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PRESS STATEMENT
28 March 2007
IS
CARDINAL ROSALES A SHEPHERD OF THE FLOCK
OR A SHEPHERD
OF THE ARROYO REGIME?
By LUIS G. JALANDONI
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating
Panel
How can a shepherd of the
flock be unmoved by the extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances,
frustrated assassinations of hundreds upon hundreds of those whose lives and
well-being he is ordained to protect?
Is the blood of Bishop Alberto
Ramento – brutally stabbed seven times because he stood up for the Hacienda
Luisita workers, criticized the Arroyo regime, and fought for social justice
– to be called a “mere speck”? What about the blood of Fr. William Tadena,
Pastor Isaias Sta. Rosa, Benjaline Hernandez, Alyce Claver and more than 830
other victims of extrajudicial killings, which UN Special Rapporteur Prof.
Philip Alston said, “are convincingly attributed to the Armed Forces of the
Philippines”? Are these to be called a “mere speck”?
The issue that has been
resounding for some time in the Philippines and internationally is whether
the military and the police forces of the Philippine reactionary state have
the right to engage in extrajudicial killings, abductions and other gross
human rights violations victimizing unarmed civilians.
It is highly anomalous for
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales to imply that such military
forces can engage in the aforesaid human rights violations on the false
assumption that their revolutionary opponents do likewise. The statement of
Cardinal Rosales can only embolden the practitioners of state terrorism and
inflame the civil war that is going on in the country.
Cardinal Rosales has allowed
himself to be a tool of the Arroyo regime in trying to counter the recent
verdict of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, the US Senate hearing and the
statement of UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston. He has practically
descended to the level of traditional politicians like Prospero Nograles and
Eduardo Veloso who are runners of Speaker Jose de Venecia and respond to the
baton of Malacañang Palace propagandists. Has the Cardinal become the
shepherd of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Norberto Gonzales, and General
Esperon?
It is regrettable that
Cardinal Rosales obscures the responsibility of the reactionary state for
human rights violations, instead of calling on them to respect the
International Bill of Human Rights, international humanitarian law and the
Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
The Filipino people expect
Cardinal Rosales to be urging the Arroyo regime to comply with the CARHRIHL
and the Oslo Joint Statements and thereby lay the ground for resuming the
peace negotiations, especially by stopping the gross human rights
violations.
REFERENCE:
Ruth de Leon
Executive Director
NDFP International Information Office
Tel.+31-30-2310431
Fax +31-84-7589930
Email: ndf@casema.nl
Download statement in Word format
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A CALL
FOR THE CHURCH LEADERS AND LAY FAITHFUL
TO DEFEND LIFE AT ALL COST
Lenten Message, April 3, 2007
Many of us were
shocked and disappointed when Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales was recently quoted
on his view on the wave of extra-judicial killings under Arroyo as 'mere
specks of blood' compared to the number of political murders and human
rights
violations committed during the term of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Apparently, the latest pronouncements of Cardinal Rosales effectively
emboldened Arroyo to congratulate and give her go-signal for the military to
continue their unwanted presence and operations in Metro communities. The
military is equally emboldened to deny accountability even as they further
engage in extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, warrantless
arrests and other atrocities.
Spectators can simply watch the flow of 'mere specks of blood.' But we
believe that the heart of a true Christian must be outraged at every single
act of atrocity such as when a life is taken away to suppress the activist
stance of a poor farmer, worker, youth, a human rights defender, and so on.
This Holy Week, we enjoin the faithful to also remember and pray for justice
for the victims of modern-day persecution as an integral part of remembering
the passion and death of Jesus Christ.
Of all people, we wonder how a pro-life advocate could reduce the lives of
more than 830 victims as 'mere specks of blood.' Apparently, since no
Catholic bishop or priest has yet become a victim of extra-judicial killing,
Cardinal Rosales is not alarmed that in the post-Marcos regimes, the Arroyo
regime has claimed the lives of church people who were deeply engaged both
in their pastoral duties and social ministries. They reached out to serve
and help improve the lives of our poorest brothers and sisters, how can they
be mere specks of blood?
