Manifest

Marcos burial insults EDSA spirit – CBCP

Published

8 years ago

November 10, 2016

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) condemned on Wednesday the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) to allow the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) and called it an insult to the Edsa People Power Revolution.

In a statement, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that the high court’s decision is another step to build a culture of impunity in the country. “We are very sad. The burial is an insult to the Edsa spirit. It mocks our fight to restore democracy,” Villegas said.

Last Tuesday, the SC junked the petition filed by human rights groups and Martial Law victims after nine justices voted in favor of the burying Marcos at the LNMB.

The nine justices who allowed the burial were Associate Justices Arturo Brion, Presbitero Velasco Jr, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo, Jose Perez, Teresita de Castro, Jose Mendoza, and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

Meanwhile, the five justices who opposed the burial were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, together with Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Francis Jardaleza, and Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

In the decision penned by Justice Peralta, the high court said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s order was within the bounds of the law.

“At bar, President Duterte, through the public respondents acted within the bounds of law and jurisprudence. Notwithstanding the call of human rights advocates, the Court must uphold what is legal and just and that is not to deny Marcos his rightful place at the LNMB,” the high court said.

However, Villegas urged the Marcos family to acknowledge the atrocities committed during the time of Martial Law.

“Those who do wrong should be made accountable. First, they should admit the wrong they have done,” Villegas stated.

“Burying Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani will not bring peace and unity to the country.”

According to data from human rights group Amnesty International, about 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, 3,240 were killed and more than a thousand went missing during the Martial Law period.

Villegas stated that peace will be only achieved if justice will be served to the victims. “Peace can only come if there is justice. Justice demands recognition of the harm done to the people and restitution to the victims.” – E.M.B.

Photo by Agatha Imbao

Anna Mogato

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Black Nazarene devotees urged to live like Jesus

Executive Secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Christian Education Rev. Msgr. Gerardo Santos urged devotees of the Black Nazarene on Monday to pattern their lives after Jesus Christ.

Published

8 years ago

January 10, 2017

Anna Mogato

Santos in his homily said that the figure of the Black Nazarene symbolizes prayer, forgiveness, and service.

“Natatangi ang imahe ng Nazareno dahil sa lahat ng imahe, ito lang ang nakatiklop ang tuhod. Ipinakita sa atin ni Hesus ang ibig sabihin ng pag-ibig, at ang tunay na pag-ibig ay naglilingkod,” Santos added, relating to this year’s theme ‘Pag-ibig ang buklod ng ganap sa pagkakaisa’.

The annual procession drawing millions of faithfuls to follow the Black Nazarene from Quirino Grandstand to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene starts on Dec.31 with a thanksgiving procession and ends with the “translacion” hours after the Pahalik in Luneta Park.

Fr. Efren Rivera, O.P. from the University’s Faculty of Sacred Theology explained that the Feast of the Black Nazarene is one of the most-flocked religious festivities in the Philippines because Filipinos “identify with the Nazareno.”

“Pang-masa ang debosyon sa Nazareno. Nakikita ng mga Pilipino na ang Poon ay parang katulad nila, na naghihirap din,” Rivera said.

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene officials were expecting around 15 to 18 million devotees to take part this year.

“Yung Nazareno, si Hesus ‘yan. Ayan ang anak ng Diyos. The Nazarene is a representation of Jesus Christ. And for Catholics, Jesus Christ is God,” Rivera added. – Tyra Aquino

Photo by Genelaine Urbano

Anna Mogato

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Manifest

Religious youth leaders urge youth to address climate change

Religious youth leaders from different parts of Asia called on the youth to address challenges such as climate change in an ‘integrated holist[ic] way’.

Published

8 years ago

November 21, 2016

Nhuj Pascua

Photo by Pauline Carlos

Religious youth leaders from different parts of Asia called on the youth to address challenges such as climate change in an ‘integrated holist[ic] way’.

“We must learn to work together as one community, and there isn’t much time to waste,” Dr. Lilian Sison, secretary general of Religious for Peace Philippines, said in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Asia Religious Youth Peace Camp at the UST Benavides Auditorium.

“As an Asian youth leader, we need to go into a more disciplined lifestyle—definitely to form our spiritual formation,” she said. “The spiritual formation is very important if you really want to address climate change.”

Sison also mentioned that the UN had proposed procedures in the form of agreements, such as the Conference of Parties, Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, in order to reduce the dangers climate change might bring to the world. Rev.

Kyoichi Sugino, deputy secretary general of Religions for Peace International, emphasized that the aim of the peace camp is to raise awareness among youth regarding the impact of climate change.

Sugino also presented an index which showed that the Philippines is the country which is most affected by climate change.

He emphasized the importance of youth as molders of the future destiny of humanity and through their help they can aid the protection of the environment by working hand in hand.

The opening ceremony of this year’s Religious Youth Peace Camp with the theme ‘Responding to Marginalized Communities’ Vulnerability to Climate Change: Strengthening Common Actions and Empowering Asia-Pacific Interfaith Youth Leaders’ was hosted by UST.

The said event was organized by Asian Conference of Religions for Peace-Seoul Peace Education Center (ACRP-SPEC) and was participated by religious youth leaders representing 16 countries from Asia and the Pacific.

Previous camps were held in Seoul, South Korea (2014) and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2015). This year’s camp was held in Manila, Philippines on Nov. 17 to 20.

Other speakers were Rev. Kim Tae Sung, director of the ACRP-SPEC; Hadja Lourdes Mastura, president of Religions for Peace Philippines; Rev. Yongjoo Kim, president of Korea Conference of Religions for Peace; Rev. Yoshitaka Hatakeyama, secretary-general of Religions for Peace Asia; and Fr. Kwangjoon Kim, secretary-general of Korea Conference of Religions for Peace.