Archive for the ‘Issues of the day’ Category:
A Statement of the ECP Council of Bishops seeking the release of the Morong 43
March 11th, 2010 / No Comments »
A month ago, some 300 elements of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police forcibly took into custody forty-three health workers from the rest house of Dr. Melecia Velmonte, a renowned and respected infectious disease specialist, a consultant at the Philippine General Hospital and a professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. For a few days, they were denied visits of relatives and friends until after the intervention of the Commission on Human Rights. It is our understanding that the group was at the resort attending a health skills training sponsored by the Council for Health and Development (CHD), a non-government organization. Most of the participants were members of the CHD and of the Community Medicine Development Foundation (Commed), also a non-government organization. Amongst those arrested, we are specifically concerned over the conditions of Dr. Alex Montes, a member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and a former coordinator of their health ministries, and of Ms. Angela Dolorico, an Episcopalian who hails from Sagada, Mountain Province where most of our congregations are.
While the legality of their arrest is now being questioned in court, the 43 health workers have alleged that they have been abused physically and mentally and their basic rights deprived of them. We are aware that the Commission on Human Rights has intervened and has scheduled a hearing on these allegations on March 18th. We are also aware, however, of how the poor and the marginalized have long suffered from the lack of accessible health care services. It is non-government organizations that have filled-in this gap and who have engaged in the training of community health workers who work directly with communities in providing health education and care in far-flung communities or even in urban poor communities.
Health care and healing, which is the main concern of those in any form of medical practice, is a service that Jesus Christ Himself performed. It was, in a sense, a constant part of his teaching and preaching. In most cases, when we speak of miracles, it is usually in reference to an incident or occasion where healing is performed on one who had been regarded to be inflicted with an incurable disease. In fact, healing is one of the first services that the Episcopal Church established when it started its mission in the Philippines.
But the church’s concern goes beyond the healing of the sick and of those in discomfort. Jeremiah 33:6 says “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”(NIV) Indeed, here are the 43 health workers now themselves in a situation that requires healing – the healing of a nation that continues to allow the desecration of the rights of its people.
It is for this reason what we appeal to the authorities for the immediate release of these health workers. There is no place for injustice in any society, especially when such injustice is inflicted on those who seek to serve the least of our brethren.
For the Council of Bishops
Episcopal Church in the Philippines
(Sgd)
+EDWARD P. MALECDAN
Prime Bishop
Hope for Haiti Now!
January 27th, 2010 / 2 Comments »
I finally made a donation to the Haiti Fund, through Hope For Haiti Now, the organization that launched the star-studded telethon to raise funds.
I figured that since I was already enjoying the videos of the performances from the telethon, I might as well make the donation through them. You can also checkout their YouTube channel if you want to see amazing performances and short features.
If you haven’t donated to the Haiti Fund yet, well what are you waiting for? Every small contribution counts!
My PC woes haven’t been resolved so I have to be offline for a longer time. Sigh. On the upside, I did (finally) get to finish Inkheart while Alfred worked on the PC.
Where to donate
January 19th, 2010 / No Comments »
Today on the news, we tuned in just in time to hear about the bodies of two Pilipino aid workers recovered from the rubble of the UN offices in Haiti. Let us all offer our prayers for the repose of their souls, and for strength for their families in their time of bereavement…
I have not yet been able to make a donation. I initially wanted to donate through the Episcopal Relief and Development website, as suggested by my mother. After all, it made sense to donate through the Church. But as I was trying it out, the website won’t accept non-US addresses, or perhaps I just haven’t found a way to do so. If you live in the US, do checkout the ERD website and learn how you can donate through them.
At work, I happened to have pulled up Bing.Com and needed to run a search on something, when right there at the bottom of the page I saw this link:
Clicking on How you can help Haiti has brought me to two different pages so far, one is this, and here’s the other. Both pages give you a list of charities where you can donate. Microsoft isn’t accepting donations, but they have already made their pledge of support for the recovery efforts and rebuilding of life in Haiti. They have also committed to matching the donations made by their US employees to their choice of charities (upto $12,000 per employee). I think corporate giants should take a clue from this…
There is no hurry in making a donation. I bet even just blogging about the various channels through which people can help is already a good move. The people of Haiti will need our help for many many months to come.
