Churchmen decry government’s population control program

For a long time now, Catholic priests hardly denounce a government policy from the pulpit. But on Good Friday, clergymen in various Catholic parishes here in Bacolod came out with "The Public Health implications of Population Control."

This was the speech of former Health Undersecretary Ligaya Anacta-Acosta, D.M. delivered during a press conference last March 14 at the Human Life International-Asia at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City.

Fr. Danilo Stichon of the Our Lady of Candles Church in Bacolod City hit the economic slavery of the Filipinos under the United States which used its dollar assistance to the Philippines to promote contraception and family planning.

In 1994 alone, according to the Acosta document, a budget of $144 million for population control was allotted and was used primarily by the media, Congress and the Senate to help change people’s views regarding contraception and family planning.

Acosta said this amount was increased this year.

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, however, was less dramatic in calling the faithful to "address today the extraordinary increase and gravity of the threat to human life, most especially against the weak and the defenseless."

In his Easter Sunday message, the prelate stressed that "as believers and sharers in the life-giving victory of the Son of God, we are called to become bearers and defenders of human life which is now being considered a hindrance to economic growth in our country."

It was in the language of the Church that Navarra warned that it is in the widespread influence of moral decadence in society that Christ presents Himself as the God of life and thus, encourages us to uphold the values of human life."

Acosta’s speech cited a claim by American economist Jacqueline Kasun in "The War Against Population" that contraceptives were being promoted as a "condition for receiving foreign aid, which tends to quiet the objections."

He also referred to an article entitled "Protecting the Culture of Life in the Philippines" by Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, which claimed that the Philippines was one of a dozen countries named in a secret 1974 US National Security Council Memorandum (NSSM 200), where population control was used a weapon in the Cold War. "For many decades, we have been shipping container loads of abortifacient contraceptives to the archipelago and urging the government in Manila to impose targets and quotas for their use on the people," Acosta quoted Mosher.

I was furnished a copy of that speech read by Fr. Sitchon by Marriage Encounter couple, Edgar and Sonia Sarrosa, which indicates that Bacolod’s religious organizations are girding for a protest action against "Ligtas Buntis".

"Ligtas Buntis," Acosta added, is nothing but the provision of contraceptives and sterilization services house to house . . . it is apparent that the DOH now considers pregnancy a disease, just like tigdas and polio, among others."

Well, that might not rile the Catholic faithful. But with priests delivering warnings against the threat to human life, the government must now brace for a possible strong counter-action to the various bills now pending in Congress, which are considered threats to the unborn.

442 blasting caps recovered

Barangay 2 of Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, is usually a peaceful area but Senior Inspector Regidor Alvarado, the police chief, said police recovered a total of 442 electric blasting caps in a series of retrieval operations along the shoreline on March 18, 19, 20 and 21.

The electric blasting caps were found by children playing along the shores. They were contained in small boxes which had drifted ashore.

Blasting caps can explode when exposed to heat, shock or static electricity and are also sensitive to radio frequency and electro magnetic radiation, according to the manual on explosives.

It is a vital component in the making of explosives. Police Provincial Superintendent Charles Calima instructed the explosives and ordinance division to determine the source of the blasting caps.

However, there was no reason for panic despite the red alert on possible bomb attacks allegedly plotted by the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Jemaah Islamiyah.

Blasting caps are usually used by fishermen in dynamite fishing. Hinigaras Mayor Caroll Guanco called for a conference among police and local officials to pinpoint the source of so many blasting caps. For one, he should focus his attention on how to stop dynamite fishing off Hinigaran’s shoreline.

But there is no gainsaying that the electric blasting caps may also have been intended for purposes other than just illegal fishing.

Boracay tragedy

Boracay teemed with stars and prominent figures who chose to spend the Holy Week there and enjoy its white beaches and cool waters.

But Negrenses were shocked to learn that a 20-year old nursing student of the Riverside College of Nursing was found dead in a hotel room after a night of partying on Saturday.

Michaela Gatchalian, a fourth year nursing student and resident of Executive Village, Talisay City, was declared dead on arrival at the Boracay Hospital, according to the Boracay Special Police Protection Unit.

BSPU chief Inspector Jack Wanky said they found no visible injuries or wounds on Ms. Gatchalian. Police, however, questioned Michaela’s boyfriend, Paul Sitchon, 24, and asked him to shed light on the victim’s death. He was also brought to a crime laboratory for drug testing.

Sitchon is from Bacolod City and is the son of Merle Sitchon and the late Generoso Jr. He sought the help of the BSPU at around 4:20 a.m. on Sunday as the girl was reportedly already unconscious when Sitchon came out of the bathroom. They had earlier attended a party where they had drinks before returning to their room.

Ms. Gatchalian reportedly was asthmatic. But Stichon failed to tell probers whether she had complained of asthma before she lost consciousness.

Mike Gatchalian, sister of Michaela went to Boracay on Sunday with Sitchon’s mother, Merle, after the family was informed of the tragedy.

Gatchalian’s body was sent to Iloilo City yesterday where it will be autopsied today to determine the exact cause of her death.

Another major crime

Another major holdup occurred in Bacolod Saturday night. This time the victim was the Royal Amrie Hotel located at 13th and Lacson streets.

Five unidentified holduppers broke into the hotel at around midnight, tied the security guard and the front desk officer and divested the hotel’s deposit box of its two-day collection amounting to P100,000. They also took the money of the front desk officer, a Nokia cellphone 2110, a wristwatch and other personal belongings of the security guards. The robbers then fled the scene using an L-300 van owned by the hotel, which was recovered later in Henrietta Village in Barangay Airport.

The five robbers reportedly first approached security guard Jerry Advincula and informed him that they were looking for a friend who had checked in as a hotel guest earlier.

Two of them were referred to front desk officer Angelo Ortiz Pillo. When the two declared a holdup, Magallanes reportedly tried to fight back but the holduppers attacked him and divested him of his caliber .38 revolver.

According to investigators, police could identify two of the five men who were wearing baseball caps and jackets.

Investigators are also eyeing the possibility that it could be an "inside job" since there were no signs of forcible entry. Hotel management and employees are scheduled to be interviewed yesterday to shed light on the incident.

These are just some of the strange happenings in Bacolod and Negros Occidental during the Holy Week.

Overall, however, the faithful observed the holiday with the usual devotional rites. The best attended activity was the reenactment of the Crucifixion in La Garnja, La Carlota City, and the TalTal (native word for Crucifixion) in Bacolod.

There were no major untoward incidents in the province as most of the Catholic faithful spent their time in "Visita Iglesia" and other devotional rites.

Happy Easter to all!