The big news that didn’t materialize yesterday was the non-appearance of a new pastoral letter by the Catholic hierarchy. The Inquirer says the schedule has, essentially, been derailed as prelates agonize over intensive lobbying by the Palace; the Manila Standard-Today claims its due to a genuine, and deep, division within the prelates’ ranks; the Daily Tribune claims the bishops are holding firm. To what? RG Cruz says the pastoral letter will detail some troubling developments, but be more of the same.
COMELEC report was toned down.
Armed forces denies it’s spying on its elite forces.
Coins being smuggled abroad.
Thaksin writes a letter telling on his opponents to Dubya. Will people power be back in Bangkok?
In the punditocracy, my column today, Malig debunks Defensor, is based on a recent blog entry by Jojo Malig in Thirtysomething v4.3, in which he basically shreds the legitimacy of the Madyaas Confederacy, as well as his entries on Kalantiaw, Sikatuna, andf other hoaxes, and his criticism of the Order of Lakandula. Malig also points to some online resources on the Maragtas legend, and the foreword to Maragtas, a book published in 1907 which was misinterpreted by some historians as fact and not legend.
Bong Austero is irked and reminds people that he, and others, are not stupid. Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ responds to those who believe churchmen should “move on.”
Carlos Medina, Jr. comments on the One Voice manifesto.
Patricio Diaz looks at the USA and sees how they issue student loans and amend their constitution.
In the blogosphere. An OFW Living in Hong Kong thinks bloody days ahead for the military are inevitable.
Bunker Chronicle suggests time should be allowed to take care of the administration.
Coffee with Amy on the continuing fallout from the President’s curt dismissal of her ambassador to the USA. Comelec AKO on overseas voting and voters.
Ignatian Perspective asks: if a blogger allows nasty comments, is that a tacit endorsement?
The Elegant Variation with a timely reminder: always check a writer’s pulse.
Whispers in the Loggia: wealth takes care of eliminating Church influence.
Our Awesome Planet points to a revival of a blast (and hangover) from the past: Kublai’s is back. Where my generation first learned to break curfew.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, CBCP, constitution, impeachment, military, people power, Philippines, politics
CBCP shuns impeachment
Pastoral statement stumps Arroyo foes
By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer
Last updated 01:10am (Mla time) 07/11/2006
Way to go boys!
The Daily Tribune reported that the bishops were wined and dined by Malacanang before they deliberated on the pastoral statement. I bet there were no necks and wings served in the tinola for these modern day Padre Damasos.
By shunning the impeachment as a means to establishing the truth, the bishops gave the flock nada to nail the Usurper.
It really helped to blow the Panzer Pope’s shaft. Now he had those stand-down directives V2ed to our pussyfooting bishops.
Well what can we say, if the Pope; during his Nazi Youth years, was able to turn a blind eye away from the chimmneys, could the clergy and the laity be not forced as well?
Some people just have insatiable appetites for trouble-making. They will look for any excuse just to create chaos. “Clean elections†is but the latest excuse. During Erap’s time, trouble-makers found other excuses. If these people employed their creative talents to other things, besides looking for reasons to create trouble, perhaps this country could move forward.
Unfortunately for these cranks, a whole lot of Filipinos can’t be persuaded to see things their way. That’s why they are so frustrated and angry . . . so they resort to insulting those who don’t agree with them. Calling them “apathetic†and so on and so forth. Even the bishops don’t see things their way, and that adds to the frustration and the anger, doesn’t it? Now the bishops will be the target of their anger. “Sell-out” will be the catchword. Cranks will always be cranks. See today’s Philippine Daily Inquirer:
http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=9117
And to those who have the luxury of time, leisure and just having a nosy character, go ahead and “search†for your truth (whatever version you want it to be). Just don’t bother the rest of us who have to make a living.
“leosalvo, that’s pretty insightful. now think of how you feel towards people like bong austero who differ from YOUR opinion.â€Â
Antonio, thanks, an insightful question,
Simple, I THINK of Bong Austero’s opinion and FEEL sorry if people are misled by it. I dissect his ‘silent majority’ ideology of ‘political self-emasculation’(great!mb), analyze his line of thinking and consider its relevance in the scheme of things. His position on issues is less important than the way he arrived at it and how it is presented to the people. All put together, I look at the bigger picture. In short, a combination of factors made his 2 ‘letters’ ( I don’t care about the others) PECULIARLY SIGNIFICANT worthy of attention and reaction.
