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Dubbed the Most Antici-pated Movie o 2012

even beore 2011was out, Te Hun-ger Games movie

has generatedenough buzz tomake practi-cally every kidold enough to

read all threeo Suzanne Col-

lins best-sellingbooks troop to the

cinemas or the open-ing weekend. Why is

this signicant? Surely a story abouta young lady who sacrices hersel in or-der to save her sister rom certain death isworth watching?

I you could get over the idea that, or73 years, thousands o Capitol people havebeen witnessing the Hunger Games andstill delight in it (historical backdrop odystopian society notwithstanding), thenthis movie really needs to be seriously dis-

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:

A new voice for life

For the exercise of religiousfreedom to be truly

meaningful, individualsshould be allowed to profess

and practice their faith byfreely seeking and serving

God in their hearts, in theirlives and in their relationshipwith others, without fear ofpersecution or punishment.

Downplaying the OddsOn the Hunger Games movie

In the continuing debate on the Reproductive Health Bill, it isargued that, in a pluralistic and democratic society such as thePhilippines where there are divergent views and diering moral

principles, the Catholic Church and any religious denominationshould not and cannot impose their teachings and moral norms onthe state, the society, and the citizens. Respect or pluralism, it isasserted, is the essence o religious reedom.

by Atty. Maria Concepcion S. Noche

by Rosie Luistro

by Nicole Bautista

Furthermore, it is claimed that religion and religious belies should notinterere with and have an impact on government policy because o theseparation o church and state.

Our Constitution has two clauses related to religionand religious reedom: (1) the non-establishment clause, and (2) the reeexercise clause. Te ormer essentially means that the state cannotestablish or avor a particular aith or denomination. Te latter indicates

Will the proposed Php3-billion budget be putinto generating jobs,

into improving education, into morescholarships, and into training birthattendants and health practitioners? anew voice in Congress recently asked.Lets stop going around the problem andgo straight to the solution, she challengedher colleagues.

Tat voice is Congresswoman FatimaAliah Quibranza-Dimaporo who is on herrst term as Representative o the seconddistrict o Lanao del Norte. Already she

has created a niche that will be ingrainedin the history o the prolie movement. Ata very young age she has articulated, notonly in the halls o Congress, but in everycommunity she has been invited to speak,what she strongly stands or LIFE.

But this is o no surprise. Dimapororings a bell in contemporary politicsand this congresswoman is the secondgeneration o a well-known politicalclan. Born to a political amily, she isno stranger to controversy and politicalstrategies. Educated in very good schoolsand nishing with high honors, combinedwith an extensive experience in legislative

work and exposure to internationalpolicies, she cannot but have an impacton those within the range o her advocacy.Indeed, her deense o lie is remarkableor her grasp o the many social andeconomic issues involved, primarily therecognition o the unborns right to liveand the worth o a person not only rombirth but through the whole spectrum olie.

As one o the Nine Young Legislators(9YL), a group opposing the Reproductive

In Panem, a uturist

ic state inNorth America composedo twelve Districts and

the Capitol, there is anannual ully-televisedevent called theHunger Games. wotributes, a girl and aboy rom each dis-trict, are drawn at aspecial ceremony tocompete in these

games, which is just abetter way o saying tokill each other to bethe last one stand-ing.

Here we meet Katniss Everdeen : 16years old and already the breadwinnero the amily. She is a hunter-gatherer;a poacher who sells her kill at a blackmarket to eed her mother and youngersister, Prim. Te ball starts rolling at thereaping or the 74th Hunger Games, inwhich Katniss selessly volunteers tobe the emale tribute in place o Prim,whose name is picked out o hundreds.continued on page 3... continued on page 3...

continued at the back...

INSIDE:

YES

but NOT YET:Generation Ystransition toadulthood

Population Mythvs. DemographicDividend

Does the RH BillDefy God?

ALFI: GeneralAssembly

ALFI is a multi-sectoral organization committed to foster and defend the sanctity of marriage, to promote family solidarity, and to protect life at all stages of development.

that citizens, including public ofcials, are allowed to reely exercisetheir aith without government intererence or intrusion or obstruction.Te government can neither dictate aith nor compel the perormanceo actions or practices that run counter to ones aith.

