Introduction
Culture is a pervasive reality. It impacts all dimensions of life, social, economic, political, and religious. We are born into it, we grow and work in it, we live and die in it. We cannot escape it. There is no human reality that is culture-free.
Born into a culture and formed in it, we are influenced by various other cultures for better or for worse. As a human-divine institution the Church both influences and is also influenced by peoples and their cultures. With its own Gospel culture the Church interplays dynamically with the culture of a people in whose midst it is deeply inserted.
The call to consecrated life, formation in consecrated life, the living of the evangelical counsels, community life, spirituality and mission are all impacted by culture. For this reason the present seminar is important and necessary.
Looking at the topics to be discussed, it would seem best for me to provide a description of today’s culture, from which the various speakers could start. Surely there will be some overlapping but there is some benefit from a certain degree of repetition.
What is “Today’s Culture”?
In this presentation the analogical term, “culture” is used to mean generally a “a way of life” or a set of values, attitudes, beliefs, customs and practices that are shared by a group and distinguishes it from another. Culture is transmitted from one generation to another through language, rituals, institutions (e.g., family, schools), laws, art, and tools of social communication. It can refer, among other things, to a certain social group (e.g., the culture of the poor, of the elite), nationality or race (Thai culture, Indian culture, Chinese culture), ethnic group (dalit culture, adivasi culture, the culture of the dominant group), or age group (youth culture). In fact arguably there is a certain culture of consecrated life based on values, beliefs, and practices commonly held.
Other than the question of culture in general, the further question is what is today’s Asian culture?
We are faced with the fact that Asia is characterized by a rich variety, a brilliant mosaic, of ancient cultures and languages, Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Myanmar, etc., each with its own recorded and unrecorded historical roots in time immemorial. Moreover, there have been many inter-cultural developments through trade and commerce, conquest, migration, marriage, mass media, education. While a particular culture may be dominant in one country, it might in fact exhibit such intercultural mix.
In addition today cultural observers speak of an emerging global culture that emanates from the West and is increasingly bearing upon traditional Asian cultures through the process of economic globalization and the rapid advances of technology and science.
When speaking of today’s Asian culture, we take all these observations into account. They speak of cultural heterogeneity in Asia.
Positive Characteristics of “Asian” Culture
Given the rich kaleidoscope of Asian cultures, can we speak of an Asian culture? At the macro-level it is possible to observe commonalities which one could label as Asian cultural values. Reflecting deeply through the years on Asian cultures in its dialogue with the various cultures and peoples, the Church has identified various cultural characteristics generally common to Asians.
In 1998 at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia, the Asian Bishops spoke about such cultural commonalities which Pope John Paul II’s post-synodal exhortation echoes:
The people of Asia take pride in their religious and cultural values, such as love of silence and contemplation, simplicity, harmony, detachment, non-violence, the spirit of hard work, discipline, frugal living, the thirst for learning and philosophical enquiry. They hold dear the values of respect for life, compassion for all beings, closeness to nature, filial piety towards parents, elders and ancestors, and a highly developed sense of community. In particular they hold the family to be a vital source of strength, a closely knit community with a powerful sense of solidarity. Asian peoples are known for their spirit of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence….Many people, especially the young, experience a deep thirst for spiritual values….
All of this indicates an innate spiritual insight and moral wisdom in the Asian soul, and it is the core around which a growing sense of “being Asian” is built. This “being Asian” is best discovered and affirmed not in confrontation and opposition, but in the spirit of complementarity and harmony [Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in Asia, 1998, no. 6].
Cultural Values that Foster Consecrated Life
From the above we perceive cultural values that can promote consecrated life in Asia, from vocation discernment to formation, from the living of evangelical counsels to spirituality and mission.
A sense of the sacred still prevails among Asian peoples. We point to the finger of God in the significant events of our lives. We are not afraid to speak openly of God and his mysterious ways. We go to holy places and shrines, visit churches, mosques, and temples for worship, or for temporary refuge, silence, solitude from the busyness of life. We are deeply appreciative of men and women of God-experience. The sense of the divine is deeply ingrained in our Asian cultural psyche. This is certainly a major reason for the steady increase of vocations in Asia, both to the priestly and religious life.
Perhaps it is our poverty as a continent that promotes frugality, simplicity, hard work, and dependence on God. But certainly such cultural values correspond quite well with the faith and trust in God that the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience express.
The Asian sense of community with its corollary values of complementarity and harmony rather than individualistic assertion and confrontation finds realization in the community life of consecrated persons. Close-knit family relationships, filial piety and respect for elders would likewise promote relationships in the formation process as well as harmony within the religious community. One can cite folklore and stories among Asian peoples of the close relationship between teacher, guro and disciple.
Cultural Values that Hinder Consecrated Life
Yet in Asian cultures we also find values, traditions and practices that are anti-Gospel and hinder the living of consecrated life.
As a preliminary remark, what the Asian Bishops observed some 23 years ago in the 1986 FABC Plenary Assembly in Tokyo on the Laity and reiterated at the 2004 FABC Plenary Assembly in Korea on the Asian family would have to be very seriously considered in relation to consecrated life in Asia. The Asian Bishops observed:
Perhaps the greatest challenge to the Church in Asia is that posed by the Asian family. The Asian family is the cellular receptacle of all of Asia’s problems, poverty, repression, exploitation and degradation, divisions and conflicts. The family is directly affected by the religious, political, economic, social and cultural problems of Asia, by the problems relating to women, health, work, business, education, etc. [For All the Peoples of Asia, 1992, p. 184; Final Document, 2004 FABC Plenary Assembly, The Asian Family towards a Culture of Integral Life,” no. 48].
Close family relationships, we know, are ambivalent. They can be a driving force for great personal sacrifice on behalf of the family, as in the case of migrant workers, many of whom work under contracts and in working conditions that could rightly be called “new slaveries.” But such close-knit family relationships are also often at the root of intermittent violence between families and clans. They are likewise the reason for endemic corruption in Asian societies, where the family comes first before the public good.
In the context of poverty, families can look at consecrated life as a step-up in the social mobility. Vocational motivation can be quite problematic. The concern for family can also become an overwhelming source of tension for a member of the community. In the close-knit Asian family we in the priestly and consecrated life do not seem really able to “leave father, mother, brother or sister” for the new family of faith. We still seem to be primarily attached to our family by blood.
It is also true that Asia is characterized by the great social and economic distances between the rich and the great majority of the people who are poor. Those who are called to consecrated life bring with them a culture of the poor and a culture of the rich. Friendships, and perhaps cliques, in consecrated life are often based on ethnic terms and economic class. Surely the tasks of formation and building community would have to take these divergent cultures into consideration.
In many Asian cultures patriarchy as a social attitude that considers men as superior and women as subservient has far reaching attitudinal effects. This is true for social life in general as well as for priestly and religious life. [As I observed at the recent Second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa last month, patriarchy is probably less general in Asia than in the African continent. But the problem in both continents remains serious]. Formation in consecrated life can react to patriarchy by overemphasizing the opposite behavior. A balanced gender formation can provide a vibrant, healthy and dynamic sense of equality in dignity and complementarity in men and women in consecrated life.
