Preserving a Culture of Life in the Philippines

Freedom to Love Conference poster by CBCP for Life

A short documentary film entitled “The Philippines: Preserving a Culture of Life” was recently aired on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in the USA and Canada. Produced by Human Life International (HLI), this film has been aired several times at EWTN in the Philippines.

The film is a pro-life documentary that highlights the fight for life in the Philippines. It features pro-life advocates who are leading the fight against the RH Bill, the likes of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Congressman Golez, HLI Director Bullecer, and former pro-abortion Department of Health manager Dr. Ligaya Acosta.

HLI is presently working with other pro-life organizations in the Philippines to promote the new documentary, groups such as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the Filipinos for Life, a volunteer group whose mission is to speak the truth about the dignity and sanctity of human life in all its stages, from natural conception to natural death.

HLI is also hosting a contest on Facebook where pro-lifers are invited to leave a brief prayer for the Philippines or a note of encouragement for a chance to win a free DVD copy of the documentary.

Read more at LifeNews.com

Photo by CBCP For Life at their Facebook Page

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Pearl of the Orient Dance at Sacramento, CA

St. Francis High School of Sacramento, CA is hosting a dinner dance themed “The Pearl of the Orient.” This even will be from 5:00 to 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 19 in the gymnasium at St. Francis, 5900 Elvas Ave., Sacramento. This is hosted by Filipino parents and showcases Filipino culture through music, folk dance and food. Tickets are $30 general, $15 students, $10 ages 3 to 10, free for ages 2 and under. Call Rose Avila at (916) 834-7294.

Source: The Sacramento Bee.

Filipino Parents Spanking a Child Will Soon Go to Jail

The Anti-Corporal Punishment Act of 2009 (House Bill 6699) was filed this July by its author, Representative Nikki Prietto-Teodoro of the 1st district of Tarlac, with already 56 co-authors in the House, has gone through its second reading and is expected to be approved this year.

This bill will prohibit Filipino parents from using physical force to reprimand their children, including (wow!) harsh verbal assaults and (degradingly) humuliating their child for bad behavior. Child Rights Ambassador of Plan International Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski expressed support for a law that will protect children. Reacting to a comment that corporal punishment is sometimes brought about by poverty, Jaworski said, “No amount of poverty is a justification for corporal punishment.”

Corporal punishment has been the norm of many parents in the Philippines since time-a-memorial. Spanking and famously hitting children with slippers (“tsinelas”) are common sights in Filipino households, a way to correct unwanted bad behavior of the child.

Article 45 of the Child and Youth Welfare Code allows corporal punishments as long as these are “just and reasonable” and “moderate in degree.” However, those are vague words. Current laws only defend the child from severe harm.

The bill seeks to define corporal punishment as the use of physical force, forcing a child to undergo physical, painful or damaging acts, neglecting a child’s basic needs (such as starvation), use of external substance harmful to the child, forcing a child to undergo hazardous tasks, confinement (in unsafe places), and verbal assaults, threats or intimidation. This bill also covers the similar illegal acts conducted in schools, institutions, youth detention centers, and offices.

Sources: ABS-CBN News | TUCP

Is Working Abroad as an OFW Worth It?

Was working abroad for a quarter of a century worth it? The story in this abs-cbnnews.com article is from the book “Migrants’ Stories, Migrants’ Voices 1″ published by the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW). The book contains a collection of 12 stories of the realities of migration as experienced by overseas Filipino workers and their families. abs-cbnNEWS.com obtained permission from PMRW to publish the stories online. The essay speaks of the triumphs and perils of working abroad, in this case, the Middle East.

Click here to read the article at ABS-CBN Online News.

Navy Pier’s Chicago Children’s Museum features Philippines for a Day

Bring the family and experience the wonders of the Philippines, as the Chicago Children’s Museum (CCM) features the Philippines during its “Passport to the World” series. The Museum will host displays of Philippine crafts and exhibits, as well as interactive productions by native performers and artists, during the weekend of June 11-14, 2009. The CCM’s “Passport to the World” series showcases the arts and traditions of Chicago’s many ethnic groups to provide opportunities for museum visitors to better understand Chicago’s unique multicultural community. Previous “Passport to the World” exhibits showcased Chicago’s Korean, Persian and American Indian communities. This will be the second time that the series celebrates the Philippines. The weekend celebration begins on Thursday evening, June 11, 2009. The exhibits and performances will then continue Saturday and Sunday (June 13-14).

Preventing accidental injury to children 14 years old & below

While searching travel tips and ideas for kids (or making it safe for kids to travel), I stumbled upon this site from a Universtiy of Kentucky News article. What’s amazing is that they have a Philippine affiliate site. Safe Kids Worldwide is the first and only international nonprofit organization dedicated solely to preventing unintentional childhood injury. Safe Kids Worldwide depends on the support of grass roots networks in its 17 member countries to implement safety programs and hands-on training throughout the world (where the Philippines is a member country).

Safe Kids Philippines (SKP) initially began in 1993 from the academic research on child unintentional injury by Dr. Ramon Arcadio. SKP was formally organized in 2004 but has existed in the Philippines since 2003 as a project of the Community Oriented Medical Education (COME) Unit of the University of the Philippines in Manila . This first venture into injury prevention was conducted by the Barangay Health Workers of Pasay City.

Click on the picture above to go to the main Safe Kids Worldwide site or this link to go to Safe Kids Philippines site.