Homily at the Supreme Court

I am here not because I am pro-Supreme Court. In fact I have my own deep misgivings towards the Supreme Court, such as the flip-flopping in the FASAP case, the non-action in the Dusit case, and the long wait on coco-levy case.

So I’m here not because I am ok with the Supreme Court.
I am here as a bishop because as a shepherd I have to serve all, to pray with and to pray for those who request my services. And I am requested to offer this mass here.

I am here as a Filipino. I am very concerned that we should have good governance in the country. Part of good governance in a democratic system is to have proper check and balance in the different branches of government. The independence of each branch is to be safeguarded. It is for this intention that we pray together. It is very unfortunate that the independence of the lower house is no longer there because of the pork barrel, not only in this administration but also in the last. We pray in this mass that the senate will be more independent. May this impeachment be not just a political exercise determined by political alliances but an exercise of searching for the truth, for what is right and just. We all owe this to our people. We pray too for the judiciary branch, not so much that it may win but that it may not be intimidated, but be courageous to fight for justice and its independence.

In our first reading we heard of Saul being rejected as king of Israel because he was not obedient to the Lord. He went around the will of God, even giving ritual as the reason. There is also danger in our government to go around what is right by using the technicalities of the law, and now, by succumbing to public pressure and media sensationalism.

Our gospel reading is a call to complete renewal, hindi patagpi-tagping solusyon. New wine needs new wineskins. This is precisely what we need. Our concern should not only to overcome this crisis or to win over this impeachment case. We should be concerned about a complete revamp of our ways. Yamang nasimulan na ang hangaring magbago, talagang buohin na natin. Let us all – in the legislative, in the executive and in the judiciary, be governed by conscience, by what is right and just for the good of our people, and not by technicalities of the law, by political alliances, by media pressure, and much, much less by the lure of money and power! May God help us all!

Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo
Jan 16, 2012

Letter of Appeal for the Calamity Victims of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and Diocese of Iligan

Our dear Bishops, SAC Directors, Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we celebrate the coming of the Lord during this Advent season, we are challenged all the more to be in solidarity with the needy, to enkindle hope and to share God’s loving presence among us.

We find ourselves again in the middle of another tragic calamity in the eastern province of Agusan del Sur and northern Mindanao. Typhoon Washi (local name “Sendong”) made landfall on Friday evening causing severe flash floods on Friday night and early Saturday particularly in Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental and Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province.

As of today, December 19, 2011, 23 barangays in Cagayan de Oro are still flooded. The city still had no potable water. According to DSWD’s data, some 3,500 families are being assisted in 7 evacuation centers. The Red Cross reported that the death toll from the floods was now at 652 with 808 others missing.

In Iligan City, at least 24 villages are flooded according to NDRRMC report and more than 200 people are still missing. There are other affected communities in CARAGA region. The Diocese of Dumaguete is also asking for help for the 2nd District of Negros Oriental was declared under the state of calamity.
NASSA is working to complete the ground assessment in view of submitting the EA (Emergency Appeal) to Caritas Internationalis hopefully before Christmas. We can raise considerable amount given the scale of the calamity. But it may take some days. That's why we need to mobilize our local support to immediately respond.

This is a distress call to our network. We urgently solicit your support and contributions so we can help save lives and respond to the emergency needs of the calamity victims in eastern province of Agusan del Sur and northern Mindanao and in other dioceses as well.

For those who may wish to channel their donation to NASSA, you may send your check payable to CBCP Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Inc., and please deposit to Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI), Account Number: 4951-0071-08.

You can also deposit your donations directly to the Diocesan Social Action Centers, with the details below:

For the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro:
Bank Acct: Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI) - CDO
Acct. Name: Roman Catholic Archbishop of CDO Inc.
Acct. Number: 9330-001442
Contact Person: Fr. Nathan Lerio
Mobile Phone Number: 09177195626
Email: adextra_saccdo@yahoo.com.ph

For the Diocese of Iligan:
Bank: Philippine National Bank (PNB)
Acct. Name: Social Action Center
Acct. Number: 418290500013
Contact Person: Fr. Albert Mendez
Mobile Phone Number: 0918-7194847
Email: socialactioncenter2007@yahoo.com.ph

We continue praying for the affected individuals and families as we carry out our Christian duty to comfort and give hope to those who need it most.

