Filipino Freethinkers

CBCP, Freedoms and Compromises

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:09:30 +0800

CBCP can compromise on freedom of expression, but not on freedom of choice?
http://j.mp/chance-cyberlaw
http://j.mp/no-rh-compromise

What You Can Do About the Cybercrime Law

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:21:49 +0800

Join the march against the Cybercrime Law.

Black out your website.

Change your avatars.

Do something!

Forum on Cybercrime Act, Hosted by Senator TG Guingona

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:05:17 +0800

Please attend this forum on the Cybercrime law, hosted by Senator TG Guingona who voted against the act. Red Tani of the Filipino Freethinkers will be one of the panelists. This forum is on September 27, Thursday, from 9:30-11:00 AM at Ibarra’s Garden in Ermita, Manila.

Putting the political desires of men over the reproductive...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 22:35:54 +0800

Putting the political desires of men over the reproductive health needs of women and the country.

Double Standards – Contraceptives and Medicines

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 21:40:26 +0800

By Alfredo R. Melgar

Imagine a woman warned by her doctor to refrain from having a fifth pregnancy for medical reasons. She decides to use natural family planning (NFP). Will the bishops of CBCP and their allies question her decision?

Certainly not. As early as 1951, Pope Pius XII in his Allocution to Midwivesspecifically accepted medical reasons as a justification for birth control. He said:

Serious motives, such as those which not rarely arise from medical, eugenic, economic and social so-called “indications,” may exempt husband and wife from the obligatory, positive debt for a long period or even for the entire period of matrimonial life. From this it follows that the observance of the natural sterile periods may be lawful, from the moral viewpoint: and it is lawful in the conditions mentioned.

Now imagine another woman with exactly the same medical reasons who chooses contraceptive pills. To be consistent with their own teachings, one would expect the bishops to simply say: right reason, wrong method. But no, they are now on a war path and have branded the use of contraceptives as treating pregnancy like a disease. In their desire to destroy the status of contraceptives as medicines and its value to public health, it seems they are willing to stigmatize pregnancy prevention as inherently immoral.

In his “contraception is corruption” speech, Archbishop Villegas said: “A contraceptive pill is to be considered an essential medicine. If it is a medicine, what sickness is it curing? Is pregnancy a sickness?” Weeks later, Senator Enrile echoed the same line: “In the case of a contraceptive pill, is pregnancy a disease that needs to be cured? Why do we need to prevent it?”

Sure, pregnancy is not a disease. But pregnancy and childbirth can lead to diseases or injuries. Even bishops must be aware of this fact, which makes their argument sound so contrived. The World Health Organization has a whole chapter listing such diseases and injuries in its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Obstetricians exist to prevent or treat these conditions.

If the bishops of CBCP and the anti-RH camp are not yet convinced that they are stirring up double standards in morality, they should try asking this to any user of NFP: “Is pregnancy a disease to be cured? Why do you need to prevent it?”

A double standard in law is also being pushed by the anti-RH camp. The claim that medicines must cure a disease, or must not prevent normal bodily functions like pregnancy is not supported by our laws.

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website.

subjectnerd: Make your own.

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:39:09 +0800

subjectnerd:

Make your own.

Holding Sotto Accountable for Plagiarism is Not a Distraction

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:32:41 +0800

By Garrick Bercero

“Marunong pala managalog si Kennedy, ah!”

A common, probably the only mildly-reasonable, criticism of the public condemnation of Senator Tito Sotto’s pathological penchant for plagiarism is that it distracts from the issues—mainly the reproductive health bill. Sotto himself has taken this route to defend himself against the accusations, saying that his critics could not answer his unimpeachable points, so they’ve resorted to “cyber-bullying.” He challenged his opponents with an aphorism (which I’m sure he’d never claim to be original), to shoot the message, not the messenger.

Of course, if his intellectual honesty and credibility were irrelevant to the interests of the Filipino people, then his excuses would be valid. It is, however, not the case that calling Sotto out on plagiarism is an argumentum ad hominem fallacy.

Ad hominem or “to the man” argumentation is not fallacious if it is not taken to refute “the man’s” positions and if the subject is “the man’s” character itself. In the case of Sotto’s plagiarism, of course his intellectual dishonesty does not affect the credibility of his case against the RH Bill.

But, let’s first take Sotto’s claim on face value. Is it indeed true that nobody at all has even tried to rebut Sotto’s claims during his long-winded turno en contra speeches that spanned four parts?

Read the full article in the Filipino Freethinkers website.

Words fail me. But they will never fail Sotto who will...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:49:33 +0800

Words fail me. But they will never fail Sotto who will shamelessly take everyone else’ words as his own.