Is it morally correct to remain spectators when there is already an overflow
of 'mere specks of blood?' If Cardinal Rosales has the passion for Pondong
Pinoy and environmental advocacy, why not join the people's outrage at the
staggering number of poor victims of extra-judicial killings under Arroyo.
Not a few of the victims were environmental activists, and poor peasants and
indigenous peoples affected by large-scale mining and other destructive
commercial projects.
In such a predominantly Catholic nation like ours, the views as well as
actions or inactions of the church leaders like Cardinal Rosales certainly
weigh heavily on the millions of Filipino faithful. As proven in national
events, the stand of the Cardinal or the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) on various issues will either lead the faithful to
decisive actions, or inactions.
So far, the CBCP under the leadership of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo has
spoken on the issue, though not as strongly as the Protestant leaders
belonging to the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP),
especially from the NCCP member churches – the United Church of Christ in
the Philippines (UCCP) and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), whose
clergy and lay members became victims of political killings.
We also note of course that apart from the CBCP's official statements as a
body, there have been strong statements from the likes of Archbishop Oscar
Cruz who called for accountability of the Arroyo government. How we wish for
Cardinal Rosales to have the same stance instead of defending the
perpetrators!
At a forum in St. Scholastica's College on March 9, 2006, Archbishop Cruz
stressed that human dignity, human rights and human life are inter-related.
When a person's dignity and rights are violated, the essence of life is
violated; and the moment a person's life is violated as in the cases of
extra-judicial killings, human dignity and human rights are totally
disregarded. Archbishop Cruz strongly criticized the Arroyo government on
the issue of political killings, noting the case of one of the victims,
Bishop Alberto
Ramento – whom he described as his poor friend whose sando always had holes.
After expressing his disbelief that the activist bishop was killed by plain
thieves, he went on to denounce the government's efforts to deny its hand on
the killings of hundreds of administration critics. And since no Catholic
bishop or priest has yet become a victim of extra-judicial killing, he also
managed to joke, 'I volunteer to be
the next ... I'm old and single...'
Meanwhile, another positive action came from Bishop Broderick Pabillo who
joined people's organizations and the Inter-Faith JPIC Network to look into
the situation of some barangays in Tondo that are currently affected by
urban militarization. During the dialogue with the barangay chairman at the
barangay hall (the second floor of which was occupied by soldiers), Bishop
Pabillo witnessed the resistance of the military representative to face the
questions raised on the real intent of their presence in urban communities.
When the barangay chairman spoke on behalf of the soldiers, saying that they
are there for immersion, trying to explain away their usual rounds during
the day and sometimes even late at night, the bishop wondered if it ever was
normal to engage the residents in late night immersion. As to the complaints
of the residents regarding the presence of the military in their community,
when the barangay chairman commented that people who are not guilty of doing
anything wrong should not be afraid of the
soldiers, the bishop replied that if they [the soldiers] are not guilty of
doing anything wrong, then why do they refuse to come down and "face us
here"?
Bishop Pabillo also graced the launching of the Inter-Faith JPIC Network on
March 6, 2006 at the Redemptorist Rudy Romano Hall, where he also shared a
message of solidarity with the struggles of our urban poor brothers and
sisters. His presence in these two events and his succeeding public
pronouncements against urban militarization gave us a fresh image of a
down-to-earth church leader who immersed among the poor, and that is
certainly worthy of emulation.
Indeed, the Church as a major opinion-shaper can either move the faithful to
join militant actions towards meaningful social change, or leave the
faithful in the confines of their individual pursuit of personal salvation.
On the one hand, church pronouncements and actions that challenge government
corruption, human rights violations and perennial neglect of the poor,
greatly cultivate the moral grounds for the faithful to be persuaded into
supporting the people's actions. On the other hand, the faithful must be
wary of church pronouncements that attempt to sanctify the wrongdoings of
the state and merely echo the pronouncements of military officials and of
the infamous (in)justice secretary. Thus we must also criticize our church
leaders when they fail to denounce injustice. Ultimately, our discernment,
prayers and actions must always be founded on the people's aspirations for
truth, justice and meaningful social change.
