A Portrait of the Philippines as a Young Nation

Every once in a while it is good to pause to try to pull together some of the varied thoughts dumped out day to day in these blogs. Rather pull chaos back into order, if you catch my drift. So let's do a little of that. If it seems deja vu, relax; it is not a mental disorder, at least, not yours. It is merely a review of what has been said before.

Maybe it is helpful to start with a long distance view and then drill down. And from our eye way up in the sky, we can see that the Philippines is a young nation. Younger than the United States. Younger than you might imagine, reflecting on 500 years of Spanish Catholic influence.

The Philippines is situated smack dab in the center of the crescent of Asia that runs from Indonesia in the southeast, westward to Malaysia, Viet Nam and neighbors, northward past China and on to the northeast where Korea and Japan complete the crescent.

No nation in the world is better situated to prosper in an integrating global world. It is at the point of parabolic focus of the most dynamic region on earth.

What is a nation? I contend that it has a time-of-birth date-stamp. A nation is the community that is formed when people reach an agreement about how to govern. Or when a few powerful people definitively impose their rule. The date stamp is whacked into history when that agreement is finalized or rule is declared.

The Philippines was established as a new nation in 1987. The agreement ended the Marcos nation. A new, democratically ordered nation was formed under President Cory Aquino who began her term on the wings of prayer and ended it wrestling mightily with the forces of favor and power.

These forces of favor and power in the Philippines, and the corruption they spawn, are like a smoldering fire in the tundra. Hard to stamp out. Burning underground. Smoke suffocating everything, including good works. Occasionally flaring up and burning bright. 

The Philippines is trying to reconstruct democratic values but old habits, old ways of conducting business, die hard.

Let's try to characterize the Philippines today. It is good to use the Edgar Lores method of enumerating ideas for ease of reference in the follow-up discussion. Call it a portrait by the numbers. Not artistic, perhaps. But maybe interesting to look at.

1. The reconstruction is the building of democratic institutions and values that allows the nation to progress from being a nation of and for the empowered - Marcos culminating the failed ideology of power - to a nation of and for the people. The public institutions have been rebuilt, perhaps of rough clapboard rather than polished mahogany, but the framework is nonetheless good. The values . . . not yet.

1. A deeply embedded dynastic, somewhat authoritarian, network of power and wealth still controls who runs things and it does not give up its grasp easily. Fortunately, these networks are under considerable pressure from a public with louder and more aggressive spokespeople demanding information and accountability. The internet is the medium of modernization. The Big Brother listening post is with the people, not the politicians.

2. Alas, the most important institutions of accountability, the police and the judiciary, are under the influence of the empowered. Justice has not yet reached the people.

3. The forces of the corrupt still today act as a brake on good governance. Given the intensity of opposition, President Aquino has done wonders to tip the playing field toward honest  governance.  It will take perhaps 20 more years of honorable leadership to put the people fully in charge.

4. A Freedom of Information (FOI) bill would be a huge step forward, sealing openness and honesty into the way government works. If the people are the "boss" of government, they need information. Lacking FOI, we know the favored and powerful, the corrupt of good will if not money, are still in charge.

2. The nation's educational system is both fundamentally amazing, yet failing on two counts.

1. It is amazing in that so many schools, so many teachers, and so many kids recognize how important education is. They are working broadly and steadily at building, teaching and studying to advance the knowledge and skills of young people, and to care for their nation's future.

2. One huge failure is the nation's inability to keep up with the flood of babies born of Catholic tradition. A poor nation is a poor nation. It can only build a poor network of schools. The solution, of course is threefold: (1) make the nation richer, (2) allocate education as a higher priority than other expense choices, and (3) slow the birth rate. You can do one of these three things and not realize much progress over the long term. You can do two and make some headway. You can do all three and build an excellent school system. It would help to apply the power of the internet to reduce the overwhelming burden of textbook purchases, school construction and need for teachers.

3. The second failure is the apparent inability of the Educational leadership to comprehend that memorizing information is not a kind of knowledge that goes very far. The Philippine school system teaches mandated obedience, and from that subservience. It does not teach the values that allow obedience to emerge VOLUNTARILY from a deep desire to compete for honest opportunity. If young people today develop ambition for self-improvement, it is in spite of the school system, not because of it. Democracy is a beautiful institution because it is a loud, open, ever-brainstorming collective of competitive problem-solvers. It assures both security and opportunity. It requires an educated citizenry to operate well, and when it operates well, it is an unmatched system for motivating its people with the promise of opportunity, growth and wealth.

3. Philippine culture is much like the educational system, both good and bad. It is tremendously rich. Unique. Precious. And it is dysfunctional.

1. The bonds of faith and family are profound in the Philippines. So is historical appreciation of the many separate islands and regions, and the native traditions, the land and sea-based traditions, the family traditions, which remain strong even today.

2. It is unfortunate that the nation's moral anchor, the Catholic Church, chooses to condemn knowledge-based progress, provoking a raw political clash, rather than relish the part it could play as the anchor to good values within a culture that is modern and working hard and earnestly to solve problems. Problems like education and poor homes on the mud banks and teen pregnancies and kids dining from trash piles. The prominant moral voice has become a counter-productive, complaining voice, not a voice ministering to the nation, helping it build.

