patient to another hospital,” she said.

Medical attention for such patients should be mandatory, she stressed.

“Even if we say that the patient has sinned, it’s not for the hospital to say that she could not be treated,” she added.

As for RH education, the bill states it should include such topics such as self-protection against discrimination, sexual violence, abuse and teen pregnancy; fertility awareness; sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and AIDS; family planning methods; hazards of abortion; and responsible parenthood.

The bill also states that the state will promote, without bias, all modern methods of family planning, and that all accredited health facilities shall provide the full range of these methods. PhilHealth insurance or government financial assistance should cover these services, it adds.

“All serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions such as HIV and AIDS, breast and reproductive tract cancers, and obstetric complications shall be given the maximum benefits as provided by PhilHealth programs,” it says.

http://www.inquirer.net/mindandbody/healthbeat/view.php?db=1&article=20100707-279655

Kudos for the rep. Gumaganda na ang panukala nila tungkol dito.

RonnieR

July 7th, 2010, 08:19 AM

From Aljazeera: 12 years old ba talaga ang age of consent for the Philippines???

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia-pacific/2010/07/2010775014412212.html
A legal and moral battle is under way in the Philippines over sex education in schools.

The age of consent in the mainly Roman Catholic nation is just 12-years-old, and some 70 per cent of women have children before the age of 19.

The government says teaching family planning is essential, citing official figures that show the population is growing at an alarming rate.

But a group of parents has launched a legal challenge against the sex education policy, saying it violates their religious rights.

Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reports.

le Reine

July 7th, 2010, 10:06 AM

^^Basically, yes.

http://www.avert.org/age-of-consent.htm

Retro

July 8th, 2010, 04:55 PM

Luistro wants more discussionson sex ed issue

Business Insight Malaya
July 9, 2010

DESPITE his religious background as a Christian Brother and the Catholic Church’s stand against it, new Education Secretary Armin Luistro said he is for keeping an open mind on the issue of integrating sex education into the basic education curriculum.

"I want an honest-to-goodness discussion on this issue. Dapat bukas tayo sa lahat ng mga issue dahil napag-uusapan naman ang lahat," Luistro said, adding that he wants all stakeholders consulted before making any decision on whether the topic will be integrated into the basic curriculum.

Luistro’s predecessor Mona Valisno had taken a strong stand on pilot-testing sex education in 80 elementary and 79 secondary schools in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Sultan Kudarat and Sulu as well as in Olongapo City, Mountain Province, Masbate, Ifugao, Eastern Samar and Bohol.

Earlier, Antonio Tinio, national president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, challenged Luistro to make known his stand on sex education and said his group is afraid Luistro will toe the line of the Catholic Church that the matter is the responsibility of the parents to discuss with their children.

An obviously unprepared Luistro was asked about his stand on the matter right after he was appointed to DepEd and got a lot of flak when he dismissed the reporter with the remark that media was not helping at all.

The Church had successfully blocked a similar DepEd initiative on sex education in 2005.

The DepEd’s sex education plan will use learning modules on adolescence, health and wellness, and proper values and character development. Students from Grade 5 to 4th year high school will study the reproductive system, parts of the body, reproductive cycle, and puberty in Science subject; proper behavior among and between peers of different genders in the Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan; personal hygiene and reproductive health in Music, Arts, PE and Health; religion and premarital sex and norms when opposite sexes interact in Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, at Sibika; and data on premarital sex, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections in Math. – Ashzel Hachero

epik ll ian

July 8th, 2010, 07:28 PM

Their sex education plan sounds great. At least we can stay optimistic that he's willing to have an open mind, and he's not a die hard stubborn person?

Kintoy

July 8th, 2010, 09:44 PM

^^ walk the talk, you should get a vasectomy then

epik ll ian

July 8th, 2010, 09:48 PM

On a national level there's a big difference between everybody having 1-3 children and everybody having 5+ children. Unless my future wife manages to periodically have tens, hundreds - or thousands - of children at once, just me getting a vasectomy is not the Filipino plan of population control.

Plus, that wouldn't be walking the talk because the vasectomy option was never one of my/our solutions. Therefore, if there's even anything there, you should walk your own talk and get one yourself.

Retro

July 10th, 2010, 12:23 PM

DepEd chief Luistro to discuss sex ed with bishops on Sunday
:ohno:
GMANew.tv
07/10/2010 | 05:23 PM

Newly installed Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro is set to meet with bishops on Sunday to hear their side on the controversial implementation of the sex education program this school year.

Luistro will visit the plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in Manila on Sunday to hear out the “sentiments" of the prelates regarding the program, CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Juanito Figura said in a news release posted on the group’s website on Saturday.

Figura said Luistro himself approached the CBCP and asked for a meeting with the prelates to discuss the issue, specifically that of sex education modules being used this school year to teach the subject to both elementary and high school students.

The DepEd chief earlier vowed to reconsider the implementation of the department’s sex education program, saying it was important to hear the sides of various stakeholders first.

The DepEd started teaching sex education in both public and private schools this school year, to grade school pupils who are at least nine years old.

The move was met with criticism by the Catholic Church and some parents’ groups — even resulting in a class suit against education officials and a petition to temporarily stop the department from teaching sex education this school year.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 88, however, earlier this month junked the motion to stop the DepEd’s sex education program. The court said the petitioners, led by CBCP lawyer Jo Imbong, failed to establish which rights have been violated due to the implementation of the program.

Despite this, the CBCP has remained firm on its stand that teaching sex education is a “private matter" that should be taught by parents to their children and not by teachers in schools.—ACC/JV, GMANews.TV

Ady001

July 10th, 2010, 01:22 PM

^^ He had to be very smart about that or face an overwhelming opposition. Nagiging OA na masyado ang simbahan these days.

Retro

July 10th, 2010, 02:40 PM

^^ I've read in other forum thread that CBCP is also busy not only in sex education, even issue on pagcor and their latest cry on issue on charter change :ohno: my golly its like their popout from Dr. Jose Rizal novel book "Noli me Tangere". Damaso at work...:lol:

RonnieR

July 12th, 2010, 10:57 AM

^^ The church officials are acting like we are under colonial times....

RonnieR

July 12th, 2010, 12:06 PM

NSO: RP population to top 100-M in 5 years
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 07/12/2010 5:32 PM | Updated as of 07/12/2010 5:32 PM

MANILA, Philippines -The National Statistics Office on Monday said the country's population could go past the 100-million mark by 2015 if the 2% annual population growth rate is maintained.

NSO Deputy Administrator Paula Monina Collado said there are currently 88.6 million Filipinos in the country as of 2007. She said with 2% annual growth, the number could have ballooned to 94 million Filipinos in 2010.

For his part, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said he supports the reproductive health bill that has been stalled in Congress for 14 years.

He said the government should include artificial contraceptives among the range of choices offered to couples.

"There is no one way of family planning, they are free to choose what's best for them," he said at a World Population Day press conference of the United Nations Population Fund.

Retro

July 12th, 2010, 12:13 PM

Retro

July 12th, 2010, 04:00 PM

CBCP to Aquino: Junk ‘contraceptive mentality’ :bash:

abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 07/12/2010 7:44 PM | Updated as of 07/12/2010 7:44 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to abandon the “contraceptive mentality” implemented by his predecessor.

In a statement made after the CBCP’s 101st Plenary Assembly, CBCP President and Tandag Bishop Nereo P. Ondimar said “poverty cannot be solved by promoting contraceptive education and programs. Education does not merely deal with knowledge and skills; rather it must promote values that are inherent to us as Filipinos.”

He added “parents have the primary right to educate their children and sex education is properly to be done in the family.”

