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IMPACTQuote in the Act“The reputation and standing of this house, in the views of those that send us here, is at the lowest

point I can ever remember.”Richard Shepherd, conservative member of the British Parliament; after a

series of humiliating disclosures that lawmakers have been taking advantage of the second-home allowance which lets them spend as much as $37,000 a year

to defray costs of working in London but living elsewhere.

“The coffers of strictly public funds have been used for personal interests. The offices of public trust

have been converted to offices of public distrust.”Oscar Cruz, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan; known as the arch critic

of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, tagged a good number of incumbent politicians to be identified with crooks, thieves and dishonorable men

and women in government.

“Obama's words were factually incorrect.”Dani Dayan, chair of the West Bank settlers’ umbrella organization Yesha

Council; on Obama’s call for Israel to halt settlement building in the occupied West Bank, saying that Palestinians needed to “halt terror first.”

“Everybody keeps blaming the government, but no one actually does anything. So we thought, why

don’t we?” Shoaib Ahmed, 21, inspired by the Lawyer’s Movement that successfully

reinstated Pakistan’s chief justice, he is organizing the youth to do something and address the country’s problems instead of just cursing the mullahs and the

military.

“We have no closer ally and friend anywhere in the world than the State of Israel.”

John Boehner, Republican House Minority Leader; over initiatives of collaboration with Israel in the face of nuclear programs being developed by Iran and tactical

moves to pursue peace in the Middle East.

“Aung San Suu Kyi will never be released until she is dead.”

Father Anthony, a Jesuit priest in Madurai (Tamil Nadu); commented that the arrest of Myanmar’s opposition leader is designed to reinforce the idea that the

military junta has absolute power over the population.

Volume 43 • Number 6 3

IMPACT June 2009 / Vol 43 • No 6

EDITORIAL

Unemployment .................................................. 27COVER STORY

Agrarian Reform (A measure for social justice and social transformation) ............................. 16

ARTICLES

Right to Food in Asia and the Pacific ............... 4Protecting Whose Agenda? ................................ 9The Long and Short of the Agrarian Reform

Program ............................................................ 11The Pope's détente with the Muslim world .... 12Why the bleak prospects for extending the

Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program ... 16

Holding up CARPER ......................................... 18

DEPARTMENTS

Quote in the Act ................................................. 2News Features ................................................... 13Statements .......................................................... 21From the Blogs ................................................... 26From the Inbox .................................................. 28Book Reviews ..................................................... 29Entertainment .................................................... 30News Briefs ........................................................ 31

CONTENTS

The legislators in both houses of Congress are dragging their feet to-

wards approving the bill that will extend the Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). But there is no mistaking that they will approve it, because not one of them will want to be tagged as anti-poor or anti-farmer—especially when the next election is just around the corner. To disapprove CARP is very un-political and no politi-cian will ever do a hara kiri.

The truth is, no legislator wants CARP—except, of course, some cause-oriented few. It is loathsome to landowners and those who are under their care. Politicians, like dogs, will not bite the hands that feed them especially now that feeding time is at hand.

And so here is the gambit. First thing they did was to extend it from January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009 under Joint Resolution No. 19 in order to introduce reforms and “perfecting amendments” (now they are better referred to as “killer amendments”) to RA 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). But of course, and more so, to make it appear that the legis-

lators and the present administration are pas-sionately interested in CARP even if in reality the extension was tooth-less because it did not provide for compulsory acquisition.

The second thing is, the legislators will see to it that before the extended CARP expires on June 30 this year, it will be extended for the next five years with all the accolades befitting of heroes for these legislators who will claim unto themselves the honor of having saved the pitiful farmers. This will be the best political spin ever.

But history being condemned to repeat itself will show that what happened to the original CARP that was passed by Congress in 1988 which ended up in disaster through all 20 years will be replicated—not by a twist of fate, but by intention and strategy—in the next five years extension.

In the original CARP, Congress that was, as now, dominated by landowners, saw to it that it was riddled with loopholes and finan-cially constrained—not to mention a Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), that would be needing most

of the reforms—as if to make sure its failure, and, therefore, the security of their landhold-ings. Now with the killer amend-ments strongly underway and the same DAR to implement it, the same maneuver is going to happen to the new extended CARP “with reforms.”

Section 4, Art. XIII of the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to “undertake an agrarian reform program founded on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof.”

The right of farmers and regu-lar farmworkers is of slightest concern to our crop of legisla-tors. Yes, Virginia, not even the common good and the redemp-tion of this country. Read on.


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Right to Food in Asia and the Pacific Except for those in countries like Malaysia which have properly funded settlement schemes, many small farmers throughout Asia-Pacific have mostly been left to fend for themselves.

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Right to Food in Asia and the Pacific

By Leonardo Q. Montemayor

In 1996, as a member of the Phil-ippine House of Representatives, I participated in the World Food

Summit under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. At this conference, governments adopted a declaration which called for the halving of the world’s hungry population of 842 mil-lion by the year 2015.

In June of 2002, I returned to Rome, this time as the Philippine Minister of Agriculture, to attend the sequel to the 1996 meeting. As we know, this follow-up Summit led to the adoption in 2004 of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines

to support the right of every person to adequate food in the context of national food security. I remember that 2002 Summit vividly for another reason. My father Jeremias died on the day of my arrival in Rome.

My father came from a landed family in northern Philippines. Dur-ing his boyhood, he became aware of the wide economic, social and cultural gaps between his landlord family and their share tenants. His elders told him that the tenants were poor because they were “lazy, ignorant and unwilling to change”.

To the surprise of many, my father turned his back against his family’s interests. He devoted his life to the cause of the Filipino peasantry. In the process, he realized that the vicious cycle of underdevelopment and impov-erishment could be broken. But first, leaders had to change their attitudes towards the poor.

Poverty in AsiaDuring the past decade, Asia-Pacific

countries as a whole—and the People’s Republic of China in particular—have achieved dramatic progress in reduc-ing poverty and hunger. On the other hand, so much more needs to be done. In terms of the number of poor people in the world, our Region accounts for over half of them. Inequalities in eco-nomic opportunities and incomes are also growing between our urban and rural sectors. The situation is not be-ing helped any by declining levels of both in-country funding and Official Development Assistance for agricul-tural development and food security programs.

Poverty in Asia and the Pacific primarily wears a rural face. Three out of every four destitute and undernour-ished persons live in the countryside. Many—if not most—of them are small farmers, pastoralists, forest occupants, fisher folk and other types of rural workers.

Except for those in countries like Malaysia which have properly funded settlement schemes, many small farmers throughout Asia-Pacific have mostly been left to fend for themselves. Despite this, hundreds of millions of them have managed to develop their landholdings and communities—using their own money, sweat and knowhow. Individu-ally, their inputs look miniscule. But collectively, the economic value of their

investments would dwarf the budgets of governments and the capital of the biggest corporations.

Smallholder systemBased on my organization’s half-

century of experience, we believe that the small farm holding model can better enable a poor rural family, and society as a whole, to withstand the shocks arising from major economic, social and even political crises. Given adequate sup-port and linkages to agro-industries, the smallholder system can help stem the massive outpouring of rural residents from the farms to the cities, forests and fragile eco-systems. Moreover, a diversified farming operation can do a better job at meeting the essential dietary requirements of a smallholder household than a largely export-depen-dent, single-crop plantation can for its agricultural workers.

Let us take the case of coconut. In 2005, the Asia-Pacific accounted for 10.691 million hectares, or 89%, of the global coconut area of 12.167 million hectares. The Region produced 50.961 billion nuts, or 86%, of 59.569 billion nuts world-wide. Millions of people depend on the industry for their liveli-hood and income. (Asian and Pacific Coconut Community. Coconut Statisti-cal Yearbook 2005.)

Ironically, farmers who rely on this “tree of life” are among the poorest of the poor.

And yet, many examples abound on what can be accomplished to defeat poverty and hunger in coconut lands. Firstly, the areas between coconut trees can be devoted to multi-storey cropping, livestock-raising and honey production. This will multiply farm incomes and create job opportunities in the villages. Additionally, the potential of the coco-nut as a base for the processing sector should be fully exploited. Scores of consumer and industrial products can be derived from the nut and the tree itself. For example, the husk can be made into car upholstery and bed mattresses, geo-textiles and other useful and environ-mentally friendly by-products.

Without closing our eyes to prob-lems in the urban areas, I believe that we can overcome mass destitution by addressing its rural roots and enlisting the active involvement of the rural poor. As one Filipino peasant leader puts it, “The farmer is the problem, but he is also the solution!”


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Land ownership and other factorsWhat does the small rural producer

need to overcome poverty and food insecurity?

Many small farmers, including women, do not have secure access to and control over land. To them, land ownership (or at least secure tenure) is vital for several reasons. It enhances their sense of self-worth, their social standing and their credit worthiness. It gives them and their families a strong psychological and material incentive to work harder, invest more capital and to care more for their natural resource endowments.

Over the past several decades, a number of Asian countries have carried out rent-reduction and land-to-the tiller programs. The decrease in land rentals alone have brought up the incomes of sharecroppers-turned-leaseholders. In China, agricultural reforms begun in the late 1970s stimulated rural growth and incomes by giving small holders greater control over their individual land holdings and output. Since any production in excess of the fixed land rental or procured production quota would belong to the small farmer, he now had a greater economic incen-tive to maximize his farm output and productivity by adopting improved technologies and putting in more labor and resources.

Due to their crushing debt burden, unfavorable terms of trade and/or weak governance, many developing nations in our Region are unable to provide essential farm infrastructure like irri-gation, feeder roads, and post harvest facilities for drying, storing and process-ing agricultural and fisheries produce. Furthermore, despite the rapid advances and reduced costs in information and communications technology, most farm-ers in these countries still lack access to timely advice on markets, technologies and services. Rain-fed, hilly and up lands are especially affected, because—historically—public investments have been focused on the more physically accessible and politically influential lowlands.

In recent years, the periodic epi-sodes of El Niño and other severe weather disturbances have compounded these problems. The situation is even more difficult for archipelagoes like Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Pacific states, where port and ship-

ping facilities are severely inadequate and where transport of agricultural and fisheries commodities is generally ac-corded lower priority.

These deficiencies, coupled with trade-distorting agricultural subsidies and non-tariff barriers by industrialized countries, make for a grossly uneven playing field in international trade and undermine the food security of developing nations. Not surprisingly, there has been a rising clamor against the serious imbalances in the WTO’s agriculture-related agreements and a hardening of position by developing country governments and their citizens during the current Doha Round.

