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By insisting upon playing a dominant political role, the Catholic
Church has set into motion harmful, corruptive influences
detrimental to constitutional democracy and the rule of law. Indeed,
this is precisely the reason why Philippine politics is beset by its
present predicament of a nation careening towards the political
status of a banana republic.
The much-lauded and highly-acclaimed intrusion
by the Catholic Church into political affairs was the Edsa Uno
phenomenon, when Cardinal Sin exhorted the concerned citizenry to
mass at Edsa to form a protective shield around the beleaguered
forces of coup plotters Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile and
Vice Chief of Staff General Fidel Ramos.
That intrusion averted much bloodshed. A
peaceful resolution of the coup d’etat resulted, with the eventual
airlifting of President Marcos out of Malacañang Palace to the
joyous celebration of the millions massed at Edsa and the entire
mesmerized world.
But that intrusion occasioned a chain of events
which sent the Philippines reeling towards its present predicament.
For succeeding governments were no better than President Marcos’
administration; human rights abuses and violations abounded, while
corruption remained unabated.
What is worse, Filipinos soon saw the
hopelessness of resorting to normal democratic processes in order to
secure reform and became convinced that people power was again
needed. Still and all, people power demonstrations came and went
without success, until President Joseph Estrada and Edsa Dos.
No other President in Philippine history
inflamed as much venom and hate against his person than President
Estrada. For he was a drunkard, a gambler and a womanizer and,
precisely for those reasons, succeeded in making his enemies the
Roman Catholic Church and the moral majority; he was an uneducated
boor who disaffected the intellectual elite; he propagated
protectionist and nationalist economic policies which alienated big
business; and he was grammatically inept which rendered him the
media butt of jokes.
Nonetheless, he was beloved by the masses for
they saw in him their champion and savior, someone who truly cared
and fought for their interests. So he was, if anything, a man no one
was neutral about; either you loved him or hated him to death.
This quality, repulsive to the elite and
endearing to the masses, eventually was his undoing. Early on in his
presidency, his enemies were already plotting his ouster and only
waiting for an issue significant enough to depose him. Then the
jueteng scandal surfaced.
This was ironic because he campaigned on the
promise that he would legalize gambling and eradicate its black
market manifestations such as jueteng. Unfortunately, he alienated
powerful jueteng lords who saw in Estrada’s program of government
a deprivation of lucrative income. These lords thus became his
avowed enemies. That proved to be his undoing, for they were not
exactly without influence. Their campaign contributions extended to
the highest reaches of government.
This conflict culminated in Edsa Dos. In a
spontaneous demonstration of people power, the middle classes once
again trooped into Edsa, no doubt manipulated by the Church and big
business who controlled media. It did not take long for Estrada’s
own military to abandon him and he was forced to resign.
The Philippines thus is poised in its present
precarious predicament, where military adventurists are only
awaiting another scandal to incense a sizable portion of the public
so that their defection will be met by popular support.
Alternatively, concerned civilian reformists are only awaiting
sufficient public indignation to be expressed in a massive
demonstration serving as an invitation for military defection.
Whatever the manifestation, the Philippines
appears hopelessly caught in the desperate quagmire of seeking
change through the extra-legal remedy of a people power
demonstration cum military defection. For, certainly, these two
elements are indispensable to any successful overthrow of
government.
The Church, with its meddling into political
affairs, is much to blame for this unique Philippine predicament. It
shunned neutrality and took political sides. Rather than exposing or
criticizing corruption whoever the culprit, it focused only on the
wrongdoings of its enemies while quick to tolerate, if not defend,
the wrongdoing of its allies.
This bias and partiality are not lost on the
discerning Philippine public who accept the Church, not as a moral
guide, but as a powerful political force fearful of losing political
clout and influence. Church credibility thus is at an all-time low,
so that its predicament is much like that of the Middle Eastern
fundamentalist clergy who denounce the terrorism of the United
States while turning a blind eye to the terrorism of its own.
For a religious institution to be credible, it
must denounce terrorism in all its forms, be it committed by one’s
allies or enemies. This fact, expatriate Muslims in the United
States and the United Kingdom realize only too well. Indeed, they
are engaged in a vigorous campaign to influence their Muslim
brothers in the Middle East to be consistent in their denunciation
of terrorism.
The Church would do well to follow the Muslim
example and refrain from playing favorites. It should adopt a
consistent stand in promoting peace and non-violence, and stop its
intolerant and divisive meddling in politics.
eqfernando@hotmail.com
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