BREAKTHROUGH NEWS

(Group 2 English Saint. Cecilia)

GAS, DIESEL, KEROSENE

Ram: Good morning, This is Ram Lazarte and im reporting from

“Breakthrough News” and today our top and latest story is bout “Gas,
Diesel, Kerosene”, “Homosexuality”, “War Against Drugs” and “Red-
Tagging” Jamin can you please give us further information about the
latest news of “Gas, Diesel, Kerosene”?

Jamin: Thank you Sir. Ram for having me here, Lets start the discussion
of the Reporting, Starting with The pump price of gasoline, diesel and
kerosene. The prices will increase again by atleast one pesos per liter
starting Tuesday, January 31. It will be the third straight week marked
by a fuel price increase.

Hermiel: Local oil firms on Monday announced the following price

adjustments to be implemented on January 31 Shell(6 a.m.) Gasoline
One pesos per liter Diesel One pesos per liter Kerosene One pesos per
liter

Jamin: Sea oil (6 a.m.) Gasoline One pesos per liter Diesel One pesos
per liter Kerosene One pesos per liter

Ram: Cleanfuel (4:01 p.m.) Gasoline One pesos per liter Diesel One
pesos per liter Thats all for Gas, Mr. Elijah can you start the discussion
with “Homosexuality”?
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(Group 2 English, Saint. Cecilia)

HOMOSEXUALITY
Elijah: Lets start the discussion about Pope Francis has clarified his recent comments about
homosexuality and sin. Saying he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that
teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin And in a note Friday, Francis recalled that
even that black-and-white teaching is subject to circumstances that might eliminate the sin
altogether.

Ckandice: Francis first made the comments in an interview Jan. 24 with The Associated Press, in
which he declared that laws criminalizing homosexuality were “unjust” and that “being
homosexual is not a crime.” As he often does, Francis then imagined a conversation with
someone who raised the matter of the church’s official teaching, which states that homosexual
acts are sinful, or “intrinsically disordered.”

Maryrose: “Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime,” Francis said in the pretend
conversation. “It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.”

Ckandice: Recent Stories from BreakThrough News His comments calling for the
decriminalization of homosexuality were hailed by LGBTQ advocates as a milestone that would
help end harassment and violence against LGBTQ persons. But his reference to “sin” raised
questions about whether he believed that merely being gay was itself a sin.

Michael: The Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit who runs the U.S.-based Outreach ministry
for LGBTQ Catholics, asked Francis for
clarification and printed the pope’s handwritten response on the Outreach website late Friday.

Elijah: In his note, Francis reaffirmed that homosexuality “is not a crime,” and said he spoke out
“in order to stress that criminalization is neither good nor just.”

Maryrose: “When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says
that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” Francis wrote in Spanish, underlining the final
phrase.
Ckandice: But in a nod to his case-by-case approach to pastoral ministry, Francis noted that even
that teaching is subject to consideration of the circumstances, “which may decrease or eliminate
fault.” He acknowledged he could have been clearer in his comments to the AP.

Michael: But he said he was using “natural and conversational language” in the interview that
didn’t call for precise definitions.

Elijah: “As you can see, I was repeating something in general. I should have said: ‘It is a sin, as
is any sexual act outside of marriage.’ This is to speak of ‘the matter’ of sin, but we know well
that Catholic morality not only takes into consideration the matter, but also evaluates freedom
and intention; and this, for every kind of sin,” he said.

Maryrose: Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalize consensual same-sex sexual

activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty, according to The Human Dignity Trust,
which works to end such laws. Experts say even where the laws are not enforced, they contribute
to harassment, stigmatization and violence against LGBTQ people.

Michael: Catholic teaching forbids gay marriage, holding that the sacrament of marriage is a
lifelong bond between a man and a woman. It reserves intercourse for married couples while
forbidding artificial contraception. In his decade-long pontificate, Francis has upheld that
teaching but has made outreach to LGBTQ people a priority. Up next, War against drugs, We are
gonna go back to Sir. Ram for him to tell us further information about the situation?
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(Group 2 English, Saint. Cecilia)

RED-TAGGING

Elijah: “Red-Tagging” and Harassment of Activists Government and military officials accused

civil society groups of being supporters of communist New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents,

who have been waging a 53-year armed conflict across the Philippines.

Ckandice: Such accusations made without evidence are part of what is commonly known in the

Philippines as “red-tagging,” which put the accused at heightened risk of attack by the security

forces or unidentified gunmen.

Maryrose: The military, police, and other national security forces have actively used social

media to convey “red tagging” threats, and in several cases, those red-tagged persons were

subsequently killed by unknown gunmen.

Michael: The government’s National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict,

which works closely with the military, police, and the president’s office, accused numerous

political activists of being members of the Communist Party or the NPA.

Elijah: Among those red-tagged by the task force is former Vice President Leni Robredo, who

lost to Marcos in the recent presidential election. The task force has also red-tagged journalists,

book publishers, and international nongovernmental groups (NGOs), including Oxfam.

Ckandice: In September, Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar, a judge of the Manila Regional Trial

Court who had dismissed a case that sought to declare as “terrorist groups” the Communist Party

of the Philippines and its armed wing, became a target of red-tagging, prompting lawyers’ groups

and even the Supreme Court to intervene. The court specifically demanded an explanation from

former National Task Force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy why she should not be held in

contempt.

Maryrose: Leaders and lawyers of peasant organizations and human rights groups who were red-

tagged have been physically harmed by government security forces and vigilantes; several have

been killed. Others were harassed, such as a group of nuns and peasant women who were

charged with aiding “terrorist activities.”

Michael: In June, Clarita Carlos, the new chairperson of the National Security Council, publicly

said that she did not favor red-tagging. Despite this declaration, the practice continued.

ENDING(after saying all of the 4topics) Ram: Thank u for tuning in on Breakthrough news, This

is BreakThrough News. Ending the News.

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(Group 2 English Saint. Cecilia)

-WAR- -AGAINST- -DRUGS-

Ram: Thank you Sir. Michael and now i will tell you about the ocurring situation about the war
againts drugs. Soon after taking office on June 30, President Marcos stated he would continue
the “war against drugs” initiated by his predecessor. While Marcos claimed his administration
would do a “slightly different” anti-drug campaign by focusing on the rehabilitation of drug
users, the unlawful use of force by the police and government agents continued.

Hermiel: Monitoring by Dahas, A program run by the Third World Studies Center of the
University of the Philippines, found that at least 90 people had been killed in what the center
termed “drug-related violence” in the period since Marcos’ inauguration and September 30.

Jamin: The government reported that members of the Philippine National Police and the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency killed 6,252 individuals during anti-drug operations from
July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2022.

Hermiel: After Marcos took office, the government stopped releasing these statistics. The official
death toll does not include those killed by unidentified gunmen whom Human Rights Watch and
other rights monitors have credible evidence to believe operate in cooperation with local police
and officials.
Ram: The OHCHR calculated in a 2020 report that the death toll was at least 8,663. Domestic
human rights groups and the government appointed Philippines Commission on Human Rights
state that the real figure of “drug war” killings is possibly triple the number reported in the
OHCHR report. The authorities have seriously investigated very few “drug war” killings.

Hermiel: Only a handful of cases—12 out of thousands—are in varying stages of investigation

by police or active review by prosecutors.

Jamin: To date, there is only one case, the video-recorded murder of 17-year-old student Kian
delos Santos in August 2017, which resulted in the conviction of police officers. Up next, Red-
Tagging. Mr. Elijah can you tell us further information about the situation?