Bong seems to be in a comfortable spot, I don’t envy him nor feel sorry for him. In my mind right now are the poor people I mingle with in the rallies and on the streets, who do not have much to say, really, no need, the look on their eyes are eloquent enough. Well, to the ‘comfies’, somehow … ok lang.
CBCP shuns impeachment
Pastoral statement stumps Arroyo foes
By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer
Last updated 01:10am (Mla time) 07/11/2006
Way to go boys!
I see that big dark cloud over the head of FPJ and Noli De Castro (a reference to the comment section in another MLQ3 post, folks) in the CBCP pastoral letter. The elitists will just do whatever they can to thwart the will of the people, won’t they?
Mr. Austero insisted that the impeachment process is a number game and the complainants are just “nuisances” for ever attempting to even think about it, because as he would like to suggest the President’s side already has the ‘Number’. I thought all along that the Impeachment is a process to present evidence of the President’s wrongdoing to commit Her to Trial. I think I need more shooling on this matter from the likes of mr. Austero. Or maybe i just need to Move On. But where if there not much space to move forward and lot of space only to the rear.
What is the will of the people?
a). Do nothing, and move on (Bong Austero’s line which defaults to Gloria continuing her reign)
b). Do something; make your voice be heard, join rallies, write to your congressmen or church leaders, etc. while moving on with daily life
c). Support other movements (e.g. One Voice, B&W, Impeachment, Coup d’etat etc.)
Whatever remains will be it? Or will there be other options?
“The elitists will just do whatever they can to thwart the will of the people, won’t they?”
is this true? the elitists are in control of our bishops? who are these elitists? i certainly hope the other elitists: cory, the zobels, tito guingona, et al, are now ignored by the others.
BAKLANG DESISIYON !!! WHAT ELSE DO WE EXPECT FROM THIS BISHOPS ? MAY NAKIKINABANG SA MGA YAN !!! NATURINGAN TAONG SIMBAHAN, NASISILAW DIN PALA AT NAGPAPA SUHOL !!! I HOPE THEY DIDN”T FAVOR THE IMPEACHMENT BECAUSE THEY FAVORED “ASSASINATION” INSTEAD !!! UNAHIN NA ANG MGA TUTA NI GLORIA SA CONGRESS – UNAHIN SI NOGRALES AT DEFENSOR !!!
This is our last stand … Who will lead us to TRUTH if the CHURCH can be BOUGHT and BISHOPS are acting like CORRUPT POLITICIANS !!! GOD have mercy on our COUNTRY … HOPELESSNESS … Here in the Philippines, you can GET AWAY with CRIMES if you are in POWER and have MONEY !!! OUST GMA !!!
ACCEPTING that the IMPEACHMENT will NOT PROSPER is an ADMITTANCE that the HOUSE OR CONGRESS are really composed of CORRUPT, SELFISH and UNPATRIOTIC FOOLS … KAYA SA ELECTION 2007 !!! WAG BUMOTO NG KAPARTIDO NI GLORIA !!!
Rant away, dudes! Just as expected . . . now the bishops . . . and even the Pope . . . are getting it just because they don’t see things the way some people want them to see things.
Carl and company,
The Bishops said the search for truth must continue but don’t waste your time looking for it in the Batasan. That says a lot about what they think of your idol’s allies.
oo nga. the pastoral letter actually says that the bishops are not supporting the impeachment process for now because of the lack of credibility which would only lead to frustration for those seeking the truth.
basahin niyo kasi. yung headline lang kasi ang binabasa niyo.
Sa blog ni ellen, maliwanag na sinabi na patama sa mga congressman ito. Wala na raw tiwala pati mga pari sa mga congressman natin.
it looks like the Bishops are paving the way for a more radical outcome.