3. Filipinos are passionate people, but the passions are used poorly to denigrate and attack and tear down rather than discover and seek knowledge and build. Minds are closed quickly and defended harshly. This is a 100 percent nation. You are either 100% MY way or you are 100% my enemy. 95% is not good enough. And "if you are the President of my nation, you must be 100% right, doing it my way, or I will attack you, not just your acts or decisions, but you, personally". It's hard to have a unity, a harmony of unique individuals, a nation, if everyone insists their way is the only way. 

4. President Aquino is vastly underappreciated, even by the yellow hordes who pushed him into office. Here is a man with the courage and strength of character - his father's determination and his mother's good will - to try to move a nation out of the darkness of cheating, poverty and poor behavior and into the light of modern, honest governance, productivity and wealth.

1. Every institution or group that finds its opportunities constrained becomes a critic. The corrupt, the Catholic Church, Arroyo and her backers, the smugglers, people who live by skimming from contracts, DENR officials, corrupt generals, a wayward Sultan's teammates, and any 100 percenter who finds one of his pet oxen gored. CHINA is not the main enemy. No, China is in second place to the critics with oxen gored by the President's initiatives; their divisive cries always suggest there is a better way but they usually point to none. There is no better way. Most of the critics are simply those who cannot get outside themselves to build a patriotic community called "nation".

2. But get past the acrimony and we can see that the deeds being done by the national government are no longer being lined up to benefit the empowered. They are being lined up to build a nation that serves its people. The accomplishments are in plain daylight but obscured by all the dirt thrown by the miserly and small of pride, the envious, the bitter, the biased and the intellectually bankrupt. Look at agencies like the central bank and Finance and BIR and Justice and DOT and Tourism and DILG.  And the Ombudsman. And Foreign Affairs. These agencies are working diligently to build a better Philippines. To put in roads to airports, to jail the cheaters, to collect much-needed revenue, to modernize airports, to get airplane servicing up to par to re-open European flights. To improve the nation's debt rating and attract more capital, to get peace and prosperity into Mindanao, to solve Mindanao's electricity problem. To better prepare for storms. The amount of good works going on is flat out awesome. High rises and casinos and a real middle class and more and more tourism jewels like Palawan emerging from the corrupt fits and starts that characterized pre-Aquino Philippines.

3. In this new nation that welcomes good governance, we see the people's voices being raised again and again, louder and more purposefully. It was the people's voice that got RH passed, that got a poorly structured Cybercrime Bill halted and into the Supreme Court, that got a wayward Chief Justice thrown from office, and that will determine what quality of character emerges in the 2013 elections. We see attorneys making a reputation by defending the people. We see congressmen like Sotto who betray the values that people admire driven into silence.

There is only one course for this young nation. It is toward honesty and good works. Toward decisions that benefit the people, not the empowered. Toward problem solving and wealth.

If we focus on the broader picture, rather than the many specific acts, we can see that the anti-corruption drive is not just the jailing of bad people. It is remaking a nation's character. It is laying the foundation for good works that can, over time, ease the nation's burdensome poverty. Attention to two other master initiatives would add to this foundation, building a framework of steel and assurance of greater prosperity and a healthy, long term future: (1) building Education to ease physical demands and teach problem-solving disciplines rather than discipline, and (2) building Justice to assure fair and firm enforcement of laws feeding a forthright, efficient, law-based judiciary. 

FOI is critically, critically important to seal the nation to candor and honesty. Information is the currency that replaces favor and power as the driver of deeds. Information assures that the doing of good deeds on behalf of the people becomes this nation's cherished work ethic.

Church Goons Unleashed on Aquino

I thought about handing this blog to Maude so she could do a good job of ranting, but I decided instead on this more moderate presentation. You know, preferring to at least give the Church some love and kindness, rather than the brutal condemnation they deserve.

So anyway, the priests, these whimpering softies who want Carlos Celdran hoisted by his petard very un-Jesus like above the spires of the Manila Cathedral because he hurt their feelings, are out to undermine the constitutionally elected President of the Philippines.

Frankly, I've come to develop a bad taste in my typewriter when these Catholic politicians cloak themselves in the righteousness of the Lord and then go out to try to destroy good people's work. It bothers me immensely when those who represent the God of Goodness list only criticisms of a duly elected leader, and discount the accomplishments, all for their own doctrinal political gain.

Remember, the Catholic Church is an organization that uses the State's services - it's courtrooms and judges and streets and infrastructure - but pays nothing for them. No taxes. And it makes millions because of this.

I believe the Catholic Church should be more respectful of government's position of not being able to attack back when attacked by a religious organization.

But the Philippine Constitution is interpreted to give them full right of free speech. Okay.

Kindly allow those of us who disagree to shout back, that you do not represent the whole of the Philippines, you represent a shrinking majority of faithful. Shrinking exactly because of this political gamesmanship, lack of humility, and self-serving denigration of the good efforts of others.

