Corruption and Communion

Fr. Albert Alejo, S.J., EHEM Anti-Corruption Movement initiator and moving spirit, came up with a Lenten reflection that aims at fighting corruption within the Church. His advocacy is anything but unimportant, for we who read the Word of God must "believe what we read; preach what we believe, and practice what we preach."

Though done independently and planned well ahead, the timing of its launching was made more providential after the release of the latest CBCP statement. This is the kind of "rejoinder" that we would like to see after each CBCP Pastoral Statement.

May those who have ears, listen. Ehem!

CORRUPTION AND COMMUNION
Struggling for Integrity in Philippine Church and Society

“I propose that we seriously examine ourselves: Do I use God to get money, or, do I use money to get towards God? The gap between the rich and the poor among our people will not be bridged if among us priests, who are configured to Jesus Christ and preach love and sharing, have rich and poor among us.” ---Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo. History and Grace (2004)

“God is personal, but never private. And the Bible reveals a very public God. But in an age of private spiritualities, the voice of a public God can scarcely be heard. Private religion avoids the public consequences of faith. In particular, affluent countries and churches breed private disciples, perhaps because the applications of faith to public life could become quickly challenging and troubling.” --–Jim Wallis, God’s Politics (2005)

“Ours is a crippled nation, a wounded Church, because we are crippled and wounded individuals. If we hope to restore trust and credibility in the authorities we must know what is in our power to control. We cannot control another human being, but we can be in command of ourselves…It starts with restoring our broken relationship with God, a return to the Word.” ---Teresa Tunay. Alay Kapwa Lenten Reflection (2006)

UNEASY INTRODUCTION

In their protest against “Charter Change,” Filipino bishops quickly called for “Character Change” among the government leaders. It’s not the Constitution of the Philippines that needed renovation, the prelates said, but the heart and soul of the politicians that required radical transformation.[1] Equally brisk, however, were ordinary citizens who sent letters to national dailies, challenging the Church leaders to cast the same prophetic critique upon themselves: “They should first address the ‘character change’ message to themselves before they preach it to others.” (e.g. Vitor 2006).

Little did the letter senders know that this sense of exasperation was actually the focal theme of no less than the Alay Kapwa Lenten Reflection promoted by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that same year. At the heart of the reflection was the topic, “Restoring Trust and Credibility in the Church and Political Authorities.” For Teresa Tunay, who was asked to write this section for Alay Kapwa, the choice of this topic itself implied that “the reputation of two institutions, Church and State, has been soiled and damaged.” She elaborated this general feeling of frustration by taking the cue from the common taxi drivers’ socio-cultural and political analysis:

“With no holds barred [taxi drivers] will tell you what they think is wrong with the government, the politicians, the economy, the labor situation, the educational system, the rising of hospitalization and of burying the dead. And because the bishops and priests have figured in the news lately, they will also tell you what is wrong with the Church, the men of the cloth, the entire country…This is the picture forming in their minds, and which they transmit to their passengers: our politicians are a corrupt lot---liars, thieves, schemers, cheaters, scoundrels all. Our bishops and priests are a disunited bunch---confused, self-righteous, hypocritical. Our political authorities cannot be trusted; our spiritual leaders have lost their credibility. Therefore, Filipinos are a bad people; the country is going to the dogs, there is no hope for the future… (Tunay 2006, 33-34)

It was audacious for Teresa Tunay and the CBCP to have printed such a self-critical description of our communal sentiment. Teresa Tunay, however, exhorted the readers that “rather than harangue and harass our authorities in the hope of straightening them out, we should remember that we are the Church, we are the State.” If the nation is crippled and the Church is wounded, it is not without relation to our own woundedness as a people and as individuals. We must also do our homework, and our homework starts with “restoring our broken relationship with God, a return to the Word.” (Tunay 2006, 36)

This woundedness hits me both as a citizen and as a man of the cloth. I offer the following reflection as my own way of participating in the Church’s socio-cultural and political soul searching. I will try to focus on the social dimension of the central religious worship of the Catholic Church---the Eucharist. And since I have been in Ehem! Anticorruption Movement[2], I will zoom in my presentation on the connection between the Eucharist and injustice, between communion and corruption.

I believe---no, I can clearly see---that some of the problems that we are fighting against in society are also found within the Church. And among these problems, perhaps the most sensitive to discuss, is corruption. I suggest that the profound and authentic renewal of our society requires a corresponding renewal precisely from within our Philippine Church institutions and communities.

I guess the best statement on this theme has already been said by the Eleventh Synod of Bishops, which adopted the title “The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church” (October 3 - 23, 2005). In Proposition No. 48, the Synod describes the “social dimension of the Eucharist” in this powerful paragraph:

"Christ's sacrifice is a mystery of liberation that calls out to us. It is in the commitment to transform unjust structures and to re-establish the dignity of man, created in the likeness and image of God, that the Eucharist assumes in life the significance it has in celebration. This dynamic movement opens up to the world: it questions the process of globalization which not infrequently increases the gap between rich countries and poor countries, it denounces the political and economic forces that dilapidate the earth's resources, it reiterates the grave requirements of distributive justice in the face of inequalities that cry out to heaven, it encourages Christians to commit themselves and to work in political life and social activity…Those who share in the Eucharist must commit themselves to creating peace in our world, which is marked by violence, war and, especially today, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation. The conditions for building true peace are the restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness."

From the long and heavy list of concerns that call for committed action, I highlight “corruption.” It is identified as one of the new and special problems that confront those who would take the spirit of the Eucharist seriously in contemporary society.

The scandal that rocks the Church today is probably not so much the sexual misconduct of the clergy, but the disconcerting fact that those who lead the faithful are as economically and politically divided as the society it wants to convert. The Christians who cheat in public service as well as the victims of their cheating are probably seatmates in the same parish Church and supposedly receiving the same Eucharist.

There at the back of the Church, a mother is crying to the Lord, because she cannot buy the overpriced medicines for her dying child. Here in the front pew, a regular churchgoer praises the Lord in jubilation for a good pharmaceutical business. Somebody is making a living by literally making a killing! What would St. Paul say to this kind of Church? Probably the same sad and angry words he said to the Corinthians.

“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not… Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:17-29, English Standard Version)

I hear from St. Paul that receiving the Eucharist has very serious social and spiritual implications. The social divisions in society (‘those who have their own meal’ and ‘those who have nothing’) are very much reflected in the church and thereby “despise” it. In no uncertain terms, St. Paul exhorts the believers to examine the serious implications of this juxtaposition of social and spiritual disgrace.

Taking cue from St. Paul, I divide the rest of my presentation into two. The first section is the social context of the Eucharist from the perspective of the problem of corruption in the Philippines. The second portion is an attempt at a theological reflection on the issue. (Please take these reflections as coming from an anthropologist, and not from a professional theologian.) Towards the end, I will offer some prospects for pastoral action in living out the meaning of our Eucharistic communion amidst a society and a Church that are both challenged by corruption.

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[1] The Editorial of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines newspaper did not mince words when it ascribed this “national predicament” to the Arroyo administration. “Graft and corruption in the government and its agencies are so endemic and extensive that socio-political integrity in governance has seemingly become a moral impossibility to achieve during the remaining three-year tenure of the present national leadership” (CBCP Monitor June 25-Jul8 2007, p. A4).

[2] Ehem! is the popular name of the Jesuit Anticorruption Program. The program offers seminars to government and private sector personnel, using the Ehem! A Self-Check Manual for Combating Corruption. The program has been adopted by the Office of the Ombudsman as its corruption prevention strategy, and the seminars have been accredited by the Civil Service Commission for officer’s development. Recently, Ehem! also produced the Aha! A Citizen’s Primer on Whistleblowing, the product of long partnership with the Ombudsman’s Office.

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The Church as Part of the Problem

For most of the ordinary faithful, the Eucharist---or the Mass---is not simply a liturgical practice. It is also a social and even an economic event. Many things happen during mass. People enter the church and “find their place”: some instinctively stay at the back, while some prominent personalities would insist on occupying the front row even if they come late. And people see this. Parents teach their kids to be silent. People look at what other people wear. The homilist tries to connect the readings to contemporary issues, calls for prayer for victims of disasters, announces leadership training, denounces anomalies in elections, or at times blesses controversial projects. For some, the mass is a simple opportunity to learn how to use the microphone or try their singing skills. The church then becomes a culture bearer, aside from being a sacrament dispenser.