The CBCP has always been vocal about its opposition to the use of contraceptives and the implementation of the sex education program.

This time, the CBCP is pinning its hopes on the new administration.

“With the new government, we, Bishops, join the Filipino people in the hope that there will be changes that will truly bring good governance to the country,” Ondimar said.

The 2-day plenary assembly was attended by around 90 archbishops and bishops.

Among those who attended the plenary assembly were Archbishops Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu, Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato and Fernando Capalla of Davao.

epik ll ian

July 12th, 2010, 04:58 PM

^^ Good governance to them = gradual shift over to a theocracy.

How do they plan on properly educating the family? Either way, education is going to happen! And "values" didn't stop anybody from getting to the huge population that we have right now! >:o

The people who are targeted for this program are the people who don't know this education material themselves. So, how are they supposed to pass this down to people? Their solution is awful.

kenken94

July 12th, 2010, 05:35 PM

RP must target population growth rate of 1.5% by 2016
Economy
Written by Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter
Monday, 12 July 2010 20:51

ONLY a strong, effective and well-funded population policy with a target population-growth rate of 1.5 percent by 2016 could significantly reduce poverty in the Philippines, a population expert has declared.

Based on a 2006 report, 33 percent of the country’s population of 90 million live below the poverty threshold.

Prof. Ernesto M. Pernia, former head and lead economist of the Asian Development Bank’s economic and research department, said that only until the country posts a population-growth rate of 1percent can it see the poverty incidence halved.

“If we really have a strong and well-funded population policy, the population-growth rate could be reduced to 1.5 percent by 2016. That should be the target. The population growth of Indonesia is 1.5 percent and Thailand’s is already 0.5 percent,” Pernia, who is also a professor at the UP School of Economics, said at the sidelines of Monday’s rites marking World Population Day in Mandaluyong City.

Pernia said that while a population growth of 1.5 percent may not allow the country to reach the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on poverty, it would be enough to see a significant reduction in poverty. This would be achieved by reducing the birthrate of the poorest 20 percent of the population.

The average birthrate among the poorest 20 percent of the population, Pernia said, is around six children per woman, while the average birthrate in the Philippines is around three children per woman.

“If there’s a population growth-rate reduction, most of the reduction would be coming from poor families kasi sila ang mataas ang birthrate. If the birthrate or fertility rate of the poorest 20 percent can be reduced from six [children per woman] to four, malaking impact na ’yun,” he said.

Reducing population growth and the birthrate complements the achievement not only of the MDG on poverty but also the MDG on maternal and reproductive health.

Pernia said, however, that the Philippines was unlikely to attain this MDG.

He was also quite pessimistic about the prospects of the Philippines attaining the 1.5-percent population-growth rate goal. He said that at the country’s current population-growth rate and with only five years to go before the 2015 deadline, reducing poverty incidence to around 1.7 percent by 2015 may not even be achievable.

Currently, the representative here of the United Nations Population Fund, Suneeta Mukherjee, said that of the 3.4 million pregnancies in 2008, around 1.9 million pregnancies were unintended and 560,000 pregnancies ended in induced abortion.

Mukherjee said reaching the MDG on maternal and reproductive health will be crucial to attaining other MDGs like child mortality and achieving universal primary education.

“The goal on improving maternal health and universal access to reproductive health is least likely to be achieved but bears impact on the achievement of all the other MDGs. It impacts on poverty as rapid population growth constrains economic growth,” Mukherjee said.

In 2008 a group of 27 professors from the University of the Philippines released a position paper on the reproductive-health bill. The position paper’s lead author was Pernia.

The paper said the absence of a population policy in the country adds to the negative economic and development impact of the country’s problems, such as a low tax base and other pressing expenditure issues.

The authors said poor families are especially burdened when they end up with more children than they desire. In the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey, poverty incidence in families with nine or more children was pegged at 57 percent, while families with only one child have a poverty incidence of only 10 percent.

The authors also said larger families make less investments per child, decreasing the chances of breaking the chain of intergenerational poverty. In the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), the average annual spending per student fell to P682 for a family with nine or more children from P5,558 for a family with one child.

Further, the FIES data showed that annual average health spending of families with nine or more children dropped to P150, significantly lower than the spending made by families with one child worth P1,700.

They also said the lack of a population policy that supports or propagates information about how to use and where to get modern contraceptives also results in more unwanted births and increases maternal mortality.

Reducing maternal mortality is also one of the MDGs the Philippines may not be able to reach by 2015. To date, maternal mortality is at 162 per 100,000 live births, while the target is 52 by 2015.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are consequences if populations growth goes below 1.2%, we'd start to decline ending up like most Western Countries like Britain and Canada which no has to look for foreign labor to make their production going.

Actually though, we're still just second to Indonesia in terms of total number of population.

GodIsNotGreat

July 13th, 2010, 12:40 AM

The US Census Bureau gives a rather high figure for the country's population for this year.

(click Submit button)

http://sasweb.ssd.census.gov/idb/ranks.html

In the year 2050, the forecasted population will almost double to 172, 000,000. (Just change selected year in the same page)

But we Filipinos are never lacking in ingenuity and creativity. Perhaps some of us will be living in this way:

http://online.wsj.com/video/living-among-the-dead/B5C57161-417E-427F-B7A0-CA98C600EBA7.html

Ady001

July 13th, 2010, 01:44 AM

Sorry again, church...

DOH to boost family planning
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated July 13, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The new administration is boosting the country’s family planning program, with Health Secretary Enrique Ona saying yesterday he would propose the procurement of contraceptives using government funds.

In an interview during the celebration of World Population Day yesterday, Ona stressed that to effectively promote responsible parenthood, couples should be allowed to make informed choices by exposing them to all methods of population management.

“The couple should be given freedom to decide how many children they would like to have. That’s normal. Every couple does that. And so it is very important that they are given all the necessary information on how they may (decide on) the number of children, the spacing of children,” he said.

Ona said it is the duty of the government to make information and services on artificial and natural or scientific methods of family planning available to couples.

“Teach them (couples) all of these, give them the options and then let them decide... But we all agree on the value of life. So it is very clear that we are against abortion,” he said.

The health chief also said that the DOH would make contraceptives available in all of its clinics.

“We have to give them options. Whatever the community wants or demands, if within our reach, we’ll give it to them,” he said, citing the use of condoms to prevent AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

‘Contraceptive mentality immoral’

On the other hand, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday issued a pastoral statement reminding President Aquino that the government’s program of promoting a contraceptive mentality through education and medical practices is immoral and would not bring good to the people.

The CBCP issued the pastoral statement at the end of their two-day 101st Plenary Assembly that was held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center along United Nations Avenue, Manila over the weekend.

The bishops discussed several issues including sex education and the Reproductive Health (RH) bills during the plenary but CBCP president Tandag, Surigao del Sur bishop Nereo Odchimar reiterated that there are no changes in the stand of the Catholic Church on these concerns.

“Human life is a gift of God and has to be respected and protected from conception until natural death. Education does not merely deal with knowledge and skills; rather it must promote values that are inherent to us as Filipinos. Parents have the primary right to educate their children and sex education has to be done in the family,” he said.

Independence respected

Former Education secretary Mona Valisno, meanwhile, said that former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo should be given credit for not blocking her move to push for the integration of sex education in the basic education curriculum (BEC) starting in Grade 5.

Valisno said that with the strong opposition of the Catholic Church to the DepEd’s move to integrate reproductive health education or sex education in the BEC, she had expected Mrs. Arroyo to order her to stop the program.

“In fairness to the former president, she respected our independence and did not issue an order for to us to stop the program,” Valisno told The STAR.