In the service of the poor and the needy,


+BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Social Action – Justice and Peace
December 19, 2011

When will the killings stop?

The Church has offered once again another precious life in its service to God’s people and the poor.

The CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace expresses deep anguish and condemnation over the horrific murder of Fr. Fausto Tentorio. He was shot eight times by an assassin as he was getting into his pick-up truck parked at the Mother of Perpetual Help Church compound in Arakan, North Cotabato.

Fr. Pops was a staunch advocate against mining and other extractive operations that threaten the indigenous people. He had been an inspiration to his parishioners as wells as the lumads who have been opposing activities that are harmful to the environment.

We join Fr. Pops’ brothers at the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), the Diocese of Kidapawan, and the hundreds of human rights activists that demand justice for our slain priest.

No peace workers and human rights defenders should ever live in fear or shed blood because of what they believe in and what they stand for.

Fr. Pops’ murder reveals a culture of impunity that has prevailed in our society because of the lack of protection and justice that our government affords to human rights defenders.

Beyond the usual expressions of “condolences” and “condemnation”, the government and state authorities have not really done anything that will reverse the trend of senseless killings in the country.

But the victims, their families and friends don’t need these futile words.

Rather, we desire to see these killings stop than be consoled by the platitudes they give in exchange of our grief.

+ BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D.
Director
National Secretariat for Social Action

People first before profit

“The points raised by PALEA in its motion for reconsideration are mere rehash of those considered, discussed and ruled upon by the Secretary of Labor…” declared Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa as he endeavored to justify Malacanang’s approval of PAL’s plan to terminate and outsource approximately 2,600 employees.

Ochoa’s pronouncements dashed the hope of thousands of workers who had appealed to Malacanang to end the labor row by way of harmonizing the interests of both the workers and the PAL management. Instead, his statement suggests the government’s insensitivity to the predicament of the workers.

The repetitive points raised by PALEA, which failed to impress Malacanang, only reflect the apprehensions felt by its members in the face of impending job loss. They failed to recognize the fact that the “rehash” merely indicates PALEA’s persistence to appeal for the reversal of the flawed and unfair decision issued by former labor secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, and which Malacanang now sanctions. By calling the spinoff program a management prerogative, the government precariously confers license to contractualization and random termination that could set precedence to other violators of labor laws.

In the midst of this turmoil, the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace expresses solidarity with the members of PALEA, especially the 2,600 workers, who face unemployment. At the same time, we express grave disappointment over the government’s manifest partiality towards PAL, whose recent financial report belies claims of “massive losses”.

We believe that the outsourcing and spinoff program was conceived mainly to dismantle the union and abolish its collective bargaining powers. Such a move by the management is a poor recompense to the very same people who worked hard for nine years to pull PAL out of fiscal insolvency in 1998. We fail to grasp the extent of their thirst for profit especially in the wake of their anticipation to rake in P1.6B in annual revenues.

The government has done a grave disservice to the people. While it has responsibility to recognize the rights of employers to protect their business interest, it has equal responsibility to ensure that they do so within the bounds of labor law. Any action to the contrary already borders on political favors and unjust concessions.

The Church maintains its appeal for a just resolution of this case. Government decisions must be conducted within the prescriptions of labor’s primacy over capital – people first over profit. We continue praying that the government may finally find the wisdom to render pro-people decisions and provide opportunities for the workers and the management to work tirelessly for the common good.

In this we remind President Aquino’s promise to the people: Kayo ang Boss ko!