Where are we today? Certain modern rights, such as the womansright to choose and the right to taxpayer-unded contraceptionincluding abortiacient drugs, have gained elevated signicancedwarng the constitutional and undamental right to lie. Legislators

and advocates pushing or the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill now alsoknown as Responsible Parenthood Bill are acting and talking as i the state, the culture, and the society needed to beprotected rom the Catholic teachings and the religious belies o certain believers. Tey have orgotten to protect theaithul rom the government.

Under the RH Bill, a healthcare service provider who reuses to provide inormation or perorm health care serviceson account o religion will nonetheless have to reer the person seeking such care to another provider who is willing toprovide the same service. Employers are likewise mandated to provide reproductive health services to their employees,which may include sterilization, ligation, and a whole range o articial contraception, without mention o religious orethical considerations.

Te Bill dangles a criminal penalty o imprisonment and/or ne to compel compliance with its provisions. Believers will nd themselves torn between delity to God andloyalty to their country. Tis unjustly limits the right to conscientious objection on the part o health care workers and proessionals and employers who take their religionseriously.

A Matter of Courage

Congresswoman Aliah Quibranza-Dimaporo

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close. Since avourable policies take timeto establish and take eect, especially in-

vestments in education, job creation, andhealth, and ailing to act on these policieswill have long-lasting damaging eectsand set us back even more.

Lets all sit up straight and take noticeo the benets o the demographic divi-dend that we have been blessed with.merci.suleik@gmail.com

For the exercise o religious reedom to be truly meaningul,individuals should be allowed to proess and practice their aith byreely seeking and serving God in their hearts, in their lives and in theirrelationship with others, without ear o persecution or punishment.Only in this way can this right be truly guaranteed.

By making contraception a matter o national policy and allocatingbillions o taxpayers money or its implementation, the Bill violentlydisregards the Catholic teachings and unduly and illegally tramplesupon the religious belies and convictions o the Catholic aithul.Indeed, it is not right to ask Catholics or any group o believers toorcibly pay or practices they deem sinul. o do so is tyrannical anddestructive o democracy.

Te advocates o the Bill try to silence opposition rom the CatholicChurch in the name o democracy and pluralism.

Democracy guarantees and deends the rights o the people. Tereore,or democracy to be operative, it is necessary, i not indispensable, todiscover again original human and moral values which are derivedrom the very truth about man and the dignity o the human person.Tey are values which no State can create, modiy or destroy, but canonly recognize, respect and promote. History has proven time andagain that or democracy to be stable, it needs a oundation o moralprinciples based upon aith and religion. Democracy, thus, cannot be

cussed. In truth, dregs o society or not, a persons lie isspecial and valuablekilling is wrong. In the movie, notonly is that act challenged, it is also given leeway.

For example, in the arena, the kids must kill someoneto be the last one standing. Te characters are orced intoa circumstance that somehow excuses killing. O coursethere are the nasty kids, whom Katniss calls the Careers,and its easy to understand that, against them, she ghtsbackthey are intent on killing her. She drops a hiveo tracker jackers (mutated wasps with lethal stings) onthem when they trap her up a tree.

But set sel-deense aside, and her excuses all at. A-ter the tracker jacker attack, Katniss teams up with Rue, a12-year-old girl rom District 11. Katniss eels she wantsto protect Rue, but she also knows that at some point inthe Games, i she is to survive, she has to kill the youngergirl. Conveniently, Katniss doesnt nd hersel havingto deal with itRue gets killed by a kid rom District 1(whom Katniss shoots without a second thought), andKatniss ends up strewing owers over her riends bodyto remind the viewing public that, hey, shes human.

Te scenes touching, but its quickly orgotten. As themovie progresses, graver acts leading to heavier ethicalquestions are thrown into the mix: Is it okay or Katniss

to pretend she loves Peeta to gain the avor o sponsors?Is Katniss justied in shooting Cato to put him out o hismisery? Is attempting suicide her only option to save her-sel and Peeta in the end?

neutral; it has to be inused with values that are not subject to variation according to dierent political trends. Tese values should guide and direct political activity ; otherwise,

ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated or reasons o power.

