Happy New Year!

“Bringing Christ into the Marketplace and Winning the Marketplace for Christ”

Message for the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals January

Mactan Chapter 2011
Month:
"Whatever Chapter Brings Cheers to Missionaries of
you do to your Charity Patients
brother or sis-
ter you do it Christmas is more is our action. Prayer is
to Me. I will meaningful when love is our devotion”.
protect you given and shared. That we After the Mass, Kuya
who acknowl- experienced on December Martin, our Chapter Head
edged Me as 26, 2010. Many Kuyas and introduced our community
Lord. " Ates and their families and extended Christmas
were blessed as they well wishes to the elderly
reach out and share love who were seated on their
Special points of to the dying distitutes, of designated places ready to
interest: Gasa sa Gugma. partake of the lunch that brothers and sisters,
The group attended the the community brought Jesus must be smiling
 Jan7 - 10 o‘clock mass from along. at us as we acted on
Recommitment which a beautiful homily In such a special way of His Christmas mes-
 Jan13 –welcoming of taught us a guiding princi- celebrating Christmas by sage for us.
bishop Palma ple to live by. That is, personally attending to the
―God is our Master. Love sick and handicapped
 Jan 22-23 –
Continued in page 2
workshop on Com-
munity Manual
 Jan 29 –Regional A Position Paper on The RH Bills www.bcbp-phil.com
Men‘s Breakfast By faculty, students and alumni of the University of the Philippines

As faculty members, stu- we put forward argu-

dents and alumni of the
Inside this issue: University of the Philip-
pines, we state here the
Christmas Party 3 bases of our objection to
the Reproductive Health
Feeding 3 bills (HB 96 and its re-
lated bills) that are being
Teaching 6 deliberated under your
supervision.
Given the secular back-
ground of UP education,
ments from reason, to
wit:
Population is not an ob-
stacle to development.
The bills assume that a
nation‘s population hin- sex education (to ac-
ders its development that quaint young people
is why they push for the with contraception), and
promotion of a two-child sterilization, all of which
policy, massive distribu- make use of taxpayers‘
tion of contraceptives, Continued in page 4

Time is like a river; you can’t step in the same water twice because the flow that passed will
never pass you again. So cherish every moment of your life. Live simply but make a difference.
 Happy New Year!

Page 2
TAY TAYA N
Chapter Head’s Message
Welcome 2011!
A few days before the
year 2010 was about to
come to a close, I reflected
that a new year is always a
good time to look back in
CH Martin and
Agnes Pusta the past years and to make
a resolution to transform
our lives into a better
one. We recall the things
we did in the past that
were worth changing and
keep the good
things, because they made
our lives more fulfilled and
meaningful; as one writer
believes that---in order to
embrace the new year, we
must release the old.
There are some of us
who face the day with
dread in their hearts and
they fail to have a sunny
disposition in dealing
life. According to an un-
known writer, nothing can
go awry if we have these
guiding attitudes:
" L I V E can make our lives worth-
WELL"...connect with
others, stay positive, help
others.
" L O V E
MUCH"...practice con-
stant acts of kindness and
forgiveness.
"LAUGH OF-
TEN"...laughter dissolves
tension, stress, anxiety,
irritation, anger,
grief, depression.
Life is too short to be
wasted and by applying
this insight in our lives, we
while.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!

BCBP Mactan Brings… (continued from page 1)

The blessed and the blessings

CH kuya Martin: ―Merry Christmas …‖

The pray-over led by kuya

Singing Christmas Carols Our Christmas gift: Boxes and bags of Geoffrey Baguio
personal hygiene materials.

Note: We were not allowed to take photos of the patients

Be grateful that you don’t have every thing you want. That means you have the opportunity
to be happier tomorrow than you are today.
 Happy New Year!

J an u ar y 2 0 1 1 Page 3

The Christmas Party and Family Day

Christmas is party time. BCBP Mactan always celebrates Christmas as one big family with each member‘s
family in attendance. After celebrating the Eucharist at IAU chapel, the party started with the registration
of members. Everybody enjoyed the food, the games, the prizes and the fellowship. Thanks to Kuya Guy,
the children and the once children lined up for the Toy Story3 toys. Thank you also to the generous Ku-
yas and Ates who brought along many gift items so that all went home with a something to open and be
grateful for. Thank you Lord for Christmas.
Caroling Contestants:

Green Team
(PSD)
The raffle prizes!

Blue Team
(Mission)
The Patintero game
between units

The ―Hayang-Kulob‖
game Red Team (Unit In- Yellow Team
Formation BCLP19) (Formation)

Chapter Feeds and Gives Gifts to Children

The first Sunday of December gave us the opportunity to bring joy to the children of baranggay
Looc. About a hundred children were served with delicious pospas, bread, and juice after their
catechism class. The children also received bags of gifts from the community.

The Pospas, 3 pots full!

The children in catechism class Careful, its hot...

The children receiving their gifts

Be grateful to God and begin your day with a smile because success happens when
you have optimism in life.
 Happy New Year!