On top of this, there is the circulation of money. Parishioners hear the sound of the coins and see who is donating the bigger amount into the collection pouch. Sometimes, there is even a second collection for a construction project or in support of a missionary abroad. A disturbing silence, though, is the rarity of financial report coming from the church officials.[1] The inclusion of money, among other things besides, places the Eucharist and the Church in general, within the context of the brewing interrogation of poverty and corruption in the wider society: Where does the money go?

This question is raised in a recent television special. Very respectable TV journalist Howie Severino aims his lenses and his analysis on the use of the faithful’s contribution to the Church. The video-documentary originally entitled “Banal na Barya” or Holy Money is the first of GMA7’s 6^th anniversary month-long series of hard-hitting, investigative documentaries, and was aired on April 4, 2005. The blurb on this episode describes the problem: “Few parishioners ask where their money goes. I-Witness asks the questions for them. From collections at church masses, I-Witness dares to follow the church money trail and learns that while priests are sources of spiritual comfort, they do not always inspire confidence in their financial management. Sometimes, they are accused of - gasp! - stealing. Bishops frequently denounce government corruption and social inequalities. But some priests are starting to look in the church's own backyard and do not like what they see. Several thousand priests surveyed recently said that material extravagance was the number one problem of the church. Sex scandals only came in second.”

Perhaps the more controversial segment in this I-Witness episode is the case of the Archdiocese of Manila who owns commercial buildings, rents out its land to banks, and even runs a hotel -- all of them generating profits, but for the past several years, has refused to pay tax. Howie Severino openly reveals that his source for this observation is Aries Rufo’s article “The Untaxable Church” (Newsbreak October 27, 2004). Rufo exposes many details about the expansion of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) commercial properties which, according to government officials should have been paying several millions of local and national taxes.[2] But apparently, the hotel does not even have a proper building permit. For the record, both Bishop Oscar Cruz and Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales admit that some of Church’s commercial properties must be taxed, and that they have been doing that in their own dioceses. But when we look at the trend in print and internet opinions, this will continue to haunt the Church. While church tax may be small compared to that of huge corporations, the stigma of being a “tax evader” certainly weakens the Church’s prophetic role in social transformation.

One obvious conclusion here is that the Church, in its social existence, is also very much part of the problem. According to a familiar columnist, Conrad de Quiros, “There’s a whole history to show that the Church, though part of the solution, is also part of the problem. As with the society itself, the pocket of wealth and opulence at the top is matched by breathtaking deprivation below, a spectacular divide that doesn’t suggest it holds on to values conducive to honesty, or indeed Christianity.”

What does the Church say to this?

The Catholic bishops very well know the ‘evil of corruption’. In 1989, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines condemned it in a pastoral letter appropriately entitled, “Thou shalt not steal!” This was followed in 1997 with CBCP’s comprehensive social treatise called “Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics.” In these and other documents, the bishops decry the foulness of corruption that “plucks food from the mouth of the starving” and “weakens the moral and spiritual fiber of the people.” The Pastoral Letter on Graft and Corruption in 2003, poetically entitled “Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream” continues the same condemnation, but this time with a totally different tone, one which is both confident in its condemnation of corruption as well as repentant of its own collusion to the problem. On its third paragraph, the bishops make a public confession:

“Today we once more point an accusing finger at ourselves. The entire Church in the Philippines is suffering in great anguish as its integrity is raked over the coals with cases as actual or alleged sexual misconduct of some of its shepherds. We are aware, too, that in other areas of Church life as in parish financial management, some Church members and leaders, through loose and dishonest stewardship, stray from the path of righteousness and integrity and we all suffer from the pain when one part of the body of Christ, that is the Church, does wrong.” (CBCP, “Let Integrity Flow like a Stream.” Pastoral Exhortation on Graft and Corruption, 2003)

This confession is matched by empirical data. In 2004, as a response to the sex scandals that hit the Philippine clergy and hierarchy two years previously, the National Congress of the Clergy was convened. Some four thousand priests and bishops gathered together in one roof. It was a very touching and very moving experience of renewal of commitment to the life and mission proper to “men of the Eucharist.” Part of the program was the conduct of a survey on the “Traits and Behaviors Incompatible with Priestly Ministry and Spirituality”. Out of the 2,911 respondents coming from 85 dioceses of the country, 76 were bishops.

On the question of “indecent lifestyles” of the clergy, 1363 or 46% of the respondents identify “material attachment and extravagance” as the number one lifestyle that mars the image of the Filipino clergy today. Such materialism, according to the interpretation of Msgr. Manny Gabriel, breeds “arrogance” and “inconsiderateness,” with no sense of sacrifice” and “discipline.” Far second is sexual relations with women or homosexual liaisons and activities” at 25.9%, third is “habitual recourse to worldly good time” at 10.6%, and fourth is “closeness to the rich and powerful” at 9.1%.

As to the question on the “factors that weaken the Institutional Church,” the results are equally disturbing. The delegates gave a very high 52.2% on “lack of transparency and honesty in the management of Church resources.” This “problem from within” is felt as “more disturbing.” Again, according to the somber reading of Msgr. Gabriel:

“The clergy’s inability to manage the Church resources due to plain and simple dishonesty militates against very basic human and Gospel values. It brings to the fore the Gospel’s battle cry against sin and corruption, the moral imperative of honesty and truthfulness in the presence of the Lord and His people, the demand for responsible stewardship in the governance of the earth’s resources. And in a country where corruption is woven into every fiber of its societal institution, people expect the Church to lead the moral crusade, to witness to responsible governance and pastoral care. Should this Church be found wanting in this transparent, Gospel-inspired stewardship of resources, because the leaders themselves have failed to practice what it preaches, the institutional Church weakens its moral foundation and credible leadership?”[3]

“Clerical intrigues and politics” comes second at 33.3% and “arrogance and abuse of power” third at 13.9%. The survey was conducted by the social research office of the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas, and published as part of the book called History and Grace, also published in 2005 by the University of Santo Tomas Press. The book contains the speeches and the activities as well as the proposals for a renewed clergy for a renewed Church in a renewed Philippine society.

CALL TO SOCIO-SPIRITUAL LIBERATION

I heard that among the many speeches and homilies delivered during the National Congress of the Clergy, probably the most moving was the sharing of Father (now Bishop) Broderick S. Pabillo, who spoke from his experience of being a poor priest living with the poor. One of his paragraphs, I think, can really take us from the sociological observation and statistical computation to spiritual reflection:

“I propose that we seriously examine ourselves: Do I use God to get money, or, do I use money to get towards God? We who so preach to others to share, even to give tithes ... do we also share? Do we tithe ourselves? The early Christian community in Jerusalem had no one in need among them because those who have would sell whatever they have and give them to those who have none (cf. Acts 4:34). Therefore many were added to the number of believers. Their life of sharing was a great factor to this increase. Is this also so among us, even at least among us brothers in the priesthood? I dream of the time that there would be no priest in need because we share with each other. Whether one is in the city or in the provinces, whether one is in a big or a small parish, we all share among us. The gap between the rich and the poor among our people will not be bridged if among us priests, who are configured to Jesus Christ and preach love and sharing, have rich and poor among us.”

Fr. Pabillo is echoing Conrad de Quiros’ indictment of the Church, but Fr. Pabillo transforms the social condition into a prophetic call for conversion. Anyone who wants to be enriched spiritually by listening to an account of ministry to the poor would better read the rest of his sharing. What I notice in Fr. Pabillo’s sharing is that scripture passages seem to naturally bubble from experience and then flow very gently into new insights. The rich young man of Mark suddenly leads to Moses of Exodus. Matthew 6:34 “Tomorrow will take care of itself” blends easily with the anecdote on “may awa ang Diyos” (God will show mercy). The issue of some people being “mukhang pera” (literally ‘money-faced’) becomes a jumping board for understanding the Eucharistic sharing in Acts 4:34.