Pluralism does not imply that all ideas and religious belies are equally valid, becaus e they are not. Plu ralism, thereore, does not require us to mute our convictions, nor doesit excuse us rom speaking and acting to advance our belies. It should instead usher in the development o a genuine religious maturity th at would not only respect the reedomo persons to do as they choose within the limits o the common welare, but which would also inuse them with the delity and courage to choose what they know, through theirCatholic aith and reason, to be right.

Ultimately, the right to religious reedom is based on the dignity o the human person, being a child o God, ree and responsible, with a corresponding obligation to seek thetruth and adhere to it when known.

Religious reedom is a matter o couragethe courage to seek the ruth. mcnoche@philonline.com

It makes one ask: Is survival more important than being human?

Because in truth, this is a story o a girl who loathes a cruel system, rebelsagainst the system, but in the end, does exactly what the system wants her to do,which is to orget her humanity. Te story compels Katniss to make the wrong deci-sions, and convinces her that its okay given the circumstances, given the chance osurvival.

For young viewers, this idea may be very problematic. Because this kind o eth-ics challenges the veracity that some thingslike deceit, murder, mercy killing,and suicideare wrong in all circumstances. In showing that Katnisss actions areokay because o their outcome (she does survive the Games, and saves Peeta in thebargain), the movie tells viewers that the end justies the means. It downplays thegravity o evil choices and desensitizes viewers not only to violence, but also to otherimmoral acts, like insincerity.

Dystopian uture world or not, Panem cannot redene good and evil be-cause it cannot redene human beings, much less take away their reedom(and responsibility) to choose what is right. Hence, the odds that Te HungerGames movie is in avor o leaving its viewers with some nourishing ood or thoughtare low; and thats quite ironic, considering the Games amous tagline.

he workplace is clean; the workers, young

(average age: 25). No one sits idle but nei-

ther does anyone seem harried. Tere is no

piped-in music but the sound o the computer keys

manipulated by de ngers, in varying degrees o in-

tensity, create a rhythmic pattern that seems to ollowa melodic line.

Te overall impression I got as I entered this ofcewas one o positive work ethic.

alking to the employees, I ound them thoughtul.Tey told me they want a better lie than their par-ents. Tey believe in and practice work lie balance.Tey pursue personal development as much as theycrave or exciting jobs. Te word achievement can beread on their lips. On weekends they join un runs,

yoga sessions, read about ashion, and tweet about caus-es they actively support which includes green livingand eco tourism eorts whether at home or in the work-place. Tey love the convenience o modern liestyles paying bills online and travelling to exotic places.

Meet Generation Y. Born between 1982 and 2002,quite a number o them are now in the workplaces. Onthe surace, they seem poised on the ast lane.

Curiously though, among the group I had a chance tobe with, only a handul is married. It is not that they do notwant a amily, but that they all are too preoccupied at themoment. Most o t hem want to take on all these adult ob-ligations; their attitude, however, is typically, Yes, but notyet. Tey still want the lure o independence, the magic ospontaneity and the thousand and one possibilities at theirdisposal.

continued from p.1RELIGIOUS FREEDOM...

YES but NO YE: Generation Ys transition to adulthoodby Gladys Golo

Considering the ve external markers o adulthood leaving the parental household, onset o marriage, on-set o childbearing, completion o schooling, enteringthe labor orce in a ull time job one can hypothesizethat young adults are delaying these milestones. In theeld o psychology, a new period o the lie course hasbeen created. It is called emerging adulthood.

Carlo is only 21 but by June he will already have aMasters degree. Summertime or him involves varied

jobs. Tis particular summer, he will be in Vietnam todo pro bono work or an NGO that gives career educa-tion to high school students. But Carlo chooses to bewith his parents still, more o a desire to pay orwardrather than just out o convenience.

On the other hand, some o Carlos counterpartsare unemployed. Tey are the type who may requireadditional assistance in transitioning out o the housedue to lack o purchasing power, hence maniesting acontinued dependence on parents. Aside rom delay inhome departures, there is the phenomenon o cyclingin and out o the home, leaving and then coming back,due to the inability to be sel-sufcient.

