Communal action

During the past several weeks, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called for "communal action" in the wake of Jun Lozada's testimony in the Senate. The Hyatt 10, otherwise known as the rats who jumped ship when they thought it was sinking, interpreted this as a call for mass action to force the resignation of President Arroyo and accordingly "joined" it. The opposition also rose to the occasion with a rally in -- where else -- Makati. Some nut of an opinion writer, interpreting this as a call for warm bodies, even compared Lozada to Clarissa Ocampo, and said that the Church sealed Arroyo's fate when it called for communal action "for truth". And apparently, pitching in one's hard-earned pesos for the "upkeep" of a leech who corrupted millions is now an act of heroism.

The bishops have since clarified the statement, saying that it is a call for people to pray for peace, and not for Arroyo to step down. They explained that the statement was made in the context of the season of Lent.

While the CBCP mentioned corruption as the greatest shame of Filipinos and that “the country has long been captive to the corruption of people in governance,” Legaspi said the statement never called for mass action.

The context of the statement, Legaspi explained, is about the season of Lent, in which the Church is always calling for “moral revolution” and applying it to the country’s social situation today.

The statement also refers to finger-pointing attitude of many people when something bad happens to the country, the bishop added. “The call of the pastoral letter is that it’s the time for us to change our mental framework.”

“Let us also reflect on ourselves and the truth according to the essence of Lent,” Legaspi said. “Let’s start the transformation within ourselves and this is needed for all of us to act. That is the meaning of communal action.”

The Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, meanwhile, affirmed its support for President Arroyo.

There is no doubt that many bishops support Lozada and Joey de Venecia. But the tempered statement of the bishops is, like previous statements on corruption issues hounding the administration, obviously as a result of public criticism of its interference in political affairs. The CBCP has clearly become more wary of appearing partisan or calling for anyone's resignation.