An Emerging Global Culture?
Reflecting on today’s pastoral challenges various church assemblies in Asia have pointed at a present social and cultural phenomenon – the emergence of a global culture. Thus the FABC Plenary Assembly in Korea in 2004 observed:
Of even greater significance, economic globalization is also bringing cultural globalization in its wake. Since the middle of the 20th century Western secularism has been strongly influencing Asian societies. But at no time has the secularizing process, now with a significant post-modern spirit of individualistic sense of freedom, been more rapid and effective in reshaping the value systems of Asian families than in the last two decades of the 20th century. The bearers of this change are economics… and the on-going revolution in mass global communication that has truly made the world a global village [Final Document, no. 21].
What is this cultural phenomenon which we might call a post-modern culture?
It is an off-shoot, even a reaction, to the modern spirit. The modern spirit developed among European intellectuals, like Voltaire, in the 17th and 18th centuries. This was the era of the Enlightenment and scientific revolution. It proclaimed the primacy of human reason and rejected religious faith and authority. It denied divine revelation or “God’s metanarrative”. The philosopher, Rene Descartes, sought absolute certitude through reason immune from faith. Armed with reason and science, Modernism rejected “traditional” religious beliefs. It asserted a “metanarrative of human scientific progress.”
But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries came the philosophies of Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. They rejected all “metanarratives” as absolutely universal whether that of human reason or that of religious faith. They were skeptical about social and moral norms. Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason” was really a critique of the claims of objective truth in the Age of Reason. Other philosophers like Martin Heidegger exalted personal subjectivity rather than objectivity.
The emerging global technological culture exhibits the world view of the postmodern spirit. It rejects objective truth and gives primacy to personal subjectivity. It professes incredulity to all metanarratives that claim absolute truth. It believes that truth is of the moment and in time will change. It believes as true only in what the self interprets and constructs, i.e., in personal narratives. It is individualistic. Therefore truth is relative. Hence, pluralism regarding truth is a “dogma” of postmodernism. Someone has called this type of pluralism as an ideology of “whateverism.”
I admit that this is a simplified way, perhaps even simplistic way, of considering the post-modern spirit.
There are indeed many positive things that it has contributed. “It is bringing into Asia a greater awareness of individual dignity, autonomy, and human rights so characteristic of the West. It creates and promotes global solidarity almost instantaneously in times of great disaster. It has made knowledge of the world and of the human person to grow by leaps and bounds. The application and sharing of that knowledge has generally and significantly improved human life” [2004 FABC Plenary Assembly, Final Document, no. 22].
I would also add that the postmodern spirit has highlighted the importance and necessity of personal historicity, personal narratives, and subjective experience, including feelings, in integral human growth towards maturity in Christ. In a course on spiritual direction that I once attended it was important for me to know the place of feelings in discerning the movement of the Holy Spirit in my own life.
Impact of Postmodern Culture on Values
It has been observed that the emerging global culture is uprooting families from their traditional cultures. Neo-liberalism, materialism, secularism, consumerism are being brought into the sanctuaries of homes even in the grassroots through local TV and radio programs “that ape the media programs served by the West whose values and portrayal of family and life gradually become normative for viewers and listeners” [Ibid.. no. 24].
We can see also see how cinema and the lives and loves of the rich and famous add to the trivialization and subsequently the rejection of values once held sacred regarding love, marriage, family and permanent commitments.
Tools of social communication that are meant to enhance communication become hindrances to unity. They disturb the discipline that harmonious community living requires. They are “wants” that become “needs.” Simplicity and frugality are jeopardized. Silence, solitude and the sense of the sacred are disturbed by the ubiquity of instruments of social communication.
The emerging global culture is likewise creating a new kind of poor, those who, in the language of Pope John Paul II, “who do not know” – the poverty of knowledge, of technological knowledge and of access to that knowledge. Poor countries and poor families are further marginalized by this new form of poverty.
Conclusion
Such is presently the post-modern world into which Asia is entering at a rapid pace. It has been developing for more than a century. It is materialist, secularist, individualistic, and relativist. It disdains authoritative religious and moral norms. What is necessary is not absolute moral or doctrinal truth. Truth is that which people believe in as rooted in subjective experience.
A religious thinker (I don’t’ remember who) has said that we live chronologically in a postmodern world, but as Catholics we are not postmodern in the pejorative sense described above. We do believe in God’s metanarrative, in absolute truths, in objective truth learned by reason and faith, in the “traditional” values of marriage, family and permanent commitments.
This brings us to the reminder that Jesus gave at the Last Supper. We are in this world but we are not of this world.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato, Philippines
FABC-OCL Seminar, Hua Hin, Thailand
November 17, 2009
Monday, March 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE
In the Christian tradition an angel announced the birth of Jesus Christ to shepherds at night in the pasture fields of Bethlehem. With the angel was a” multitude of the heavenly host” praising God: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Lk. 2:13-14).
Jesus fulfilled these words. The night before he died Jesus said to his Apostles: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn. 14:27). The Apostle Paul simply says of Christ Jesus: “He is our peace” (Eph. 2: 14).
Yet to this day we continue to live in the darkness of unpeace. The most inhuman of massacres has taken place in our region. Weapons of destruction proliferate. Armed kidnap groups prey on innocent people. Assassinations take place. We are no strangers to fear, tension, and insecurity. It took Martial Law and a State of Emergency to restore a semblance of security.
We ask: Why is this so? Because peace is both gift and task. Ultimately it is a gift of God. But it is also our task. It is our task to be peacemakers rather than to be destroyers of peace. That we do not have peace is due to us. We have not done our task.
Peace does not begin with guns. Peace begins in the heart, a heart of respect, kindness, of sharing and understanding, a heart of justice and truth, and as the basis of everything – a heart of charity.
Christmas and the New Year are signals from God to us to work towards that peace from God. We have to seize the opportunity. We begin with our hearts. That is my prayer.
A blessed Christmas and a Happy Year to one and all!
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Jesus fulfilled these words. The night before he died Jesus said to his Apostles: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn. 14:27). The Apostle Paul simply says of Christ Jesus: “He is our peace” (Eph. 2: 14).
Yet to this day we continue to live in the darkness of unpeace. The most inhuman of massacres has taken place in our region. Weapons of destruction proliferate. Armed kidnap groups prey on innocent people. Assassinations take place. We are no strangers to fear, tension, and insecurity. It took Martial Law and a State of Emergency to restore a semblance of security.
We ask: Why is this so? Because peace is both gift and task. Ultimately it is a gift of God. But it is also our task. It is our task to be peacemakers rather than to be destroyers of peace. That we do not have peace is due to us. We have not done our task.
Peace does not begin with guns. Peace begins in the heart, a heart of respect, kindness, of sharing and understanding, a heart of justice and truth, and as the basis of everything – a heart of charity.