Tose who belong to Generation Y want to takeon adult obligations but they also still want to

enjoy independence, spontaneity and the countlesspossibilities they have at their disposal.

Four actors that willbeneft the Philippine

society: increased laborsupply, increase in

savings, human capital,

and increased domesticdemand.

James Marcia who developed the identity statusparadigm posited our possible outcomes or statuses:achieved (individuals have explored and made com-mitment), moratorium (exploration is occurring butno commitments have been made), oreclosed (noexploration has occurred but commitment have beenmade) and diused (individuals have not explorednor made commitments).

As these transitions happen, they can create crisesin the lie cycle o amilies. One can get stuck in theoreclosed or diused state longer than necessary. Itis in moment o crisis that the amily can also showits resilience and true personality. However, ami-lies can anticipate and prepare or these transitions byconstant communication and deliberate habit orma-tion.

How much o the amily structure can help theyoung adult arrive at a more stable identity out-come? How much o the early years have providedthe required scaolding so that each person can orgeahead and not prolong the transition into adult roles?When should exploration end so that deeper level ocommitments may be made?

Positive parental education does not stop at 18,nor does it have to end aer college. I once chancedupon a V show that eatured then Pope John PaulII sharing to Ambassador Henrietta de Villa that theFilipinos have two great gis: their close amily tiesand their deep aith in God. Te parents thereore,will have to continue to ensure that the physical andemotional needs o all their children are achieved,and that all amily members, including and moreespecially those who are retired are equally entitledto the satisaction o basic needs in this evolving andchanging amily unit.

Te generation Y can also impact positively totheir amilies by accentuating their positive traits, sothat they create the bridge that connects the past to abetter uture.

Hunger Games... continued from p1

Once again one o the oldest myths o economicliterature is being rehashed. Te hoary Mal-thusian proposition o 1798 has become the

underlying dogma o those who would belabour theconsequences o population on the pace and process oeconomic growth by raising the bogey o difculties oeeding the 92.3 million and growing Filipinos. Pro-ponents o this doctrine make it look as i it is a reason-able proposal to cure poverty and promote economicdevelopment in the Philippines.

O course poor old Malthus never dreamed that priceresponses, institutional changes, and technological in-novations would ever come to pass. Indeed, a numbero studies have shown that the productivity o humancapital and the importance o technical change put intoquestion the highly pessimistic Malthusian underpin-nings o the population bomb theories. Nobel Prizeeconomist Simon Kuznets ound that based on simplecorrelation, and looking at the longer term, a net nega-tive impact o population growth in per capita outputwas not obvious in the data. Moreover, it has beenshown that the growing populations in East Asia have

bred the so-called Asian tigers in the region.

Now comes an even more positive window o op-portunity in the development o society and a nation studies that show a demographic dividend that countriesmay exploit, by laying down appropriate policies thatwould make possible aster rates o economic growthand human development as ertility rates decline. In thecase o the Philippines, the ertility rate has been declin-ing since 2000 when it was recorded at 3.48 to 3.19 in2011. Indeed it has rather dramatically dropped romaround 7 in 1960, reecting the choices o childbear-ing women over the years without the state oisting iton them, as it would with the RH bill. It may also bementioned that this indicator shows the potential orpopulation change in the country and is a more directmeasure than the crude birth rate (which gives the aver-

age annual number o births a year per 1000 persons,and is oen used to determine the rate o populationgrowth which recent screaming headlines are beingused by RH proponents to scare t he living daylights outo us), as it reers to births per woman.

What is the demographic dividend? Simply stated,the demographic dividend occurs when a alling birthrate changes the age distribution so that ewer invest-ments are needed to meet the needs o the youngest agegroups and resources are released or investment in eco-nomic development and amily welare. A alling birth

rate makes or a smaller population at young, depend-ent ages and or relatively more people in the adult agegroups who comprise the productive labor orce. Itimproves the ratio o productive workers to child de-pendents in the population, allowing or aster econom-ic growth and ewer burdens on amilies.