You are not entitled to protection FROM free speech. You cannot be entitled to the presumption of reverence and respect when your own voice lacks reverence and respect. And you for sure are not entitled to claim the One and Only God is in your corner but not in the corner of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

This is political scheming akin to that done in 1896 by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda of Manila who got a Spanish Governor who would agree to the execution of Jose Rizal  to replace the governor who would not do that execution.

Today's schemers want to undermine a good president.  Go against him in 2013 and get a president in 2016 who will do their bidding.

This is the Rappler headline on the story:

After plenary, CBCP blasts Aquino gov't

Now remember, this is in contrast to President Aquino's low-key signing of the RH Bill, a step taken to specifically avoid putting any untoward embarrassment on the Church.

This is the CBCP example of walking with Jesus? To strike out in angry vengeance? To turn no cheek to the RH loss, but to come charging after those who disagree with Church doctrine like attack dogs, fangs dripping with infuriated humiliation that they LOST the RH legislative battle?

Goon: (noun) Person doing an organization's
thuggish dirty work. [Source: HDNWD]

And the dogs have names. Archbishop Jose Palma and Bishop Gabriel Reyes. And they have official titles: Goons.

And faces, that's them, over there, in a photo taken from Rappler.

Here's the caption Rappler attached to the Photo:

• "CRITICIZING AQUINO. The CBCP, headed by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma (right), hits the Aquino administration after their bi-annual plenary. Beside Palma is Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, also a CBCP official, who blasts pro-RH politicians. File photo courtesy of CBCP"

So at this plenary session, the high priests got together and talked about RH and about all the things President Aquino has not done in three years. Like cure poverty or rain bread from heaven. Rather than acceding to the will of the Philippine people with any kind of grace, they agreed to attack. The stridency of the attack puts to shame the counsel of Cardinal Tagel when he spoke of the need for the Church to temper its righteousness and work on being humble.

The official Church statement  from the plenary session is worth reading. In particular, look for the section on "The Philippines as the Rising Star of Asia".

Hint, you won't find it. The statement instead reads like a laundry-list of complaints compiled by famed anti-blogger benigno. The complaining, whining tenor of the statement conflicts sharply with the reality of the moment, that the Philippines is on the rise. I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at this elegant, eloquent priestly lament:

• In the midst of the country’s natural and social upheavals, we see ourselves in the boat with the Apostles buffeted by stormy waves. We are tossed about by the waves created by the secularist spirit, which continues to reduce the role and place of religious faith in the public sphere. Our cherished moral and spiritual values are at grave risk. We are overcome with fear and anxiety, perhaps also wondering if the Lord has fallen asleep, or if the Lord does not care that we are drowning (cf. Mk. 4:38).

Good Lord. The rest of us feel we are in a jet hydroplane heading for honesty and economic growth, optimistic as never before.

Why is the Church not on the same boat?

The CBCP has also posted its own interpretive "news release" on the subject on the CBCP web site. Here is their headline:

CBCP chides Aquino for inability to address PH’s problems

Here are some excerpts from that article:

• The CBCP particularly lamented Malacañang’s cold treatment of the Freedom of Information bill, which if enacted will allow the public to scrutinize any government transactions, projects and other documents. “Why are they afraid to entrust the citizens with the truth of their governance?” the CBCP said  . . .
  

• The collegial body of the bishops then lamented the continuing human rights violations and unresolved cases of extrajudicial killings even almost three years of Aquino election into office. Other forms of crimes and kidnappings continue, they said, and the government “is not able or lacks the political will to prosecute the perpetrators and touch powerful people.”

• “The huge gap between the rich and the poor remains. There is little inclusive growth,” the CBCP said.

• The bishops also deplored the recent enactment of the Reproductive Health law, and the promotion of a “culture of death and promiscuity. . . . This is due to the slavishness of our political and business leaders to follow practices in Western countries that promote, in spite of examples that we clearly see in the West, divorce, resulting in more break-up of families and the dysfunctional growth of children, contraceptives, leading to more abortions, the use of condom, aggravating HIV-AIDS infection, and school sex education, bringing more promiscuity and teenage pregnancy,” they said.

• CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma clarified they have nothing personal against President Benigno Aquino III for approving the RH law. Admitting that they also have shortcomings and do not want to appear self-righteous, he said, “As shepherds, we feel that it is also part of our duty to voice the sentiments of the people.” “It’s not because we want to condemn but we want that all of us will try to take a hard hit over this realities and hopefully be able to come out with solutions,” Palma said. “We don’t want to appear like fighting anybody. Our main intention is for the good of the people,” he said.

• “If the government is doing good, we will always have collaboration. But if the government is doing something bad, we will criticize and we will oppose,” he said.

• “We denounce the non-prosecution of alleged perpetrators of corruption and strongly call upon the government to pursue allegations and signs of corruption of power holders not only of the past but also of the present, even of friends and party mates,” they said.. . . Pabillo criticized Aquino for being “selective” in choosing which corrupt officials to prosecute, even claiming that there had been a double standard of justice under the current administration. “There are reports about corruption under the present administration but nothing happens to them,” he said. (CBCPNews)

What's wrong with that, you ask? There are some important ideas there, FOI and extrajudicial murders.