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[1] This lack of transparency within the parish apparently flows from the temporal nature of the Church itself. Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso, explains: “The Church is not a democratic institution. It is a hierarchical (Cf. Canons 204, §2; 336; 375; 753). In a democratic institution, the power of the official basically emanates from the people and is therefore accountable to the people. In a hierarchical Church, the power of the officials (the clergy) emanate from Christ who entrusted the government of the Church to them in a hierarchical order. In consonance with this order pastors are accountable to their bishops as the bishops are accountable to the Holy See or the Pope. Hence, just as no pastor should allow his parishioners or a ‘self-appointed group’ thereof to dictate that he submits to them the parish financial report, similarly neither the bishop should submit to the priests the diocesan financial report. It is, however, the responsibility of the pastors to submit the parish financial report to the Bishop (Can. 1287, §. 1) as the Bishop in turn has the responsibility to submit to the Supreme Pontiff all matters, including financial, of how he administers them in his diocese (cf. Can. 399).” “Transparency in the Church” Impact: Asian Magazine for Human Transformation. Vol 40: 13-14, 22.

[2] “Church sources disclose that the center has been operating the lodging inn for years and charges commercial rates. BIR officials say the inn, which is a commercial business, is taxable. They explain that tax exemption covers only the income derived from religious, charitable sources. They say that area on which the lodging inn stands should be imposed with realty tax. In 1999, the center opened a five-story, 74-room hotel at the back of its compound. Documents submitted to the BIR showed the center’s gross income for 1999, 2001, and 2002 reached P32 million, P46.24 million, and P44.718 million respectively. The center did not submit its income tax return (ITR) for 2000. For 2003, the center surprisingly declared zero income.” Aries Rufo, “The Untaxable Church” (Newsbreak October 27, 2004). On 17 April 2005, the banner headline of the Philippine Daily Inquirer read “BIR to Church: You’re next.” According to the article, “Church leaders, including priests and ministers, and religious organizations will not be spared in the government campaign against tax cheats.”

[3] More recently, TIME magazine (26 February 2007, pp. 34-35) created quite a stir when it published a disturbing article on what it termed as “Pilfering Priests”. The sinister looking prelate in the illustration is caught with money inserted into the pages of his prayer book. The statistics, however, is more disconcerting. Highlighted in the article is that 85% of the dioceses in one survey reported embezzlement cases; 11% had scandals of $500,000 or more. A number of readers reacted to the presentation, but it is inevitable that this kind of expose will be replicated soon in Philippine media. A casual monitoring of the national papers will reveal that this season has actually started.

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Corruption as betrayal of communion

Let me now go back to my main focus, that is the call for internal renewal within the Catholic Church and Philippine society. In this section, I would like to pursue a couple of biblical reflections based on my experience in Ehem! Anticorruption Movement. I would just like to share with you how I “discovered” some Biblical texts that, for me at least, have transformed my political action against corruption into a more pastoral ministry for communion.

When I was reading the account of the institution of the Eucharist in the Gospel of Matthew, it dawned on me that right at the very beginning, during the Last Supper, on the first Maundy Thursday, Jesus became the victim of bribery and extortion, as Judas secretly accepted the thirty pieces of silver paid by the religious authorities. Imagine the pain of Jesus, sharing bread and wine with somebody who will betray him?

I am sure that a trained scripture scholar or a biblical spirituality expert can expound on this angle in more detail and probably more poignantly. But to me, the impact of this vision of that dark night dinner came with the death of a whistleblower, Marlene Esperat of Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat.

Marlene was a chemist who turned journalist. While she was monitoring the Depart of Agriculture, she uncovered many anomalies. Her expose later on became the notorious Php 728 million fertilizer scam. She filed dozens of cases touching on overpricing of farm inputs, spending millions of government funds on ghost irrigation projects, and even smuggling of chicken wings. Marlene was aware that she was threatening powerful people, but she was fearless. All she was thinking of was the injustice that a handful of people were inflicting on the farmers and the government. Her family simply had accepted and respected her crusade for justice.

When Marlene died, her sister knew exactly what Psalm she would use for the paraliturgy---Psalm 17. They requested me to lead the prayer that her sister had prepared. I was astonished at the beauty and power of the song of the righteous person seeking protection from God, and yet ultimately expressing inner joy if in the end she can simply “behold your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with your likeness when I awake.”

“Hear a just cause, O LORD, give heed to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips…
Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

From the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me…

They have now surrounded us in our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us down to the ground.
He is like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion lurking in hiding places.
Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low;
Deliver my soul from the wicked with your sword…
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
I will be satisfied with your likeness when I awake.”

Corruption is violence. Corruption kills. But what the Eucharistic passages in the Gospel seem to imply is that corruption, moreover, is a betrayal of trust, of divine trust. The person of integrity, however, clings to the friendship with truth---and therefore with God---even at the risk of one’s life.

Thank God, not all whistleblowers get killed, although they continue to be persecuted through harassment and continuous death threat. Ruben M. Manatad understands this perfectly well. He exposed the “rice-for-sawdust scam” in the National Food Authority, where somebody replaced four tracks of rice with sawdust, and threatened him when he refused to sign the delivery receipt. His continuing struggle has inspired him to write his own psalm, “A whistleblower’s prayer”:

“Dear God, please make me strong
In the midst of threats and enticements.
Powerful people are determined to break my will
and compel me to retract my statements.
If they fail, they will see to it that my reputation
is tarnished and my credibility demolished.
I am emotionally burdened.
People close to me may be involved in this wrongdoing.
I just exposed an anomaly that is detrimental to the nation.
But I am prepared to face the consequences of my action.
Please shield me against ill motives and retaliation.
My belief is powerful. My faith is formidable.
I cannot forsake Young people whom I am sworn
to serve faithfully. Help me. Amen.” [1]

Communion as liberation from corruption

During one of our Ehem! seminars for the regional office of the Land Transportation Office, I had a clearer hint on what Jesus did when he visited Zacchaeus, the notorious tax collector. The regional head had several corruption cases filed against him. But he still arranged the seminar. He invited the group to dinner in his house. Nobody came, except my brother Jesuit scholastic and myself. The amount of food indicated that he was expecting a lot of visitors. Apparently, people did not want to be seen dining with him because of his alleged anomalies. I don’t remember what happened next, but he admitted to having those cases looming over his head and promised to be better public servant.

I think there is need for pastoral care for those who have been involved in corrupt activities but are now, like Zacchaeus, craning their neck, as it were, to get a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus knew what was going on in Zacchaeus heart, and out of his wisdom and compassion, Jesus used the very human sacrament of dining together, as an approach to conversion. Zacchaeus burst into liberation from his attachment to his ill-gotten wealth that he promised to return more than what the law could have demanded on him to pay. Jesus declared after the meal, “Today, salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:1-10).[2]

Secretly, a number of people come to me saying, “Father, I am not really a bad guy. It’s just that I was not strong enough to overcome the pressure of the office. I cannot go on with this admittedly corrupt behavior, but I am afraid of the consequences if I expose myself to the law.” I had another case of surprise revelation. I was walking in the Ateneo de Manila campus. A car stopped by me. The window opened and I heard a voice. “Excuse me, are you Father Alejo? Are you the one who gives Ehem seminars? Father, you should talk to me. I am attorney so and so, graduate of Ateneo Law School, and I’m corrupt. Right now, I have a murder case and it has just been dismissed, because we bought the judge. When you have time, let’s have dinner or coffee. I will gather a few others, and we will tell you how things are done.”

I wonder if can muster the courage and the creativity, like Jesus had, to explore talking with the alumni of our schools or parishioners of our churches, at that moment when they are at the brink of conversion. I suggested this to some sisters who were running good schools, but who they admit had alumni who have become corrupt. Why don’t you visit them? I said. “Nakakahiya!” (It’s shameful!) they answered. Why do we feel awkward approaching our alumni in their homes to remind them of the values that our schools stood for? And yet we are not ashamed of asking money for contributions back to the school? Come to think of it, Jesus, in the Zacchaeus liberation story, is probably teaching us a pastoral approach to societal change---and again, through the Eucharistic meal!