The former education chief strongly pushed for the implementation of the program last March when she was appointed to the top DepEd post by Mrs. Arroyo despite having only about three months to serve. -With Evelyn Macairan, Rainier Allan Ronda

Retro

July 13th, 2010, 02:58 AM

^^ Teka teka... I didn't know that CBCP has a voice in this new administration... did they join ba last election as party list member? and win as a party list member.

Pag magsalita sila parang part sila ng gov't. natin ngayon...:speech:

Maxxclip

July 13th, 2010, 03:43 AM

http://img.timeinc.net/time/rd/trunk/www/web/feds/i/logoTimeSpecials.png

ROME has spoken," runs an ancient proverb of the Roman Catholic Church. "The case is closed." No longer true. Pope Paul VI formally promulgated his encyclical on birth control, which condemns all methods of contraception, except rhythm, as against the will of God. The pronouncement caused perhaps the most serious outburst of dissent the Catholic Church has experienced in centuries. Innumerable Catholics made clear that they would refuse to heed the words of a reigning Pontiff. Theologians defied his authority to insist that the encyclical was not binding on married Catholics who have good reasons to practice birth control—and it was obvious that millions will continue to do so.

Thus, instead of solving a troubling question of personal morality for Catholics, Paul has, in fact, brought into the open a much more profound question: Where and what is authority in the church? Ironically, the Pope, who has worried so much about the spread of dissension within Catholicism, has really created the conditions for further revolt.

After the encyclical was published, most of the enthusiasm for it came from Roman Catholic bishops, who are bound by special ties of loyalty to the Pope. Prompted by an urgent request from Rome for moral support,* the hierarchy of the U.S. issued a collective statement that called on "our priests and people to receive with sincerity what he has taught, to study it carefully, and to form their consciences in its light." At least a few prelates were openly disappointed. Franziskus Cardinal König of Vienna, who had tried to keep the Pope from issuing the encyclical, said that "it does not solve on its own the problem for the individual human being." The hierarchy of the Dutch church issued a commentary pointedly advising Catholics that such factors as mutual love and social circumstances should also be considered in guiding conscience on the morality of birth control.

Ecumenical Disaster. Protestant and secular opinion on the encyclical was almost wholly disapproving. In Geneva, Secretary Eugene Carson Blake of the World Council of Churches declared: "It is disappointing that the initiative taken in 1963 to re-examine the traditional Roman Catholic position on family planning seems to have ended up approximately where it began." At the worldwide Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, the Rt. Rev. I. R. Moorman of Ripon, a Church of England observer at Vatican II, called the encyclical "ecumenically, a disaster for Christianity."

A number of leading newspapers editorially worried about the impact of the Pope's edict on population-control programs or governments that are particularly susceptible to Catholic pressure, such as those in Latin America. Wrote West Berlin's liberal Die Zeit: "What kind of church leadership is it that is willing to throw all the warnings of science to the winds? How is this papal decree reconcilable with the command to love thy neighbor, when we already know that between now and 1980 approximately 40 million people will starve to death?" In Manhattan, demonstrators representing the Parents' Aid Society, a militant birth control group, paraded in protest outside St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Vatican daily, L'Osservatore Romano, hard put to include favorable non-Catholic judgments in its roundup of world opinion, solemnly noted that the Pope had received a message of support from a family of Norwegian Protestants with 14 children.

Values of Marriage. The tone of non-Catholic criticism paled in comparison with the encyclical's reception by Catholics outside the hierarchy. Some comments were almost indecently abusive. Father Alfons Sarrach, a German priest-journalist, described the encyclical as "a breath of outdated and ignorant monkish theology." Many more of the outcries, however, were couched in rhetoric that reflected personal anguish and disappointment at the decision. "You are not speaking as our Pope," protested Jesuit Philosopher Norris Clarke before a cheering crowd of 1,000 at a Fordham University symposium on the encyclical. "We can't hear you. We demand that you do not speak to us this way."

Far more disturbing to the Pope and the bishops was the fact that the encyclical was flatly rejected by some of the most influential teaching minds of the church. Led by Father Charles Curran of Catholic University, 172 U.S. theologians and other Catholics, including all six American lay members of the pontifical birth control commission, rejected the encyclical as outdated, inadequate and not binding on conscience. "We conclude," said their statement, "that spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible and indeed necessary to preserve and foster the values and sacredness of marriage."

Swiss Theologian Hans Kung said flatly that the Pope was wrong, and that the encyclical might lead to a new "Galileo case." One of the experts who signed the statement was Dr. John Noonan of the University of California at Berkeley, whose Contraception is the most thorough study of Catholic teaching on the subject. At a Washington press conference, Noonan suggested that the encyclical may ultimately be regarded as just another mistake of the papacy, like the medieval declarations that usury is a sin, or Pius IX's insistence that the papal states of Italy existed by divine will.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,902263-1,00.html#ixzz0tWSWplVG

GodIsNotGreat

July 13th, 2010, 05:19 AM

We may expect progress. It took them more than 350 years to exonerate Galileo, who died in 1630. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences came up with a report in 1992, and this is the take of a Catholic paper.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/GALILEO.TXT

But it took them less time to accept the Theory of Evolution, only 137 years after the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.

http://www.biblelight.net/darwin.htm

I'm sure they will change their position before the year 2100 is over. The Catholic Church is progressive after all.

absinthe_888

July 13th, 2010, 05:19 AM

PNoy, suportahan mo lang ang DOH dito, marami nang Pinoy bibilib sayo...

DOH to boost family planning (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=592810&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated July 13, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The new administration is boosting the country’s family planning program, with Health Secretary Enrique Ona saying yesterday he would propose the procurement of contraceptives using government funds.

In an interview during the celebration of World Population Day yesterday, Ona stressed that to effectively promote responsible parenthood, couples should be allowed to make informed choices by exposing them to all methods of population management.

“The couple should be given freedom to decide how many children they would like to have. That’s normal. Every couple does that. And so it is very important that they are given all the necessary information on how they may (decide on) the number of children, the spacing of children,” he said.

Ona said it is the duty of the government to make information and services on artificial and natural or scientific methods of family planning available to couples.

“Teach them (couples) all of these, give them the options and then let them decide... But we all agree on the value of life. So it is very clear that we are against abortion,” he said.

The health chief also said that the DOH would make contraceptives available in all of its clinics.

“We have to give them options. Whatever the community wants or demands, if within our reach, we’ll give it to them,” he said, citing the use of condoms to prevent AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

‘Contraceptive mentality immoral’

On the other hand, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday issued a pastoral statement reminding President Aquino that the government’s program of promoting a contraceptive mentality through education and medical practices is immoral and would not bring good to the people.

The CBCP issued the pastoral statement at the end of their two-day 101st Plenary Assembly that was held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center along United Nations Avenue, Manila over the weekend.

The bishops discussed several issues including sex education and the Reproductive Health (RH) bills during the plenary but CBCP president Tandag, Surigao del Sur bishop Nereo Odchimar reiterated that there are no changes in the stand of the Catholic Church on these concerns.

“Human life is a gift of God and has to be respected and protected from conception until natural death. Education does not merely deal with knowledge and skills; rather it must promote values that are inherent to us as Filipinos. Parents have the primary right to educate their children and sex education has to be done in the family,” he said.

Independence respected

Former Education secretary Mona Valisno, meanwhile, said that former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo should be given credit for not blocking her move to push for the integration of sex education in the basic education curriculum (BEC) starting in Grade 5.

