On the CBCP pastoral letter

As election fever begins to afflict Filipinos in all levels a call reverberates from the meeting hall of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. This is the call for citizens to work with church people to "help clean the dirt from our easily corrupted electoral process".

Well and good. As leaders of the religious sector in Philippine society the bishops have the authority to enjoin their flock to work for such objective. Any event that affects the life and welfare of the Christian community in this country, which constitutes almost the entire country itself, should be of interest to the bishops. No doubt these prelates are very much aware of this statement from Mater Et Magistra: "Hence, though the Church's first care must be for souls, how she can sanctify them and make them share in the gifts of heaven, she concerns herself too with the exigencies of man's daily life, with his livelihood and education, and his general temporal welfare and prosperity..."

We hope Filipino voters will hearken to the bishops' appeal to fight apathy and hopelessness and work for clean and peaceful elections. But will they? In previous elections the Catholic church's leaders came out with similar calls, but our electoral process has remained a dirty process. In fact, it has become worse. Many can still recall that in the early years after Independence, elections, whether national or local, were generally credible exercises. There were violent incidents to be sure but these were isolated events. Vote buying there was too but this was not as endemic as today. How come that with more than eighty percent of the population being baptized Catholics, the bishops have not succeeded in redirecting the course of Philippine elections?

Every election season the Church hierarchy through its battalions of parish priests and their bishops have drumbeated their admonitions for transparent and credible poll practices. They have used the pulpit to drive home the point that we should choose only honest and God-fearing public officials. But look at the caliber of elected officials we have today. And think of the billions of people's money that goes down the drain of corruption because we have put our trust on people who cannot be trusted. What has happened to the ecclesiastical calls for good elections and good governance?

Those calls have been wasted in the wind. But the bishops and their clergymen are not giving up. Always the calls are heard. In churches and in rallies the calls are made. Like a broken record, these voices are, and like a broken record they have become painful to the ears. Is it not time to put up and shut up?

Is it not time to find out why very few listen to the bishops? If the bishops want credible elections, they have first to be credible. Unfortunately a good number of them cannot pass the test of credibility. Remember how some of them marched with the opposition in mass actions? Remember how some of them joined the impeachment move? Remember the acid remarks some of them made against the administrations?

That CBCP-initiated rally last December was actually a rally against the incumbent powers. Billed as an anti-Chacha movement, it was really an opposition rally because Chacha was (and is) a project of the administration. Why have the bishops shot down the attempt to improve the Constitution? Were they not aware that there are anti-development provisions in the current charter? By organizing that rally, later renamed as a prayer rally, the CBCP stepped beyond the dividing line of religion and politics.

In the current pastoral letter the CBCP tells voters not to support jueteng sympathetic candidates. But have not some of them opened their palms to jueteng donations? How many church projects have jueteng money built? Jueteng is bad. All forms of gambling are bad. Efforts should be taken to eradicate gambling. But who will lead the way? The bishops should, but alas, only the "beatas" will follow.

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