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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Federal Snake Oil
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on July 14, 2008 For the Standard Today, July 15 issue Those who claim that "federalism is an idea whose time has come" or that "there is nothing wrong with federalism" � without offering a shred of empirical evidence to justify their statements � can be forgiven their naivete since they are merely parroting the official party line. But those who are actively pushing for federalism as a political advocacy have no excuse or alibi, other than political expediency, to explain their positions. Sen. Nene Pimentel, principal author of Senate Resolution no.10, seeks to engineer a shift to the federal form of government before the end of President Arroyo's term in June 2010, and he wants it done through a kami-kami lang constituent assembly (ConAss), not through a nationally elected constitutional convention (ConCon). It can be foreseen that the question will be raised on whether the Lower House and the Senate will vote separately or as one body, and that this question will be raised to the Supreme Court for a decision. And based on its most recent major decision � that on Romulo Neri's use of executive privilege - it can be assumed that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Arroyo government, namely that the ConAss should vote as one body. In such a unicameral body, even if it includes six or seven senators eyeing the presidency or the vice-presidency in 2010, the numbers would be overwhelmingly in favor of Lakas and Kampi, which will dictate the thrust of the ConAss and determine its goals.. Which will certainly include a simultaneous shift to the parliamentary system, which is at present being pushed in the provinces by a road show organized and led by Albay Gov. Joey "Lucky Bitch" Salceda. This two-pronged campaign is meant to give President Arroyo the constitutional right to stay in power beyond 2010, either as prime minister or as president without term limits.. And if Sen. Pimentel cannot see that, then he is either more na�ve than I thought he was, or he is actually complicit in building a Trojan Horse for President Arroyo. Sen. Pimentel should know that people are speculating that his reward for building this Trojan Horse is that his son Koko would be "allowed to win" his electoral protest against Migz Zubiri. And what is his motivation for pushing for a shift to a federal union? In his Senate Resolution no. 10, he alleges that such a shift would "spur economic growth." This is na�ve and uninformed. It suggests that a unitary state is not capable of spurring economic growth, at all or at least not one of sufficient strength. In my rebuttal to Sen. Pimentel in Ricky Carandang's TV program "The Big Picture", I named the countries in East and Southeast Asia which have achieved phenomenal economic growth as unitary states: Japan, which joined the First World in the 1960s; South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, which joined the First World in the 1990s; China and Vietnam, which for the past decade or (in the case of China) two, have registered the fastest economic growth rates in the entire world; and Thailand, which has been growing faster than the Philippines in the past 30 years, although both countries were about equal in all economic indicators in the 1970s. The Philippines used to be superior to all these countries (except Japan) in standard of living and economic growth until the late 1960s. There are only two countries in this part of the world that are federal unions: Malaysia and Myanmar. One is a success, the other is a failure. Contrary to the fatuous claims of federalists, federalism, by itself, is not a guarantee of economic success. So there is nothing wrong with the unitary state and there is no need to change it. It is the people running the Philippine unitary state that need to be changed. But by pushing for a ConAss before June 2010, Sen. Pimentel helps guarantee that the trapos and political dynasts who have been running the Philippine unitary state to the ground for the past 30 years will continue to run it to the ground after 2010. The rationale that federalism "will spur economic growth" in the Philippines is based purely on wishful thinking. Sen. Pimentel offers no empirical evidence for making such claims. So is another of his claims, aired in his interview with Ricky Carandang at the time of Ces Drilon's kidnapping, that a federal union may reduce kidnapping. What utter nonsense. Ms. Drilon's kidnappers were motivated solely by criminal greed, not by any longing for a federal union. Crime has no ideology. Three of Third World countries with the highest crime rates are Brazil, Mexico and South Africa � all federal unions. The industrialized democracy with the highest number of crimes in the world committed with handguns (more than 11,000 a year) is the USA, another federal union. On the other hand, countries with the lowest crime rates in the world are: Japan (about 100 crimes a year committed with handguns) and Singapore, and the five Scandinavian countries, all unitary states. Sen. Pimentel and his federal confederates are even blaming the alleged slow delivery of aid to the victims of Typhoon Frank on alleged defects of the unitary state, claiming that such aid would have arrived faster under a federal union. Again, what utter nonsense! The whole world admires how China has been able to cope successfully with one natural disaster after another, even as it feverishly makes preparations to host the Summer Olympics in August 2008. First there was unusually heavy snowfall last February which stranded 5.2 million passengers in airports and railway stations as they vainly tried to go home for Chinese New Year. Then there was the earthquake in Chengdu in May that killed more than 70,000 people and destroyed five million homes. Followed