What is wrong is the failure of the Church to appreciate that the nation is stable, well-governed, and on the rise, and to feel thankful she can join to be a constructive part of the long-sought after rise of the Philippines to a leadership position in Asia. What boat are they on, do you figure, that they cannot find the candor, the honesty, the truth, the positive, the uplift about being an integral part of the Philippines rising?

The Church evidently liked the old, backward boat the Church has been on for 600 years, not the new one. The Church, like China and the anti-bloggers, can only deride and undermine. Lament, decry, deplore.

Is this the attitude of Jesus?

What, I studied the wrong bible, or what?

Never has the real reason for the Philippine's deep poverty, corruption and struggles been so crystal clear as in this strident attack on government by Church leaders.

This is the assignment the Goon Squad has taken on: knock the Philippines back to the rightful path, the backward path.

Set Jesus aside.

Push the nation back to the values that underpin corruption and overpopulation and lousy health care and poverty.

Back to the dark, coup-tinged era of vengeful politics and manipulation for self-interest.

In the name of their God. The God of  Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda. The God of Goons Palma and Reyes.

I have an idea for the Goon Squad, not that they'll listen. They are up to their eyeballs and earholes in political deceits and self-service. But I offer this:

Take some responsibility for the failed moral leadership, the corruption, the poverty. Go with humility for a change. Try mightily and with prayer to grasp where the heart of the problems really rest.  You are bright people. Reach for it, this true understanding. Cardinal Tagle almost got there until this pithy backward statement undermined him and threw his good words into the trash pit of wishful thinking.

The Church that hitches its political wagon to the destructive values of Gloria Arroyo over the honesty and earnest work of Noynoy Aquino makes the bed in which it is destined to rest.

But the Philippines need not rest in that same bed, need not be held back from progress and prosperity and the uplift that comes from treading an earnest, honorable path.

It's called divorce, actually.

It's called leaving the abusive Church and its goons behind - in the dust and echo and irrelevancy of empty cathedrals - where they can continue to weep and wail, lament, decry and deplore, but never quite get what happened, and why.

Word Wars: Drone Blogging

I'd like to thank Angry Maude for taking up the cudgel the other day. [Cudgel:  (noun) a short, thick stick used as a weapon.] I told her to just relax, we've been writing too much about the elections and the campaigns haven't really started yet. But she explained, which is a euphemism for shouting in my ear, that it is wise to get ideas out early so other can run with them. [Euphemism: (noun) the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.]

So I'd like to continue this trend of parsing ideas regarding the election. [Parsing: (verb ) to analyze (something, as a speech or behavior) to discover its implications or uncover a deeper meaning.]

If you pull back and look broadly at the contested Cybercrime Law, you see two forces in action. One, an attempt by people with power to avail themselves of a tool to intimidate or even silence critics. Two, an attempt by people with words to avail themselves of the right to use them freely insofar as they do not threaten or instigate physical or monetary harm.

I belong to the latter group. Proudly. I believe we fairly represent the spirit of Thomas Jefferson and Sam Adams (ahahahaha, the guy who makes beer) when their writings make clear that the human condition is treated best when it is open to ideas and not shut off from them.

A commenter at Raissa's Top Blog described a lot of bloggers as "helicopter bloggers", hovering from afar and shooting off opinions. I wrote back that I considered myself to be a "drone blogger", hovering from afar and shooting off word missiles at deserving targets.

We are heading into the election cycle, which means our environment, defined by what we see on television or read in the papers and internet, is about to become filled with deceitful crap aimed at convincing us to vote for one person or another. It's all nonsense. These words will come at us from every which way, all with the purpose of invading our thoughts and convincing us to take up acts that favor somebody we don't really know.

Word Wars.

Well, frankly, I love it.

Is a foreigner here allowed to opine? Or is it an affront to the sovereignty of Filipinos? Does it smack of colonial intent?

Or is an idea an idea no matter who utters it?

The problem here is that JoeAm says it more directly and with more literary flair than most Filipino blogger offerings. So it seems louder, eh? Snippier. Ruder perhaps.

It takes a Filipino of considerable breadth of understanding, and security of emotions, to deal with some of the stuff you read here. Especially when it is off-base, or wrong. But style is what it is, eh? I don't know any other way. So tough luck ye stalwart Filipinos of rigid bearing and sensitive mien . . .

I prefer the term irreverent to obnoxious. But, hey, people are free not to read. I have asterisked the hell out of the site explaining that there is only one goal here, a healthier, wealthier, wiser Philippines. If the writing is not your style, at least let me have mine, because I can make up a story better than most, and zap snide insults quicker than a hungry cobra on a fat rat.

• So when the Chinese push their arrogance east, I'll jam it back west.

• When the political priests flap their robes and their mouths like any common in-the-dirt conniving politician, I'll will make sure they get plastered with a fine sheen of gooey red Filipino word-mud. There is no "reverence" in politics.