A Rebuttal to the Defense of CBCP’s Stand on the RH Bill

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:45:20 +0800

By Jong Atmosfera

In what seemed like an effort to show an appreciation of the separation of Church and State and to give an answer to Fr. Joaquin Bernas’s explanation that “public money is neither Catholic, nor Protestant, nor Muslim or what have you and may be appropriated by Congress for the public good without violating the Constitution,” Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes defended the stand of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on the RH bill by saying that their opposition to contraceptives, which the RH bill seeks to fund and promote, is not based on faith or revelation, but on “natural law.”

In a statement, Reyes asserted that:

“By studying through correct reasoning the nature of the human person, we arrive at this teaching regarding contraception. All human beings, Catholic or not, are obliged to act according to right reason. By the efforts of the Church to go against the RH Bill, the Church is not imposing her religious beliefs on others. She is trying to stop a bill which is against natural law, a law which all human beings, Catholic or not, should follow. The RH Bill, judged from the principles of natural law, is against the good of the human person and the common good.”

But what exactly is this “natural law” the bishops keep bandying about? Is it the physical laws of the universe that are observable in nature?

The term “natural law” is actually a misnomer, quickly misleading those hearing it for the first time…

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

COMELEC Disqualifies “Ang Patay” Party List

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:41:41 +0800

By Pepe Bawagan

Intramuros, Manila — The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) held a review hearing yesterday for the party list “Ang Patay.” The hearing ended with the panel’s rejection of the party’s application for recognition. “Ang Patay was founded to ensure that the dead are represented in the legislative branch of government,” said Ang Patay Spokesperson Randy Cabaong. He says that “with [Ang Patay’s] rejection, the government is basically saying that the departed are of no importance to them!”

“The deceased are not only underrepresented in public office,” according to Atty. Leoric Calansay, one of Ang Patay’s candidates. “They are also marginalized by society in general.” When asked for examples of marginalization, he is quoted as saying that “the recent zombie pop culture craze discriminates against the dead by focusing too much on the interactions between the living and the undead.”

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website.

Archbishop Palma said this in a speech to the Catholic Educators...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 20:51:05 +0800

Archbishop Palma said this in a speech to the Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP) which just goes to show how little he understands the separation of church and state.

Image by Arnold Carl F. Sancover, used under the Creative Commons license.

Sotto: To Pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill, Discriminate LGBT First

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:50:04 +0800

By Jeiel Aranal

Manila Bulletin reports that certain senators are opposing the Anti-Racial, Ethnic and Anti-Religious Discrimination Act of 2011 (the Anti-Discrimination bill) because they want the provisions concerning the LGBT struck down. Among these senators is our favorite bigote’d senator, the Honorable Vincente Sotto III.

“Kaya pala nadedelay sa Senate na mag-agree sa bicameral ay pinapa-negotiate ng some Senators na alisin ang provisions ng LGBTs. (The reason why the Senate failed to agree in the bicameral is that some senators wanted to exclude the LGBT provisions),” [one of the authors of the bill, Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr.] claimed.

…

“So baka mag-agree na ganito na lang para maipasa. What I know is that one of those opposing is Senator (Vicente) Sotto,” he claimed. Sotto was reportedly pushing for the adoption of the House version, which does not include the LGBT provisions.

What kind of legislators are the Filipino people getting when the first step these senators take to passing an anti-discrimination law is to discriminate? To make it even more disgusting, it’s a good bet that some of these senators are pushing to remove the LGBT provisions from the bill for religious reasons. An incredibly hypocritical move considering that the anti discrimination bill has provisions against religious discrimination. To these senators it’s bad to discriminate against religion but discriminating because of religion? That’s kosher!

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

An Atenean’s Reflections on the CBCP and the Catholic Church

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:54:08 +0800

By Albert Chen

I remember our discussion on Berdyaev in class. Nikolai Berdyaev wrote the book “The Destiny of Man,” wherein he discussed about the sin of the Pharisees. Berdyaev explained that the sin of the Pharisees was their legalistic religion. The Pharisees are concerned more about the “legal technicalities” of their religion rather than the true meaning of its teachings. I quote from a letter written by Berdyaev in reply to V. Lossk:

“But to put the Sabbath higher than man is a betrayal of the commands of Christ. Christians have often become suchlike betrayers. Everyone for whom an ortodoks teaching stands higher than man and his human fate betrays the Gospel commands. The legalism within Christianity is a distortion of Christianity, a victory of non-Christian principles. There is nothing higher than the humanness, which likewise is the Divine, the testimony of the God of love and sacrifice.”

