National Artist for Literature F Sionil Jose has died in the Philippines. He was 97.

His death was announced by the Philippine Center of International PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists) in a Facebook post.

According to the post, Jose was declared dead at 9:30 pm last evening at the Makati Medical Center, where he was confined ahead of an angioplasty due today.

Just hours before his death, Jose took to his own Facebook page to post what would become his final words.

“Thank you brave heart. There are times when as an agnostic I doubt the presence of an almighty and loving God. But dear brave heart you are here to disprove this illusion, to do away with the conclusion that if you doubt Him, you kill Him,” he wrote.

“I cannot kill you dear heart; you have to do that yourself.

“For 97 years you have been constantly working patiently pumping much more efficiently and longer than most machines. Of course, I know that a book lasts long too, as the libraries have shown, books that have lived more than 300 years. Now, that I am here in waiting for an angioplasty, I hope that you will survive it and I with it, so that I will be able to continue what I have been doing with so much energy that only you have been able to give.

“Thank you dear brave heart and dear Lord for this most precious gift.”

Rosales historical novels
Jose was known for the Rosales novels, a five-part series that follows a family throughout three centuries of Philippine history.

Mass, the final novel in the series, earned Jose one of his five Palanca awards.

He was named National Artist for Literature in 2001. Before that, he had already won a number of prestigious distinctions, including the CCP Centennial Honours for the Arts in 1999, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1980.

He founded the Philippine chapter of PEN in 1958.

He was also a lecturer and owned the bookshop Solidaridad in Padre Faura, Manila.

In his later years, he maintained a column at The Philippine Star, where he wrote sometimes inflammatory critiques on Filipino society, culture and politics.

Republished from Rappler with permission.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) demands the immediate and unconditional release of Lady Ann Salem, a Manila-based alternative journalist who was arrested on a firearms charge at the end of a raid on her home in which the police planted the evidence.

The co-founder of the alternative media network Altermidya and editor of the Manila Today news site, Salem – also known as “Icy” Salem – is now facing up to 20 years in prison on a trumped-up charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, a charge that does not allow release on bail.

When the police arrived at her home in a Manila suburb at around 9 am on December 10, they refused to let her contact her lawyer and made her turn her face to the wall while they carried out a search.

• READ MORE: Philippines media freedom stories

“While I was forced to turn my back for an hour, they planted the evidence,” she managed to tell another journalist as she was being led away to a police vehicle.

The police claim they found four .45 pistols and four grenades during the search.

“The police clearly planted the evidence to incriminate ‘Icy’ Salem in an utterly shameless manner,” said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk.

“In view of their shocking methods, we demand this journalist’s immediate and unconditional release. This latest attack on independent media by the Philippine authorities just discredits President Rodrigo Duterte’s government on the international stage.”

‘Red-tagging’
The police used exactly the same method when they arrested Frenchie Mae Cumpio, the editor of the Eastern Vista news website in the eastern city of Tacloban on February 7. Police officers planted firearms in her home when carrying out her arrest.

Like Manila Today, Eastern Vista is part of the Altermidya network of alternative media outlets that are committed to independent journalism and to defending the most marginalised sectors of Philippine society.

As a result, they are routinely branded as communist by the authorities, a process known as “red-tagging.”

A hangover from the Cold War and, before that, from when the country was a US colony, “red-tagging” is a typically Philippine practice under which dissenting individuals or groups, including journalists and media outlets, are identified to the police and paramilitaries as legitimate targets for arbitrary arrest or, worse still, summary execution.

Relentless war
During a parliamentary hearing on December 1, the government-run National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) formally labelled members of the Altermidya network as violent communist activists without presenting a “shred of evidence” in support of this claim.

Altermidya is the latest victim of the Duterte administration’s relentless war against independent media. Its targets include Maria Ressa, the founder and CEO of the independent news website Rappler, who had to post bail and appear in court on December 4 as a result of a new warrant for her arrest on a charge of online criminal defamation.

