I am no fan of President Duterte. I did not vote for him. Before the election, I was already turned off by his cussing during rallies and sorties, careless and foul remarks on women, and lack of concrete programs to address the economic and social issues of Philippine society, save…
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The Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (MACR) is the lowest age at which children in a given country can be prosecuted in court. In the Philippines, under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (JJWA) or Republic Act 9344 as amended by Republic Act 10630, the MACR is set…
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To our dear sisters and brothers in our Jesuit institutions and communities, Once more we find ourselves in tumultuous times. Amidst the many issues confronting our country—extra-judicial killings, constitutional change, “rhetorical” threats to impose martial law, and the Marcos burial in the Libingan ng mga Bayani—we find ourselves torn as…
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JJCICSI joins the Philippine Action for Youth Offenders (PAYO) and the Child Rights Network (CRN) in opposing the proposed lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR). Below is our position paper. [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.jjcicsi.org.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/PAYO-and-CRN-Position-Paper-on-MACR.pdf”]
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The Magna Carta of Women, Republic Act (RA) 9710, is a comprehensive law that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling, and promoting their rights. Enacted in 2009, the law is a domestic translation of the Philippines’ commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against…
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Dichotomies are rather popular lately. Filipino Catholics were recently dared to abandon a “hypocritical institution” because a “new religion” has emerged to bring about change, and the bandwagon leaves those who disagree; in short, continuity versus change. Wolf-whistling and catcalling are forms of compliment, a popular lawyer tells us, so…
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Prolife advocates have been awfully quiet lately. Quieter, anyway, than in the 2013 elections. In 2013, Christian prolife groups nationwide declared war on candidates who supported the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. Their focus on the law as a litmus test for a Christian vote might have left little room for…
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Over the past decade, the Catholic bishops have made three calls to voters: to form circles of discernment, to engage in principled partisan politics, and to exercise their right and duty to vote for candidates who work for the common good. Forming circles of discernment, in basic ecclesial communities or…
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This may sound heretical to some of my feminist and Catholic friends, but I suspect the Catholic Church in the Philippines is a closet feminist. If one is to remain both Catholic and feminist, one must learn to see, in the closet door, the cracks that let in the light.…
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An antidote to powerlessness
I fought hard to recover from the sickening news of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Marcos burial. After two previous decisions that allowed the release from detention of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, both charged with the crime of plunder, this decision is…