by heavy floods in southern China in June that displaced more than a million people. And in July, the seacoast off the city of Tsingdao � site of the Olympic yachting events � was covered by a thick carpet of algae bloom that is taking more than two weeks to remove by hand. Disasters that were swiftly and efficiently attended to by the Chinese unitary state. Compare that record with Myanmar, which has been a federal union since independence in 1948. More than two whole months after a cyclone devastated the Irrawaddy River delta and killed 78,000 people, dead bodies remain unattended, decomposing in the open fields and entire villages are still without adequate food, water, medicine and housing, as reported yesterday (July 14) by Betty Nguyen on CNN. If Myanmar is too poor to cite as an example, try a major First World city that was ripped apart in August 2006 by a severe weather disturbance. About 80 percent of its area was flooded, 204,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 800,000 residents were forced to flee. The national government was also criticized for mismanagement, delayed response and lack of preparations. More than six months and $41 billions later, the national (federal) government finally declared in January 2007 that "the City of New Orleans has been successfully returned to its pre-Katrina state." To which a critic added:�"of decay and deterioration�and its streets are again safe for poverty and vice�" Like snake oil salesmen, Sen. Pimentel and his confederates are making outlandish claims for their magic tonic, without offering any empirical evidence to support their claims, that it will spur economic growth; that it may reduce kidnapping, that it will guarantee speedy disaster relief. Anyone who believes these claims might as well also believe in Santa Claus.. ***** TONY ON YouTube: My interview with Ricky Carandang on federalism can now be seen on YouTube. Go to www.tapatt.org. Click Tony on YouTube. Then scroll down. Or you can go directly to the following URLs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm5PgbiIzRM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEFhcAe_Eac Reactions to [email protected]. More articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com. . To subscribe, send as blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to "Federal Snake Oil" Reactions to "Lucky and Amoral?" Senator Pimentel's proposal for the Philippines to rush headlong into a parliamentary (actually, he is pushing for federalism. ACA)) system, on the specious rationalization or justification that the shift will "spur economic growth," is a non sequitur of mind-boggling dimensions! I do not think Senator Pimentel is naive. I choose to think that he and his supporters are savvy traditional politicos. I seriously suspect, however, that they have a Machiavellian design percolating in their minds. My sense is that the type of government--whether presidential, federal, or what have you--in reality has nothing to do with whether or not a system is capable of spurring economic growth. Any system, whether presidential or federal, or whether democratic or autocratic, has the potential to spur economic growth. The decisive criterion, the desideratum, is whether or not a country's leaders have the imagination, the knowledge, the character, the drive or compulsion and the leadership qualities to navigate the difficult transition from rags to riches--on the model of Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia. A country which is held in the vise-like grip of a predatory politico-economic elite--such as the Philippines--can make the shift from presidential to federal, then back again from federal to presidential, or from federal to autocratic or monarchical, or from monarchical back to presidential--but all that effort will be bound to be "all sound and fury, signifying nothing." The decisive criterion, the desideratum, is simply not there. Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers, NY, July 15, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, Tony, Your thinking on retaining the current unitary form of government at this time before the elections in 2010 should be spread fast and widely. The public is entitled to weigh and compare the present system which is a traditionally established style versus a change to the federal which for the Philippines would be an experiment. Since both have their dangers, the logical action should be to reform and fix the shortcomings of what is already tried and true. Failure with something one is already acquainted with may be easier to remedy than failure in an experiment, where unexpected problems may crop up, and for which solutions would be even more uncertain. It is also likely that correcting old, known errors is easier than searching for solutions in unforeseen challenges. In reality, either form of government has been proven to succeed as well as fail, depending on the circumstances in the various countries where they have been applied, as you have well pointed out. In any form of government, it is the personal integrity of the leaders which dictates whether corruption will be tolerated or not. Fomenting corruption is one major cause of poverty and discontent, which leads to upheaval from the masses, no matter what form of government there is. We hope Filipinos will put in more fuel to strengthen their determination to solve problems in the present unitary system until after 2010. Not with federal snake oil but with unitary enlightenment. Lourdes M. Ceballos, (by email), July 16, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, The three main factors that pull us down are too much greed, lack of love for our country and fellow Filipinos, and Filipinos who are un-Christian Christians. We will never catch up with our neighboring countries - unless there is a positive change in our hearts and minds. More power to you. Hector Tarrazona, (by email), July 16, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Over the years I have found your writings and opinions to be of the highest degree of objectivity and humanity. I have an overseas group called 'Global Catandunganons' that believe in a lot of things righteous, and we subscribe to the idealism as well as the reality of your views and intentions. We kind of believe that one effective campaign we could do to lift our country in the filthy quagmires of greedy politics and evil government leadership is for overseas compatriots to work and deal with current issues within their own backyards, their own provinces that is. Our respective home provinces teems with respective clans, families, friends and constituents whose eyes and senses we can readily open, a home province where transparency of official corruption are easily perceived, unmasked and even prosecuted and where even the effects of vote buying or selling could be easily blunted by the advocacy of one overseas group of every province, and where political manipulations could be less effective. specially with the vigilance and advocacy and monitoring of an overseas group. We find your writings as those of Perry Diaz and courageous others to be veritable issues that we can help disseminate in our respective provinces and achieve our common ends of helping that part of humanity that is our people. We would therefore ask your kind permission to allow our group to forward or dessiminate your articles to be re-printed more specifically in the only credible newspaper in our province, The CATANDUANES TRIBUNE, owned and published by an upright breed of a journalist-Fernan Gianan. Rest assured that if you will allow us to do this we will contribute to achieving the common intentions we have to free our country from the snakes of the world thriving on the blood of our poor, hungry, sick, weak, voiceless and oppressed people. We would also asked Perry Diaz and the rest of the writers to allow us to do the same for their. We will make attempts to contact them. In the meantime, kindly forward them this email if you may have a chance just in case we may not be able to personally establish contact with them. Thank you. Take care and God bless Jose Balmadrid, [email protected], July 16, 2008 Global Catandunganons , Illinois, USA wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Sir Tony, So we're back with the federalism issue. I totally agree with you that no matter what form of government system we have in this country - nothing will change if it's the same bunch of monkeys running the show. Character, integrity, honesty, the willingness to serve, sincerity, transparency, accountability and conscience - these things are NOT dictated by the type of system the government has. Whether its Federal, Socialist, communist, unitary, democratic, etc - if those sitting in office with the power to change and uplift the lives of the people - do not have these characteristics and qualities as a public servant nor do they have the moral integrity to do what is right and best for all, what's the point of becoming a Federal government? Selflessness and sincere public service, the delivery of basic services, the honesty to hold office, the integrity to be in that office and the trust of the people who follow them, political will to implement rules and regulations, demand service for the public - are not things a government system can dictate nor improve because these things are handled by human beings. Human beings who currently vowed to serve the public but really just attend to their own selfish egos and over-stuffed pockets. They power trip like anything yet have nothing to show for their so-called achievements in government SERVICE. I used to think our government was a government "of the people, by the people and for the people" only to wake up one faithful day that it's only for those in the party of the administration and no one else matters. This government has done one hell of a job by teaching our people to "just shut up and attend to yourselves" because it does not listen to the cries of people. It only listens to its own party. Where's the loyalty to the FILIPINO PEOPLE PARTY? Their souls have a price tag and have been bought. So where's their integrity? They shut up about the corruption in government because it's some "executive privilege". So where's their honesty and accountability? They use the funds earmarked for people's pensions and retirement benefits to buy what? Stupid Jurassic paintings of dead artists who sold their paintings outside of their own country in the first place? Yet the members have to deal with 3,000 a month on pensions? Who lives on P100 a day nowadays? Where's the "people first" policy on that attitude? They focus on their pork barrels and announce that they've used the funds for projects in provinces - so how come a lot of reports have been aired about kids walking 5 kilometers to school because there are NO ROADS in their provinces? Bridges made from rotting wood are priced at 3Million? What kind of debauchery is this? Free medicines thrown away because of expiry dates which the DOH should have given away for FREE to begin with? Those medicines could have saved a life yet they let it rot in some bodega for what? To sell? Make a fast buck? The government shies away from "population control" issues, why? They need more voters? Don't we have enough already? Don't they invent and raise dead voters as well to add to their count? Yet they complain about food shortages and supplies - less mouths to feed, more supply in the long term. More job opportunities to those who are already here and looking for jobs. This government doesn't do what's right for the people, only for what's right for itself and their own cronies. The dole outs are echoes of the French government giving their people cake to eat instead of doing something right. Where's the "give the man fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he will never go hungry" mentality? This government teaches the poor to WAIT for dole outs instead of telling them to stop mass-producing babies and give them jobs so they can fend for themselves. I heard a friend of mine state - If this government will hand out money for the 'poor', I'll just stop working and laze around and wait for the next dole out. The only reason 'minimum wage' isn't enough is because how many kids do average families have today? 