The Supreme Court of the Philippines voted 10-5 to put a status quo ante order on the RH law, which means that instead of the RH law being implemented the Philippines will return to the magical state it was in before the RH bill was passed.
We already have the law and the implementing rules and regulations. The Supreme Court has ordered the Philippines to regress, to freeze progress for four more months. Four more months that the CBCP and its allies can use to maneuver their political power to kill the RH law in the Supreme Court.
Which means we’ll continue to not have a comprehensive program to address the rising rates of HIV infection in the country. For that is the status quo.
Status quo ante. It means “the way things were before”. We already have the RH law. Why should we want to go back to the status quo? Sign this petition to ask the Supreme Court to lift their order.
For an institution that thrives on tradition and that loves talking up the long history of the Roman Catholic Church, the CBCP has sure demonstrated that they are open to expedient changes of heart when it comes to their own moral teachings.
After the Catholic Church lost the RH battle, a Bacolod diocese has put up posters that espouse their Catholic flock to vote for anti-RH politicians (Team Buhay) and not for the pro-RH politicians (Team Patay).
This is an action that screams of frustration from an institution whose loss of power has just been demonstrated nationally, and it is also a demonstration of the CBCP’s hypocrisy over its own moral dispensations.
During the Philippine elections of 2004, the head of the CBCP had issued a warning to priests against politicking for canditates, even invoking Canon law and threatening to strip guilty priests of their parishes.
Fast forward to 2011, in another scandal involving the PCSO and SUVs, the CBCP issed forth the defense in the Senate that their bishops only took the PCSO money (which comes from a form of gambling) to… help the poor.
The CBCP demonstrates a pattern of flip-flopping on issues whenever it suits them, damn whatever moral utterances they may have made before. The CBCP may have their lists of Team Patay and Team Buhay, but they are clearly their own Team Balimbing.
The Philippines is of course abuzz with talk of our very own Cardinal Tagle being one of the favourites to ascend to the throne of infallibility, but what Philippine political campaign is complete without an election jingle? Youtube user ‘latigorapper’ has taken it upon himself to create a jingle for Cardinal Tagle… and oh my.
It. Is. So. Fabulous.
If you listened to the jingle, I am so so sorry. If you spared yourself, the jingle is set to The Village People’s YMCA. Which some of you may know as a popular gay anthem. So, you know…fabulous!
If Cardinal Tagle becomes the next pope, can we credit the LGBT community for the win?
Seriously though, Filipinos should reconsider being so supportive of Cardinal Tagle becoming pope if they want to see change in the Catholic church. The church is not a democracy (no shit Sherlock) and the leadership has made it very clear that they’re not looking to change the moral stances of the church.
Instead, ask yourself if you can stay in a church that is clearly morally backwards while it claims to be your moral guardian. Can you stand to stay in a church that is fighting to keep allowing use of religion as an excuse for governments to not stop violence against women? Can your moral needs be fulfilled by a church that would choose to shield sexual abusers from legal prosecution while it throws the book at people who offend their religious feelings? If your own moral compass cannot agree with the morals handed down by the papacy, is there any reason to stay with the church?
Oh, and because I hate my readers, here are the lyrics to the jingle:
Cardinal Tagle, Our Next Pope
By: Latigo
Lyrics By: Latigo
Original Song: YMCA by the Village People.
I
Tagle, i know he is the one
i say Tagle, he is a soldier of god
i say Tagle, he won’t do any bad
and he’ll lead us to do good things
Tagle, a man of love and care
i say Tagle, he is just and fair
i say Tagle, i know he will be there
for the churches of all nations
CHORUS:
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will do what he can, as a shepherd of men
to bring peace to our land
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will listen to us, he’s a man we can trust,
he will pray for all of us
II
Tagle, he’s a healthy young man
i say Tagle, he’s a righteous man
i say Tagle, he’s a moral man
and he’ll spread the gospel in our world
Tagle, looks out for everyone
i say Tagle, will pick us up when we’re down
i say Tagle, and the lost will be found
and he’ll guide us all to heaven
CHORUS:
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will do what he can, as a shepherd of men
to bring peace to our land
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will listen to us, he’s a man we can trust,
he will pray for all of us
III
Tagle, an inspiration for all
i say Tagle, will heed jesus’s call
i say Tagle, cause he will stand tall
he’ll defend his flock from evil
Tagle, a good samaritan
i say Tagle, he helps fellow men
i say Tagle, will talk to god everyday
so he can show us all the right way
CHORUS:
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will do what he can, as a shepherd of men
to bring peace to our land
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle
our next pope should be Cardinal Tagle eh
he will listen to us, he’s a man we can trust,
he will pray for all of us
I am so so sorry.