“Proclaim liberty to the captives… Set free the Oppressed”

A Statement of Concern on the Plight of Political Prisoners in the Country

Nearly three weeks ago, July 25, hundreds of political detainees around the country began a synchronized hunger strike to protest the government’s inadequate agenda on human rights protection and its seeming disregard of the conditions of political prisoners.

Since the early ‘80s, more than 300 political prisoners have been languishing in prison cells throughout the country without explicit assurance of judicial remedy or executive clemency. Some of whom have already died or gotten ill in custody as a direct result of the government’s inability to provide for their medical treatment. The circumstances of neglect and eventual demise of some of these prisoners qualify as violations against human dignity and protection.

The National Secretariat for Social Action – Justice and Peace expresses deep concern over the condition of the political detainees, especially those on hunger strike. Three weeks without food will have surely and rapidly deteriorated their conditions. We wish to solicit the immediate action of the government to prevent unnecessary deaths.

We also denounce the underhanded conduct of law enforcement agencies that oftentimes criminalize the legitimate struggle of some groups and individuals.

We call on the judiciary to expedite the process of review of the detainees’ cases and grant the immediate and unconditional release of those whose arrests are deemed to be politically-motivated.

President Aquino abstractedly speaks about improvements in human rights situation in the country. The call for a clear human rights framework by the political detainees is a judicious opportunity for him to demonstrate his sincerity to uphold peace and national reconciliation.

We appeal to the President to grant executive clemency on political detainees who have already served long and completely unjust sentences. May he accede to the humanitarian character of this appeal and make progress towards the full respect of human rights in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, we express solidarity to the struggle of our political prisoners. We wish to assure them that the Church, as it has always done so in the past, will always defend human rights and the sacredness of life as stated in the Gospel.

+ BRODERICK S. PABILLO

“STOLEN LAND”

CBCP-NASSA’s Statement on Hacienda Luisita

"The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ." --(Opening line of The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, of VC II).

The CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-NASSA JP), lobbying for the proper implementation of agrarian reform, expresses solidarity with the landless farmers and farm workers of Hacienda Luisita.

In exercising our prophetic ministry, we pursue the calls (1) to revoke the stock distribution option (SDO) - a scheme that runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, and (2) to lift the TRO on the compulsory acquisition of Hacienda Luisita.

Cries for justice reach the ears of the Lord; we are one with our small farmers. NASSA recognizes that the most fundamental pillar of agrarian reform is the enforcement of the “land to the tiller principle”. Land distribution, with sufficient support services, holds promise as a means to stem rural poverty and the wave of rural-urban migration. History shows that the redistribution of land to landless and poor farmers can be a very effective way to improve rural welfare. Thus, it is disappointing to note that the Cojuangcos have managed to evade agrarian reform for more than five decades, even as the legitimate beneficiaries of the land continue to live in grinding, abject poverty.

On behalf of our small farmers, we appeal for truth, equity, dignity and justice. The SDO not only allowed the HLI to retain its ownership of the land but also “legitimized” the giving out of paltry shares of stocks to the farmers. NASSA’s opposition to SDO is grounded on the social teachings of the Church, which explicitly condemn exploitation of human labor, especially when rewarded with wages or other forms of payment that are unworthy of human dignity, such as in the case of the farmers in Hacienda Luisita.

We rely on the integrity of the Supreme Court to exercise its intrinsic political independence and resolve the case according to the spirit of distributive justice of the Constitution. The High Court, we are certain, knows full well the fact that political “issues” impede the implementation of agrarian reform. Hence, we call on the Supreme Court to facilitate the birth of institutional reforms capable of activating all factors that

will seriously implement agrarian reform. This is best done through the speedy dispensation justice that is devoid of political color and solely based on the merits of the case.

