SC ALLOWS ANG LADLAD TO JOIN ELECTIONS!

Thursday, 08 April 2010 10:54 PM Maui A. Hermitanio
Philippine Online Chronicle

With only a month before the May 10 polls, the Supreme Court recognized gays and lesbians partylist Ang Ladlad and allowed it to join the national elections in May. The decision that overturned an earlier ruling of the Commission on Elections was decided in a 13-2 vote in an enbanc session of the SC.

Last year, Comelec’s second division under Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer issued a resolution dismissing Ang Ladlad’s petition to run for partylist due to “moral grounds.”

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ANG LADLAD is a national organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Filipinos. Our members are either LGBT organizations or individuals, or their heterosexual supporters.

In Filipino, “magladlad” means to unfurl the cape that used to cover one’s body as a shield. It means to come out of the closet, to assert one’s human rights as equal to that of the next Filipino. Thus, it means to take one’s place in the sun, with dignity intact.

ANG LADLAD is running for party-list elections for Congress in the May 2010 elections. Thus, it is bound to make history.

It will be the first political party composed of LGBT Filipinos that will claim—and reclaim—the rights we have lost from centuries of homophobia and discrimination.

http://www.angladlad.org

Vatican slammed for blaming gay priests in pedophile scandal

SANTIAGO (AFP) - – The child sex abuse scandal scorching the Catholic Church worsened Tuesday with lawmakers, doctors and gay activists slamming an attempt by the Vatican to shift the blame for the pedophilia to homosexual priests.

Comments by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, during a visit to Chile on Monday triggered the indignation by saying homosexuality, not celibacy among the clergy, was at fault.

"Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated there exists no relationship between celibacy and pedophilia," Bertone told a Santiago news conference.

"But many others have demonstrated, and have told me recently, that there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilia. This is true, this is the problem," he said.

The comments immediately threw fuel on the scandal that is threatening to engulf Pope Benedict XVI, by prompting outrage Tuesday in Chile and in Italy.

"I would like to see the scientific studies he said he has, because I don't share this evaluation... I have the impression that he is wrong on this point," said a Chilean senator who helped draft anti-pedophile laws, Patricio Walker.

"This linking is wrong. Celibacy does more damage to a human being than homosexuality, which is a freely made choice," a communist deputy, Hugo Gutierrez, told AFP. "I'm shocked by these words from a senior dignitary of the Church."

A medical specialist at the University of Chile, Tamara Galleguillos, added that "it's not possible to think there's a direct link between homosexuality and pedophilia."

She explained that her work in Chile's forensic service showed homosexual pedophiles were no more likely to commit their crimes than heterosexual pedophiles.

Rolando Jimenez, head of Chile's Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, called on Bertone "to show us any scientific, rigorous, serious and religiously independent study that supports this allegation."

In Rome, the head of Italian gay rights group Gaylib, Enrico Oliari, called it "worrying that the foreign minister of a state that occupies the heart of the Italian capital would use arguments that are considered passe even in the Third World."

Aurelio Mancuso, former president of a larger Italian gay rights association Arcigay, said: "The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day."

A center-left Italian lawmaker, Anna Paola Concia, demanded the cardinal "immediately retract his violent, inhuman and extremely serious words."

She accused Bertone of peddling in "false and damaging theories rejected by the World Health Organisation and that are not shared by most Catholics."

Bertone's controversial statement came as the Vatican tried to step up its damage control on the scandal.

The leadership of the Catholic Church has repeatedly tried to dismiss as media exaggerations the tide of recent claims in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United States that predator priests were given protection from prosecution by their hierarchy.

Pope Benedict himself has faced allegations that he failed to take action against pedophile priests, both as head of the Vatican's top doctrinal and morals enforcer and earlier as the Munich archbishop.

The Holy See this week used its mouthpiece newspaper to praise its handling of past pedophile cases as "exemplary," and on Monday it posted guidelines on handling new cases on its official website.

1. Go to your voting precinct on May 10, 2010 and check your name. Bring your voter's ID or any valid ID with your registration stub.

2. Present yourself to the board of election inspectors (BEI) to get a ballot.

3. Listen to the BEI 's instructions on how to properly  fill up ballot.

4. Receive the ballot. Make sure it is empty and unmarked on both sides.

5. Proceed to the voting area and fill up the ballot. Remember DO NOT    OVERVOTE!

6.Take your ballot to the counting machine and feed it into the machine. Wait for the confirmation message on the screen.

7. Return to the BEI for indelible ink.

Philippine Online Chronicles

LONDON (AFP) - – A British child protection agency said it has pressed Facebook to add "panic buttons" to its pages after the murder of a teenager was linked to the site.

Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), said the social networking giant did not agree to his demands outright at a meeting in Washington but he felt they were moving in the right direction.

Speaking after a four-hour meeting Monday, Gamble said Facebook was close to "doing the right thing" but urged the website to turn "words into action."

"I felt that at the end of what were lengthy and at times tense negotiation we are able to move towards a position. They are one small step away from doing the right thing," said Gamble.

"I am more optimistic than when I came. They are not saying no, that is very clear. But they were equally direct and they came with their own agenda.

"There is no doubt they are looking to improve their position around child safety and we recognise that. What I am looking for is turning words into action."

The showdown came after controversy in Britain over Facebook's refusal to include a "panic button" on its pages after the conviction of a serial rapist who used the site to lure and murder a teenage girl.

Peter Chapman posed as a young boy to lure 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall to her death in northeast England.

Calls have since grown for the inclusion of the buttons -- which allow youngsters who feel threatened online to quickly contact a number of sources of help, such as CEOP or anti-bullying helplines.

Politicians, police and anti-bullying groups have voiced outrage that the online giant will not bow to demands to include the system.

