Elections 2019: Can My Vote Make a Difference?

Can my vote make a difference? This is the question that those who will  be voting this coming elections often ask. The answer is: yes, of course. It may be one vote but when added together will either plunge this nation deeper into a crisis or shed light amidst the darkness.

What is really at stake? At the national level – a senate that can either be the rubber stamp of a president wants to continue his phony war on drugs through extrajudicial killings, a pro-China policy, tolerance of corruption and rabid anti-Church stance or a senate that can function as an independent branch of government capable of checking total control and abuse of power. This is no longer a matter of making a political choice but rather a moral choice – between good and evil.

            The victory of the administration’s candidates will lead this nation to a bottomless pit that will have long term consequences long after this president will be gone. This will mean the persistence of self-serving, incompetent and corrupt political leaders incapable of bringing about progress, peace and justice in the land. This will mean condemning this nation to perpetual poverty and subservience to the Chinese empire. This could ultimately lead to the growing radicalization of a people who have lost hope in the political and economic system and who will come to the realization that the only way out is a bloody revolution that will liquidate the ruling class and dynasties as a means of social transformation.

            Many Filipino voters are easily influenced by the popularity of candidates who are entertainers or members of political dynasties, who are easily manipulated by trolls in social media and by poll surveys, and who can be bought for a few hundred pesos, cans of sardines and kilos of rice. Voters are easily fooled by candidates with messianic complex who promise change in a matter of months. It is easier to run for office than to apply for employment that requires college degrees, NBI clearance, civil service eligibility, etc. Thus, democracy becomes a farce that populist demagogues can exploit to get into power and perpetuate themselves in power.

To be able to make a difference for the good of all, we need to change the way we vote and influence other to do the same.

            This will require much discernment. We should know the candidates – what they stand for, their track record, their competence. This requires listening to our conscience – to discern between those who are good and those who are evil or instruments of evil. This also means listening to our Church leaders who have time and time again provided guidelines on how to vote without dictating who we should vote for.

            We should reject candidates who are incompetent, dishonest, immoral, corrupt, greedy, who support the phony war on drugs, extra-judicial killings, the violation of human rights, martial law, all-out war, the pro-China policies, anti-God and anti-Church stance of this administration and efforts to impose a dictatorial rule.

            We have to vote for those who are competent, pro-life, pro-poor, pro-labor, pro-environment, pro-independent foreign policy, pro-God and who defend democracy, the faith and the Church. We should vote for those who genuinely love our country and have the vision and strategy to bring about genuine progress, justice and peace.

We are voting for the future of our nation. Each good vote is a lighted candle in the dark. For those who made a mistake in the last elections by unwittingly supporting a pseudo-messiah, this is the time to redeem yourself.  If we fail once again to vote intelligently and morally, we will be blamed for being complicit to evil and perpetuating this darkness for decades and decades to come.

            The Filipino is like a carabao – who can patiently suffer much abuse but will finally reach a breaking point, go amok and go after its masters. A time will come when those oppressed for a long time will rise. Those responsible for the people’s suffering will pay. Change will ultimately come – whether it will be peaceful or violent will defend on us and how we vote at this moment of history.

Holy Week Reflection

During the Holy Week we will once again be reflecting on Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. Our thoughts often focus primarily on how he suffered and died. It was a painful death. It showed how he was falsely accused, unjustly condemned, betrayed and meted capital punishment and abandoned by his disciples. Why did he suffer and die? It is not enough to say: “because of our sins.” His passion was the consequence of his prophetic mission – of announcing the Good News of the reign of God – a good news of liberation, of justice, of peace. This mission also involved speaking out against evil in all its manifestation. For this, those in power reacted violently. His crucifixion symbolized the reign of sin and evil manifested in the culture of death. It was an apparent victory of darkness – of evil. Yet ultimately the cross became the symbol of self-sacrificing love that overcomes sin and darkness. Good Friday was not the end of the story. It was followed by Easter Sunday – his rising from the dead, the triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil. His resurrection was the inauguration of the reign of God that grows steadily through the centuries in spite the apparent persistence of evil. His resurrection is an assurance that evil will not reign for ever and ever. This what we believe, this is the source of our hope. This is what we celebrate this Holy Week.

We Filipinos can easily identify with the suffering and death of Jesus. This is why we continue to observe Holy Week at a time when darkness and evil seem to reign, when the poor continue to suffer because of poverty, when thousands of people have been murdered extrajudicially, when those in power perpetuate the culture of death and mock God and religion, with the support of a multitude lacking in conscience and ignorant of what they are doing.