• When the antis go on into their fourth year of denial about the health and condition of the Philippines and its President, I will sit back and laugh. And toss out poison word-darts at those aspects of their physique that is largest, and I'm not talking brain or heart.

• When the chronically corrupt insist on dipping their clammy claws into the public purse, I shall make sure they grab a handful of word-wasps.

And I herein add a fifth party to the above list of institutions that work concertedly against the best interest of the Philippines.

•  It is the old guys, the unbending masters of rigid perspective who have had their day in the sun but insist on promoting family member to carry on . . . wives, daughters, and sons . . . against the letter and spirit of the Constitution . . . because the greed in their hearts exceeds the compassion they have for a nation of substantially poor but honorable citizens.

And I welcome others to join the Society of Words.

What weapons do we have to engage in word wars?

We have keyboards and modems and brains with no agenda but the well-being of the Philippines. We have the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary and a  small group of extraordinarily bright and well-centered people, each a personality in his or her own right. We have independence and we have passion.

We have ears and the willingness to listen to opposing views, striving always for respect for dissent and respect for the dissenter.

We have strategy and tactics and the ability to wing it.

More than anything, we have our words, God's gift to us for the pursuit of health and happiness.

It's election season.

Lock and load.

"Well Done Mr. President"

By now I'm sure you've read about the Philippines rising in the corruption rankings provided by Transparency International. And perhaps you've read the anti-propaganda diminishing the importance of the ratings.

• "They are just perceptions, and they are wrong!"

• "105th is still corrupt!"

• "President Aquino is a braggart, claiming this as his achievement."

You know, I disagree with the anti crowd once again. Indeed, I can't disagree more.

The Transparency International ranking is just one more check in a lengthening checklist that PROVES that President Aquino has recast the hopes and promise of the Philippines. Tangibly.

From a string of presidential disappointments to a huge stride forward. From the dark confusion and mistrust of Mrs. Arroyo into the light of good deeds and promise of Mr. Aquino.

If the anti crowd cannot grasp that perception is real, is tangible, is meaningful, then it is best to write them off as lost, adrift in self deceit. You see, hope is also intangible. But so very important. Promise. Courage. Dignity. Compassion. Loyalty. Trust.

Intangible, but oh so very real. Powerful in the right circumstances.

President Aquino brought that power to the Presidency.

I chalk this up as one more metric that the anti crowd must whine and rationalize away to hold onto their dwindling credibility, founded on some strange, enduring distaste for the Philippines and Filipinos and anything POSITIVE about the country they may once have called home. 

The "yellow glow" that the antis detest is real. It is the bed of promise, the motivation, the passion upon which real work has been done. One man provided that foundation, the platform needed to get the Philippines headed in a new direction, the man the antis can't bear to give credit to, even when credit is due: President Noynoy Aquino. The man who brought fundamental goodness and earnest work to the Presidency of the Philippines, for ALL that it is worth.

Would Estrada have done this? JoeAm figures the odds would be about 5%.

Villar? 20%

Gordon? 40%

Why? Because the nation rose as one and said "we demand good government!" Those guys had certain strengths, but they did not have the real-deal GOODS. The rock solid intangible of belief and trust.

Only one candidate in 2009 could bring the hope and the promise and, yes, authoritarian power that would clear the path for stern acts like the jailing of the predecessor President and the eviction of a Supreme Court Justice who did not pass muster. I'm imagining Estrada and Villar would have pardoned Arroyo and left Corona in office. Gordon, who knows . . . such an illusive butterfly, floating on emotion . . .

Do  you think that authoritarian power, granted by the will and demands of the people, is "intangible"? Do you think ANYONE else could have brought to the top desk what President Aquino brought? The good of his mother and the grit of his father?

Who?

You know I may climb on the President for his various acts from time to time. I even used the "I" word in a headline once. But that is akin to how one feels about a baseball infielder making an error during a game. We boo in frustration, but still cheer for him and his team when they do well.

I cheer for President Aquino, and the Philippines. Truly, I do.

 Here's the Philippines under President Aquino:

• Economic  growth is strong. Everyone recognizes this from the international press to the debt rating agencies. 

• Tourism, service-center, gaming and real estate industries are flourishing.

• The stock market is roaring.

• The peso is strong. Too strong for my dollar denominated wallet.

• International standing is strong and respectably, and respectfully, firm. Ask China. They know what nation they can't roll.

• Investors are investing, in call centers, in public/private partnerships, in casinos, in hotels and tourism ventures.

• Infrastructure is being rebuilt after years of neglect and budget plunder. Roads and trains and schools and ports.

• Primary schools are going to the international standard of K to 12, a hard transition, but essential for Filipino scholars to gain the recognition they deserve overseas.

• Antiquated government paper processes are being automated and trimmed of red tape, the automation itself a form of check against corruption.

International standing is up markedly; not just on Transparency International's rankings, but S&P's and Moody's. ALL indicators are going in the same qualitative direction: UP. Only the antis and China and the Catholic Church and the incorrigibly corrupt are trying to drag the Philippines back into pits of darkness and dysfunction.

