OPPOSE CHARTER CHANGE.
PURSUE GENUINE SOCIAL
REFORMS
‘The wicked are filled
with cursing and deceit and oppression…
they murder the
innocent… and seize the poor and drag them off
their net.’ (Psalm 10.
7-9)
The
psalmist laments over the way the mighty trample upon the weak beneath their
feet. He condemns the violent ways and deceptive designs they wrought to feed
their greed for power and wealth, which drag the poor to deeper destitution. In
the midst of oppression and exploitation, the psalmist assures the poor that
God will bring them relief and do them justice, as God will certainly stretched
out his hands to topple the tyrants and rebuke their wicked ways.
We steadfastly cling to this promise of relief
and hope for God’s justice in the midst of the ever worsening and devastating
crisis that plagues the nation and continue to impoverish our people.
The Philippines is a country beset with
crisis. Year in and year out, our nation has been besieged with all kinds
of debilitating crisis that have greatly affected our economic, political,
social and moral life as a people. The national soul and our sense of pride as
a nation state are being consistently eroded to the point where the social
fabric that welds the Filipino as a people is at its critical point of breaking
down. The moans and cries of a desperate citizenry, shouts for help and
deliverance are heard everywhere - in the countryside, in the parliament of the
street, even in the halls and corridors of power – of this our battered land.
Our national life is in disarray. There
is a breakdown in governance and in our democratic processes and institutions.
The national leaders are divided along party lines and personal interests. From
all indications, the common good is no longer the primary agendum of
politicians and political leaders both in high and low echelons of power in
government. Those who have been elected and charged with the primordial task of
promoting the common welfare and well being of the Filipino people have turned
their back against the citizenry fleecing the people with more taxes while
facing, with subservient attitude, the authors and executors of imperialist
globalization. Meanwhile, graft and corruption has turned from bad to
worse. The consequence of this mockery and betrayal of public trust is a people
perpetually chained to a life of poverty and death.
The present dispensation under Ms. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo is offering Charter Change as the solution to the political,
economic, social and moral crisis engulfing the Philippines. As in ages
past, the powers-that-be in this our troubled land do not think twice in
raising an accusing finger elsewhere but to themselves. Like Pontius
Pilate of old, the incumbent leadership want to wash their hands by pointing to
the system of government as the culprit in bringing about this national malady
debilitating our beloved country.
The 1987 Constitution is the product of the
collective wisdom, good will and intentions of men and women whose integrity
and credibility are beyond reproach. It contains all the essential
provisions that would enable the country in its march toward national
development and progress. What is sorely lacking is the political will to
pursue to the letter the provisions and stipulations of the 1987
Constitution. A change in the constitution or in the system of governance
for that matter is no guarantee for the country to extricate itself from the
quagmire of poverty and underdevelopment. What is needed is a complete change
of heart and a strong political will to pursue the common good, one that puts
prime import the welfare and well being of the Filipino people.
Any
move to change the constitution at this time without observing time-tested
democratic and participative processes, and without due respect to the genuine
interests of the vast majority of our people is construed to be self-serving to
the political elites and their foreign masters. Whose interest will Charter
Change or a change in the system of government promote among these contending
interests:
-
The vast
majority of the Filipino people who clamor for genuine change and a life in its
fullness through genuine land reform and nationalist industrialization?
-
The tiny
minority of political elites, landed gentry and big businessmen whose interest
is to hold on to economic and political power and lord it over the majority?
-
The
agents of imperialist globalization whose interest is to have an unbridled
access to the nation’s resources including 100% ownership of land, utilities,
mass media; an overseas base of foreign military troops, and a storage
facilities of nuclear weapons, and other warheads and instruments?
Clearly, Charter Change only shows Ms. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s disrespect towards the Constitution and her brazen disregard
to the people’s legitimate interest. It contradicts the aspiration of the
Filipino people for economic productivity and growth through genuine land
reform and nationalist industrialization and the establishment of a genuine
democratic government in the Philippines. Charter Change, therefore, must be
opposed.
The Iglesia Filipina Independiente reiterates,
in the strongest possible terms, her opposition to Charter Change for it is not
the answer to the present economic, political, social and moral crisis.
The grave problems we face today cannot be simply attributed to the ‘flaws’ in
the Constitution as the government wants us to believe. They are the outcome of
irresponsible governance by leaders whom the people perceive to be with
questionable authority, credibility and integrity, and centuries old structures
and systems that promote/protect the country’s tiny elite at the expense of the
huge majority. Our faith urges us to make a stand – and that is a
resounding NO TO CHARTER CHANGE while we commit our continuing support
to the Filipino people’s struggle to install a truly democratic government
where their interests are truly heard and served. Let us all help in
building a nation where people live with dignity and integrity.
20th
February 2006
Obispado Maximo, City of Manila