All this points to the wisdom of sup-porting the objective of self-sufficiency of farming households for their basic food, nutrition and even health needs. Malnutrition in a farming area should be deemed inexcusable. Many households can be assisted easily to establish a fam-ily garden for vegetables, legumes, root crops and medicinal plants. Moreover, family members can be taught how to process their surplus produce for home consumption instead of letting them rot in the field.

A similar approach can be adopted in school gardens and in idle urban lands. It can also apply to small fisher folk, many of whom are farmers by day. In addition, their income from capture fisheries can be augmented through the introduction of fish cages, seaweed farming and other aquaculture operations.

Rain-fed areas account for a major portion of impoverished and undernourished people in Asia and the Pacific. Farmers in these lands require farm- and community-level water catch-ments and shallow tube wells, which are cheaper, easier and faster to set up. They want scientists to develop crops that are sturdier, less input-dependent and better-yielding. They also need sound advice on sustainable farming and agro-forestry practices, plus marketing support for their products.

Farmer-centered approachTwo years ago, I visited the vil-

lage of Kothapally in Andhra Pradesh in India. The Adarsha integrated wa-tershed management project therein is a good example of a participatory, farmer-centered approach to sustain-able development and natural resources conservation in semi-arid zones. Using



small-scale water impounding as its point of entry, the project has energized rural households, especially women, to go into diversified cropping, production of vermiculture-based fertilizer, raising of water buffaloes and other livelihood activities. It demonstrates the excellent collaboration among rural residents and their associations, the state and local governments, NGOs, local research and extension institutions, and the Interna-tional Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (INCRISAT), which is based in the state. The project is now being replicated in other watersheds in Andhra Pradesh and in several Asian countries.

While relying on the native wis-dom and contributions of small rural producers, we can further enhance rural incomes and food security by motivating the private sector to invest in the coun-tryside. There are ample opportunities for joint ventures and other commercial arrangements between businessmen and rural workers and their organizations, based on respect for farmers’ rights and giving them a genuine stake in the business enterprise.

The magnitude of remittances from citizens of Asia-Pacific countries work-ing abroad is enormous. (In the case of the Philippines, this could be as much as one-half of the national government budget.) This fact poses a challenge on how to channel these substantial inflows into profitable agri-business projects that will provide more jobs and more food.

The rights-based approachThe rights-based approach to indi-

vidual and national food security will succeed if there is political will from above and from below. Reform-minded leaders need the firm prodding and back-ing of strong grassroots organizations of the poor, especially in the face of opposition from those who are resistant to change.

Incorporation of the right-to-food and other basic human rights into na-tional constitutions and laws, while important, will not be enough. Their realization on the ground will be blocked or hampered, unless the poor demand and work for their effective implementa-tion. To achieve this purpose, the rural poor must harness their numbers into an organized force for their empowerment. This will require a good organizational philosophy and program, responsible

leaders, capable managers, and active members.

The precise form of organization will vary, depending on legal, political and socio-economic factors and priori-ties in each country. It could be a small self-help group engaged in lending or production, a cooperative marketing its members’ produce, and so on. My own inclination is toward organizations of the farm or trade union type, consoli-dated and networked from the village up to the national level. This farm union model allows an association to take up a variety of roles and services at lo-cal and national levels, ranging from membership representation and policy advocacy to management of social and economic ventures.

Ideally, an organization should be guided by the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. Solidarity ensures that all members support each other and follow a common purpose and direction. Sub-sidiarity encourages initiative, self-help and flexibility from the bottom level of the organization, upwards.

To illustrate, may I share the ex-perience of my own organization, the Federation of Free Farmers. In 1982, after several years of intense lobby-ing, the FFF convinced the Philippine government to institute an Integrated Social Forestry Program. Unlike in the past, when they would be driven away, landless and shifting forest occupants were now offered long-term leases over denuded public forest lands up to eighteen percent in slope, provided that they would follow sustainable agro-forestry cultivation and environmental conservation methods.

In several towns of the central Philippine province of Bohol, farm set-tlers belonging to my Federation have transformed—mainly on a self-help basis—close to a thousand hectares of previously deforested lands into productive agro-forest communities. By planting various forest, fruit and coconut trees, they regenerated dry springs, which have enabled them to grow rice, vegetables and fish. The farm-ers also raise their own chickens, goats and other livestock. With counterpart funding secured by the FFF, our mem-bers built public school classrooms for their children. Likewise, they installed a water distribution system, which has spared household members, especially the women and children, from carry-ing heavy loads of water over long

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distances to fetch water for family use. They secured national government fund-ing to construct a gravel road linking their mountain villages to the national highway system. Today, the main con-cerns of our members are the setting up of a small cooperative sawmill and a mini-hydro-electric plant. They are also concerned about small reptiles and monkeys that try to steal their chickens and crops!

Biotechnology and food programsStricter environmental standards

and the continuing rise in petroleum prices have triggered much interest in bio-fuels. While demand for bio-fuels will help stabilize the prices for raw material producers, the shift from food to fuel crops production could endanger food security. One alternative would be to limit the production of bio-fuel feedstock to marginal or idle lands. Another would be to encourage the cultivation of crops with both food and bio-fuel uses. A good example is sweet sorghum, which can be used for food, feed, fuel and fiber.

Bio-technology is another subject where the concerns of small farmers and consumers should be fully addressed. Farmers ask that research and develop-ment, especially by the public sector,

give priority to their needs, such as the improvement of crop varieties that are important for their livelihood and food security, but which may not be financially attractive to private bio-tech companies. Farmers also want to be sure that seeds and other products of bio-technology will not only give them decent returns but are safe for humans and the environment.

With the more frequent occurrences of severe climatic changes like El Niño and La Niña, we must beef up our capa-bility to predict these phenomena with better timeliness and precision. Hand-in-hand with an early warning system, we need to work closely with sectors and institutions in vulnerable areas in organizing the logistical network, with which they can deal with future relief and rehabilitation problems. In this regard, buffer-stocking of food staples will be helpful at local, national and even supra-national levels, as in the case of the ASEAN and the East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve programs.

Food assistance can also be tied to other objectives like improving school attendance and nutritional levels of children from poor families, and with alleviating joblessness through food-for-work schemes. However, farmers feel that these programs should not

undercut their livelihood by lowering prices of local farm produce. Moreover, food aid should be done in a manner that is supportive of local producers. For example, food aid supplies can be sourced internally from areas with surplus production or stockpiles. School feeding programs can offer a ready mar-ket for locally produced like milk and rice. In food-for-work projects, priority must be given to the construction and maintenance of infrastructure that will improve agricultural productivity.

Incidentally, the successful dairy development program of India shows how foreign food aid and other com-modity assistance programs, can be transformed from short-term, chari-table actions into sustainable national programs with wide-ranging beneficial impacts on food security, livelihood creation and rural development.

(Leonardo Montemayor is the Na-tional President of the Federation of Free Farmers in the Philippines and sectoral representative to Congress. This article is lifted from his keynote speech at the Asia-Pacific regional observance of World Food Day at the United Nations Food and Agriculture organization headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.)

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By Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo

I recently visited the lobby of the House of Representatives session hall. I immediately noticed the newly renovated walls bearing pictures of significant events in Congress’s

history. Among those pictures pertaining to the present Congress was a photo of a booklet with the following words printed on its cover:

“Sustaining the Growth, Spreading the Benefits: A Legislative Reform Agenda for the House of the People.”

– House Speaker Prospero Nograles

This made me ponder for a while. Amidst all the seem-ingly unsound and doubtful legislative proposals and poli-cies cropping up in Congress these days, I could not help but wonder. Whose growth are our national leaders trying to sustain? Are the laws churned out by this body upon which we, as a people, have entrusted our wisdom really for the benefit of the Filipino? There is one House measure which has piqued my concern at the moment. I came across this House Resolution (HR) No. 737 which, essentially, proposes to grant ownership of Philippine land to foreigners.

Under the proposal, alienable lands of the public domain—which are agricultural lands—with a maximum area of one thousand hectares, can now be leased to foreign corporations for a maximum of fifty years. And disturbingly, ownership, not just lease, of agricultural lands measuring up to twenty-five hectares is granted to foreign corpora-tions. This proposal seeks to change the proviso in the 1987 Constitution which restricts ownership of Philippine lands to Filipinos and Filipino corporations.

Under Section 2, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, the ownership-in-trust of natural resources is vested with the State and the State may sell, lease, or otherwise alienate the rights to these resources through contracts to Filipinos and Filipino corporations only. Thus, foreign individuals or corporations are clearly excluded.

Under HR 737, the State will do away entirely with the restriction on foreign ownership. The proponents of this Resolution seek to amend the constitution and open our land to foreigners, with the haste and neglect unbecoming of any honorable national leader.

This Resolution is actually another try to resuscitate the failed Cha-Cha attempt by the solons. It becomes ap-parent that, despite the claim of limiting amendments only to economic provisions (foreign ownership of lands) which will help gear up development, productivity, and efficiency in the country, this pursuit for Charter Change may become a vehicle for other unwanted changes in government—a vehicle highly vulnerable to derailment. This Resolution, dangerous in itself substantially, may also usher in proce-dural irregularities in amending the Constitution. There is a danger, real as it is grave, that this measure could be used to influence answers to questions of good governance and accountability.

I tried hard to weigh the possible benefits of this Reso-

Protecting Whose Agenda?lution for the Filipino people vis-à-vis the obvious dangers that would come with it. Assuming that HR 737 is indeed merely an economic proposal, would foreign ownership of lands really result in economic development of the country? And if it will, will this economic development trickle down to the people who have remained poor even during times when ownership of land access to land and other natural resources were ensured to Filipinos only?

I shudder at the thought of unfair competition for land between Filipinos, citizens of this country who have made land productive and foreign entities with nothing but abun-dant financial resource to offer. I am jolted by the terrible scenario of Filipinos becoming squatters in our own land. I remember that God told us that the earth and all its bounty is for us to share, maybe this measure is not bad after all. But then I realize that the Filipinos who have been gifted with stewardship of this country have not even had their rightful share and yet they will have to give way to those who have the might and wealth to take part of more than they need. Surely, it must not have been God’s intention to encourage excesses when there are those who lack not only as regards land but also dignity.

As it is, the Government already has designated millions of hectares of our lands for the benefit of foreign corporations,

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without consideration for the farmers, indigenous peoples, and other members of the communities affected by these government exploration and biofuel contracts.

I believe that the Constitutional restriction on foreign ownership of land obviously involves a national security issue. I have been informed that there is no cap to the total area allowable for foreign ownership. If this is true, there might come a time that we will run out of agricultural lands which serve as food sources. And even if these lands con-tinue to be used for food production, there is also a risk that most of the produce of our lands will be exported and yet we will no longer have a say on the matter. This will be an attack not only on our food security but also to our integrity as a people as well.