Page 4
TAY TAYA N
A Position Paper… (continued from page 1)
money. However, as early as 1966, Nobel Prize winner Simon Kuznets‘ research has shown that there is
insignificant empirical association between population growth rates and output per capita (economic
growth). Rather, it is the rate at which technology grows and the ability of the population to employ these
new technologies efficiently and widely that permit economic progress. Kuznets saw that the basic obsta-
cles to economic growth arise from the limited capabilities of the institutions (political, social, legal, cul-
tural, economic) to adjust. He argued instead that a more rapid population growth, if properly managed,
will promote economic development through a positive impact on the society‘s state of knowledge. His
findings have been confirmed by similar studies by the US National Research Council (1986), the UN
Population Fund Consultative Meeting of Economists (1992), Eric Hanushek and Ludger Wößmann (2007),
among others.

The government has to channel limited funds to job creation and education. The latest report of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) entitled Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2010 notes that the ―middle
class has increased rapidly in size and purchasing power as strong economic growth in the past two dec-
ades has helped reduce poverty significantly and lift previously poor households into the middle class.‖
Two factors were reported to drive the creation and sustenance of a middle class: a) stable, secure, well-
paid jobs with good benefits, and b) higher education. And so, why not create more bills that will
strengthen these two factors instead of channeling our limited funds to contraception and sex education?

Fertility rates in the Philippines are progressively decreasing. Our Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined
by more than 50% in less than 50 years: from an average rate of 7 in 1960 to an average rate of 3.1 in
2008. Our TFR is expected to reach the replacement level of 2.1 in 2025 without massive government
intervention like the passing of a population control or RH bill. The passing of an RH bill will only acceler-
ate this. The latest November issue of The Economist entitled ―Japan‘s burden‖ spells out the effects of an
aging population and it would be foolhardy for us as a nation to push ourselves deliberately towards that
direction. In 2004, Joseph Chamie, Director of the UN Population Division, reported that 60 countries
have TFRs below 2.1 which means that they will eventually experience decline and aging. He asserted that
the efforts of these countries to raise fertility rates will not be enough to bring them back to replacement
levels. Many of these countries are now asking their people to have more children. Why then are our
legislators thinking of cutting down our best asset, our people? Should this push through, future genera-
tions of Filipinos will be forced to pay for the mistake of government‘s intervention to manipulate a de-
crease in our population and suffer its ill effects as already experienced by other countries.

The government has to channel limited resources to address the leading causes of death. In the latest
available Mortality Country Fact Sheet (2006) of the World Health Organization on the Philippines, the
following were listed as the main causes of death: lower respiratory tract infections, ischaemic heart dis-
ease, tuberculosis, hypertensive heart disease, perinatal conditions, cerebrovascular disease, violence,
diarrhoeal diseases, diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Can we not channel our
limited resources towards curbing these diseases—and violence—instead of using them for contraception
and sterilization?

Condoms are not a wise investment. We have the lowest incidence of HIV cases after Bangladesh in the
ADB report mentioned above, whereas Thailand, which has been regarded as the model in condom pro-
motion, has the highest. European epidemiologist Dr. Jokin de Irala refers to ―risk-compensation‖ as the
Continued in page 5

Time can’t be measured by one’s crowning achievements but by the caring, kind-
ness, love and the joy we share in the hearts of people we touch everyday.
 Happy New Year!

J an u ar y 2 0 1 1 Page 5

A Position Paper… (continued from page 4)

reason for higher HIV-AIDS incidences when condoms are promoted. Moreover, human papillomavirus
(HPV) infection, by far the most common STD and a risk factor for cervical cancer among other diseases,
is not prevented by condoms. HPV spreads through skin-to-skin contact, unlike AIDS, and condoms can-
not cover all possible infected skin—a fact that is not commonly known. Why spend millions to buy con-
doms when they are shown to increase incidences of STDs? A government-sponsored nationwide con-
dom distribution will only fatten the pockets of condom manufacturers.

Oral Contraceptive Pills (OCPs) have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) as Group 1 carcinogens. OCP use has been associated with an increased risk of premenopausal
breast cancer in general (an increment of 19%) and across various patterns of OCP use, with the highest
risk observed among those who use OCPs for 4 or more years before their first pregnancy (an increment
of 52%), according to a 2006 meta-analysis of over 34 studies dating back to the 1980s. Corroborating
these data was the landmark 2002 randomized controlled trial by the Women Health‘s Initiative which
pointed to a 26% higher risk of breast cancer for post-menopausal women who had received hormone
treatment in addition to 41% more risk of cerebrovascular disease, 29% more risk of myocardial infarc-
tion, and 112% more risk of pulmonary embolism.

Another study by Moreno et al. in the Lancet also points to an increased risk of cervical cancer with OCP
use. And lastly, OCPs have also been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, especially
venous thrombosis and ischemic stroke. Will our government legislate a bill that will use taxpayers‘
money to further expose women to all these risks?