In face of these, when we feel helpless and hopeless, full of despair and anguish, let us always remember the message of Holy Week. There is an end to evil. Light overcomes darkness. Let us continue to hope and to struggle against evil and darkness. We will overcome.

EDSA - an Unfinished Revolution?

Thirty-three years ago, a corrupt dictator – Ferdinand Marcos- was deposed in a matter of four days without bloodshed. It was an event that was totally unexpected. It happened three years after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino which consequently heightened the resistance against the dictatorial regime. It happened two weeks after a snap election which was denounced by the CBCP as fraudulent. It was triggered by bungled coup attempt and the call of Cardinal Sin for the people to come to EDSA to prevent loyalist troops from going after the coup plotters holed up in Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. It came to be known as the People Power revolution which installed as president Cory Aquino – the widow of Ninoy Aquino.

For many, it was indeed a miraculous event. It was our Exodus. It was a manifestation of God’s intervention in our country’s history. God was revealed as liberator, on side of the poor, who “cast the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.” It was time when we were proud to be Filipinos. EDSA was touted as our gift to the world, a proof that it was possible to peacefully end despotic regimes. Thus, it became an inspiration for non-violent resistance all over the world. Several years later, we witnessed the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the emergence of democratic regimes in Eastern Europe, in Latin America and in South Africa.

Yet, over three decades later, we look at our country and ask, was it really a revolution? Did EDSA change and transform our country?

The Marcoses are still around around. Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. has received a hero’s burial. Imelda Marcos is still scot-free in spite of being convicted by the Sandigan Bayan. It is believed that the Marcos billions financed the vice-presidential candidacy of Bongbong Marcos and the senatorial candidacy of Imee Marcos who is being endorsed by Rodrigo Duterte out of gratitude for having  supported his presidential candidacy.

We have a president who idolizes the former dictator and has followed his example by exercising hegemony and total control not just over the executive branch but also the legislative and judiciary branches of government. He has imposed perpetual Martial Law in Mindanao. He acts as if he is above the law and can say anything he likes. The extrajudicial killings already claimed that lives of over 30,000 people in less than three years – casualties on the so-called War on Drugs and the counter-insurgency war. This has surpassed the EJK that took place in 14 years of the Marcos dictatorial rule. Peace remains an elusive dream in spite of the peace agreement with the MILF and the BOL. The peace negotiations with the NDF/CPP/NPA which started 32 years ago have not prospered and have once again collapsed and this has led to the escalation of the armed hostilities. We continue to be led by corrupt and incompetent politicians whose only concern is to enrich themselves and their families and perpetuate themselves in power, making a mockery of the anti-dynasty law in the constitution. The opposition has been intimidated and emasculated. Those who dared to stand up to the president – like Leila DeLima and Antonio Trillanes III have been harassed and arrested by false charges. The media is constantly under attack while false news proliferate in the cyberspace. The clergy – including bishops - continue to receive death threats and three priests have already been assassinated. Meanwhile, majority of the  people remain poor. The prices of goods continue to rise. The poor are victims of violence, injustice, violation of human rights. They are the most vulnerable to calamities due to the destruction of the environment and climate change.

Looking back over the years after EDSA, we realize that there was no genuine revolution. There was a restoration of democracy – but only in form but not in substance. What was restored was elitist democracy – with a self-serving political class motivated by wealth, power and privilege – perpetuated by an electorate most of whom lack conscience and intelligence, easily fooled by empty promises, that can easily be bought and that can be captivated by candidates who are popular (boxers, entertainers, actors) even if they are incompetent. Fifteen years after EDSA, there was another EDSA II which ousted a corrupt and incompetent president. But things remain the same. Why is this?

We lack genuine selfless leaders who have integrity, principles and competence. We lack compassionate and courageous servant-leaders, with vision and wisdom, capable of inspiring everyone to work for the common good and with a program of transforming our political and economic system and structures and bringing about genuine justice, peace and progress. But we cannot blame everything on the kind of leaders that we have. We deserve the leaders we have elected. They reflect who we are – the worst version of ourselves. Change and revolution begins in each one of us. What is required is a moral revolution. To be able to recognize good and evil within and outside ourselves, to overcome our selfishness and greed, to undergo a process of conversion, to reject all forms and manifestation of evil, to become more honest and compassionate. We need to undergo a process of purification.