AN URGENT ADVOCACY

As the Church begins the all-important surgical self-criticism, there are positive signs that can give us energy to proceed with this “urgent advocacy.” In its most recent survey on corruption, the Social Weather Station included, for the first time, the category “local church leaders”.[3] The result is that local church leaders got the highest rating for sincerity in fighting corruption, scoring higher than the Supreme Court and Social Security System. This is not conclusive but it certainly signals both hope and responsibility. Hope in that many people still trust the Church as an important actor in social transformation. This also implies a great responsibility to go beyond being part of the problem to being part of the solution.

Some Church groups have actually been involved in the punitive as well as preventive aspects of anticorruption work. Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez enumerated some of these initiatives during our participation in the symposium “The Fight against Corruption” convened by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in the middle of 2006. The National Secretariat for Social Action for example has grass roots level lifestyle check and Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) Watch Campaign. Along with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), the Office of the Ombudsman and civil society groups, NASSA signed a memorandum of understanding committing itself and the dioceses under the social action network to the campaign for good governance. Many devout Christians are in government and private agencies, trying to introduce reforms form within their sectors.

A seriously felt need is to root this political and governmental work onto a more solid spiritual foundation. The DILAAB movement, developed from Cebu, is a great move to fill this need. Dilaab, which literally means ‘flame’ or ‘on fire’ in Visayan, is a moral-spiritual renewal movement harnessing faith, igniting spaces of hope, and channeling the energies of love for a transformed Filipino nation through heroic Christian citizenship; Christ-centered leadership; and Christian (or God-centered) advocacy work.

Ehem! Movement starts from a cultural analysis of the endemic nature of corruption and offers a spirituality of integrity as it networks primarily with government, church and school action and energy centers.

Fighting corruption and working for good governance is emerging now as a top priority in our renewed social ministry of the Church. This issue, however, gains more urgency and sensitivity when we consider Mindanao. Studies have shown that controlling corruption in post-conflict countries usually looks like fighting another war. If these funds do not land on the proper beneficiary communities, then we may have to face another war. We know even now that corruption breeds violence. When a court cannot give justice to a person’s cause, then he might take the law into his hands. When clan conflicts are settled using public funds as blood money, then we realize that preventing corruption is actually working for peace and development.

What remains as a gaping lacuna is the articulation of the political and economic reforms to the sphere of spirituality that looks at the basic integrity and morality of every individual as a member of the political and economic systems. As the World Bank (2000) exhorts, there is a need for a spiritual and ethical-based initiatives to complement the political and economic reforms. Perhaps the turn to Eucharistic spirituality may prove enriching and enlivening, especially when we start (and rightly so) with the reform of our own personal and communal lives as Christians.

The National Congress of the Clergy is correct in focusing on the renewal of the clergy from the very beginning of formation of seminarians. Perhaps a corresponding articulation of the Eucharistic spirituality of integrity should also be developed among the laity whose divine mission is precisely to evangelize the secular sphere. Our discerned strategic response is to build up women and men of integrity, equipped with appropriate expertise and solid spirituality in the moral use of power and in the technical requirements of achieving good governance, both in public and private sectors, but also in the Church institutions. Fr. Louie Hechanova, however, insists that this strategy must go beyond personal conversion; it has to become a movement! “Unfortunately,” Fr. Hechanova sighs, “most of our religious movements are geared towards the conversion of individuals who have to go back into the same environment of corruption. What we need is a religious movement led by concerned lay people that would help reform an entire office or work group in such a way that honesty and transparency become the normal practice in their work environment and where there is a mechanism for enforcing these practices or penalizing violators” (Hechanova 2001, 86-87)

All this goes back to the call of the Synod of Bishops to live the spirit of sharing one bread, and to make sure that others, too, have some thing to eat, have peace of mind, and freedom from manipulation and deceit, as well enjoying good governance.

If we recall the Eucharistic miracle at Cana, Jesus, upon the urging of his Mother, transformed the scarcity of spirits into the celebration of abundance. (John 2, 1-11). Who knows, the Lord might come to the aid of our exasperated people, and offer us at least a taste of being a transformed community?

---

[1] Mr. Ruben M. Manatad’s prayer is later printed in the Aha! A Citizen’s Primer on Whistleblowing. Davao City: Ehem! Aha! Technical Working Group, Office of the Ombudsman and the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus (2006).

[2] Interestingly, Zacchaeus’ name apparently comes from the Hebrew Zakkai, meaning “clean” or “innocent” or “just.” Thus Zacchaeus can mean “just man.” He was chief tax collector. He was an administrator who bid for and organized the collection and took a cut from the labor of his underlings. His wealth is probably related to his job and comes from the commission that such officials took from collecting taxes. (Personal communication with Fr. Manol Montesclaros, SJ.)

[3] “The managers give Local Church Leaders the highest rating for sincerity in fighting corruption: Net +71, which the study classifies as Very Good (over +50). Their ratings of the Supreme Court and the Social Security System are classified as Good (+31 to +50 range). Considered Moderate (+11 to +30 range) are: the Department of Health, the City/Municipal Government, and the Sandiganbayan or anti-graft court. Rated Mediocre (-11 to +11 range, indistinguishable from zero) are: Trial Courts, COA, the Ombudsman, the Government Service Insurance System, the Department of Education, and DBM. The negative categories are Poor (-11 to –30 range): PCGG, the Office of the President, the Senate, the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, AFP, DOJ, Department of Transportation and Communications, and the Department of Agriculture; Bad (-31 to –50 range): DILG, PNP, LTO, DENR, the House of Representatives; and Very Bad (below –50): BIR, Commission on Elections, DPWH, and Bureau of Customs. The SSS (Net +38), GSIS (+5), DOTC (-22), DA (-24), Comelec (-59), and Local Church Leaders (+71) were included in the sincerity ratings for the first time in 2006.” The 2006 SWS Survey of Enterprises on Corruption: Mostly Good News On The Business Sector, Bad News About Government (6 July 2006).

Live from the Bastusang Pambansa

The tragi-comedy that happened at the House of Representatives several evenings ago have been described in a variety of ways. Administration congressmen, led by the 2 sons of the President ganged up on de Venecia faster than he could say: "Back off!" However, much as Malacañang wanted a "quieter" transition, de Venecia also made sure he delivered a stinging farewell speech against the President, faster than she, too, could say: "Back off!"

Manolo Quezon's article sums up best, for me at least, the circus that was the lynching of the deposed-Speaker Jose de Venecia.




The Long View
Live from the Bastusang Pambansa

By Manuel L. Quezon III
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:57:00 02/06/2008

Speaker: “We will now proceed with nominal voting. Call the roll.”

Clerk: “Aquin, Lahat.”

Aquin: “Mr. Presiding Officer Creature, may I explain my bribe?”

S: “The undistinguished gentleman has three congressional minutes.”

A: “Mr. Speaker, I come here with a heavy heart but a heavier wallet, and for that reason, much as it pains me, in the name of my district, may I manifest my gratitude to the President for this opportunity to prove my loyalty. I vote yes, for change! Not loose change, Mr. Speaker, but the kind of change that stood us in good stead, when we were last in Macao at government expense. Truly, it is a privilege to serve the President’s sons, who are, after all, people, too, and so by serving them, we all serve… the people. I vote YES.”

C: “Garapal, Medio.”

Garapal: “Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Presiding Officer Creature.”

S: “What is the parliamentary inquiry by the undistinguished gentleman?”

G: “May I know if our proceedings are being monitored by Madam?”

S: “The Majority Floor Leader Creature will answer.”

MFL: “Yes, well, ah, the independence of this noble chamber is unquestionable, but yes, I understand that we are being monitored on TV, radio, and of course you, uh, all know the Baranggay Bansot Legislative Liaison Office… they are there, behind the uh, peephole…”

G: “In that case, may I explain my bribe?”

S: “The undistinguished gentleman has three congressional minutes.”

G: “Thank you, Madam, for these thy blessings, which we are about to receive, through Your Excellency’s husband, Our Lord, and the Department of Budget and Management, Amen.”

C: “Rucut, Mando.”

Rucut: “Mr. Presiding Officer Creature, may I explain my bribe?”

S: “Yes. Go ahead.”

