People’s SONA

July 22, 2019 afternoon.  I just came from the People’s SONA.  While the President of the Philippines was giving the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Congress in front of the congressmen and women, the senators, the diplomatic corps, the cabinet officials and the who’s who of business and government, thousands of people marched in the streets of Commonwealth Avenue for the People’s SONA.  There are big contrasts in the two events.  The SONA in congress is attended by a chosen few hundreds of the elite of Philippine society. It is by invitation only. The People’s SONA is attended by thousands, even up to 50,000 of ordinary people—farmers, urban, workers, students, artists, religious people, NGOs and what-not. It is open to all. The President’s SONA event is guarded by many police and security officers so that the ordinary people may be kept away from them, while the People’s SONA is also guarded by many policemen and women to keep them away from congress.

The SONA in congress is in an airconditioned environment with people specially dressed in fancy tailor-made clothes for the occasion, while in the People’s SONA the thousands have been drenched by the heavy downpour all marching and standing on the street for several hours dressed in ordinary t-shirts. The attendants in the President’s SONA clap on cue at the “achievements” of the administration and laugh at the boasts  of the President while in the SONA in the streets people sing, shout, clap and chant patriotic songs as they listen to speaker after speaker giving voice to the laments, dreams, anger and demands of the COMMON TAO. What contrasts!

Among the many slogans sang by the people, one continued ringing in my ear: TAMA NA! SOBRA NA! NO TO CHARTER CHANGE! No to charter change had been a rallying point in last year’s People’s SONA and it still is this year. In fact, Charter Change is in a greater danger to happen to us now than it was last year because the President’s people now have a big majority in both houses after the May 13 elections.  Besides, the face and the reason of Charter Change is also clearer now than before. It is not really so much about Federalism but about extension of terms of sitting politicians and the complete and full opening of Philippine economy and natural resources to foreigners. It is a sell out of the Philippines to the moneyed foreigners. All the rhetoric that it will bring more investments and give more work for Filipinos is just a cover up to the plunder of the Philippines. So chants such as ATIN ANG PILIPINAS also resound in the People’s SONA program. The big danger to us now is that the majority of the congress people and the senators are more beholden to Duterte than to the good of the Filipinos.

The People’s SONA  may not be heard by those in power in congress and in Malacanang, but it is a worthwhile exercise. It is a venue in which people of all colors can express themselves. For many it is an opportunity to express their love of country. It is also a way to educate the thousands of participants, and the country in general through the media, about the issues in the country that the people are concerned about. Even if just for these, it was worth marching in the streets, standing for hours, being drenched by the rain, ad driving ourselves hoarse to denounce injustice and express our love of country.

Principled Partisan Politics

 “PARTICIPATION in politics for Christian lay people is not just to be limited to non-partisan involvement. Christians are also encouraged to engage in principled partisan participation. This means that they can campaign for good candidates as an exercise of their Christian faith.” This is a statement from the CBCP Pastoral Statement entitled SEEK THE COMMON GOOD last January 28, 2019.

Since the 1980s the church has been encouraging the faithful to participate in politics but always in a non-partisan way. Hence we give political education in our churches to prepare the people to vote well. We ask for volunteers to man the PPCRV (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) during Election Day. The PPCRV volunteers help voters to go to their proper precincts, assist voters during Election Day and is also act as an election watchdog to make sure that the election is honest and clean. All of these belong to non-partisan participation because people do not promote any candidate at all but see to it that the electoral processes run well and trustworthily.

But it has been a common experience in the past years that people do not only need to know the proper principles how to vote well. After explaining to them the characteristics of true public servants and discouraging them to vote the TRAPOS (Traditional Politicians), people invariably ask, “So, who are we to vote?” They ask for names. This is understandable since many of our people do not have the time, nor the capability, to know the candidates, their track records and their platforms (if ever they have any), especially in the national positions.

Partisan political participation means standing for particular candidates and campaigning for them. Actually, the term “partisan” is not so applicable to the Philippines because we do not have, as of now, true political parties. People vote personalities rather than parties and “political parties” are just the coming together of people who want to win in the elections but they do not have any common political agenda at all. But let us take this term as it is generally meant – standing for particular candidates and openly campaigning for them.

The bishops ask that if a lay person or a lay organization decides to go partisan they should do so based on sound Christian and ethical principles. This is the meaning of “principled partisan politics.” We can campaign for a particular candidate or group of candidates because they espouse what is good for the country. These people are ruled by sound ethical principles and they fight for what is right. They are not blinded by political loyalties, much less by bribes and intimidations.

How can we know such persons? By their track records. We study their commitments in life. This takes a lot of research which many are not capable of doing. So a group of good lay people can come together and study the candidates, or even ask a particular good person to run and back them up. This is a Christian way of participation on politics for the lay people.