Christmas and the New Year are signals from God to us to work towards that peace from God. We have to seize the opportunity. We begin with our hearts. That is my prayer.
A blessed Christmas and a Happy Year to one and all!
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Maguindanao: After Martial Law, State of Emergency
In an earlier blog I posed the question, “After Martial Law, What?” The Arroyo government answered yesterday, December 13—State of Emergency.
What do I think about this? First of all I do not know exactly what a”State of Emergency” really means. It does mean to me at least that the military will continue to hold sway over Maguindanao. Does it also still cover Sultan Kudarat? Having the good of the people in Maguindanao in mind, continued stay by the military would be good. I would also assume that people in Maguindanao and its adjacent provinces would be in favor of the government decision. They are, after all, familiar with the social, political, and cultural situation of Maguindanao.
Martial Law has accomplished several objectives—the most important being the arrest and detention of the principal suspects in the massacre. It also began the important process of searching for and confiscating weapons and defanging the armed power of one dominant clan. It restored a sense of security to ordinary people outside Shariff Aguak, accustomed to seeing a huge retinue of heavily armed escorts and bodyguards speeding through towns and villages to and from Cotabato City.
Assuming that the administration of justice regarding the massacre would now be in the hands of a fearless, independent and credible judicial group, I would like to see the State of Emergency continue the work that Martial Law began. This uncompleted relates fundamentally to the dysfunctions in Maguindanao. Among the agenda still to be done are: continuing military pursuit of suspected perpetrators of the massacre; completing the confiscation of weapons; dismantling all private armies in Maguindanao; establishing credible executive, judicial, legislative , and security systems, beholden to no one but only to the common good; establishing transparency and accountability in government; reforming the electoral process, including the establishment of credible and honest electoral bodies; ensuring that we would have new names and new faces in the next elections that sincerely have the good of he people in mind; protecting candidates, teachers and ballots. And in all these, the military must respect fundamental human rights.
Those are the objectives I believe the State of Emergency should strive to accomplish. I also believe that the Commission on Human Rights, rather than being adversarial, should play the role of a monitoring and evaluative body with legal teeth to bring cases of human rights violations to court. The vigilance of civil society and the moral guidance of religious leaders from all religious traditions are indispensable.
Between now and elections in ARMM and Maguindanao, the social and political groundwork should be laid down for a more free, a more participatory, honest peaceful, and credible elections that would attract candidates who are capable and may not necessarily carry a political name. There are many out there who would like to contribute towards the forming of a new Maguindanao but may be intimidated by the present post-Martial Law situation. It is my hope that the uncompleted agenda to establish the proper ambience for substantive change may be effectively addressed by a State of Emergency.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 13, 2009
What do I think about this? First of all I do not know exactly what a”State of Emergency” really means. It does mean to me at least that the military will continue to hold sway over Maguindanao. Does it also still cover Sultan Kudarat? Having the good of the people in Maguindanao in mind, continued stay by the military would be good. I would also assume that people in Maguindanao and its adjacent provinces would be in favor of the government decision. They are, after all, familiar with the social, political, and cultural situation of Maguindanao.
Martial Law has accomplished several objectives—the most important being the arrest and detention of the principal suspects in the massacre. It also began the important process of searching for and confiscating weapons and defanging the armed power of one dominant clan. It restored a sense of security to ordinary people outside Shariff Aguak, accustomed to seeing a huge retinue of heavily armed escorts and bodyguards speeding through towns and villages to and from Cotabato City.
Assuming that the administration of justice regarding the massacre would now be in the hands of a fearless, independent and credible judicial group, I would like to see the State of Emergency continue the work that Martial Law began. This uncompleted relates fundamentally to the dysfunctions in Maguindanao. Among the agenda still to be done are: continuing military pursuit of suspected perpetrators of the massacre; completing the confiscation of weapons; dismantling all private armies in Maguindanao; establishing credible executive, judicial, legislative , and security systems, beholden to no one but only to the common good; establishing transparency and accountability in government; reforming the electoral process, including the establishment of credible and honest electoral bodies; ensuring that we would have new names and new faces in the next elections that sincerely have the good of he people in mind; protecting candidates, teachers and ballots. And in all these, the military must respect fundamental human rights.
Those are the objectives I believe the State of Emergency should strive to accomplish. I also believe that the Commission on Human Rights, rather than being adversarial, should play the role of a monitoring and evaluative body with legal teeth to bring cases of human rights violations to court. The vigilance of civil society and the moral guidance of religious leaders from all religious traditions are indispensable.
Between now and elections in ARMM and Maguindanao, the social and political groundwork should be laid down for a more free, a more participatory, honest peaceful, and credible elections that would attract candidates who are capable and may not necessarily carry a political name. There are many out there who would like to contribute towards the forming of a new Maguindanao but may be intimidated by the present post-Martial Law situation. It is my hope that the uncompleted agenda to establish the proper ambience for substantive change may be effectively addressed by a State of Emergency.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
After Martial Law in Maguindanao, What?
Martial Law in Maguindanao will accomplish some objectives: the arrest, detention, and prosecution of clan members suspected of perpetrating the horrendous massacre in Ampatuan town last November 23, 2009; the definite inevitability of justice for the victims; the successful search and confiscation of many legal and illegal weapons from police, CVOs, and some soldiers under the control of powerful clan members; the disempowerment of local authority and power in various municipalities that are subservient to the ruling clan. People feel a greater sense of relief and freedom while traveling on the national highway between the two cities of Cotabato and Tacurong. Gone are the many armed escorts and bodyguards protecting officials and clan members against similarly armed enemies.
Deeply rooted in Maguindanao is a culture of dominant clan power. A false reading of the situation results in a truncated view of Maguindanao political history. This view sees the phenomenon as the product of one government period, the decade of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Arguably a greater share of the blame could be laid at the door of the present government. But the culture of dominant and changing local power has been with us in the once “empire province of Cotabato,” which included the present Maguindanao, since at least the 1950s. To my knowledge, no government from the 1950s to the present did anything serious to root this out. In the past 60 years, all governments and many politicians from all parties wanting to get votes have cultivated this culture and ignored the periodic violence that erupted. It was a case of mutual political exploitation and expediency. We ourselves, ordinary citizens, have kept quiet in the past 60 years and learned the art of accommodation.
But of course criticism of Martial Law in Maguindanao is really based on total distrust of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Survey after survey is paraded to say that this is the pulse of the people. The stand of small protesting “militant” groups is given disproportionate media exposure. Political oppositionists and personalities from “militant” organizations are interviewed again and again to give their expected negative views on actions of government. In a very real sense the extraordinary amount of media exposure that is given to the opposition in Manila provides a distorted view of the country as a whole.
