People Power

A Message from Most Rev. Sergio L. Utleg, DD

Somebody asked me one day, “Why are the bishops not calling for people power to our President Arroyo? “ I answered: It is not the job of the bishops to call for the toppling down of the Government because that is a political act.” “Yes that is true”, he replied, “but you bishops have been doing that in the past for morally bankrupt Presidents”.

Yes, that is also true. People Power has come to mean the massing of hundreds of thousands of people to rally for a particular cause and in EDSA I and EDSA II, the role of the Bishops, particularly of the Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, has been crucial in sending people to the streets.

The sad part of it is that, after the People Power in both EDSAs, where Presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada were forcibly ousted from power, the situation remains the same. The same traditional politicians rule the country, the bane of the Politics of Patronage remains with us, and the Culture of Corruption is as deeply rooted in our nation’s psyche as before and perhaps even more so.

Why is this so? Because, as Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, the CBCP President has said, the driving force behind the EDSA brand of people power were not really the ordinary people but the elite, the businessmen, the political and religious leaders, the academe, civil society, popular personalities – all carrying their own political and personal agenda.

The real, effective people power that counts, according to the CBCP, is that which will transform each one of us from within, namely, from transcending our self-love to a love for the common good, so much so that we are ready to sacrifice our personal good for the good of our society as a whole. Our officials who take their share of the so-called “SOP” and the people who voted them into office do it for their own selfish interests. Bribes are accepted and given for the selfish interest of the receiver and the giver. The businessman would rather bribe the person who signs his permit rather than suffer delays in his business transactions – for his selfish interests. The government employee will overprice an item so that he can pocket the extra money – for his selfish interest.

The mere removal of President Arroyo will not change that Culture of Corruption. What will change it is real People Power. That happens when each one of us: the ordinary citizen, the senators, the brilliant lawyers from the opposition, the church people, civil society and the academe, all cultivate love for the common good. After purging ourselves of our inordinate love of self, it is the task of all of us to discover, prosecute and punish acts of corruption from all people and from all ranks of life, and help build a Culture of Integrity and Transparency in our society.