I guess this post belongs here too:
I have great faith in the People Power phenomenon, not the variety that kills and confiscates, but the communicative one, just as the upheavals in 1986 and 2001. The justification for another seems ripe, now that even the bishops have collectively ignored the clamor of their flock . . . well via a “pastoral†spin that could put Bunye’s and Defensor’s gift for it to shame. I mean how else would GMA now prove her legitimacy and hope to govern effectively through 2010 for the “common good†by simply burying the Garci tapes scandal as if no one knows about it? Do the bishops really think the Filipinos are still the friars’ half-children?
The intervention of the bishops serves as “an unproductive (clerical) exercise, dismaying every citizen, and deepening the citizen’s negative perception of the (themselves), left, right and center.†The bishops will now have to justify their authority to shepherd their flock because of this “lapse in judgment.â€Â
Yes, Manolo, this (healing) process is beginning to be very cost-prohibitive. Magkano nga ba?
Sa palagay ko, jon mariano, hindi ito patama sa mga Congressman. Sinabi lang nila yun upang mailigaw ang pansin ng mga tao sa ginawa nila.
This is a blow to those who still believe in peaceful ways of seeking the truth. They have undermined and belittled the capability of ordinary citizens to convince their representatives in Congress of the wisdom of their position. Cvj is right. Take away the legal and constitutional means of seeking the truth, and what do you have?
yup, i’m with you Jeg. i appreciate the Bishops’ encouraging us to think out of the box, but right now, i find it hard to arrive at a course of action that satisfies both (1)searching for the truth, and (2)going about it within the Constitutional framework.
Maybe Raul Gonzalez will charge the CBCP for inciting to rebellion. And Norberto Gonzalez will say the statement proves there is a conspiracy among the CBCP, the CPP and the restive AFP to overthrow Arroyo by force.
I don’t like CBCP’s stand either, but whatever reason was used to come up with this stand, it does not change it a bit. That is still their stand. We either like it or don’t. As we have seen, the admin’s spin is “Bishops don’t support impeachment”, but actually as pointed above, they’re not against it either. Their reason being they don’t believe the truth will come out of it. That’s their stand, I respect that.
But how I see it is it’s like Bong Austero’s stand again (dahil kulang ang pipirma, huwag na lang gawin). In my mind (as with the others in this thread) it’s a cop out.
And now that the CBCP has made their stand known, they too will face the consequences. Those Catholics who don’t like what they said may leave the church, etc.
I’ve read the whole pastoral statement and eventhough it is thoroughly sugarcoated with double entendre to appease both the anti and pro Unano, the venom is still there–no to impeachment. You can slice and dice and give whatever high or shallow interpretation on the contents, the truth still smacks right on your face– NO TO IMPEACHMENT!
I don’t know about pacifying homilies, but I believe that the lips that utter such can be used either to restore faith or to disarm a guarded sacristan.
The present pastoral statement, in my view, is a homily aimed to prolong the Filipino people’s agony in being effed in the a.
I’ve always been opposed to a congregation or an association of bishops in the country, Catholics or not, who are taking a strong stand on issues that are completely political in nature but only to say nothing. We certainly don’t want a repeat of what Cardinal Sin had done who said many things but failed miserably in the end to do the right thing.
I would however, support any member of the Catholic clergy on an individual basis like Archbishop Cruz and that other Bishop who filed an impeachment complaint.
They do it on their own as citizens of the Republic of the Philippines. That they happen to be men in holy robes is incidental and not the reason.
To me, when an individual ‘distabilizer’ cleric (that’s what Gloria calls those who oppose her so I presume she says the same of individual clerics who don’t believe her lies), cleric say or does something to expose Gloria and her government’s lies as his conscience dictates (and not as the CBCP so dictates), he must be encouraged.
So never mind the CBCP. For quite some time now, they’ve managed to put the imprimatur of legitimacy on Gloria’s illegitimate mandate by their organized, well-crafted “silent eloquence†(what an oxymoron) and done more to confuse the issues rather than clarify them… I’d rather they just continued “praying†for the nation and its people instead of holding press conferences to be heard while they say nothing.