P.S.: The jingle is seriously not ours and is not satire.
P.P.S: Seriously, seriously, I know FF is known for doing satire but this is not a satire post.
With Ratzinger vacating the papal throne, much has been made of who will be the man (and of course it must be a man) to replace him. In the press conference the CBCP held to talk about how sad they are about Ratzinger resigning the papacy, Father Francis Lucas spoke up for all Filipinos saying that Filipinos would love for the Philippines’ own Cardinal Tagle to become the next Pope.
“We Filipinos would like a Filipino to be pope. Any country would be proud of that – that your own cardinal becomes pope,” said Lucas, head of the mass media commission of the country’s Roman Catholic bishops.
“The ordinary people, they would like Tagle to be pope because he is a Filipino.”
When asked about what qualities made Cardinal Tagle a good candidate for the papacy, Father Lucas said, “He is humble, he is meek, he is very bright, he is media-savvy, he is simple.”
Maybe Father Lucas should have also mentioned that Cardinal Tagle brings a uniquely Asian way of looking at the sexual abuse crimes that hang over the Catholic church. In a recent interview, Cardinal Tagle talked about how well received his presentation was on how the Catholic Church should handle sex abuses. This is how GMA news reported on this interview:
“You care. You care for the victims… You care also for the abuser who is definitely lost and you do not want the person to continue being lost… This is a very Asian approach. And it is that approach [that] leads to healing, but healing based on justice, based on truth,” he added.
Sounds good so far. Cardinal Tagle is talking about justice, which is always good, and healing, too. It’s commendable that Tagle speaks of healing not just of the victim but also the abuser. But judging by the track record of the Catholic Church in handling sexual abuses, what exactly does Cardinal Tagle mean?
Well, it turns out that if you watch the rest of the interview that wasn’t included in the report, Cardinal Tagle tells you exactly what he means:
“I think for us, legal action, exposing persons, both victims and abusers, to the public, either through media or legal action, that adds to the pain.”
So. You know. Justice and healing for Cardinal Tagle apparently means keeping legal action against the criminal sexual abuser out of the picture. Yep. Meet the possible new boss, who is apparently just the same as the old boss. Do you still think Filipinos would be proud of having Cardinal Tagle as a pope?
Tonight is the eve of what will hopefully be a vote on the second reading of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the House of Representatives.
In tonight’s Congress session the Honorable Representative from Cebu, Pablo Garcia, and his cohorts showed the country how Christ-like the anti-RH truly are. These are men who say they are fighting for God’s will, right? Surely the moral character of God must be reflected in their attempted amendments to the RH bill, right?
Representative Pablo Garcia tried to include an amendment into the RH bill to remove post-abortion care from the bill. His reasoning for this amendment is that including language that guarantees post abortion care for women who felt compelled to undergo an abortion would just encourage more women to undergo abortion. Our country totally does not need to take care of women who undergo an illegal operation, I mean, theres a reason its illegal right?
What a very Christ like moral argument there, Representative Garcia. After all when Jesus was faced with that adulterous woman who was to be stoned in the gospel of John, he was all like, “Yeah! Lets totally stone her!”
This woman? Yeah! Let’s totally stone her!
Oh wait. No. He didn’t.
Jesus forgave her and actually dared the pharisees, the clergy men, to hurt the woman they brought before him.
Women who suffer post abortion complications in the Philippines don’t just endure the effects of a most likely poorly done illegal abortion, they’re also stigmatized when they try to go to hospitals for care. These women who are already suffering are made to feel even worse, given substandard care because of a stigma that stems from religion.
The anti-RH go on and on about their morals derived from God. They declare that they know God’s will, that they are just doing what their God wants them to do.
According to their Bible, Jesus himself protected the life of a woman from the dictates of the clergy; from their desire to exact justice without thought of mercy. And yet, when these men who claim to follow God’s will have the chance to do what Jesus would do, they do the exact opposite.
Maybe its time to stop listening to the men of the cloth. Maybe its time the country acts as Jesus did when dealing with women who have illegal abortions: with compassion and mercy. Maybe instead of listening to our own pharisees, maybe its time to pass the RH bill.
Errata: I had mistakenly written “third reading of the Reproductive Health Bill” when it is only the second reading, the mistake has since been corrected.
But when I recently visited their website, what really struck me was a little animated banner they were running on one side. An animated banner that had a quote from Jose Rizal and his image as well, fighting for the dogma of the Catholic church against the Reproductive Health Bill.
