On June 2003 – In an interview with Time, Mrs. Arroyo, when asked whether she found her job difficult, said she did, “but God having put me here, I’m undeterred in moving our nation forward.”

On August 1, 2004 – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo attended a Holy Mass for the celebration of the Day of God, the Father and the Novena for the Holy Octave of Consecration to God, the Father held at the Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang’s Palace.

On 2005 – In an interview by Cable News Network (CNN) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo infamously admitted that the late Carol Wojtyla a.k..a Pope John Paul II also influenced some of her policies on issues ranging from the death penalty to population control.

January 7, 2005 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delared this date as a National Day of Prayer and Mourning for the thousands of victims of the deadly tsunami that struck neighboring countries last December 26, 2004.

On February 2006 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) that her consistent opposition to capital punishment is due to her Catholic upbringing.

June 26, 2006 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave Pope Benedict XVI a statue of Our Lady of Guidance and a copy of a law she recently signed outlawing the death penalty in the Philippines, telling him, “These are two expressions of the faith of the Filipino people.”

August 23, 2006 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo offered Bishop Camilo Gregorio of Batanes, to be part of the Melo Commission, a fact-finding body that would investigate political killings in the country, however the Bishop turned down her offer.

On her 2007 – On State of the Nation Address (SONA) She mentioned on her closing statement “Pagpalain tayo ng Diyos at ang dakilang gawaing hinaharap natin.” (God bless us all and the glorious works ahead of us).

October 21 2008 – Under Executive Order No. 203 President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared Eid al-Fitr or end of Ramadan of Muslims to be a regular holiday.

On 2008 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ 100 Leadership Forum, was quoted saying:
“There are many ways to skin a cat. Some ways are more Roman Catholic than other ways, so I use the Roman Catholic way each time.”

On 2008 – On State of the nation address speech(SONA) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo quoted a line from Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est.

July 20, 2009 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has designated a special day for the Iglesia ni Cristo commemorating the founding anniversary of the sect.

September 12, 2009 – She declared “National Day of Prayer for Peace and Sanctification of Spiritual Leaders”

September 21, 2009 – She declared National Holiday in Philippines in observance of the Eid’l Fitr 2009 for the Muslims.

November 27-28 2009 – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has declared a two consecutive Public Holidays in ARMM in the observance of the Eidl Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice which is observed by the Muslim Community.

Let us NOT forget the secular sins of the Arroyo regime, and do yourself and your country a favor, please consider the secular stance of your presidential candidate and other politicians regarding the issue of separation of church and state when you cast the vote in May 2010.

The 8-paged decision signed by two Christian and one Muslim Comelec officials of the 2nd Division detailing how being homosexual is an abomination from the standard of the Bible and Q’uran and therefore any group representing this sector is morally disqualified to join the electoral race in 2010 for being bad influence to Filipino youth. To construct a basis for the rejection they unequivocally quoted Romans 1:26-27 from the New Testament King James Version of 1611:

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women
did change the natural use into that which is against nature, And likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one
toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and
receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”

and from the Q’uran , The Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation of 1938:

“For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women:
ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.” (7:81)
“and we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what
was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime!” (7:84)
“He said: “O my Lord! Help thou me against people who do mischief!” (29:30)

If you think this can’t be a legal document from a government office, then read the whole Comelec decision from HERE.

Where is the wall of separation of Church and State in all this? You might ask. Despite what’s written on our Constitution that, “the separation of Church and State shall be inviolable”, and “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion”, what we can learn from this awfully lot man-made tragedy is that GENUINE separation of Church and the State is not automatically given in this country, it is something we should all fight for, and yes, WE WILL FIGHT FOR IT.

P.S.
The author is not gay but recognized that homophobia and other forms of discrimination are borne out of prejudice and infantile ideology.