So my stand is simple: I am not interested in what CBCP as a union or organization of princes, counts, vicounts, etc. of the church and their assistant clerics have to say but I will be interested to hear what their individual members say and do. (I’ve lost faith in the Philippine catholic church but I have NOT lost faith in the REAL Iglesia Apostolica Catolica.)
antonio, just take a look at how distrust is tossed around, in pointing out what the other is doing I realize I become party to it, if I deny it I might as well self-check and get off the track, thanks for that point, how about a more positive look at both rallyists and those against it, instead of too much negativism, each side might understand the other’s point better, atleast tolerate differences, there’s just too much distrust, the acrimony is contagious, i’m very much susceptible to it too, the social crisis has been building up for a time now, the issues have become more confused, time to cool off, well better to rely on community consultations and collective decisions, thanks
May mga PADRE DAMASO sa CBCP .. Mga SANTONG KABAYO !!!
PInalakas nyo lang ang LOOB ni UNANO at ni MIKE PUNYETA DEFENSOR. BS to the POWER to DIVIDE and CONQUER … I just can’t WAIT for the DAY that they would LOSED their POWERS ..KULANG ANG DEATH PENALTY KAY GLORIA !!! WALA KA NG INSTITUSYONG MAASAHAN … I’LL SUPPORT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE , I HOPE THE CBCP WILL SUPPORT IT TOO…
Antonio,
I want to know where you’re coming from –
What was your initial reaction to the Garci tapes when it was first made public? What was your reaction to Gloria’s apology? Did you think that people who listened/heard the tapes and decided Gloria had to resign or be impeached were jumping to conclusions? Did you make a personal judgment on Gloriaeven before everyone started to create all the noise that you abhor?
And can somebody who knows austero ask him those questions? I’d love to know where he stood when all these began.I velieve it would go a long way towards explaining why he says what he says now.
The problem with Austero is that hindi siya derecho kung magsalita. that’s what you get when you try very hard to disguise your own true views from your readers. Kinda like Andrew Sullivan back in 2004.
He reminds me of the apologists Paul Berman talked about in his interview this june:
Of course, Arroyo is not as bad as Hitler or Stalin. GMA falls somewhere between Marcos and Estrada (although she’s more Marcosian than Erap-like). But she has her own apologists too. Replace “defeating Bush” with “defeating the opposition” and voila!
a defensor actually did online research on Philippine history (daniel r. young’s compilation)…
unfortunately, it was not mike. at best, mike probably knows only of the really true facts on his rat-smelly Medyas Confettiracy.
isa pa ito.
i’m sorry to say this, but BULLSHIT, cathcath.
These people claim na they’re not for either side. But most of comments/posts are critical/negative towards the opposition, and pretty much tameme o muted lang ang criticism nila sa pagdating sa katarantaduhan ng Arroyo admin.
sinong niloloko mo?
if Arroyo is evil too, like you claim, then isn’t it your obligation to correct that mistake, since you supported the military-civilian coup called edsa dos, which installed your president?
so bakit ka naghuhugas kamay ngayon?
If that’s the case, then tell your president to stop implementing CPR-like tactics. hindi ba unconstitutional na yan.
siguro pwedeng gamiting dahilan rin ito ni lukashenko, “president” of belarus, yung explanation ni cathcath. LOL.
I don’t believe you.
Getting a new release version of Noli Me Tangere from penquins books today and I’ll try to refresh myself what Dr. Jose Rizal said about the Church, Padre Damaso and the rest of the Catholic Church. Then maybe I can safely say that if Rizal ressurect and write another epic novel, i believe he would not change his view of the Church any one bit..
Catholic social teaching states:
…the whole reason for the existence of civil authorities is the realization of the common good…
cbcp talked of the common good re: the impeachment:
…For unless the process and its rules as well as the mindsets of all participating parties, pro and con, are guided by no other motive than genuine concern for the common good, impeachment will once again serve as an unproductive political exercise…
main problem is that common good is really not that common (possibly in consonance with the fact that common sense is also not that common nowadays)…
the palace’s common good is to “move on.”
but a part of the populace’s common good is for gloria to “move out.”
while the tight-lipped mass’ common good is to “to hell with those -aces (read: ASSes), we stay unmoved by their lies and rhetorics and their selfish motives.”