Save the Children also has this donation page up for their own Haiti fund. I have worked with Save the Children (their UK-Philippines office specifically) and I trust in this charity. Like ER-D, they are already there on the ground so you can be assured that your donations will make it to the intended recipients.
The above links will direct you to many other donation pages, such as UNICEF’s and the Red Cross, go through their lists and find the charity that your heart is comfortable working with.
For digital scrapbookers, here’s an additional incentive to make a donation. The Daily Digi has a freebie for those who will email them that they have made a contribution to a charity of their own choice. Now I don’t see that they’re asking for any proof of donation, but I hope that no one will abuse this. It’s a wonderful idea though.
Here’s a blogger who is running a contest on blog and tied it in with making donations for Haiti via UNICEF. Scoot over to Cornyman’s Money-Blog where each comment he would match with 10 cents in donation to UNICEF.
Here’s yet another blogger who would donate $1 to God’s Littlest Angels, an orphanage in Haiti, for every blogger or reader who comments about what they have done to donate for the relief efforts. Check out Cents Saved.
Eco Mama also runs a similar comments challenge over at her blog. This is specifically for those who have no means to donate, you simply have to leave a comment on her specific Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Relief post and she will match a dollar for each comment and make the donation through Mercy Corps.
So no matter how much you part with, it will count towards helping out the people of Haiti. Recently, my country was devastated by two typhoons and we relied on the world community for aid. Neighbors didn’t fail each other, and strangers were transformed into angels. For others, there is still much help needed. There are families still living in evacuation areas almost three months after the disaster. We know all too well that it will be the same for Haiti.
Oh, and today is our tenth anniversary. ?
The decade in pictures: 2000
January 3rd, 2010 / No Comments »
Here’s an interesting round-up of significant events from the past decade:
Going through the gallery (I’m not actually done yet) has made me think about where I was at a particular time, and also made me wonder what things I’ve blogged about through the years. More importantly, it has made me curious to look further into some of the news stories they mentioned. I guess I won’t run out of blog topics this month. 
If I remember correctly (and am too lazy right now to check on my oldest blog), I only started blogging in 2002 or early 2003 so if I were to make a round-up of my own favorite posts for the decade, I’d be a couple years short. But it sounds like a good project to me, and I will try to endeavor such a task. It will be a huge undertaking considering I’ve blogged in five different places and my bravejournal site doesn’t have very friendly archives. I will give it a try though.
Tracy also has quite an interesting round-up for her December 2009.
Proclamation 1959
December 8th, 2009 / 6 Comments »
[photo from the Facebook page for the Online Vigil for the Victims of the Maguindanao Massacre]
As if the country hasn’t been through so much in the months leading to Christmas, on Saturday Malacañang issued Proclamation 1959 declaring Martial Law in the Province of Maguindanao. Their basis: rebellion.
Who is rebelling against who? Aren’t the Ampatuans in power, and in fact in liege with the President? I don’t think they’re rebelling against anyone. They have their own army, yes. They have a reported 2000-strong militia at their disposal, but they’ve been laying low since the events of November 23rd. Many don’t see the need for martial rule, specially since slow as it may have been, arrests are already happening and weapons have been seized.
It is not surprising that in a search done in the elder Ampatuan’s residence today, they found his bank-size vault empty. It was locked, but was found to contain NOTHING at all once it was unlocked. What would a vault be for if it would be kept empty? Looks to me like it was cleaned out recently. Then there are reports that some suspected to be involved in the massacre are hiding out in Metro Manila. O-K. So they flew all the way to Manila to hideout. Then the courts have ruled to transfer the hearing for the cases to Quezon City, miles and miles away from the court which would have had jurisdiction over the issue.
So what’s next? Will they expand Martial Law to include Metro Manila?
