An eleven-man panel of theologians and canon lawyers was recently appointed by His Holiness Pope Francis to study ways “to make annulment of Catholic marriages simpler.” The Vatican disclosed further that while the commission will try to “simplify and streamline the annulment procedure,” it will safeguard the principle of the indissolubility of marriage. Feared to open the floodgate of divorce in places where it is not yet lawful, Catholics across the globe are apparently divided on this stance, though.
This issue that is stirring reactions among Catholics who either live as couples outside the ambit of law or are enduring a miserable thorny relationship is likewise believed to create debate at the synod on the family called by Pope Francis at Vatican on October 5-19.
While civil courts grant annulment of marriages or divorce, when recognized, on not quite stringent grounds, the Roman Catholic Church allows this annulment on certain circumstances such as in situation of marriages called void ab initio or invalid right from the very beginning. Even if the Catholics who marry under Roman Catholic Church rites have obtained a decree of divorce in civil courts, such annulment is not automatically recognized by the Church. Thus this necessitates another annulment procedure in the Roman Catholic Church’s matrimonial tribunal.
Absent the Church decree of annulment, the couple who has earlier obtained a same decree from civil courts is considered married in the eyes of God, thus considered living in sin if they eventually remarry without a prior annulment of their marriage by the church. And this could be one valid ground for said couple to be denied reception of the Holy Host during communion.
This sanction, nevertheless, is more in the breach than compliance as it is too cumbersome for the priests, nuns or Eucharistic ministries to determine who to discriminate during communion. Worst, discriminating communicants is rationally opposed to the Church call for mercy and compassion. This is reason for the clergy to just the same feed the communicants with the “body of Christ.”
Pope Francis’ position in relaxing the rules for annulment of marriages in the Catholic Church is at this early time anticipated by some Filipino Catholics as unlocking the portal to divorce in the country and all its effects, including the unholy and anti-social ones. The clergy in the Philippines, primarily the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, are strongly against divorce. The Catholic Church earlier failed to thwart the enactment of the Reproductive Health Law. It advanced the apprehension that what will come next is divorce.
Such apprehension however valid is yet premature at this moment especially with the Vatican’s pronouncement that vis-à-vis the relaxing of the rules, as broached by Vatican Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Roman Catholic Church will still uphold the dogma of indissolubility of marriage.
Marriage, in the Catholic Catechism, is the “matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it “what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Vatican web portal)
Relaxed church rules on divorce
The PCOS Issue!
I chanced upon the column at The Philippine Star, Sept. 9, 2014 issue of Bobit S. Avila’s Shooting Straight and I was rather aghast; quite worried and frustrated about the COMELEC at that reprinted letter of former congressman Glenn C. Chong addressed to the columnist detailing the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) that was allegedly manipulated to effect “massive electronic cheating” that resulted in Atty. Chong’s loss in 2010 regular elections as congressman of the lone district of Biliran.
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The group, Automated Election Systems (AES) Watch, appeared before the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) with Atty. Chong a member of the group who made stunning revelations before the committee of “documented PCOS transmission irregularities in 2010 elections in the Province of Biliran detailing therein distinct cases of unauthorized network intrusion (hacking) involving at least 10 clustered precincts in 3 municipalities where election results were received by MBOC at a time when the PCOS in question had in fact been turned off already”.
Atty. Chong further revealed in his letter to Mr. Avila that he had documented evidence of 4,114 ballots recorded by PCOS in 145 clustered precincts in Biliran province few days before Election Day of 2010.
There were other similar incidents that happened during that election as revealed by Atty Chong. One of which that he mentioned in that letter is the RTC Branch 34’s (Nueva Ecija) final decision that establishes a fact with official PCOS Count of Bro. Eddie Villanueva in 2013 elections in 3 identified clustered precincts to be short of 199 votes than the physical ballot count. Yes, an established finding.
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The Automated Election System (AES) was not just a ray of hope but a bright illumination to all and sundry that the ugly smudges of election cheating via manual voting of the past is gone. But this revelation of PCOS that can indeed be manipulated is worse than electoral cheating in the past.
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The AES group is active in watching developments. Their advocacy now assumes greater relevance especially with the plan of COMELEC to spend some P16.9 billion from our hard earned taxes to buy more PCOS machines, says Atty. Glenn Chong as contained in the letter he sent to Philippine Star columnist. Indeed something that all of us should be conscious in order not to frustrate the much ballyhooed democratic principle that it is the people’s privilege, right and duty to choose their respective leaders in governance.
VP Binay’s presidential bid in peril?
There is no doubt that the sincere desire of Vice President Jejomar Binay to become President of the republic has been shaken and could be shattered for good if nothing effective and credible moves be made to enhance his image and change the seeming ugly perceptions about his credibility now before the start of the 2016 presidential campaign. The alleged graft and corruption charges hurled at him in the past few months that regularly appear in print, seen and heard in broadcast channels nationwide have somehow eroded his once-upon-a time high credibility as a person and as a model public servant.
His address to the nation last Sept. 18 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) purportedly to explain, defend and justify the alleged overpricing of the modern parking lots in Makati that were constructed during his incumbency as mayor of Makati, was not convincing. However, it is too early to predict that the Vice President is already a goner in his presidential bid. It is still a year and a half before the 2016 elections and many developments relative to this issue will still surface that could change the present perceptions of the Filipino people about the Vice President. Besides it appears that, while there are already several presidential dreamers and hopefuls who have albeit clandestinely expressed a desire to become head of state, they still have to create a strong and convincing massive impact of acceptance from our people at this point in time.