…some kind of shepherding we’ve got from our bishops…as if there’s oneness in direction…
unless somehow they’ve prophesied that we’ll eventually know the truth of the common good by just doing nothing!
So defenders of the staus quo, like I asked antonio, where were you when the Garci shit hit the fan?
What was your initial reaction to the Garci tapes when it was first made public? What was your reaction to Gloria’s apology? Did you think that people who listened/heard the tapes and decided Gloria had to resign or be impeached were jumping to conclusions? Did you make a personal judgment on Gloriaeven before everyone started to create all the noise that you abhor?
btw, the guy i quoted, Paul berman, is not exeactly what one would call a Bush supporter
kung totoo nga…
maybe manny pacquiao really deserves the order of lakandula if he continues to ignore joanna rose bacosa’s son…
lakandula, cowardice personified as jojo malig blogs on and a cunning negotiator as abraham tan writes about…
(gloria macapagal claims to be a descendant of lakandula. small wonder why the impeachment she’s dodgin’ and dealin’ big time!)
manuel, your overindulgence in navel-gazing has loosened screws in your head. You are too obsessed. Chill out, dude.
carl,
You’re right. The high-pitched whining of political castratis has loosened screws in my head.
I guess the sane thing to do would be to use your teeny-weenies as earplugs.
But that would only block your whining and not the Garci tapes which keeps replaying inside my head….Hello garci…hello garci…yun dagdag…yun dagdag
It’s not too late to seek help, manuel. You can still overcome your obsession, after all she is just one woman. There are other fish in the sea. There are more fish to fry. Ingat . . . baka ma nervous breakdown ka lang.
As the blind man said when he entered the fish market – Oh hi Gloria.
I think Austero’s new word now is Patriots, not Moralists, lol.
manuelbuencamino, john, baycas,
I am comforted and appreciate it that you guys who can clarify the issues do take time to share your views. The situation is understandably oppressive, and some enjoy aggravating others, I won’t call them nuts or names, whatever, mostly I just ignore them. Just focus. Most readers who just want to get to know other views have common sense and ignore those who prefer not to use it if they happen to have it.
Because local politics is the hottest commodity, it appears none of the readers noticed this other hot commodity:
“Coins being smuggled abroad.”
If not vigorously interdicted, this issue will continue to escalate and will mean more losses for the government and people in general.
What is not obvious in this problem is the soaring prices of metals worldwide. Here in the US, for the first time the Feds reported that it nows costs 1.2 pennies to produce one penny. That’s 20% more! And the Feds have to flood the market with countless new pennies daily just to keep up with the demand.
Thus, the same is most probably true with the Philippine peso coins. 20 centavos more to produce a peso. A case where the intrinsic value of the token is more than it’s purchasing power.
I thought this CARL is ANTI-GLORIA !!! BS !!!
I just want to give my opinion to those who are saying that it is better for us to just “move on” and also making those attacking this government as just making noise and do not help in pushing our country forward.
Nakakalungkot lang kasi, sa gusto nating maituwid ang mga tama inirereklamo natin yung mga gumagawa ng mali. At ngayon nga lalo na sa current situation lumalabas pa na “kaming” naghahangad na malaman ang katotohanan ang siya pang nasisisi imbis na yong gumagawa ng mali. Ibig sabihin kung hindi mo malutas ang problema ang sisihin mo yung mga nagrereklamo.
Isa pa, marapat lamang na hanapin natin talaga ang puno’t dulo ng problema, malulutas lamang ito kung haharap si GMA sa isang impeachment. Kung hindi para lamang tayong dagdag ng dagdag ng palapag sa isang building na hindi isinasaalangj-alang kung may mali sa plano o wala.
Sa isang competition (basketball kaya), mas mahalaga kahit na tayo ay magkatungali, nagkakaisa tayo na hindi natin pahihintulutan ang “MALI”. Mas magiging maganda ang kalalabasan ng ating laban kung nagkakaisa tayo sa ganitong paraan magkaiba man ang panig natin.
ABALOS-LUS-LOS
Sa isang competition (basketball kaya),