Lawmakers say divorce bill passed with insufficient support

Sheila Crisostomo - The Philippine Star

May 25, 2024 | 10:53am

MANILA, Philippines — Two members, who have been opposing the controversial divorce bill, have questioned the legitimacy of the measure’s passage on May 22, saying it was approved only by a “minority vote.”

Echoing the opinion of former Senate president Tito Sotto, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and CIBAC party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva said House Bill 9349, or the Absolute Divorce Act, did not get the required votes to institute divorce in the country during plenary deliberation last Wednesday.

Rodriguez noted based on the final tally on the floor, it was officially announced that the controversial measure got 126 affirmative, 109 negative and 20 abstentions.

After this, he noted that Velasco issued an advisory setting the votes at 131-109-20.  

“There is an increase of five affirmative votes … This cannot be done as the period and process of voting was completed (May 22) evening when after the votes of each member were cast, these were tabulated and the Speaker (Martin Romualdez) announced the final vote on the floor and properly entered into the Journal,” he added.

For his part, Velasco explained that before the adjournment of session last Wednesday, it turned out that there were affirmative votes that were not recorded by the secretariat.

“The actual votes did not match what was reported by the secretariat. It was immediately corrected,” he pointed out.

The changes in voting were also questioned by Sotto, who posted on his X account that “If Congress is persistent in passing a very debatable law, they can at least follow the proper procedures so it won’t be questionable.”

“You knew I was right. You lost the vote. You massaged it after. How do you sleep at night doing what you do? You want to pass a debatable bill, do it properly,” he maintained.

For his part, Villanueva echoed that divorce bill was only approved by a minority vote. He said neither the 126 nor 131 votes represent half the number of House members.

The lawmaker also questioned Section 117 of the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives which provides that a majority of the number of those voting shall decide whether a measure is approved or not. This provision stated an abstention should not be counted as a vote.

Villanueva added this means the bill was approved “only due to an ambiguity in the rules of voting procedures in the House.” — Ghio Ong

Our true wealth

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WE should be clear about what our true wealth is. It definitely is not anything that comes from the world—money, fame, power, etc. Our true wealth is when we finally are with God, when our heart and mind and everything else in our life go along with the will and ways of God who is willing to share who he is and what he has with us! Nothing should replace God in our life. Replacing God would be the biggest stupidity we can get into.

This is made quite clear in that gospel episode about a man who asked Christ  what he ought to do to receive life everlasting. (cfr. Mk 10,17-27) We know how that story unfolded. It’s a pity that the man preferred to stick to his worldly riches over the real source of wealth meant for us.

We really should be most careful in our attitude toward our worldly wealth. While it’s true that we also need it, we should never consider it as our ultimate wealth. At best, it is only meant as a means and an occasion to pursue our true wealth. 

Let’s be strong in resisting the temptation to be possessed by our worldly wealth, because as Christ himself said: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10,25)

We have to be most wary of this scenario in our life, which actually, and sadly, is quite common. There are good people who are not truly good enough, because when the ultimate test is made, they are not willing to give up all they have in order to have God.

They forget what St. Teresa once said, “Solo Dios basta,” (With God we have enough). They get too attached to the many good things in their life such that these blessings from God are converted into competitors of God themselves.

They prefer a life in this world that is without suffering, without self-denial, without the cross, as if a genuine Christian life can be exempted from all these. It is as if they have been born without original sin and have led their lives without committing any sin at all.

We have to be most careful with this most likely phenomenon happening in our lives. Yes, we have to be well-guarded against this temptation and do everything to combat it whenever, wherever and however it arises.

It would be a pity if after the many good things we may be doing, we fail to pass the final test. We have to remember that love is without measure. It is in its nature to give itself completely, convinced that what seems to be lost would actually be regained a hundredfold. In this, Christ has reassured us abundantly.

We have to be wary of the tricks of the devil and of our own wounded flesh that all try to block us in the last stretch in our pursuit of love. They will try to convince us that we already have given and done enough. We do not need to give more. They will try to trick us to be self-satisfied with what we already have been giving and doing.

