All of us wanted clean politics and clean elections. But where do we start?

Last time around, I talked about barangay elections being invaded by traditional politics, and thought about making it non-partisan. MLQ3 disagrees with the notion. But then again, where do we start?

Just look at the most recent barangay elections. Candidates being killed or wounded, flying voters, vote buying, wayward poll watchers, tarpaulins and posters everywhere, motorcades, bands – and no, it is not the national elections. Imagine, all that money being spent, all those lives wasted. It has been harder to enter the political race via barangay. It just became more expensive, and for what? Three years of allowances, three years of being village chief? No, I don’t think so. And since money has entered the ball game, where can a candidate get the funds?

Enter the lord. Political lords, starting with the mayor, congressman, councilor, need a political base. And what better way to establish one than by “sponsoring” candidates? After these candidates get elected, payback time – the political lord now has a political machinery deeply indebted to him. And since the incumbent has a machine, a newbie is at an obvious disadvantage.

Enter the lord. Gambling lords, too, can sponsor candidates (as they also bankroll mayors and the like, barangay sponsorship is peanuts) in exchange of relative peace for their “business.”

Enter the lord. Warlords, who have no taste for politics, will rather play kingmaker than be king themselves.

So with the barangay heavily politicized (and monetized), getting into elected public service becomes a wee bit harder. Compound that as you progress along the political food chain, and you get what I mean. One billion pesos is not enough to get yourself elected as President. Just ask Gloria Arroyo. Oooppss.

Yes, level the playing field. And it should start at the barangay level.

If there is one reason why I have doubts about the barangay as a political unit, it is because it is already co-opted by the political class.

Look at this:

You see, at the lowest political unit of government, traditional politics and patronage is at play. We need remedial legislation to prevent barangay officials from becoming political leaders of elected local government officials. And vice versa.

Keep this in mind when voting for your barangay officials today.

On my way home yesterday, Schumey informed me via SMS that Gloria Arroyo has pardoned Joseph Estrada. Coincidentally, the bus was slowly cruising the Ortigas flyover, with EDSA Shrine at my right. Or maybe it was not a coincidence at all.

The only question that I would like to ask everyone, and specially those who went to EDSA 2 (specially the “masterminds”):

NOW WHAT?

Already, there are gnashing of teeths, most of them has-beens (pushed into nothingness and irrelevance by Arroyo herself), like Fidel Ramos and other do-gooders. That’s what you get from dancing with the devil. That’s what you get from hijacking the rule of law.

Since 2004, when this administration is no better than the last, we had all the chance of getting her out. Yet, badly burned by EDSA 2, we did nothing. Yet now, you all cry foul? Who knows, if she was ousted before 2005, Estrada would still be in house arrest or jailed. They say we cannot right a wrong with another wrong. What if that another wrong is actually right?

There’s nothing more that I can add. Everything that I wanted to say, I had posted in the previous post. Again I ask, NOW WHAT?

CORRUPTION IS STARING AT YOU, IN THE FACE, BUT WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING?

I remember chatting with someone via Twitter. That person was weary with politics. Everyone is, I said, but that should not deter you from keeping yourself informed and from holding our leaders accountable. Just think about your future. (As an aside, we Filipinos are really not long-term thinkers.) That’s the least you can do – for yourself and for your country. Unless, you are like others who chose to surrender, go abroad, and then snipe at everyone who chose to stay behind.

Many are crying foul over the impending pardon for Joseph Estrada. No, I won’t be joining them.

I have no love for Estrada; I voted for Lim in 1998. So when Estrada was impeached, it was fine with me, I shed no tears. I was at EDSA in January 19, 2001. I was at home the next day, watching TV with my mom. I was surprised when Gloria Arroyo was sworn in as President, when it was clear that Estrada did not resign. It would be a problem, I told my mom. Well, look where we are now. (In this regard, I agree with the dilemma posed by Dean Jorge Bocobo, and there’s no getting away from it.)

Anyway, why I am not joining the call against the Estrada pardon?

One, the supposed message that it would send to everyone. When the Sandiganbayan found Estrada guilty on two counts of plunder, here’s what I had said:

My view: For those who are claiming that this verdict should be a warning to all corrupt politicians – in your dreams. The justice system remains broken as ever, and nothing has changed. A single verdict will not change the system. As long as you continue electing corrupt politicians, as long as you selectively put corrupt people in jail, as long as you tolerate petty violations of the law, as long as apathy reigns among us, no amount of jail time nor gun shots can address corruption.