R: “My name is Congressman Mando Rucut. R-U-C-U-T. Got it? That is my name, and here is my vote. I vote YES. Let me repeat: YES. YES, YES, YES. That’s me, Mando Rucut. R-U-C-U-T, who voted YES. Thank you. Do I get more since I voted five times?”

S: “Unfortunately, this is the House, not the Comelec, you only get one vote here.”

C: “Saamin, Siempre.”

Saamin: “Point of information, Mr. Speaker, before I explain my bribe.”

S: “What is the point of information?”

Sa: “I would like to know, on behalf of the ten thousand patriotic, able-bodied, spiritually-advanced members of my district, where our uh, err, shall we say, development assistance…”

S: “The undistinguished gentleman is directed to the South Lounge to collect his Success Fee.”

Sa: “Thank you. Without further ado, I vote YES! This country needs change! Lots of it! And now, Mr. Speaker, I must excuse myself to answer a call of nature.”

S: “The undistinguished gentleman need not enlighten the House on the state of his bladder-”

Sa: “Objection, Mr. Speaker! Not that kind of a call of nature!”

S: “In which case you are not required to manifest your intention to go to the South Lounge.”

C: “Son, Second.”

S2: “Hey, you. I will now explain-explain, ha? I expect as much time as I want. Because I like. Mmmkay?”

S: “The distinguished, charming, handsome gentleman from the district in which he was not born, but who has, by the Grace of God, come down from the clouds to demean himself by serving the people, has, of course, unlimited time, in consideration of his esteemed blood ties to our glorious-”

S2: “Shaddap. All of you. I’m not here, ha, as her son but I’m here, ha, as well… I’m here. Got it? So, let me say… WE WIN! THEY LOSE! WE ALWAYS WIN! HAHA! I vote Yes. Because.”

MFL: “Mr. Speaker, may I make a motion to have the immoral, I mean, immortal, words we just heard, framed and distributed to every barangay in this country?”

S: “Any objections? Does anybody dare? Hearing none, so ordered.”

C: “Mesa, Onder D.”

Mesa: “Mr. Speaker, in voting Yes, let me explain my bribe by saying, the only thing permanent in this world is change. We change underwear. We change clothes. We change in appearance. We are always changing, because change is good, the more we change, the better we become, because, in truth, and I say this in all sincerity, with utter conviction, the only time we do not change is when we die. And, Mr. Speaker, to quote the great President Marcos, I do not intend to die!”

S: “The motion is carried. Yoda is deposed. The new speaker, Jar-Jar Binks, will now give his inaugural address.”

Speaker Jar-Jar: “Monsters out there, leaking in here. Weesa all sinking and no power. Whena yousa thinking we are in trouble? Better dead here than deader in the Core. Ye gods, whatta meesa sayin’? Gungans no giben up witout a fight. Wesa warriors! Wesa got a gwand army. Dats why yousa no liken us, I tink.”

(Applause. Meanwhile, Yoda tells the media, “Around the survivors, a perimeter create.”)

Why condom ads should be regulated

Finally, a saner, more rational way to explain why condom ads should be regulated.

The discussion on condoms and AIDS prevention is unfortunately being dominated by forces at the extreme ends of the liberal-conservative divide. There is a burgeoning population problem in our country, and there is no sense in denying it or saying that we are better off than most 1st world countries who now face the problem of a growing senior citizenry vs. a smaller number of young people (which is also a population problem).

The Church, with its conservative official teachings and its tradition of compassion and reason, has much to offer in the discussion of solving the population problem and the AIDS menace. If both sides, are only willing to dialogue.

There is much common ground to cover. It's a pity it seems most people only wander about their ideological comfort zones.


Why condom ads should be regulated

JOSE LEO LEMUEL G. CAPARAS JR.
11 Luis Sianghio St., 1103 Kamuning, Quezon City
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Letter to the Editor
First Posted 23:26:00 02/07/2008


As much as I want to understand Rina Jimenez-David (“Once more with condoms,” Inquirer, 1/26/08), I don’t find DKT’s condom ads to be a blessing. I share her desire to help women in the sex trade. I agree that the reasons given by those who are against condom ads are old -- as old as 2,000 years, maybe. But I also find them as current as the latest edition of the Inquirer.

For three reasons, DKT’s condom ads should be regulated.

1. According to information taken from DKT’s website, the firm distributed 277 million condoms in 15 years of operation in the Philippines. Condom sales grew by an average annual rate of 29 percent, which far exceeds the economy’s average growth. This does not include the 67 million pills and over one millions injectables also sold.

The proceeds from these sales would be enough to build a war chest for pricy ads. But the firm may have made a mistake by posting that in 2006 they sold 184,000 lubes and inserted 500 intra-uterine devices (IUDs). Medical textbooks and scientific references agree that human life begins at conception. Isn’t this firm breaking the law, considering that it is explicitly stated in the Constitution that the state shall protect the life of the unborn from conception?

2. Condoms don’t stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Take the case of our country and Thailand. In 1987, we had 135 AIDS cases. Thailand had 112 cases. In the early 1990s both took different directions against the spread of the HIV virus. In 1991 the Thai health minister adopted a “100% Condom Use program.” We did not.

Instead our government signed into the effort of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to set up the group AIDS-Free Philippines as the official program to fight AIDS nationwide. By 2003, there were 570,000 Thais with HIV, half a million more than the 9,000 Filipinos who had been infected with HIV by then. Also in 2003, 58,000 Thais died of AIDS -- 16 times more than the 500 Filipinos who died that same year.

A 2001 USAID report cited two reasons we had a low incidence of HIV/AIDS: a relatively high rate of abstinence among the youth; and the practice of married Filipinos to largely remain faithful to their spouses. The report stated that “The Catholic Church must be credited with influencing sexual behavior.”

3. My desire to be a responsible father. As such, I would not want anybody to just throw garbage inside my home. I feel far from blessed when I see or hear condom ads. This prompts me into writing in behalf of those who feel the same.

The bishops, between center and periphery

yet another comment on the latest CBCP statement "Reform your lives..." this time, John Nery takes issue with the bishops' convenient manila-provinces dichotomy. while it is good policy for the Church not to easily intervene in politics, esp in light (or should we say darkness?) of recent events, still it is also bad policy to stay at the sidelines while the rest of the country suffers from the greed of the few. discussions and dialogue.. more discussions and dialogue...

The bishops, between center and periphepry

John Nery
Published: PDI, Febraury 5, 2008

The Catholic bishops’ latest pastoral statement held no surprises; indeed, it said things that needed to be said. And yet this loyal son of the Church, who eagerly awaited the statement’s release, must confess to a deep sense of disappointment.

I feel let down, not because of what the statement did not say (it did not, for example, call the Arroyo administration to account for any specific allegation -- but that was to be expected); I was disappointed because of how it said the things it did say.

I winced, for example, when the bishops attempted a blithe contrast between the country’s problems as perceived in Manila and the problems as perceived everywhere else. They listed five issues -- corruption now allegedly at its worst, the possible return of military rule, renewed attempts to change the Constitution, “extra-judicial” killings, the imminent implementation of a national ID system -- and then pronounced them Manila-centric. “The above are more or less the problems of the nation as seen from the center that is Manila.”

They then made another list, including the “depreciation” in the value of OFW remittances, continuing problems in land reform, “unabated fighting -- or the threat of it” in certain areas, frustrated election reform, the promotion of mining and the abuse of natural resources and, not least, the continued flourishing of political dynasties, and concluded: “What emerge from the periphery -- the provinces -- are concerns quite different from the above.”

I’m afraid the bishops have been less than intellectually honest. The problems they place in the box labeled Manila are in fact nationwide in scope. Let me cite just one instance; most of the politically motivated killings took place outside Metro Manila. In other words, the blood of hundreds of victims watered the countryside, not the capital. Indeed, as the Alston final report indicated, the large cities of Davao and Cebu have also been stained by the blood of victims, killed extra-judicially. These two cities, under Rodrigo Duterte and Tomas Osmeña, are the center of major archdioceses too, under the pastoral care of two of the country’s most influential prelates. The last time I looked, neither city was part of Manila.