Ressa is currently the subject of at least eight different cases by various government agencies.

Last July, the irascible and authoritarian president’s supporters in congress drove the final nails into the coffin of the country’s biggest radio and TV network, ABS-CBN, by refusing to give it a new franchise, after previously refusing to extend its 25-year franchise when it expired in May.

The Philippines is ranked 136th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

Imagine your Catholic parish priest rushing or abruptly ending a mass because his wife or his child met an accident. Or that priest is budgeting a part of a parish’s funds for his wife’s and his children’s needs.

Such scenarios are not impossible if married men are allowed to be ordained as suggested recently by Pope Francis, say Filipino canon law experts and priests.

“What if in the long run such marriages of these ‘married priests’ won’t last,” asked Father Stephen Mifsud, MSSP.

“So we’ll have another case of separation or divorce. What will parishioners say?”

These concerns are just some of the reactions generated by Pope Francis’ previous statement that the Church should be open to allowing married men to enter the priesthood.

The statement was made as the Church is grappling with the declining number of priests and the aggressive proselytising by other Christian sects, including evangelicals.

“What the Pope seems to be considering lately, especially in places where there is a dearth of priestly vocations, is the possible ordination of married men to the priesthood. [This is for] men who have not made a vow of celibacy,” Bishop Pablo David of the Diocese of Caloocan in Metro Manila said in a Facebook post.

Married priests exist
Bishop David explained that there were married priests in other parts of the world, as in the case of Anglican priests who converted to the Catholic Church and the non-celibate clergymen of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

In the Philippines, about 60 married priests who are now living with their respective families have formed a group called the Philippine Federation of Married Catholic Priests (PFMCP).

Members of the 25-year-old PFMCP have asked the Vatican to recognise their group but have yet to receive a response.

The PFMCP is one of four federations of married Catholic priests worldwide, the others being continental networks: the North Atlantic Federation, the European Federation and the Latin American Federation.

PFMCP member Father Jose Elmer Cajilig said that in the group’s seeking of Vatican recognition, married priests are a reality.

“Even in Europe, there are many married priests in the ministry,” he said in Visayan dialect.

Cajilig had his priestly faculties suspended by the Archdiocese of Jaro in Iloilo province (central Philippines), but he continues to minister in the area.

‘I’m still a priest’
Cajilig currently lives with his common-law wife and four children, and hears mass on two chapels there on Sundays.

“Although, I’m no longer part of the Archdiocese of Jaro, I’m still a priest. My masses are still valid,” Cajilig said.

Father Jim Achacoso, a canon lawyer and consultant of the Philippine Catholic bishops’ Episcopal Commission on Canon Law, said the ordination of married men is not the same as allowing clerics to marry.

“What Church law demands is perpetual celibacy in its ordained ministers. So even if married men were ordained, it would mean that they will have to remain celibate thereafter. The prohibition to get married comes with ordination,” Achacoso said.

He explained that married men who are capable of exercising the ministry with all its demands should also live in “complete and perpetual chastity”.

And as for PFMCP, Achacoso said the group’s members have proven themselves “incapable of being faithful to their first love”.

For Bishop David and Achacoso, only those married men who can give up married life can be ordained.

Pope Francis open
In an interview by German weekly Die Zeit in March, Pope Francis acknowledged that there was a shortage of clerics due to what he described as a “vocation crisis”.

When the magazine asked Pope Francis if he was open to ordaining married men of proven virtue, or viri probati, the pontiff agreed.

The pope also maintained that optional celibacy was not the solution to the problem.

The Vatican processes at least 500 married priests a year who want to return to the ministry.

But some priests are open to the idea of ordaining married men.

Like Father Mifsud, a Maltese missionary serving in Bataan province (north of Manila, on Luzon Island), who said the Catholic Church had been losing adherents to other religious groups because of the lack of priests.

