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HEAL
OUR LAND
Joint
Pastoral Letter
If
my people humble themselves and pray, and seek
my presence and turn away from their evil
ways. I will hear them from heaven and pardon
their sins and heal their land (2 Chron. 7:14)
Dear
Sisters and Bothers, all our beloved faithful in
the Church of Bicol:
We
issue this statement in view of the forthcoming
Elections. This is a fruit of our collective
discernment – of your bishops together and
with our priests, religious and lay
representatives from the entire Bicol Region –
on the occasion of the National Pastoral
Consultation on Church Renewal last month.
In
our Region, even with noted improvements in
government services and performance, we still
find largely “the same economic imbalance, the
same political corruption and the same cultural
defects.” Yet, we then also saw the power of
god wanting to form a more just society. This
much we have seen at EDSA and the many EDSAs in
our region – in prayer vigils and sacrifices,
rallies and lightning caravans. Certainly, this
was the hand of God empowering us all! For us to
receive once more the gift of moral and national
renewal! And, we hear the call to a change of
heart-to work hand-in-hand with God, with more
openness and daring to complete the gift of
renewal once again begun.
For
our region, this is a call to a rigorous
faith-based action: Let politics be truly for
public service! We cannot allow ideological
forces – whether in the government, the NPAs
or sectarian religious interests – to
undermine, much less dictate upon the good of
all. We cannot allow the segregation of our
villages or barangays into mere political
bailiwicks, nor the fragmentation of our people
along the patronage of family lines, promised
pay-offs and favors. We cannot allow attempts at
nepotism and dynastic proteges, not opportunism
nor mass popularity extremes of armed-struggle
and escapist-entertainment. Trapo-politics
subverts the constitution and sidelines the
conduct of peaceful democratic elections.
Waylaid by trapo-politics, we make ourselves
-and our youth and our children- trapos. To give
way to trapo-politics of guns, goons and gold
brings upon ourselves the wrath of godlessness.
And, with you all, we cry: “Lord, heal our
land!”
Sisters
and brothers, in the Spirit of the Lord who
gives abiding strength for renewal, let us all
stand up for HOPE-for an Honest, Orderly and
Peaceful Election. Thus, for us to observe the
qualifications for candidates to public office;
courses of action to be undertaken by the
community, and particular questions:
QUALIFICATIONS
FOR CANDIDATES TO PUBLIC OFFICE: Those
seeking public office must have-
1.
COMPETENCE – they must
have the necessary knowledge and the ability to
do the expected work well. For this, they must
be pro-God (makaDios) rather than materialistic
and secularistic, not necessarily that they are
well-off or popular. For, if they are without
the sense of what is right or wrong how can they
know and do well, what is truly good?
2.
INTEGRITY – They must have the
spirit of service. For this, they must be
Pro-people (Maka-tawo) rather than pro-self.
For, if they are without the deep respect for
the human dignity in all persons, how can they
lead them to gain the fruition of their human
rights as individuals and as a community?
3.
HONEST for Public Office.
They must have the commitment for the common
good. For this, they must be Pro-Nation (maka-banwaan)-defending
and promoting the good-of-all with justice,
rather than being for “special/favored”
persons or groups. This calls for public
service, proven by the fidelity to marital
commitment (to wife or husband) and to family
commitments (the right and loving care of the
family), not to mention commitment to community
values and mores. For, if they are without the
fidelity due basic commitments they entered into
by their own choice, how can they be entrusted
with the common good and justice demanded by
public trust?
4.
LOVE of the Poor. They must
be eager to empower people, most of whom though
poor, are responsibility able to transform their
condition. For this, they must be
Pro-Environment (Maka-buhay) rather than being
insensitive to ecology and the cultural wisdom
of communities. For, if they are without this
preferential love of the poor, how can they give
the necessary opportunity and assistance to
enable people to have a better life?
5.
To be trusted in politics and to be
entrusted by people with the common good, a good
moral character is fundamentally necessary,
verified from past histories and records of
candidates.
SUGGESTION
FOR COMMUNITY ACTION
1.
Help raise the awareness of people
regarding responsible voting. You may especially
volunteer to work in a non-partisan way with
non-government organizations-such as NAMFREL or
the like, or such Church movements like PPCRV
and NASSA VOTE-CARE, etc.
2.
Support truly qualified candidates and
help ensure that the political party itself
abides by the values of integrity, honest and
issue-oriented electoral campaign. You may also
yourself work for and join a political party in
order to get elected into public office and
ensure priority-focused programs of government
if elected.
3.
Vote wisely and honestly in accordance
with a properly formed conscience, and not
because of monetary considerations, family
connections or utang-na-boot.
In
urging observance of these guidelines, we also
address two perennial questions –
1.
Separation
of Church and State. Nowhere
does the Constitution prohibit clergy and
religious from partisan politics. What prohibits
them is the Church’s own laws and traditional
wisdom. That is, to take an active part in
partisan politics, with its wheeling and
dealing, compromises and confrontations, would
be to weaken their teaching authority and
destroy the unity they represent and protect.
Much
is, therefore, entrusted to our laity to
renew the political
order
according to Gospel principles and values. In
this renewal, you, our lay faithful, are not be
passive or dormant. You are to take an active
role with singular competence and integrity in
partisan political affairs: to help form the
civic conscience of the voting population, and
to work to explicitly promote the election of
leaders of true integrity to public office.
2.
Money
for votes or “kuarta sa bulsa, boto sa balota”.
A Catholic voter must simply say NO! Accepting
money, but not voting for the candidate makes
you a liar; and, in voting for the candidate,
you have actually sold your vote. In both ways,
you cooperate in evil. By accepting any money-
and so also premises of family, kahimanwa, ka-kosa
or promises of favor, pay-offs and return
benefits-from candidates, no matter from what
source and with that intention, you are
perpetuating dirty politics, graft and
corruption. Today’s vote-buyers are
tomorrow’s grafters. Today’s vote –sellers
are tomorrow’s victims.
Finally,
we urge all our parish and barangay pastoral
councils, all religious associations and
movements, our youth and the media, all our
schools and institutions, all religious
communities, in all parishes of all our diocese,
to collectively undertake initiatives toward an
honest, orderly and peaceful elections together
with our faithful. Most especially, to always
discern and act in prayer together as
communities of faith. So do we commend our
efforts to Our Lady of Penafrancia, the
Patroness of Bicolandia, and the intercession of
Sts. Peter and Paul, through whose prayers we
remain one Archdiocese and one Church for the
Bicol Region, that the good Lord may indeed heal
our land.
Given
at the City of Naga, Philippines on 30 January
in the Year of Our Lord 2001.
For
the Bishops of the Bicol Region and their Sees:
Most
Rev. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP, DD
Archbishop
of Caceres
Most
Rev. Prospero N. Arellano, DD
Prelature
of Libmanan
Most
Rev. Manolo A. de los Santos, DD
Diocese
of Virac
Most
Rev. Jesus Y. Varela, DD
Diocese
of Sorsogon
Most
Rev. Lucilo B. Quiambao, DD
Diocese
of Legazpi
Most
Rev. Benjamin J. Almoneda, DD
Diocese
of Daet
Most
Rev. Joel Z. Baylon, DD
Diocese
of Masbate
Most
Rev. Jose C. Sorra, DD
Diocese
of Legazpi
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