But given all the above it is now clear that the peoples’ hopes and expectations in Central and Central Mindanao regarding Martial Law will not all be realized. Some of these are: the disbanding of all private armies in Maguindanao; the identification and arrest of members of kidnapping and drug syndicates; the restructuring of legislative, judicial, and executive units so as to be more democratic, independent, trustworthy and pro-common good; and the assurance that elections would be honest, clean, and peaceful.
What might be the reason for the failure to meet expectations? Martial Law by its nature as a last resort should be of short duration. But precisely because of its brevity, the following will result: one clan will be significantly disarmed; the balance of political and armed power will shift to other clans; private armies will remain though possibly less visible and probably more sophisticated in behavior; the deep trauma resulting from the massacre will persist; rido is not going to be stopped; the legislative, justice, and executive--and electoral--mechanisms will still be in the hands of those related to or have debts of gratitude to various families; and if a member of the rival clan will somehow gain the top post of the province, do we in Maguindanao really believe that the provincial capitol will remain in Shariff Aguak? Even the peace process will be affected by the loyalties of local rebel commanders to their own clans. Hence, the fundamental dysfunctions in Maguindanao will remain after Martial Law.
What do I see as a possible solution? Even now sentiments are strong in Central and southern Mindanao that elections for local offices in Maguindanao should be deferred. Or at least the term of Martial Law should be extended till after the elections. The fundamental suggestion is for us to move forward from partisan political criticism to collective constructive thinking and effective action on this central issue of Maguindanao dysfunction. I respectfully address this to all concerned, particularly the Senate, House of Representatives, the judicial branch and the Arroyo administration, as well as to all of us Maguindanawons.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 11, 2009
Deeply rooted in Maguindanao is a culture of dominant clan power. A false reading of the situation results in a truncated view of Maguindanao political history. This view sees the phenomenon as the product of one government period, the decade of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Arguably a greater share of the blame could be laid at the door of the present government. But the culture of dominant and changing local power has been with us in the once “empire province of Cotabato,” which included the present Maguindanao, since at least the 1950s. To my knowledge, no government from the 1950s to the present did anything serious to root this out. In the past 60 years, all governments and many politicians from all parties wanting to get votes have cultivated this culture and ignored the periodic violence that erupted. It was a case of mutual political exploitation and expediency. We ourselves, ordinary citizens, have kept quiet in the past 60 years and learned the art of accommodation.
But of course criticism of Martial Law in Maguindanao is really based on total distrust of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Survey after survey is paraded to say that this is the pulse of the people. The stand of small protesting “militant” groups is given disproportionate media exposure. Political oppositionists and personalities from “militant” organizations are interviewed again and again to give their expected negative views on actions of government. In a very real sense the extraordinary amount of media exposure that is given to the opposition in Manila provides a distorted view of the country as a whole.
But given all the above it is now clear that the peoples’ hopes and expectations in Central and Central Mindanao regarding Martial Law will not all be realized. Some of these are: the disbanding of all private armies in Maguindanao; the identification and arrest of members of kidnapping and drug syndicates; the restructuring of legislative, judicial, and executive units so as to be more democratic, independent, trustworthy and pro-common good; and the assurance that elections would be honest, clean, and peaceful.
What might be the reason for the failure to meet expectations? Martial Law by its nature as a last resort should be of short duration. But precisely because of its brevity, the following will result: one clan will be significantly disarmed; the balance of political and armed power will shift to other clans; private armies will remain though possibly less visible and probably more sophisticated in behavior; the deep trauma resulting from the massacre will persist; rido is not going to be stopped; the legislative, justice, and executive--and electoral--mechanisms will still be in the hands of those related to or have debts of gratitude to various families; and if a member of the rival clan will somehow gain the top post of the province, do we in Maguindanao really believe that the provincial capitol will remain in Shariff Aguak? Even the peace process will be affected by the loyalties of local rebel commanders to their own clans. Hence, the fundamental dysfunctions in Maguindanao will remain after Martial Law.
What do I see as a possible solution? Even now sentiments are strong in Central and southern Mindanao that elections for local offices in Maguindanao should be deferred. Or at least the term of Martial Law should be extended till after the elections. The fundamental suggestion is for us to move forward from partisan political criticism to collective constructive thinking and effective action on this central issue of Maguindanao dysfunction. I respectfully address this to all concerned, particularly the Senate, House of Representatives, the judicial branch and the Arroyo administration, as well as to all of us Maguindanawons.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 11, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
MARTIAL LAW IN MAGUINDANAO: A PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
“Bishop, what is the Church’s position on Martial Law in Maguindanao?” Muslims and Christians have asked me this question. I have reflected on the question in the light of the situation in Maguindanao and of the social teachings of the Church. It is difficult to provide an indisputable answer. I can only provide some prudential pastoral guidelines for our faithful to consider.
The situation of injustice and unpeace in Maguindanao is very complex. One has to consider the incredible proliferation of firearms, legal and illegal, throughout the province—and these not only in the hands of so-called warlords, CVO’s and police. Liquidations by motorcycle-riding men, kidnapping by armed groups, despite deterrence provided by the army’s Operation Tugis, still occasionally take place. Rido between some MILF commanders and the Ampatuan clan has been going on since Datu Saudi Ampatuan, the young enlightened mayor of Datu Piang, was killed some years ago. This cycle of violence has affected the peace process in that area and its surrounding municipalities. Guns seem to be everywhere. The functioning of courts of justice and of election bodies have been highly suspect for a long time partly due to the political allegiances of court officers. Competence, transparency, and accountability in political governance in many places have to be significantly improved. In Maguindanao, family name and relationships is most important.
The aftermath of November 23, 2009, that day of infamy, shows how slow government reaction can be, given all the above circumstances. Media and politicians from far away Manila do not seem to be familiar with these social, political, and cultural situation in Maguindanao. They seem to think that the police and the military can easily go into an area and just arrest the suspected culprits. Even a “state of emergency” did not seem adequate to cope with the situation.
Thus, a declaration of martial law. What do I think about it? Having reflected on the social, political, and cultural situation I have described above in the light of the social teachings of the Church I offer the following prudential guidelines for our faithful in the Archdiocese of Cotabato:
1. Martial Law is a last resort. I am not a lawyer and a constitutionalist. I shall leave the legal and constitutional debate to them. I do not know if all other recourse to resolve the above situation, particularly the appalling and most dreadful crime of November 23 that cries out to heaven, would be adequate. The complexity and the abnormality of the situation and the need for swift justice for 57 brutally massacred innocent civilians would dictate an extraordinary measure. Since Martial Law has been declared. Let it be. I let the lawyers debate it. I pray that Martial Law resolve the abnormal situation and deal swift justice for the victims.
2. Martial Law is double edged. Military rule is out of the ordinary. The use of weapons to impose that rule is very risky for human rights. We know that even the suspects in the massacre have human rights. Therefore, even as justice for the victims is to be pursued, it should not be by doing injustice to the accused. A wrong cannot be made right by another wrong. Justice is to be pursued in a just way.