“If viri probati is a solution, why not? Because of the decline in vocations, we could be losing our Catholic faithful to other sects —as we have already experienced in some parts of the country where there are less priests,” Father Mifsud said.

Catholic priest ratio
While about 85 percent of the 100 million Filipinos in the Philippines are Catholics, there are only 9,433 priests, according to the 2016-2017 Catholic Directory of the Philippines. Thus, the ratio is a Catholic priest for every 8,500 Filipino Catholics.

The ordination of married men would be one way to allow the Church to reach the “ideal” ratio of one priest for every 2,000 parishioners, Father Mifsud said.

But canon lawyer Monsignor Rey Monsanto disagreed, saying the move may “create a lot of chaos”.

“This [ordination of married men] will give a precedent and priests may just get married and later go back to the Church,” Monsanto said.

He said such arrangements might bring more confusion and could put the requirement of priestly celibacy in jeopardy.

“This will be tantamount to having optional celibacy, which is not in the purview of the Church,” Monsanto said.

Father Casibjorn Guy Quiacao is an MA in Communication student at the University of Santo Tomas, and produced this story for the graduate class Global Journalism Practice and Studies.

• Read more University of Santo Tomas Journalism stories

Uncertainty surrounds the effectiveness of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ban on smoking.

In an executive order titled E026, Duterte ensured an earlier ban on smoking in enclosed public places and on transportation.

Two months after Duterte’s announcement in May, University of Santo Tomas political scientist Edmund Tayao says “we have yet to see if its implementation will be good”.

Despite the positive health benefits of the ban, anti-smoking advocacy group Health Justice Philippines estimates about 240 Filipinos still die a day — or 87,600 a year — due to smoking-related diseases.

The Philippines ban on public smoking has existed since the Tobacco Regulation Act 2003, which bans smoking in public places such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, and public transport.

Elevators and stairwells also fall under the act, while regulations have also been slapped on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Duterte’s executive order enforcing the earlier ban did not come as a surprise, as he has been a long-time enforcer of anti-smoking since his time as a former mayor of Davao City.

Ban ‘good news’
Duterte’s stand against smoking in Davao City – the most economically-progressive urban enclave in Mindanao island – is now being continued by current mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio.

But while E026 has its critics, Duterte’s reinforcing of the 2003 ban came as good news for 75-year-old widow Juliana Cruz, who lost her husband Rogelio three years ago due to lung complications.

Since he was 15-years-old, Rogelio had consumed two packs of imported, blue-sealed cigarettes daily.

Prior to his death, Rogelio lost his left lung due to a ballooning cyst and had his ribs removed.

The couple were supposed to build a house, but all of their savings went to Rogelio’s hospital bills.

“I was really mad at my sons since they are also smoking. You have seen the fate of your father, but you have not learned from that,” Cruz said.

Duterte’s smoking ban is also good news to smoking victims like cancer survivor Emer Rojas of the anti-tobacco group New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP).

Reduce victim numbers
“We may be able to reduce the number of victims, like us,” Rojas said.

The ban’s enforcement is also seen as one of the toughest in the wake of how other countries have implemented their own smoking bans.

An association of thoracic (spine) doctors in Greece appealed to the government recently to crack down on violations, as seven out of 10 Greeks were exposed to second-hand smoke when visiting bars, restaurants and cafes — all prohibited areas.

Soon-to-be Olympic Games host Japan saw some of its world-level athletes banding together with academics and cancer patients to demand the Japanese government to ban smoking in public indoor places.

About 15,000 Japanese die of second-hand smoking annually, a University of Tokyo health policy professor was quoted as saying.

World leaders themselves have also been lax when it comes to observing smoking bans.

In a March state visit to China, Czech Republic President Milos Zeman got Chinese cigars from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

World leaders lax
Government media reported that since Xi quit smoking in August 2016, 300 million Chinese smokers were “inspired” to quit too.

