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!