I cannot help but see that the same is happening in present-time Philippines. Our church leaders are too obsessed with the legalistic aspects of their religion that they fail to see the true face of their faith. They are committing the very same crimes Christ condemned. In a way, the CBCP is our present-day Pharisees. They would place their “rule of law” above humanness and risk the suffering and death of many people. And they would do so clinging to their “authority,” fueled by their “lust for power”.

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

Bad Father or Evil Politician: Did Sotto lie about his son’s death?

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:57:19 +0800

By Red Tani

Despite his patent lies and his staff’s excuses, Sotto’s plagiarism is now an established fact. They have even changed their defense to plagiarism being an acceptable practice for Senators. I’d first thought that Sotto was alone in his stupidity, but it appears even Sen. Santiago thinks the Senate is exempted from academic standards of honesty.

But all this talk about plagiarism has overshadowed the most controversial part of Sotto’s recent speech: his claim that oral contraceptives killed his son. Some critics have hesitated to attack this claim, and those who haven’t, such as former health secretary Esperanza Cabral and Rep. Janet Garin, have taken flack for even entertaining the idea that Sotto would lie about something as serious as his own son’s death.

But since Sotto, a public official, has entered his personal tragedy into public record, it is fair game to consider the possibility that Sotto is lying. And I believe this is precisely what he did. Sotto is lying about the death of his son to further his fight against the RH Bill. Many of his statements and actions — these past weeks and even during his entire career — point to this conclusion.

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

How an RH Law Will Change the Dynamics of Reproductive Health Rights

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:59:50 +0800

By Jong Atmosfera

Whether or not the RH bill is made into law, Filipinos have the right to use contraception. More precisely, they have the Hohfeldian privilege-right, which means they have no duty not to use contraception because there is no law prohibiting them from doing so. According to the Hohfeldian system for describing the form of rights, to say that one has a privilege to do something is to say that one has no duty not to do it.

This is what some of the opponents of the RH bill, including Sen. Tito Sotto, are saying. They also point out that free contraceptives are already being distributed by the government so there is really no need for an RH law.

But such distribution is only happening because the current administration supports it. Moreover, as Karen Davila said in an interview with Sen. Sotto last August 16, in many cities where the mayor or governor is a member of the Opus Dei or Pro-Life, they impose their religious beliefs on their constituents by pulling out all the contraceptives from the barangay hall.

To which Sotto replied, “That’s looking at it on the other side of the fence, Karen. Look at it on the other side…you are removing the freedom of choice of the mayor and the governor and the next president.” He argued that if the next president is against contraception, you will remove his freedom of choice if RH is already made into law.

…

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

Filipino Freethinkers Bacolod Meetup – Friday, September 7 - Bacson Cafe, Lacson

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:52:02 +0800

Location: Bascon Cafe, Lacson
Date: Friday, September 7, 2012
Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm

RSVP on our Facebook event

Discussion Topics
* Should we have a second Port within Bacolod in Banago?
* Negros Aristocracy – political dynasties
* The State of Secularism in Bacolod – Where are the Bacolodnons in the picture?

Contact form to keep in touch.

After the meetup we usually go for dinner and drinks somewhere nearby. If you’re not a meetup regular and can’t make it for the meetup but would like to go for the post meetup, please indicate on a post in the wall or comment so we can contact you.

Got questions about the meetup? Contact us at 0922 870 1760. Or send us a message of facebook.

* Look for the FF sign (or the group of smart, sexy people).
* Newbies are welcome.
* There is no required age, religion, philosophy, or IQ level.
* Discussions are informal yet intelligent (most of the time).
* You don’t have to talk; you can just sit in and listen.
* Please abide by the code of conduct.

How Senator Tito Sotto Misused Barbara Seaman’s Book

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:54:25 +0800

By Sass Rogando Sasot

Senator Tito Sotto: Dishonest, Deceptive, and Intellectually Lazy (Part 2)

In Part 1, we have learned how the theme of The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women, Exploding the Estrogen Myth¹, as well as Barbara Seaman’s political position, cannot be deemed as supportive of Sotto’s claim. Here, we will examine how exactly Sotto used the book to support his claims, and see whether he is right in doing so.

Sotto said that “The Greatest Experiment… stated that those who take pills but still got pregnant have more abnormal children and lower I.Q.” In order for us to believe him, we should verify whether or not this was really stated in Seaman’s book; and if yes, determine whether Sotto used it in the right context.

It wasn’t easy to find this supposed statement because Sotto, or whoever wrote his speech, didn’t offer the exact quotation. It was a summary of some sorts. (Perhaps next time, speech writers should learn how to footnote references: it’s good practice, it’s part of their job, and it wouldn’t take so much of their time.)

In order for us to verify the truthfulness behind Sotto’s words, we have to dissect his statement into three parts, and see whether we can find textual support from The Greatest Experiment.

