MANILA, Philippines – Sa pagbubukas ng bagong taon ng liturhiya ng Simbahang Katolika ay inilunsad din ang Taon ng Basic Ecclesiastical Communities (BEC) noong Nobyembre 25, sa Sto. Cristo Parish Church sa lungsod ng San Juan, na pinamunuan ng Kanyang Kabunyian Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle sa pamamagitan ng isang banal na misa.

Ang Taon ng Parokya ay siyang ikalimang taon ng preparasyon para sa selebrasyon ng ika-500 taon ng pagkakatatag ng Kristiyanismo sa ating bansa. Layunin ng Taon ng BEC na bigyang-din ang pagiging simbahan ng pagkakaisa ng Simbahang Katolika, na may kaakibat na temang sumesentro sa pagbuo at pagpapatatag ng mga komunidad na nakikilahok sa pagpapalaganap ng mga turo sa Ebanghelyo.

Ang Basic Ecclesiastical Communities (BEC) ay mga mumunting pamayanan sa binubuo ng mga kapitbahayan na nagsasabuhay ng mga aral at turo ng simbahan, nagkakaisa dahil sa Salita ng Diyos at sa Eukaristiya. Ang bawat pamilya ay nagtataglay ng pagmamalasakit, pagtutulungan, may pananagutan sa isa’t isa, at may matatag na espiritwal na pananampalataya bilang mga Katoliko. Matatawag din na parokya ang mga maliliit na komunidad na ito na umuusbong dahil sa pananampalatayang Kristiyano.

Sa kanyang mensahe, iniimbitahan ng Kardinal ang simbahan na makilahok ang lahat sa iasng taong selebrasyong ito.

“Inaanyayahan ko po kayo, hinihimok ko po kayo na makiisa sa paglulunsad ng Taon ng Parokya bilang bukluran ng munting sambayanan, at hindi lamang sa paglulunsad kundi sa lahat ng gampanin sa buong taon.”

Sa pagpasok ng Taon ng Parokya, nawa ay mas mapatatag ng bawat pamilyang Katoliko ang pagsasabuhay sa turo ng simbahan, dahil ang mga komunidad na ito, gaano man kaliit, ay siyang magsisilbing asin, ilaw, at lebadura ng Simbahang Katolika sa mga darating pang henerasyon.

Jessica Racquel Santillan
A published written article in Katiwala, the official newsletter of San Roque Parish Church.

MANILA, Philippines – Globally, there are an estimated 5.4 million adolescents and young people living with HIV, and at least 1.8 million are eligible for HIV treatment.

There are a million other youths who do not know that they are living with HIV.

Every day, approximately 2,000 young people become newly-infected, accounting for about 36% of all new HIV infections in the world.

To help address the issue, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) together with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) officially launched the “Protect the Goal” campaign in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 16 to promote HIV awareness and prevention.

First launched in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup, “Protect the Goal” is a football-based HIV prevention program that serves to tackle the risk of HIV transmission geared towards the youth in the region.

As football is one of the most popular sports among the youth, the project intends to apply its popularity as a tool to deliver messages to promote health, and comprises of behavioral change communications through the use of mainstream and social media.

The program aims to help reduce the rate of new HIV infections, which is critical to reversing the epidemic on a global scale.

AFC Deputy General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John expressed the support of the confederation through some of its Southeast Asian member associations, namely Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines.

“We are proud to be a partner of UNAIDS and the Asian Development Bank in this most noble campaign. The objectives of the campaign are to use the popularity and power of football as the world’s most popular sport to unite the world towards the goal of an AIDS-free generation,” Dato’ Windsor said.

‘Protect the Goal’ 

Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, the UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, spoke at the launch and shared that 12 countries account for more than 90% of new HIV infections in the region, which includes Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“Through ‘Protect the Goal’, we aim to engage with a wider range of young people and hope they will commit themselves to HIV prevention, and are willing to come forward for HIV testing, as well as counseling,” Gyles-McDonnough explained.

The key to the demographic was 10 to 14 years old, to ensure that education on the dangers of HIV starts young.

The campaign will run its course, while leveraging on the support of the AFC’s sponsors and member associations, as well as fostering relationships with community and youth-based organizations.

‘Protect the Goal’ has been launched in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Malaysia, with the rest of Southeast Asia to have their campaign launches in the near future as well.

Among those were also at the launch were Roswati Ghani, Executive Director of the Malaysian AIDS Council and Executive Secretary of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation; Hairudin Omar, president of the Malaysian Professional Footballers’ Association; Malaysian national player Amirizdwan Taj Tajuddin; and the young players from the Kuala Lumpur Youth Foundation Academy. -Rappler.com

Renz Luigi Dahilig and Jessica Racquel Santillan are Rappler interns.

Source: https://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/58760-protect-goal-hiv-awareness

The construction of the Metropolitan Rail Transit Line 7 may be delayed for another time as the Congress wants to review the financial terms and agreements between the Department of Transportation and Communications and the United LRT Corporation (ULC) that amounted to P63.14 billion.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon, a member of the House Committee on Transportation said that they would want to probe the concession agreement between the government and the ULC.

United LRT Corporation is a private sector proponent led by San Miguel Corp. and businessman Salvador Zamora III. The 25-year concession agreement gives ULC sole right and obligation for development, financing, operation, and maintenance of the MRT-7 project.

The MRT-7 Line project was set to operate 108 rail cars over an expanse of a 22.8 kilometer rail-transit system, with 14 stations, starting from the North Avenue station through Commonwealth Avenue up to the supposed Intermodal Transport Terminal in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

Ridon also sought to address the issue of displacement of about 40,000 residents, and how the project will affect approximately 300-farmer families in Bulacan. He also questioned the proposed fare for a full 14-station journey which would sum up to P38 in just the first year of operation of the new MRT-7.

By the time the concession agreement runs its 25-year course, the fare would amount and increase to as much as P128.

Jessica Racquel Santillan
A written school exercise on News Writing for Electronic Newsroom, 2014.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs has just confirmed on Friday, that 8 Filipinos have died in the recent Islamic siege in a natural gas plant in Algeria on Saturday. In the 72-hour long hostage crisis, 12 other Filipino workers survived, while 2 have already come home.

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said that the eighth Filipino fatality was male but did not name the victim to protect their identity. Hernandez also added that 4 of the Filipino hostages who were wounded are now confined to recover in a hospital in Alger, the capital city of Algeria.

In addition to the reports made, 34 Filipinos have been evacuated from the site and are now on the way home to the Philippines.

One Filipino survivor who made it home said in an interview that the terrorists used some hostages as human shields. An Algerian officers reported that 10 hostages and 15 of the kidnappers were killed during the encounter. The UN Security Council expressed their condemnation for this attack on innocent workers in Algeria.

Aside from the large number of the Filipinos kept hostage, reports also say that the gunmen still held captive 3 Belgians, 2 Americans, 1 Japanese, and 1 Briton. The terrorist gunmen were said to be linked to Al-Qaeda and armed with machine guns, assault rifles, rocket launchers, and missiles.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) has expressed their condolences to the families of the Filipino workers who died in the attack. The association also said that they will be ready to extend help to the families of the victims in the siege.

Jessica Racquel Santillan
A written school exercise for Principles of Journalism class, 2013