Valisno said that with the strong opposition of the Catholic Church to the DepEd’s move to integrate reproductive health education or sex education in the BEC, she had expected Mrs. Arroyo to order her to stop the program.

“In fairness to the former president, she respected our independence and did not issue an order for to us to stop the program,” Valisno told The STAR.

The former education chief strongly pushed for the implementation of the program last March when she was appointed to the top DepEd post by Mrs. Arroyo despite having only about three months to serve. -With Evelyn Macairan, Rainier Allan Ronda

Retro

July 13th, 2010, 06:11 AM

‘Bosses’ to Aquino: No contraceptives… :lol:

Business Insight Malaya
BY GERARD NAVAL
July 13, 2010

THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines yesterday strongly urged President Benigno Aquino III to finally put an end to the government’s push for the use of artificial contraceptives like condoms and pills in family planning.

In a statement issued at the conclusion of the 101st Plenary Assembly of the CBCP, the bishops challenged Aquino to be true to his inaugural speech pronouncement that he would listen to the people they are his "boss."

"We, Bishops from all over the country, call on President Aquino to listen to the call of the Philippine Church that the former program of the government to promote a contraceptive mentality through education and medical practices is immoral and will not bring about a people that is God-fearing, holding on to the sacredness of sexuality, life and the family," said the bishops in a one-page statement penned by CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar.

"With the new government, we, Bishops, join the Filipino people in the hope that there will be changes that will truly bring good governance to the country," it also said.

The CBCP is the most vocal opponent of the use of artificial contraceptives, which is allowed in the proposed reproductive health bill.

The bishops said the Church will never change its position as they want to promote responsible parenthood that is based on values and not through artificial contraception.

"Poverty cannot be solved by promoting contraceptive education and programs," said the statement.

Early this year, the Department of Health under then Secretary Esperanza Cabral strongly promoted condom use but only as a means to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country and not to promote family planning.

Still the Catholic Church expressed opposition to it saying it is one way to get around the proposed reproductive health bill.

The bishop expressed hope that new Health Secretary Enrique Ona would abide by the teachings of the Church in promoting responsible parenthood.

Ona has come out with a stand that all methods of family planning should be made available, and it is up to couples to use what suits their religious beliefs.

Archbishop Paciano Aniceto in an interview on Sunday night at the end of the three-day plenary assembly, said they are open to a dialogue with Ona, if he wants one.

"Kami din sa Simbahan, we are for responsible parenthood according to the minds of the Church… Kaya dapat pag-aralan mabuti kung ano ang makakasulong sa ating mga kababayan," added Aniceto, chair of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life.

Ady001

July 13th, 2010, 06:29 AM

^^ Manganak kaya sila ano kaya mararamdaman ng mga kum*g na yan.

le Reine

July 13th, 2010, 12:27 PM

^^Bakit? Wala ba talaga silang anak? :lol:

Ady001

July 18th, 2010, 12:31 PM

So Who’s Afraid of Sex Ed?

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 11:11:00 07/17/2010

Filed Under: Education, Health

A first-hand look into the much-maligned modules on sex education. What are they teaching our kids about sex? Are they graphic enough to drive schoolchildren into perdition and promiscuity as some sectors allege?

RECENT news items:

A teenage boy, 18, and his girlfriend, 15, were found dead inside a car parked in the garage of the boy’s home. The bodies were discovered in the back seat of the car whose engine and air conditioning were running. The vehicle had a car cover over it and hid the couple. The teens, who had died of carbon monoxide suffocation, were found naked. It did not look like they committed suicide and foul play was not suspected.

A pregnant 14-year-old girl was stabbed to death in the public market in Malabon by a still unidentified man.

It’s a parent’s nightmare, indeed.

Could plain common sense on the part of these teenage kids have prevented their deaths? Or were adults and institutions remiss in their duties to teach the young how to take care of themselves? Were these isolated cases or just the tip of the iceberg?

And what do these incidents say about the controversial sex education modules that would be pilot-tested in 79 public high schools and 80 public elementary schools? The testing would involve 6,600 high school students and 37,000 elementary school pupils.

Previously, some 30 parents had filed for a temporary restraining order on the pilot-testing, but a Quezon City trial court judge dismissed the petition and instead scheduled a future hearing on the merits of the case. The petitioners had claimed that the Department of Education usurped their right as parents to teach moral values to their children.

The parents’ petition hinged on the most common fear that some sectors have about school-based sex education: Is it going to make the young promiscuous, or worse, more promiscuous than they already are suspected to be? Or would this help them avoid getting carried away by their runaway hormones? What exactly are in these modules that have driven some parents and a few Church leaders frantic? Have these detractors actually gone over the modules?

Education veteran and former Education Secretary Dr. Mona Valisno, who pushed for the pre-testing of the modules this school year, noted that “The data on teenage pregnancy is alarming. It is high especially in the 10 poorest provinces.”

The sex education modules are meant to address this alarming trend, but she is open to changes in the modules, Valisno said, and will leave it to her successor at DepEd to do what is best.

“We wanted to pre-test these to see if they are effective or not. Are they acceptable, well-packaged and appropriate? Are they aligned with the core values we teach? If there is anything here that violates Christian values, then we can remove it. Revisions can be made, we can make (the modules) more spiritually enhanced and put (sex education) in the context of marriage.”

Valisno explained that sex education as contained in the modules focuses more on the science of reproduction, physical care and hygiene, correct values and interpersonal relationships. The objective is to prevent premarital sex and teenage pregnancy. The modules are not going to be about the sex act, she emphasized.

The Sunday Inquirer Magazine went over the modules to look for what might look blatantly or subtly questionable and objectionable. There are 10 teachers’ tool kits in all—three for elementary and seven for high school.

For Grades 4, 5 and 6, the lessons (Mga Huwarang Aralin at Pamamaraan sa Paglinang ng mga Kaalaman at Kasanayan sa Kalusugan at Pamumuhay) are integrated in the subjects Edukasyon Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan, Edukasyon Pagpakatao and Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika (Hekasi) . For all four years of high school, the Teen Wellness Program lessons are integrated in Science, English, Technology and Livelihood Education, Mathematics, Edukasyon sa Pagpahalaga (Values Education), Filipino, and Health and Physical Education (MAPEH).

A sampling of lessons for Grade 5 and 6 Hekasi reads as follows: Rights and responsibilities of those entering adolescence, what adolescence is all about, demographics (population), what constitutes risky behavior.

For Grades 4, 5 and 6 Values Education, the topics cover: The health of the youth, psychosocial behavior, peer groups, an adolescent’s interpersonal relationships, reproductive health, physical well-being, taking care of oneself, expressing one’s mind and feelings, knowing oneself, integrating with a group.

Sometime in Grade 6, the stand of both the Catholic Church and the state on contraception are discussed. The class is divided into those who agree with the Church’s stand and those who disagree so that they may debate in class. (Might this be too complicated for sixth graders?)

For Grades 4, 5 and 6 Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan, the following subjects are tackled: physical health, eating well, personality formation, physical hygiene and good grooming, learning about adolescent life, health body and healthy mind, duties and responsibilities, making decisions. It is in Grade 6 that physical attributes and differences between male and female are discussed in detail. Menstruation and circumcision are also tackled.
It is worth noting that early in grade school the subject of touching is taken up. What is appropriate touching, what is not? What should a child watch out for? How should the child protect himself/herself?

The sexual act is not discussed or described in grade school. Neither is it described in detail in high school. The words sexual intercourse are very rarely mentioned in the tool kits and only appears in the lessons on sexually-transmitted infections (STI) and HIV-AIDS. But cases about teenage pregnancies and unpreparedness are presented for discussion and reflection, as in the story of twins “Helen and Luisa” who each made different choices and sought different paths.