With the threat of enabling foreign corporations and associations to hold, acquire, and be granted the right to possess, own, utilize and develop land in our country, what

will be left for the Filipinos? As we all know, the agrarian reform program is still underway, and thousands of farmers still await emancipation from the land they have tilled for generations. Over one million hectares of land await distri-bution. Our government cannot feed its own people, and yet we open up all our resources for non-Filipinos, as if without regard for our own people whom it is supposed to serve.

It is said that only fifteen million hectares of alienable and disposable agriculture lands are available to answer for the food security of Filipinos. HR 737 does not help improve this situation. HR 737 poses grave danger to our national security and sustainability. It is also unjust, considering that there are millions of Filipino peasants still not owning the lands their families have tilled for decades. It is unjust that our resources should be used primarily for the benefit of foreigners, and not those who do not have a stake in domestic

development and peace.As I take in the implications and consequences of this

measure, I find myself challenged and hopeful at the same time. Though I am saddened by the apparent prioritization of this bill by the House of Representatives, I feel challenged as a Filipino to help protect the rights of my fellow Filipinos, here and in the countryside, who remain landless. I am chal-lenged to continue pushing for laws which will protect the rights of the marginalized Filipino, laws such as the Com-prehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension (CARPER) with Reforms. I feel challenged but I remain hopeful and vigilant. I am hopeful because I see that there are still those leaders in government who work with us, their constituency, to make sure that the government works for national interest instead of the interest of the privilege few.

Together with people from the peasant sector, among others, I remain vigilant and urge Congress to fast track the

enactment of socially just bills such as the CARPER bill and call on them to disapprove oppressive and unfair bills like House Resolution No. 737. I am hopeful that amidst under-handed efforts to go against the wisdom of the Constitution, to further deprive the marginalized Filipinos of their basic rights, and to evade laws on accountability, we Filipinos will prevail if we work together and fight with the guidance of our righteous God.

I also find comfort in the pockets of brilliance and states-manship found in the history of Philippine Congress. I am praying fervently that our national leaders will, true to their promise, Sustain the Growth and Spread the Benefits for the Filipino people. I urge every Filipino to act with vigilance in ensuring that government agenda will reflect that of the people, in calling for accountability in governance and in seeking the just distribution of Philippine land and natural resources.

Protecting Whose Agenda?

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The Long and Short of the Agrarian Reform Program

By Senator Aquilino ‘Nene’ Pimentel

A s a senator, I supported the agrarian reform program when it was first covered by a congressional legisla-tion in 1988.

I supported its extension from December 2008 to June 2009 to keep it alive for six months just so we can work on extending it for a longer period with reforms.

Five more yearsThat is what we are now working on in the Senate. As

we go to print, we are still debating Senate Bill No. 2666 that gives the program five more years within which to cover over a million hectares of land for the benefit of an estimated five million tenant farmer beneficiaries.

TimetableHopefully, we’d be done before mid-May and that the

House of Representatives would also be done with its ver-sion in the 3rd week of the month. Then, we can work on to harmonize our two versions by the fourth week of the month.

Social JusticeIt is also hoped that the amendatory piece of legislation

on agrarian reform that can come out of the legislative mill mentioned above would deliver social justice to the tenant farmers and provide the foundation for a just and lasting peace of the countryside where tens of thousands of tenant farmers and their millions of dependents reside.

There is a wealth of theological, social and legal ar-guments why agrarian reform is needed in a country like ours.

Land is God-madeI’d like to dwell on only one truth.Land is God-not-man-made. Therefore, no man or

group of men should monopolize its ownership, much less its use.

I adhere to this belief knowing that I could be mis-understood—as I had been misunderstood in the past—as supporting the communist cause.

In my opinion, there is nothing communistic about the kind of agrarian reform law that we are advocating.

Not confiscatoryFor even as we would subject land to agrarian reform, as

legislators, we have to work with the constraints of our Con-stitution. Our laws may not confiscate land for purposes of agrarian reform even if concentrated in the hands of a few.

Just compensationOur agrarian legislations had consistently advocated—

and so does the current Senate Bill No. 2666 advocate—that just compensation be paid to the land-owners concerned.

And there is no way out of that requirement because it is constitutionally mandated.

AccountabilityBut, certainly, the handlers of the billions of the people’s

money that will be poured into the agrarian reform program in its extended life to acquire land and for other related services should be forewarned that they will be strictly held accountable for the proper use of the money and that any misuse of it would make liable in criminal law.

Appropriate safeguards against thievery and abuse of the implementers of the agrarian reform program—as agreed upon with Senator Greg Honasan, the chair of the Senate Committee on Agrarian Reform—will be included in the amendatory legislation.

Compulsory acquisitionAlso agreed with Chair Honasan is that the law as

amended would restore the compulsory acquisition of land that was an essential feature of the original agrarian reform law.

Risk of upheavalI support the extension of the authentic agrarian reform

law with those provisos because without them our country could be put at risk of a violent upheaval the likes of which we have so far been spared by the grace of the Almighty.

Right thingAnd finally, I support the extension of the life of the

comprehensive agrarian reform law because I believe it is the right thing to do.

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By Michael Cook

Every day there's a different spin on Pope Benedict XVI's trip to the Middle East: Pope Not Sorry

Enough for Holocaust, Pope Not An-gry Enough Over Gaza, Pope's Past Becomes PR Blunder, Pope Supports Palestinian State... But the media has overlooked one of the most significant achievements of his trip—détente with the Islamic world.

Two years ago Muslims erupted when the Pope quoted a thoroughly obscure Byzantine prince's assessment of Islam in a speech at Regensburg, in Germany. A leader of the Muslim Brotherhood said at the time that the remarks "pour oil on the fire and ignite the wrath of the whole Islamic world to prove the claims of en-mity of politicians and religious men in the West to whatever is Islamic."

But on this trip Benedict has given a speech in a mosque, addressed Muslim leaders and taken off his shoes to piously visit the Dome of the Rock mosque, the third holiest in the Islamic world. After a few tutorials in tact, he seems to have watered down his message to Muslims to make it soothing and inoffensive.

Well, actually he hasn't. Not a bit of it. In fact, he has almost photocopied his Regensburg speech after swabbing the inflammatory bits with liquid paper. Benedict XVI is proving to be a master of long-term public relations for the Catho-lic Church. Despite all the protest from Muslims (most of whom never read the Regensburg speech anyway), he hasn't budged one inch.

No one has noticed this because journalists think in sound-bites and Benedict thinks in paragraphs. But he is bearing a powerful message: that Christianity and Islam face a common enemy in secularism. As he told Muslim leaders in Jordan, "Indeed some assert that religion is necessarily a cause of division in our world; and so they argue

The Pope’s détente with the Muslim world

No Muslims have complained about the Pope on his trip to the Middle East. Is he cunning or just very, very smart?

that the less attention given to religion in the public sphere the better."

Dialoguing with Muslims is a deli-cate balancing act. There are plenty of mullahs who preach that Christians are idolaters because they worship a Trinity. Benedict subtly emphasized that Chris-tians are monotheists. They believe in

the Most High, leads to the recognition that human beings are fundamentally interrelated, since all owe their very existence to a single source and are pointed towards a common goal. Im-printed with the indelible image of the divine, they are called to play an active role in mending divisions and promoting

one God, whom he described as "merciful and compassionate", a characteristically Muslim phrase. "We can begin with the belief that the One God is the infinite source of justice and mercy, since in him the two exist in perfect unity," he told Muslim leaders in Jerusalem.

After allaying Muslim suspicions that Christians are really Bible-toting polytheists, Benedict then argued that the oneness of mankind flows from the oneness of God. In other words, peace amongst nations, mutual respect, and even religious freedom has a theologi-cal basis, not merely one of political convenience:

"fidelity to the One God, the Creator,

human solidarity." For all but the most fanatical of

Muslim clerics, this must seem unob-jectionable. But then Benedict explains what is distinctive about the Christian notion of God ─ that man participates in the nature of God.

"Christians in fact describe God, among other ways, as creative Reason, which orders and guides the world. And God endows us with the capacity to par-ticipate in his reason and thus to act in accordance with what is good. Muslims worship God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, who has spoken to humanity. And as believers in the one God we know that

Muslim, page 14

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NEWSFEATURES

NEW DELHI, India—Human rights activists, Nobel Prize winners and In-dian religious leaders are appealing to the international community for the re-lease of Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s main opposition leader was arrested by the country’s ruling military junta for breaking the terms of her house arrest. Today is the second day of her trial, which is being held in Yangon under tight security.

In a public statement the leaders of ASEAN nations said that they were “very concerned” about Ms. Suu Kyi’s fate, but excluded imposing any eco-nomic sanctions against the junta.

For Lenin Raghuvanshi, an Indian activist and director of the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, Ms. Suu Kyi’s arrest “will have very serious repercussions for the democracy movement in Myanmar” and is a “blatant violation” of human rights.

He urges “India, China and other neighbours of Burma to oppose the military dictatorship and support the non-violent struggle for democracy. [...] It is essential for the region,” he added, “to eliminate the atmosphere of terror perpetrated by the military. [...] It is a moral issue for Burma’s big trading neighbours who on the one hand sup-port, tacitly or otherwise, the military

5 Indian human rights activists call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi

regime inside Burma, while on the other oppose terrorism.”

Sajan George, chairman of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), appealed to the Indian govern-ment to “condemn the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi” and call for her “immedi-ate release.”

Fr. Anthony, a Jesuit priest in Ma-durai (Tamil Nadu), said he was afraid that “Aung San Suu Kyi will never be released” until “she is dead or world powers exert such pressure on the junta that they have to free her.”

Members of ASEAN, the Asso-ciation of South-East Asian Nations, released an official statement on Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest.

They said they were “seriously concerned” about the situation and de-manded she receive adequate medical

care, otherwise the “honour and cred-ibility” of the Myanmar government will be at stake.

Thailand, which currently chairs ASEAN, has excluded sanctions against the military regime.

Led by the European Union, the international community has called on Myanmar’s largest trading partner China to intervene to have Suu Kyi freed.

Nine Nobel Prize winners, includ-ing South Africa’s Archbishop Des-mond Tutu, Iran’s Shirin Ebadi and Guatemala’s Rigoberta Menchu Tum, called the trial of Burma’s foremost dissident a “farce”; they also urged the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to bring the matter before the Security Council “as soon as possible.” (AsiaNews)

MANILA—The country’s wealth being controlled by a few greedy, rich families is a situation that is definitely ‘regrettable,” a church leader said.

In a phone interview, Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez reacted on the pronouncement given earlier by the Moral Force Movement.

“If this is indeed true, as being manifested by the several surveys showing the growing number of poor Filipinos, this is really a very regret-table situation we are in,” he said.

