News Briefs: June 23, 2019

Calapan prosecutor out of danger after shooting

MANILA, Philippines — Oriental Mindoro provincial prosecutor Josephine Caranzo, who was wounded in an ambush on June 10, has already been declared out of danger, Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said as he confirmed that Caranzo was among the 20 new regional trial court (RTC) judges appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Caranzo will preside over RTC Branch 39 in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.

The incident is still being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation, he added. —Jerome Aning

Dispense with water dousing, priests urge

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Church appealed to the devotees of St. John the Baptist to dispense with the water dousing activities during the saint’s feast on June 24 because of the water shortage.

Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos said the faithful should not misuse water in times of need.

To celebrate the saint’s feast, Santos instead urged the public to attend Mass and ask for St. John’s intercession that the country be provided with “necessary rainwater.”

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace, also deplored the practice and said it depicted a “culture of waste” that was not promoted by the Church.

“It’s part of our tradition that should be corrected because it’s not right, it’s being wasteful. This is not encouraged or sanctioned because it is wrong,” Gariguez said. —Jovic Yee