3. Martial Law, as a last resort, may be necessary only for the decisive resolution of the problems in Maguindanao I have described. Once it is no longer necessary, it must immediately cease. The shorter the time, the better. This is because of the double-edge nature of Martial Law. The longer it is exercised, the more likely it would be for human rights to be violated and for weapons to be used for evil.
We continue to pray for the victims and their families, some of whom are our own friends. We pray for the quick apprehension and fair trial of all suspects. We pray for the disbanding of all armed groups, the confiscation of all illegal arms, the reform and restructuring of electoral, peace and security agencies. We pray for the arrest and prosecution of kidnapping and liquidating bandits groups. We pray for the return of functioning governing municipal and regional agencies not beholden to any political name. We pray for all the people of Maguindanao, Christian, Muslims, Lumads, Buddhists, Confucianists, etc. that all may live in peace together as brothers and sisters, with leaders that are, in a very true sense, public servants.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 6, 2009
The situation of injustice and unpeace in Maguindanao is very complex. One has to consider the incredible proliferation of firearms, legal and illegal, throughout the province—and these not only in the hands of so-called warlords, CVO’s and police. Liquidations by motorcycle-riding men, kidnapping by armed groups, despite deterrence provided by the army’s Operation Tugis, still occasionally take place. Rido between some MILF commanders and the Ampatuan clan has been going on since Datu Saudi Ampatuan, the young enlightened mayor of Datu Piang, was killed some years ago. This cycle of violence has affected the peace process in that area and its surrounding municipalities. Guns seem to be everywhere. The functioning of courts of justice and of election bodies have been highly suspect for a long time partly due to the political allegiances of court officers. Competence, transparency, and accountability in political governance in many places have to be significantly improved. In Maguindanao, family name and relationships is most important.
The aftermath of November 23, 2009, that day of infamy, shows how slow government reaction can be, given all the above circumstances. Media and politicians from far away Manila do not seem to be familiar with these social, political, and cultural situation in Maguindanao. They seem to think that the police and the military can easily go into an area and just arrest the suspected culprits. Even a “state of emergency” did not seem adequate to cope with the situation.
Thus, a declaration of martial law. What do I think about it? Having reflected on the social, political, and cultural situation I have described above in the light of the social teachings of the Church I offer the following prudential guidelines for our faithful in the Archdiocese of Cotabato:
1. Martial Law is a last resort. I am not a lawyer and a constitutionalist. I shall leave the legal and constitutional debate to them. I do not know if all other recourse to resolve the above situation, particularly the appalling and most dreadful crime of November 23 that cries out to heaven, would be adequate. The complexity and the abnormality of the situation and the need for swift justice for 57 brutally massacred innocent civilians would dictate an extraordinary measure. Since Martial Law has been declared. Let it be. I let the lawyers debate it. I pray that Martial Law resolve the abnormal situation and deal swift justice for the victims.
2. Martial Law is double edged. Military rule is out of the ordinary. The use of weapons to impose that rule is very risky for human rights. We know that even the suspects in the massacre have human rights. Therefore, even as justice for the victims is to be pursued, it should not be by doing injustice to the accused. A wrong cannot be made right by another wrong. Justice is to be pursued in a just way.
3. Martial Law, as a last resort, may be necessary only for the decisive resolution of the problems in Maguindanao I have described. Once it is no longer necessary, it must immediately cease. The shorter the time, the better. This is because of the double-edge nature of Martial Law. The longer it is exercised, the more likely it would be for human rights to be violated and for weapons to be used for evil.
We continue to pray for the victims and their families, some of whom are our own friends. We pray for the quick apprehension and fair trial of all suspects. We pray for the disbanding of all armed groups, the confiscation of all illegal arms, the reform and restructuring of electoral, peace and security agencies. We pray for the arrest and prosecution of kidnapping and liquidating bandits groups. We pray for the return of functioning governing municipal and regional agencies not beholden to any political name. We pray for all the people of Maguindanao, Christian, Muslims, Lumads, Buddhists, Confucianists, etc. that all may live in peace together as brothers and sisters, with leaders that are, in a very true sense, public servants.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 6, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
A Crime that Cries out to Heaven
To all People of Good Will:
Archbishop of Cotabato
November 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
For Cory Aquino: Christmas Reflection, 1989
(This was written after one of the several failed coups that tried to President Aquino. I gave it to Cory Aquino to share with her my own concern for peace after three years of fledgling fragile democracy).
Peace is wisp of wind in the noonday heat
Stirring the regal pines on distant hills
Sweeping down the fields of golden rice
Cooling feverish cheeks.
Momentarily.
Peace can fade away, quickly, evanescent.
Peace is a young chirping bird
Sallying forth from its mother’s nest
Flapping its wings testing the breeze
Exploring the sky and the earth.
Blithely. Briefly.
Peace can be shot down, cruelly, fragile.
Peace is a throbbing healing “yes”
To the wailing of children for food
The outstretched hands of the poor for justice
The hunger of a nation for integrity
The blessed outrage over blood-spewing guns.
A drive. Spirit-force.
Peace is a flame in the heart searing, perduring.
Peace is frail infant on a manger
Who shall announce: To you
On whom my Father’s favour rests
I give my peace
A peace the world cannot give.
Follow me.
How, Lord, shall we follow?
To drink of your peace?
To end our wars and divisions?
Our mad scrambling for power?
How, Lord, shall we become
Sisters and brothers once more?
Pease is a passion to share, to serve
A compassion for the world’s crippled and maimed
An embrace, a crucifixion, yet freedom to be,
A love without retention limits.
Measureless breadth and depth.
Follow me, come!
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, December 8, 1989
Peace is wisp of wind in the noonday heat
Stirring the regal pines on distant hills
Sweeping down the fields of golden rice
Cooling feverish cheeks.
Momentarily.
Peace can fade away, quickly, evanescent.
Peace is a young chirping bird
Sallying forth from its mother’s nest
Flapping its wings testing the breeze
Exploring the sky and the earth.
Blithely. Briefly.
Peace can be shot down, cruelly, fragile.
Peace is a throbbing healing “yes”
To the wailing of children for food
The outstretched hands of the poor for justice
The hunger of a nation for integrity
The blessed outrage over blood-spewing guns.
A drive. Spirit-force.
Peace is a flame in the heart searing, perduring.
Peace is frail infant on a manger
Who shall announce: To you
On whom my Father’s favour rests
I give my peace
A peace the world cannot give.
Follow me.
How, Lord, shall we follow?
To drink of your peace?
To end our wars and divisions?
Our mad scrambling for power?
How, Lord, shall we become
Sisters and brothers once more?
Pease is a passion to share, to serve
A compassion for the world’s crippled and maimed
An embrace, a crucifixion, yet freedom to be,
A love without retention limits.
Measureless breadth and depth.
Follow me, come!
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, December 8, 1989
Cory—My Personal Symbol of Inang Bayan
MILLIONS of Filipinos shouted the battle cry, “Cory! Cory! Cory!,” throughout the campaign period for the Snap Elections of 1986. Finally Filipinos had real hope in ousting President Ferdinand Marcos from an office he had held since 1964.
