ANGELES CITY – San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has declared a curse on local folk who would continue to pollute the Sapang Balen creek that runs through the heart of this city.
“Magmula sa araw na ito, binibigyan ko ng sumpa ang Sapang Balen. Sinuman ang lalapastangan nito ay magiging malas sa buhay. (From this day on, I am putting a curse on Sapang Balen. Whoever dares to show disrespect to it will be unlucky in life,” David was quoted by his parish’s blogsite as saying on a portable sound system as he walked along the banks of the creek.
John Martin Baron, who identified himself as David’s assistant at the bishop’s office at the Holy Rosary Parish here, confirmed that the blog hrp-sac.blogspot.com was put up by the parish. The entry titled Sapang Balen’s Curse was dated last July 30. The bishop was reportedly at a meeting at the time Punto contacted his office.
The blog said that the bishop’s curse served to warn the people “to stop killing the helpless river lest they want to be unlucky for the rest of their lives.”
It noted that as David pronounced the curse through his portable sound system as he was walking with followers on the bank of the creek. It said David “could hear gasps and whispers from onlookers and passersby” as he declared the curse.
“Then, a handful of residents living near the river joined his group and hastily picked up some trash lying in heaps along the riverbank,” the blog recalled.
The blog then asked: “Why would a Bishop go to this extent to help revive a waterway?” and quoted David providing the answer.
“The river has life and anyone who dumps garbage without compunction is killing it slowly. Laws and ordinances do not seem to work at all; people just ignore these. Let us see how they will react to a curse from a Bishop,” David was quoted to have said.
David is better known to local Catholics as Bishop Ambo, a name used in his regular local television program Men of Light. He is the younger brother of Prof. Randy David who has declared plan to run for Congress in Pampanga’s second district should Pres. Arroyo seek the same post in next year’s elections.
But the blog said that the bishop himself “offers an easy way out of his ‘sumpa’”. It quoted David as saying: ““Kung gusto ninyong pagsisihan ang inyong ginawang paglapastangan, mangumpisal kayo at ang tanging parusang ibibigay ko sa inyo ay magpulot kayo ng dalawang sako ng basura mula sa ilog. (If you want to make amends for the sin you committed, just confess to me. For your penance I will ask you to collect two sacks of trash from the river),” the blog quoted the bishop as saying.
Fr. Jose Mercado, parish priest of Lourdes Sur in this city, said he believed that the bishop was merely moved by “disgust” over the severe pollution of the Sapang Balen creek when he declared the curse.
Mercado said he did not believe in curses anyway. “When I was young, I believed in curses. Now, I don’t. I don’t think that God would put curse on us. Curses cited in the Bible, such as the curse put on Jesus on a fig tree that had no fruit, should not be taken literally but in a certain context,” he added.
International renowned Catholic writer Michael Brown, in his website spiritdaily.com, said that the issue of curses has remained “a controversial aspect of Christianity.”
“Some say they see no biblical basis for it. Others argue that there are repeated references to just such a thing from Genesis through the New Testament — not only from God, Who is often mentioned in the way of cursing sinful men, but also the curses of others. In Proverbs it says that a curse without cause can not have an effect but implies that there is indeed such a thing and that it can come from others,” said Brown.
He also said “there are curses that result from black magic. There are curses that come from occult, pagan, or New Age objects. There are curses that hover over homes, neighborhoods, and lands” while “there are curses that haunt families through the generations.”
The Angeles parish’s blog also quoted David as saying that “as a Filipino, I believe in ‘sumpa’”. It said that such curses “are very much part of Filipino culture and tradition. Usually pronounced by someone in retribution for an extreme act of disrespect or wrongdoing, a curse is believed to be effective especially when pronounced by a person of authority such as one’s elders or by a priest.”
“To Kapampangans who are well known for their legendary love and respect for the clergy, being the object of a priest’s sumpa is a fearsome prospect,” the blod added.
The blod noted that David “has been deeply involved in the revival of Sapang Balen since the ‘Sagip Sapang Balen Project’ was launched by the Holy Rosary Parish in May 23, 2009”, adding that “the aim is to revive the dying river which used to be a haven for aquatic creatures and a beautiful sight to behold for many Angeles folks of old.”
Garbage problem in this city has worsened amid the failure of the city government to pay its P60-million debt to a sanitary landfill based in Barangay Kalangitan in Capas, Tarlac. Because of the debt, the landfill management refused to accept all the tons of garbage from this city.
