STREETWISE*
The Bishops - Missing the Historical Moment
The tendency to
counterpoise "prayer" and "protest" served the ends of Malacanang to
diffuse, diminish and blunt the political impact of the broadly-supported
action against con-ass, Cha-cha and, verily, against the Arroyo regime
itself.
By Carol
Pagaduan-Araullo
BusinessWorld
Posted by Bulatlat
It took some effort to sustain enthusiasm for the "prayer rally"
originally called by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
last Sunday to protest the brazenly illegal and undemocratic maneuvers of
the Arroyo-de Venecia-led House Majority to convene a constituent assembly
(con-ass) in order to revise the Philippine Constitution for their dubious
political ends. Something had gone terribly awry after the beacon call was
first issued and before the actual rally took place. The proof lay in the
disappointing turnout after organizers themselves had projected half a
million Metro Manilans would take part in the protest.
What had gone wrong? It is not difficult to come up with the most
plausible reasons.
One, days before the rally, the de facto president, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
finally backed off from the con-ass scheme she and Speaker de Venecia had
plotted to carry out using the dominance of her allies in the Lower
House. Malacanang clearly meant to douse cold water on the widespread
anger. Thus the sense of urgency to stop the convening of the constituent
assembly was undercut. This was unremarkably followed by Mr. de Venecia's
own abject about face after attempting to shift the blame on the
immoveable senators with a challenge for the Senate to call for a
Constitutional convention within 72 hours.
Two, the psychological warfare launched by the military and police,
exemplified by the Armed Forces Chief General Esperon's dire warnings of
"terrorist" mayhem -- completely baseless, malicious and part and parcel
of the authorities' standard bag of tricks to dissuade people from joining
mass protests -- served to scare off a number of parishioners, students
and the more conservative faithful from joining the rally, despite their
pastors' exhortations.
The first two reasons would be enough to dampen the enthusiasm of most of
the unorganized or the spontaneous throng from going out of their way, on
a lazy Sunday afternoon, to the Rizal Park to join the rally. But a third
reason was ironically provided by the organizers themselves, the bishops
and most especially, the high-profile lay leaders, who acted as the
bishops’ mouthpieces with regard to the event.
The apparent softening of the stand of Their Eminences, with the
declaration that the theme of protest would be supplanted with
"thanksgiving", turned off many people, particularly those who were
itching to deliver a categorical message of rejection of all the
hare-brained schemes by Malacanang to push Charter change (Cha-cha), the
con-ass only being the latest of these, but including as well any further
rehashing of the so-called "people's initiative" and the hasty election of
a Constitutional Convention.
For what was there to be thankful for except that the fear of another
people power uprising had stopped the much ballyhooed Arroyo-de Venecia
Charter change Express in its tracks. There was still much that was wrong
with the current political leadership that had to be exposed, denounced
and fought against by an awakened and aroused people.
The political forces that have been consistently active in the Oust Arroyo
Movement, from Left to Right, and much of the middle class who watched the
live coverage of the House deliberations on con-ass and were pissed off by
the pro-administration congressmen's shenanigans, were also very much
turned off by the organizers' penchant for putting up obstacles to the
unencumbered participation of people from all walks of life, religious
beliefs or politics in the CBCP-initiated rally.
The prohibition against protest paraphernalia such as placards, banners
and streamers, against organizations' identifying insignias, against
supposed "politicians" and "show business" personalities mounting the
stage, etc. was uncalled for and counter-productive. The tendency to
counterpoise "prayer" and "protest" served the ends of Malacanang to
diffuse, diminish and blunt the political impact of the broadly-supported
action against con-ass, Cha-cha and, verily, against the Arroyo regime
itself.
At the mammoth rally called by Cardinal Sin in 1996 against then President
Fidel V. Ramos' Cha-cha, activist and other organizations were merely
asked that banners and streamers be lowered when the prayers
started. There were no loud announcements about who was welcome and who
was not although it was par for the course that those politically attuned
to Cardinal Sin and former President Corazon Aquino would be given
prominence.
With regard to government red-baiting, including supposed plots by the New
People's Army to disrupt the protest, Cardinal Sin merely pooh-poohed
these and said that he and "Joma" (Professor Jose Ma. Sison, the founding
chairperson of the reestablished Communist Party of the Philippines) had
already written to one another and he had the latter's assurance that the
communists were not planning anything that would spoil the objectives of
the gathering.
Not a few non-Catholics or the more ecumenical and broad-minded among them
were embarrassed by the ill-disguised preeminence given to the Catholic
religion, for example, by having the stage prominently reserved for the
bishops, priests and their lay assistants. Many wondered about the
declared "inter-faith" nature of the event.
Unfortunately, last Sunday's prayer rally failed to write finis to
Malacanang-led schemes to overhaul the 1987 Constitution for its
diabolical ends. Sadly, it appears to have even emboldened Mrs. Arroyo
and her equally power-hungry cohorts to try again, once the furor dies
down and the institutional and socio-political forces ranged against
Cha-cha appear to be faltering.
Mrs. Arroyo did not waste time in serving notice that she is still bent on
pushing Cha-cha, although she is coy about when and how, in light of
overwhelming rejection of the Congressional con men's attempt to foist the
constituent assembly on the nation. This is certainly reminiscent of her
infamous "I will not run" declaration before the 2004 presidential
elections. (Hmm, didn't the good bishops say something about the quest for
truth?) Meantime Mrs. Arroyo's allies have given the CBCP a veritable "up
yours" to show what they think of the bishops' limp-wristed attempt to
rally the faithful against con-ass and other unresolved issues.
At end of the day, the Arroyo regime is still around, badly battered but
seemingly able to undertake some more clever moves to avoid a knock-out
punch from its opponents.
Lessons for all
regarding leadership in the anti-Cha-cha struggle and indeed, in the
movement for genuine and meaningful reforms short of a sweeping social and
political revolution, are there to be learned.
The good bishops,
witting or unwitting heirs to the savvy religio-political leadership
earlier displayed by the wily Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin,
were neither calling for a revolution nor even just a revolt. They didn't
have to but clearly, they had squandered a moment of kairos**.
* *The term "kairos"
is used in theology to describe the "appointed time in the purpose of
God," the time when God acts. In rhetoric kairos is "a passing instant
when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success
is to be achieved." (E. C. White, Kaironomia)
*Published in Business World, 22-23 December 2006
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