Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Using Pope Francis for ePAL

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What can I say.

Picture says it all. Why do the letters “Cong.” have to be in red?

Wonder who paid for the tarps.

Comments

  1. the papal visit may inspire epal activities but in my case the papal visit and the oft repeated phrase to “love the poor” have led me to a very disturbing saddening thought: that the church loves the poor because without so many desperate uneducated masses of .people calling for divine intervention, where would the church be. there is nothing like the stunning images of the quiapo nazarene translacion to project the power and might of the catholic church in the philippines. the pope is justified in saying that the future of the catholic church is in asia, more specifically in the philippines. will the dear pope francis be able to say ” i am not saying. i love the poor, may their tribe increase. what i am saying is that i love the poor and i think the church bears responsibility for decreasing the number of poor people in the philippines”.

    • @wecandoit,

      Re your comment — will the dear pope francis be able to say ” i am not saying. i love the poor, may their tribe increase. what i am saying is that i love the poor and i think the church bears responsibility for decreasing the number of poor people in the philippines”

      I don’t know if Pope Francis will say it, but if a Pope will say it, I believe Pope Francis is one most likely to say it.

      • @nherrera
        i believe you are right. pope francis is reportedly coming out with an encyclical on climate change and taking care of the environment. pope francis is aware and astute enough to see the conflict between encouraging planet health and discouraging the implementation of the reproductive health law.

    • i hope and i pray that when pope francis see and realize the sad situation of our urban and rural poor people, he will declare to the public that the church must support the passage of the rh bill.

  2. The military should immediately assign teams of soldiers to confiscate the EPAL banners. NOT the police because they are beholden to their mayors.

    Pope Francis’ does not want his pictures displayed. Instead, banners should portray the picture of Jesus. What a shame if Filipinos could NOT heed that simple wish of the Pope. It reflects on the character of the people and the leadership of our country.

    • Good idea. That seems like reason enough for the Commander-In-Chief to order the AFP to do as you suggest.

    • . . . surely the Pope will be very disappointed on that!

      No PHOTO of Jesus! Do you see ONE?

      . . . the EPALS they placed their thick faces on the BANNERS!

      ugly!

      ha ha ha

  3. Welcome Pope Francis posters are all over. Mania has begun for selfies with standing look-alike cardboard image.

    From insider source in Vatican, his speech writer has included 2 words on his message to the Filipinos in Luneta on Sunday

    “FIGHT CORRUPTION”

    What will Binay answer to the call of Pope Francis?

    • BINAY — I agree 100 percent. That is, I hope these corrupt detractors mend their ways and stop spreading more lies. I promise that when I become President I will stop all forms of corruption. So remember me in 2016.

    • The Holy Father put forward the example of someone who puts one hand in his pocket and shows that he helps the Church, while with the other hand he robs “the State, and the poor”. It would be better for such a person if a millstone where put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea, Pope Francis said, adding “and it is not I who say it, but Jesus”.

      “This person deceives,” he continued, referring to the day’s First Reading from the Book of Wisdom (1:1-7) which states: “a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit, and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness”.

      “Where there is deceit, the Holy Spirit is not present,” Pope Francis said. “This is the difference between a sinner and a man who is corrupt. One who leads a double life is corrupt, whereas one who sins would like not to sin, but he is weak or he finds himself in a condition he cannot resolve, and so he goes to the Lord and asks to be forgiven. The Lord loves such a person, he accompanies him, he remains with him. And we have to say, all of us who are here: sinner yes, corrupt no”.

      m.vatican.va/content/francescomobile/en/cotidie/2013/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20131111_sinners-yes.html

      • @baycas

        It would be great indeed if the contents of that “morning meditation” is said in one of the Pope’s mass homilies in the Philippines.

        It is very appropriate in the Philippine setting.

    • Dear Pope Francis I am completely inocent, as you can plainly see there is no evidence against me and it is just a political ploy to destroy my stellar reputation. Amen.

  4. These epal posters are minions compared to Epal of Fidel Ramos.

    Post office has exhibits of all Papal stamps issued on all Popes who visited the Philippines since 1971, Pope Paul VI

    Only Ramos issued a stamp with his picture with Pope John Paul II.

    Fidel Ramos is a Protestant!

    Proof: view all the stamps issued by Philippines
    PHL Postal exhibit in The Block of SM North EDSA

  5. On the one hand, we have those relatively poor who demonstrated extreme devotion or fanaticism, if you will, to the Black Nazarene.