To be sure, to give ourselves completely to God and to others is not easy. We need nothing less than the grace of God and our generous and prompt correspondence to it. Hard, yes, but it’s not impossible.

'Aghon' to make another landfall in Bicol area within next 24 hours --- ...

Angel Canino leads Alas Pilipinas to rousing Challenge Cup debut

 Photo by MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

By: Angel B. Dukha III - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:25 AM May 25, 2024

Considering the short amount of time that Alas Pilipinas had in preparation for the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup, its hopes for success were not the highest.

And there were even lower expectations for La Salle’s Angel Canino, who previously admitted that she was still not in top form and still recovering from a right arm injury. That wasn’t the case on Thursday night.

“I am very happy [with the win] because I was not expecting [a lot] from myself,” Canino said shortly after helping the Philippines to a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 victory over a tall Australia side and get its bid off on the right foot before an appreciative home crowd at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The La Salle ace in the UAAP dropped 17 points built around 15 attacks, a block and an ace and made most of her damage in the third frame that gave Alas a one-set lead.

But Canino downplayed her impact on the match witnessed by 4,945 mostly Filipino crowd eager to watch Alas Pilipinas defend home turf.

“I would like to give credit to my teammates and coaches because they guided me inside and outside the court, so I am really thankful to them because they were there for me,” Canino said. “I think I am not the biggest reason [for the win].

“The real big reason that we got the win is our teamwork, given our short time of preparations,” she added.

Alas captain Jia de Guzman, meanwhile, made sure that everyone got involved offensively with some brilliant setting in the final three sets.

Giving their all

Eya Laure was also relentless in piercing the Volleyroos’ defense, adding another 17 points, including six in the final frame that helped the Filipinos pull through.

Sisi Rondina was her typical explosive self in her indoor debut for the national team and came through with 16 points, shocking the Australians early in the game, while Thea Gagate manned the net so well and finished with four of the Philippines’ 12 blocks.

“It feels great [getting the opening game win] knowing especially that we didn’t have a lot of preparations coming here today,” de Guzman said. “Going to this game, we said that ‘regardless of what happens, as long as we leave our best on the floor, we are okay with whatever the result.’”

“Thankfully, the win went our way,” she added as Alas Pilipinas tries to take a piece of the Pool A lead battling current top team India (2-0) at press time on Friday.

Celeste Cortesi shrugs off hate over remark on Miss Universe PH winners

 

Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi and Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Chelsea Manalo. Image: Instagram/@celeste_cortesi, @themissuniverseph

By: Anne Pasajol

INQUIRER.net / 12:58 PM May 24, 2024

Celeste Cortesi appears unbothered as she laughed off the “hate” over her “what just happened” remark on the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 winners.

The Miss Universe Philippines 2022 titleholder was earlier at the receiving end of criticism for tweeting “What just happened?” after the winner announcement at this year’s Miss Universe Philippines finals night.

Netizens were quick to react and presumed that Cortesi was questioning titleholder Chelsea Manalo’s win, although the Filipino-Italian beauty queen later clarified that it was not what she meant.

Through her Instagram Stories on Thursday, May 23, Cortesi then showed herself enjoying her vacation in Bali, adding the caption: “When the haters hate you. [Charot]” alongside two laughing face emoji.

In a separate video, Cortesi and her companions were also seen alluding to the matter and apparently poking fun at it.

“Babe, what just happened?” one of them asked, to which Cortesi replied, “I have no idea what just happened. I am in Bali, guys!”

Cortesi, nonetheless, reshared her statement clarifying her reaction to the MUPH winners in a succeeding post.

“Let’s all relax and have a drink, char. Peace and love,” she added.

Aside from Manalo, other delegates who were crowned at the recent finals night were Tarah Valencia of Baguio as Miss Supranational Philippines; Cyrille Payumo of Pampanga as Miss Charm Philippines; Alexie Mae Brooks from Iloilo City as Miss Eco International Philippines; and Ma. Ahtisa Manalo of Quezon Province as Miss Cosmo Philippines.

Cainta’s Stacey Gabriel and Taguig’s Christi Lynn McGarry, meanwhile, were named 1st and 4th runners-up, respectively.