This is not the time to celebrate. We must now buckle down to work, and start with ourselves. Start by following simple traffic rules. Start by stopping bribery in any form. Start by electing the right people. Start by holding ALL OF OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE. Start by paying attention to what is happening around us.

If we don’t start now, it is only a matter of time before another Chavit surfaces. Yes, he should be in jail, too.

(ASIDE: Well, Chavit resurfaced. Heh.)

Some people keep on looking for a magic pill, and for some, Erap’s conviction was the magic pill. How wrong they are. Even if Estrada is not pardoned, the rampant corrupt practices will continue since the problem is endemic and systemic. And keeping Estrada in jail is not the first step. The first step begins with each of us.

Two, we are being selective. Estrada has been convicted. There are others who remain at large, taunting justice, mocking our laws, fooling all of us. How come I am not seeing the same vehemence when it comes to these rascals? Read this memo, and then get back to me to answer the previous question.

Three, I simply will not join people who dump their trash at me and refuses to pick it up.

Pardon or no pardon, nothing shall change unless WE CHANGE.

You know, two explosions happened this month. First was the bombshell where it was raining cash at the Fortress. The second one was more unfortunate, where 11 died and hundred injured. The common thing about the two is the way things are changing.

Let’s take the first bomb. It was reported that congressmen and governors received cash placed in paper bags (amounting to 200 to 500 thousand pesos per). While some of them confirmed getting cash (Governors Panlilio and Mendoza among them), most of them are denying that they got cash. Yeah, it only proves that some of them are lying. Ok, so yesterday the League of Provinces of the Philippines took out full-page ads in major newspapers (maybe at a cost of around a million pesos) denying that such cash-giving happened at the Fortress. Fine. Then, we have Palawan Governor Joel Reyes clarifying that the money that Panlilio and Mendoza got came from LPP. Wee.

A group of governors, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), admitted giving P500,000 each to two governors in Malacañang two weeks ago, claiming the money was intended for the “capacity building” of the first-term local executives.

No wonder some governors are complaining of not getting any.

Anyway, I have posted the LPP advert here. Read that, then go back here to answer the following questions:

1. Why did it take these stooges almost 2 weeks to explain what happened? Reyes’ explanation is pure bovine ordure, to use Billy Esposo’s term for propaganda. Even Panlilio is surprised by the admission.
2. Where did the LPP get the money? Grabe, ang yayaman pala ng mga gobernador, no? BTW, how much do they earn a month from salaries?
3. Who is lying and who is not?

The second explosion, unfortunately, is more convoluted, since it involved science, and police and experts are at odds on the case. Well, the police at are bad light, since their theories changed before you can say “sh*t”. First, they floated the idea of a gas leak as cause of the explosion, only to be changed when the physical state of Glorietta 2 became clear, only to be changed in the end to be a deflagration caused by diesel and methane.

However, experts think that a deflagration is highly unlikely, since the conditions for such, involving diesel and methane, is impossible in the case of Glorietta 2. But put some salt into that, since these experts are not given access to evidence and to the site itself. They are basing their opinion on pictures and videos. Besides, first-hand testimonies attest to the smell of gunpowder immediately after the blast. And one thing about methane is that it stinks, so that should have been noted by witnesses.

Police claims that they have not found traces of a bomb (C4, RDX, fuse, timer, the works), discrediting the bomb theory. There is no crater also, only a hole caused by the explosion. The skeptic in me says: that’s what the police tells us. What if they actually cleaned up the place of evidence of a bomb? Remember that foreign investigators helped but they cannot say anything about it. What if the evidence was cleaned up before the foreigners got in? We cannot tell, of course. So we have no choice but to take the police’s words, right?

But what if more experts get into the case and say otherwise?

I cannot blame Placeholder if he resorts to sarcasm. The science, the reality, and the theory are confusing. Maybe that’s the goal.

—

I cannot blame Ayala, too, if they reject the deflagration theory. Good thing our lawyers are not yet that astute, otherwise Ayala will have to prepare for a Php 300-million class suit from the victims of the explosion. Oopppss.

Well, if I have a malicious mind, I would have said that the calls for rejection of calls for Gloria Arroyo’s resignation are well-coordinated (as much as calls for Arroyo’s resignation are not, since everyone but your friendly dogs are calling for her to resign anyway).

I just find it curious. Is it deliberate?

