GLIMPSES
Jose Ma. Montelibano
It is political season, whether it will be elections in 2010 or Charter Change whichever way. But it is not an ordinary political season; it is an emerging environment that is pregnant with possibilities. While some wannabe presidents are busy building their electoral organizations and communication plans, many others are planning not just a change of presidents but a change of political systems. Around them are pockets of strategic groups that want instant change, and I do not mean just the more rebellious in the military. The highest prelates in Church, led by CBCP president Archbishop Lagdameo, asked for change now, not tomorrow. Of course, he later says he meant only constitutional change. Of course, I can’t bring myself to believe that he erred so badly in the exercise of the English language.
After another two weeks in the United States, I see a strengthening of the political aspirations of the older generation of Filipino-Americans. And these aspirations are invariably grounded in shame and disgust at the kind of reputation that the Philippine government has earned. Corruption and human rights violations have elevated the Philippines to a rank of official ill repute that completely demolishes any claim that Catholicism or Christianity is a humane and caring belief system. The subsequent poverty caused by both historical and present day greed is evidence that religion, and I include Islam here, is a firm ground for higher values.
Like a fresh gust of clean air, Archbishop Lagdameo articulates what seems to be a collective sentiment of bishops - that the Church has failed. The admission of guilt is surprisingly not embarrassing, but a rare expression of honesty. It also sets the stage for societal reformation, maybe even a renaissance. The Church is the natural leader of transformation, of moral regeneration, of higher ethics. By not having been so, its guilt is awesome and its credibility shot. Not all Filipinos are blind to the factionalism that besets the hierarchy of the Church, and her selective morality. While the ground troops of
priests and nuns try to keep the body and soul of Catholicism intact, the actuation of many of their shepherds in high places negate the purity of good works.
Is the good archbishop of Iloilo trying to make up for the cracked image of the Catholic hierarchy? At the rate that he is causing a stir even among the most disappointed in the Church, it is possible that Lagdameo can become a light and a voice that many will follow. It may even be that he, and only he, will be followed. It is a difficult and lonely path, this effort to rebuild a stained image, a lost credibility, an inconsistent morality. Archbishop Lagdameo will first
be disdained by his own before he can be the beacon of a renewing faith. How long he can last will be dictated by how deeply he desires to be a reflection of the Founder he follows.
But the good bishop should not fret. Beyond his backyard of the official Church is a whole people, 90 million of us, desperate for good leadership, desperate for the tradition of bayanihan, desperate for the caring and sharing that Filipinos know how to give not just each other but even those of other races and creeds, desperate for a vision that inspires, desperate for good works to make true political promises and religious homilies. Our desperation pushes us to seek and recognize anyone who resembles integrity, honesty, and a lover of the poor. Archbishop Angel Lagdameo’s light shines today, much brighter
than it has ever shone, and has the opportunity to shine even brighter.
He should recognize one fact, though. Filipinos have learned to tolerate what is wrong, even what is evil, when there is an absence of a knight in shining armor. If we content ourselves to rise in rage and rebellion and kill all those who deserve a fate more than a quick death, we would have been driven only by our terror of utter darkness. That does not take us out of darkness but impels us more firmly inside it. Only light can displace darkness, and only inspiring leadership can motivate us to build and rebuild along the parameters of what is truly moral and highly ethical.
In the United States, Fil-Ams will find the environment to contribute to meaningful change, not only in their society, but more so in ours. Whether deliberately or not, the successful Obama campaign and incoming presidency opens incalculable possibilities for change even beyond what Obama himself envisioned. The Philippines will be a beneficiary of yet unknown change. That we cannot see in our mind’s eye the exact forms and intensity of passion that will accompany that change should not faze us. We must embrace change because we cannot survive as a decent and god-fearing nation should change conti8nue to elude us. Poverty is a social anomaly, a clear manifestation that our society can hurt its own, can abandon its own. And the kind of
corruption that defines governance, according to global standards and scrutiny, reflects failure of the worst kind - social, political, religious, and economic.
All over the land, so many advocacies and movements have been established to promote or implement change. Most are focused on good governance, on moral governance, and some on responsible citizenship. They are all good, they are all correct. Yet, something is missing. The people who are the audience of all these advocacies and movements remain quiet, even submissive and accepting of poverty and corruption. It is almost as though those who wish to be change agents are substantially disconnected to the mass experience and sentiments, unable to make them astir, awake and alert to options. Despite the
hunger that stalks millions of families, poor Filipinos are not agitated in proportion. What are they waiting for? Who are they waiting for?
Whatever changes occur, they will have a sweet scent. The greatest change usually happens at the worst of moments. So, as the moment worsens, great change is now that much nearer.
“In bayanihan, we will be our brother’s keeper and forever shut the door to hunger among ourselves.”
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