3? 4? 5? Let's face it - the lesser number of children a couple has - the better for their economic state in life. So why is the government shying away from this issue? They are really sick. In another topic - with a history like Sulpicio - isn't anyone wondering why this company is still operating after the 2nd sea disaster in it's resume? Anyone who had any sense of morality would have canceled their shipping license on the 2nd incident yet what? The passengers of this 4th sea disaster with Sulpicio really went to the stars together with their hopes and dreams. And Sulpicio is still operating with a 4th disaster to its credit. Does anyone even bother to ask why? How come? What is this shipping line's hold on the government that they are still operating after such a sting of disasters? Federalism won't change how lousy our ports are operated and how many shipping lines cut corners to make a fast buck at the cost of human lives. Human error and faulty judgment call is not dependent on Federalism. If Pimentel wants to prolong his political career and not lose his moral ascendancy, let alone be written in history as a Trojan horse, if he wants to continuously hold office in government, he should rethink what he's pushing for and maybe get out of his government issued vehicle and ride the MRT/LRT during rush hour and then let him tell the people Federalism is the way to go. Tell all the other politicians to stop with their escorts and LEARN to get stuck in traffic like the rest of us, let them be examples to 'conserving' energy' before they even sum up the balls to tell people to conserve energy. MAUNA SILA. In a nut shell, if the country is in such a mess, who's running it anyway? The people are not to be blamed for economic disasters and shortages in food supplies - who's in government anyway? Aren't they the ones elected to MANAGE this country? They don't manage this country, they bleed it dry. Federalism or not - until we the people put people of unquestionable moral integrity and honesty in the highest seats in this country, who serve the people and not those who placed them in power or their own parties - this country is forever doomed to suffer the fates brought about by government officials who only cater to their own personal agenda. Best regards, Jenifer Xavier, (by email), July 16, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I still don't agree with the Senator nor with any of the Admin officials on changing the form of government. Though, I agree with their statements that we need to change the Constitution but I think it must be focus on decoupling of the hindrances in our economy and the spread of representation among all Filipinos not just focusing on one area like what we have now. I agree with you that we need to improve our Unitary state. But, I also would like to bring up on the bicameral system where I think is not helping our country. I would suggest that we have a two party system where we can vote who will be a nominee for the party as a member of that party and let all Filipinos vote for two nominees from the two parties just like in the US. Or, we can have a unicameral system where every region can be well represented thru the districts. Or I agree with your suggestion that Senators must be voted by region but I must also suggest that we don't need so much political party so that our politicians won't have to "baling-bing" or transfer from one party to another. I think the best way to improve our economy is by focusing on areas we are good at like shipping industry, IT industry, Services Industry, and others. We also need to develop our own industry like R&D on better Jeepneys then export it, R&D on science and technology and its applications, solar related industries, and protect the local industries that are thriving like those of the Furniture industry, Export Industries, and Fashion � related industries. But, we must have a good R&D base and a good pool of talented workforce to continue to survive in the global economy. Jerahmeel Fandrall Chen, (by email), July 16, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, Hi Tony, Again, I am amazed of our so-called thinkers in the political landscape. Do they not see the sign, that GMA is determined to stay forever? Just look what she is doing now. Instead of using all that money from EVAT kuno, of creating jobs and let those people who have no jobs to work for a fee, she is giving it in the form of subsidies - subsidies my foot. Do they not see that there is a hidden agenda there! Come on Pinoys! Use your common sense, if you still have one. Thanks, Tony, and more power! Bert Celera, (by email), July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, Myanmar You make an example of Myanmar as a federal country. Under its military rule, Myanmar is about as federal as the late German Democratic Republic was democratic. They can call themselves federal for all the world but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Burmese States do not function as States would in a real federal system. They are mere administrative units ruled by the military chain of command or hierarchy. Their State languages have even been disenfranchised and marginalized in true Jacobinist fashion. Another reason for not including Burma in the list is, it was supposed to be federal from inception or independence, like India and Pakistan.. (Which proves my point that it does not matter whether a country calls itself unitary or federal. Its economic