 |
 |
| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Corruption and Religion By Antonio C. Abaya Written March 09, 2005 For the Philippine Free Press March 19 issue The March 9 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer banner-headlined �RP No. 2 on Asia Graft List.� This referred to the results of the latest survey done by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risks Consultancy Ltd. or PERC. These are surveys conducted every year by PERC among business expats (900 in this year�s poll) living and working in the region�s 12 countries. Needless to say, these are surveys of perceptions of corruption, not corruption itself, since neither briber nor bribee is going to admit publicly anything that can be measured and quantified. The latest PERC results rated the 12 countries as follows: Indonesia (the most corrupt) with 9.10 points out of a possible 10; the Philippines 8.80; Vietnam 8.65; India 8.63; China 7.68; Thailand 7.20; Malaysia 6.80; South Korea 6.50; Taiwan 6.15; Hong Kong 3.50; Japan 3.46; and Singapore a squeaky clean 0.65. Those who have been monitoring these annual PERC surveys, as I have, for the past 15 years or so, know that the most significant change this year is the jump of the Philippines from fourth to second place in this corruption sweepstakes, a development that seems to have escaped the notice of the Inquirer�s reporter and editors, or was deliberately ignored by them as part of news management under the Arroyo Government. As far back as I can recall, the Philippines was just about permanently in fourth place, topped by any of the four: China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. For many years, up to the mid-1990s, newly capitalist China was the most corrupt country, followed by Suharto�s Indonesia. During this period also, incidentally, China and Indonesia experienced their highest economic growth and, together, drew in more than 50% of all foreign direct investments in Asia. Which proved to me that a) corruption, by itself, is not a hindrance to economic growth; and b) foreigners will invest and operate in a corrupt country (as bribers) as long as they can make a profit. Sometime in the mid or late 1990s, China fell from first place to fourth or fifth in PERC�s corruption hit parade, replaced by Indonesia, which has remained since as the most corrupt country in Asia. And what was China�s solution to the corruption problem? A bullet to the head during public executions for those convicted of corruption, even at the highest level of the bureaucracy or the Party. Juxtaposed with the PERC story on the Inquirer front page of March 09 is a four-column full-color photo of President Arroyo, hands fervently clasped and eyes rolled up to the heavens, in an apparent act of supplication to God for help. But God only helps those who help themselves, so we are told. The Chinese leaders drastically reduced corruption in their country, not by going down on their knees and praying to God for help, but by having convicted grafters shot in the head before assembled masses of people. In other words, draconian measures made the difference.. Does President Arroyo have the political will to use draconian (though legal) measures against those accused of massive corruption, such as continuous trials, as suggested publicly by the American Ambassador? (See my column �Corruption and Taxes,� Feb. 02.) She is not likely to do so against the Marcoses and against Erap and his family � their cases have been dragging in court since 1987 and 2001 respectively � because she does not want to lose the support of their followers when she runs for prime minister in 2007 or 2010. She is not likely to do so against Gen. Garcia and Gen Ligot either � they have not even been charged with plunder, only the minor offense of perjury � because it would likely drag into the muck other personages whose support was crucial to her rise to the presidency in 2001 and whose continued support is needed for her survival in office. President Arroyo is not likely to do anything drastic against major corruption offenders even if the Philippines becomes the most corrupt country in the PERC ratings, which we are fast becoming. But I do not mind being proven wrong. Also juxtaposed with the PERC story in the inside jump page of the Inquirer is the question of a born-again Protestant preacher on why �with so many churches, how come the Philippines is still corrupt?� Bishop Efraim Tendero, identified as head of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches that groups together some 20,000 churches, is puzzled that with 51,555 evangelical and Protestant churches whose members make up nine percent of the Philippine population and with the Roman Catholics making up 81 percent, �we are known to be the only Christian country in Asia but we are also the second most corrupt country in this area of the world.� I have no statistics to back me up, but my gut feel is that born-again Protestants and born-again Catholics generally take their religion seriously and are not the source of our moral dilemma and national shame.. It is the mainstream (and often merely nominal) Roman Catholics who, by their sheer numbers and the intrinsic character of their faith (more pre-occupied with externals like rituals and incantations, than with ethical behavior), provide most of the Filipino candidates for Dante�s Inferno. (Exception: Ferdinand Marcos was an Aglipayan.) Even in Europe, the predominantly Roman Catholic countries (Italy, Spain, France) have higher crime rates and incidence of corruption than the predominantly Protestant ones (Denmark, Norway, Sweden). Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Latin America is in the same corruption rat hole as the Philippines, way below the public ethical standards of predominantly Protestant Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Is God a Protestant? **** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Corruption and Religion� Tony, Back on the record again. As I mentioned a while back, I am a Lutheran. Martin Luther was the very first Protestant here in Germany and the Lutheran Liturgy is very similar to the Catholic Liturgy. My wife and I chose to be married in the Lutheran Church in Cebu. There were three Lutherans in the Church that day...Myself, the Pastor, and the Organist. The rest were my wife's family. Pretty cool. Anyway, something I like about the Lutheran Church is that we still say the Apostles Creed with the word "catholic" in it. Notice, catholic in the creed is spelled with a small "c". We believe in the Holy catholic Church...etc....etc... It is used in it's original meaning. The word catholic means universal. I hate to say it, but I see a huge difference between the predominately Catholic countries I visit and the countries who aren't (excusing the Communists). Cross the border from Austria to Italy and you notice all of the sudden, all of the road rail are rusted. Go figure. Crime does indeed go up. I wonder what's going on here? J. Larry Tilby, [email protected] Germany, March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Similarly, we can also ask the same question about our best schools -- U.P., Ateneo, La Salle, San Beda -- which have been the sources of political leaders and top officials in the executive departrment. The Philippine government is traditionally "peopled" by graduates from U.P. which is not known for its religiousity, so it is not surprising that with U.P graduates in government, corruption continues to grow unabetted. But lately, Ateneo and to some extent, La Salle, have become dominant players in government, specially now with GMA (who is both an Assumptionista and Ateneo alumna) and I remember, during the term of Pres. Cory where Ateneans were almost everywhere. With their vaunted religious and socially responsive armour. one would imagine, these Ateneo and La Salle graduates could make the difference. But they have not. I wonder how many Ateneans (excluding Mike Arroyo) are in government and I wonder why we even jumped to becoming the No.2 most corrupt country, per PERC survey. Of course, we should not forget the key roles some of these Catholic school graduates played during the Marcos years. Regards, Cesar Cesar Sarino, [email protected] March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ......thanks Mr. ACA.....but since the truth hurts, your articles only leave us with frustration and indignation .....a bullet in the head might be too fair and square...... but just a finding of guilt, a Martha Stewart punishment would be enough.....just to silence these scalawags from proclaiming their innocence and their strutting as citizens of integrity....from the trillions of pesos plundered from the time of Marcos, could you name a few prominent citizens who spent a few hours behind bars ?.......and now Dante Tan ......and the stockbrokers who are back flourishing in the market that they collapsed for the last three years.....may the Lord have mercy on us......for whatever keep on Mr. ACA.....thanks again ......yr ( your reader ) Tinine Bautista, [email protected] March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I like China's expedient way of dealing with corruption, a bullet to the head. Will it happen here ? I guess we will never know until tough guys like Mayor Duterte, Ping Lacson, or even Bayani Fernando are elected into high office. But of course the bleeding hearts and the Left would be howling in unison, FASCISM ! HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ! But seriously, running 86 million unruly Filipinos needs extreme draconian measures. As for religion, a few years ago, I was discussing over drinks with a Japanese JICA expert, the general state of corruption in Asia. He told me he is puzzled by the Philippine paradox. I asked what paradox ? It's that the Philippines is the only Christian nation in Asia, but also one of the most corrupt, where is Christianity there ? I was stumped, but gave him a lame smile, and told him that that was the hallmark of Catholicism wherever you go, particularly in Latin America too . But I guess it all boils down to credibility. The Protestants don't sell Sacraments and do not promise first class sits in the afterlife. Compare that with Catholicism, KBL (Kasal, Binyag, Libing) and other frills to give you the edge in the afterlife, but for a price. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the connection between a religion that promises the Pearly Gates with a price, and a corrupt culture that it spawns. APSurtida, [email protected] Iloilo, March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Apparently, one cannot exercise political will when political debt is enormous... a rather heavy leadership burden. Is God a Protestant? I do not think God has a religion but "protestant ethic" according to Max Weber seems to "provide religious sanctions that fostered a spirit of rigorous discipline, encouraging men to apply themselves rationally to acquire wealth and thereby achieve higher level of economic development. While Weber does not believe that the protestant ethic was the only cause of the rise of capitalism, he believed it to be a powerful force in fostering its emergence". The Catholic Ethic on the other hand, with its beliefs and tradition seems to be more backward in its orientation. "May awa ang Diyos". For no apparent reasons, it sounds like "It's cool to be poor!" And poverty makes people commit crimes, sad to say. I grew up to be Catholic and as far as I can recall, the religion encourages us more to sacrifice, and to feel guilty of our sins in this world. And then, confess our sins to the priest. After that, you go back to the world, commit sins again, feel guilty of your sins, and then confess again to the Priest. I know it is a rather narrow view of Catholicism but I wonder how many Catholic Filipinos do understand fully its real essence except its colorful rituals and traditions? In my myopic view, there seems to be too much emphasis on guilt and sacrifice and made more attractive with rituals and fiestas, among other traditions. But then again, it is not for me to judge. I would be more comfortable to believe that God has no religion. Indeed, being religious doesn't necessarily mean being spiritual. Maybe Filipinos tend to be more religious, and not necessarily spiritual that's why we are No. 2 in Asia's Graft List. Is t valid to say that a lot of our corrupt politiciansand government officials may be religious but not necessarily spiritual? Damn, I really don't know. Norman Tilos, [email protected] March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi, Tony How about the president who was accused of corruption for the amari, centennial, ipp, mrt, and others? Was he a Catholic? Have a nice day! Bobby Tordesillas, [email protected] March 14, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, As usual I want to thank you for sending me a copy of your article you wrote for the Philippine Press. Are you sure it was Pres. Marcos who was Aglipayan? I though it was Ramos. Anyway you are certainly correct in the non-effect of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholics when it comes to good government and morals. I had a retired Col. as a visitor recently who told me that the President couldn't push the case of General Carlos Garcia because her family had one of his many accounts? I agree with you about the way to stop corruption or at least to slow it down would be public executions but as you and I know that will never happen in the Philippines unless it is after a bloody revolution. Keep up the good work! Jack E. Gesner, [email protected] Baguio City, March 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hola Tony, Got back to Aussie land last week. Regarding the Philippines and the PERC report on corruption I will send you my perception on the matter on the next email. Regarding the Erap case that has been dragging in court since1987. I recall Anding Roces writing that "Justice should be swift and Just." In other words, justice delayed is justice denied. I also recall that as far back as the 60s' we were pointing out that crime, graft, corruption, smuggling, law & order, government innefiancy, tax evasion, ect., were the order of the day. That as long as this transpired the Philippine economy would not be able to prosper. We also pointed out that there were over 60,000 backlog cases in Manila at the time. Today it has multipleid a hundred fold. Abrazos, Jaime Calero, [email protected] Australia, March 15, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Sir Tony, 'Is God a Protestant?'That is quite a challenging question. Your treatise on many countries that delve with corruption is an eye-opener I remember Dean Jorge Bocobo once wrote a series of articles in the Inquirer where he post the question "Why are the Protestant-inclined countries more economically successful than many Roman Catholic countries?"Is it because Protestants have stronger moral fiber than any of those you mentioned?I think Dean Bocobo received a lot of negative flak on that article. But your thoughts are quite convincing. John Onzal, [email protected] March 16, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, The Catholic Church in the Philippines has a serious corruption problem of its own. An increasing number of priests are being ousted from parishes by their own flocks for taking liberties with collections. I believe that corruption in the Church has been going on since the Spanish colonial period. Only now is it being brought to light because of more transparency and the increasing participation and vigilance of lay ministers in Church affairs. Corruption in the Church is really just a symptom of a more serious problem. After 132 years of pastoral work, it has failed to convert the country into a genuine Catholic nation. The state