A passover meditation for the Filipino people

WE are a people whose living faith has seen us through critical periods in our  history. Today, an even greater faith in a merciful God and in ourselves as a nation is called for. Obstacles that in the past have blocked our path towards nationhood pale in comparison with the amoral brutishness the relentless battering the Duterte regime is subjecting the moral fiber itself of our people. The indomitable spirit of the Filipino is under tremendous pressure. Political patronage is rampant. No      institution of our democratic system and no well-meaning individual have been spared the smear of dirt the presidential snout untiringly spouts. Long standing traditions of propriety and good breeding have been set aside. Isinantabi ang delikadesang ating kinagisnan at pawang kagaspangan at kahalayan ang ipinaiiral. (That sense of decency upon which we were raised has been set aside; rudeness and obscenity have taken over.) The shady and secretive deals our     economic and political leaders have entered into with foreign powers are compromising our sovereignty as a people.

No sector of Philippine society has been left unscathed and unmolested. The  Filipina is disrespected. Not even a statue in honor of the misnamed and maligned “comfort women” has been left untouched. Children are by law (legal maneuvers!) rendered criminals and are unduly punished.

We deplore the shame that has befallen us. We denounce the morally bankrupt leadership of Rodrigo Roa Duterte. We accuse him and his cohorts of unprecedented corruption, enriching themselves by exploiting the poorest of the land – indigenous communities, farmers, coconut growers, peasants, and laborers. They lie and cheat with impunity. They perpetuate dynasties that enable a few families to appropriate vast political and economic powers. They have prostituted our democratic and cultural values. They have betrayed our trust. They have stolen the future of the yet unborn Filipino by squandering at bargain prices our  country’s natural resources.

The Duterte government will have to account for the thousands of extrajudicial  killings and enforced disappearances that have taken place since this administration began its brutal war on drugs in 2016 which has seen from 20,000-30,000 dead,  according to human rights group Karapatan. Its blatant disregard for the value of human lives is alarming. There is total disregard for the observance of human rights and due process proper to any civilized society. The data speak for themselves: an average of almost 82 cases of human rights violations per day or a total number of 29,869 victims from January to December 7, 2018, killings of human rights defenders per sector this 2018 – Farmers = 71, Indigenous People = 29, Fisherfolk = 4, other civilians = 30. (Source: Karapatan)

The poor majority of Filipinos are facing increasing difficulty in surviving under the continuation and intensification of economic policies that only aggravate the already dehumanizing poverty of the Filipino peasant and workers. Filipino laborers, who were recently described as slow and lazy by Ramon Tulfo, Duterte’s special envoy to China, already work in extreme slave-like conditions. They do not receive the minimum wage and remain contractual all their lives. Farmers, farmworkers and indigenous peoples, likewise, subsist under impoverished and unhealthy conditions. They are deprived of the right to land and life, forced to fight for land rightfully theirs but are met with bullets and slaughtered like  animals.

The coming elections are crucial to the life of the nation. It could mean the end of the internationally notorious Duterte administration, shameful for its shamelessness, and a fresh start for the citizenry. But there are foreboding signs. Intensified election-related violence and massive electoral fraud are already a    given. And there are indications that the election will be manipulated to advance the purposes of those in power. The controversial “Pecos” machines are already installed and in place.

A failed election will surely be used as an excuse to impose martial law nationwide and the perpetuation of the Duterte administration in a hold-over capacity. Moreover, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is pushing, no holds barred, for a parliamentary system of government. She is itching to become its first prime minister. Her addiction to power knows no human limits and her subtle and not-so-subtle maneuvers are already bearing fruit. Plunder charges against her were dismissed and, like mushrooms after the rain, she sprouted from darkness to become the speaker of the House.

Let us say a resounding NO to a holdover government, NO to military rule. Together let us work for credible elections. God forbid, but a failure of election could as well signal our failure as a nation. The dictator-in-waiting has publicly claimed that he would do everything in his power to prevent the Philippines from joining the ranks of failed states. In the event that such a catastrophe take place – God forbid –  Rodrigo Duterte would be hard put to deny that he caused it. But then Panelo, the official blabbermouth, would explain that, “in fairness”, the    former mayor of Davao made use of hyperbole to prepare us for the eventuality.

Ritually, in observance of Holy Week, we have shared the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In real life, in this our beautiful and dangerous land, we have accompanied Him bearing our own pain and suffering in the hope of resurrection.

In Gethsemane, Jesus admonished his Apostles to watch, stay with him, and pray.  Today, he is asking us to do the same. The call of the hour is prophetic vigilance. In one prophetic voice we must denounce this dutertic orgy of betrayal, name the Judases that surround him in order to unmask them. We have what it takes to thwart the diabolical wiles of the incipient Duterte dictatorship in its attempt to degrade our standing as people within the international community of nations.

We are a people blest, notwithstanding the negative picture the cowardly trolls of the administration would like to imagine. God has endowed us with a magnanimous spirit. We have long-suffering, grit and intelligence. We have what it takes to bear the cross of suffering but also what it takes to bring about our resurrection, with God leading the way.

We have what it takes to restore hope in the heart of every Filipino, to recover her or his dignity as a citizen of this country. We have had the patience to wait for our moment of grace.

We call on everyone to discern our options and make carefully considered plans for collective action. Let us come together in united, common purpose. Let us build on what we have. Let us find and support true leaders from amongst us to replace those unworthy of our trust. Let us organize on the grassroots level and affirm the right and the duty to vote. Let us move to sustain the fervor of those who want their votes to count so the people’s sovereign will could prevail in this land of the morning sun.

We hope and we believe in the God of Mercy who never abandons his people. We have made an offering of the violated lives of our martyrs on the crucible of Calvary. May their blood be the seed of our people’s deliverance from hunger, oppression and violence.

As the ancient people of Israel prayed, we pray for liberation, for freedom. We pray for our Passover.

Lord of the Universe, keep us safe and deliver us from evil.

Amen. -A 2019 Easter Manifesto signed by participants of the Religious Discernment Group, March 16, 2019 Lenten gathering