success depends on the economic policies that it pursues. Myanmar chose to follow what it calls the "Burmese Road to Socialism," an autarkic system that shows no interest in importing or exporting anything. Whether unitary or federal, Myanmar would remain a failure. ACA) South Africa Contrary to what you said, the then Union of South Africa was a unitary state rather than a federation: "The Union of South Africa came into being on 31 May 1910, comprising four states representing the British and Boer populations of South Africa following the end of the Boer War in 1902. The two British colonies, the Cape Colony and Natal Colony, were combined with the two defeated Boer states, the South African Republic and Orange Free State, known thereafter as the Cape Province, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State, respectively. Unlike Canada and Australia, the Union was a unitary state, rather than a federation." That was the South Africa of apartheid days. Post apartheid South Africa, it is true, does not call itself federal. But it has a federal fiscal system which makes it very similar to Spain. Further, the upper chamber of the South African legislature is composed exclusively of representatives of the Provinces. And more impoirtantly, post apartheid South Africa has eleven official languages and nine constitutionaly recognized non-official "national languages" which have official local use in the communities spoken. South Africa is an economic powerhouse in the southern half of Africa, if not of all Africa. (South Africa was an economic powerhouse even before apartheid was abolished. That's because 10% of its population were/are whites, who provided the technical skills and social/economic/political values, inherited from their British and Dutch ancestors, with which they built a successful quasi-European state at the tip of Black Africa, whether they classified themselves as a federal or unitary state. Again, my point is that being federal or unitary is immaterial. What is more important is the economic strategy and policies that it pursues. ACA) . Spain For historical and psychological reasons, Spain does not call itself federal. But, like South Africa, it has fiscal federalism. Also the functions and areas of responsibility and jurisdiction of the central government and the comunidades autonomas are clearly spelled out in the Constitution exactly like in overtly federal countries such as Germany and Australia. The Val d'Aran in Catalunya is even a special autonomous region where its language, Occitan, is official. (So? Every Spanish citizen is still required to learn Castillan in school, no matter what language or dialect he/she speaks at home. Just as every French citizen is required to learn Metropolitan French in school, every Chinese citizen is required to learn Mandarin in school, every German citizen is required to learn High German in school, every Indonesian citizen is required to learn Bahasa Indonesia in school, etc�.even if they speak a different language or dialect at home. ACA) India In talking about China. Korea and Japan as centralist states, you forgot to mention India, the economic powerhouse of the subcontinent, and which is federal. I did not include India in my list as India had been federal right from the start. It also has fifteen official languages. (India is in South Asia. It is not a part of East and Southeast Asia, which was the area that I was writing about. India was indeed federal since independence in 1947. But for years India was an economic laggard like the Philippines, saddled as it was with Jawaharlal Nehru's preferred model of Fabian Socialism. India became a powerhouse only in recent years, under the economic management of then Finance Minister (1991-1996), now Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (since 2004), who, contrary to the tenets of Fabian Socialism, welcomed foreign direct investments, deregulation, open markets, and privatization of many state enterprises. The choice in economic strategy and policies is really more important than being federal or unitary. ACA) Pakistan I did not mention Pakistan as it was also federal right from the start. The series of coups and military rule made it closer to Burma and its federalism merely a matter of empty form, just words. More damaging, its Urdu only policy led to the break-away of West Bengal and the formation of Bangladesh. Unlike neighboring India with which it shared many aspects of culture, Pakistan failed to recognize multiculturalism and respect for linguistic diversity. (Like Myanmar, Pakistan proves that federalism does not guarantee immunity from military take-over. Pakistan has been under military rule for 30 of its 60 years as an independent country. Federal Yugoslavia, which you also did not mention, shows that being federal also does not guarantee peaceful co-existence among sectarian-ethno-linguistic groups. Radavan Karadzic, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, has just been captured and will be made to answer for his role in the genocide from 1992 to 1995 which killed 300,000 people, as Serbs sought to ethnically cleanse Muslims (and, to a lesser extent, Croats) from the disintegrating Yugoslav federal union. (Of the twelve countries in your list as examples of "successful" federalism, only two � Ethiopia and Nepal � mirror what you and Sen. Pimentel want the Philippines to do, namely to shift from a unitary state to a federal union. Ethiopia is having its umpteenth famine in 15 years, and Nepal is now controlled by Maoists. Do you really think Ethiopia and Nepal serve as desirable role models for the Philippines? ACA) Best regards, Manuel Lino G. Faelnar, (by email), July 20, 2008 Chairman for Language and Culture, Federalist Forum of the Philippines wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Reactions to "Lucky and Amoral?" Tony: You're right on the money. GMA's tactics have been: buy Congress, deny the