It’s an interesting little banner, because in the 1950′s the CBCP was fighting one of these pesky laws that we have in our nation, Republic Act 1425, or the Rizal Law: a bill that was enacted to teach the life and writings of Jose Rizal to all public and private school students in the Philippines.
The CBCP resented having to teach the life and work of someone who they percieved to be anti Catholic in their private Catholic schools. They seemed to have fought the Rizal law as vociferously as they are fighting today against the RH bill. The CBCP brought in political proxies in the form of Senators to fight the Rizal Law, a tactic that they still deploy in fighting the RH bill.
In that fight, the CBCP issued this statement against the Rizal Law. I’d like to excerpt a passage from that statement here (emphasis mine).
In these two novels we find passages against Catholic dogma and morals where repeated attacks are made against the Catholic religion in general, against the possibility of miracles, against the doctrine of Purgatory, against the Sacrament of Baptism, against Confession, Communion, Holy Mass, against the doctrine of Indulgences, Church prayers, the Catechism of Christian Doctrine, sermons, sacramentals and books of piety. There are even passages casting doubts on or covering with confusion God’s omnipotence, the existence of hell, the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the two natures of Christ.
So here we are, in 2012, with the CBCP fighting the RH bill this time. The CBCP is being insistent on protecting the dogma of the church. And who is one of their champions in this time of great need? Why, none other than Jose Rizal of course! Because of course Jose Rizal is such a great upholder of Catholic dogma! I mean, that’s what the CBCP said right?
So here we are, in 2012. The CBCP has somehow managed to change their minds about Rizal despite their bawlings about him in 1956. What else do you think they can change their minds on in the future?
As the cybercrime Law comes into effect today posts like this one, no matter how factual, become targets for lawsuits that run contrary to the human right of freedom of expression.
According to this social moral fiber, Filipino teenagers should not be having sex. What the Philippines has instead is one of the highest incidences of teenage pregnancy in Asia. Clearly this moral fiber has not been doing a very good job in stopping teenage sex. Contrast this with the sex education that is part of the RH bill. It’s been found that giving teenagers sex education delays teenage sexual activity. Informed sexual behavior serves our youths better than a moral fiber that denies what is happening in reality. Should we put a moral fiber that has not been working up on a pedestal to the detriment of our youths?
If this moral fiber is better than the RH bill, then this moral fiber ought to be stopping abortions. Its an undeniable fact that abortions happen in the Philippines. According to the national estimate, the number of abortions each year is around 400,000 to 500,000. When contraception has been shown to reduce abortion, then the people who decide to stand behind moral fiber instead of passing the RH bill are effectively saying they do not care enough for the women who feel forced to undergo abortion to do anything to lower that number. They care more for the moral fiber that hasn’t been working than they do for actual women.
The moral fiber argument against the RH bill becomes even more morally bankrupt when you actually have to use your moral courage. Can you do the ethical thing even if it means going against those who claim to be the keepers of “moral fiber”?
Maternal deaths are on the rise. It speaks volumes about your moral fiber when you choose not to do anything about deaths so easily preventable with a comprehensive reproductive health program. It says even more about your actual moral courage when you can defend your decision to do nothing by citing “moral fiber”.
Lucy Torres-Gomez speaks of social moral fiber. What does it say of our society’s moral fiber when abortion is so looked down upon that some health care professionals will shun women who require post abortion care, will have no empathy for these women in need of medical attention? A society of higher moral fiber would be able to put aside their judgement and condemnation and see a woman in need of care.
Critics of the RH bill who say they are defending “moral fiber”, or “Filipino values” need to actually examine what it is they are defending. Morals, values, and ethics are not static things. As we find out more about the human experience we progress in the way we think about things. Do the values you defend reflect the best of what we understand? The best that we can do to make the lives of our fellow human beings better?
“Kaya pala nadedelay sa Senate na mag-agree sa bicameral ay pinapa-negotiate ng some Senators na alisin ang provisions ng LGBTs. (The reason why the Senate failed to agree in the bicameral is that some senators wanted to exclude the LGBT provisions),” [one of the authors of the bill, Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr.] claimed.
…
“So baka mag-agree na ganito na lang para maipasa. What I know is that one of those opposing is Senator (Vicente) Sotto,” he claimed. Sotto was reportedly pushing for the adoption of the House version, which does not include the LGBT provisions.
What kind of legislators are the Filipino people getting when the first step these senators take to passing an anti-discrimination law is to discriminate? To make it even more disgusting, it’s a good bet that some of these senators are pushing to remove the LGBT provisions from the bill for religious reasons. An incredibly hypocritical move considering that the anti discrimination bill has provisions against religious discrimination. To these senators it’s bad to discriminate against religion but discriminating because of religion? That’s kosher!