Controversially, Zeman ignored China’s smoking ban by smoking at Xi’s dinner and on the flight to Beijing – the Chinese government has banned smoking in many indoor places, such as hospitals, schools, sports stadiums and public transport.

Despite the apparent ongoing challenges of enforcing a smoking ban in the Philippines, industry lobby group Philippine Tobacco Institute said in a statement it had “always supported regulation of public smoking”.

Their support comes in spite of impacts to the local economy and businesses through a sin tax reform law (Republic Act 10351, passed in 2012) that imposed hefty tax rates on cigarette products.

Before this year, the law provided brackets of taxes for cigarette products depending on their price.

Currently, cigarettes are taxed uniformly at P30 (NZ$80c) a pack.

Jerome P. Villanueva is an MA in Journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas, and produced this story for the graduate class Global Journalism Practice and Studies.

• Read more University of Santo Tomas Journalism stories

Drug dealers and users at a private university in the Philippines capital of Manila are confident they will survive President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”.

The students say this is because Duterte is going after those who peddle methamphetamine (shabu) and party drugs such as ecstasy.

They claim their drugs – marijuana and cocaine – are currently flying under the administration’s radar.

One of the students, “Bossing”, from a private university in Metro Manila, therefore continues his trade of not only marijuana, but also acid and cocaine.

“Duterte’s focus is on shabu and party drugs. I’m only using marijuana and cocaine.”

Bossing, who has frequently used marijuana since his time in junior high school, says he is not “scared” of Duterte.

“I am not using shabu.”

‘Not really a target’
Another student at a private university, ‘Jeremy’, holds a similar view and feels Duterte condemns the use of shabu more than marijuana.

“I feel the president is lenient to marijuana. What he is looking for is shabu. With marijuana, it will be unfortunate if you get caught using it, but you the marijuana user, is not really a target.

“I am quite scared but I feel I am safe.”

Jeremy’s friend “Ranz”, also a marijuana user since third year junior high school, is more scared of the barking K-9 units in train stations than the controversial operations of the Philippine National Police against drug users and dealers.

“I am not dealing with shabu,” he says.

Ranz, who admitted voting for Duterte in the May 2016 national elections, says marijuana users like himself are “small time” and therefore do not care about accusations of extrajudicial killings.

“What the f— do we care about those things?”

Police corruption allegations
Bossing, Jeremy and Ranz admit they “feel protected’ by what they claim is a culture of corruption among police.

Ranz says this is because the police force is “poor”, so bribe money from suspected drug users.

Drug dealers, meanwhile, are an “escape route”.

“Even if one pretends to be a rich person, the police would not care about you and it is already your advantage.”

Ranz says he wants the ‘war on drugs’ to continue.

“Shabu is the only problematic drug that should be eliminated. Keep it up,” he encouraged.

On May 31, 2017, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) held a public consultation to determine the feasibility of requiring college students to undergo a drug test prior to enrolment.

‘Actively confront’ drugs
The idea had been floated the previous year by the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), who urged CHED on September 2, 2016, to “actively confront” drug testing “with due consideration to academic freedom of higher education institutions, the principle of reasonable regulation of educational institutions, and accessibility of quality education for all”.

However, Bossing, Jeremy and Ranz are adamant mandatory drug testing will not stand in the way of their habit or stop other college students from taking drugs.

“There many ways to avoid getting caught, like borrowing someone else’s urine samples.”

In the past, when Jeremy and Ranz were selected for a random drug test – authorised by the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 – they said they did not take marijuana for a month prior to the test.

Their results were “negative.”

With the result, Ranz says he can use it to protect himself “from any harm” he may endure.

But as long as Bossing, Jeremy, and Ranz stay away from shabu, they “are going to survive the war on drugs”.

Roy Abrahmn Narra is an MA in Journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas, and produced this story for his graduate class Global Journalism Practice and Studies.

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