What is more disappointing, the bishop claimed, is the government’s failure to do its job for the common welfare.

“We certainly hope that our government will realize what the real essence of being public servants is and do what is really needed by the

people and not of selfish interests,” Iñiguez said.

On May 15, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno lamented the continued control of “oligarchs” over the country and that it appears that the government is beholden to the rich and the powerful.

The said predicament, accord-ing to the movement pushing for the nation’s moral recovery, further increases the problem of unequal distribution of wealth and widening gap between the rich and the poor.

According to Iñiguez, oligar-chy, by itself, is not a bad form of governance but only if it leads to the well-being of the whole country.

This, however, does not pose the same result in the country because of the increasing poverty rate, the bishop noted. (CBCPNews)

Widening rich-poor gap ‘regrettable’


NEWSFEATURES

human reason is itself God's gift and that it soars to its highest plane when suffused with the light of God's truth."

This was precisely the point of the Regensburg address. Then, however, the Pope was addressing a Christian audi-ence and he tackled difficult question of theologically-sanctioned violence. Us-ing the long-forgotten words of Manuel II Paleologus, he pointed out that "God is not pleased by blood—and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature." But when speaking to Muslims, he describes reason as the ultimate basis for human dignity—and both religions esteem human dignity.

Furthermore, he says, faith and rea-son support each other. Religion purifies reason of the temptation to presump-tion (was he thinking of Christopher Hitchens?). It protects society from "the excesses of the unbridled ego which tend to absolutize the finite and eclipse

the infinite" (a dig at Richard Dawkins perhaps?). It helps us to appreciate "all that is true, good and beautiful."

It was a remarkable performance—to explain the deepest notions of Chris-tian theology to a potentially hostile audience and leave without a murmur of criticism.

It seems clear that the Pope is seeking outcomes from this dialogue with Muslim leaders—more respect for Christianity, more religious tolerance, more common action against secularism, more common action in support of human dignity. How long it will take for the mes-sage to sink in is a different matter. But the very positive reaction from Muslim leaders gives ground for hope.

What a contrast with the ham-fisted attempt of another head of state to dia-logue with the Muslim world. President Obama's address to the Turkish parlia-ment earlier this year was the religious

equivalent of speed dating. He told Muslims: "We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground."

Back on his home turf, Obama's rhetoric about "common ground" is al-ready tarnished after his whole-hearted endorsement of abortion in the teeth of religious opposition. What chance has he of convincing Muslims that they share common ground with a nation that toler-ates same-sex marriage? The president's strategy for dialogue boils down to "Hi, my name's Hussein, too. Let's be bud-dies." This approach might turn Turkish parliamentarians into cheering school-girls, but it won't cut the mustard in the madrassahs. If we're talking "common ground", the Vatican's is the only game in town at the moment.

(Michael Cook is editor of Merca-torNet)

Muslim, from page 12

MANILA—A top church leader said he is praying that all lawmakers will strive to work for the welfare of the farmers, one of the country’s most vulnerable sectors.

In his Farmers’ Day message, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-pines president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said farm-ers must be rewarded for their efforts to provide the people’s basic needs.

Lagdameo is hoping that legislators will dedicate themselves to provide the needs of the farmers, like the desired extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) with reforms.

“Instead of working for their own interests, I pray that the Holy Spirit will move our Senators and Congressmen into heeding the cries of the rural poor, in accordance to the dictates

CBCP chief prays for lawmakers’ compassion for farmers

of moral and social justice,” he said.

The CBCP head made the statement amid fears that “some killer amendments” are being pushed by some lawmak-ers owning vast agricultural lands into a bill seeking for CARP extension.

“As our legislators go about the very important task of passing an agrarian reform law, I pray that they draw inspiration from St. Isidore, who, despite being very poor himself, gave up what little he had to those who were poorer,” said Lagdameo.

“May his generosity re-minds our elected officials that life is not to be a selfish quest for profit, but an opportunity for service,” he added.

Five key issues

In his statement, the Jaro archbishop pressed the legis-lators on five key issues that need to be incorporated in the CARP law.

These are: 1) Five-year implementa-

tion period including Compul-sory Acquisition, and without the proposed phasing of dis-tribution;

2) Collateral free credit and increased support services to farmers;

3) Creation of an oversight committee with the inclusion of private sector representa-tives to monitor the implemen-tation of agrarian reform;

4) Recognition of the farmers’ legal standing and non-cancellation of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) on lands already dis-tributed to and developed by the farmers;

5) Increased penalty for obstruction of CARP imple-mentation.

Farmers’ day

May 15 is a national day of celebration and homage of the Philippine Catholic Church to the farmers that started in 2002.

This day is also the feast of St. Isidore the Worker, the patron saint of the farmers.

Local celebrations were usually held simulta-neously in various dioceses across the country spear-headed by their respective social action centers.

While honoring the farmers for their contribu-tion to national develop-ment, the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Ac-tion deplores the conditions confronting them.

“The feast of St. Isi-dore, the Farmer’ Day on May 15 is an occasion for us Filipinos to recall and acknowledge the impor-tant roles our own farmers play in nation-building,” Lagdameo said.

“They are the co-cre-ators of God; the represen-tatives of society entrusted with the noble task of mak-ing the earth fruitful,” he added. (Roy Lagarde)

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A measure for social justice a n d s o c i a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n

By Belinda Formanes

Unless a miracle hap-pens, Congress will be writing finis to an

unfinished reform program in less than ten working session days this June. The unfinished program is the Comprehen-sive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which still has 1.3 mil-lion hectares of land, mostly big estates, to be covered and

Why the bleak prospects for extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programdistributed. Also, CARP still has to fulfill the triple man-dates laid down by the l987 Constitution—as a weapon of social justice (partly met), as an instrument for balanced rural development (barely met) and as a platform for rural-based industrialization (hardly met).

Why then the bleak pros-pect for the passage of the “CARP extension with re-

forms” bill (house bill 4077) which unanimously already passed the committee level?

Despite its strong endorse-ment by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), many in the House of Representatives have openly been seeking the termination of CARP, with no less than the Congressman son of the First Couple and the Congressman Brother of the First Gentle-

man taking the lead. Further, the Speaker of the House and the well-known leaders of the President’s political party, KAMMPI, have also in-troduced “killer amendments” whose objective effect would not only reduce the scope of CARP but would dangerously open the possibility of reform reversal in areas where land had already been transferred to rightful farm beneficiaries.


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By Archbishop Antonio J. Ledes-ma, SJ

At the Second National Rural Con-gress convened by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Phil-

ippines in 2007-08, the small farmer sector voiced out their key issues and concerns. These were expressed through a year-long series of consultations at the diocesan, subregional, regional and national levels. Among these concerns were the following:1

• Rural poverty and landlessness are widespread.

• Small farmers and indigenous people communities are displaced from their lands because of land conversion, agribusiness expansion as well as log-ging and mining operations.

• Human rights abuses are ram-pant because of militarization and the presence of armed groups in the countryside.

• Many farmer leaders have been killed in the process of their agrarian reform struggles and justice is still to be served to their families and com-munities.

• Local farmers’ products are being edged out from the market by imports from other countries.

• There is a lack of rural infrastruc-ture and government support for farm production and marketing.

• There is corruption at various

levels of government agencies tasked with the implementation of the agrarian reform program.

• There are also positive experi-ences in agrarian reform and agricul-tural development, with several success stories being documented.

In general, although the rural popu-lation has declined from 75 percent to 52 percent since the first National Rural Congress in 1967, poverty continues

Why the bleak prospects for extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform ProgramFor example, one killer amend-ment is the exemption of “plan-tations which are under labor administration and cultivated and developed for exports”. If approved, this amendment will virtually bring the scope of CARP to the original land re-form target set in l972 by Presi-dent Ferdinand Marcos, as if the country did not undergo EDSA I and II. This amend-ment is also likely to fuel more

conflicts in the countryside as there will be organized efforts by a powerful few to displace the banana, sugar and other farmer-worker cooperatives from the lands already covered by their respective collective land ownership awards or CLOAs.

As it is, the countryside is once again restive, with the awakened peasantry, from Cagayan Valley in the north

to the Davao provinces in the south, anxious over the de-lays in CARP implementation and the Congressional dilly-dallying on the needed sup-port for CARP’s completion. Many farmers’ organizations cannot also understand why the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)

have been quick to make a commitment to identify one million hectares of public and private land, which Edu-ardo Cojuangco and the Kuok family of Singapore-Malaysia can develop as agribusiness farms—when CARP itself has not been completed and there is a growing colony of landless rural poor nationwide!

The bigger picture, of


to be pervasive in the countryside and has merely spread to the cities in terms of rural-urban migration. As an answer to their plight, many farmer delegates called for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) with reforms. On the other hand, another group called for the termination of CARP and the passage instead of a Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB). Both groups converge

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on a common aspiration for an effec-tive and meaningful agrarian reform program based on the land-to-the-tiller principle.

How then does the Church view the plight of the rural poor? What is the message of the Bible and the Church’s social teachings on ownership of land and agricultural development?

Message of the BibleThe first book of the Bible gives an

account of God’s creation of the world and its culmination in the creation of the first man and woman. Solemn words accompany the task given to them by Yahweh: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

The terms, “subdue” and “have dominion,” in biblical language refer to the rule of a wise king who looks after the welfare of his subjects. These words can also refer to the administration of a wise steward who has to give an ac-counting to his master, the only absolute lord of the universe. The first parents are also placed in a garden to become stewards of a habitat meant for all. This

vision of God’s providence and man’s stewardship role in caring for creation is a powerful critique of the wanton destruction of the environment that we are witnessing today and the unregu-lated appropriation of land resources as absolute private property.

The vision of God’s lordship is carried further onto the social and economic plane by the ancient Hebrew institution of the Jubilee year – i.e., the year following the sabbath of Sabbath years, or the 50th year. In observing the Jubilee year as a holy year affirm-ing God’s lordship over the whole of creation, the Hebrews acknowledged three kinds of liberation. Fields and houses reverted back to their original owners; debts were cancelled; and the land itself was allowed to lie fallow. Thus, no one could own the land in perpetuity; debt peonage was curtailed; and only God was acknowledged as the master of all creation and agricultural produce: “for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Leviticus 25:23).

Social Teachings of the Church Following the lines of the Biblical

message, the Church’s social teachings have enunciated as a key principle the

It is disturbing to know that while billions of pesos have been allotted for the implementation of the compre-hensive agrarian reform program (CARP) all these

years, vast tracts of land that are subject to CARP mostly privately-owned remain undistributed. The exclusion of compulsory acquisition as a mode for distribution under Joint Resolution no.19 issued by Congress last Decem-ber does not speak well of the government’s sincerity in meaningfully implementing CARP. Those lands which have been awarded years back are either bereft of the neces-sary support services to sustain the productivity of the land or disputed to this day by the previous landowners. We have been witness to endless rallies and mobiliza-tion activities, hunger strikes and long arduous walks by awarded farmer-owners, if only to reclaim the lands that have already been properly transferred to their name.