More than an icon of democracy Cory was and is to me my personal symbol of Inang Bayan, our beloved Motherland.
I first met President Cory Aquino during her campaign sortie to Kidapawan. While many of her fellow campaigners delighted the huge crowd in the town plaza, she came for a quiet visit to the Bishop’s Residence.
She wore her signature yellow dress. Obviously she was the darling of our lay staff and she had picture taking with them. After exchanging pleasantries I asked her to go with me and visit the grave of Fr. Tullio Favali, P.I.M.E., The brutal murder of this gentle Italian missionary priest in 1985 by paramilitary forces had demonstrated for me the darkest side of the Marcos regime. We walked the few meters from the Bishop’s residence to the grave and we prayed for Fr. Tullio.
Her brief visit and presence was a lifting of the spirit for a Church that had known so much suffering from human rights abuses from 1980 to 1985.
From that time on Cory was for me the woman who best symbolized motherland, Inang Bayan. And her gracious, gentle, laid back and kind manner just reinforced that first intuition. From afar I followed her progress during the campaign and prayed for her to win.
We organized NAMFREL in Kidapawan. Thank God, most of our Clergy, Religious, and Lay Leaders were willing. A handful did not think that the elections would help and opted with the Left for boycott.
Cory campaigned with a simple down to earth, womanly and motherly style of talking, like telling a story, devoid of the oratorical and sometimes pompous style of many campaigners. Her enthusiastic reception by millions of people made it increasingly clear that change was imminent, in the air. The agents of change would be the enthusiastic millions, young and old, who listened to her and shouted “Cory! Cory! Cory!”
The Snap Elections were held on February 7, 1986. On February 13-14, 1986, the Bishops gathered in plenary assembly as they had previously agreed, should any emergency take place. This was emergency. The government press was saying that Marcos had already won the elections.
Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, called for each Bishop to share the experience of NAMFREL in his diocese regarding the honesty and integrity of the elections.
He asked me to moderate the session, summarize and synthesize the results. Each of the Bishops spoke. There was no doubt – the elections were filled with fraud, fraud that literally changed the results.
We then went to reflect on this situation and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The Bishops came together again and worked on a statement which they approved by consensus. This was the dramatic post-election statement. The Bishops declared: “According to moral principles, a government that assumes or retains power through fraudulent means has no moral basis.”
Until today I deeply regret that I had no direct hand in drafting the final statement. Cardinal Vidal had asked me to help write the draft. But I had to go to the hospital. I gave Cardinal Vidal my three essential points for a draft: (a) that the elections were substantially fraudulent; (b) that Present Marcos had no moral basis to retain power; (c) that this immoral situation had somehow to be corrected. I gave all my notes to Cardinal Vidal.
Cory called for strikes and boycotts. Then Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos broke away from the Marcos government. With that came the call of Cardinal Jaime Sin for people to go to EDSA and protect the small breakaway band of soldiers.
For me the call to EDSA was genuinely a call to protect Cory, my personal symbol of Inang Bayan.
+ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
More than an icon of democracy Cory was and is to me my personal symbol of Inang Bayan, our beloved Motherland.
I first met President Cory Aquino during her campaign sortie to Kidapawan. While many of her fellow campaigners delighted the huge crowd in the town plaza, she came for a quiet visit to the Bishop’s Residence.
She wore her signature yellow dress. Obviously she was the darling of our lay staff and she had picture taking with them. After exchanging pleasantries I asked her to go with me and visit the grave of Fr. Tullio Favali, P.I.M.E., The brutal murder of this gentle Italian missionary priest in 1985 by paramilitary forces had demonstrated for me the darkest side of the Marcos regime. We walked the few meters from the Bishop’s residence to the grave and we prayed for Fr. Tullio.
Her brief visit and presence was a lifting of the spirit for a Church that had known so much suffering from human rights abuses from 1980 to 1985.
From that time on Cory was for me the woman who best symbolized motherland, Inang Bayan. And her gracious, gentle, laid back and kind manner just reinforced that first intuition. From afar I followed her progress during the campaign and prayed for her to win.
We organized NAMFREL in Kidapawan. Thank God, most of our Clergy, Religious, and Lay Leaders were willing. A handful did not think that the elections would help and opted with the Left for boycott.
Cory campaigned with a simple down to earth, womanly and motherly style of talking, like telling a story, devoid of the oratorical and sometimes pompous style of many campaigners. Her enthusiastic reception by millions of people made it increasingly clear that change was imminent, in the air. The agents of change would be the enthusiastic millions, young and old, who listened to her and shouted “Cory! Cory! Cory!”
The Snap Elections were held on February 7, 1986. On February 13-14, 1986, the Bishops gathered in plenary assembly as they had previously agreed, should any emergency take place. This was emergency. The government press was saying that Marcos had already won the elections.
Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, called for each Bishop to share the experience of NAMFREL in his diocese regarding the honesty and integrity of the elections.
He asked me to moderate the session, summarize and synthesize the results. Each of the Bishops spoke. There was no doubt – the elections were filled with fraud, fraud that literally changed the results.
We then went to reflect on this situation and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The Bishops came together again and worked on a statement which they approved by consensus. This was the dramatic post-election statement. The Bishops declared: “According to moral principles, a government that assumes or retains power through fraudulent means has no moral basis.”
Until today I deeply regret that I had no direct hand in drafting the final statement. Cardinal Vidal had asked me to help write the draft. But I had to go to the hospital. I gave Cardinal Vidal my three essential points for a draft: (a) that the elections were substantially fraudulent; (b) that Present Marcos had no moral basis to retain power; (c) that this immoral situation had somehow to be corrected. I gave all my notes to Cardinal Vidal.
Cory called for strikes and boycotts. Then Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos broke away from the Marcos government. With that came the call of Cardinal Jaime Sin for people to go to EDSA and protect the small breakaway band of soldiers.
For me the call to EDSA was genuinely a call to protect Cory, my personal symbol of Inang Bayan.
+ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Thursday, July 23, 2009
AN OPEN APPEAL FOR PEACE AND FOR OUR EVACUEES
To all Warring Parties:
As a Religious leader I respect your causes, although I may not agree with your methods.
But precisely because I am a Religious leader I strongly condemn every violent act perpetrated that has no concern for the innocent.
I condemn in the strongest terms as serious moral evil such crimes as terrorist bombings that by their very nature target the innocent, punitive raids on villages, bombardments that fall on civilian populations, landmines that can kill any passerby. For me “collateral damage” simply means murder and deliberate unjustifiable destruction of property.
War inflicts more destruction on civilians than on combatants. For every combatant killed, scores of civilians suffer or die. In the past twelve months I have seen thousands of civilians languishing in evacuation camps, first in the Pikit and PALMA areas and now in Datu Piang and various other places of Maguindanao. They give birth to babies under dismal conditions, they beg for food and water, they struggle for life in the most miserable situation. They die as statistics. Such human tragedy, it is said, has spawned brutal retaliatory terrorism elsewhere in our region.