It may be mentioned that the eect o this drop inertility rates is not immediate. Tere is a lag that pro-duces a generational population bulge that or a time ex-erts a burden on society and increases the dependencyratio. (Tis may be the current situation in the Philip-pines which UN-MDG and USAID people are exploit-ing by dangling the carrot o development with the sticko birth control, not to mention their deceptive 2.3%statistic concerning our population growth rate which

Population Myth vs. Demographic Dividend by Merci SuleikNSO has measured at 1.9%.)

Eventually this dependent group will reach the pro-ductive age, and the dependency ratio will decline dra-matically, leading to what is known as t he demographicdividend. Te Philippines has a large number o youngworkers with purchasing power that can increase con-sumption, savings and investment. Currently the aver-age age is 22.2 years, with nearly hal a million graduatesavailable to the labor orce each year. By 2015, no lessthan Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amandoetangco, Jr. said, we will reach that demographic sweetspot.

Tis is the time which a country may exploit byimplementing eective policies that can acilitate morerapid economic growth, lessening the strain on amilies.During the course o this demographic dividend, ourcourses o action that will benet society may be deliv-ered through: (1) increased labor supply; (2) increase insavings; (3) human capital; and (4) increased domesticdemand.

Among the examples o eective economic policiesare: (1) policies that improve human resource capa-bilities and create jobs, to absorb the large number oteenagers coming o age; (2) open trade policies whichcan drive aster growth during this window period; (3)policies to generate capital to uel growth, e.g., policiesthat encourage personal saving, government and busi-ness savings, oreign investments, and developmentassistance; and (4) policies that promote health, espe-cially o children and teenagers to improve educationalperormance as well as encouraging responsible amilyplanning.

As an aside, it has also been mentioned that thereis a second demographic dividend which relates to alarge proportion o older working age people who acelonger periods o retirement, who accumulate assets,and also contribute to the economys consumption, sav-ings and investment.

Our country should take advantage o the oppor-tunity to enhance the key eatures o the economic liecycle. Te opportunities now present will not last long,in approximately ve decades, t he window will begin to

A New Voice... continued from p.1Health bill in Congress, her commitment to the prolie cause ar surpasses what is expected rom a very youngLegislator.

Watching this pretty, eisty lady speak and witnessing her easy interaction with people, we are glad to have

ound yet another champion or lie, a voice or the voiceless among us who cherish amily, who welcome newlie as a blessing, not a burden.

Congresswoman Aliah, we support your dedication to ght or what you believe in and we salute that spirit!rbluistro@gmail.com

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Does the RH Bill Defy God?

ALLIANCE FOR THE FAMILY FOUNDATION PHILS. INC. (ALFI)

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Editor-in-Chief: Merci Suleik

Guest Editor: Ditas Bermudez

Layout Artist: Carla Alegria

Guest Editorial Cartoonist: Jess Abrera

Contributing writers: Nicole Bautista, Gladys

Golo, Rosie Luistro, Girlie Noche

Tune in to Buhay, Pamilya at Bayan, a radio

program about life and family broughtto you by ALFI every second Sunday ofthe month from 11 a.m. to 12 nn, Radio

Mindanao Network (RMN),AM radio, DZXL 558 khz.

Watch L.I.F.E. -- a talk show produced byALFI about current issues that

threaten life and family. Tuesdays, 9:15p.m.Global News Network, Destiny Cable, with

replays on TV Maria, Channel 160, SkyCableMondays through Fridays 2p.m.;

Saturdays 8:30pm; Sundays 6:30 p.m.

We need your support. To sustain thepublication of ALFI News, check/cash

donations are welcome. Please call (02)623-0300; 09175419370 for pick-up of donation ordeposit to BPI current account#1761-0026-15;

account name: Alliance for theFamily Foundation Philippines, Inc.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (2012)Maria Concepcion S. Noche

Timothy A. Laws

Eileen Z. Araneta

Salvacion C. Monteiro

Marietta C. Gorrez

Elenita S.A. Sandejas

OFFICERS (2012)Chairman : Timothy A. Laws

President : Maria Concepcion S. NocheVice President for Programs : Salvacion C. Monteiro

Vice Pres. for Administrative Affairs : Eileen Z. Araneta

Corporate Secretary : Marietta C. Gorrez

Corporate Treasurer : Elenita S.A. Sandejas

Hazeleen L. Mante

Rolando M. Bautista

Guillermo A. Francia

ADVISERS:Rosie B. Luistro

Jose S. Sandejas

his years General Assembly or Alliance or theFamily Foundation Philippines, Inc. (ALFI)could not have taken place at a better time. Te

crusade to thwart anti-lie legislation had been noticeablygaining ground the past year, dierent groups were com-ing up with initiatives to make their lie-arming senti-ments known, and people o aith seemed to have awak-ened to the act that their moral convictions were beingtrampled on.