The problems the bishops privilege as emerging exclusively from the provinces can be found in Metro Manila’s all-too-convenient box too. Let me cite just two instances. The deep longing for election reform is not unknown in the national capital. (Unsatisfied for so long, it almost approximates our spiritual thirst; it too is like a deer that yearns for running streams.) And the unfortunate effect of a strong peso on a remittance-fueled economy is felt as keenly in Metro Manila as it is in the provinces. Why, are there no OFW families in the capital?

Perhaps I am wrong; perhaps mental dishonesty is imprecise. Perhaps what our bishops were trying to do was indulge a quasi-Kantian rage for symmetry. First this, then that. There is the center, and there is the periphery. In doing so, however, in making a false distinction between the signs of the times in Metro Manila and in the rest of the country, the bishops of my own Church, I fear, have slighted truth itself.

I am also somewhat bothered by the difference in language used. The appeal for closure to long-running controversies (the content of many news stories) is couched diffidently, in the language of qualification. “Today we often hear that ‘closure’ has to be made to various issues ranging from the elections of 2004 to present charges of corruption in high places.” When we parse this passage, we see that the bishops are not directly saying closure is needed; they have merely acknowledged that the call for closure is often heard.

Contrast this with the stirring language of assertion in the latter passages, with, say, their (profound) analysis of the root cause of our many ills. “We zero in on what we say is the basic fault in our communities’ political and social life: the subordinating of the common good to private good. We see how this flaw in our national character evinces itself in our community life. We need to seek ways and means of correcting it in whatever way we can ... We have to form ourselves into real communities of faith-discernment and -action.”

Perhaps qualification was needed to arrive at a consensus among shepherds. (Another example: “For we live today as a people almost without hope, it would seem.”) But it is the language of assertion that guides the sheep.

* * *

In direct answer to the bishops’ call for the formation of faith communities, major Catholic institutions involved in education and in election reform will launch “A Year of Social Engagement” on Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, at 1 p.m., at the Manila Cathedral. (Not the periphery!) The idea, political science professor Benjie Tolosa writes, is “to foster social consciousness and engagement that would help build democratic institutions and hope in sociopolitical action.” It is a project I believe the late Jaime Cardinal Sin would have approved of.

Farewell to a Saintly Priest

+ Father George Tither
Redemptorist Confessor, Spiritual Director & Friend to many
Pere Tither est mort! Vive Pere Tither!

DIOCESAN CIRCULAR NO. 04, Series of 2008

To: All Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful
Re: (+) Rev. Fr. David Januarius Tither, CSsR

Your Reverences, Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Peace in the Lord!

May I inform you that REV. FR. DAVID JANUARIUS “GEORGE” TITHER, CSSR, passed away at 8 a.m. today, 31 January 2008. The Redemptorist community scheduled a three-night wake for Father Tither at the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in Gogon, Legazpi City. Afterwards, his remains will be brought to Manila for wake and funeral.

The diocesan clergy of Legazpi will hold a Concelebrated Wake Mass for the late Father Tither at the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in Gogon, Legazpi City on 1 February 2008, Friday, 5 p.m.

Father Tither was born on 18 August 1920 in New Zealand. He made his religious profession as member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (CSsR) on 2 February 1940. He was ordained priest on 9 September 1945 by the Most Rev. Jacobus O’Collins, DD, in Ballarat, Australia.

In 1990, after serving in various capacities at the Redemptorist community in Baclaran, Manila, he was assigned to the community in Legazpi City, and never really left the place, except for a few period, till the present. He was a popular confessor and spiritual director for many of Legazpi’s faithful – clergy, religious and laity alike.

Father Tither had long suffered the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s Disease before finally succumbing to severe pneumonia. Let us pray for his eternal bliss in the presence of our Father in heaven.

Pray for us, too, Father Tither. Requiescat in Pace. Amen.

Sincerely in His service,

(Signed)
+ LUCILO B. QUIAMBAO
Bishop Administrator

31 January 2008

Pastoral Bulletin 1, s. 2008: Gambling in Legazpi

This is Legazpi's latest "issue". And the diocese's first pastoral bulletin this year. The first two paragraphs have already became moot since it turned out the "certificate of no objection" was not required of Play Planet, the gambling operator, by the PAGCOR.

It was an "if then-else" requirement. If there is an existing city ordinance banning a gambling operation within 200 meters of schools and/or churches, a certificate of no objection would have to be secured from the city council. Else, only a "certificate of no ordinance" is needed. There is no city ordinance to such effect.

It turned out the public hearing conducted by the concerned committees of the city council was not necessary at all. Waste of time for them maybe, though not so much for us. It got us informed and interested about this seemingly innocuous business request.

Since Play Planet will most likely be granted a permit by PAGCOR, the next stop will be for them to secure a business permit from the city mayor. And we will be ready for that.

Bingo, however, turned out to be a "lesser" issue. A few meters away and a block across away, while the Legazpi City Council was on session, the Albay Provincial Board was also conducting its regular session. Among its agenda was the entry of Small Town Lottery (STL), another nice legal trickery concocted by the present dispensation that effectively "legalized jueteng" and instantly provided a legal cover to jueteng's continued operations by gambling lords.

Marx obviously knew not enough about gambling. Otherwise, he wouldn't have called religion the opium of the masses. Here is the real opium of the masses today: "paturon on the streets; small gambling dens in neighborhoods; cockfights, jueteng, STL and lotteries in towns and cities; and on-line gambling in internet cafes and private homes". And our government officials have appointed themselves the new drug lords.

DIOCESE OF LEGAZPI
CHANCERY
P.O. Box 38, Legazpi City 4500, Philippines

PASTORAL BULLETIN NO. 1, Series of 2008

To: People of God in Legazpi, All Men and Women of Good Will and Faith
Re: ON THE PROPOSED BINGO HALL OPERATION IN LEGAZPI CITY

“Take no part in fruitless works of darkness, rather expose them.” (Eph 5,11)

Recently, a request has been handed to the Legazpi City Council to issue a “certificate of no objection” to a planned Bingo hall operation inside the Gaisano Pacific Mall. If granted, the certificate will pave the way for the start of the Bingo hall’s operation.

As pastors, we are expressing our opposition to the planned Bingo operation in Legazpi City. And we urge our city councilors to do the same by not issuing a “certificate of no objection”.

Two arguments are being advanced to justify the proposed Bingo operation: that it is nothing but a benign form of entertainment and that the city stands to gain economic benefits from it.

Gambling is anything but benign. There is no dearth of reliable scientific studies that have conclusively proven the ill effects of institutionalized gambling, including Bingo halls, on persons, families, communities and the larger society. Some of these are: personal enslavement to vice, economic deprivation of families, broken marriages, and exploitation of the poor.

PAGCOR’s regulations may mitigate some of these adverse effects but only to a certain extent. The contradiction of the State’s promotion of gambling and its mandate to protect its citizens will always rear its ugly head sooner or later.

These studies are easily available on the internet and in any respectable library with materials on the topic of social problems. It will be most irresponsible for our elected officials not to consider these studies on gambling before forming judgment on this issue.

The proposed Bingo operation’s perceived economic benefits are questionable and deceptive. Its economic contribution to the city and to the province is, at this point, vague and, at best, minimal. Its corollary benefits to other industries like transportation, tourism and small businesses are not as significant, nor as certain, as some people would have us believe. What is certain though is that it will not raise the standard of living in the city, nor will it raise the quality of entertainment venues around.

On the other hand, money spent on Bingo means money taken away from the needs of the family. At a time when families groan about their poverty, when the community is only rising from the destruction wrought by supertyphoons Milenyo and Reming, when Bicol is ranked among the poorest regions in the country, it will be most irresponsible for our elected officials to allow any business to operate that will put at risk the economic prospects of families.

The Church is taking the side of the family and the common good by expressing opposition to the proposed Bingo operation in Legazpi City. Whose side is the City Council taking in turn: that of the people or that of socially irresponsible business interest?

Gambling activities, legal and illegal, already abound: paturon on the streets; small gambling dens in neighborhoods; cockfights, jueteng, STL and lotteries in towns and cities; and on-line gambling in internet cafes and private homes. These activities are already doing more than enough damage to the community’s social and moral fiber. Must the city council burden the community with one more gambling operation?