From the depths of my soul I can only cry out to all warring parties, “Enough is enough!” End your so called search and punish operations. End your terrorist bombings. End your bombardments, end your raids, all you warring parties! Enough is enough!
Due punishment for raids has long been meted out in an attrition of casualties and damaged properties. And now what most sadly remains is the senseless logic of war, of action and reaction. And the suffering of thousands of civilian evacuees. Enough is enough!
For the sake of our evacuees and in the name of our one God of Peace, end your war! Go back to the negotiating table. Let the thousands of evacuees return safely to their home. Collaborate with one another towards this objective. Together, rehabilitate their destroyed properties. Give them another chance for a truly human life.
With the grace of the Most Merciful, Most Beneficent, Most Compassionate God, the one unique God we all believe in, there is no human conflict that cannot be solved through a genuine honest dialogue of the heart.
May the One Almighty Loving God of all have compassion on us.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
July 23, 2009
As a Religious leader I respect your causes, although I may not agree with your methods.
But precisely because I am a Religious leader I strongly condemn every violent act perpetrated that has no concern for the innocent.
I condemn in the strongest terms as serious moral evil such crimes as terrorist bombings that by their very nature target the innocent, punitive raids on villages, bombardments that fall on civilian populations, landmines that can kill any passerby. For me “collateral damage” simply means murder and deliberate unjustifiable destruction of property.
War inflicts more destruction on civilians than on combatants. For every combatant killed, scores of civilians suffer or die. In the past twelve months I have seen thousands of civilians languishing in evacuation camps, first in the Pikit and PALMA areas and now in Datu Piang and various other places of Maguindanao. They give birth to babies under dismal conditions, they beg for food and water, they struggle for life in the most miserable situation. They die as statistics. Such human tragedy, it is said, has spawned brutal retaliatory terrorism elsewhere in our region.
From the depths of my soul I can only cry out to all warring parties, “Enough is enough!” End your so called search and punish operations. End your terrorist bombings. End your bombardments, end your raids, all you warring parties! Enough is enough!
Due punishment for raids has long been meted out in an attrition of casualties and damaged properties. And now what most sadly remains is the senseless logic of war, of action and reaction. And the suffering of thousands of civilian evacuees. Enough is enough!
For the sake of our evacuees and in the name of our one God of Peace, end your war! Go back to the negotiating table. Let the thousands of evacuees return safely to their home. Collaborate with one another towards this objective. Together, rehabilitate their destroyed properties. Give them another chance for a truly human life.
With the grace of the Most Merciful, Most Beneficent, Most Compassionate God, the one unique God we all believe in, there is no human conflict that cannot be solved through a genuine honest dialogue of the heart.
May the One Almighty Loving God of all have compassion on us.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
July 23, 2009
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Cha Cha Brouhaha
From our “remote” world of Cotabato, “far from the madding crowd” of “imperial” Manila, Manila with its peculiar concerns seems to be in another planet.
The people in the former “empire” province of Cotabato are daily generally concerned about violence, armed skirmishes, the security of the highways, floods, and the miserable plight of “bakwits”, families displaced from their homes because of armed encounters between government troops and various rebel groups, prices of basic commodities—i.e, basic necessities—the very first rung of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Manila and our honorable legislators, as the media blare out regularly on their first pages or at prime time, are concerned about “nagbabagang balita.” Such as impeachment of the President, charter change, and senate investigations of various so called “scams.”
There is something really sad and tragic about all this. The following are some personal theses, personal thoughts really, that do not claim to reflect the opinion of the CBCP.
Thesis 1: That the House of Representatives continue to push Con Ass is truly incredible. Some would say asinine. I would tend to agree. Our Congressmen are pushing this agendum for the wrong reasons and at the wrong time. They are out of touch with their own constituents. On this important matter, they no longer represent the people but only themselves. Wrong reasons, because their motivations are not clear and transparent and people simply conclude, rightly I think, that our “representatives” only want extension of terms. Wrong time, because today the whole country and particularly the poor are facing far more urgent concerns. Our legislators need to seriously consider, for instance, the impact of economic globalization and the global financial meltdown, the growing divide between the government and the Bangsamoro, and the undeclared but continuing “war” in the Cotabato areas.
Thesis 2: The Cha Cha brouhaha is even more amusing and exasperating than the Senate investigations to “search for the truth” and the House of Representatives’ yearly attempts to impeach the President. Except for the case against former President Estrada where witnesses who were directly involved bravely came out to testify to what they saw with their own eyes in the jueteng anomaly and regarding the Velarde account, Senate investigation of various “scams” generally is a “road to nowhere.” The Senate has not been the right place to search for the truth. The process undertaken reflects an identity crisis. It is neither in “aid of legislation” nor a process of legal investigation where truth is exposed through declaration and refutation. As a result, no change in belief takes place. Anti-Gloria people remain anti-Gloria and pro-Gloria people remain pro-Gloria. But it does make the “scam” even more public without really proving that it is, indeed, a scam. But perhaps that is the agenda? Thus witnesses are said to be lying when their testimonies do not agree with what Senators may already have believed to be the truth. This is why they would want “more witnesses” to come out. The bottom line seems to be that Senate “investigations” do not really bring out the truth. They belong to the entertainment genre. But the Cha Cha brouhaha takes the cake. In this case, amusement turns to exasperation. Why, oh, why should the Lower House continue to push a concern that seems to be so self-serving and so unpopular? It pushes credibility to its lower depths. Sometimes I wonder what “Lower House” really means.
Thesis 3: Reactions in Manila to its “burning concerns” are usually exaggerated overkill or are meant to overkill. Thus the Cha Cha protest rally of yesterday. Trumpeted one newspaper, “Rage vs GMA, Con Ass.” One would think that the whole country was in rage. But only about 7,000 people led by the same names and same faces (Left, Right, and Center) with the same well known anti-Gloria agenda, showed up for the rally. If it were a Church-sponsored prayer rally for cha cha, the headline would have scoffed at the poor showing. Yet the media keeps dancing to the tune of the same crowd, same names, same faces. These keep appearing in different fora. The forum could be interfaith. It could be a political alliance activity masquerading as a prayer rally. Yearly impeachments, investigations, rallies – why, oh why do they continue? The Lozada “truth” tour fizzled out for lack of public acceptance. Rallies that pre-claim to gather 150,000 to 500,000 can only gather 15,000. The peak of protests was when Susan Roces and Cory Aquino withtheir supporters collaborated with the political opposition and the Left. They could muster only about 50,000 people. These activities are meant to dramatize what they have been trying to push forward since 2001? That Gloria stole the presidency? That everything about Gloria, what she is and what she does is “evil”? The rallies are simply overkill, a hyperbolic reaction to what is perceived as truth. Is it possible that as long as the same faces and alliances with their own questionable varying vested agenda are there, there would be no “tipping point”? Are they perhaps the wrong names, the wrong faces and the wrong groups to call people to action? Are their varying vested agenda perhaps the wrong credentials? And so they ask the Bishops of the Philippines to help them. But is the situation really a matter of “searching for the truth” as the Bishops have consistently urged? Or is it for these groups a matter of the truth already incontrovertibly arrived at?
