Month: January 2022

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Press Release

STATEMENT ON THE “NO VACCINATION, NO RIDE” POLICY

The Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-list asserts the fundamental truth that public restrictions targeting a segment of the population based on their health status and personal conviction is discriminatory and flagrantly intrusive of Filipinos’ basic rights. Thus, CIBAC opposes the No Vax, No Ride scheme enforced by the Department of Transportation for being anti-poor, anti-science, and, ultimately, anti-people.

Anti-Poor

A broad-sweeping ban against the unvaccinated on the use of public utility vehicles (PUV) renders a huge swath of low-income Filipinos immobile, unable to report to work, and paralyzed from participating in economic activities that support the survival of their families amid the pandemic. The vast majority of PUV users ranges from hardworking middle-class employees to the poorest of the poor of our countrymen. They are hit the hardest by what is effectively a travel ban.

Anti-Science

The vaccinated can still carry and transmit the virus. In fact, several studies suggest that natural immunity in unvaccinated individuals who have recovered from Covid may be more robust than vaccine-induced immunity. Giving preferential and deferential treatment to the vaccinated over the unvaccinated bears poor scientific backing. No less than Republic Act 11525 or the Vaccination Program Act of 2021 states that vaccinated individuals shall not be considered immune from COVID-19 unless declared by the government based on reliable scientific evidence and consensus. Until such time when there is conclusive scientific evidence that only unvaccinated individuals can transmit the virus, a sweeping discriminatory policy against them should take the back seat and, in case it will be resorted to, it should be done at the least restrictive means.

In these difficult times, what we need are policies that will unite, not divide, the people toward a safe and healthy return to normalcy. No Vax, No Ride communicates the divisive message that the unvaccinated are somehow less deserving of basic rights freely enjoyed by the vaccinated. This is antithetical to national healing and recovery.

Conclusion

Instead of tyrannically pushing the unvaccinated to a corner, government should instead educate, promote transparency in vaccine information (both risks and benefits), reinforce safety protocols, and demonstrate trustworthiness by honoring the people’s Constitutional freedoms.

The overwhelming majority of our population want to be fully vaccinated. According to the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released this week, only a meager 8% are vaccine-hesitant[1]. In addition, latest data from the Department of Heath show that only around 60 million Filipino were given first (1st) dose of the jab. A fatal combination of poor vaccine supply access and vaccine deployment inefficiency remains to plague government. This should be addressed first.

Ramp up vaccine roll-out and access now. Increase the vaccination rate now. Cater to the 92% who want to be fully vaccinated now.

CIBAC calls on national and local governments to do away with brash crackdowns on the unvaccinated. Divisive measures only foment chaos and stigma. Mocking the people’s God-given rights accomplishes nothing but confirm what many already suspect to be a bigger monster than Covid: the government’s towering ineptitude to defang Covid.

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[1] https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/01/21/2155418/sws-vaccine-hesitancy-among-filipinos-continues-drop

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Press Release

CIBAC Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva lauds Magna Carta on Religious Freedom passage on House 3rd reading

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-list Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva celebrates the passage on third reading of House Bill No. 10569 or the “Magna Carta on Religious Freedom Act,” describing the moment as a “high point” in the country’s history and perfectly timed for the pandemic.

“Concretizing the right to freedom of religion through an implementing law is long-overdue. And the passage could not have come at a better time, when governments are susceptible to overreaching their powers because of the global catastrophe we’re facing. This is definitely a high point in the country’s history and a good news to Filipino faithfuls who put unparalleled importance to their relationship with their Creator,” Deputy Speaker Villanueva added.

Principally authored by CIBAC representatives Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Domingo Rivera, the Magna Carta on Religious Freedom covers the following rights:

• Right to choose a religion or religious groups
• Right to exercise or express religious belief, practices, acts, or activities
• Right to act in accordance with conscience
• Right to propagate religious beliefs
• Right to disseminate religious publications
• Right of religious worship and ceremonies to freedom and from interruption
• Right to organizational independence
• Right to freedom against discrimination
• Right to freedom against discrimination in educational institutions
• Right of companies or businesses to be founded on religious beliefs
• Right of parents or legal guardians to rear children

“Filipinos shall be encouraged to pursue their own spiritual growth according to their God-given power to choose. They shall be afforded freedom to think, to choose, and to practice their religious beliefs without the fear of persecution or punishment or the threat thereof. Wherever religious persecution is practiced, normalized, condoned, encouraged, and even incentivized, you can expect the stifling of other human rights,” said Villanueva, who also sits as House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness.

“The bill also aims to promote a free market of religious ideas in the country where no religious belief is suppressed or quelled over the other. By leveling the playing field for the propagation of different religions, Filipinos are afforded the full spectrum of faith and beliefs and the freedom to choose to which they will subscribe. This in turn will counter religious fanaticism which gives rise to many societal problems in the country,” Deputy Speaker Villanueva added.

However, the CIBAC solon also clarified that the bill recognizes limitations to religious freedom. Accordingly, it can be denied, regulated, burdened, or curtailed if an action results to violence, or inflicts or poses to inflict direct or indirect physical or material harm or danger on other people, or infringe on their own freedom of religion or conscience, or is necessary to protect public safety, public order, health, property and good morals.

The CIBAC solon hopes that the Senate will swiftly act on the measure to usher its eventual enactment into law. #

Categories
Press Release

CIBAC Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva welcomes Anti-Child Marriage Law

OFFICE OF DEPUTY SPEAKER BRO. EDDIE VILLANUEVA
CIBAC PARTYLIST
PRESS RELEASE
JAN 6, 2022

Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Partylist and House Deputy Speaker Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva lauds the enactment of a measure seeking to end child marriage in the country.

“Now that Republic Act 11596, or the Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage, is in place, we can more confidently and proudly say that the Filipino legal system protects and upholds the rights and welfare of children. After all, no less than our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal described the youth as the hope of the motherland. Ending child marriage ensures a brighter future for all Filipino children,” said Villanueva.

Villanueva and his fellow CIBAC Rep. Domeng Rivera are co-authors of the measure.

“Children who prematurely enter marriage, unprepared for its responsibilities, are more likely to have their potential and opportunities for better life thwarted. They are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Thus, anyone who forces or causes a child to be bound in an early unwarranted marriage must be punished,” Villanueva explained.

“The protection of young women against corrupting elements of society has always been a top priority for CIBAC like in the 16th Congress when CIBAC shepherded the passage of the Anti-Mail Order Spouse Law (RA 10906). Banning child marriage is another significant victory CIBAC shares with Filipino women and children,” added Villanueva, who sits as the House Deputy Speaker for Good Governance and Moral Uprightness.

“The youth are the franchise holders of the future. For them to play a vital role in nation building, they must be equipped with the right values and skills necessary for family life. Their legal protection from premature marriage is long overdue. RA 11596 is a most welcome good news to start year 2022,” said the CIBAC solon.