Congress being on a six-week break at the time othe March 10 General Assembly seemed to all the morestress that while lawmakers were on recess, the ght orlie never takes a break. Hence, over a hundred peoplegathered at the Parents or Education Foundation-runWoodrose School in Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa

on that Saturday morning or several hours o sharing,learning and ellowship.

ALFI president Atty. Maria Concepcion Nocheswords served as a vital reminder or the packed audito-rium about how the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill is a

vehicle through which peoples religious reedom is be-ing trampled on. Contrary to what many misguided olkshave been insisting, it is the RH bill that is guilty o im-posing ones religious views on others healthcare work-ers and medical proessionals are orced to participate inpractices that go against their religious convictions (reer-ring patients to others who would provide the servicesconcerned is participation nonetheless) and employersmust either provide RH services to their employees or

suer the consequences, based on the legislative measurepending in both chambers o Congress.

By dangling a criminal penalty o imprisonmentand/or ne, believers will nd themselves torn betweendelity to God and loyalty to their country. Tis unjustlylimits the right to conscientious objection on the part ohealth care workers and medical proessionals. For theexercise o religious reedom to be truly meaningul, in-dividuals should be allowed to proess and practice theiraith by reely seeking and serving God in their hearts, intheir lives and in their relationship with others, withoutear o persecution or punishment. Only in this way canthis right be truly guaranteed, Noche pointed out.

Coming up with a national policy on birth controlalso has repercussions on society that Filipinos still needto understand and reject, the lawyer added.

Te present set-up allows respect or religious belieso everyone. But once a national policy on contraceptionis legislated, that changes the landscape altogether. Mak-ing it a matter o national policy or institutionalizing con-traception via RH Bill and allocating billions o our scarceresources, will deprive us o our choice because the gov-ernment will eectively have made that choice already orthe Filipino amilies, she explained.

Noche reminded everyone that moral principles arenecessary or sound decision-making as regards policies

which he was a good servant and chose to serve Godrst, religion has an important place in the political pro-cess. For indeed, it has been proven time and again thator democracy to be stable, it needs a oundation o moralprinciples based upon aith and religion.

Also gracing the event was Lanao del Norte Repre-sentative Fatima Aliah Dimaporo, who shed more lighton the ins and outs o inuencing legislation rom dier-ent levels. Speaking rom the heart and showing a keenunderstanding o the need to hold ast to ones moral con-

victions i the good were to be upheld in society, the con-gresswoman related experiences o working side by sidewith the youth in New York as part o the World YouthAlliance, and o speaking up even when doing so wouldbe going against the grain. She enjoined the crowd to dotheir part as citizens, because ordinary citizens have thepower and the duty to inuence the direction o publicpolicy i they get involved.

Dr. Jose Sandejas, Adviser to ALFIs Board o rustees,provided a systematic presentation o the area o popula-tion and demographics, and Mr. Josemaria Fernandez

rounded o the entire program as master o ceremonies.

Afer the program, the attendees partook o somerereshments while exchanging stories and experiences,and sharing strategies to carry out in the continued advo-cacy or lie and amily.#Diana Uichanco

ALFI GeneralAssembly

that will benet the common good somethingthat needs to be explicitly stated nowadays dueto calls or religion to have no place in the publicsquare.

On the contrary, As demonstrated by St.Tomas More when he deed the sovereign o

ALFI News is published quarterly by the Alliance for the

Family Foundation Philippines, Inc., with ofces Unit530 Richville Corporate Tower, Madrigal Business Park,

1107 Alabang-Zapote Rd., Muntinlupa City.

Telephone: (02) 623-0300; Mobile: 09175419370

Email: allianceforthefamily@gmail.com

Website: www.al.org.ph