———————————————————————————-

Open Letter to the CBCP

My Dear Catholic Bishops,

I should wish to share with you words from a psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, author of THE ROAD LESS TRAVEL. It is a bit about psychiatry at its best on top of Christianity at its worst:

“The learning of something new requires a giving up of the old self and a death of outworn knowledge. To develop a broader vision we must be willing to forsake, to kill, our narrower vision. In the short run it is more comfortable not to do this – to stay where we are, to keep using the same microcosmic map, to avoid suffering the death of cherished notions. The road to spiritual growth, however, lies in the opposite direction. We begin by distrusting what we already believe, by actively seeking the threatening and the unfamiliar, by deliberately challenging the validity of what we have previously been taught and hold dear. The path to holiness lies through questioning EVERYTHING.”

Well, in our sick society today, if we question the evils of corruption, we find that corruption is not a political or a legal or a medical issue. Corruption is a moral issue. During these past centuries under Christian authority, hasn’t it been your sole responsibility to shepherd the flock, to be in charge of the teachings of moral values? Especially to establish self-respect and human dignity as the foundation of a healthy and a sane society? Why is it that after 400 years of Christianity solidly established in this country, tens of millions of Filipinos in this 21st century continue to experience interior emptiness, still thirsting for some form of spirituality? No doubt, we still have deep faith in the holy Trinity known as the “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit,” but in our race to achieve a higher standard of living as a people, and to accomplish a higher standard of thinking as a nation – where is the Holy Trinity on our side as our “Creator,” “Redeemer,” and the “Sustainer?”

For my part, as a humanist, I embrace morality as one of the greatest of human values. Not, however, superstitious morality. I do not do good because there is a greater power out there who will reward me for my goodness after death. On the contrary, I do good precisely because of what’s higher and greater than me, namely, – my family, my country, and indeed, this planet earth as the home of humanity.

I duly recognize that there is little difference between the goals of the Christians and the humanists. We both value helping others. But as a humanist I am drawn to this goal out of unselfish love and empathy – which arises from education in rationality. As a humanist my goal in life is to try and spread the virtues of felicity via intellectual growth and maturity. Indeed, to keep ignited the torch of enlightenment. To see things now as they will seem forever, – “in the light of eternity.”

The Christian, however, is driven to it out of fear for his own eternal welfare. For the Christian, helping others is not an end in itself, but only a means of saving himself from damnation.

As a humanist I realize that I could be mistaken about what is best for my fellow-Filipinos; so I am willing to listen to criticism. I am willing to have my ideas torn apart and will listen to the power of reason.

The Christian, however, cannot admit that his ideas of right and wrong might be mistaken, because to doubt would imperil his immortal soul. He must have faith in Christian doctrines – out of fear of eternal torture if he does not. He must be anti-intellectual in order to maintain his faith – out of fear of torture if he does not. And he must never doubt that his action is correct – again out of fear of torture if he does not.

What is happening to us, I ask? Why is it that we Filipinos do not, and cannot as yet enjoy social unity, moral sanity, and political maturity in our own country? We only continue to be a people of childish followers; hardly a nation of intelligent thinkers as leaders. Why is it that in this day and age, under your moral guidance and inspiration, we Filipinos only continue to believe that human life is but a defect, and that we must only live our lives seeking not reconstruction, but only obliteration!

My dear bishops, as citizens of our country, isn’t it time for you to take a deeper look at our spiritually poor and morally bankrupt nation – the Philippines – the only Christian country in Asia since 400 years ago? No doubt, Christianity has been a great success. But what has been a greater success, however, is the Filipino way of life. We are still faithful to a higher power out there, but paying for it at a expensive price down here: the horrors of spiritual corruption, moral degradation, economic stagnation, political delusion, educational deception, not to mention the lack of national health, hygiene, and sanitation in our country everywhere!

In the final analysis, I say it again: it is time for us Filipinos to stop fooling around with our silly “free will” for the sake of heavenly salvation. We should, instead, begin to believe and have faith in our intelligent “good will,” especially for one another for the sake of Philippine civilization?