opposition, shut-up her followers, bully the whistle-blowers and now, show Godliness to the Bishops. As for the run away population growth, that may be what she wanted all along to have more chaos and more justification for emergency powers. Wasn't there a thought that circulated not too long ago that an economic upheaval will threaten the nation's survival which would then justify martial law? Her looking beyond 2010 may be a matter of self-preservation on her part. Look at all the presidentiables, even those from her party. Do you see anyone who will be loyal enough to protect her behind once she leaves office? Her case could be ERAP II without the pardon. Dan Jimenez, (by email), July 17, 2008 Dan, Mel & Jim "The greatest failure is that never attempted." wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya, You are so right that the European countries are way below replacement level. This has been going on for years. Why were Germany and Russia left off? Because they are not "Catholic" countries? Even the Philippines is not at or beyond replacement. (Neither Germany nor Russia is "predominantly Roman Catholic," although 34% of Germans are Roman Catholics. The Philippines' 1.91% population growth rate is a long way from Catholic Poland's zero percent, where as many people are being born as are dying. ACA) Anyway, it is partly the use of "birth control" products that keeps the populations down. But mostly it is abortion used as birth control that is devestating Europe and now South America. (Where are your data to support this claim? Why would the Europeans resort to abortion when they can easily prevent unwanted pregnancies? ACA) The problem with all "reproductive health" bills is that they tend to want to include surgical abortion as a means of reproductive "health". Since when is health maintained by killing nascent life? (Since when is the use of condoms equivalent to abortion? ACA) In addition, there are only three true contraceptives-abstinance, the condom and spermicides. Only one is 100% effective for preventing pregnancy or disease. The rest of birth control - abortion, "the Pills", and IUDs are potentially abortifacient and can cause conceived human life to die. When "reproductive health" is foisted on a population it is handing them a stone instead of bread. Because of "reproductive health" Europe is dying. From your statistics it looks like South America isn't far behind. Is that what you really want for "Philippines, my Philippines"? (My ideal world would be one with zero population growth rate, like Catholic Poland's, in which as many people are born as are dying. But the reality is the global population is growing at about one percent a year, according to BBC News stats cited in my article "Too Many People," of April 14, 2008. From 6.1 billion in 2000, the global population is expected to reach 9.2 billion in 2050. Based on the trends in 2007, most of the additional 3.l billion people will be impoverished Black Africans, possibly jihadist Muslims, and some Roman Catholics, in the Philippines and Central America. At this rate, the global population will be 100 billion by the year 2400. ACA) One last question, do your statistics exclude the Muslim populations in all of those countries-including yours? (No. ACA) Perhaps MRS Arroyo does believe it is wrong to kill off nascent life in the Phillippines. Just because people disobey God's laws, doesn't make them go away. Shelah Bellis Hockman, (by email), Owosso, Michigan, July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I am livid with Joey Salceda's wishy-washy stance regarding an extremely serious national issue. He seems clueless and afraid of GMA. What a weakling tuta who wags his tail at the mercy of her highness. I am equally disturbed at GMA's hard stance on this subject as if to show us she is morally strong ? That is new! Mrs. President- Birth Control Whether Natural or Artificial is not a MORAL ISSUE. It is an accountability and responsibility issue. If controlled properly, no human tissue is being killed or destroyed. Only semen, period. So if your poor, irresponsible rabbits wish to compound and multiply their sexual urges, I say, follow natural birth control or use rubbers. What is immoral is to allow irresponsible parents to justify their actions of bringing babies into this world justifying through the grace of God. It is not and it will never be. It is not a right either. To see mistreated, malnutrition, abused, sick and dying babies as a result, it is murder of the worst kind. The right way is for responsible parents to bring children into this world to love them, care for them and give them the very best health, education and opportunities they could receive. It is an economic, population, environmental and social problem. It impacts on economic, financial and national growth, including social services and education growth. Mrs. President please stop being a bleeding heart. Step up to the plate and be a hero for once. Do the right thing for the country. You look much shorter. Perhaps weighted down by so much kickbacks in your you know what. Thank you Tony, Oscar Apostol, (by email), Roseville, CA, July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Well, Tony, the problem really with government officials is that they dance to the tune of popularity. I am for the control of population growth in this country for the simple reason of mathematics. More mouths to feed, more problems for anyone, both for the the poor and the rich. I think the CPCB's thought process of birth control is to kill persons eh. As of the moment, if we can pursue in minimizing the population increase, I think the country can move forward in the future. Yun lang, we just have a weak president who will do things kung anu yung sikat. It's a sad state for us tax-burdened Pinoys. Mike Delgado, (by email), July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Mr. Abaya, it seem you are so eager to mock Catholic teachings? Perhaps your research and innate intelligence gave you special knowledge of the truth and morality. So do you think Catholics should use pills and condoms? (Hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world do, without any prompting from me. ACA) Do you advise them not to hear mass anymore? How about Muslims, do you advise them to eat pork? How about beef for Hindus? (As far as I'm concerned, a person who habitually cheats, lies and steals is not a moral person, no matter how often he/she hears Mass or say the Rosary, no matter what quaint dietary laws he/she observes, no matter what he/she thinks of birth control. ACA) Better yet, perhaps, we can join your religion? Yes, that one that does not respect the others..