In a forum held for the DAR Budget Monitoring Project (DARBM) last March, the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in the Rural Areas or PhilDHRRA shared its preliminary findings on the utilization of the DAR budget in implementing CARP for the year 2007. The project’s goal is to make the budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform more transparent and open for monitoring by civil society organizations and

Holding up CARPERpeople’s organizations whose members are the primary beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program. Similar monitoring efforts on budgets of other government agen-cies have been conducted by assigned institutions under a ten-month National Budget Monitoring Project funded by USAID. CODE-NGO, for instance, was tasked to monitor the budget of the Department of Agriculture; Partnership of Philippine Support Services Agencies, Inc. or PhilSSA looked at the budget of the housing agencies; and the Ateneo School of Government examined the budget of the Commission on Elections.

There are three sources of the DAR budget: the General Fund (Fund 101), Foreign-Assisted Project Funds (Fund 102) and the Agrarian Reform Fund (Fund 158). Of the line agencies receiving funds for CARP implementation, which include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Land Bank of the Philippines and DA-National Irrigation Authority, DAR (understandably) obtained the lion’s share of the CARP budget in 2007 at PhP9.77 billion or 65 per cent of total budget. Its many activities span from land distribution to provision of support services while the other agencies help out in capacity building and a few infrastructure projects. As the disbursing agency for paying landowners, LBP was second at PhP4.26 billion or 28 per cent.

By Gemma Rita R. Marin


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Agrarian Reform A measure for social justice and social transformation

universal destination of goods: “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity.”2 The right to the use of earthly goods is a natural right, inherent in human nature, and “has priority with regard to any human intervention concerning goods.”3

As a secondary and complementary principle, the Church also recognizes the natural right to private property. This is based on the special nature of human work and provides a protection of human dignity, the exercise of personal and family autonomy, and a safeguard for civil liberty.

On the other hand, Christian tra-dition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute and unconditional: “On the contrary, it has always understood the right within the broader context of the right common to all to use the goods of the whole of creation: the right to private property is subordinated to the right of common use, to the fact that goods are meant for everyone.”4

In this light, agrarian reform is a measure that calls not for the abolition,

but for the wider distribution of private property. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace notes: “Whatever concrete forms private property may take as a result of varying institutional and juridical approaches, it is basi-cally an instrument to implement the principle of the universal destination of material goods, and hence a means and not an end.”5

In the Philippine context, the Com-prehensive Agrarian Reform Program has included within its scope various types of peasant groups—e.g., share ten-ants demanding their rightful percent-age share of the harvest; leaseholders subject to a fixed rental; agricultural workers, regular or seasonal, on feudal-type haciendas or capital-intensive plantations; and at the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder, landless rural workers without regular employment nor security of tenure.

While these various peasant groups are deprived of the ownership of the lands they till, another phenomenon persists—i.e., the misappropriation of land by large landholders, includ-ing multinational corporations, which marginalizes small farmers as well as indigenous people communities.P

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The resulting “perverse inequalities in the distribution of common goods and in each person’s opportunities for development”6 go counter to another key principle of Catholic social teaching: solidarity. As a social principle and a moral virtue, “there exists an intimate bond between solidarity and the com-mon good, between solidarity and the universal destination of goods, between solidarity and equality among men and peoples, between solidarity and peace in the world.”7 Sadly, the persistence

of rural poverty and agrarian unrest in the Philippine countryside attests to the “shameful lack of human solidar-ity, striking the weakest and future generations.”8

If implemented with political will and with the appropriate support ser-vices, agrarian reform can indeed help restore and build this solidarity among stakeholders, as it has been done in neighboring Asian countries. Agrarian reform is a measure for social justice—and social transformation.

(Most Rev. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, is the Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro. A former Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), he is currently a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.)

Notes:

1 Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Dialogue with the Rural Poor, Manila, CBCP, 2009, pp. 39-43.

2 Vatican II Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1965. No. 69.

3 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Vatican City, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004. No. 172.

4 Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, 1991. No. 14.

5 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Towards a Better Distribution of Land: The Challenge of Agrarian Reform, Vatican City, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. No. 30.

6 Ibid, No. 27.

7 PCJP, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, op. cit. Nos. 193-194.

8 PCJP, Towards a Better Distribution of Land, op. cit. No. 33.

course, is that the entire agricultural sector is in shambles. The rice crisis which made the headlines in March-June of this year shows that the Philippines is now a major agriculture-importing country, with an annual net agricultural trade deficit of over $1 billion. This is due to falling invest-ments associated with the uncertainties generated by an unfinished CARP and the failure of DAR to upgrade the capacity of unlettered farmer benef ic iar ies to become modern farmers, on one hand, and to nudge former landowners to invest on agricultural processing and non-farm activities, on the other. This is also due to the overall neglect of the sector under the World Bank’s “agricultural deregu-

lation” policy and the WTO’s “agricultural trade liberal-ization”, which promoted food importation (including smuggling) instead of food sufficiency as the means to meet the people’s food requirements. There is also the absence of good governance as illustrated by the multi-million fertilizer scandal under DA Under-secretary Joc-Joc Bolante. And lastly, there is policy incoherence as reflected in the Administration’s public declaration of support for small farmer development even as the government’s own Medium-Term Philip-pine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004-2010) is targeting not less than two million hectares for agri-business development by big corporate players like

Danding Cojuangco. The bias of the Adminis-

tration for big agribusiness is also reflected in the cha-cha proposal of Speaker Prospero Nograles and the NEDA’s MTPDP. The justif ication being used for cha-cha is primarily for the “Pandora’s box” of the presidential term extension maneuver and for more economic liberalization, this time, the opening up of land ownership to foreigners and the easing of the equity re-quirements before foreign-ers can manage businesses re lated to mining, gas exploration, mass media, advertising, education and public utilities, including transport. Such a cha-cha initiative is like a proposal for the re-colonization of the Philippines—except that

the initiative is coming from government officials bereft of any sense of economic nationalism and who have no faith on the capacity of the Filipino to excel.

Verily, the counsel of Archbishop Angel Lag-dameo for bold communal action to push for reforms is wise and timely. Only the collective unity of an awakened citizenry can eliminate corruption and abuse in governance, goad Congress to take CARP seriously, pass HB 4077, stop the anti-people cha-cha locomotive on its tracks, and engage Malacañang to serve the Filipino people, not a favored few.

(Belinda Formanes is the Executive Director of PARDDS)

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Agrarian Reform A measure for social justice and social transformation

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STATEMENTS

Agrarian Reform is the centerpiece program of the

1987 Constitution. It pro-nounces in definitive terms that the law of the land upholds the protection of the rights of the poor in keeping with the principles of social justice. Despite the trails of failures in its implementation and the rising agrarian-related vio-lations in the countryside, the farmers and the Church acknowledge that for the most part, agrarian reform has had a positive impact on poverty reduction.

Even before the fund-ing for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) expired last December 2008, several well-meaning legislators passed bills that extend and reform the flawed provisions of the old agrarian law. The Church commends these initiatives and we throw our full support to the consolidated Senate and House Bills, SB 2666 and HB 4077, now up for Senate’s and Congress’ deliberation and approval. Unfortunately, time is running out as there are only nine session days left for Congress to enact this essential law.

Correspondingly, we oppose in the strongest terms, the threat of “killer amendments” being inserted by some sena-tors and congressmen that will effectively emasculate the objectives and gains of the CARP with Extension and Reform (CARPER) Bill for the poor farmers. These amendments are called “perfecting” amendments by their proponents, which in reality would dilute, slow down, and reverse the gains of the program and reduce the resources available for it.

Invoking guidance and inspirations from both the Philip-pine Constitution and the social doctrines of the Church, we find the proposals below to be unacceptable and antithetical to laws that govern the moral and social structures of our society.

• The phasing of land acquisition and distribution,

‘Agrarian Reform is an instrument of social justice

and an act of political wisdom’(Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 1997)

A Pastoral Statement on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

which targets first those landholding measuring 50 hectares and above without prejudice to the coverage of lands below 50 hectares, after an accomplishment trigger of 90% by the re-spective provinces. This is unconstitutional in that our Constitution does not dis-tinguish on whatever basis the agricultural lands to be covered under CARP. On the contrary, it mandates the coverage of all lands without qualification on the basis of size or even crop type. Allowing the State to distinguish between lands below 50 hectares and those

measuring 50 and above would be discriminatory against, and would disenfranchise a huge percentage of potential farmer-beneficiaries, considering that the bulk of undis-tributed private agricultural lands is comprised of lands less than 50 hectares. Putting the 90% trigger as condition for resumption for coverage of smaller landholdings may actually result in most of the remaining landholdings being left uncovered or undistributed.

• Reconsolidation of agricultural lands by previous landowners after the 10-year retention period, and/or the reduction of the 10-year prohibition on sale of awarded land to three years. These provisions clearly favor former landowners and could defeat the purpose of the program because it will allow them to reacquire foreclosed lands, thus reconsolidate their landholdings.

• Allowing leaseback arrangements of awarded lands between farmers and landowners/corporations. We find this proposal to be inequitable and contradictory to the ul-timate goal of agrarian reform, which is to grant ownership and control over the land and its resources to the tillers. CARP does not intend to protect whoever has the capacity to buy and operate big plantations, at the expense of the small farmers.

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STATEMENTS

• Institutionalization of Commercial Farm Plantations in CARP. This proposal is objectionable as it expressly seeks the transfer of control of lands from farmer-beneficiaries to the landowner or any other agribusiness venture “partner”. It is contrary to studies which show that small-scale rice and corn farms by owner-cultivators are more productive than large scale farms. It is also discriminatory against rice and corn farmers. More importantly, this amendment is a contravention to the basic principle of agrarian reform which seeks to secure access, ownership, and control over land and its resources to the poor farmers.

• Increasing the compensation to landowners and increasing the down payment from the present 25%-30% to 50%. This proposal, which is based on case-specific deci-sions of the Supreme Court, would result in a reduction of funds available for land acquisition and distribu-tion and support services and would effectively prevent the program from being completed. Increasing just compen-sation for landowners is welcome as long as the corresponding increase will be matched by an increase in the allotted P147 Billion budget.

