Maniolas

Department of Foreign Affairs building. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines–Three Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) convicted of espionage in Qatar back in April 2014 had been bound, burned and beaten to force them to confess to the charges, an international human rights group said. Amnesty International (AI) questioned the verdict of a lower court in Qatar last April 30, 2014, after they have received information that one of them was “repeatedly tortured” to make him confess to the allegations. The 48-year-old OFW, identified as “Ronaldo,” was working as a civilian technician at the Qatar Air Force Base when he was arrested in Doha in April 2010 for allegedly selling confidential information. Ronaldo and another were sentenced to life imprisonment while the other one was sentenced to death. BACKSTORY: Filipino meted out death in Qatar for espionage “(Ronaldo) endured repeated bouts of physical and psychological torture and other ill-treatment for the first eight months of his detention in the state security prison,” AI said in a statement. “During two interrogation sessions he was burned with cigarettes on his back and legs, stripped naked and forced to crawl around on the floor until his knees bled, and was frequently punched and slapped,” it said. Ronaldo was made to spend four years in solitary confinement and was only allowed out of his cell two or three times a week for 15 minutes at a time. He was also not permitted to go outdoors, AI said. “During his time in detention he was also held Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is seeking the friends and relatives of a 63-year-old Filipino in China who suffered a stroke last November and has been unconscious ever since. “The Philippine Embassy in China is calling out to the family members, relatives, friends, or whoever knows Eddie Cabolosan Moralda who is currently alone in China,” DFA said in an announcement Friday. “Moralda is under the care of a hospital in Beijing, China after suffering a stroke last November 21, 2014. He is still unconscious. Because of his condition, he is experiencing complications in his heart and lungs which could lead to his death if left untreated,” DFA said. Moralda first arrived in China last November 12, 2014 with his business partner, a certain Rowena Villareal, to meet with a Chinese friend to discuss a business they intend to set up in the Philippines. His parents have been identified as Ricardo Moralda and Francisca Cabolosan. His last known address in the Philippines is Barangay (village) Halang, Calamba City, Laguna. Moralda is being fed through tubes and doctors estimate it could take three months for him to recover. DFA is appealing to anybody who knows Moralda to contact any of the following government agencies: Department of Foreign AffairsOffice of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA)2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay CityTel. no. (02) 834-4996 / (02) 834-3246Email: oumwa@dfa.gov.phLook for Christine Panganiban Philippine Embassy in Beijing, ChinaAssistance-to-Nationals Unit23 Xiu Shui Bei Jie, Jian Guo Men Wai, Beijing 100600Tel. no. (+86) Read More …

ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCISDURING THE “MEETING WITH FAMILIES”Manila, PhilippinesJanuary 16, 2015 Dear Families,Dear Friends in Christ, I am grateful for your presence here this evening and for the witness of your love for Jesus and his Church. I thank Bishop Reyes, Chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Family and Life, for his words of welcome on your behalf. And, in a special way, I thank those who have presented testimonies and have shared their life of faith with us. The Scriptures seldom speak of Saint Joseph, but when they do, we often find him resting, as an angel reveals God’s will to him in his dreams. In the Gospel passage we have just heard, we find Joseph resting not once, but twice. This evening I would like to rest in the Lord with all of you, and to reflect with you on the gift of the family. It is important to dream in the family. All mothers and fathers dream of their sons and daughters in the womb for 9 months. They dream of how they will be. It isn’t possible to have a family without such dreams. When you lose this capacity to dream you lose the capacity to love, the capacity to love is lost. I recommend that at night when you examine your consciences, ask yourself if you dreamed of the future of your sons and daughters. Did you dream of your husband or wife? Did you dream today of your parents, your grandparents who carried forward the Read More …

Pope Francis delivers his speech during a Mass in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) a HOMILY OF POPE FRANCISMass with Bishops, Priests and ReligiousManila’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception16 January 2015 Do you love me? Thank you. “Do you love me?…  Tend my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17).  Jesus’ words to Peter in today’s Gospel are the first words I speak to you, dear brother bishops and priests, men and women religious, and young seminarians.  These words remind us of something essential.  All pastoral ministry is born of love.  All consecrated life is a sign of Christ’s reconciling love.  Like Saint Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to be love in the heart of the Church. I greet all of you with great affection.  And I ask you to bring my affection to all your elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, and to all those who cannot join us today.  As the Church in the Philippines looks to the fifth centenary of its evangelization, we feel gratitude for the legacy left by so many bishops, priests and religious of past generations.  They labored not only to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good.  Today you carry on that work of love.  Like them, you are Read More …

Editor’s note: As the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines draws near, INQUIRER.net is republishing articles of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the previous papal visit—that by Pope John Paul II, in 1995. This is part of the history of the Philippines as told by the Inquirer. This is INQStory. January 12, 1995 A joyous “Mabuhay” will ring out from millions of Filipinos when Pope John Paul II arrives afternoon, January 12, 1995 for his second pilgrimage to this bastion of Roman Catholicism in Asia. From the time he arrives at 3 p.m. at the old Manila International Airport, multitudes will shower the 74-year-old Pontiff with jubilant shouts, flowers, songs and dances in the hope that his five-day stay here would help improve his fragile health. The Pope left Rome aboard an Alitalia flight at 1 a.m. today (Manila time). Officials have laid out one of the most elaborate security preparations ever accorded a foreign dignitary amid reports that terrorists have slipped through the country to threaten the Pope’s security. “We are very ready for him, the whole Filipino nation is waiting and praying for his safe arrival,” said Tita de Villa, executive secretary of Papal Visit ’95 central committee. In Malacanang, President Ramos said the Pope’s visit “is an event of great joy and for which we are profoundly grateful.” He added: “As Filipinos and Christians, my family and I are deeply moved by his choice of the Philippines as the venue for the World Youth Day and for this Read More …