(Forcing others to hear only the Roman Catholic view on birth control, which is what the CBCP wants, is not a sign of respect for others. ACA). Sef Dudeo, (by email), California, July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Everyone, May I also say something on the issue of family planning�though I am past my child-bearing years? I follow the teaching of the Church in Humanae Vitae. I agree that every sexual act must be open to the procreation of life. Every sexual union between spouses should allow the Hand of God to fashion life in a woman's womb, if the Creator so desires. But I respect everybody's right to follow their conscience and determine what's best for them. The duty of both the Church hierarchy and the State is to provide enough education, moral and otherwise--not amoral-- to prepare the couple for an enlightened self-determination. Natural method of birth control is not easy. But the capacity for self-denial and sacrifice is the measure of our quality as human beings. The natural family planning method imposes tremendous amount of discipline. The practice makes us fully human�capable of living up to our noble calling as human beings endowed with the use of reason, self control and will power. The exercise and the regulation can make sex divine. Not "sinfully delightful" as Gov. Salceda opines. Yours in Christ, Grace Rinoza-Plano, (by email), July 17, 2008 Reach Beyond Your Range wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Because PGMA is scared of the CBCP backlash to solve the population problem, the easiest and most simple thing for her to do is: Ask the CBCP what they could do to help or recommend to reduce the population overgrowth. Shall we just as well pass a "People's Population Control Initiative" wherein the CBCP will be forced to adopt a 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. child born to every couple who cannot feed more than 3 kids, out of the CBCP's love for extra babies, and feed and educate them till they reach 18 years old?. Get the expert solution from CBCP, Madam President! Marlowe Camello, (by email), Homeland, CA, July 18, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony I am reacting to your statement mocking Roman Catholics about our prayers and beliefs and our bedroom struggles to pursue a pro-life attitude, no matter how difficult it may seem to you and many who may doubt that man's struggle has a divine value. There is a slim line giving an objective comment on data regarding population growth and making a very unkind collective statement about our beliefs, our devotion to the Mother Mary,and the decisions we take in the privacy of our bedrooms as a Family and Couple. Tony, please do not misunderstand us, we are not for just wildly and irresponsibly increasing our children. I have six children and have planned really for a large family as I came from a family where we saw our children as blessings and not just another mouth to feed or to send to school. It hurts me to hear this from you. This is not just a matter of statistics. The TRUTH OF THE COMMON GOOD IS SELFLESS LOVE. Ang Kabutihan Panglahat.. No other way. Eric Manalang, (by email), July 17, 2008 Ang Kapatiran Party (In insisting on an anachronistic attitude on birth control, which hundreds of millions of its own members ignore, the Catholic Church should not be surprised if there is snickering in the back pews and outside the church. This is no different from its insistence for centuries that the Earth was the center of universe, even after Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno taught that the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun. (The Inquisition forced Galileo to recant his "heresy" and placed him under house arrest until the old man died in 1642. The younger Bruno was burned at stake in 1600. The Catholic Church did not admit and apologize for its mistake until the year 2000, through Pope John Paul II. Perhaps 350-400 years from now, when the global population reaches 100 billion [see above] a pope will also admit the Church's mistake on birth control and apologize for it. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I think you went overboard in your vain attempt to ridicule Catholics. In the process you only displayed the height of your (intellectual) dishonesty and arrogance by saying "It is obvious that hundreds of millions of Roman Catholic couples around the world ignore their bishops, their cardinals and their Pope on the issue of birth control. . . ." How can you say that with certainty or with an honest mind? Maybe you are just as certain as your belief in the "cause" of Trillanes, Lozada and maybe even Lacson. (So you don't believe that hundreds millions of Roman Catholics disagree with the Roman Catholic Church on birth control. There have been surveys done on this, and when I dig them up, I will discuss it in this space. But then, of course, you will not accept them because obviously the pollsters had not been enlightened by the Holy Spirit. (Tell me, how did Trillanes, Lozada and Lacson get involved in this discussion, anyway? In my archive www.tapatt.org, I have three articles about Trillanes [2007] and 15 articles about