of corruption in the Philippines is a glaring statistical fact of this utter failure. Unfortunately, this fact is completely being ignored by Church leaders. The failure of Catholicism in the country may be traced to the following reasons: � Colonial origins of the Church Catholicism has been introduced in this country hand-in-hand with the oppression and corruption of Spanish colonialism. Instead of taking the side of the oppressed native Filipinos, Catholic missionaries have taken the side of the oppressive Spanish colonizers. I can just imagine the confusion of the natives in listening to the early missionaries preaching a religion of love while associating with an oppressive and corrupt colonial power. In fact, the Church has emerged as the largest landowner in the country after the colonial period. These lands have of course been confiscated from native Filipinos. I believe that this contradiction has not escaped the early Filipinos. They have taken to Catholicism to escape oppression but not really with their hearts and minds. They also have acquired the main features of the contradiction that it is alright to be oppressive and corrupt while being a Catholic. This is the kind of Catholicism that has been introduced and nurtured in this country and it has prevailed. . Lost sense of mission The leadership of the Church has recently convened a Congress of the Clergy to reinvigorate the sense of mission of its priests. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Church has failed to recognize that it is the entire hierarchy of the Church, including the leadership, that has lost its sense of mission. Otherwise, considering the state of Catholicism in the country, fundamental reforms in the ideology, organization and methodologies of the Church should now be in the works. There is none so far. Instead, the lowly priests, who are a mere consequence of the status quo, are being singled out as culprits. � Imperial decay Just as in Europe since the days of King Constantine and up to the present, the Catholic Church has acquired privileged status in this country. The power, wealth, comfort and decadence associated with this status have taken root in the entire organization of the Church. Unable to detach itself from its earthly status, it is no longer capable of looking inward and correcting its mistakes. Now the hierarchy of the Church is facing a challenge from its own lay organizations and from charismatic evangelists like Mike Velarde, Vincent Crisologo and Eddie Villanueva. The tension is rising. Parish pretests are increasingly being threatened by the independent activities of lay religious organizations. This is inevitable as more and more educated and committed Catholics are becoming exasperated with the mediocrity of the official Catholic Church of the Philippines. Even generous contributors to the causes of the Church are no longer indiscriminate in making their contributions. They now choose to contribute directly to individual Church institutions, such as the Sisters of Charity of Mother Theresa, which they see as making a genuine contribution to the propagation of the faith. The Gawad Kalinga apostolate of the Couples for Christ is now attracting more and more contributions than many official institutions of the Church. Parish priests now have to resort to second collections for the further improvement of their grand churches and to support the perks of their privileged status. This is now the main preoccupation of a typical parish priest. There is hardly any real evangelical and pastoral work being done now in most parishes for lack of commitment and money. I have attached herewith some articles I have written for the Catholic Herald. This is a Catholic publication widely distributed here in Southern Mindanao. Regards, Gico Dayanghirang, [email protected] Davao City, March 17, 2005 NOTE. Mr. Dayanghirang�s articles from the Catholic Herald will be included in the Reference Material section of this website at a later date. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Your article should have been subtitled: IS GOD A PROTESTANT? You did present an uncommon exposition about corruption prevailing in some countries based on religious inclinations. More so, you dared pose a disquieting question about God being a Protestant. Many however, never knew that the label was invented by the Roman Catholics. If we look at church history, there seems to be some striking parallelism in the past of the Protestant movement with today�s state of affairs. The Protestant movement came about to bring reformation in the church hierarchy. Several dissident movements in the late medieval church anticipated the Reformation by protesting the pervasive corruption in the church and by criticizing fundamental Catholic teachings. (Similarly, unabated corruption and wrong policies in government? Again, the unfortunate axiom: History ironically repeats itself huh.) The so-called reformers became disillusioned with ecclesiastical abuses and undertook the task of making the Christian Scriptures generally available to lay people. A number of conditions in 16th-century Europe account for the success of Martin Luther and the other reformers as compared to their predecessors. Both the Holy Roman emperor and the pope were declining