High school Mathematics tackles reproductive health in the context of demography among adolescents. Students are taught to analyze and interpret the statistics and draw conclusions. Mathematical and algebraic expressions are used. In fourth year, research results and statistics on the Filipino adolescents’ risky behavior (premarital sex, drug use, etc.) are presented and used in mathematical problem-solving exercises.

It is in Science II that STI and HIV-AIDS are discussed. How they are contracted and their long-term consequences are presented. Reasons for risky behaviors (sex, needles, etc.) are included, while prevention is emphasized. And how do the adolescents protect themselves? “The best way to avoid STI or HIV infection is not to be exposed to it,” the module says. “You can avoid exposure by not having sex with anyone.” There is no mention of condoms.

So, what is the controversy about? From our point of view, the teaching modules do not come up to the level of “temptation,” that is, that they would make adolescents more curious and engage in risky sexual behavior.

In fact, contrary to widely-spread rumors from conservative sectors, there is quite enough about the psychosocial aspect but not enough on the scientific and clinical aspects. There seems to have been a deliberate effort to avoid graphic details. Nothing at all about the sexual act and many things about it—the physical, emotional, hormonal, gynecological aspects. As in, what exactly happens on the way and back? Is it a place of no return? So much is omitted about body parts and anatomy in general. And just as important—sex in the context of marriage is not taken up. Taking this up in college is too late. Many might have already fallen by the wayside and didn’t get to college. From whom will they learn?

So what happened? Have the naysayers unnecessarily diluted the modules with their misplaced and unfounded fears? Why the sanitized tiptoeing around the issue when decades ago, high school students could pronounce the words vagina and penis correctly and with a straight face and then go to the blackboard to draw the reproductive organs—fallopian tubes and all?

Our verdict: There is nothing to be afraid of in the so-called sex education modules. It’s as tame as its name: Teen Wellness Program and Kalusugan at Pamumuhay. So there.

GodIsNotGreat

July 19th, 2010, 04:26 AM

Two videos showing the presentations of Dr. Hans Rosling on world population. A look at the macro level, not on the Philippines, but quite instructive and persuasive.

Quite apart from the message itself which is informative, the graphics is entertaining.

http://www.gapminder.org/videos/what-stops-population-growth/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w

He has a few other videos at TED.com

Ady001

July 20th, 2010, 02:21 AM

Noy urged not to succumb to Church pressure on Reproductive Health bill
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 20, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Proponents of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill are urging President Aquino and Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., who is likely to be the next speaker of the House of Representatives, to hold their ground against pressures from the Catholic Church.

Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin was responding to new threats from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to block the RH Bill, which was re-filed last July 1 by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“Just negate the pressure. Any leader who succumbs to CBCP’s pressuring, especially on issues where a majority of the populace will not be benefited, will be presumed weak by the public,” Garin said.

“But I presume that President Noynoy will listen to the voice of the majority of the people, and I believe they (House leadership) will act on what is most beneficial for the majority of the people,” she said.

CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar on Sunday called on Catholics to actively oppose the RH Bill, saying not doing so would mean abandoning their social responsibility.

“We have our own duty and we have to speak out. We are not being cowed that just because they are many, we have to keep silent. It will be an uphill battle,” Odchimar said, adding more lawmakers appear to be supporting the measure seen as “anti-life” by the Church.

Garin said the CBCP should not meddle in the affairs of the legislature.

“That’s their (CBCP) right (to oppose) but when we talk about crafting laws, there is still the separation of Church and State. We can share inputs but they cannot meddle in the legislative process. That is not allowed,” she said in a telephone interview.

She admitted the Church has always been a powerful lobby and has been successful in blocking the passage of the bill in the past. It did not help, she said, that former president now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was not committed to maternal health care and did not back the bill in Congress.

“Their (bishops) advocacy would bring us back to the Stone Age,” Garin said.

Lagman said he was optimistic that his bill would finally be approved in the incoming 15th Congress. The first comprehensive version of measure was filed in 1999 in the 11th Congress.

GodIsNotGreat

July 20th, 2010, 02:52 AM

Noy urged not to succumb to Church pressure on Reproductive Health bill
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 20, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Proponents of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill are urging President Aquino and Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., who is likely to be the next speaker of the House of Representatives, to hold their ground against pressures from the Catholic Church.

Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin was responding to new threats from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to block the RH Bill, which was re-filed last July 1 by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“Just negate the pressure. Any leader who succumbs to CBCP’s pressuring, especially on issues where a majority of the populace will not be benefited, will be presumed weak by the public,” Garin said.

.

The stand of the Catholic Church is like a bump in the country’s travel along the road to prosperity and progress. It bases its opposition to the bill on a single phrase ( “Go forth and multiply” ) in their holy scripture, a document written 2000 years ago by camel-herding, goat-milk swilling Middle Easterners who know nothing about vaccination, blogging, the heliocentric theory, intercontinental flight and deodorants.

We live in the 21st century. We are better informed, many times over, than the biblical authors, about our natural and physical world. In the last one and a half centuries our knowledge and discoveries have given us a deeper understanding of ourselves, our fellow creatures in this fragile planet, our place in the Cosmos, our limitations, powers and flaws. A basic Biology textbook in a Philippine high school class gives more enlightenment than the Scripture, a book that is more fairy tale than the supposed Moral Compass the priests claim it to be.

The Bill is more than just addressing the population issue. It is also about empowering our women. Better informed, they will make intelligent choices about marriage, childbearing, or choosing to have an education and a career. To paraphrase an author/feminist, what is nobler than to grant women their rightful place as productive partners in our society? The Bill also allows the government to allocate its limited resources to a more manageable number of constituents. Less population also translates to less stress and demand on our natural resources. In other words this is a “Best Effort” or “Best Attempt” of a country to lift its people out of poverty and to find its place among the progressive community of nations.

Is this very difficult for the Catholic Church to understand?

Ady001

July 20th, 2010, 03:08 AM

^^ One word. KSP. :lol:

epik ll ian

July 20th, 2010, 03:15 AM

^^ Even though many of us are not in favor of the corrupt institution of the Filipino Catholic church, let's try not to turn this into a religious debate. Unfortunately, even though you lost your faith, telling us our religion is stupid is not changing anybody's mind on population control. I'm still Christian and in favor of population control.

"Go forth and multiply." I think people have to not take this so literally. The Catholic church needs to realize that the people who are "multiplying" are also doing this by sinful means such as having sex and getting pregnant before marriage or getting a hostess pregnant. (P.S. Why won't the Catholic church spend its time on something else more productive such as making prostitution illegal? The Bible is more clear on it's stance against prostitution than it is on the loosely interpreted "Go forth and Multiply" scripture). That is another one of the contributions to this whole mess we're in. Some of these people go off having children that they can't support, and consequently, these kids have to be raised in destitution which could lead to malnutrition and higher susceptibility to disease. The Philippines can support a population of people who keep multiplying without any sense of consequence - how can we provide for this gargantuan population? You can't. It has to be controlled. That doesn't mean stop having babies; it means you should know your limit. If your income is low, it would be wise of you to hold off on having a litter of children. After the scripture it says to "replenish the Earth." Well, if you make more than you can support, you are not replenishing the Earth, you are in fact depleting it.

People will continue to have sex in unlawful/sinful ways whether the church likes it or not. So if they do, they should at least be educated about it.

I won't disagree that we have greater awareness of how we and the world operates through science. But science is still young, and there are many things we still have yet to learn. It's constantly evolving, it builds and it also gets corrected from time to time. If science didn't evolve, we would still believe in the geocentric theory (you mentioned about the heliocentric theory before) and that the Earth is flat. Is the Earth heating or cooling? Ideas change. I will support science, but I won't put my whole entire faith in it because it is not definite.