It is still a wait and see stance on whom among them will eventually capture the imagination of Filipino electorates to vote for on Election Day. However, Vice President Jejomar Binay must appear before the blue ribbon committee to answer questions about this graft and corruption issue leveled at him to clear his name and put the issue at rest.
Food festival in Palo seen to boost local economy, says Matin

PALO, Leyte- The promotion of the native delicacies is one of the strategies of her administration is considering to help the town’s economy still suffering from the impact of supertyphoon Yolanda. Mayor Remedios “Matin” Petilla told reporters in an interview that her office has initiated the improvements and the promotion of the native delicacies as one of the livelihoods of her people. Mayor Petilla said that the food festival that she initiated would now be a regular basis unlike before that it was only stage during special occasions. The food festival is now being held every Saturday at the town plaza. Petilla said that people coming from nearby towns are coming to Palo just to buy the delicacies like the bibingka, puto, biko, lechon baboy, sulam or suman filled with ulam like humba and adobo, lechon manok, among others.
She added that not only the varieties of cooked food are regularly sold every Sunday but also fresh farm products like vegetables, bananas and root crops. Petilla said that prices of the goods at the food festival are relatively lower. She added that the food festival is not only a venue for native food shopping but also a place for family bonding and enjoyment after attending church activities. Meanwhile, Desiderio Belas, Leyte provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry, said that the food festival in Palo is a good venue for local businessmen in selling their products. Belas added that the festival also serves as the market day for the local producers and farmers are, in the process, being helped. Belas added that he is encouraging other mayors in the province to establish the same market for the native products as part of their recovery effort.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Korean humanitarian group continue to conduct medical services; now benefits 30,000 typhoon victims
TACLOBAN CITY – About 30,000 people from various parts of Leyte benefitted the medical services offered by the Korean Joint Support Group since they arrived in the province to help typhoon stricken victims.
The Korean group, also known as the Araw Contingent, was among the first foreign groups that provided assistance to the people of Leyte which bore the brunt of supertyphoon Yolanda’s wrath on November 8, 2013.
They started their operations and medical missions December last year and continue to provide free services to the people of Tacloban City, Tolosa, Tanauan, Dulag and Palo where the group put up a camp base located at the Government Center of said town.
The group conducts their free medical services inside their base camp every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with the rest of the days to the various villages. Services offered in the medical missions include dental, orthopedic, internal medicine and surgical as well as accommodate 200 general medical and 20 dental patients per day. Patients normally queue in the outpatient department to see the nursing officers and doctors for examination and medication, after which, they proceed to the pharmacy to avail of free medicines.
Imelda Palaña was identified to be the 30,000th patient of the Araw medical mission who expressed her gratitude to the Korean forces.
“I never expected that I will be the 30,000th patient and I am so blessed because I also received boxes of gifts aside from the free medicines I had. I thank them wholeheartedly,” said Palaña.
She received gifts from the Korean group consisting of foods and relief goods.
Meanwhile, Private First Class Kim Jinhyuk revealed that their reason in coming here was not only to aid the victims but also to repay what the Filipino soldiers did during the Korean War.
“It has been a great opportunity to come here, we are not just here to help but also to repay the sacrifices you made during the 1950’s Korean war,” Kim expressed.
The Araw forces will carry on their operations and medical missions until they return to their country. They are scheduled to leave by December this year. (SHAIRA VALENZONA, LNU Intern)
With over 6,000 families to be affected City housing official expressed surprise over ongoing road widening
TACLOBAN CITY- A housing official of the city government said that they have not been informed ahead by the Department of Public Works and Highways on the ongoing widening of roads that affects over 6,000 families.
Ted Jopson of the Tacloban City Housing Office said that while they were aware of the road widening of roads in the city due to the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis, their office did not received any letter from the Tacloban City Engineering District on such activity. “We have not received any formal communication from the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) Tacloban City Engineering District on the Road Widening happening in some major thoroughfare of the city,” Jopson said.
The ongoing road widening, particularly along San Jose district up to Marasbaras area, is to affect 6,178 families, many of them still reeling from the aftermath of supertyphoon Yolanda. As to the families that will be affected by the road widening, Jopson said that based on their knowledge majority of the structures that will be affected by the widening are extensions of houses so that even if this be will removed they will not be displaced. Thus, issue on relocation site is unnecessary. “Right now, our focus is how to relocate the nearly 10,000 families living within the 40 meters no dwelling zone and those who are living in the tents and makeshift houses” Jopson said. “But I am confident that Engineer Arnaldo Bonifacio knows what he is doing so that he knows how to deal with whatever problem that will arise out of the implementation of the project” Jopson added, referring to the chief of the Tacloban Engineering District. Jopson also made his observation that just like in San Jose, where the road widening has started, majority of the affected families are businessmen who can afford to have their own houses repair without seeking assistance from the government.
It will be recalled that Bonifacio said that their target is to fully implement the road widening in the cities national highways before 2016. These roads are the Daang Maharlika which includes Nula -Tula highway; Airport Picas Road, Tacloban Baybay South Road; Imelda Veteranos; P. Burgos street; Rizal Avenue and Rizal Avenue Extension; Justice Romualdez; Apitong Road and Real street among others.(ALLAN AMISTOSO)