Eighteen bishops rejected the call of three of their brethren for Arroyo to resign. And now, 30 governors, via their League of Provinces of the Philippines, got out of their way to take out full-page ads in major newspapers asking for an end to resign-Arroyo moves. I am quoting the ad in full (bear with me please):

Stop the Political Noise, Focus on Economic Growth
Certain quarters are capitalizing on a trumped-up incident at Malacañang last October 11 to resurrect their ludicrous call for President Arroyo to step aside halfway through her constitutional term of office.

Their recycled call for a national-leadership change is certainly an absurd one at this point, given that no such incident of alleged impropriety had taken place at the Palace to warrant the President’s resignation. If anything, their shrill demand for the Chief Executive to step down for no logical reason at all has only accentuated the farcical nature of their cause and is testament to why their ilk has increasingly been marginalized and cut off from the Filipino majority long smarting from an overdose of divisive politics in our midst.

President Arroyo’s resignation is something our nation neeeds like a hole in the head. We, the officers and members of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), believe that our country needs the President now more than ever to remain at the helm of Government so she can pursue further structural reforms that are necessary to keep our now robust economy on its high growth course.

The outrageous stories about money changing hands during the formal meeting between President Arroyo and LPP officers and members last week have besmirched not only our collective integrity as the country’s chief provincial executives but also that of the Chief Executive herself as the paramount leader of our nation.

It is regrettable that the level of distrust and cynicism in our society has plunged to such depths that these fictitious reports have taken a life of their own as gospel truth – and have unjustly smudged us and Palace executives as the collective personal of transactional politics that opposition and certain civil society leaders claim to plague Government.

We reiterate what our officers have said when news about this Malacañang incident first broke out last week: we did not, as a whole, receive cash gifts from any Palace functionary during or after that Oct. 11 meeting, let alone get any instruction from anybody to oppose a third attempt in the House of Representatives to impeach President Arroyo.

We believe that we have been elected to our current local government positions on the strength of our respective constituents’ faith in our competence, integrity and independence. We certainly have not betrayed, and do not intend to betray, this electoral mandate by kowtowing to anybody or sacrificing our principles for any monetary incentive.

Our wholehearted support for President Arroyo and her administration is founded on her unwaivering commitment to genuine local autonomy, as underlined by, among others, her “super regions” strategy and such budgetary outlays as the Kilos Asenso and Kalayaan funds that will truly empower local government units and spur countryside development. In fact, we were at the Palace on Thursday last week to discuss with the President the progress if projects supportive of the “super regions”.

Hence, there is no need for the Executive Department to win us over in this new impeachment episode for we are neither members of the House nor Senate whose votes are needed to impeach or, later, convict the President.

We are hoping this declaration will finally put this non-issue to rest and allow not only us elective officials but all other sectors as well to get back to the urgent business at hand, which is to work together with President Arroyo in sustaining and accelerating the growth of our economy.

The signatories are:

Erlpe John Amante, Agusan del Norte
Erico Aumentado, Bohol
Natalio Beltran III, Romblon
Eustaquio Bersamin, Abra
Douglas Cagas, Davao del Sur
Jose Antonio Carrion, Marinduque
Telesporo Castillejos, Batanes
Aurora Cerilles, Zamboanga del Sur
Luisa Cuaresma, Nueva Viscaya
Maximo Dalog, Mountain Province
Mohammad Khalid Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte
Ben Evardone, Eastern Samar
Orlando Fua Jr, Siquijor
Enrique Garcia, Bataan
Gwendolyn Garcia, Cebu
Sally Lee, Sorsogon
Emilio Macias II, Negros Oriental
Suharto Mangudadatu, Sultan Kudarat
Loreto Leo Ocampos, Misamis Occidental
Arnan Panaligan, Oriental Mindoro
Vicente Pimentel Jr, Surigao del Sur
Ma. Valentina Plaza, Agusan del Sur
Jesus Sacdalan, North Cotabato
Josephine Sato, Occidental Mindoro
Deogracias Victor Savellano, Ilocos Sur
Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr, Camarines Sur
Geraldine Villaroman, Dinagat Island
Victor Yap, Tarlac
Rolando Yebes, Zamboanga Del Norte

Between Ed Panlilio and these… stooges, I go for Panlilio.

What do you think?

In a previous post, I talked about the CBCP calling our national leaders morally bankrupt. Pushing things further, three bishops called for Gloria Arroyo to resign. In that post, I had said that it is too late for these bishops to assert its moral influence, which it lost in 2004.