• Transfer of ju-risdiction over agrar-ian cases from the De-partment of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) to the regular courts. We believe that the resolution of agrarian cases entails the expertise of DAR on agrarian reform. This is sufficient and more equitable to the farmers because they are allowed to participate and represent themselves in the process, which are not bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence. We fear that the transfer of jurisdiction will only serve to marginalize the farmers, who could be subjected to a more adversarial and costly processes.

• Legislating the disqualification of “habitual squat-ters” from becoming CARP beneficiaries and making them criminally liable and punishable with specific penal-ties under the law. The Church, together with the farmers’ groups, registers strong opposition to this provision and we are one in calling for its deletion from the final version of CARP. There is an alarming likelihood that this will be used as an instrument to harass legitimate farmer-beneficiaries, who are typically branded as “squatters” by landowners. Legislating this provision will allow landowners to threaten farmers with criminal cases.

The social teachings of the church equally condemn the concentration and misappropriation of land as intrinsically immoral. Gaudium et Spes states that “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice, tempered by charity” (69). Similarly, Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace’s paper on “Towards a better distribution of land” quotes the

prophet Isaiah as saying, “Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field!” (5:8)

The same document also quotes the late Pope John Paul II’s dramatic address to members of the government and landowners in Mexico: “…leaders of the people, powerful classes which sometimes keep unproductive lands that hide the bread that so many families lack, human conscience, the conscience of the peoples, the cry of the destitute, and above all, the voice of God, the voice of the Church, repeat to you with me: It is not just, it is not human, it is not Christian to continue with certain situations that are clearly unjust. It is necessary to carry out real, effective measures – at the local, national and international levels… it is clear that those who must collaborate most in this are those who can do the most.”

Thus, it is with great sorrow and foreboding that we, the Catholic Bish-ops of the Philippines, witness some legislators willfully neglecting a vital sector that contributes to the country’s economic growth. Abandoning the agricultural sector will not only threaten farmers but imperil food security itself. Conversely, distrib-uting lands to small farm-ers will provide equitable economic opportunities in the rural areas and eventu-ally reduce poverty and unrests, which are major

deterrents to democratic development.Acquiescence to the evils of self-interest has serious

negative effects in the social and economic well-being of the country and jeopardizes our collective pursuit of the common good. We appeal to our political leaders to make a serious examination of conscience and focus their attention on the swift resolution of the mounting forms of injustice and violation of fundamental human rights of the rural poor.

The small farmers deserve our attention and espousal of their cause. They continue bringing hope to society, and nurture life from season to season. No man of upright con-science much more that of a principled leader, can allow the Filipino farmer to be laid bare and vulnerable to the claws of globalization and continuous hopelessness.

Let us all pray for justice and peace to reign in our country, through an authentic agrarian reform, carried out in the spirit of distributive justice and solidarity with the rural poor. We pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us away from sin, enlighten our minds, and purify our intentions. And may the love of Christ impel us in our quest for a morally reformed society.

For the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines,

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD Archbishop of JaroPresident, CBCP18 May 2009


STATEMENTS

Joint Resolution No. 19, which extends the Comprehensive Agrar-ian Reform Program but without

providing for compulsory acquisition, expires on June 30. On June 5, however, the second regular session of Congress will end, resuming only on the first week of July. This means that despite months of campaigning and lobbying for a struggle that has spanned decades, and because of the indifference or neglect of our representatives in Congress, we are again in the eleventh hour, with only nine session days left to pass a law that is not only constitutionally mandated, but is required by basic notions of equity and social justice.

The implementation of an agrar-ian reform program is a Constitutional mandate which the State may not avoid by legislative inaction. Section 4, Art. XIII of the 1987 Constitution requires the State to “undertake an agrarian re-form program founded on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or collec-tively the lands they till or, in the case of other farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof.” As it is, Joint Resolution No. 19 is unconstitutional for being contrary to the very spirit of agrarian reform. If Congress again fails to pass an agrarian reform law by June 5, it will be nothing short of a derelic-tion of a duty reposed on the legislative body by our Constitution.

The CARP has been in existence for 20 years, but the fruits of authentic agrarian reform in the country have yet to be reaped. Eighty percent of privately owned agricultural lands remain un-

distributed. Eighteen percent of CARP beneficiaries have not received titles to the lands that they till and should rightfully own. Sixty-five percent of CARP beneficiaries have no access to government support services that should be available in agrarian reform areas. Rural poverty still accounts for seventy percent of the country’s poor. If we are to attain social justice eloquently defined by Justice Jose P. Laurel in Calalang vs. Williams as “…the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State…” then agrarian reform is a measure that must not only be continued, but must be among those prioritized.

The Philippine’s agrarian reform program needs to be given more time to fully attain the goals it was cre-ated to accomplish. Twenty years of unsatisfactory implementation clearly leaves much room for improvement and reform. House Bill 4077 and Senate Bill 2666, or the CARP Extension with Reforms Bill, reflect the needed changes to address the shortcomings that have prevented the law’s noble purpose from coming into fruition.

We, who study the law, know that laws are there for a reason. Agrarian reform is explicitly identified as a fun-damental State policy in Art II Sec 21 of the Constitution. Thus, we ask that our lawmakers breathe life into this policy by enacting laws that set in motion and ensure actual and speedy results.

We, who study the law, know that while the actual provisions are drafted by the members of Congress, laws are ultimately articulations of the people’s

will and expressions of the power inherent in them as citizens of a free country. Thus, we remind our lawmak-ers that their mandate emanates from the people, and their duty is to address their constituents’ needs, even if it means sacrificing their own interests. We reiterate that by eliminating com-pulsory acquisition, the agrarian reform program is reduced to no more than an empty promise. Without it, there is no reform, only more of the same.

We, who study the law, are no strangers to policies that look resolute on paper, but are torn apart and rendered useless by the selfsame provisions, where motherhood statements mask gaps, loopholes and false pretenses. Thus, we demand that Congress deliver an agrarian reform program that is responsive, sincere and faithful to the principles of social justice.

The second regular session of Con-gress ends in less than a month. Too much has been lost, too much sacrificed and there is too much at stake for our legislature to fail us now. We take up this cause because we, who study the law, owe it to this country. We owe it to the farmers who walked thousands of miles, and spent weeks in hunger strikes, asking to be heard. We owe it to the blood shed and lives lost. We owe it to the law that we study and pledge to serve. Because, if the law cannot be used to protect those who need it the most, then it betrays its own purpose.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! PASS THE CARPER BILLS (HB 4077 and SB 2666) NOW!!

We Know that the Law is on the Farmers’ Side

Student CouncilAteneo Law School

Makati City, Metro Manila

Supreme Law CouncilCollege of Law

Silliman UniversityDumaguete City, Negros Oriental

Student CouncilCollege of Law

University of BaguioBaguio City, Benguet

Civil Law Student CouncilCollege of Law

University of Sto. TomasMetro Manila

Law Student GovernmentCollege of Law

University of the PhilippinesQuezon City, Metro Manila

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STATEMENTS

We, the farmers, advocates of Agrarian Reform, the bishops and the religious, appreciate

the efforts of the Senate in fast-tracking the passage of Senate Bill 2666. We have witnessed the interpellations by Senators and were also able to talk with some members of the Senate who generously promised support for this essential social justice program.

We were assured time and again of the early passage of the CARP Extension with Reforms bill. We would also like to express gratitude to Senator Honasan who gave us assurances that ‘killer’ amend-ments will not find their way into the bill. This makes us glad but we continuously plead with the Honorable Senators to ensure that amendments that could water down the CARP and would defeat the purpose of the agrarian reform program shall not be included in the final version of the bill. In particular, we are disturbed about the possibility that there will be an introduction of an inequitable phasing of the Land Acquisition and Distribution component of the program.

Under the most recent proposal on phasing, lands over 50 hectares and above will be prioritized. The acquisition and distribution will be done on a province to province basis. And, an accomplish-ment rate of 90% per province will set as a trigger. This tight and complicated phasing of acquisition and distribution almost ensures that many provinces in the country will end up not being covered under the program.

We aim to find a just and equitable meeting point. We propose that that 90% trigger of accomplishment for the 50 hectares and above landholdings be removed. Instead, landholdings of all sizes should be simultaneously targeted for acquisition and distribution, with

those bigger landholdings as priority. The Senate may also study and come up with other equitable alternative phasing or prioritization systems. For instance, we appeal that your committee give priority for all lands over ten hectares. That is an equitable compromise for the legitimate small farmers owning 5-10 hectares (covering a total area of about 186,000 has). Otherwise, we foresee stalling of compulsory acquisition after coverage of 136,000 hectares (of lands measuring over 50 has.), especially in contentious areas like Negros which would render CARP meaningless for thousands of farmers.

There is also a proposal on the re-consolidation of agricultural lands after the expiration of the 10-year moratorium on transfers of awarded land. This is antithetical to the objective of CARP because this would result in nullifying the gains of the program in the past 20 years. In fact, 2.8 million hectares of lands covered under CARP for ten years will be vulnerable to reconsolidation under this proposal. This would then take away lands already rendered productive by the farmer-beneficiaries whose rights will be disregarded systematically by legislation.

We are also concerned about a pro-posal to remove agrarian cases from the jurisdiction of the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) and putting these under the jurisdic-tion of the regular courts. This proposal disregards the unique nature of agrarian cases and the particular need for experi-ence and expertise of the administrative agency mandated to implement agrarian reform laws. This also poses the danger of further oppression to farmer beneficiaries whose legal personality is usually not recognized in regular courts and poses

the risk of further isolating these indigent farmers from court processes in the very likely event that they will not be able to avail of counsel's services. We agree, however, that the DARAB and the DAR, in general, should address loopholes in implementation and arrest problems in Agrarian Justice Delivery.

These are the provisions we found objectionable among the many propos-als raised by members of the Senate. We remain vigilant and will continue to watch Senate processes, and call on our Sena-tors to perform their duty to the Filipino people and to abide by the Constitutional Mandate of undertaking an effective and equitable agrarian reform program. We appeal to the moral principles and con-viction of our national leaders and ask the Honorable Senators to help us guard against any proposal which will water down the CARP, and take away from the gains of this program which is among the essential vehicles for food security, peace in the countryside, and social justice.

We remain confident that the Honor-able Senators will be guided by discern-ment in finalizing this legislation and in protecting the rights of the Filipino farmers.

("For I was hungry and You gave me food." USCCB, November 12, 2003)

"The Lord gave us mind and con-science; we cannot hide from ourselves." (Proverbs 20.27)

ATTY. CHRISTIAN S. MONSOD PARFUND +BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D. Chair, Episcopal Commission on Social Action Justice and Peace, CBCP Auxiliary Bishop of Manila

May 12, 2009

Appeal to the Senators for the Passage of CARPER Sans Killer Amendments

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STATEMENTS

The alarming news of the outbreak of “swine flu” or “influenza A” in several countries, after Mexico, behooves us to take some health precautions as may

be coming from our Doctors of Medicine or the Department of Health. There is no news yet of the flu having reached our shore. Panic would not be the correct response. Let us rather be guided by the precautionary measures which health practitioners may give.