Ping Lacson [2000 to 2005]. I challenge you to cite one article that could be construed as supportive of the "cause" of Trillanes or Lacson. (As for Lozada, I do not deny that I admire him for his candor in admitting under oath his acts of wrongdoing, which is refreshing and reassuring, compared to the deliberate evasiveness of Romulo Neri and Gloria Arroyo about theirs. ACA) Please do not make fun of our sacramentals and our praying the Rosary. I am not what you might call a "Catholic fundamentalist" but I draw the line when my belief is attacked or made fun of. Your taunting of our faith might just make you "all dressed up with nowhere to go" when your time comes, Tony. OK, this time I'm saying that in jest. But don't be so sure of yourself now, pal! (It applies to you as well, pal. ACA). Anyway, you may find this hard to believe, but we Catholics care for your soul too, Tony. (I never asked you to, so don't bother. ACA) GOD is real! (Real also are the crimes committed in God's name. ACA) E. J. T.Tirona, (by email), Paranaque City, July 18, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, Once again your avid German reader can't hold his mouth shut, because you hit it right on the head again and the issue is close to my heart. Since years I am getting increasingly upset about the way in which religious groups � regardless of their faith � try to monopolize morality and connect it to their various religious beliefs, pretending it to be the basis for a civilized and successful society. By this theory, those states or societies, who follow strict religious rules, or have even made religious aspects part of their civil code of conduct, should be the most harmonious, have the lowest crime rates, the highest education and the most honest and transparent governments, right? By contrast, those nations who pay little attention to their citizens faith � dastardly infidels � should be the purgatory to hell. Unfortunately, the sheer facts prove completely otherwise. The most 'religious' countries are the ones run by crooks, exhibit the cruelest and most blatant disregard for human rights and have run-away crime, environmental degradation and exploding populations. On the other hand, if you look at the Scandinavian countries and a few other European states in central Europe as well , one will find that they take care of their people, educate them well, protect their citizens from harm by an honest and efficient police force and have governments, which are held accountable to their people. They have learned to manage their resources, take care of their environment and work together to solve the problems that they still have to solve. But they don't give a hoot about religion. What are the true, but undoubtfully evil motives of these people? It obviously can't be morality, since that is only for those who have a particular faith, correct? What a load of crap this is. Morality comes from the basic, uncorrupted and inherent goodness of people, not from any particular faith. What precisely one believes in is totally immaterial, for as long as it coerces people to a behaviour that benefits all. Altruism is not the domain of religious people alone but lies at the heart of every human being, before they get sucked into all sorts of vices and corruption, drunk with power or delusions. As to the population problem in the Philippines, I have said this before. If the Church or the government does not want to act on this, nature will. Any overpopulation that ever occurred at any species throughout the ages, was invariably met by a die-off. The current scarcity of energy in the world poses already huge problems for developed countries. In a country like the Philippines this can spell the end very quickly. A society that depends largely on resources from other countries � be that energy or food � will quickly find out that when those resources are no longer forthcoming, or are no longer affordable, what it means to have outgrown the resource base. Unfortunately, the morons who are parading themselves off as government and our leaders here, will be the first to run to those countries where they stashed their loot, when this country descends into anarchy.Regards. Ulrich Bosse, (by email), Antipolo, Rizal, July 19, 2008 Writing from Queensland, Australia wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Editor: The Catholic Church, defenders of superstition and obscurantism, is at it again, threatening with ex-communication etc. all those who advocate family planning. Please ponder on the following: Just as Hitler would have been extolled as a 'pro-life hero' had he been successful in his career - even though in fact he was profoundly anti-life - so too the late Karol Wojtyla, aka Pope John Paul II, is being praised for his 'culture of life,' even though his every action has redounded to the renunciation of life and a welcoming embrace of death. There is hardly a problem facing humankind today that is not either caused by overpopulation or exacerbated by it. The fuel shortage, the water shortage, the food shortage, the depletion of fisheries, the clear-cutting and burning of the rain forests and boreal forests, the nearly ubiquitous pollution of our environment, global warming, wide-scale flooding and droughts: all can be shown to be the result of too many people altering a too-little world. The Catholic doctrine that every sexual act must 'be open to life' thus leads inexorably to death. It seems hardly arguable that with overpopulation the value of individual lives becomes correspondingly less. Overpopulation is everywhere and always the enemy of liberty and freedom. --- Frank R. Zindler Carlos Esteban, (by email), July 17, 2008 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww All reactions to [email protected]. Tony on YouTube can be watched at www.tapatt.org To subscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a blank email with the subject heading Unsubscribe. |