Catholic Church, Corruption and Morality

[dawn runner]

---

5 more bishops back call to oust Arroyo

Posted 00:07am (Mla time) May 04, 2005
By Christian Esguerra, Philip C. Tubeza, Christine O. Avendaño
Inquirer News Service



Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the May 4, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


FIVE MORE Catholic bishops are supporting calls to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Like three others who had gone public with their position, the five bishops have been attending meetings of the Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME), the multisectoral group spearheading the effort, the group's chair Jimmy Regalario said yesterday.

"They are also convinced that there should be a change in the system," Regalario told the Inquirer. "They know that President Arroyo is the epitome of the rotten system."

But unlike Bishops Julio Xavier Labayen, Deogracias Iñiguez and Antonio Tobias, the five bishops have yet to come out for fear of being "isolated" within the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Regalario said.

The supposed fear might not be exactly unfounded, considering the CBCP's culture of caution and secrecy. Its outgoing president, Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao, is seen as being deeply "pro-GMA."

With their reputation, the five bishops were expected to further add pressure on the Arroyo administration should they publicly endorse a change in government.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President was open to holding a dialogue with the three bishops.

Bunye said at a news conference that Ms Arroyo was "willing to listen" to sectors who were disgruntled by the economic policies and programs of the administration.

"The President is not closing the door to meeting with people who need more explanations," he said.

Bunye said the Palace "respects the dissenting opinion of others but we must also call upon them to join our march for unity, cooperation and solidarity to carry the Philippines forward."

More bishops may in fact push for changes in government.

Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the CBCP was expected to issue a statement about the need for changes in government after its plenary meeting in July.

"Let us see what happens. Three bishops have already spoken so I expect a pastoral statement to come out about this," Cruz said in an interview in the House of Representatives.

Wake-up call

Cruz said the warning of the three bishops should move the administration into pursuing drastic reforms on behalf of the poor.

Labayen, Iñiguez and Tobias had threatened to support a "national day of mourning and protest" on June 12. The event is expected to gather other groups that have been demanding Ms Arroyo's ouster.

The bishops' complaints about the President's leadership were based largely on an economic system that purportedly coddles foreign interests while ignoring the suffering majority.

"This is a wake-up call for the government to be more populist in its positions, to be really for the masses," Cruz said.

Mounting complaints

Cruz said he shared his colleagues' observation about the mounting complaints of the poor against the administration.

"We have a lot of contact with the people and they are really complaining more and more. The surveys are correct. The people are getting more unhappy while they are eating less," he said.

But Cruz said he did not want a revolution or a military junta.

Leftists agree

As expected, left-leaning groups were quick to build on the bishops' criticism of the President.

"The bishops' wake-up call for the administration to shape up or ship out is a lucid testimony that the President's government is on the brink of collapse unless [she] carries out sweeping reforms that would correct social, economic and political injustices within the next two months," the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas said in a statement.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said it was high time that more bishops spoke out against "a regime that has caused a lot of suffering to their flock and we hope that in the near future, it is the CBCP itself that will call for [the President's] ouster."

House reaction

In the House of Representatives, reactions were mixed, with critics hailing the three bishops while administration lawmakers warned them against becoming pawns "for destabilizers who are out to promote their own vested interests."

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles and Isabela Representative Edwin Uy called on members of the clergy to propose solutions to the nation's problems.

They said the bishops "played right into the hands of the destabilizers who had hoped to ride on the Labor Day celebrations to foment unrest against the administration."

They lamented that the Church leaders had "naïvely allowed themselves" to be used by the destabilizers, "contrary to the clergy's role of promoting positive change and spiritual hope, unity and calm in the people's hearts."

"It's irresponsible to threaten the government with a coming deluge of change because of the people's suffering. The Church is duty-bound to be an instrument of positive social change instead of fomenting unrest that does no good to our people," Uy said.

Bull's eye

But Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano said the bishops "hit the bull's eye" in their critique of the administration.

"The three Catholic bishops' restiveness is no longer a simple wake-up call," Mariano said, adding that it was "a rumbling of the country's soon to erupt social volcano."

He said, "The bishops' statement is a sign of extreme political isolation of the Arroyo administration due to its inability to address the worsening economic crisis and its all-out subservience to US policy dictates."