Yours sincerely,
Poch Suzara, Phsdo

1. FF Forum 3/Film Festival
2. FF Essay Writing Contest
3. New FF Website Layout
4. Organizational matters
5. Relevant issues and current events
6. New member introductions

Given that tremendous practical advantage to our people, especially the poor ones with no capacity to avail resources and special education regarding health and sex education, still some of our supposed representative in the Lower House directly object the passage of RH Bill.

Much thanks to RH Bill advocate Carlos Celdran for providing a working list of our ‘honorable’ Congressmen who openly oppose the RH Bill. Now that we already identified them, we know much better now who to consider for re-election. Also, feel free to call or write the office/s of these public figures and express your own thoughts regarding RH Bill and demand an explanation on how/why they’ve come up with that decision.

I’ll be interested in reading those letters from you.

Abante, Bienvenido Jr.
6th Manila
9518965
Antonino, Rodolfo W.
4th Nueva Ecija
931-6042
Apostol, Trinidad “Ebbie” G.
2nd Leyte
931-5415
Bagatsing, Amado S.
5th Manila
951-0918
Bonoan-David, Ma. Theresa
4th Manila
931-5445
Chatto, Edgardo M.
1st Bohol
931-5258
Coscolluela Ma. Carissa O.
Partylist BUHAY
9316442
Crisologo, Vincent P.
1st Quezon City
951-0892
Del Mar, Raul V.
1st Cebu City
9315804
Garcia, Albert S.
2nd Bataan
931-5891
Garcia, Pablo John F.
3rd Cebu
931-6261
Garcia, Pablo P.
2nd Cebu
931-5197
Golez, Roilo S.
2nd Parañaque City
931-6624
Gullas, Eduardo R.
1st Cebu RVMB
951-8924
Locsin, Teodoro Jr.
1st Makati City
931-5883
Mandanas , Hermilando I.
2nd Batangas
931-5582
Mercado, Roger Gaviola
Lone Southern Leyte
932-9196
Mitra, Abraham Kahlil B.
2nd Palawan
951-8922
Piamonte, Mariano Jr.
Partylist A Teacher
931-5210
Rodriguez, Rufus B.
2nd Cagayan De Oro City
931-6730
Romulo, Roman T.
Lone Pasig City S
931-6283
Susano, Mary Ann L.
2nd Quezon City N
931-5116
Tieng, William Irwin C.
Partylist BUHAY N – 606 931-5547
Velarde, Rene M.
Partylist BUHAY
9315974
Vinzons-Chato, Liwayway P.
Lone Camarines Norte
931-5320
Zialcita, Eduardo C.
1st Parañaque
9518923

If you live inside Facebook, I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen someone posting this video, (or maybe you’ve posted it yourself to perpetuate the chain). However, on several occasions I’ve pointed out that the alleged account of a classroom encounter between young Albert Einstein and an atheist professor is FICTION. The exchanges never took place, and Albert Einstein, whom many deem the most intelligent person who ever lived, is not a Christian.

Moreover, we know it’s not true because Einstein, the most famous scientist of the 20th century responsible for the famous E=mc2 equation, was a careful thinker who would never have put forward the specious logic attributed to him.

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Does cold exist? or is it simply the absence of heat? Well, both heat and cold are actually labels physicists give to varying degrees in temperature. What exists is temperature. High or low. We call “cold” the lowest level of heat.

Does darkness exist? or is it simply the absence of light? Well, there are degrees of darkness as there are degrees of light, since light is made of sub-atomic particles called photons. Hence, a dark object reflects fewer visible photons than other objects, and therefore appears dim in comparison. (One example is Dark Matter. Astronomers theorize it makes up 25% of the known universe. This could be classified as darkness because it is invisible matter.)