We call on the government to activate an efficient agrarian reform program which is respectful of the people’s needs for justice and answers in an adequate way their needs for integral development. Both former President Cory Aquino and President Benigno Aquino III promised the distribution of the land during their election campaigns. But now, PNoy is taking a hands-off stance on the issue on the account of his owning only “insignificant” share in the HLI. If the so-called compromise agreements hold out, the farmers will end up, after five decades without land, without jobs and in deep poverty, with only 1,400 hectares out of the original 6,443, while the Cojuangcos get to keep 4,227 hectares (about 800 hectares having been sold or used by HLI). This, certainly, is not what agrarian justice is about.

As president of the people, PNoy can no longer stay neutral on this issue. We call upon him to intervene on the side of the farmers. Whatever decision he arrives at will have huge moral and political implications particularly on the current peace process with National Democratic Front (NDF) in which agrarian reform is a central issue, and on the poor’s reception of his affirmations that he is for the poor. As President, he “swore to preserve and defend (the) Constitution and execute its laws.” The Constitution categorically states that the farmers should get the land based on their “right to own directly or collectively the lands they till.”

The resolution of the Hacienda Luisita case is a test of the administration’s political will. It will send a strong signal for the successful, or failed, implementation of agrarian reform. The administration will have moral high ground in distributing the remaining 1 million hectares of agricultural lands if the President’s own landholding will be given back to its rightful beneficiaries.

Finally, we recognize the important role of the civil societies and lay faithful in the promotion and delivery of social justice. We call on the people to support the farmers and take up their campaign against SDO and the lifting of the TRO on compulsory acquisition of Hacienda Luista. We bid everyone to recognize the divine presence in each other, particularly in those who are without "voices or choices" in their lives. We continue to pray that there will be peaceful resolution to the issue of Hacienda Luisita and that the farmer may finally be able to enjoy the fruits of the land. Let us face the future bound together by the faith, hope and charity that is our legacy as children of God.

For the Social Action Network,

BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
National Director of CBCP-NASSA
June 11, 2011

CARP 23rd anniversary

Today CARP (Comprehensive Land Reform Program) celebrates its 23rd anniversary. I celebrated mass outside of the DAR office this afternoon. We were only a handful – some 40 persons, but the variety of the groups present well made up for the small number. There were people from DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform), farmers from Pampanga, Tarlac, Aurora, Quezon and southern Tagalog. There was a group of Aetas from Porac. Present too were workers from many support NGOs, seminarians, a religious sister, two priests and some media people. All were gathered, decrying the slow implementation of Land Reform in the country, yet hoping that with enough mix of goodwill and political will many more will benefit from this asset reform. CARP is not a failure. Many have benefited from it but its implementation has much to be desired due to corruption, political maneuverings of landed political families and the greed of big business. It is sad though that there is not enough support from the public at present for the proper implementation of this program, which has still 3 years of life with the passage of the CARPER (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reform) two years ago.

Our main concern this afternoon was the Hacienda Luisita case. It has been in the Supreme Court since 2005. It had been decided both by the DAR and the PARC (Presidential Agrarian Reform Council) that the stock distribution option of the Hacienda Luisita was a failure and the land should be physically subdivided to the farmer beneficiaries according to the real intention of CARP. However at the behest of the Cojuangcos the Supreme Court issued a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order). All this time, for almost 6 years, more than 10,000 farmers suffer want and even hunger while the Conjuancos continue to benefit from the land. And the Supreme Court is taking its sweet time with the TRO! There is talk that it will issue its decision – at last! But will the decision be for justice for the poor or be a political concession in legal jargon for the powers that be? The resolution of the Hacienda Luisita case will give the tenor on the seriousness of the government, the whole government mechanism, to fulfill the mandate of CARP or not. Agrarian reform had been the centerpiece of the program of the late President Cory – and the Hacienda Luisita has been a glaring taint on her seriousness to implement this centerpiece program. Will Hacienda Luisita continue to taint the seriousness of PNOY to serve the poor? This we are eager to see!!!

We prayed in the mass this afternoon that the Supreme Court will uphold its integrity and not compromise itself and offer the poor as collateral damage in the political games being played!