Thesis 4: My personal position on Cha Cha is the following –
a. No process of charter change should be allowed that intends to extend terms of office;
b. The elections in 2010 must proceed;
c. If charter change is to proceed it must not be by constituent assembly but by constitutional convention;
d. I have a personal conviction about two provisions: a new constitution must not do away with the pro-life and pro-poor provisions of the present Constitution; it must also provide a constitutional basis for Moro self-determination, without violating national sovereignty and territorial integrity;
e. There must be widespread people consultation regarding what needs to be changed in the Constitution;
f. The whole process must be imbued with integrity and transparency;
g. The bottom line is this: this is not the time for a constitutional change; the Bishops of the Philippines have, since the time of President Ramos, repeatedly said that if constitutional change is, indeed, necessary it should be at a time of social serenity, with no polarizing political divisions, with widespread people participation, and through a constitutional convention.
Thesis 5: I base the above position not on any political reason but on the social moral teachings of the Church. I cite particularly the principles of the common good, social justice and truth, freedom and self-determination, participation, integral human development including cultural, and the proper role of political authority. These, I believe, might be the moral bases of any statement that the CBCP could issue on the subject of the cha cha brouhaha.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 14, 2008
The people in the former “empire” province of Cotabato are daily generally concerned about violence, armed skirmishes, the security of the highways, floods, and the miserable plight of “bakwits”, families displaced from their homes because of armed encounters between government troops and various rebel groups, prices of basic commodities—i.e, basic necessities—the very first rung of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Manila and our honorable legislators, as the media blare out regularly on their first pages or at prime time, are concerned about “nagbabagang balita.” Such as impeachment of the President, charter change, and senate investigations of various so called “scams.”
There is something really sad and tragic about all this. The following are some personal theses, personal thoughts really, that do not claim to reflect the opinion of the CBCP.
Thesis 1: That the House of Representatives continue to push Con Ass is truly incredible. Some would say asinine. I would tend to agree. Our Congressmen are pushing this agendum for the wrong reasons and at the wrong time. They are out of touch with their own constituents. On this important matter, they no longer represent the people but only themselves. Wrong reasons, because their motivations are not clear and transparent and people simply conclude, rightly I think, that our “representatives” only want extension of terms. Wrong time, because today the whole country and particularly the poor are facing far more urgent concerns. Our legislators need to seriously consider, for instance, the impact of economic globalization and the global financial meltdown, the growing divide between the government and the Bangsamoro, and the undeclared but continuing “war” in the Cotabato areas.
Thesis 2: The Cha Cha brouhaha is even more amusing and exasperating than the Senate investigations to “search for the truth” and the House of Representatives’ yearly attempts to impeach the President. Except for the case against former President Estrada where witnesses who were directly involved bravely came out to testify to what they saw with their own eyes in the jueteng anomaly and regarding the Velarde account, Senate investigation of various “scams” generally is a “road to nowhere.” The Senate has not been the right place to search for the truth. The process undertaken reflects an identity crisis. It is neither in “aid of legislation” nor a process of legal investigation where truth is exposed through declaration and refutation. As a result, no change in belief takes place. Anti-Gloria people remain anti-Gloria and pro-Gloria people remain pro-Gloria. But it does make the “scam” even more public without really proving that it is, indeed, a scam. But perhaps that is the agenda? Thus witnesses are said to be lying when their testimonies do not agree with what Senators may already have believed to be the truth. This is why they would want “more witnesses” to come out. The bottom line seems to be that Senate “investigations” do not really bring out the truth. They belong to the entertainment genre. But the Cha Cha brouhaha takes the cake. In this case, amusement turns to exasperation. Why, oh, why should the Lower House continue to push a concern that seems to be so self-serving and so unpopular? It pushes credibility to its lower depths. Sometimes I wonder what “Lower House” really means.
Thesis 3: Reactions in Manila to its “burning concerns” are usually exaggerated overkill or are meant to overkill. Thus the Cha Cha protest rally of yesterday. Trumpeted one newspaper, “Rage vs GMA, Con Ass.” One would think that the whole country was in rage. But only about 7,000 people led by the same names and same faces (Left, Right, and Center) with the same well known anti-Gloria agenda, showed up for the rally. If it were a Church-sponsored prayer rally for cha cha, the headline would have scoffed at the poor showing. Yet the media keeps dancing to the tune of the same crowd, same names, same faces. These keep appearing in different fora. The forum could be interfaith. It could be a political alliance activity masquerading as a prayer rally. Yearly impeachments, investigations, rallies – why, oh why do they continue? The Lozada “truth” tour fizzled out for lack of public acceptance. Rallies that pre-claim to gather 150,000 to 500,000 can only gather 15,000. The peak of protests was when Susan Roces and Cory Aquino withtheir supporters collaborated with the political opposition and the Left. They could muster only about 50,000 people. These activities are meant to dramatize what they have been trying to push forward since 2001? That Gloria stole the presidency? That everything about Gloria, what she is and what she does is “evil”? The rallies are simply overkill, a hyperbolic reaction to what is perceived as truth. Is it possible that as long as the same faces and alliances with their own questionable varying vested agenda are there, there would be no “tipping point”? Are they perhaps the wrong names, the wrong faces and the wrong groups to call people to action? Are their varying vested agenda perhaps the wrong credentials? And so they ask the Bishops of the Philippines to help them. But is the situation really a matter of “searching for the truth” as the Bishops have consistently urged? Or is it for these groups a matter of the truth already incontrovertibly arrived at?
Thesis 4: My personal position on Cha Cha is the following –
a. No process of charter change should be allowed that intends to extend terms of office;
b. The elections in 2010 must proceed;
c. If charter change is to proceed it must not be by constituent assembly but by constitutional convention;
d. I have a personal conviction about two provisions: a new constitution must not do away with the pro-life and pro-poor provisions of the present Constitution; it must also provide a constitutional basis for Moro self-determination, without violating national sovereignty and territorial integrity;
e. There must be widespread people consultation regarding what needs to be changed in the Constitution;
f. The whole process must be imbued with integrity and transparency;
g. The bottom line is this: this is not the time for a constitutional change; the Bishops of the Philippines have, since the time of President Ramos, repeatedly said that if constitutional change is, indeed, necessary it should be at a time of social serenity, with no polarizing political divisions, with widespread people participation, and through a constitutional convention.
Thesis 5: I base the above position not on any political reason but on the social moral teachings of the Church. I cite particularly the principles of the common good, social justice and truth, freedom and self-determination, participation, integral human development including cultural, and the proper role of political authority. These, I believe, might be the moral bases of any statement that the CBCP could issue on the subject of the cha cha brouhaha.
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
December 14, 2008
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