Now, does evil exist? or is it simply the absence of good? Here is the heart of the problem, the previous two given contrasts — cold VS heat, dark VS light — concern physical properties of the universe, meaning material existence. Evil is not physical, because it has no mass, energy, etc., and it’s not quantifiable. So evil is not the same as cold and darkness, as the young student (not Einstein) wrongfully said.

Therefore the whole proposition of the video crumbles into pieces when you notice that the analogy is wrong. Saying evil happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart is no help either, since it’s basically a self-serving non-argument without the slightest foundation of fact.

The Real Albert Einstein

“I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it. “

-Albert Enstein, letter to an atheist (1954), quoted in Albert Einstein: The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas & Banesh Hoffman

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. “

- Albert Einstein, “Religion and Science,” New York Times Magazine, November 9, 1930

“Ultimately it is a secular issue, it’s a matter of public policy, it should be for all Filipinos. Not just Catholics. People of whatever faith or people of no faith. If they say they’re agnostic or atheistic, the law should serve them.” – Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel on Reproductive Health Bill

As an advocate of freethought, I always maintain a personal maxim to know, as much possible, all the counter-arguments in relation on what I hold as correct and sensible. The ratio of this knowledge determines how much I am really into the whole issue in question. Also by doing this, I acquire the positive habit of exploring most, if not all, the different perspectives in any multi-faceted issue – be it religious or political in nature. As I read somewhere from WWW it says that “if you don’t stand for something, you will easily fall for anything”. I agree. But as a word of caution before making a stand one must employ first the habit of critical thinking as oppose to religious fanaticism.

So while the fate of the controversial health and welfare House Bill 5043 or RH Bill is at the hand of our politicians and lawmakers, let us examine also the pit and the pendulum surrounding the issue, and how to properly address this in a language that everyone can understand and convince those people in favor of RH Bill, including me.

So what is RH Bill?

The Reproductive Health Bill and Population Development Act of 2008, (RH Bill) seeks government funding for population management programs that would provide reproductive health education and would give access to both natural and artificial family planning methods to all Filipinos. According to the House of Representatives by Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Ladman, primary author of the bill, central to the RH bill is “the exercise of freedom of informed choice by women and couples on what method of family planning they want to adopt”.

Coverage of RH Bill:

1. Information and access to natural and modern family planning.
2. Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition.
3. Promotion of breast feeding.
4. Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications.
5. Adolescent and youth health.
6. Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS and STDs.
7. Elimination of violence against women.
8. Counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health.
9. Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers.
10. Male involvement and participation in Reproductive Health.
11. Prevention and treatment of infertility.
12. Reproductive Health education for the youth.

As I read and examine the full text of the bill, available HERE.

I realized that RH Bill is not infallible. With cogent arguments backed with solid evidence the anti camp has a cause to further, and therefore misuse of religious authority, delaying tactics, name-calling, and intensified misinformation by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and others are not needed. They just have to prove the following:

RH Bill is pro-abortion*

This single issue alone once proved is enough to discourage anyone’s support for the pending bill. As even the authors of the bill acknowledge the fact that abortion in this country is not allowed and will remain a crime and punishable. Hence for the anti-RH Bill all they have to do is to show evidence that some of the modern methods in the artificial family planning, included in the proposed law, directly induce deliberate destruction of the fertilized egg or abortion. As evidence, it should be new and reliable scientific evidence; peer reviewed in many scientific journals, and approved by the majority in the field of medicine and health sciences.

*note. Nowhere in the RH Bill is it ever mentioned that abortion will be legalized. Contraception is entirely different from abortion. What’s included in the RH services among others is the post-abortion treatments of women suffering from complications due to abortion circumstance, because the authors believe that they are still entitled to their humane health rights regardless whether if they did it legally or not. The best way to prevent abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancies, in which RH Bill is intended to. For the list of considered contraceptives approved by World Health Organization (WHO) you can find it HERE and HERE.

