Pope Francis has declared an all-out war on clerics engaged in sexual abuses, describing them as \u201ctools of Satan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth,\u201d he reiterated at the closing of the historic summit on clergy sexual abuse held recently at the Vatican.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the cover-up of sexual abuse cases, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle cried as he acknowledged that \u201cwounds have been inflicted by us, the bishops, on the victims.<\/p>\n
The four-day meeting of 190 senior bishops from all over the world signals the era of \u201cpurification\u201d of the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
In 2002, the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), through its then president, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, issued a \u201chistoric apology\u201d to all the victims of\u00a0 priests accused of sexual abuse since the 1980s.<\/p>\n
At that time, 200 out of 7,000 priests were accused of sexual misconduct, including child abuse, homosexuality and involvement in love affairs.<\/p>\n
With the Vatican summit declaring accountability and transparency in sex abuse cases all over the world, will the CBCP release the identity of these 200 priests and the status of the complaints against them?<\/p>\n
I think Cardinal Tagle should lead in also exposing Church officials who coddle these abusive priests!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
The presence in the country of some 450,000 Chinese nationals \u2014 whether documented or undocumented \u2014 who work in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogo) is creating\u00a0 controversy.<\/p>\n
Experts say the number may rise to two million over the next five years.<\/p>\n
Last year, 170 illegal online gambling operators were raided in Makati and Muntinlupa cities.<\/p>\n
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is very optimistic though as Pogo revenues rose from P3.1 billion in 2017 to P6 billion in 2018.<\/p>\n
During PNoy\u2019s time, 200 Pogo operators in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority gave the government a yearly revenue of only P52 million. Pagcor has issued 57 licenses to Pogo companies as of today, each paying $150,000 a month. Pogo revenues come from Chinese mainlanders.<\/p>\n
Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand want a piece of the action but as of now, the Philippines and the Isle of Man UK are the preference of Chinese online gaming operators.<\/p>\n
Which leads me and our readers to note: PNoy\u2019s 200 Pogo operators in 2016 against Duterte\u2019s 57?\u00a0 PNoy administration\u2019s P52 million yearly against Duterte\u2019s P6 billion a year?<\/p>\n
Where did the money go?<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Malaca\u00f1ang should immediately approve the creation of the new National Commission of Senior Citizens and consolidate all the benefits of the more than 10.5 million people aged 60 and above.<\/p>\n
House Bill 8837 creating the commission, authored by party-list Rep. Francisco Datol, was earlier approved on third and final reading in the lower house.<\/p>\n
It was also approved and adopted in full by the Senate. Therefore, there is no need to convene a bicameral committee. All that is lacking is President Duterte\u2019s signature for the bill to become a law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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