Even if the senator’s reasons for removing the provisions aren’t religious, any reason at all for the removal of LGBT provisions would be disingenuous to the spirit of the bill. They are trying to pass a law against discrimination that would, if the LGBT provisions are excised, be discriminatory in the first place.
The legislators who authored the anti-discrimination bill have done good work writing the bill in the first place. Now they need to ensure that their good work will not be brought down by the politicking of bigots and bishops.
The anti RH Senator Juan Ponce Enrile recently came out to defend Senator Tito Sotto from the allegations of plagiarism. In his defense of Sotto, Enrile questions the use of contraception for preventing pregnancy, putting forward the question: “Is pregnancy a disease that needs to be cured?”
“What disease does an IUD or a condom cure or prevent? I challenge the proponents to explain that to the public. Is not the purpose of these methods to reduce the population of the country,” Enrile asked. “In the case of a contraceptive pill, is pregnancy a disease that needs to be cured? Why do we need to prevent it?”
While Enrile prefaces his question with the case of birth control pills I think its fair to extend his question to other forms of birth control as well. Why should some women need to prevent pregnancy if its not a disease?
Perhaps he would find the answer to this question easily if he just asked his fellow anti RH legislator in congress, Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay.
@mitosmagsaysay on ANC Headstart admits after 6 kids, she has been ligated following doctor’s advise. Says most constituents not open to it.
No Senator Enrile, pregnancy is not a disease but pregnancy always carries a risk to women’s lives. With medical advancements that risk has been mitigated but for some the risk still runs too high. For some mothers, becoming pregnant means risking leaving their families motherless. For some women, contraception is what they need to have a healthy sexual relationship with their husband while ensuring their own lives aren’t put in jeopardy by a pregnancy.
Beyond contraception, the RH bill has other measures to mitigate the risk of childbirth. It provides for more midwives to attend to births. The RH bill would give sex education and access to reproductive health services to the poor. If it survives the period of ammendments, the RH bill could provide mobile hospitals that can attend to the maternal needs of women further away from hospitals. All these measures can help lower the risk of childbirth.
Evidence also matters in legislation.
Enrile, you asked if pregnancy is a disease. No it isn’t. Yet pregnancy carries with it risks to the life of the mother. Sometimes a significant risk, as attested to by Mitos Magsaysay’s own ligation. We need to do better by the mothers of the Philippines. Look at how our maternal mortality statistics compares to countries around us in Asia. We’re doing very poorly in lowering our maternal mortality rate and according to the latest statistics from the Department of Health, our maternal mortality rate is on the rise again.
I find it hard to believe Senator Enrile isn’t aware of the risks to maternal health. Has he been ignoring the debates all this time? Has Senator Pia Cayetano’s level headed presentation of facts on the RH bill fallen on his deaf ears while he raptly pays attention to Senator Sotto’s crying and presentation of old data from the 70s? To Sotto’s presentation of questionable sources? And I find it astounding that Enrile can question some women’s need to prevent pregnancy while someone from the anti RH camp has done that very thing.
Image captured from ANC’s coverage of Enrile’s opening statements during the Chief Justice trial
Here’s a question to the Catholics who so vociferously decried Representative Palatino’s now withdrawn Religious Freedom in Government Offices Act (HB 6330). Would you deny your brother and sister Catholics in Pakistan the secular government that this bill was trying to secure? Would you refuse Pakistani Catholics the government that they were promised during the founding of their country?
In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims—Hindus, Christians, and Parsis — but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.
That was to be the promise of Pakistan, that it would be a Muslim majority country that had secular principles. Here we have a clear parallel with the Philippines: our 1987 constitution had declared ours a secular democracy albeit a Catholic dominated one.
And yet what is happening in Pakistan? What happens when the promise of secularism is treated as a sham by the religious majority? In Pakistan, Christians and Catholics are oppressed under the justification of a blasphemy law and Catholic politicians are murdered for daring to stand up to this oppression of religious freedom and human rights. And as reported by the Catholic website, Where God Weeps, during the floods in Pakistan on 2010, this climate of oppression against the religious minorities has made it so that the flood waters were diverted to the places where the religious minorities live.
In Pakistan at least, it seems that the Catholic church is keenly aware of how urgently secularism is needed to protect their flock and the other religious minorities in the country. Even the pope has spoken up to ask Pakistan to repeal their blasphemy laws.
History has shown that the practice of secularism, and not just lip service to it, is a good way of ensuring religious freedom. The actual practice of secularism makes it harder for those in power to oppress people with beliefs different from their own. That secularism in England arose from the mutual persecution between Protestants and Catholics should have taught the Roman Catholic church the value of secularism for religious freedom.