A. There are women who got pregnant even though they take contraceptive pills;

B. These women have more abnormal children; and

C. These women have children of lower IQ.

There are women who got pregnant even though they take contraceptive pills…

I cannot find anything in Seaman’s book that supports this assertion. As I’m using the ePub version of the book, it is easy to find references to “pregnant women”.

…

Read the full article in the Filipino Freethinkers website.

Senator Tito Sotto: Dishonest, Deceptive, and Intellectually Lazy (Part 1)

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:53:33 +0800

By Sass Rogando Sasot

According to one of the greatest senators of our republic, the “Filipino people are worth dying for”, aren’t they worth properly citing, reliably researching, and thoroughly analysing for?

Introduction

Senator Tito Sotto, his staff, and his fans club should not confuse his other profession as an actor with his being a senator. Sotto, as an actor, is not responsible for what he is saying or even doing when he plays a character in a film, sitcom, or teleserye. If Sotto plays the character of a dishonest, deceptive, and intellectually lazy senator in a film, only those who cannot tell the difference between fact and fiction will seek to either correct or condemn him. But when Sotto delivered his turno en contra speech, he is not playing the character role of a senator: He is Senator Tito Sotto, a public servant of the Republic of the Philippines, and his speech writer/researchers are not scriptwriters. All of them are paid by the Filipino people not to entertain but to provide the highest standard of public service. If Sotto’s listeners find out that he is dishonest, deceptive, and intellectually lazy, they have all the right to point it out; they are, after all, not paying him to be that kind of senator. Even if he is presenting an argument that we don’t agree with, he still has to deliver those arguments with the highest standard of research and reading comprehension.

After his first speech, it was found out that he plagiarized – not just once but several times in the same speech. To be fair, Sotto is not the only one in world history that has committed this lapse in judgment. In 1991, the New York Times reported that after a thorough investigation of the committee formed by Boston University, it was verified that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “plagiarized passages in his dissertation for a doctoral degree.” Although they didn’t ask for the revocation of Rev. King’s doctoral degree, the committee recommended “that a letter stating its finding be placed with the official copy of Dr. King’s dissertation in the university’s library.” This demonstrates that plagiarism, even if committed by a Nobel Laureate or a world hero, is still plagiarism.

Plagiarism does not automatically diminish the value of your arguments. What it does is tarnish your character and betrays your thinking style: Are plagiarists thoughtful thinkers or are they ungrateful parrots who only repeat what they have heard and read?

…

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website

Senator Enrile, Pregnancy is Not a Disease

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:56:08 +0800

By Jeiel Aranal

The anti RH Senator Juan Ponce Enrile recently came out to defend Senator Tito Sotto from the allegations of plagiarism. In his defense of Sotto, Enrile questions the use of contraception for preventing pregnancy, putting forward the question: “Is pregnancy a disease that needs to be cured?”

“What disease does an IUD or a condom cure or prevent? I challenge the proponents to explain that to the public. Is not the purpose of these methods to reduce the population of the country,” Enrile asked. “In the case of a contraceptive pill, is pregnancy a disease that needs to be cured? Why do we need to prevent it?”

While Enrile prefaces his question with the case of birth control pills I think its fair to extend his question to other forms of birth control as well. Why should some women need to prevent pregnancy if its not a disease?

Perhaps he would find the answer to this question easily if he just asked his fellow anti RH legislator in congress, Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay.

No Senator Enrile, pregnancy is not a disease but pregnancy always carries a risk to women’s lives. With medical advancements that risk has been mitigated but for some the risk still runs too high. For some mothers, becoming pregnant means risking leaving their families motherless. For some women, contraception is what they need to have a healthy sexual relationship with their husband while ensuring their own lives aren’t put in jeopardy by a pregnancy…

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website.

Sotto’s Pseudoscientific Source: Who is Natasha Campbell-McBride?

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:56:23 +0800

By Red Tani

Senator Tito Sotto responded to allegations of plagiarism by denying them on national TV. In case comparing his speech with the blog post isn’t enough, the blogger herself, Sarah Pope, has confirmed that she was indeed plagiarized. And as it turns out, she might not be the only victim of Sotto’s plagiarism: some count at least 3 other plagiarized bloggers.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride

Let’s humor Tito Sotto and entertain the possibility that his excuse is valid — that he wasn’t quoting the blogger, he was quoting the blogger’s source: Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. But was citing Dr. Natasha a good move?

I don’t think so. As far as Sotto’s credibility goes, citing Dr. Natasha was even worse than plagiarizing Pope. Because Dr. Natasha is a quack.…

Read the full article on the Filipino Freethinkers website.