Not only they are casualties of Arroyo’s scorched earth policy, they are also one divided organization.

Yesterday, 18 bishops from Mindanao, led by known Arroyo apologist Fernando Capalla, rejected the 3 bishop’s call, calling it premature. From the same report:

“I think issues against her still need thorough investigation. We have to establish more concrete reason – meaning, supported by authentic evidence that cannot be denied – in calling for resignation. So it is best to just allow investigation to happen first.
xxx
We believe that the whole truth about any moral issue must be ascertained or firmed before subjecting it to moral scrutiny and judgment.
xxx
Otherwise, any statement on the matter may be premature and counter-productive. Hence, there is a need for a thorough and impartial investigation as prescribed by law, truth and honesty and a sense of patriotism.
xxx
We pray for the relentless search for and courageous exposition of the truth anchored on the rule of law and moral principle. And finally we pray for sobriety, calmness and peace to Jesus Christ the prince of peace.”

And to think that the Vatican has the most pervasive intelligence service in the world.

I don’t know, maybe because there are no TV or radio sets in their parish houses, or they are getting different news reports, or they are inhaling too much smoke from mosquito repellants, or there is no electricity in their parishes, or maybe it is the distance; I can’t help but feel I was reading a Twilight Zone short story. You know, there is an appaling sense of disconnect between their statement and what is happening.

I have selected several keywords from the news report that quoted these bishops.

First, thorough investigation. With obfuscation and stonewalling tools at her disposal, can you expect any thorough investigation to be concluded, much more initiated in the first place? Just look at that blasted NBN-ZTE deal. First, in a Senate hearing, one morally-weak person invoked executive privilege, and when the frog’s about to croak, an agent (or two, if news reports are true) of Arroyo intervened. Second, the Senate summoned NEDA documents related to the deal, and the Fortress again invoked executive privilege. Frankly, I was surprised EO 464 was never invoked at all. And that is just the ZTE deal. Don’t these bishops get it? This administration will never give in to a thorough investigation; they might as well wish for the camel to enter the eye of a needle (or for the moon).

Second, premature. When will a call for resignation be mature? When government officials now officially become dogs, raping our daughters? Isn’t pillaging the national coffers enough? Isn’t an obvious rape of elections enough? Well, I do not expect an answer from them, specially Capalla. Who was the president of CBCP when envelops of money were given to bishops during a CBCP plenary? Who was head of CBCP when Hello, Garci ringtones were the rage?

Third, moral issue. The problem is that our moral sense of values, of what is right or wrong, has changed. It is not only our national leaders who are morally bankrupt. Refusal to see the truth when truths stares at them directly is a sign of moral bankruptcy. Pretending that nothing is wrong when everything or something is is sign of moral bankruptcy. Accepting money from dubious means and using it for good is a sign of moral bankruptcy. So please, dear bishops, don’t talk to us about morals. You already lost your moral ascendancy, and by the way you talk, you will not regain it soon.

—

There are eleven dead people because of an explosion from Glorietta. This regime gave 10-15 thousand pesos to families of dead victims. On the other hand, around 190 congressmen received 200 thousand pesos. There is nothing wrong with that, isn’t it, dear bishops? It is just fair, right?

Damn you all.

Talk about an explosive birthday.

ABS-CBN News via ANC and DZMM reports of an explosion in Glorietta 2. GMA News reports that at least 3 people are dead.

Councilor Jonjon Binay reports that Makati Medical is treating 45 injured, and 4 dead.

6:00 PM The police has ruled out gas leak or LPG as cause of explosion. Eight dead, 89 hurt. Most likely a terror attack? Hopefully not. However, if this is a terrorist attack, the better target would be Megamall and Galleria, both of which are having a 3-day sale starting today. The timing is sick.

BTW, this is not the first time this mall was bombed. I cannot recall when it was exactly, but it was freaking close to the current site of explosion. Mam Noemi‘s daughter Lauren wrote about it, and you can read that post here (thanks, Mam Noemi!).

10/20/2007 Gloria Arroyo should have issued a simple statement instead of spin. Now, everyone is reading between the lines, and here is one of them and another. Many have also complained against those who are pinning the blame against the Arroyo regime. Me, I let them be, because what if they are correct? For people who are calloused enough to treat the people’s money as their own, maybe trifling with a few lives isn’t far-fetched on their dark souls. Anyway, the spin’s there, so I guess the battle’s been joined.