Alongside with this counsel, we exhort the people to pray for our country as well as for the countries already affected by the “swine flu”: that it may be effectively controlled. Earnest and humble prayer addressed to the Divine Healer, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is the need of the hour. Prayer may be as powerful as

The feast of St. Isidore, the Farmer on May 15 is an occasion for us Filipinos to recall and acknowl-

edge the important roles our own farmers play in nation-building. They are the co-creators of God; the representatives of society entrusted with the noble task of making the earth fruitful. Faithful to this calling, the farmers tirelessly work hard to provide the basic food for our daily needs.

As we celebrate Farmers’ Day, may we go beyond simply acknowl-edging the farmers’ vital contribu-tion to society. More importantly, the celebration should compel us to focus our attention on the problems they continue to face, such as the absence of a comprehensive and reformed agrarian law that genu-inely serves the interest of the poor farmers, and address the lack of basic infrastructure and support services, and agrarian harassments, among others.

In the spirit of the celebration, we call on all Filipinos to stand in solidarity for the respect, defense, and promotion of farmers’ rights. We appeal to the conscience and compassionate hearts of our legislators to finally pass an extended and reformed CARP with: (1) five-year implementation period including Compulsory Acquisition, and without the proposed phasing of distribution; (2) collateral free credit and increased support services to farm-

ers; (3) creation of an oversight com-mittee with the inclusion of private sector representatives to monitor the implementation of agrarian reform; (4) recognition of the farmers’ le-gal standing and non-cancellation of

Press Statement on the occasion of Farmers’ Day 2009

‘Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me’

As our legislators go about the very important task of passing an agrarian reform law, I pray that they draw inspira-tion from St. Isidore, who, despite being very poor himself, gave of what little he had to those who were poorer. May his

generosity remind our elected of-ficials that life is not to be a selfish quest for profit, but an opportunity for service. This preferential op-tion for the poor is emphasized in Jesus Christ’s ministry when he told His disciples: “Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do it to me” (Matthew 25:40). The feast of St. Isidore on May 15 is an auspicious moment for the legislators to live up to our mission of discipleship and to demonstrate selflessness and genuine service to the poor farmers by gifting them

with a reformed and authentic agrarian reform law.

Trust in prayer and benevolence to the needy were the most distinguishing traits of St. Isidore. In these times of difficulty, I, together with the farmers, offer and entrust our troubles, heart-aches, and triumphs to the Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DDArchbishop of JaroCBCP PresidentMay 15, 2009

Pastoral Exhortation on the ‘Swine Flu’ pandemicor even may be more powerful than anti-biotic or anti-virus pills which may not be accessible to many very poor people. The combination of prayer and prescribed medical precaution would be a proactive response to the present concern.

Let us pray that the rise of “swine flu” cases in other countries may be put under control. We call upon the Apostleship of Prayer, the Charismatic Movements, all Church organizations to include this intention in their prayer, as individuals, as families and communities.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DDArchbishop of Jaro CBCP PresidentMay 2, 2009

Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) on lands already distributed to and developed by the farmers; and (5) increased penalty for obstruction of CARP implementation.

Introducing amendments into the proposed bill that cancel out the above proposals inconspicuously weaken the gains of CARP for the poor farmers. Instead of working for their own in-terests, I pray that the Holy Spirit will move our Senators and Congressmen into heeding the cries of the rural poor, in accordance to the dictates of moral and social justice.

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FROM THEBLOGS

Armed Forces of the Philippines

“…The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State…”

(Phil. Constitution: Art. 11, Sec. 3)

While probably unsaid and possibly unfelt, these are the times that try the AFP soul. “Declaration of Principles and State Policies” having the above

cited constitutional provision notwithstanding, there are marked indications that it is becoming harder and harder for the AFP to be the “protector of the people”. Reason: The present administration has been long trying its utmost best to instead make the AFP protect the former—at the expense of the people. In other words, the incumbent government well perceived as corruption incarnate, appears to spare no one and nothing for its self-perpetuation in power and wealth by temptations of affluence and convenience continuously and consistently laid at the feet of the AFP.

Otherwise—and this is an open secret—how come more and more former highest ranking AFP officers are in fact appointed to likewise high ranking offices in the administra-tion? Why is that the highest government official—and this is public knowledge—has been long exerting extra effort to be effectively surrounded and served by many latest ex-AFP generals? For all intents and purposes, there appears to be a deliberate desire and design for the AFP to be the protector of the ruling administration, of the present government—not of the people. It would not be difficult to conclude that nothing less than the above cited constitutionally declared principle and policy could be anything but reality.

All the above bad news notwithstanding, the People of the Philippines finds consolation in the truth that a great number of AFP officers and men still remain faithful to their noble and difficult calling of laying their lives on the line—and not infrequently losing them—for the Country, viz, for the good of the Filipino people and the welfare of their State. They are the admirable men and women in uniform who adhere to their crucial vocation and comply with their vital mission—all strong temptations and devious enticements to the contrary, notwithstanding. The Filipino people may not but salute them with high admiration and much gratitude.

The way things are with the supreme Malacañang tenant plus minions vis-à-vis the AFP as a whole, not few thinking people are heard speaking of either “explosion” or “implosion”—two terms which have acquired distinct sig-nificance and relevance to the now obtaining socio-political situation in the Philippines. There would be an “explosion” when those in uniform rise to protect the people. On the other hand, there might be “implosion” in event that those supposed to be protecting someone else precisely move to dispose of the latter and place themselves instead in the lat-ter’s seat of power and wealth. Would that such talks remain but words without translating themselves into reality. Would that the highest public official be also the highest servant of the people—not their supreme master.

www.ovc.blogspot.com

Dignity of the human personThe ontological dignity and intrinsic invaluable na-

ture of the human person is the fundamental basis of society, the radical premise of civilization and

raison d’etre of development. Without the human person, the reality and purpose of society become a physical and moral impossibility; the essence and finality of civiliza-tion have no sense, no bearing neither here nor there; the significance and pursuit of development is not only irrel-evant but also nonsensical. Reason: In the last analysis, the human person is the underlying cause and reason of society, civilization and development.

It is the inherent dignity of the human person that in fact necessarily, strictly and formally forwards the distinction and import of human rights. Such is the objective reality of the essential and intimate pairing of the human person and human rights that the former cannot be without the latter, and vice versa. The truth is that the mandatory respect for human rights is in more ways than one, equals to the obliga-tory reverence for the human person. It is futile to separate one from the other as this would be basically contrary to both the postulate of reality and the light of reason.

Furthermore, the dignity of the human person and the consequent respect for human rights, begin from the moment of conception of the human being, continues to his gestation, goes on with his birth and accompanies him until death. In the event that human dignity plus human rights do not begin to exist and to command respect from conception, exactly when do such precious personal at-tributions actually become realities? One, two or three months or more, after conception? And why? Are these legal months of 30 days or real months of either 30 or 21 days? Why? And what happens if the month has but 28 or 29 days? What now?

Woe to those who fool around with human persons, who belittle human lives, who trample upon human dignity, who violate human rights—in the event that these have the gall to claim that they too are human persons. Such char-acters should know and remember how they treat others cannot but eventually have its impact on how others will subsequently treat them. This is neither a mere sterile theory not a kind of mental gymnastics. Such eventual reciprocity is living reality as testified to by continuing human his-tory. The constant lamentation is man never learns—so it seems. This pathetic reality usually comes to fore when certain individuals assume positions of power hold offices of authority and/or begin having guns.

The challenge is simple enough: Without human per-sons, what is really left but Divinity? Without the fami-lies, communities and the society would be but thoughts and drawings. Countries, continents and the world, too, would have no purpose or reason to be. Then, business and industry, education and employment, public welfare and social services, food and drink as well would be all irrelevant. Bless you Divinity for humanity! Praise to you Divine Person for the human person!

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EDITORIAL

Unemployment Illus

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Lately, a trusted survey firm came out with the conclu-sion that there is a much higher unemployment rate in the country during these depressed and depressing

times—compared to those obtained since 2005. Concretely, the survey said that there are some 11 million

employable yet in fact unemployed Filipinos to date. And immediately, the distrusted administration made the vain self-serving option to make its very own survey with the immediate conclusion that unemployment in the Philippines is in fact very much less—even before its own desired and designed survey started.

Despite the happy spins of Malacañang that anyway go contrary to ground report, the core significance of unemploy-ment is not really its rate in number and scope. Rather, it is in a principle that there is something inherently dehumanizing in unemployment, irrespective of its lesser or bigger num-ber. Human persons are much more in their intrinsic nature and immediate implications than whether they are few or more, numerically. This is a very sad reality among many politicos these days, i.e., what is true or false, what is good or bad, depends but on numerical count, thereby denying any ontological value system.

This is certainly not in defense of either those who are unemployed because of their indolent behavioral pattern, or those who engage in many and different criminal acts by reason of their unemployment as an excuse. This is rather about those trying their best to seek employment—spending much of their time and little of their already little money in their pockets. The main chapters of their futile search for em-

ployment are but three: Chapter 1: They ask for some money from their spouses, parents and/or relatives, eat something called a "breakfast" and leave home with the standard papers about their persons. Chapter 2: They take a ride and/or walk to this and that company, work place and/or job fair, carrying the usual Manila envelopes with their personal papers that are most of times not opened, much less read respectively by those such are meant for. Chapter 3: They eventually take a ride and/or walk back home, remaining jobless, eating something called "supper", resting only to repeat the routine of job seeking—again and again and again.

Meantime, in the course of honest and earnest but futile pursuit of employment, the able and willing to work remain workless, thereby nurturing a mixed feeling of exhaustion and despair, self-depreciation and anger. To feel "useless" is demeaning. To feel "unwanted" is nerve-wracking. The profound predicament of everyone assiduously seeking employment and continuously finding none is definitely not something that magnifies but belittles their human dignity. And this has special relevance and application to parental figures, adult children and responsible individuals who are pursuing jobs yet remain jobless, and thereby instead become forced dependents.

This is one concrete psycho-social malady in the country, i.e., unemployment does not only have negative material but also psychological effects, not simply adverse social but also deeply personal impacts. And this is precisely why to be job-less transcends the sphere of but numerical count whereas it in effect undermines human dignity and self-worth.


FROM THE INBOX

From the e-mail messages of [email protected]

T he boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, “I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.”

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: “Granny,

are you sure I don't have enough money?”