Mariano urged the people to heed and join the bishops' call for a national day of mourning and protest on June 12.

Hala ka GMA!

[PissKhanXXX]

they must have forgotten that the state is not within their jurisdiction. i hope that "separation of church and state" rings a bell...

[estor_boot]

umm.. i almost can smell trouble. and the worst economic situation ahead..

mosamot na ni basta moeksena na pod ang leftist ani.

[dawn runner]

they must have forgotten that the state is not within their jurisdiction. i hope that "separation of church and state" rings a bell...

You should be happy. These bishops feel the oppression and impoverishment of the people. Separation of Church and State should not be used as a shield from legitimate dissent. The bishops are speaking in behalf of the suffering people.

[PissKhanXXX]

they must have forgotten that the state is not within their jurisdiction. i hope that "separation of church and state" rings a bell...

You should be happy. These bishops feel the oppression and impoverishment of the people. Separation of Church and State should not be used as a shield from legitimate dissent. The bishops are speaking in behalf of the suffering people.

plain and simple, the church has to be separate from the state. even in the olden days, the church has been known to meddle with stately matters. that is, unsurprisingly, why the constitution has provision over this matter.

are the bishops really speaking in behalf of the suffering people or is it the other way around - people speaking in behalf of the church? history and perpetual occurences tell me the church dictates what they want to the people.

[dawn runner]

Dont divert the topic. Im not going to engage you in this. You can create another topic about this. But Im not going there because this thing can go in circles.

Focus on the problem. This government is losing moral ascendancy of the people because it betrays the people.

[GlassMoon]

Oh goodie! 5 more "church leaders" wanting to be in a political picture. This is just what our country needs.

[PissKhanXXX]

i do not wish to take the topic elsewhere. i was just commenting on how nosy the church is with everything.

majority of the filipino people are just plain whiners. there has never been a governance that the whole populace has been totally satisfied of. there will never be a perfect somebody fit for the job! with our corrupt government, we have no choice but settle for the lesser evil. if we cannot be satisfied with the people we have chosen, we will only have impeachment after impeachment.

the root of the problem is not the government... it is with each individual.

[dawn runner]

they must have forgotten that the state is not within their jurisdiction. i hope that "separation of church and state" rings a bell...

You should be happy. These bishops feel the oppression and impoverishment of the people. Separation of Church and State should not be used as a shield from legitimate dissent. The bishops are speaking in behalf of the suffering people.

plain and simple, the church has to be separate from the state. even in the olden days, the church has been known to meddle with stately matters. that is, unsurprisingly, why the constitution has provision over this matter.

are the bishops really speaking in behalf of the suffering people or is it the other way around - people speaking in behalf of the church? history and perpetual occurences tell me the church dictates what they want to the people.

Even the poor got oppressed and violated by their governments you mean to say the priest should keep silent and maintain separation of church and state? Are not these priests or bishops people too? Are not their parishoners the same people who composed the political constituents? There is a thin line between the Church and the State.

If the government cant protect the people, it is the Church who will take up the cudgels. For what is the use of preaching about goodness and protecting life when the Church is oblivious to the happenings in the society. Its an empty Church. I know you want that to happen so that the Church will lose its credibility before the people.

[dawn runner]

i do not wish to take the topic elsewhere. i was just commenting on how nosy the church is with everything.

majority of the filipino people are just plain whiners. there has never been a governance that the whole populace has been totally satisfied of. there will never be a perfect somebody fit for the job! with our corrupt government, we have no choice but settle for the lesser evil. if we cannot be satisfied with the people we have chosen, we will only have impeachment after impeachment.

the root of the problem is not the government... it is with each individual.

Whiners? Are you (dont say bad words- n`gel) ? People are suffering from poverty and hunger already unprecedented in history. Oil price increase. There is corruption everywhere! There is an impending tax increase, power rate increase. At the same time, there are no jobs. Unemployment is rising. So is the fare of transportation. Prices of basic goods is beyond the rich of ordinary people. There are increased criminal activity. The peso is dwindling. Jueteng is rampant.

The government is inutile, hypocritical and always fooling the people. You must be in dreamland.

There is no light at the end of the tunnel.