Gamble said: "In our view they are experts at creating a fantastic online environment but they are not experts in law enforcement, the power of deterrents and the reassurance it brings for mums and dads."

 “I’m With Manny!”
By Izah Morales, Yahoo! Southeast Asia   Thursday April 8, 2010 03:49 pm

Are you a certified Manny Pacquiao fan? Do you have photos with the champ?

If yes, then Ringside With Manny invites you to submit your photos to Yahoo's Flickr Group called "Ringside With Manny" found at (http://www.flickr.com/groups/ringsidewithmanny/).

All you need to do is create an account on Flickr, upload your photo and add that photo to the Ringside with Manny group. Photos should be original and should have at least the size of 500 by 333 pixels. You also need to write a caption for each photo submitted. In the caption, indicate the DATE and PLACE where the picture was taken.

Here's your chance to be featured on the Ringside With Manny website.

MANILA, Philippines - The search is now on for this year's Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO), the country's leading award for exceptional Filipino youth groups.

In a statement, the TAYO, now on its 8th year, announced the opening of submission of entries, open to all youth groups, organizations, clubs, and societies composed of at least 15 members, whose ages must be between 15 to 30 years old.

Organizations shall be judged based on their project entry that made an impact in their schools or communities, TAYO said.

The TAYO however said a project proposal does not qualify as an entry. The project must have been completed in 2009, or must be a continuing project whose major part must have been undertaken by the deadline.

A copy of the entry form and the application briefer can be downloaded through the TAYO Awards Foundation website (www.tayoawards.net) and the National Youth Commission website (www.youth.net.ph).

Apart from the award, the winning organizations will receive a P50,000 grant for funding of new projects or to continue long-term programs, and a special trophy sculpted by Toym De Leon Imao.

For inquiries, you may call the TAYO SECRETARIAT at (02) 687-5917, (02) 781-1406 or 0917-898.8296 or email us at tayo.secretariat@gmail.com.

Deadline for submission of entries is on July 30, 2010.

TAYO 8 is presented by Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, and is organized by the TAYO Awards Foundation, the Office of Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and the National Youth Commission.

National Geographic Earth Day Run 2010
April 18, 2010, Sunday
SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Slated for April 18, Sunday, the Nat Geo Earth Run 2010 will have 3k, 5k and 10k-run categories. Registration may be done online until April 4, 2010 or at the following outlets until April 11, 2010:

Nike, Bonifacio High Street, Fort Global City, Taguig
Timex, SM City North EDSA and SM Mall of Asia

Non-refundable registration fees are as follows:
3K – P500
5K – P600
10K – P700

Proceeds will support Design Against the Elements Competition, a project that aims to produce innovative solutions to climate change.

Philippine Online Chronicle


With only a month before the May 10 polls, the Supreme Court recognized gays and lesbians partylist Ang Ladlad and allowed it to join the national elections in May. The decision that overturned an earlier ruling of the Commission on Elections was decided in a 13-2 vote in an enbanc session of the SC.

Last year, Comelec’s second division under Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer issued a resolution dismissing Ang Ladlad’s petition to run for partylist due to “moral grounds.”

Based on the poll body’s resolution that gathered strong criticisms from LGBT and other sectors, “(The) Petitioner defines Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (as) marginalized and under-represented sector that is particularly disadvantaged because of their sexual orientation and gender identity… and proceeded to define sexual orientation as that which refers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender, of the same gender or more than one gender.”

But the SC justices affirmed that the party had complied with all legal requirements, and that there is no law against homosexuality, Associated Press reported.

The decisions said the group complied with all the legal requirements for accreditation as a party-list group listed in Republic Act 7941, or the Party-list System Act.

Ang Ladlad leader, Ateneo Professor Danton Remoto said “he felt vindicated.” Since 2004, the group failed to get Comelec’s approval to run in the partylist polls.

An earlier SC decision ordered the inclusion of Ang Ladlad in the official ballot.

With the campaign 1000 cities, 1000 lives, events will be organized worldwide during the week of 
7 – 11 April 2010.

The global goals of the campaign are:

• 1000 cities: to open up public spaces to health, whether it be activities in parks, town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles.
• 1000 lives: to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities.

WHO - World Health Day 2010

By Thea Alberto, Yahoo! Southeast Asia 

Nacionalista Party bet Senator Manny Villar has thanked Baby James Aquino-Yap, nephew of his closest rival for the presidency, Senator Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino for an unanticipated support.


“We welcome all forms of support, even those that come in small packages,” Villar said in a statement, following Baby James’ unexpected ‘endorsement’.

The two-year-old Baby James, son of actress Kris Aquino and basketball star James Yap, suddenly chanted ‘Villar’ instead of ‘Noynoy’ during a campaign rally in Bacolod. Kris was apparently asking Baby James to greet the crowd but the boy suddenly said the name of his uncle’s rival.

"It's surprisingly amusing to hear it straight from the babe's mouth…natutuwa ako dyan kasi ang mga bata ay busilak ang kalooban at 'di nagsisinungaling," Villar said.

Kris, meanwhile, said in her Twitter account she already said sorry to her brother about Baby James’ ‘naughtiness’.

“Nag-sorry ako to Noy & my sisters right away & they told me siempre he's 2 yrs old- terrible 2s. Moral of the story- we let him be 2 while guiding him to be a good boy,” Aquino tweeted on Monday.

Kris also explained why Baby James, whom she fondly calls as ‘Bimby,’ suddenly chanted Villar.

“Hay naku, ang ka naughty-han ni Bimby! Talagang heaven's way of making me feel all I did before to stress Mom. True, he said "Veeyar" in Bacolod rally. Nag naughty siya kasi 10th event namin that day- pagod na. Bimby is sikat so nasa news,” Kris added.