MANILA, Philippines – The Church broke its silence yesterday on accusations of unbridled corruption in government, with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) calling for “communal action” after the “public confession” made by resigned environment official Rodolfo Lozada Jr.
“Truth hurts. Truth liberates. But the truth must be served. The truth will set our country free. Only the truth, not lies and deceits, will set our country free. This truth challenges us now to communal action,” the CBCP said in a strongly worded statement signed by its president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, Iloilo.
Lozada’s testimony at the Senate, which came on the heels of ousted speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.’s denunciations of anomalies in government, was described by leaders of the Catholic Church as a courageous sacrifice that may set the country free from corruption in government.
The bishops, however, did not specify the kind of public action necessary to support the revelations of Lozada and De Venecia.
Lozada and De Venecia’s son Joey had linked First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and former elections chief Benjamin Abalos to anomalies in the NBN deal. The Senate hears the side of the government today.
The bishops said the public confessions of Lozada and De Venecia “may be considered a providential event that may yet save our country from being hostage to scandalous and shady government deals that offend the common good and serve only personal, family and group interests,” the bishops said.
The clerics believe that the two sacrificed their political ambition and personal interests just so the public would know the truth behind controversies hounding the botched NBN deal.
“It was courageous but damaging for two officials of government, former Speaker Jose de Venecia and Mr. Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada, to expose questionable government deals in millions of dollars including scandalous and immoral kickbacks.
“It was courageous to come out in the open to ‘publicly confess’ the high level of graft and corruption that they knew all along and ‘somehow’ have been involved in. But it was also damaging to their political career as well as to significant others who are in high governance. Damaging also because they opened themselves to further scrutiny and inquiry,” the prelate noted.
The bishops then called on Filipinos to take advantage of the Lenten season to admit their sins and realize that “our country has too long been captive to the corruption of people in governance.”
Lozada, a witness in the Senate’s ongoing investigation on the alleged briberies and overpricing on the NBN deal, has linked the First Gentleman, Abalos and Neri to the scandal, paving the way for renewed calls for President Arroyo to resign.
Earlier, De Venecia revealed in an emotional speech hours before he was expelled as Speaker of the House anomalies in the Arroyo administration allegedly masterminded by the President’s biological and official family.
A five-term House leader, De Venecia was ousted by allies of Mrs. Arroyo supposedly as a result of testimony of his son, Joey, in a Senate hearing where he directly linked Mr. Arroyo to the NBN controversy.
The CBCP lamented in their pastoral statement issued last month the absence of social conscience, which the bishops said is the root cause of our systemic graft and corruption in government.
In a pastoral statement entitled “Reform Yourselves and Believe in the Gospel” issued at the conclusion of their semi-annual plenary assembly in Manila in January, the bishops called for moral renewal and suggested that some people may have to let go of personal interests in order for the nation to move forward from “a situation of frustration, cynicism and apparent hopelessness.”
“We are asking you, our beloved people, to be with us in the moral – spiritual reform of our nation by beginning with ourselves. This is what we need – conversion, real conversion, to put it in terms of our faith, for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good,” they appealed.
Calls for moral revolution
In yesterday’s statement, the CBCP reiterated their appeal: “We have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people. The call for a moral revolution has deep implication. The crusade for truth being initiated by the religious like the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, civil groups and clergy is encouraging, and must be supported by all truth-loving and freedom-loving citizens.”
The bishops also encouraged Church-based groups like the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting to initiate “Watch and Pray” activities centering on prayer for social transformation used by the Magnificat Movement (the Magnificat of Our Lady in Luke 1:46-55).
“As we said in our last statement, let us pray together, reason together, decide together, act together towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church,” they added.
Several bishops have earlier lauded Lozada for his courage to surface and reveal crucial information about the NBN project and assured him of their support.
Caloocan Bishop Deogracia Iniguez Jr., CBCP chairman for public affairs, said the testimony of Lozada could just be the answer to hopes of bishops for the truth behind the NBN scandal to come out.
“If found true, his statement could then help us Filipinos better understand the real issue behind this broadband deal, which is really a big scandal that manifests the true character of our leaders,” Iniguez said in Filipino in an interview aired over Church-run Radyo Veritas.
The bishop said the CBCP, or at least some bishops, might come up with a pastoral statement on the issue once the testimony of Lozada is verified.
“His story is one way to arrive at the truth but just like in every state we should try to validate. And once his statement about this huge corruption in our government is proven to be true, the CBCP will surely have something to say,” he stressed.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who provided support and security to Lozada when he surfaced early Thursday in La Salle Greenhills, also lauded the witness in the NBN scandal for his courage.
“You can really figure that he wanted to tell the truth because otherwise he could easily afford to remain silent. He told me he was really disturbed and that he wanted to unleash the burden in him. He didn’t want to allow other people to continue lying with his silence,” the prelate said in a separate interview.
Pabillo, who heads the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action, Peace and Justice, said Lozada “could no longer bear what he was hiding and gave in to wishes of his conscience.”
Lagdameo, for his part, said he hopes Lozada would stick to his conscience and tell the entire truth about the NBN deal.
“He must tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Of course some people might get hurt but sometimes the truth is really painful - the same way lies find their way to boomerang in the end,” Lagdameo appealed.
The CBCP head admitted he was thankful that Lozada was safely released “because we know that his life has been threatened.”
“We should have the social conscience. Common good should be above personal interests,” the prelate from Jaro, Iloilo stressed.
Lozada surfaced in a press conference early Thursday and resigned form his post as president of Philippine Forest Corp. after being “allegedly kidnapped” upon his arrival from Hong Kong.
He then sought refuge in the Senate after having been provided sanctuary by brothers of La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong City.