Archbishop Jose Palma on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rule, Lapu-Lapu City
Q. Is it true that out of compassion you would support allowing Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to leave the country for medical treatment even though she is under arrest?
A. There are many dimensions to this problem, like the right of the State, the right of the individual person, the power of the executive, the power of the judiciary, and I am not in the position to evaluate all these dimensions. I am more of a pastor. I am more of a shepherd.
But from a layman’s point of view, layman in the sense that I am not a constitutionalist, I am not a lawyer. From a simple point of view, I only wish that for instance, when the Supreme Court has made a final commentary on certain legalities. I think that is the highest law of the land and I think, from that angle, I would wish that many other lower bodies in terms of law would respect that, and that’s my main consideration.
I understand the meaning of compassion, I also see the angle of justice and the right of the individual person as well as the right of the State and the good of the community as well as the individual person in the sense that I know and as I mentioned, this is certainly a complex issue.
We leave it to the goodness in the heart of people and also to the expertise of the law, but again, I repeat, from a pastor’s point of view, I would wish that if a higher body like the Supreme Court would have made a decision, I believe that the lower courts should also try to find a way to respect that.
Q. What is your prayer for Representative Arroyo?
A. I pray that, like any other person, she would be guided by the Holy Spirit. I am sure she knows her rights. I am also sure that knowing the intricacies of government and nation, she also knows the demands of the President and for that matter of the court, the regional courts and even the Supreme Court. And I also pray that even with her present situation, she may be guided to be composed and to accept, I would say, even in humility whatever decision there is.
She knows how to wait, to wait for what the court decides and I pray above all that there would be healing. I understand what it means to be sick. I pray that when eventually she gets treatment, doctors, medicine and science would grant her that healing that she desires and I think that she would continue to serve as the representative of people in Pampanga.
Q. The former president is a good friend to many bishops. Are there restrictions now on their visiting her?
A. The act of charity is certainly a noble act and I admire and I thank the bishops for their expressions of charity, like celebrations of the Mass. She was our former president and if we do that even for ordinary people like visiting the sick, celebrating Mass, at her bedside, in her room, I admire those who have the charity to do that. No restrictions.
Q. What is your prayer for the Filipino people who fear a constitutional crisis?
A. As I mentioned in my homily, more than anything else, this case does not augur well for the nation knowing that before other people we’re presented as a fledgling democracy. It has been so for some time.
As of the moment, we give the impression that we do not get our act together and so my prayer is that the goodness in the people’s hearts may overcome whatever temptation there is for personal interest and that we will, more than anything else, show that we can be united as a people.
There is to some extent as I said, a crisis and that’s why we’re praying for a certain sense of calm. Let’s put our trust in the goodness of people.
We have experts in law. They know the law and I think that it’s just a question of searching what’s good for our country because all these have implications for the Filipino people, so it’s not just a question about a person, former president GMA.
It’s a question of evaluating her situation and her plight at present in the context of what these interpretations and recommendations from the Supreme Court, from the Regional Trial Court, or even from the Department of Justice and from many other people because the balance between the individual good and the common good should be sought in assiduous study, but also because we are Christians, in prayer and discernment.