“When we attend to the needs of those in want … more than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice.” This quote associated with Pope St. Gregory the Great is an apt reminder in the midst of moral questioning why we should give preference to the…
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The National Land Use Act (NLUA), of which a bill had been repeatedly filed since the 9th Congress and declared urgent by several presidents, was closest to becoming law during the 15th Congress. In February 2013, before the three-month interruption of sessions to give way to the campaign period of…
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Religions take part in development. This statement was unpacked in a two-day meeting organized last week by the Ateneo Policy Center, with Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities, and World Faiths Development Dialogue. In attendance were faith-based groups and development actors from various religions and sects, some of…
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Fr John J. Carroll, SJ † 26 June 1993 It has been called a French Revolution without the guillotine, the bloodless decapitation of the entire political and economic leadership class of Italy. This may be an exaggeration, but Italians have watched with fascination and growing revulsion the unravelling of a…
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The recent court ruling on the death of 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman shows that the call for justice for victims of the so-called “war on drugs” is far from over. This is only the second conviction in the illegal drugs campaign of the Duterte…
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I have spent more than 30 years of my professional life in development work, but it was only last year that I came across the term “women-managed areas” or WMA. It was identified as one of the possible topics for research during a consultation held with our partner nongovernment organizations…
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The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) reports that in the first seven months of its flagship Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project, it has had 17 groundbreaking ceremonies in different parts of the country. More than 80 partnerships with local government units have been forged,…
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Launched as soon as Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar was appointed head of the three-year-old Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program undeniably created excitement, especially among ordinary Filipinos dreaming to have a home of their own. By tapping funds from the private…
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The people’s organizations our institute has been working with for various advocacies—from reforming government’s housing policies and programs to opposing the killings and senseless violence in the anti-illegal drug war—are throwing their support behind Vice President Leni Robredo. Even before she announced her decision to seek the country’s highest post,…
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We remember, we celebrate
First published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 2, 2002 WHY should we celebrate? After the so-called “revolutions,” not much has changed. The poor remain poor. Peace is still elusive in Mindanao. Politicking continues to be the favorite pastime of our national leaders. So, why celebrate? These sentiments greeted…