I believe that EDSA was our Exodus – it was a moment in our history that we as a people experienced God’s liberating intervention. But as the biblical story reminds us, the people of God had to journey across the desert for forty years before reaching the promised land. Why did it have to take that long? Because liberation from Pharaoh’s oppressive rule was the easy part. The inner liberation – the spiritual-moral liberation takes time. Structural revolution or transformation has to be accompanied by moral, inner revolution and transformation. The present authoritarian regime that came to power with the promise of change – pagbabago - will not last, it will surely come to an end. But unless we undergo inner change as a people, we will have more of the same.

There was a time when we were proud to be Filipinos. Now many of us are ashamed to be Filipinos. I hope that someday, we will be proud once again of who we are.

A Great Catholic Nation?

For over a month, we have once again witnessed  apparent display of faith which has led many, including Pope Francis, to conclude that the Philippines is a great Catholic Nation.

For nine days leading to Christmas, the churches were overflowing with the faithful for the Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi. A couple of weeks later, millions of devotees attended the procession of the statue of Jesus Nazareno – black Nazarene – which lasted for over 20 hours. On the third Sunday of January, millions again attended the procession of the child Jesus – the Sto. Nino – in Cebu and other parts of the country. We should not forget that around this time four years ago, an estimated seven million faithful attended the Mass presided by Pope Francis  in Luneta – a world record that remains unsurpassed. We are also impressed by the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary - especially to the Mother of Perpetual Help whose novena is held every Wednesday in Baclaran and in most of the churches all over the country.

Is the Philippines really a great Catholic nation? What is the quality of the faith of the Filipino Catholics?

Let us remember that the Catholic majority – including many priests and religious – voted into office and continue to support a president who cursed the pope, who is trying to destroy the Church, who calls God stupid, who regards the doctrine of the Trinity and the crucified Christ silly, who tells his audience not to go to church and build their own chapel, who encourages them to rob and kill bishops, who is disrespectful of women, and who is waging a war on drugs and on “enemies of the state” which has resulted in over 30,000 extrajudicial killings. This is the same Catholic majority who elected senators and representatives who are crafting laws that lower the age of criminal liability to nine years old and wants to bring back the death penalty. Majority of our politicians, government bureaucrats, police officers and military personnel are Catholics (many of them are products of Catholic schools and universities)  yet many are complicit to the corruption, injustices, violence and criminality that continue to spread like cancer in our society.

So, what kind of faith do majority of Filipinos really have that gives an impression that we are a Catholic nation? The kind faith that is most prevalent is the faith that is expressed in participation in the liturgy, in novenas, in processions, in devotions to the saints, in fiestas. This is associated with popular religiosity which is often seasonal and occasional – it comes out during the advent and Christmas season, the Lenten and Easter season, and the feasts of the patron saints. This is an important manifestation of faith - the faith that is celebrated and that expresses a deep trust in the Triune God, in Mary and the saints who can intervene miraculously and make their lives better. This is the kind faith that enables them to believe and hope that God will never abandon them. In its extreme, this is the kind of faith that makes them passively wait for miracles to happen. But this can be a one-sided kind of faith unless is it accompanied by knowledge and adherence to the truths of the faith – not just the dogmas, but the moral and social teachings grounded on the Word of God as interpreted and taught by the Church. This faith has also to be lived daily and shown in one’s behavior and action – expressed in love, service, compassion, respect for the rights of others, truthfulness, honesty, etc. Without this, faith is dead. This is the kind of faith that is often absent in majority of the faithful. This explains why the so-called great Catholic nation is a nation where evil continues to reign - a nation governed by corrupt, greedy and incompetent politicians, a nation where there is so much injustice, poverty and violence, where the culture of death reigns. 

While respecting and appreciating popular piety and religiosity, we should not romanticize it nor should we be satisfied with it. It is a faith that needs to grow and mature. It should not remain superficial, nominal or seasonal. There is still much to be done in terms of evangelization and integral faith formation, in doctrinal and moral catechesis, and in awakening the conscience of the faithful. Above all, our processions should symbolize our journey and march for freedom and liberation, for life, for justice and peace. We have done this before and we can do this again.

Meanwhile, we should stop calling the Philippines a great Catholic nation. We do not deserve it. Besides, there are also Christians of other denominations, Muslims and other religious groups.