Our main argument boils down to this: that it is the State‘s duty to order society by promoting the well-
being of its citizens. Thus, it is a disservice to legislate what constitutes harm to its people. We pointed
but a few of the studies showing the harmful effects of contraception to society, the family, the youth and
women‘s health. While it is true that the State cannot stop people from using contraception, since they
may personally choose to expose themselves to its risks, it is not the State‘s job to facilitate access to
what is harmful.

What the government should do is craft laws that prevent people from harming themselves or more posi-
tively phrased, help them develop themselves and society. We urge the legislators to dump the conten-
tious and flawed Reproductive Health bills and to pass more bills strengthening the Filipino family, protect-
ing its citizens against the risks of contraception, defending the scientific fact that conception begins at
fertilization, providing essential medicines for the main causes of death, making quality education more
accessible to Filipinos, and providing more jobs.

For the love of our country.

Submitted on December 19, 2010, to the BCBP Portal by BCBP Board of Trustees Chairman Bobby Atendido.

True wealth is not a matter of bank accounts and assets. It is in the values we live
and share. As well as the person we keep in touch and care for .
 Happy New Year!

Page 6
TAY TAYA N
Teaching Fruits of The Holy Spirit :
Meekness and Self-Control
The fruit of the Spirit is...gentleness. The word gentleness in Gal. 5:23 is trans-
lated from the Greek word ―praotes‖. This same Greek word is also translated as
meekness.
The fruit of the Spirit is...self-control. Some Christian writers refer to self-control
as the enabling virtue because it is the virtue that enables us to triumph over obsta-
cles, to conquer disabling habits and to maximize our effectiveness as servants of
the Lord.
Meekness, The Character of Jesus
 The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because He cannot
help Himself; but the Lord was ‗meek‘ because He had the infinite resources
of God at His command.
 (Phil. 2:5-8) Jesus, though He holds the position of God, relinquishes His posi-
tion in order to take on the lowly position of a slave. He moves from a posi-
tion of ‗all-powerful‘ to a position of powerlessness. By taking on the position
of a servant, He ‗counts others better than‘ Himself. This does not mean that
He considers Himself as worthless but that He considers others as deserving
Jojo Matheu or worthy of His service.
 Meekness and humility are back to back virtues. One can not have one virtue
without the other. (Mt.11:29-30)
 References to Meekness in Scriptures
1. Being Respectful. Courteous or Disposed to Showing Honor (Titus 3:2)
2. Being Teachable (James 1:21)
3. Being Obedient (Phil 2:8)
4. Not Being Hostile in the Face of Personal Attack or Abuse (Num 12:1-8)
5. Not Quarrelsome, Able to Correct With Kindness (2Tim 2:24-25; 1Cor 4:21)
Self-Control
 Areas Where We Need Self-Control
Emotions, Natural Desires, Addictions, Speech and Gossip, Hobbies, and
Other Interests
 Self-control is referred to as the enabling virtue because it is the quality that
makes us cooperate more with the Spirit for us to grow in all the other vir-
tues. It produces in us an inner confidence in approaching life, similar to what
the psalmist refers to as ―the strength within or strength of the soul.‖ (Ps.
138:3) We are confident that we can trust ourselves to do the right thing in
difficult as well as in ordinary circumstances of life, enabling us to face both
situations with serenity and boldness.
Meekness and self-control: two virtues of an effective servant of God. We are to be
strong, aggressively dedicated Christians whose strength is channeled into serving
others. We look to Jesus as our model of a person who is definitely a ―Master of
Himself‖ and who is able to combine meekness and zeal in a way that gives glory to
God at all times and in all circumstances.

Beauty changes with the passing seasons; except in the heart where true beauty
remains. Thank God for your beautiful heart.
 Happy New Year!

J an u ar y 2 0 1 1 Page 7

God will either give you what you ask or something far better. Keep praying, but be
thankful that God’s answers are wiser than your prayers.
 Happy New Year!

Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals

Our Vision: “Bringing Christ into the Marketplace and

Winning the Marketplace for Christ”
The BCBP is a community of like-minded Christian Businessmen
and Professionals who have consciously decided to band together
Mactan Chapter to bring about the transformation of the marketplace.

Chapter Head: BREAKFAST

Venue: Crown Regency Suites
Martin B. Pusta
Weekly Schedule: Saturday 7:30 - 10:00 AM
1st Wk: Men’s
visit: 2nd Wk: Joint (Men’s & Ladies)
www.bcbp-phil.com 3rd Wk: Men’s
4th Wk: Simultaneous (Men’s & Ladies)
Contact Person: Jun Pardico CP# 0917 3213486

December Breakfast Sharers

Jun Fernandez
BCBP Consolacion
“ BCBP is a gift to us, its culture guided us”

Raffy & Jane Mativo

BCBP Talisay
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do ”

The world may not revolve around you but other people’s lives do. Take care of
yourself for a lot of people consider you their light. Keep shining!