What should we do? We take extra precautions, but we must not let this incident change the way we live. If this is a terrorist attack (it is, but of the different sort), the aim is to make us live a paranoid life. We live on as we did yesterday, and the day before that, and the week before that. We will not give in to terrorism. We shall not give them the satisfaction that they have succeeded, for they shall not. For some, they have already been consumed by these acts of terror, and unfortunately they are out there trying to convince us to change our ways. They are only giving the terrorists the satisfaction of victory.

A moment of prayer or silence for everyone. Then let’s get on with our lives, knowing that terrorism shall not win.

What is your reaction in each of the situation described below? (Choose one that approximates your attitude. Post your answers at the comments.)

1. Fr. Ed Panlilio accepts the P500,000 given out after a meeting with GMA by mayors and governors at Malacanang. He said the money did not come from jueteng or from any illegal source, so he decided to accept it. He intends to use it for projects that will benefit his constituents. How do you feel about this?

a. It was naïve of him to accept it. Understandable. He is, after all, a rookie politician. But now that he knows more about the circumstances of the payoff, he should just return the money.
b. I agree with Fr. Ed. Nothing wrong with using “clean” money to help the poor folks of Pampanga.
c. Father Ed, welcome to the world of politics. You should get used to this kind of wheeling and dealing.
d. He should not have received it in the first place. But since he did, then he should shut up. He’s only giving the opposition fodder for their destabilization efforts.

2. Rep. Cuenco admits in a radio interview that he received a P200T “Christmas gift” after the Malacanang meeting. Other congressmen present in the meeting denied there were “gifts” given out. Cuenco later recants and says it was just a joke. How could he receive a “Christmas gift” when it’s not yet Christmas, he argues. Cong. Defensor says, even if it were true, there’s nothing wrong with it. And Sec. Lito Atienza says, that it’s really standard practice for the President to give her allies gifts of up to P200K after such meetings. It was so in the 9 years that he was mayor. How do you feel about this?

a. I am outraged not only by the brazenness of the payoff and how our elected officials are trivializing it, but also by the blatant lying. The mere fact that this happened in Malacanang should compel the President to resign.
b. This should be investigated by the proper agencies (PAGC or Ombudsman or even the Senate) to determine culpability, punish the guilty, and clear the names of Congressmen who did not receive any amount.
c. What else is new? As Atienza says, this has been going on for the longest time. No matter who the president is, this practice will continue.
d. Elected and appointed officials should be more circumspect in their public pronouncements. Reckless statements like these are tainting our image and might scare investors away.

3. Joey de Venecia vividly describes how the First Gentleman points a menacing finger to his face asking him to “Back Off!” The First Gentleman vehemently denies it and says he could not possibly have done it since he didn’t know Joey personally. But he did advice Joey that he could be violating the law which prohibits relatives of the Speaker from entering into a transaction with government. Obviously, one or both of them are lying. What’s your take?

a. I believe Joey. I can’t imagine him having the audacity to invent such a fantastic story. The Senate should compel, if necessary, the First Gentleman to explain his side.
b. It’s really Joey’s word against the First Gentleman’s. Let the investigation take its full course and let the people decide for themselves.
c. It doesn’t really matter who’s lying. They probably both are. As some senators have said, it’s just a quarrel for kickbacks.
d. It’s probably part of a PR demolition job against FG to discredit and embarrass the GMA government.

4. Palace officials and pro-admin senators are saying that the Senate ZTE hearings should now be terminated, having been rendered moot by the resignation of Comelec Chairman Abalos. The Senate should instead focus on legislating priority bills to alleviate the condition of our people. Besides, they argue, Sec. Neri has already said everything he is willing to reveal and will only invoke executive privilege if pressed by the Senators. What do you think?

a. The hearings should continue to ferret out the truth and determine culpability of all officials involved, possibly including GMA. The Senate should challenge executive privilege at the Supreme Court if Neri invokes it. As for Abalos, a criminal case should be filed against him.
b. The Senate should continue the hearings. However, if there are no new witnesses or information, then they should stop and instead legislate laws as they were mandated to do.
c. Nothing good ever comes out of Senate investigations. Senators, especially those with presidential ambitions, are just showboating.
d. The hearings should stop. People are not interested in scandals. They’re more interested in improving the economy. This will give them jobs and food on the table. Senators should instead work double time to pass bills that will improve the economy.