“Magmula sa araw na ito, binibigyan ko ng sumpa ang Sapang Balen. Sinuman ang lalapastangan nito ay magiging malas sa buhay. (From this day on, I am putting a curse on Sapang Balen. Whoever dares to show disrespect to it will be unlucky in life,” David was quoted by his parish’s blogsite as saying on a portable sound system as he walked along the banks of the creek.
John Martin Baron, who identified himself as David’s assistant at the bishop’s office at the Holy Rosary Parish here, confirmed that the blog hrp-sac.blogspot.com was put up by the parish. The entry titled Sapang Balen’s Curse was dated last July 30. The bishop was reportedly at a meeting at the time Punto contacted his office.
The blog said that the bishop’s curse served to warn the people “to stop killing the helpless river lest they want to be unlucky for the rest of their lives.”
It noted that as David pronounced the curse through his portable sound system as he was walking with followers on the bank of the creek. It said David “could hear gasps and whispers from onlookers and passersby” as he declared the curse.
“Then, a handful of residents living near the river joined his group and hastily picked up some trash lying in heaps along the riverbank,” the blog recalled.
The blog then asked: “Why would a Bishop go to this extent to help revive a waterway?” and quoted David providing the answer.
“The river has life and anyone who dumps garbage without compunction is killing it slowly. Laws and ordinances do not seem to work at all; people just ignore these. Let us see how they will react to a curse from a Bishop,” David was quoted to have said.
David is better known to local Catholics as Bishop Ambo, a name used in his regular local television program Men of Light. He is the younger brother of Prof. Randy David who has declared plan to run for Congress in Pampanga’s second district should Pres. Arroyo seek the same post in next year’s elections.
But the blog said that the bishop himself “offers an easy way out of his ‘sumpa’”. It quoted David as saying: ““Kung gusto ninyong pagsisihan ang inyong ginawang paglapastangan, mangumpisal kayo at ang tanging parusang ibibigay ko sa inyo ay magpulot kayo ng dalawang sako ng basura mula sa ilog. (If you want to make amends for the sin you committed, just confess to me. For your penance I will ask you to collect two sacks of trash from the river),” the blog quoted the bishop as saying.
Fr. Jose Mercado, parish priest of Lourdes Sur in this city, said he believed that the bishop was merely moved by “disgust” over the severe pollution of the Sapang Balen creek when he declared the curse.
Mercado said he did not believe in curses anyway. “When I was young, I believed in curses. Now, I don’t. I don’t think that God would put curse on us. Curses cited in the Bible, such as the curse put on Jesus on a fig tree that had no fruit, should not be taken literally but in a certain context,” he added.
International renowned Catholic writer Michael Brown, in his website spiritdaily.com, said that the issue of curses has remained “a controversial aspect of Christianity.”
“Some say they see no biblical basis for it. Others argue that there are repeated references to just such a thing from Genesis through the New Testament — not only from God, Who is often mentioned in the way of cursing sinful men, but also the curses of others. In Proverbs it says that a curse without cause can not have an effect but implies that there is indeed such a thing and that it can come from others,” said Brown.
He also said “there are curses that result from black magic. There are curses that come from occult, pagan, or New Age objects. There are curses that hover over homes, neighborhoods, and lands” while “there are curses that haunt families through the generations.”
The Angeles parish’s blog also quoted David as saying that “as a Filipino, I believe in ‘sumpa’”. It said that such curses “are very much part of Filipino culture and tradition. Usually pronounced by someone in retribution for an extreme act of disrespect or wrongdoing, a curse is believed to be effective especially when pronounced by a person of authority such as one’s elders or by a priest.”
“To Kapampangans who are well known for their legendary love and respect for the clergy, being the object of a priest’s sumpa is a fearsome prospect,” the blod added.
The blod noted that David “has been deeply involved in the revival of Sapang Balen since the ‘Sagip Sapang Balen Project’ was launched by the Holy Rosary Parish in May 23, 2009”, adding that “the aim is to revive the dying river which used to be a haven for aquatic creatures and a beautiful sight to behold for many Angeles folks of old.”
Garbage problem in this city has worsened amid the failure of the city government to pay its P60-million debt to a sanitary landfill based in Barangay Kalangitan in Capas, Tarlac. Because of the debt, the landfill management refused to accept all the tons of garbage from this city.