One of the intentions of HB 6330 is to ensure that government offices do not represent one religion over another; to ensure that public servants won’t feel that they are beholden to a religion because of the religious displays or services in their work place and that the public they serve won’t feel that they are being discriminated against, however subtly or overtly, because of a difference in belief.
This is secularism, this is how religious freedom is preserved. By observing neutrality in government, by showing systems of belief or disbelief no favor over another.
It was mainly the loud and arrogant Catholic voice that brought about the withdrawal of HB 6330. These same Catholics are fond of citing the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do to you”. It makes you wonder, if they knew how the lack of secularism is hurting Pakistani Catholics, would these Filipino Catholics deny secularism to their Pakistani brethren as they have denied secularism to the minority believers in the Philippines?
Yesterday the Department of Health (DOH), the institution that is supposed to be raising the standards of health for Filipinos, caved in to an institution that is very adamant on lowering the standards of health for Filipinos: the CBCP. It seems that when the bishops say “jump,” the DOH asks “how high?”, instead of doing their job for the Filipino people:
Here’s something that some Catholic bishops will be happy about with respect to the DOH on Valentine’s Day.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona on Monday said the DOH will not be distributing free condoms on Tuesday as couples nationwide mark Valentine’s Day with dinner dates, lavish gifts and other gestures of affection.
While DOH Secretary Ricky Ona pays lip service to Catholics who use contraceptives despite the Church, he seems to miss the point that the DOH is supposed to be concerned about the health of the Filipino people and not their holiness:
“Responsible sex means you engage in sexual practices that are acceptable to you and your religious beliefs,” he added. “But still the use of condoms and other artificial contraceptives, which the Catholic Church rejects, was still upon the discretion among couples,” said Ona.
“If they want to use it, then they should buy it themselves,” he added.
The lack of reproductive health education in the Philippines makes the DOH’s condom distribution not just about giving away condoms. The DOH’s condom distribution is a way for the DOH to educate couples who might not know about safe sex. The taboo of sex (thanks, Catholic church!) could also make couples less likely to buy contraception out of the needless guilt the Church inspires. The poor also might not be able to afford contraception. That secretary Ricky Ona would tell people to buy condoms makes it seem like he doesn’t know the DOH’s mission:
So, DOH. What does the H in your name stand for? Is your mission to serve the health needs of the Filipino people? Or are you here to enforce the “holiness” imposed by the Catholic church?
If you’re angry after reading about the capitulation of the DOH to the Catholic bishops who could really care less about the health of the Filipino people, do something with your rage. Call the DOH, email them. Let them know that they serve the Filipino people. Remind them about their mission. Tell them to work for our health, not the conception of holiness held by the CBCP.
Here are their contact details. If you’re able to call them at (+632) 651-7800, do it. If you can’t, write them an email. Just give them a Valentine’s Day that would remind them that they work for the Filipino people. Not the CBCP.
Hi folks! We’re heading to Taft this meetup! We’d like to invite people from around the area to come and join us, especially the students!
Discussion Topics:
- SOPA/PIPA Blackout (Wikipedia, Reddit, and other sites go down on January 18 in protest)
-Patronizing slave labor
-Department of Tourism “More Fun in the Philippines” Campaign
After the meetup we go for dinner and beer drinking at Sherwood (roughly across the street). If you’re not a meetup regular and can’t make it for the meetup but would like to go for the post meetup, please indicate on a post in the wall or comment so we can contact you.
Got questions about the meetup? Contact us at 0927 323 3532
* Newbies are welcome.
* Look for the FF sign (or the group of smart, sexy people).
* There is no required age, religion, philosophy, or IQ level.
* Discussions are informal yet intelligent (most of the time).
* You don’t have to talk; you can just sit in and listen.
* You don’t have to buy anything from Holly’s.
Happy new year folks! The Earth has just completed another revolution around the sun, let’s all get together and start the new year right with great discussions and a good time with our little freethinking family.
After the meetup we go for dinner and beer drinking at Gilligan’s in Megamall. If you’re not a meetup regular and can’t make it for the meetup but would like to go for the post meetup, please indicate on a post in the wall or comment so we can contact you.
Got questions about the meetup? Contact us at 0927 323 3532
* Newbies are welcome.
* Look for the FF sign (or the group of smart, sexy people).
* There is no required age, religion, philosophy, or IQ level.
* Discussions are informal yet intelligent (most of the time).
* You don’t have to talk; you can just sit in and listen.
* You don’t have to buy anything from Starbucks.
