‘A struggle between good and evil’

Auxiliary Bishop Julito B. Cortes

Homily at the Mass before the Rally Against Pork Barrel

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

26 August 2013

I am here in behalf of His Excellency, Most Rev. Jose Palma, D.D., Archbishop of Cebu, in response to the invitation of the Archdiocesan Discernment Group, convened by Monsignor Romualdo G. Kintanar.

We are here to express unity with the rest of our brothers and sisters – Filipinos in the country and abroad in “calling for a thorough investigation of the pork barrel scam.” For this is an atrocity which may have deprived hundreds of thousands of poverty stricken Filipinos of their share in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

We are here to bring to prayer, and to call the attention of our Lord to enlighten us, to enlighten our leaders, and to enlighten those responsible for this grave injustice to the country and to our country’s poor.

In other words, we are here to try to enflesh our “love of neighbor” and, at the same time, to enflesh our pain over our public officials’ misuse of people’s money.

What is love of neighbor but responding to the grief of our neighbor?

Our neighbor’s children may have no tsinelas (slippers) or shoes to go to school with. Our neighbor can only buy rice at the sari-sari store that is igo sa panihapon (only enough for supper) because he could not afford more. But what about his family’s breakfast, lunch or dinner the next day? Our neighbor lives in the streets and has nowhere else to go. These are the people deprived of these much needed funds.

In more ways than one, our Church has tried to respond to many of our neighbors’ griefs. But, without money, our Church can only do so much.

We have so many committed lay volunteers but, without money, we can only do so little.

BOTTOMLESS BARRELS OF MONEY

And who has money? Seemingly bottomless “barrels” of money? The government, of course, for it is the repository of the people’s trust and resources.

But now, realize how officials in public office, in collaboration with corrupt citizens, may have used, if not wasted public funds for their own selfish gains, and weep! Money that should have been spent to provide classrooms and school supplies, it seems went to the pockets of government officials and their callous collaborators.

Money that should have been spent for poor Filipinos who go hungry may have been spent at politicians’ parties and feasts as if there were no tomorrows. Money that should have been spent to provide housing for the homeless, health care for the indigents and job opportunities for the unemployed have ended up missing from the public coffers, because – as some lawmakers have said – it is not their duty to find out where the money went.

PICKPOCKET VS SCAMMER

We are here, therefore, to grieve with our neighbor who have been disadvantaged all these years by a political system which has systematically allowed dishonesty and corruption among honorable officials. Isn’t it a bit unfair that an ordinary mangunguot sa Colon (pickpocket in Colon Street) gets jailed at BBRC? But, then, culprits of the pork barrel scam remain scot-free and are still in the hallowed halls of our Legislature?

There are many lessons to be learned here, my dear brothers, sisters in the Lord. First, let us look no further than ourselves. For even in the Church, we may have contributed to the perpetuation of such political corruption. Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, warned that “we in Church can contribute to the corruption by grabbing a piece of the pie through our solicitations from government officials—from candles and flowers during fiestas to basketball uniforms to bags of cement to the use of government bulldozers. We tempt the public officials to get money from jueteng or the pork barrel in order to accommodate us. Kaya, walang hihingi! (Therefore we should stop asking.)

RH BILL

Second, I’d like to share with you a thought that somehow provoked my sentiments as I prepared for this homily. These are the thoughts of Dean Antonio M. La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government. He said: “I hope that as early as this year, the COA will conduct an audit of the use of the PDAF from 2010-2012. I would like to know for example, if that is discoverable through audit, if there is basis for the accusation that the PDAF has been used to get favored results in the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona or the passage of the Reproductive Health bill. No matter what position one took on these contentious issues, such a practice, if true . . . must be stopped because it is essentially corrupting and goes to the heart of the integrity of our political system.” (See https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders)

Now what Dean La Viña seems to be saying is that PDAF may have been used to bribe honorable senators and congressmen to force the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill of 2012, even against the strong opposition of the Roman Catholic Church.

In other words, pork barrel money may not have been just stolen from the kaban ng bayan (national coffers) to individual pockets; but that this same pork barrel money may also have been used to tempt lawmakers to vote favorably for Republic Act Number 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

Heartbreaking, if true. Enough to make us join Cardinal Tagle to weep for the poor, to weep for the country!

But we are a People of Faith. We pray for the profound change of heart of the perpetrators of this grave injustice to our poor. We pray for conversion, starting with ourselves. Walay mangayo (Nobody should be asking). And our leaders (not to treat the public’s money as if it were discretionary funds). To act as stewards of public trust, which they are. Conversion is to say “yes” to Jesus and to all that he stands for; and to say “no” to the evil one, and all that he represents; to say “no” to sin, to say “no” to what is wrong. We need to be anchored in faith, for this has become a collective struggle between good and evil!

BREED OF HEROES

We are, then, humbly calling our president, President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, to listen to the people, whom he calls his bosses; to give ear to us, whom he calls his masters. That he makes his daang matuwid not just a hollow slogan but a real lived and trodden path, not only for us, but also for his co-workers in government.

It is not lost to us that we gather today, National Heroes’ Day. This is a powerful reminder to us that we are a people capable of heroism. That we are a people capable of choosing what is true, good, and noble. And that we don’t have to be reduced to the despicable and squalid condition of human persons nga magpaka baboy (who act like pigs). We are much better than that. We are much more dignified than that!

We are a breed of heroes and saints. I say that, because I’m reminded of what Cardinal Vidal told us regarding a statement of Pope Francis. After his election as Pope, the Holy Father socialized with the cardinals and so Cardinal Vidal took the opportunity to go to him and congratulate him. Pope Francis asked Cardinal Vidal what country he came from. Cardinal Vidal replied: “from the Philippines, Your Holiness.” To which Pope Francis said, “Ah, the land of saints. Islas de los Santos”, perhaps,with the canonization of San Pedro Calungsod fresh in the Holy Father’s mind.

As I said: “we are a breed of heroes and saints”. We can do better than what we are doing now.

In this gathering then, we call on all People of Faith, that the Light of Christ may lead us to follow the path that leads us away from corruption and greed. A life of simplicity, a life poured out for others. A life lived in accordance with God’s laws.

We seek, too, the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our beloved Patroness of the Archdiocese, so that in this communal gathering and discernment of ours, we may, like her who visited and helped her cousin Elizabeth in her pregnancy and who came to the assistance of the couple who ran out of wine in their wedding at Cana, walk not only the daang matuwid but also the “way of truth” even if it leads us to the “way of the cross”, that we may truly become God’s People, God’s Faithful People.