Under Arroyo's undeclared martial rule, the Church must defend life and
civil liberties at all cost. We must be vigilant of even more repressive
measures against administration critics, including the recently signed
anti-terrorism bill, renamed 'Human Security Law,' and the proposed
restoration of the Anti-Subversion Law. Let us collectively stand in defense
of human dignity, human rights and human life. We must not be mere
spectators while our brothers and sisters are being attacked by assassins
under Oplan Bantay Laya II, an anti-insurgency program launched by the
military against critics of the fraudulent president. We pray that the
millions of faithful will be moved to speak out and act in solidarity with
the victims long before the 'mere specks of blood' turn into a bloodflow of
tragic proportions beyond our power to plug. We continue to hope that more
Bishops will raise their voices in denouncing the state policy that is
behind the killings and the growing urban militarization, and help generate
more pressure on the Arroyo government to immediately cease in its political
assassination plots.
Promotion of Church People's Response (PCPR)
=============================================================
PRESS RELEASE
April 3, 2007
GMA, military emboldened by
Cardinal Rosales' views on political killings
As GMA congratulated the military for 'job well done,' PCPR also expressed
concern that the 'blessings' of a bishop my have emboldened Malacañang to
ignore criticisms from church, multisectoral groups, media and international
human rights groups on the issues of political killings and urban
militarization.
In a 3-page Lenten message entitled "A CALL FOR THE CHURCH LEADERS AND LAY
FAITHFUL TO DEFEND LIFE AT ALL COST," PCPR noted, "Many of us were shocked
and disappointed when Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales was recently quoted on his
view on the wave of extra-judicial killings under Arroyo as 'mere specks of
blood' compared to the number of political murders and human rights
violations committed during the term of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Apparently, the latest pronouncements of Cardinal Rosales effectively
emboldened Arroyo to congratulate and give her go-signal for the military to
continue their unwanted presence and operations in Metro communities. The
military is equally emboldened to deny accountability even as they further
engage in extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, warrantless
arrests and other atrocities."
Reference: Fr. Jerry Sabado, OCarm – PCPR Spokesperson
Amie Dural – PCPR Secretary General
Contact: 410723 Email: pcprnatl@gmail.com
***
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DALAMHATI AT GLORYA SA TAMBAKAN
Enrico
Arcanghel Jr
Nanuot sa mga kalamnan
Ng katauhang yagit
Ang nagbabagang ipin ng ngitngit
Ng malakas at makapangyarihang aso,
Para bagang sa ganitong paraan
Ay maibsan ang hiya, pagkabigo
At tunay na kawalang lakas
Ng pekeng nakaluklok sa trono,
Ng may-ari ng toreng bugok,
Nangangamoy sa masansang plano
At iniingatang premyo sa tambakan
Ng pagkaberdugo.
Iniisa-isa ang butil at hibla,
Ng mga yumao, mga basura,
Dili iba’t mga nilalang
Na magpakailanmay
Magsisilbing tunay na ehemplo,
Larawan ng pantas, buhay na wagas,
Ngunit di pa rin makatagpo
Ng tuwa’t katunayan
Sa gitna ng dugong agos ng budhi,
At bumubulang ilog ng kawalan sa karimlan,
Tinutunaw ng pinunong aso
Ang sarili’t bait sa purgatoryo. |
AND SO THE
BELL SHOULD NOW TOLL FOR THEE
Alexander Martin Remollino
"(What is happening today
by way of human rights abuses) is nothing compared (to what we have
experienced. What is happening under the Arroyo regime today) is so tiny
that it is a mere speck"
--
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila, 26 March 2007
You are not having the bell toll for them.
"A mere speck of blood," you say
of the bloodbath that they in the Palace
have brought upon this nation.
Close to a thousand innocent lives seized
in just a little more than six years --
that, to you, is "a mere speck of blood."
Do you hold human life so cheaply
as to scoff at the slays of hundreds of innocents?
Just one such murder is too much,
and here you have hundreds, hundreds --
and still you have not found it fit
to cry for a stop to the killings.
You are not having the bell toll for them.
Is there a heart that beats in your chest?
It would be no surprise to find none.
And so the bell should now toll for thee. |
