Humanae Vitae (Latin for “Of Human Life”) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and promulgated on July 25, 1968. Subtitled “On the Regulation of Birth”, it re-affirms the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding abortion, contraception, and other issues pertaining to human life.

Last Friday’s 40th anniversary of the encyclical was celebrated by the Philippine Catholic faithful with a prayer rally at the University of Santos Tomas. Four decades after its issuance, Humanae Vitae continues to engender much impassioned debate.

Police estimates placed the crowd at 12,000. The speakers included Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, who said: “Siguro, kung nag-family planning ang mga magulang ko. Wala tayong Manny Pacquiao ngayon. Pang-apat na anak ako ng aking magulang” (If my parents practiced family planning, we would have no Manny Pacquiao today. I am the fourth child.)

The recent discussion is particularly relevant in the light of renewed assaults by the institutional Church against the reproductive health bills pending in Congress.

The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is opposed to the bills for allegedly advocating “morally unacceptable” population control methods including some which it claims would induce abortion. Unfortunately, the way the CBCP presents its arguments has generated a lot of heat but little light. Read the rest of this entry »

Suddenly, there’s a lot of hype about a possible big-ticket fight between the Pacman and the Golden Boy. After initial reports that Manny Pacquiao’s next bout will be with Umberto Soto, Edwin Valero or even Ricky Hatton, talk has now shifted to a match between the two most “marketable” boxers in the world today, Manny and Oscar De La Hoya. With the emphasis on marketable.

Pacquiao trainer Freddy Roach, explaining why he would choose Oscar de la Hoya over Humberto Soto for Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent, bluntly said that it’s all about the money:
Read the rest of this entry »

In a press conference to announce the details of Jay Leno’s departure from “The Tonight Show”, the comedian turned up in disguise to ask questions about his own future. Leno put on a bald cap, fake goatee and glasses and joined the real reporters quizzing NBC executives about the turnover from him, after having hosted the show for the past 16 years, to Conan O’Brien.

It was revealed that the date set for Leno’s last “Tonight” appearance would be Friday, May 29, 2009, while Conan takes over the following Monday, June 1.

To his credit, Jay has put on record early on that the transition will be smooth and hassle-free. His beating out David Letterman as host of NBC’s “Tonight” show in 1992 was fraught with drama and ill feelings, and he has been quoted as saying that “Quite frankly, I don’t want to see anybody go through that again”. Even though, as reported by Slate, the lame duck has quacked that he doesn’t want to give up his gig. Read the rest of this entry »

The City is of Night; perchance of Death
But certainly of Night

- The City of Dreadful Night, James Thomson

The hype surrounding “The Dark Knight“, and predominantly good reviews, has ensured that this will be the biggest Batman blockbuster of them all. And assures that the franchise will flourish for at least the next two or three sequels.

Of course, the tragic death of Heath Ledger has created an inordinate amount of interest in his portrayal of Batman’s arch-nemesis, the psychopathic killer, the Joker. He doesn’t disappoint. Played with maniacal, almost reptilian, relish by Ledger, he makes Jack Nicholson’s earlier Joker look like Alfred E. Neuman by comparison. Ledger’s Joker is a one-man terrorist movement, as destructive and amoral as a typhoon, singularly focused on the destruction of the Batman and anyone else who might get in the way. He’s scary like a coiled snake, you can’t tear your eyes off him.

He and the Dark Knight (Christian Bale) are drawn to each other, like twins separated at birth. As the Joker likes to remind Batman, they’re more alike than he cares to admit. Everyone is potentially insane. All it takes is a little push. Read the rest of this entry »

An Inquirer article caught my eye which will cause not a few raised eyebrows and guffaws among my esteemed compañeros and compañeras in the profession.

In a recent resolution, Judge Medel Arnaldo B. Belen of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Calamba, Laguna was reprimanded by the Supreme Court for unbecoming conduct. It seems the good magistrate told a lawyer appearing before him that since he (the lawyer) did not graduate from the UP College of Law, he and the judge could not be equals. He was referring to Atty. Melvin D.C. Mane, who referred to himself as “a proud graduate of MLQU”. Read the rest of this entry »