MANILA-The answer to Gloria Arroyo’s political crisis lies not just in restoring the institutions of emocracy, but, most importantly, in rebuilding the institutions of morality in the Philippines.

 

This is the reason the Roman Catholic bishops are calling on Gloria and other traditional politicians to face what the bishops themselves call “a crisis of moral values, a crisis of truth and justice.” They, the “trapos,” may sneer at the thoughts of the bishops, but there is indeed - in the words of the prelates - a “failure of political processes to make public servants accountable...,” citing the “acts of evasion and obstruction” in the handling, particularly, of the notorious “Hello, Garci” tapes electoral scandal.  There is absolutely no intrusion of interference in political affairs here by the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. In a predominantly Catholic country like ours, most certainly the Church with its teaching authority through the clergy has a moral suasion over its lay community.  The logic of this moral power is premised on the magisterium of the Church. Unfortunately, in past years, in the exercise of this power the distinction between what belongs to Caesar and what is within the realm of God got blurred.  Briefly, our history tells us about the meshing of ecclesiastical and political jurisdictions to the prejudice of the Filipino people on their journey to nationhood.  During those years of Spanish colonization, the frailes were the lords and masters not only in their respective parochial enclaves but also in the towns all over the land. Their abuses were recorded. There was so much truth in the figure of Padre Damaso, the villain in Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. And Marcelo H. del Pilar, a leading advocate of national emancipation, also denounced the frailocracia or the abusive rule by the Spanish friars.
True, there were anticlerical undercurrents in the Filipino Revolution of 1896. However, these were directed not so much at the clergy but at the hierarchy dominated by foreigners.  There were in fact Filipino diocesan priests like Gomez, Burgos and Zamora, and Aglipay, who championed the cause of Filipinization of the parishes.  And so, to prevent a recurrence of the clergy interfering in state affairs, the framers of the Malolos Constitution adopted the principle of separation of Church and State. And ever since, this has become a part of our Constitutional tradition.  At this point, the question arises: Is the line of demarcation so absolute that the Church must stay clear of all matters pertaining to the State?
Well, the Church cannot campaign openly for any particular candidate in any election through a pastoral letter to be read in every Catholic parish all over the Philippines. Neither can any Catholic priest, a religious personality, run for any public office. He has the legal right to do so as a Filipino citizen, but the Vatican does not look kindly on such a move.  When it comes to the realm of morals and the transformation of conscience, however, the Church has the  teaching authority.  It is in this context that the latest declaration from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on the continued pursuit of truth behind that 2004 presidential electoral scandal involving Gloria Arroyo and her political minions and election officials. “We recommend,” they bluntly stated, “that the search for truth be relentlessly pursued.”