Strange partnership, eh? It warrants restatement for emphasis: Working against the moderization and betterment of the Philippines are:

• The antis
• China
• The Catholic Church
• The incorrigibly corrupt

Is President Aquino perfect?

Are you?

Is Philippine progress fragile?

Yes, yes it is. The manufacturing base is weak. The storms and disasters are real. Poverty is a huge burden. The pipelines for essentials - food and water and electricity and gasoline and health care - are barely able to keep up with demand. The nation seems always to be one step ahead of crushing need. Tuna are disappearing from the seas. Good farmland is being eroded. Congestion is bogging cities down in costly and dirty inefficiency. China is making threats daily, insulting and trying to intimidate the Philippines and Filipinos.

But here is what I hope will happen, with the idea that hope, combined with confidence and commitment, can become singularly important drivers of achievement:

• HR will get passed and there will be a tempered but profound trend in the poorer areas to limit family size. Education will do that. Word of mouth endorsement of smaller families will do that. Availability of birth control methods will do that. In 50 years, poverty will have moderated. It's a slow freight, getting money to the millions of poor.

• FOI will get passed, if not this year, then next. And with FOI will come additional incentives for government workers and agencies to focus forthrightly on the job to be done. On competency, not show. It will help seal good governance as a permanent quality. That's why the President will back it. His legacy is lost without it.

• The economy will continue to rip, with a growing middle class spending and educating the nation to new wealth.  Also from the middle class will rise pragmatic managers focused on productivity and achievement, not the self-service of corrupt ways.

• I'm inclined to wonder, what does China really provide that could not be built in the Philippines or bought elsewhere? Cheap plastic toys?  It is in China's interest not to stir up trouble with the Philippines. The Chinese have major investments here. Filipinos have little in China. Joint development of contested seas will be worked out. No guns will fire.

• Peace in Mindanao will be troublesome, but successful. The government is making the kinds of investments there that can turn bitterness to opportunity. Something the Philippines has never delivered to poor Muslim communities. It's important to understand that the cause of unrest in Mindanao is not religion, it is poverty.

Two huge, critical milestones will need to be passed to assure that the rise of the Philippines is permanently sealed into the nation's social infrastructure. They are:

• The FOI Bill, which opens government to inspection and puts the people in charge, a force for public good over private gain. 

• The 2016 election, which will either advance the Aquino legacy or turn away from it. I personally believe Mr. Binay would be a bad choice and Mr. Roxas or Mr. Abaya would be a good choice.

Although it bugs me when President Aquino brags about every accomplishment as if it were his personal mark rather than the natural flow of things, I must admit, every achievement, every increase in ranking and rating, is indeed built on the bed of promise he brought to the Philippines, and the fundamentally good work that his agencies have done. So . . .

"Congratulations, Mr. President, on that improved Transparency International ranking."

You did that. You can claim it.

We would not have that improvement without your principled leadership.

But enough of that glow for now.

How about turning your attention to that FOI Bill, eh?

To allow you to exit stage 2016 with a profound and everlasting legacy that seals "good governance" into the way Philippine agencies, courts and legislators do the people's work. Work that is visible to the people and their agents, the press. And their advocates, the attorneys. Work that is forthright and open. You know . . . earnest . . . and good . . . like those intangible leadership qualities you brought to the Presidency that today enable Filipinos to convert another intangible, their good heart, to progress.

How Can Catholic Rightists Call Themselves Pro-Life?

Guest Article

By Andrew Lim

UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Recent developments point to a forming alliance between the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and far right Filipino politicians who reject the RH bill.

Jose Descallar, staff of Michael Velarde ( Buhay party list representative) said this after the re-election of US President Barack Obama:

• “If we will not hold our ground and make a lot of noise about our protests against anti-life measures specifically the RH bill, Malacanang will push for passage in the next Congress... ”

• “The task at hand, therefore, is to make sure that pro-lifers get elected.”

• “And junk Akbayan,Gabriela, Kabataan, ACT-Teachers, Bayan Muna and other such party-list groups. “

• “[There is also a] need to make pro-life issues an election/political issue, and to emphasize the Christian responsibility to evangelize politics. One way of doing this is by supporting and voting for pro-life candidates. ”

On November 16-17, the CBCP will hold in Cebu a “Philippines for Life” Congress 2012 featuring among others, the following speakers: Kit Tatad, Lito Atienza, Jackie Enrile, Mitos Magsaysay and impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Among the conference topics will be “The State of Philippine Politics Today, “ “Population and Good Governance: Real Keys to Progress”, “RH and MDG: How to Mangle the Filipino Soul” and “The Role of Vigilance in Preserving Faith and Freedom”.

THE INCONSISTENCY OF IT ALL

What is ironic is that the political histories of these invited personalities are striking examples of what is bad about Philippine politics and are incredibly inconsistent with Christian/Catholic doctrines.

By hijacking the term “pro-life” they have framed the debate such that they appear to be pro-life all the way – from conception to birth to adult life. Really?

Mangling the Filipino Soul? Martial law, with all its unspeakeable horrors did that. And both Tatad and Enrile took active roles in it, as spokesperson and administratoir, respectively. Good Governance? Ask Renato Corona about midnight appointments and undeclared mllions. Or ask Lito Atienza about his support for Gloria Arroyo. State of philippine politics? Ask Jackie Enrile how being a son translates into an inherited Senate seat. Or ask his bullying victims in the past. And lastly, what do you make of Cagayan Representative Rufus Rodriguez who has been stonewalling the passage of the RH bill as a “pro-lifer”, but supports the death penalty for foreign drug traffickers?

In my personal view, you cannot call yourself pro-life if you supported martial law and the oppression it created.

You cannot call yourself pro-life if you supported corrupt regimes and electoral cheating.

You cannot call yourself pro-life if you justify midnight appointments and underdeclare substantial assets.

You cannot call yourselves pro-life if you support plagiarism, and indirectly teach our youth that it is okay to cheat and copy as long as you can get away with it.

You cannot call yourself pro-life if you support the subjugation of indigenous cultures, employ violent methods in imposing your religion, take control of another country's resources in the name of “spreading Catholicism.” Which is exactly what happened in the Chamorro Islands during Pedro Calungsod's time. And yet the CBCP honors his “sainthood”.

Respect for life does not end at birth, as Thomas Friedman, op-ed columist at the New York Times writes. To quote him: “ Respect for life has to include respect for how it is lived, enhanced and protected- not only at the moment of conception but afterward, in the course of that life. “

MORAL HAZARD?

In effect, is the CBCP creating a moral hazard by forging alliances with these right wing Catholics?

(A moral hazard is a situation where some can take huge risks without fear of the consequences since somebody else will cover for them. It encourages an escalation of reckless risk taking.)

Are right-wing politicians now shielded from the consequences of their recklessness and abuse by the CBCP, since it tacitly endorses them by enlisting their support for their anti-RH cause?

Do these politicians' “pro-life” stand wash away their transgressions in the political sphere?

Won't this encourage more of their reprehensible behavior in the future?

Viewing the world through the narrow monochromatic lens of its anti-RH stand like the defeated Republicans in the US, the local Church hierarchy are just pushing themselves even more to the sidelines and irrelevancy. Politics, governance and democracy are much larger than religion- the refusal to analyze the issues and insistence on dogma results in the boxing in of these ultra conservatives.

They are placing themselves in difficult situations like what Romney faced- having to associate with extremists who reject abortion in rape cases because "some girls rape easy" or "God wanted it to happen" and because “some rapes are legitimate. “

Which makes me think: what are these so-called “pro-lifer's“ stand on pregnancies due to rape?

To paraphrase Friedman, just call yourselves “pro-conception to birth, to hell with life after that conservative”, not pro-life. Because as I demonstrated above by pointing out the politics they have practiced , they do not really care about life after birth – the quality of life or the integrity and justice required in the course of life.

SOURCES:

1. “Re-election of pro-abortion US President impetus for PH pro-lifers to intensify advocacy”, CBCP for Life website. Nov 7, 2012.

2. “Pro-life leaders to speak at National “Phils for Life” Congress 2012 in Cebu”, CBCP for Life website. Nov 10, 2012.

3. “An Alternative View of Pedro Calungsod” (In the Context of the Spanish Chamorro Wars 1671-1698) Society of Honor by Joe America, blog post by Andrew Lim. Oct 26, 2012.

4. “Why I Am Pro-Life” by Thomas Friedman, New York Times Sunday Review. Oct 27, 2012

5. “Solon bares small wrinkle on prolife stand” Inquirer Online News Nov 7, 2012.

Those Heathen Americans and God Fearing Filipinos

Every once in a while, I need to write about America to provide perspective on Filipino culture. It seems to me Filipinos are about 50 years behind America in development of social awareness and values.

Two interesting trends are developing in the U.S., and they seem incompatible, one to the other. They deal with religion.

• On one hand, we see the Republican Party pretty well captured by a conservative Christian advocacy espoused by the Tea Party and various Christian churches. So in politics, religion is on the way up.

• On the other hand, we see a flight from church attendance among the American population. So, broadly, religion is on the way down.

A Mormon with a Baby

One  of the more interesting dialogues that occurred early in this year's presidential campaign was within the Republican mainstream. Is Mitt Romney, a Mormon, really a Christian?  Or is Mormonism a wayward sect? The argument has not been revisited since Mr. Romney won the Republican Party nomination. Mr. Obama respects the privacy of one's faith. But the chance is 50/50 that the U.S. will have a Mormon president next year.

In the 1960's, it was a big deal when Catholic John F. Kennedy was elected. Now it is not a big deal when a candidate from a minority faith, one that until recently permitted polygamy,  is up for election.

What's going on here?

Here are a few basics about religion in America.

The Gallup survey organization says that 41% of American citizens say they regularly attend religious services. This compares for 15% among the French, 10% in Great Britain and 7.5% in Australia. (Source: Wikipedia)

But there is a fly in the statistical ointment. A separate study conducted in the 1990's found that only 20% of Americans actually do attend church regularly. The reason they state otherwise in surveys is out for debate. Either they are liars or they are afraid of revealing to the interviewer that they are a "bad Christian".