Noy urged not to succumb to Church pressure on Reproductive Health bill
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 20, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Proponents of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill are urging President Aquino and Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., who is likely to be the next speaker of the House of Representatives, to hold their ground against pressures from the Catholic Church.

Iloilo Rep. Janet Garin was responding to new threats from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to block the RH Bill, which was re-filed last July 1 by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“Just negate the pressure. Any leader who succumbs to CBCP’s pressuring, especially on issues where a majority of the populace will not be benefited, will be presumed weak by the public,” Garin said.

“But I presume that President Noynoy will listen to the voice of the majority of the people, and I believe they (House leadership) will act on what is most beneficial for the majority of the people,” she said.

CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar on Sunday called on Catholics to actively oppose the RH Bill, saying not doing so would mean abandoning their social responsibility.

“We have our own duty and we have to speak out. We are not being cowed that just because they are many, we have to keep silent. It will be an uphill battle,” Odchimar said, adding more lawmakers appear to be supporting the measure seen as “anti-life” by the Church.

Garin said the CBCP should not meddle in the affairs of the legislature.

“That’s their (CBCP) right (to oppose) but when we talk about crafting laws, there is still the separation of Church and State. We can share inputs but they cannot meddle in the legislative process. That is not allowed,” she said in a telephone interview.

She admitted the Church has always been a powerful lobby and has been successful in blocking the passage of the bill in the past. It did not help, she said, that former president now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was not committed to maternal health care and did not back the bill in Congress.

“Their (bishops) advocacy would bring us back to the Stone Age,” Garin said.

Lagman said he was optimistic that his bill would finally be approved in the incoming 15th Congress. The first comprehensive version of measure was filed in 1999 in the 11th Congress.

Forcing the President to succumb to their will? These efforts sound like something an anarchist rebel insurgency does in order to try and influence/take control of the government. Sounds like the ascendancy of Senator Palpatine to Emperor haha.

Maxxclip

July 20th, 2010, 04:09 AM

Forcing the President to succumb to their will?

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

epik ll ian

July 20th, 2010, 04:39 AM

^^ good application lol

Maxxclip

July 20th, 2010, 04:45 AM

^^

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

epik ll ian

July 20th, 2010, 06:10 AM

Would you care to elaborate on the heavy load then.
An unsupportable population expansion is an even heavier load on our shoulders.

Maxxclip

July 20th, 2010, 06:23 AM

^^

Our barns will be filled with every kind of provision (http://www.webdictionary.co.uk/definition.php?query=provision). Our sheep will increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; our oxen will draw heavy loads.

epik ll ian

July 20th, 2010, 06:47 AM

Unfortunately, that's nowhere near the case.

RonnieR

July 20th, 2010, 06:53 AM

The church has lost its credibility. They bark at the wrong trees......Really.

They are against artificial method and yet many Catholics favor in using contraceptives.
They are also against gambling and yet many churches and priests receive donations from PAGCOR.
The church is against mining, the only catholic church in the world that is against mining. Other catholic countries are supportive.
The church is against sex education but they failed to address the philandering priests and child abuse.
etc. etc. etc.

pi_malejana

July 20th, 2010, 06:56 AM

^^ so mukhang CBCP lang ang utak talangka, di naman buong catholic church...:)

RonnieR

July 20th, 2010, 07:01 AM

^^ possibly but CBCP represents the catholic church, right?

millard52english

July 20th, 2010, 07:02 AM

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RonnieR

July 20th, 2010, 07:03 AM

^^troll

epik ll ian

July 20th, 2010, 08:12 PM

Ady001

July 21st, 2010, 02:02 AM

Maxxclip

July 21st, 2010, 11:00 AM

by Theresa Pili-Nisperos

Must sex education (whether separate from or integrated in other subjects) be included in our school curriculum? And at what age/grade level must it be introduced? The Catholic Church and some sectors are strongly against its implementation by the Department of Education. The arguments of the Church and the DepEd are acceptable and both believe it is just a matter of making some adjustments to come up with something agreeable to the two of them.

I believe nothing is wrong in teaching our young about sex. As a topic sex has been taboo in our homes for decades. So children grew up learning about sex from their peers and from other sources (e.g., pornographic magazines and films). Now, there is Internet pornography that our young can have access to just with a click of the mouse. Most parents are too busy earning a living or with other preoccupations to even have time to discuss sex with their growing children. Therefore, it is just right that the schools should take the lead in guiding, instructing and protecting our young—especially now that there is growing incidence of sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy and abortion. But how they should be taught and to what extent are serious matters that should be given attention. May I offer some insights and suggestions:

1. Sex education, by the very phrase itself, alarms most parents and the guardians of morality. They think the topic is for adults only and not for the young. I agree with the suggestion that its name be changed to “Gender Education,” if it will he taught as a separate subject.

2. Schools teach the anatomy of young boys and girls as early as Grade 1. There is more to learn about their physical differences (e.g., changes in body parts as they mature) as the pupils progress through the grade levels. If that is “sex ed,” then there is nothing wrong with it. Teaching the young kids how babies are made must be confined to the study of the reproductive system, no more, no less.

3. Should sex ed—as DepEd wants it taught—be allowed, it should begin in Grade 6 (when some girls start menstruating). If it could be taught as a separate subject for girls (to encourage openness and sharing of experiences without being shy about it), so much the better. Not necessarily as a part of the curriculum, but as some additional load for the schools’ guidance services.

4. Introduce sex ed in high school, the period when the youngsters start to feel some ‘‘sexual stirrings” toward the opposite sex. Tell them the facts, but no longer about the ‘‘birds and the bees.” And caution must be taken; the language used in teaching this sensitive subject must be tame and the visuals must not be too graphic as to hurt one’s sensibilities.

RonnieR

July 22nd, 2010, 04:13 AM

RH Bill Gaining support

Thursday, 22 July 2010 00:00

BY LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTER

The controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which will make contraceptives available to all national and local hospitals and other government health units, is slowly gaining support in the Fifteenth Congress. Rep. Kaka Bag-ao of Akbayan party-list made that assessment during the media launch for the Third National Multi-Sectoral Policy Conference held in Quezon City on Wednesday.

Bag-ao said during the seminar for the neophyte lawmakers held last week at the House of Representatives that she attended, that a handful of first-time congressmen had expressed their support for the reproductive health measure despite lingering opposition from the Catholic Church.

“They recognize the need for it considering our problems on maternal health and family planning. They want to be associated with the bill,” Bag-ao said, adding that the likely Speaker of the House, Rep. Sonny Belmonte of Quezon City, also backs the passage of the bill.

Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay province had already re-filed the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act, which seeks “to promote respect for life, informed choice, birth spacing and responsible parenthood in accordance with internationally recognized human rights standards thru guaranteeing universal access to medically safe, legal and quality reproductive health-care services and relevant information.”

And Rep. Janette Garin of Iloilo province had filed related and amended measures of the Reproductive Health Bill.

Critical view
Various Catholic Church groups, including the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, view the bill as pro-abortion and a measure that would entice unmarried couples to engage in sex, because of the bill’s provision that classifies hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine devices, injectables and other allied reproductive health products as essential medicines.

Bag-ao said, however, that the Reproductive Health Bill’s passage was not something to be afraid of and is a matter that should be discussed heads up.