    On the other hand, we have the case of well-fed, well-educated (???) epal politicians who — let us set aside Philippine Catholic high officials (EXCEPT Romualdez’ Archbishop and his kind: ref. @baycas, @Johnny Lin’s posts) who asked the same — through clear hints from Vatican Officials, were advised not to use the Pope’s Visit for political ends.

    Now, pray tell, who needs the visit to the psychiatric ward urgently? (It seems bountiful food does not improve the mind.)

    I dearly hope that one of Pope Francis’ speeches here include a paragraph or a sentence, at the very least, related to our present Blog topic.

    Grrr! … Grrr!

  6. Epal Tarps –

    In a barangay in Southern Luzon, some posters featured the images of the entire barangay council, as shown by photos tweeted by GMA News stringer Peewee Bacuno.

    All over Manila and elsewhere, epal tarps are sprouting like mushrooms with the names of politicians as if in doing so will cleanse their sins.

    Is not it a sin that a revered and sacred Pope Francis be mixed in a tarps with the ungodly and oftentimes corrupt politicians?

  7. MANILA – Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza have echoed calls to make the papal visit “epal-free.”

    Romualdez said, “Tama yan! We agree with the Cardinal [Tagle] wholeheartedly. Nobody should take advantage of it. The public officials should be there in a supportive capacity. Anything to help facilitate the success visit of the Pope.”

    http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/03/14/independent-bloc-oks-epal-free-papal-visit

    • However, no less than the archdiocese of Palo gave its blessing for the names of Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and his wife to be included in tarpaulins welcoming Pope Francis to the province, a member of the lawmaker’s staff said Monday.

      “We had the tarpaulins approved by the Archdiocese of Palo before posting them because we were mindful of the possibility that some would brand the congressman as ‘epal,’” Rachel Santiago, a member of the lawmaker’s staff, said in a phone interview on Monday. “The clergy had no problem with it.”

      More than serving as a welcome banner for Pope Francis’ arrival to Tacloban, Santiago said the tarpaulin aims to inform the public of the pontiff’s activities during his day-long visit to Leyte.

      Printed on the right-most portion of the tarpaulin was the pontiff’s itinerary for his stay in the province.

      “The tarpaulin is our way of welcoming Pope Francis, of informing the public of his activities, and thanking the Pope for choosing Leyte as part of his itinerary,” Santiago said.

      Romualdez’s chief of staff noted that there are also other local politicians who have put their own welcome tarpaulins all over the province.

      “Epal” is a Filipino word for officials who post their names and faces on tarpaulins used as signage of their projects, or in greeting people on special occasions.

      It has now taken the meaning of candidates introducing themselves to voters for election purposes.

      http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/popefrancis/story/402240/welcome-tarp-for-pope-francis-with-leyte-solon-s-name-has-church-s-blessing

      • Cong Martin Romualdez sent Archbishop Du of Palo an expensive gift and lots of food and cash to staff before Christmas. Afterwards, Romualdez staff asked the Archdiocese if they could put up the tarpaulins. Rachel will not deny their office gave Xmas presents to archdiocese.

        Classic quid pro quo.

        Or Classic Bribery?

      • this kind of reasoning ranks along with binay’s reasoning for canceling his debate with trillanes. no amount of twisting and pulling can convince those listening that this is valid and logical. in other words… kwento nyo sa pagong.

        • Archbishop Du of Palo sold his souls and of his staff by agreeing with Romualdez tarp. He could have decided not to return the favor given by the Romualdez, thereby sending them a message ” We are not for sale”.

  8. On the occasion of the PAPAL VISIT…

    Politicos are at their best in their…

    Self-serving opportunism.

    Self-promotion.

    And the best incentive for this kind of politician is that they always get away with them and even ‘rewarded’ at the polls.

    EPAL…BUWISIT!

  10. I believe Jinggoy Estrada is no other than “Juan Ng.” Why? Because of his father’s (Joseph Estrada) “excessive enthusiasm” (mania) in using the letter “J” in his (Joseph Estrada) children’s names.

    I googled: “How many children does Joseph Estrada has?

    https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=how+many+children+does+joseph+estrada+has%3F&oq=how+many+children+does+joseph+estrada+has%3F&gs_l=hp.3…1066.14383.0.14738.46.33.2.11.11.0.129.3608.0j32.32.0.msedr…0…1c.1.60.hp..19.27.1634.tWgVzuetfAM

    This is what I got:

    Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito, Jojo Ejercito, Jude Ejercito, Jackie Ejercito, Jerika Ejercito, Jake Ejercito, and Jacob Ejercito.

    We can add to the above list Jose Velarde and Juan Ng.

    Maybe Erap believes that the letter “J” can bring prosperity to one’s family and to the country.