The old lady replied: “You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.”

Then she asked him to stay there for just five minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

“It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christ-mas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.”

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. “No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.”

His eyes were so sad while say-ing this. “My sister has gone to be with God.

Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.”

My heart nearly stopped.

DollThe little boy looked up at me and

said: “I told Daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.”

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.

He then told me “I want Mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.”

“I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but Daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.”

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. “Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?”

“Okay,” he said, “I hope I do have enough.” I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it.

There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: “Thank you, God for giving me enough money!”

Then he looked at me and added, “I asked God last night before I went to sleep to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!”

“I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my

mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.”

“My mommy loves white roses.” A few minutes later, the old lady

returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, hold-ing a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feel-ing that my life had been changed for ever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and

said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large

H e a v e n a n d H e l lpot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they

could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, “I don't understand.”

“It is simple,” said the Lord, “it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”

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book Reviews

Saint PaulApostles of the Gentiles

Mary Lea Hill, FSP

Although the Church cel-ebrat ion of the Pauline Year is near-ing i ts clo-sure, reading on the saint’s life, as well as the letters he has written for the Christian communities he founded shou ld re -main a must-do. This book of only 117 pages is an entertaining read for this year of St. Paul. Narra-tive and bio-graphical in sketch, it chronicles the life of the great apostle Paul, his conversion, missionary journeys and mar-tyrdom. For young readers who are easily drawn to reading daring exploits of courageous people and in constant search of role models this book is highly recommended.

Going by the Bible and HistoryCatholic Beliefs and Practices

(Questions and Answers)

Sr. Ines Atendido Tan, FMM

Published in English, Ce-buano and Tagalog, this book is a good resource material for catechists, biblical animators and lay leaders. Anyone who has a lot of questions on the bible, and the Church will find this little book instruc-tive. Simply written but rich in insights, the book gives a historical glimpse of Old and New Testa-ments and the Church. It presents a historical and biblical background on the sacraments and an-swers as well frequently asked questions on the Scriptures and Catholic beliefs and practices. A member of the Franciscan

Missionaries of Mary, Tan taught in the Archdiocese of Ozamiz Bible Institute and was in-charge of the Biblical and Catechetical Formation in Pope Paul VI Biblical Center in Mindanao. This volume is published by St. Pauls.

Like A ShepherdGod-Tales for Young and Old Vol. 33

Nil Guillemette

A master storyteller, Nil Guillemette is again offer-ing his readers a plateful of inspiring stories that are sure to uplift even the most disheartened spirit. Already the 33rd volume in the series, this collec-tion of narratives brings to fore the undeniable truth of God’s loving presence in the ordinariness of a person’s daily existence. Peppered with thematic scriptural quotations and insights from spiritual writ-ers the 25 stories spread across 155 pages abound in wisdom and moral les-sons. Published by Pau-lines Publishing House, this book is an excellent resource material for cate-chists, teachers, homilists

or anyone who seeks to live a deeply Christian life. Guillemette is a Scripture scholar who has written a number of books on Scriptures, homiletics and narratives.

A Fire on the IslandA Fresh Look at the First Mass Controversy

Greg Hontiveros

The only Christian nation in Asia, that is, before Catholic East Timor became an independent nation, evangelization of the early Filipinos and the advance of Christianity in the Philippine islands was spearheaded by missionaries who came with the Portuguese and Spanish explorers. History tells it was in Cebu that the first Church was established and it has always been commemorated as such. But there has been a con-tention lately on where exactly in the country the first mass was cel-ebrated. This book is a presentation of recent findings borne of research from early manuscripts that point to the possibility that the first mass in the country actually happened in another place than what is written in history books. The argument that the first mass was said, not in Limasawa as what historical accounts report, but in Butuan as the author claims, indeed gives a fresh take on the de-bate. But what difference does it make for a Filipino Catholic whether the first mass was said in one place different from what had been known all along—or does it? If not for its intriguing proposition, the fresh perspective that it gives on the issue at hand makes the book really interesting to read. The author, who is an NGO organizer engaged in social justice, environment, cultural heritage and development issues, is currently the president of Butuan City Historical and Cultural foundation.


ENTERTAINMENT

CatholiC iNitiative foreNlighteNed Movie appreCiatioN

May to August in the northern hemi-sphere spring and

summer is a time for almost weekly release of blockbust-ers with huge budgets, action and effects and potential for high grosses at the box office. 2009 has seen Wolverine, Star Trek, followed by An-gels and Demons, with Night at the Museum 2, Transform-ers 2 and Terminator Salva-tion in the offing.

Here is a doomsday plot, murder mystery, action thriller with a cast led by Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon and Ewan McGregor as the Vatican Camerlengo and an inter-national cast portraying scientists, police, bishops and cardinals.

Angels and Demons, unlike the film of The Da Vinci Code, is fast-paced, the L'Osservatore Romano

review referring to Ron Howard's dynamic direc-tion. It also used the word 'commercial' as well as not-ing that it was 'harmless entertainment' and not a danger to the Church.

In fact, the film treats the church quite interesting-ly, scenes behind a conclave and inside the conclave, fine sets of the Sistine Chapel, the interiors of St Peter's, Castel San Angelo, the Vati-can Necropolis, the Swiss Guards centre, the Vatican archives and several church-es with art by Bernini. The film won't harm tourism to Rome or to the Vatican. Probably, the contrary.

The issue is science and religion. There are some very impressive scenes of CERN in Switzerland where the Big Bang was re-created in 2008. Dan Brown, writing years earlier, posited this

explosion and the formation of anti-matter which is then used as a terrorist threat in Rome. Arguments are put forward about the church's record in persecuting sci-entists in past centuries, especially Galileo (true) with some inquisitorial in-terrogations and tortures. The material about the Il-luminati, the underground society of scientists has some foundation but was not as extensive as specu-lated on here – a kind of Masonic brotherhood of scientists. (They appeared in the first Lara Croft film without anybody taking to controversy.)

One of the issues facing the conclave in the film is the Church in the Modern World vis-a-vis science, with the dialogue for the meeting of ideas of science and theology or extremist

attitudes towards religion capitulating to science and so destroying the church – the point being that this kind of fanatic stance can become a cause, righteous-ly crusading with violence against those who hold more moderate views – leading to what could be labelled 'ecclesiastical terrorism'.

Oh, the tale has so many plot-holes (with the action moving so fast you don't quite have time to follow through on them) that they don't bear thinking about – so, either one sits irritated at the inaccuracies about dates and historical figures and driven up the wall by the lack of coherence in the course of events or, as one does, offer a willing suspension of disbelief and enjoy the action for what it is, a lavishly-mounted, pot-boiling thriller.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Stellan Skarsgard, Pierfrancesco, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl

Director: Ron HowardProducers: John Calley, Brian Grazer, Ron

HowardScreenwriters: David Koepp, Akiva Golds-

manMusic: Hans ZimmerEditor: Daniel P. Hanley, Mike HillGenre: Crime/ Drama/ MysteryCinematography: Salvatore TotinoDistributor: Columbia PicturesLocation: California, USARunning Time: 138 min

Technical Assessment: ½Moral Assessment: CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18

and above


NEWSB R I E F S

JAPAN

Swine flu fears shut 4,000 schools

In a bid to slow spread of swine flu, Japan shut over 4,000 schools on May 19. Banks and railway offices have also been closed. Ja-pan now has over 170 cas-es of the H1N1 virus─the fourth largest national fig-ure on the world infection table.

PAKISTAN

War displaces 2 mil-lion: UN

The UN said over 2 mil-lion people have now been displaced by fighting in Pakistan's north-western Swat Valley. It said extra financial resources are urgently needed and the world body will soon launch an appeal for hundreds of millions of dollars to cover the costs of refugees over the next 12 months.

TAIWAN

Thousands protest vs Taiwan's President

Thousands of people have marched through Taiwan's capital to protest against the President's China-friendly policies. The march is the largest lead by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party since President Ma came to power last year. Organizers say 500,000 people attended the rally, but police have not provid-ed an estimate of turnout.

S. KOREA

Truck drivers to go on strike

Thousands of truck drivers here agreed to go on strike, to call for wage hikes. The Korean Con-federation of Trade Unions said the 15,000-strong na-tional union of truckers voted for the collective ac-tion, including 7,000 union members who had gath-ered in Daejeon City. Union leaders say they will decide when the planned action will take place.

BURMA

US extends sanctions vs Burma under

The US gov’t has formal-ly extended its sanctions against Burma, keeping up pressure on the junta to release detained de-mocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The move came as Indonesia and Malaysia joined other governments in expressing deep con-cern over new charges against Ms. Suu Kyi.

INDONESIA

Yudhoyono to face Megawati in polls

Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yud-hoyono is set for a three-way race in elections in July after former president Megawati Sukarnoputri de-clared she would stand. Yudhoyono also faces a challenge from vice presi-dent Jusuf Kalla, who is expected to confirm his nomination this month.

CAMBODIA

Tour ism numbers drop

Due to economic crisis, the number of tourists visit-ing Cambodia has dropped in the first quarter of 2009 Overall the number is down just 3.5 percent to 622,000 which is better than the government had feared. Cambodia has been rely-ing on expanding tourist trade as one of its pillars for economic growth.

CHINA

Second swine flu case recorded in mainland

A second case of swine flu has been confirmed in China’s mainland. The Health Ministry said the 19 year-old Chinese man who arrived in Beijing last May 15 on a flight from Canada has tested positive of the virus. The man is now under isolation in Jinan, the capital of the eastern province of Shandong.

VIETNAM

Officials raise gender imbalance concerns

Government officials here said if the current gender imbalance contin-ues about three million men will have difficulty finding wives by 2030. Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan asked people's commit-tees to raise awareness about the consequences of prenatal gender selection through the mass media.

THAILAND

Asian Summit pushed back

Thailand’s PM Abhisit Vejjajiva said two key Asian summits, cancelled last month due to anti-govern-ment protests, won’t recon-vene next month as hoped. He said the meetings are likely to be pushed back to October, 10 months later than originally planned.

E. TIMOR

PM defends big salaries for advisors

PM Xanana Gusmao de-fended big salaries it gives to his foreign advisors. He said his gov’t inherited the Finance Department capacity-building program that engages the advisors from the opposition when it was in gov’t. He said under the previous administration advisors were paid same salaries to those which are now being paid.

SRI LANKA

Gov’t declares end to war

The gov’t here declared an end to its decades-old conflict with the Tamil Tigers, after routing the remnants of the rebel army and killing its leaders Ve-lupillai Prabhakaran. The army said its commandos killed the rebel group’s last 300 fighters and decimat-ing the rebel leadership. It said Prabhakaran and two deputies were shot dead trying to flee in a van and ambulance.

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