Another study in 2004 pegged regular attendance among Christians at 17.7%. Church pastors are very much aware of the declining attendance, as reflected in a candid article for churchleaders.com.

• A breakdown of overall attendance percentages by church type shows decreases across the board in evangelical, mainline and Catholic churches. The most significant drop in attendance came at the expense of the Catholic Church, which experienced an 11% decrease in its attendance percentage from 2000 to 2004. Next, and not far behind were mainline churches, which saw a 10% percentage decline. Evangelicals experienced the smallest drop at 1%. 

But the gap between 17.7 % and 41% shows that most Americans HOLD THEMSELVES UP TO OTHERS as good Christians. And most likely hold themselves up to themselves that way, too.

They subscribe to the values of the Church . . . cherish them perhaps . . . but are too lazy or too busy to attend services. Perhaps they are confident God can read what is in their hearts rather than where they are sitting on any given Sunday.

And these strongly held values are what is behind the Tea Party movement in America, a large, conservative, God-based Republican advocacy. I suspect there is a bit of bunker mentality among Christians, too, as they witness a flood of immigrants who are neither white nor necessarily Christian coming to dominate large cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

The key point I'd like to make is that, although Americans don't visit the church much, they cherish and live religious values.

That is very different than in the Philippines. It is a very religious nation. But social values are eclectic.

A Catholic with a Catholic

I couldn't think of a better word.

Complex?

Conflicted?

Faith runs high, but cheating and corruption are acceptable. Birth control is not acceptable. Unless you are educated and rich. It's rather like the article I wrote on sex in the Philippines. The front is conservative, but behind the scenes it is wild and woolly.

Conflicted perhaps is the best word.

What do we know of Philippine church activity?

The heathen Americans broke Spanish/Catholic rule of the Philippines after the Philippine American War. The ideas of separation of church and state and freedom of worship were introduced as fundamental elements of constitutional law during the American colonization. They remain there today. And Protestant churches sprang up.

Protestant churches have done well in the Philippines. But without a doubt, the Philippine Catholic Church remains the most influential religious force shaping cultural values and even governance. The church effectively brought the Marcos rule to an end by throwing its weight behind the rebel cause. It is very much engaged in political discussions today.

About 80 per cent of the 95 million Filipinos are Roman Catholic, 4.2% are Muslim, and 15% are Christian, of which Inglesia ne Cristo is the largest and most politically influential church. There are 250 Jews. Perhaps they looked about and said "this sho nuf ain't the promised land; we'll take rocks."  Mormon and 7th Day Adventist churches are growing rapidly but still only make up about 2% of the total population. The way Catholics actively give birth, these other churches have plenty of proselytizing to do before they make any inroads into the Philippines being a "Catholic" nation. About 11 % of the population falls into the category of "irreligious" and 1% of the population is atheist. The numbers don't add up because they were drawn from a variety of gues . . . er, sources. Some of the "irreligious" may be those who claim a religion on forms, but are like many Americans, not really that engaged in church worship. But we can see the general weightings.

Here in the Philippines, religion is everywhere. In the parades, in government offices, in the home where religious statues or shrines are almost always found. It is a part of the culture, the soul of the Philippines. Predominantly Catholic.

It may surprise you considering how much I rip on the Catholic Church for its role in underwriting the nation's poverty, but I like the rich faith of the Filipino family. There is a kindness and openness to it that softens an otherwise hard lifestyle. It is the place where I find the openness of heart that seems missing in government offices and banks or on the highway.

So I reflect on my earlier comment that the Philippines is about 50 years behind America. It was in the 1960's in America that church influence started dropping away from mainstream political and social words and deeds. The big argument about "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance rose up. A Catholic was a star in the presidential office, and died there, taking the edge off hard protestant values. Television introduced risqué themes and America enjoyed the heathenism of bigot Archie Bunker, who had a God, but only when He was useful.

Throughout the transition to a less religiously steeped lifestyle, however, the core values of kindness toward others and obeying the law remained in force.

In the Philippines, we see a rising tide of "good governance" which is nothing less than a nation throwing off the old values of cheating and playing favorites and adopting the sincere and honest values of the Church . . . outside the Church. We see educated Filipinos using birth control to keep their families small. They have adopted secular values while remaining faithful in their worship and belief in God.

So we have a meshing of faith and non-faith into a fabric of practicality that has at its root a desire for a better Philippines and a better family life.

Maybe there will be some edging away from church attendance as we are seeing in America. But I'm guessing that, in the future, the values preached from the pulpit will be lived better than in the past. And I suspect that faith will remain strong in the Philippines even as daily activities reflect a more secular and healthier, kinder lifestyle.

I'm guessing that in 25 years, many won't even remember how corrupt it was.

The Philippines in 2037. A bunch of happier, healthier, law-obedient, wealthier, faith-rich people who don't live for the brick and mortar of the Church, but for its values.

More heathens about perhaps.  More common sense, too. And a better community of souls forming the Nation.