“Let us break the myth that this bill is about same sex marriage or abortion. This is a matter for our nation, for the youth, mothers, fathers, schools, church, among others. These sectors should be engaged,” she added.
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/top-stories/22057-rh-bill-gaining-support

tonyboy

July 23rd, 2010, 12:37 AM

^^good educational articles...thanx for sharing guys...:cheers:

.

Retro

July 24th, 2010, 03:35 PM

CBCP makes another push for natural family planning

By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:07:00 07/24/2010

MANILA, Philippines—Two days before the 15th Congress opens, the Catholic Church hierarchy flexed its political influence and asked President Benigno Aquino III to reject a revived reproductive health bill and to put a stop to sex education in schools beginning fifth grade.

In a lengthy pastoral statement issued Saturday, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines reminded Mr Aquino of his mother, the late president Corazon Aquino's “moral legacy” as it called on him to reject any proposal promoting artificial contraceptives.

The Catholic Church advocates “natural family planning programs.”

Through its president, Bishop Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, the CBCP invoked “moral and religious truths” and served notice that it would oppose the proposed “Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010” that was re-filed by Rep. Edcel Lagman as House Bill 96.

The Catholic Church succeeded during the last Congress to block the passage of the bill, which proponents say would strengthen programs to promote maternal and child health and responsible parenthood.

“With the utmost concern and urgency we express our strong objection to the fundamental aspects of House Bill 96. The basis of our moral objection is once again the central religious truth of the divine origin and divine image of the human person, of one’s being and life,” said the CBCP.

“Science has proven that some contraceptives render the mother’s womb inhospitable, thereby causing abortion,” it added.

The CBCP, however, supported House Bill 13 or the proposed “Act Providing for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn Child and for Other Purposes” filed by Rep. Roilo Golez, saying the bill recognized that the government should protect the life of the unborn from conception, “and conception is the moment of fertilization.”

“If its ambiguous stand on contraceptives that are not abortifacients is corrected in favor of moral truth, a house bill such as the new House Bill No. 13 is laudable,” said the CBCP.

“The constitutional protection of the unborn child from the first instant of conception is a legacy given to us some 20 years ago during the presidency of President Corazon Aquino. In spite of all the foreseeable opposition of politicians and powerful lobby groups, we pray that (her) moral legacy could be finally and fully realized during the term of her son, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III,” it said.

The CBCP also continued to lobby against the Deparment of Education's sex education program, which was piloted this school year, supposedly because it “further highlights and fortifies the concept that contraceptives provide safe and satisfying sex. ”

The CBCP insisted that the promotion of the use of contraceptives has not prevented the high incidence of teen pregnancy in the United States, nor has it brought down the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. It also suspected contraceptive pills to be carcinogenic.

“We reiterate that the Church is not against sex education. But for reasons of morality and religious faith, we strongly object to the proposed sex education program. The program is devoid of any substantive moral and religious value formation,” the CBCP said.

It insisted that sex education should not take place in school but at home by parents.

“In matters of character formation and nurturance in moral values, it is the parents who possess the fundamental and natural right and duty, a right acknowledged in the Constitution, a right which government may not take away and arrogate unto itself,” it said.

The CBCP also rejected any “population control program” as a way to address poverty because such program is biased against poor families.

“It is social injustice that is at the root of poverty. And social injustice is simply another name for moral and spiritual corruption, the jettisoning of moral and spiritual values from private and public life.... These are the causes of poverty, the removal of which would comprehensively transform our social order and establish social justice,” said the CBCP.

le Reine

July 24th, 2010, 07:26 PM

^^One thing's for sure, the natural way failed big time. Need I say more?

GodIsNotGreat

July 25th, 2010, 05:16 AM

Here is a year-old article from the BBC, but still relevant as it looks at a possible scenario that will happen in the Year 2030. This is a four-part article ( just click on the buttons ) on the prediction of Sir John Beddington, the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser. Science and technology advocates are hopeful of coming up with solutions, alternative lifestyles will help, urban planners need to be very creative, but I think species extinction will continue.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8213884.stm

"I am a deeply religious unbeliever. The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems even naive". -Albert Einstein

GodIsNotGreat

July 26th, 2010, 11:06 PM

An interesting hypothesis that attempts to correlate a youthful population with greater violence in societies. The researchers talk about political conflict and terrorism, but not about crime and domestic violence; maybe their research does but this is not shown in the article. How is the situation in the Philippines reflective of this supposed relationship between a bulging youthful population and internal conflict?

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/40th-anniversary/The-Age-of-Peace.html

"The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organized religion, in India and elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always it seemed to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry, superstition, exploitation and the preservation of vested interests". - Jawaharlal Nehru.

RonnieR

July 29th, 2010, 11:51 AM

VIDEO INTERACTIVE: Sex education a hot topic in Olongapo classrooms
GMANews.TV
GMANews.TV - 43 minutes ago

OLONGAPO CITY - Maybe it was the long-time presence of an American community here, or the fact that for decades it hosted one of the largest sex industries in the country. Or the people running the city figured out it was just common sense.

Whatever the reasons, and it's probably a combination of all of the above, when it comes to sex education, Olongapo is ahead of its time.

In all public schools here, lessons about puberty and sexually transmitted infections are just part of the required reading for students and teachers. That's because Olongapo City is one of a handful of divisions of the Department of Education in the country where adolescent reproductive health or ARH, more popularly known as "sex education," has been integrated into the public school curriculum since 2008. The city is also the only school division that has decided to implement sex ed in all its public schools.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has said that DepEd's plan to implement sex education in public schools will cause "developmental harm" to children. Meanwhile, the new education secretary, Bro. Armin Luistro, has yet to disclose his stance on the issue.

But Olongapo education officials are of their own mind on the matter.

"We will continue with the implementation of the program, for as long as our city government will support it," said Ligaya Monato, superintendent of Olongapo City schools.

GMANews.TV sat in on a high school biology class to see just how the deed is done-- that is, the teaching, of course.

Are you smarter than a high schooler? Take the same true-or-false quiz about HIV/AIDS given to second year high school students in Olongapo:
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20100729/tph-video-interactive-sex-education-a-ho-d6cd5cf.html

Maxxclip

July 30th, 2010, 04:28 AM

by Julie M. Aurelio, Philip Tubeza

MANILA, Philippines—A Quezon City court yesterday dismissed a civil case against the education department’s sex education program after the petitioning group itself moved to withdraw the complaint.

The state posed no objection to the withdrawal and Judge Rosanna Fe Romero-Maglaya granted the motion, saying both parties had shown a lack of interest in pursuing the case.

The court also dismissed the civil complaint against former education secretary Mona Valisno and undersecretary Ramon Bacani “without prejudice,” which means it can be filed again in the future.

The petitioners, a group of about 30 “concerned parents” led by Jo Imbong, a former lawyer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, filed the case last month asking the court to stop Valisno and Bacani from enforcing the program.

Maxxclip

August 3rd, 2010, 05:57 AM

by Philip C. Tubeza

MANILA, Philippines—The pilot-testing of the controversial sex education program in the public schools will continue, a Department of Education (DepEd) official said Monday, even as critics of the program withdrew their class suit to stop it.

Education Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano said the testing was proceeding in more than 150 schools across the country and would involve more than the students.

“The pilot-testing continues but this is more about the consultations with the stake-holders, like the parents,” said Quijano in a press conference where she and the three other new education undersecretaries were introduced to the media.

The DepEd is pilot-testing the program, supported by the United Nations Population Fund, in 80 elementary schools and 79 high schools in the poorest municipalities across the country.

Quijano said partial results of the pilot-testing last year had been given to Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

Luistro said he would create a group to review the sex education program, including a controversial proposal to teach students about artificial contraceptives, which is not included in the present program.