Principled partisan politics is not just for election time. Christians should be always involved in the governance which the elected politicians do in their stead. They are to be made accountable to the people for their decisions and their actions. We Christians should judge their actions with the lens of sound ethical and Christian principles. Even if we have voted for them or they belong to our region and even to our family and business connections, if their actions and decisions are not according to sound Christian principles, we should make it known to them and to the public. We are to be guided by principles, and not by personalities and political loyalties. Ever constant vigilance is the price we have to pay to have good governance!

Mining in the Philippines is Irresponsible!

THE claim that there is such a thing as responsible mining in the Philippines is proven false by facts. Mining encroaches on many laws in the country that protect the environment.  Around 2/3 of the ancestral domain lands of indigenous peoples and half of the protected and key biodiversity areas are directly threatened by mining applications and operations. These areas had been already delineated and set aside by earlier laws as reserved areas but still mining applications are given, and much worse, entertained, by government agencies. By their applications alone they already go against the laws. Is this responsible?

Due to malpractices and substandard operations, several mining enterprises had been ordered closed in 2017. However, despite the strong evidences against 26 mining operations ordered closed or suspended last Feb 2017, not one mine has stopped its extractive activities. They just simply appealed to the Office of the President or to the DENR and they can continue operating. No serious efforts have been made to see whether they have complied with the government regulations and even with their own manual of operations. Is this responsible mining?

Social justice is not served by the present state of mining in the country. Only mining companies and their owners reap the benefits from mineral extraction. The rural poor in the mining areas remain poor. A clear evidence is that the provinces in the country which have been extensively mined remain poor. The mining industry cannot name one province whose economic and social status has improved due to mining. Once mining operations stop, and they will stop since mining is not a sustainable activity, the people of the place remain not only poor but even become poorer because their environment has been devastated. In truth, mining, in spite of its destruction trail, contributes less the 1% to our local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) though the years. Despite its claims of giving employment to the local people, and its big capitalization, it employs less than 0.4% of our local labor force. The direct benefits to the people are very meager and they directly threaten agriculture, forestry, watersheds and the fishery resources of the rural poor in the areas where they operate. In many areas the health and physical safety of the people are placed at risk. Is this responsible mining?

No wonder, local churches and the local peoples where mining operates are up in arms. Mining in the Philippines is just that—extractive, and destructive!

500 Years of Christianity

We celebrate milestones. Thus we celebrate the silver (25 years), and much more, the golden (50 years) anniversary of a wedding, or a company, or of a foundation of an institution. Such celebrations are occasions to thank God and one another, to renew our commitment and effort, and to push more vigorously forward to the future. If this is true for 25 year, or 50 years, or even a hundred years of existence and continued service – how much more for 500 years! That is half a millennium!

This is what we will do for 2021 in the Philippines. We will celebrate half a millennium of Christianity in the country! And this is indeed something to celebrate, for in 500 years the Christian faith in the country has not only survived but has been a strong influence in the culture and character of the nation, and is still going strong. We are the third country in the world with the most numerous Catholic population. The Catholic faith and devotion of the Filipinos is recognized all over the world. Through our Filipino migrants and missionaries we also strengthen the Church in most of the 200 countries all over the world where Filipinos are found. There is really something to celebrate here.

In order to make this celebration more meaningful, since 2013 the whole Philippine Church has embarked on a 9-year preparation with a priority theme every year. The hope is that in these 9 years, a renewal may take place in the Catholic faith of the Filipinos to make the quincentenaries’ celebration more meaningful. We recognize that a lot has still to be improved in the way we live the faith. It still has to be purified, deepened and fortified.

The 2021 celebration will be marked with great thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great gift of the Christian faith. In God’s providence the Christian faith has come to our shores, took root in it, and bore much fruit among its people. Although the Cross of the faith had come with the Sword of the conquistadores in the time of colonialism, through time the Filipinos have learned to distinguish between the Christian faith and the Spanish colonialism. We had fought against the Spanish masters and drove them out but we have remained fervent in our fidelity to the Catholic Church. In fact, among the patriots who shed their blood in their struggle against Spain were the native Filipino clergy, famous among whom are Fr. Gomez, Fr. Burgos and Fr. Zamora – the GOMBURZA.

2021  is also a celebration of thanksgiving to all the missionaries and the Christian lay leaders, among them our great, great grandparents, who passed on the faith from one generation to the other. We owe who we are and what we have to so many peoples down through the centuries, with their defects and with their virtues - Filipinos and foreigners, priests, religious and lay people.

But the quinquennial event is not just a looking back to the past. It is also a looking forward to the future. Yes, we are been chosen and truly gifted with the faith. This carries a great responsibility. We gratefully accept the gift, we develop it, and now it is our turn to pass it on to the others. By “others” I mean to the coming generations of Filipinos and also to the other peoples in Asia and in the world. Jesus has come for the salvation of all peoples. Since we received the Good News, we have to share this Good News to others, especially to our neighbors here in Asia. Hence, the celebration is also a call to mission. In fact, the encompassing theme of the celebration, which also serves as a challenge, is GRACIOUSLY GIFTED TO GIVE. Let us vigorously celebrate so that we will all be vigorously motivated to go out to share the gift of the Christian faith!