RH Bill will not eliminate poverty. As corruption not over-population is the problem*

This is the socio-political paradigm of the issue. The aim, of course, is to project that RH Bill is not very important and will not lead to practical solution and might even worsen the current problem, and so wasting the taxpayers money is objectionable. By this claim, they have to provide adequate studies in reference to the statement that over-population is not a problem, or manpower is actually an asset to a nation or something like that. (They could even cite China as an example of large country with very large population but with a powerhouse economy). They could even argue that the unequal distribution of wealth, wrong priorities of the government, and the greedy oligarchs are the culprit why our nation is under-developed without the burden of over-population.

* note. RH Bill is not a one-size-fits-all solution to all known problems in the Philippine society. But RH Bill acknowledge that population affects poverty; the same way poverty affects the population of a country. Corruption and over-population is both a problem that needs to be provided with ample solutions. RH Bill is a proposed population development law to manage a quality oriented populace. For the relationship of poverty and population of a country see the studies conducted by UN Human Development Reports, The Asian Development Bank in 2004, National Statistics Office (NSO), 2006 Family Planning Survey Philippines Fact Sheet.

RH Bill is unconstitutional*

One of the other objections against the passage of RH bill stems from misconception that this bill is coercive on the side of the employers to provide mandatory free reproductive health care services, supplies, devices and surgical procedures to employees, and be subjected to both imprisonment and/or a fine, for every time they fail to comply. While others cited the freedom of religion and the ‘criminalization of conscience’ of the individuals.

* note. The mandated responsibility on the part of the employers to provide free RH services and supplies to their employees as part of their constitutional overall health plan is an extension to the present law of the land reflected from the  Labor Code ARTICLE. 134. Family Planning Services; Incentives for Family Planning. Full text available HERE.

(a) Establishments which are required by law to maintain a clinic or infirmary shall provide free family planning services to their employees which shall include, but not be limited to, the application or use of contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices.
(b) In coordination with other agencies of the government engaged in the promotion of family planning, the Department of Labor and Employment shall develop and prescribe incentive bonus schemes to encourage family planning among female workers in any establishment or enterprise.

On the part of the individuals, once the RH Bill has been enacted the government will neither force anyone to use artificial family method if they don’t want to, nor will dictate the number of children a family can have. RH Bill protects, provides and finance choices and access to a full range of safe and effective family planning methods (natural and artificial) to Filipinos regardless of their belief and non-belief .

Endnote.

What has been tackled here are just some of the controversial aspects purporting the said bill and definitely leaves a lot of room for further examinations and criticisms (especially on the legal part), but the message and challenge cannot be as clearer to those who oppose the RH Bill.

RH Bill is a legal and scientific issue, not religious. Provide reliable evidences or stop wasting taxpayers money and PASS THE RH BILL NOW.

Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.

~Anonymous

You might not know it, but for several years now President Arroyo’s government has been abusing the duly constitutional clause of Separation of Church and State, not only by having a recent special non-working holiday, a National Day of Mourning for the late Eraño Manalo of Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), and the upcoming special non-working holiday for the end of the Ramadan period for the Muslims, but also by mandating an official, state-sponsored National Day of Prayer for our country.

According to the government website, the Proclamation #1869 is a regular working day devoted to prayer for peace and sanctification of spiritual leaders that will happen this Saturday, September 12.

I support the idea that individuals have the right to pray for whomever they want and in whatever manner they like, as long as the rights of others are not infringed, but it is not the business of the government to direct or encourage any religious practice, like when and how to pray. On theological matters the government should be neutral, and not seek to patronize, favor, or further any faith. Because the freedom of religion also includes freedom from religion.

In response to this, a more inclusive and practical holiday should be held – a National Day of Reason to be synchronized with the National Day of Prayer. Instead of collective wishful thinking, all rational citizens should celebrate and promote reason, democracy, human rights, and at same time raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of worship.

National Day of Reason also exists as a flagship of reason and rationality on the web, and our additional voice to the chorus of a progressive and secular society.