Gambling and sustainable development do not go hand in hand. Gambling and healthy living do not jive. Gambling does not provide good entertainment. Gambling, in the long run, harms persons and families. The Bingo operation’s vague economic promise to the city will not equal the social cost of risking cases of personal addiction, dysfunctional families, financial loss, juvenile delinquency and other social ills associated with gambling.

The Municipality of Daraga has only recently got of rid of Bingo in their place. Will Legazpi City move a step backward by allowing Bingo to operate in its place instead?

We strongly urge the Legazpi City Council not to allow the proposed Bingo operation in the city to proceed.

We ask our parishioners, Catholic schools, religious organizations and movements, all men and women of faith and good will, to pray that this plan will not push through and to support the cause of opposing the establishment of a Bingo operation in Legazpi City.

May Our Lady of Salvation guide our elected officials and protect our families from harm.

Sincerely in His service,

(Signed)
+LUCILO B. QUIAMBAO

Apostolic Administrator

21January 2008

CBCP Statement : "Reform Yourselves and Believe in the Gospel!" - in other words...

Talk about a different view. How many times have we read and heard the lament that bishops and priests no longer speak up against the ills that plague our country, particularly the wrongdoings of the current dispensation, the way bishops and priests in the past used to? In a way, this latest CBCP statement answers such lament in three ways:

1. All of us are to blame for the mire of corruption our country has sinked itself in. And it starts by the way most of our voters elect bad politicians, despite their fully knowing those they are voting for are bad. Simply put, such an act constitutes "political mortal sin". Our catechism tells us, mortal sins are sins that kill. Political mortal sins are killing the soul of this nation.

2. The transformation of our society begins with everyone of us working hard for it. The bishops dug up the 1986 CBCP post-snap election statement, calling everyone once again to "pray together, reason together, decide together, act together." Why, indeed, pin the responsibility on bishops for checking out governmental abuses, when the truth is it is everyone's job?

3. There is hope. Things are not as bad as they seem. Many people in many parts of this country are doing positive things, coming out with bright effective ideas to make lives better, and inspiring more and more to do the same.

Nice words. Then again, are all bishops and priests really sold into it? I mean, not just sold enough to let the CBCP president release this pastoral statement with these bold (though at the same time, admittedly Malacañang spin-friendly) words in it, but sold enough to risk time, effort and reputation to get these national pastoral suggestions into actual concrete diocesan programs and priorities? Are bishops and priests in dioceses and parishes ready to inspire, support, and call for the creation of such laity movements as corruption watchdogs, anti-mining campaigns, human rights advocacies, election modernization lobbies, extra-judicial killing safe havens, agrarian reform promotion, etc? And I mean not just to inspire and support in a one-time event or pastoral letter but to really "journey together" with the people?

The reality is not all bishops and priests are that sold into it. And a few reluctant priests, and bishops most especially, are always one too many. The test of the pudding is in the eating. In which case, the oft-repeated lament stated in the beginning is not that off-tangent after all. And we have not even delved into the reasons as to why some bishops and priests don't feel right partaking of the pudding they are serving.

I am all praises for the drafters, promoters and supporters of this latest CBCP statement. What about the riders, bystanders and fence-sitters in the hierarchy and the rest of the clergy? Don't you find it odd that the pastoral statement said almost every safe and wise thing that could be said about our present situation, almost, that is, except this one thing?

And, no, the question isn't rhetorical at all. The answer to it may actually spell the difference between a truly effective pastoral letter and one that just feels a tad too obligatory to come up with after every CBCP plenary assembly.



CBCP Statement : "Reform Yourselves and Believe in the Gospel!" (Mark 1:15)

Beloved People of God:

Our Holy Father in his most recent letter to us reminds us of the gift of faith and hope: that when we believe, we hope; and that when we hope, we live differently (see Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, November 30, 2007, no. 2). These convictions on faith and hope set the tone of our own letter to you in the present pastoral situation.

The Darkness of Our Situation-the Common Good Subordinated

For we live today as a people almost without hope, it would seem. We look at our landscape and see darkness everywhere. Many of us are more than aware that many problems are simply rumors, fears, suspicions, imagined wrongs. Because these are reported in the newspapers, we begin to believe that they are true.

In such a pastoral situation we are being asked again for guidance on various specific problems currently bothering us. The following have been brought to our attention:

(a) the perception that corruption in government is at its worst, fraudulent projects going on unchecked despite the bad publicity given them in the media, investigations into the truth of allegations of bribery often stymied or their results unreported;

(b) the suspicion that martial law will be imposed as a response to the likelihood that destabilizing coups against the government are still being planned by disgruntled elements of the military allegedly with some civilian support;

(c) the constant talk about plans and moves for Charter change being made by politicians which to all intents and purposes appear to be nothing but a ploy for the sole purpose of their staying on in power-not the kind and method of making the right kind of change in the nation's basic law;

(d) the "extra-judicial" killing of suspected leftists and their sympathizers, as well as media men, and the inexplicable lack of action on them despite strong suspicions about their perpetrators in the military establishment;

(e) the imminence of a law establishing a national ID system and the fear of some that this is being pushed simply for easier control of socially active elements of the general population.

The above are more or less the problems of the nation as seen from the center that is Manila. They are by no means universal as far as the entirety of our people is concerned. What emerge from the periphery-the provinces-are concerns quite different from the above. The following were brought to our attention by many of our people:

(a) the appreciation of the peso against the dollar resulting in the depreciation of OFWs' remittances, contributing not a little to the continuance and exacerbation of the endemic poverty of the countryside;

(b) the lack of support for the improvement of the general welfare of rural folk, the slow progress especially of the land-reform program which is due to end this year unsatisfactorily funded and implemented;

(c) the bad peace and order situation obtaining in areas where the unabated fighting-or the threat of it-between the military and the NPA and the MILF/MNLF continues to cause unrest;

(d) the long-awaited and fought over reform of COMELEC which up to now has not been enacted;

(e) the pushing of mining concerns against the best interests of our people, especially of indigenous groups in disregard of the provisions in their behalf that the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act guarantees;

(f) the continuing abuse of our natural resources, of forest and marine life in particular, and the corruption in agencies that are meant to protect these resources; and

(g) the growth and proliferation of family political dynasties in many provinces and cities which only serve to institutionalize more intensely the concentration of power and unsavory economic opportunity in the hands of the few.

In the two sets of problems that have been listed above, for all their apparent differences, we see nothing new. They are the same old problems, or variations of them, which have been plaguing our nation for years on end, through successive political administrations. Nothing or very little seems to have been done about them.

In them all we see the all too patent subordination of the common good to private good.

This is the basic fault in our country's political culture that the Church in its preaching of Christ's Gospel of social justice and charity has been bringing to our attention all these years and asking us and our communities to respond to as effectively as we can. It is the reason we make concern for the common good a crucial criterion for the choice of public officials. The persistence of that deep-seated fault pushes us to conclude in sorrow that we as a people are still devoid of a real social conscience.

Today we often hear that "closure" has to be made to various issues ranging from the elections of 2004 to present charges of corruption in high places. That the political order is accused too often with moral bankruptcy with nary an exception is a sad sign of the general cynicism and frustration of our people. Most unfortunately there does not seem to be any way of achieving closure. For the process and results of standard democratic inquiries, sometimes including those by the Supreme Court, are received with skepticism and cynicism, given political interests, alliances, and allegiances.

And we hear the general cry from the periphery: "Enough of the paralyzing divisions in the body politic. Bring issues to the courts and trust them to do their jobs. And help us get on with our lives, with our concern for livelihood."

In the Darkness, Light

In such a pastoral situation of frustration, cynicism and apparent hopelessness, we need to be aware of the deep resources of our faith in the Lord for whom all things are possible. We take our faith for granted in daily life. Often we act and behave contrary to faith. We resort to faith as a last resort and not as a daily catalyst.

Yet it is only from the perspective of faith and hope that we are able to see light in the darkness, liberation from darkness.