On Thursday, critics of the program—led by former Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines lawyer Jo Imbong—withdrew the class suit they had filed in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, so as not to “preempt Secretary Luistro’s action on the program.” The court granted their motion.

Retro

August 3rd, 2010, 09:29 AM

Abortion deaths blamed on gov’t

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:44:00 08/03/2010

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine government is to blame for creating a “dire human rights crisis” in the country by withholding access to family planning services and imposing a criminal ban on abortion, pro-choice activists said Monday.

These laws and policies have pushed more than half a million women to turn to clandestine and unsafe ways of terminating their pregnancies—often at the cost of their lives, said Melissa Upreti of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights in a press conference.

“Illegal abortion as a human rights issue is based on facts and reality,” said Upreti, who called on Philippine lawmakers to pass a law that would allow women to seek safe and legal abortions under special circumstances: When the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, fetal impairment or when it puts the mother’s health in danger.

She said the ban on abortion had driven women who wanted to terminate their pregnancies to seek illegal abortions that included “crude and extremely painful methods.” These included intense abdominal massages by traditional midwives, inserting of catheters or other instruments into the uterus, medically unsupervised consumption of the abortifacient drug Cytotec, and ingesting herbs and other concoctions sold by street vendors.

The Revised Penal Code prohibits abortion in all its forms.

According to the center, some 560,000 pregnant Filipino women every year turn to illegal abortions, with 90,000 suffering from complications. About 1,000 die annually.
It added that abortion-related complications were among the top 10 causes for hospitalization of women in the Philippines.

It pointed out that various United Nations committees such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had expressed concern over the government’s blanket prohibition on abortion that has led to the high incidence of maternal deaths due to clandestine abortions.

Many countries in the world allow safe, legal abortions for women under varying circumstances.

The center, along with its local partners, Monday issued its 126-page report “Forsaken Lives,” which tackles the impact of the Philippines’ criminal ban on abortion.

Described as the first study to link the government’s anti-abortion policy to women’s rights, the report was the result of two years of research, with five trips to the Philippines to conduct interviews with survivors of illegal abortions, health care workers, and lawyers. It included visits to government hospitals like Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, the Philippine General Hospital, Tondo General Hospital, Ospital ng Maynila and Bulacan Provincial Hospital.

Upreti, the center’s legal adviser for Asia, said the report aims to initiate a dialogue with the government on its accountability for the “human suffering caused by the ban.”

The report noted that many health care workers usually harassed or abused women seeking medical help after inducing an abortion instead of giving them proper medical attention.

“Our Congress should address this issue by passing a law that expressly allows safe and legal abortion. The Philippine judiciary should rule on the constitutionality of safe abortion when raised in court. Women’s rights advocates and reproductive rights advocates should also demand access to safe and legal abortion to address this public health issue,” said Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of EnGendeRights Inc., in a statement.

Ady001

August 3rd, 2010, 09:50 AM

^^ This may be cruel and inhumane but then again who's to blame?

Ady001

August 12th, 2010, 07:59 AM

I know, really flagrant violation of copyrights but then... We have to know...

The Correspondents - Mundong Hindi Pambata
QY9pzhsjb8Y

Maxxclip

August 12th, 2010, 09:13 AM

There are 100 million of us now
by Rigoberto D. Tiglao

WELL, TO be precise, 99,900,177, according to one forecast. That makes our country the 12th most populous nation on earth. Ours is the fourth most crowded place on earth after India, Bangladesh and Japan (on a list that excludes such exceptional cases such as Monaco, Singapore and Malta.)

It is a staggering figure. President Aquino presides over a nation nearly double the number of Filipinos when his mother assumed power in 1986. Since 2008 when the Reproductive Health Bill was filed in Congress, there are 4 million more Filipinos. And while Congress debated on the bill, which would empower Filipinos to choose whether to have children or not, and going by surveys that 36 percent to 44 percent of births in the country are unwanted, there have been as many as 1.8 million unwanted births in the past three years.

Worse, it is the poor who mostly have these unwanted births, as they do not have access to contraceptive information and means. (How can a laborer earning P200 a day afford condoms sold at P30 per pack?) While Congress debated and the Catholic Church threatened fire and brimstone against its supporters, our country produced 1.8 million more poor Filipinos.

An ignorant argument would be that rich nations like the United States and Japan are bigger than ours, but still prosperous. But both countries were already large many decades ago, and they have gone through the so-called demographic transition, when prosperity results in the reduction of fertility rates, or the average number of living children a woman bears in her lifetime. Thus, the US population growth rate in the past five years is one percent; Japan’s is negative: -0.2 percent.

In contrast, our annual population growth rate from 2005 to 2010 of 1.9 percent is the second highest among the 12 biggest countries in the world, following Nigeria’s 2.3 percent, a country which is practically only moving now to the modern era. Just in case the connection between population and economic growth still isn’t clear, we are followed in this listing by Pakistan, 1.8 percent; Bangladesh, 1.7 percent; and India, 1.5 percent. The Philippines’ fertility rate from 2000 to 2010 was 3.4 percent, higher than any Asian country. Those with higher fertility rates are almost all poor African countries.

It is one of the massive weaknesses of the Philippine state—its failure to provide the means for Filipinos to control their lives by being able to choose in the most important decision in a couple’s life, which is having or not having children.

It is amazing how our intellectual elite pontificate on myriad reasons why our country is poor when one major reason is staring us in the face, a nightmare you see as you drive through any urban poor neighborhood teeming with toddlers: our unbridled population growth.

Why are wages low? Because we have so many workers that the law of supply and demand pushes down wages. Why is productivity low? Productivity is the result of mechanization, but why mechanize if wages are so low? (A crude example: Why put up a Vendo machine at the corner, when you can get five unemployed stambays to do the selling.)

Senior opinion writers often gush about a purportedly Philippine “Golden Age” during their time, when everything was all right. But our population in 1950 was just 21 million, a fifth of what it is today. Cursing the government as you commute through the horrific traffic in metropolitan Manila? The metropolis’ population is now 14 million. In 1950, it was 1.5 million.

It is amazing how a few top-notch economists, particularly those belonging to the Vatican’s vanguard, Opus Dei, can still argue in this day and age that there is no connection between population growth rates and economic well-being. Perhaps even as late as the 1980s, there was still such a debate. But the debate had been resolved, and there is now a universal consensus that uncontrolled population growth is a major factor in the continued poverty of poor nations. We are among the very few countries in the world whose governments as a matter of policy eschew a population program that provide contraceptives to the poor.

Rather, the debate now is over the neo-Malthusian thesis which claims that drastic actions, such as aiming for reduced population, are necessary to prevent an environmental Armageddon, as the earth’s resources are not enough even for the present global population.

But we’re centuries behind that debate. Our weltanschauung is still a medieval one in which the Catholic Church still dictates, or tries to dictate, major state policies, with the threat of eternal damnation and even worse, political instability. “Bishop slams land deal,” this paper’s banner headline on Monday screamed. Nowhere in the world except perhaps in the L’Osservatore Romano is a cleric’s statement given the highest news value.

It is the Catholic Church and its organizations that have been blocking the country from undertaking a full-blown population program, on grounds of pure dogma that contraceptives make up “a deliberate violation of the design God built into the human race.” Not in Italy where the Holy See is, not in Spain, the land of the conquistadores which converted to Catholicism a big part of the world, but only in the Philippines does the Church have such awesome influence over state policy.

The Church was certainly crucial in the peaceful overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, which nudged us towards the democratic, modern era. But in many ways it has also kept us in a medieval world view that is responsible for much of our nation’s poverty.