5. PERC – a risk consultancy firm, released its report on corruption among Asian countries. The Philippines garnered the highest index (8.6 on a scale of 10) making it the most corrupt country in Asia. Opposition groups cited this in their information campaign. Malacanang countered with a media blitz saying that PERC never said the Philippines is the most corrupt, and that this was merely the perception of company executives surveyed. It accused the opposition groups of distorting the survey for their own political ends, and that this has set back the economic gains that the administration has worked so hard to achieve. What’s your take?

a. The fact remains that the Philippines is now the most corrupt Asian country. All corruption reports, including those prepared by Transparency International, are based on perceptions. Rather than worry about tainting our image, we should instead work on reducing the incidents and magnitude of corruption. And it should start from the very top.
b. Even if it’s true that we have become the most corrupt, harping on it does not help much. We should instead work together to improve the situation.
c. What’s all the fuzz? We don’t need a foreign agency to tell us what we already know.
d. Let’s not nitpick on the issue of corruption. Other countries as corrupt, if not more, than us are prosperous. Let’s focus on improving our economy.

—-

How to score: add 20 points for every (a) answer, 15 points for every (b) answer, 10 points for every (c) answer and 5 points for every (d) answer.

Interpreting your total score:

THE IDEALIST. If you scored a perfect 100, you’re a hopeless idealist. To a lot of people, you’re a self-righteous moralist, out of touch with realpolitik, and uncompromising. While it seems you’re on the extreme, you may just be the right person to countervail what the CBCP now sees as the moral bankruptcy of our leaders. You must be fuming mad by now with the unraveling of one scandal after the other.

THE CONSCIENTIOUS. If you scored between 90 to 95, you have a fairly decent sense of right and wrong, perhaps tempered only by a healthy fear of instability. With the brazenness and impunity you see today, you are probably ready to act on the dictates of your conscience.

THE PRAGMATIC. If you scored between 65 to 85, you consider yourself a well-balanced person, looking at the big picture rather than just the moral dimension of an issue. When scandals first hounded GMA, you’re probably one of those who kept asking, “But who will replace her?” With the magnitude of bribery you now see, you’re probably close to saying, “I don’t care who replaces her. Just get her out!”

THE CYNIC. If you scored between 30 to 60, you are probably snickering and saying, “I told you so.” You are unfazed by current events, and are determined to continue doing what you do best – nothing. Well… you deserve the country we have today.

THE RUTHLESS If you scored between 20 to 25, you have a single-minded tunnel vision towards economic prosperity. Your philosophy in life could be – “Screw morality. You can’t eat morality. It’s the economy, stupid!” To you, the end justifies the means. I can only say one thing. God unleashed His wrath when His people sacrificed at the altar of Baal. I believe God has unleashed His wrath upon our nation because people like you have likewise been idolatrous – worshipping at the altar of economic progress.

I think it is too late for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (and the entire Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in the Philippines). They should accept the fact that they were casualties of the scorched earth policy of the Arroyo regime.

Acting on the disclosure by Pampanga Governor Fr. Ed Panlilio, the CBCP is calling on others to follow Panlilio’s example. Not only that, they assail what they call the moral bankruptcy of national leaders. (Not coincidentally, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza says cash giving in the Fortress is normal; he had received money since at least 2001.) Poor bishops, they had not seen this problem when it has been staring at their faces since 2005.

This is what I wrote back in July, 2006, The Church as Another Casualty of War:

This year, which is fast becoming a repeat of last year, the Fortress has utilized a two-prong approach on how to neutralize the Church’s influence on the public. Basically, the Fortress’ aim is to further reduce the public’s trust on the Church as an institution. The attacks are either subtle or brazen, or both.

First, it courted the support of the bishops by doling out cash and other help in the runup to the CBCP plenary this month. Many bishops came out in the open, decried the obvious bribery ploy, and condemned such a foul attempt. Many bishops also saw nothing wrong with the doleouts. Thus, the plenary was divided on how to come up with a pastoral statement. The idea of a consensus, to me, is more of a compromise than a true consensus. And we will probably never know the effect of the doleouts in the voting at the CBCP plenary. You know what happened next.

The Church has been confronted with the sins of the Arroyo administration since 2004, and for the past several years it has chosen to ignore these sins. Now, faced with the brazenness that it has allowed, the Church seriously has a problem with regards to credibility. Its call is too late; the brazen corruption is so entrenched, that I always wonder if major excision is necessary. Whether it will be a civil war or another EDSA moment, I do not know. But I am hoping that I will see such brazenness stopped within my lifetime. (And since I believe my lifetime will be short, I hope that change will happen within 10 years.)