So if what we have brought to your attention seems to be only the dark side of our national situation, we should be able in the same faith and hope to see glimmers of light shining through-glimmers that must be of our own creation. But not entirely: for despite the prevailing darkness, we see everything is not thoroughly evil. There is good everywhere, even in those we often criticize, and it is our task to critically collaborate with them even as we critically oppose the not too good. This is integral to the challenge being put to us.

Journey to the Light-Start with Ourselves

If you agree with what we said above that the lack of a social conscience is, indeed, our common sin, is there anything we can do about it?

To journey to the light, we need first to realize that we have contributed not a little to the common malaise-because of decisions we have made, decisions that flowed from what we have become and because of our unconcern, inaction, apathy, often thinking only of our interests. And so with little sense of the future of our country, we vote for people we should not vote for.

Therefore, in the much needed regeneration of our politics and social life, this is where we have to start: with ourselves, as individuals, families, communities.

We have always put the blame on people we have chosen to govern us. Today we have become more aware that despite efforts, successful or not, to remove the incompetent or corrupt, our problems have remained. We have looked at the enemy as only outside of us.

But now we ask: In the face of the many persistent and unresolved crises of today can we together make a determined start, by making a conscious effort at changing our mind-sets towards a greater and more efficacious concern for the good of the nation?

Personal and Communal Conversion towards a Social Conscience

We are asking you, our beloved people, to be with us in the moral-spiritual reform of our nation by beginning with ourselves. This is what we need-conversion, real conversion, to put it in terms of our faith, for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good. This conversion is for all of us: laity, religious, priests, bishops.

But we have to go about it not only as individuals but just as importantly as whole communities. We have to face a common problem and map out deliberately and communally how to go about the work of self-reform. It is nothing less than what St. Paul speaks about: "Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect" (Rom. 12: 2).

Renewal of Faith-Communities, Civil Society, Political Leaders

We have to come together then as communities of faith, as we your Bishops said back in 1986 after the Snap Elections of that year, to "pray together, reason together, decide together, act together," form groups of thinking and praying people-in our schools, seminaries, parishes, mandated organizations, lay movements, social action groups, most especially in basic ecclesial communities which the Rural Congress we will be holding this year looks to as a crucial instrument in the forbidding task of rural development.

We zero in on what we say is the basic fault in our communities' political and social life: the subordinating of the common good to private good. We see how this flaw in our national character evinces itself in our community life. We need to seek ways and mean of correcting it in whatever way we can-but always according to the principles of active-non violence-together, creatively and imaginatively, as we bishops exhorted in 1986. We have to form ourselves into real communities of faith-discernment and -action.

We ask this of explicitly Church groups. But we will ask it too of all citizens who have a concern for the nation's good, especially those who hold the reins of power, from Malacañang on to Congress, provincial and municipal governments, all the way down to barangay councils. People in government-and as well as all other civic and business groupings-can they too reflect together in all manner of associations and look into themselves to see if, in all their actuations, the demands of the common good are in fact captive to merely personal and selfish interests? And if they are, can they rise up to the challenge and decide themselves to contribute to the general effort?

This must sound like a preposterous request, but we make it anyway for we believe that what it seeks is the critical need of the moment. Already it is being responded to here and there by various concerned groups such as those that have been organized and trained to fight corruption. So we seek a wider response from all our faithful towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church.

If in your minds, corruption-the worst offender against our common good-is rampant today, sparing no level of social and political life, and most glaringly and reportedly so in the various corridors of power, we have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people. But if it goes on unhindered, it is because, as we have had occasion to point out in the past, we all too often condone it as part of the perquisites of power and public office.

Lent-the Time to Journey Together toward Transformation

Lent will soon be upon us, a time of penance, of sorrow for sin, of self-reform. Soon we shall hear again the clarion call of the Lord Jesus: "Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel!" (Mk 1: 15). This season is the appropriate beginning for profound reform and conversion. It is the time for a spiritual combat against the enemy within, our pride and greed, our lust for power and wealth, etc.

And so we exhort you, our beloved people: As a special project for this year's Lenten observance and in the spirit of penance, let us come together in little groups of reflection and discernment. In these groups we look seriously at our part in the many evils of our day-as individuals, as families, as communities- and discern what action we can do together.

Alay Kapwa is our traditional Lenten Program of sharing time, treasure and talent for evangelization. This Lent, without forgetting the treasure part, we zero in, in a very special way, on time and talent, asking what we can offer of these for the common effort towards the correction of our social ills. These would be evangelization of the most authentic kind. For it means a real acceptance of the Lord's mandate to us as Christians to be concerned about one another, to go beyond ourselves and reach out to others. This attitude in the pattern of Christ himself is at the heart of Christian identity.

Hence other already existing movements and efforts (like the Pondo ng Pinoy) aimed at the transformation of Filipino culture through little acts of kindness for the neighbor and motivated only by the love of God-these too must be intensified as essential to our Lenten program of reform.

In our coming together, in our exchanging of ideas and discerning on them, in our praying and acting together, we bring hope to our despairing land-the hope that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, says in his most recent encyclical is the great need of our modern world.

With Mary, Mother of Hope, on the Journey of Renewal

We beg Mary to intercede for us with her Son Jesus. In the midst of the disciples who hoped for the renewal of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, she stood as their Mother, our Mother, of hope. Mary, Star of the Sea, guide us on our journey of renewal that we may more faithfully follow your Son Jesus in his loving care of all our brothers and sisters.

For the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines,

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
January 27, 2008

Latest Update on Lafayette

Carlos Dominguez of Lafayette Philippines Inc. has been oft-quoted in press releases as saying: “this temporary legal process we are going through is actually a blessing for the Rapu Rapu project because it will resolve the financial issues the local management team has been urging LML to address.”

Somehow, the truth has an uncanny way of surfacing out, like dead fishes. No matter how much you try to scoop 'em & bury 'em as quickly and stealthily as you can, at one point, Murphy's Law will catch up on you. When that happens, you won't just have to contend with a respectable fish kill, but also big investor pull-out, creditors coming out of the woodwork, activists breathing down your neck... You know what they say about the weather these days in Albay: when it rains, it pours.

Here's an excerpt from the "Full Statement of Lafayette Mining Ltd. to the Administrators Ferrier Hodgson", dated 20 December 2007, but released today 020108. (From http://saverapurapu.blogspot.com/)

"6. On 17 December 2007, Rapu Rapu Minerals Inc ("RRMI"), an associate of Lafayette, received a default notice from its mining contractor Leighton Contractor (Philippines) Inc ("Leighton"). Lafayette is a co-guarantor of the payment of money due under the mining contract with Leighton and while there was a cure period for default provided under the terms of the contract, Lafayette could not be certain that either RRMI or Lafayette would be in a position to settle this claim by Leighton at the expiry of the cure period, given the delayed nature and inherent uncertainty in the Bank Group's processes.

7. By 17 December 2007, it was also evident that Lafayette's cash reserves would be insufficient to meet corporate expenses beyond 31 December 2007. While the Bank Group had in the past provided the necessary financial support to Lafayette to continue to meet its obligations, (including as recently as 11 December 2007 when a further US$300,000 was made available to the Company to fund expenses expected to be incurred in December 2007) the availability of this continued support was uncertain, creating further doubt for Directors about the ability of the Company to continue to meet it obligations.

8. Given all of the above, the Board of Lafayette met on 18 December 2007, and being of the view that they no longer had reasonable grounds to believe that the Company could meet its obligations as and when they fell due resolved to voluntarily appoint Messrs Sutton and McCluskey of Ferrier Hodgson to the role of Administrator. In making this appointment, the Board expected that the Administration process would allow all options for either the sale of the Project or a restructure and recapitalization of the Lafayette group to be fully explored."

So Lafayette is not bankcrupt.

• It just won't be able to pay Leighton just yet.
• It just couldn't make ends meet by 31 December 2007.
• Its parent company in Australia just won't be able to meet its obligations.
• It's now just being ran by the banks.
  

I get the feeling that "it is a hoax!" will soon be joined by "we are not bankcrupt!" as the new company "it-mantra". But no matter how you make yourself hoarse shouting it, somehow the picture of the boy who cried wolf just couldn't be shooed away from the mind.

I wonder what the Lafayette people will say about this interesting piece of news. I wonder what text messages will I be getting this time.