in power and were preoccupied with the threat posed by the Ottoman Empire. The invention of printing in the 15th century made possible the rapid dissemination of the reformers� ideas. Finally, the growth of secular learning, the rise of nationalism, and the increasing resentment of the pope�s authority among both rulers and ordinary citizens made people, especially in northern Europe, more receptive to Protestant teachings. Through the centuries, the Protestant movement metamorphosed into so many branches or sects that seemed to already obscure the ideals of the original reformers. In our present day, if a Christian is not a Roman Catholic, he is more or less, a Protestant. Protestants are also labeled by other congeneric names like the fundamentalist right, moral majority, Pentecostals, Born-Agains, and others. Francis Schaeffer, a great Christian intellectual I admire, refers to the Protestant faith as Judeo-Christianity. Martin Lloyd Jones, a brilliant Bible expositor, has more aptly distinguished those who believe Biblical Christianity of the Protestant mold as Evangelicals. Be that as it may, the Protestant nametag has stuck. But most Protestants today would rather be identified as evangelicals. For one, the latter word has biblical genesis unlike the former. It was courageous for you to premise the statement that those who �generally take their religion seriously are not the source of our moral dilemma and national shame.� Quite frankly, Christians who accept, believe and practice biblical truths and precepts have a profound transforming effect on the person inside out. Thus, if corruption is sin (of which it is) Scriptures (of which the so-called Protestants find their only basis of their faith and not some traditions) teaches us to abhor it. And therefore corruption is a no no thing to practice, biblically speaking. Do most Protestants practice this? Let me emphatically state though that Protestants, by and large, don�t claim to be self-righteous nor any holier than anyone. No religion can make that absolute claim. We all fall short of God�s glory. Corollary to your article, Dean Jorge Bocobo postulated this observation in an article he once wrote in a national daily: �Why is it that, among the Christian nations of the world, it is the Roman Catholics, us, loyal to empire and Rome, who have remained the poorest? It is the countries that are predominantly Protestants that are at the forefront of human progress, at least by their measure. Democracy and capitalism have thrived the most where Protestantism reigns in North America and Europe; authoritarianism and feudalism, on the other hand, belong to the modern Romans, our democracies flawed, our agriculture backward, our industries suspiciously stunted.� We maybe a �Christian� nation that was Romanized but not truly Christianized. May I say this with deep concern: Do we want this nation to rise from the ashes of retrogression and move forward with some ray of hope for progress? Let�s push for reforms in government and transformation as well in ourselves. Let us learn from history. And at the risk of being branded a religious bigot, let us learn too from Scriptures because of its cogent effect for change within. And yes, I am an evangelical. Boy S. Gonzalo, [email protected] Isabela City, Basilan, March 19, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww So what do you think is the main reason? Could it be a religion where Jesus is not the only One worshipped by leaders and majority of the people of the Philippines? Could it be the paganistic religion that you have to call on to all saints, priests and whoever in the hierarchy to intercede? Could it be that you will have the immaculate mary to intercede? Could it be the non proclamation of truth in the predominantly catholic churches in the Philippines? If only the true Gospel and teachings in the Bible are proclaimed, then elected leaders and people who are expected to serve will realize that there is such thing as conscience. Elizabeth de la Rosa, [email protected] March 20, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww |
| Dear Mr. Abaya, Can one be so corrupt and yet so religious at the same time? As second most corrupt in this part of the hemisphere, the Philippines hardly qualifies as a religious Christian nation. It is so diametrically antithetical. Or so it seems. I know of a company executive, a lawyer at that, who is so religious (he is an avid sacristan of his local parish). He doles out a large sum of charity money to the clergy. But surprisingly, he hugely underpays his taxes due the government. His reason: why allow the crocodiles in government to pocket our hard-earned money (paying taxes that is) if we can just pocket the money ourselves. Furthermore, he shells out bribe money to certain government agencies just to corner profitable management contracts. In this case, how to reconcile being religious with being corrupt escapes me. Like water and oil, virtue and vice don�t mix. But wait a minute, this is not something new. If we recall, the most religious ones (the Pharisees and the Sadducees) were the most corrupt in Christ�s time. I guess the lawyer saw a precedent in history. Peter Eisma Isabela City, Basilan Province April 10, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |