|
By Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Reporter
The priesthood is still the highest form of service to the
community, a high-ranking official of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Wednesday.
But Fr. Francis Lucas, the recently appointed
interim executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on
Social Communications and Mass Media, added that he could relate
with other priests who think that they could best serve the faithful
by running for political office.
The role of a priest is more important than the
role of a politician, he said. What ordinary people, mothers and
fathers, should do is to create future politicians with principles
in life, he added as he noted the decreasing number of principled
and morally responsible politicians in the country.
According to Lucas, he is saddened that more and
more priests are trying to enter politics just because of lack of
candidates with ethics.
He said that he himself has been asked to run as
mayor in his hometown of Infanta, Quezon.
“When I was appointed as a CBCP executive
secretary, I had to abide by it because I love the priesthood and
service to the church much more than serving a local community,
which I can also do,” he added. “Kalokohan ‘yang pagtakbo as
mayor [Running for mayor is a joke].”
The 60-year-old priest, also the incumbent
president of the Catholic Media Network, said that he took his
appointment as a sign that he really was not for politics.
And although according to him he can relate with
Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga, a priest-turned-politician, he so
loves the priesthood that he would not even consider seeking
dispensation from it to enter politics.
Church rules
A member of the clergy who decides to run for
any public office must take a leave or dispensation from their
duties before being allowed to vie for any government position.
Lucas said that there were two priests in the
provinces of Negros Oriental and Davao who are thinking of running
for public office.
If governance were good, then people would not
have to push priests as political candidates, he added. The country
now has a dearth of principled wannabes, he also said.
Lucas, though, noted that more lay people were
embracing good governance, such as Gov. Grace Padaca of Isabela.
Also a broadcaster on the church-run Radio
Veritas, he has devoted his 35 years as a priest to Infanta. He
succeeded Fr. James Reuter as acting executive secretary of the
episcopal commission.
Palace position
Like Lucas, Malacañang also on Wednesday
appealed to the people not to fault Panlilio for aspiring for the
presidency in the May 2010 national elections.
“Let’s not castigate [Panlilio] for his
aspiration. Let’s just see what will happen in the future,”
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said during his weekly briefing
in Malacañang.
Ermita added that the Philippines is a free
country and anyone can announce his political ambition because in
the end it is the people who will decide whether to vote for the
candidate.
Opposition pleased
The United Opposition (UNO) also on Wednesday
welcomed Panlilio’s decision to run for president.
In a statement, UNO President and Makati City
Mayor Jejomar Binay said that the decision of Panlilio showed that
“there are many Filipinos willing to offer themselves as
alternatives” to President Gloria Arroyo.
Panlilio called on Filipinos over the weekend to
support his candidacy for president in next year’s elections,
vowing to stop corruption and review military relations with the
United States.
He said that if he can muster the numbers, he
would file his certificate of candidacy this November but if not, he
would not pursue his presidential ambition. He promised that if he
runs and wins, his first priority would be to get rid of corruption.
The priest-turned-politician also promised to
review the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, which critics say allows
the US government jurisdiction over its military personnel accused
of committing crimes in the Philippines.
The CBCP has opposed the candidacy of Panlilio,
fearing that his move would encourage activist priests to abandon
their calling in the church for politics, or prospective priests to
use the church as a springboard for a political career.
Panlilio is finishing his first term as governor
of Pampanga, President Arroyo’s home province. He had beaten the
President’s allies by a slim margin. The governor is facing a
recount of votes from the 2007 gubernatorial race that he won.
-- With Reports From Angelo S. Samonte And Cris G. Odronia
|
