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Questions for our leaders

In the spirit of political love, and in the spirit of EDSA People Power, it is time for us to ask questions so that our political leaders can render us an account

Reflection on the EDSA Anniversary 2023 delivered at EDSA Shrine on a symposium organized by Clergy for Moral Choice

In the spirit of political love, and in the spirit of EDSA People Power, it is time for us to ask questions so that our political leaders can render us an account. How do we operationalize “political love” today. Ano ang mga dapat nating itanong? Sino ang mga dapat nating tanungin at singilin? Ano ang mga hakbang na dapat nating gawin?

a. IN THE NAME OF RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE, anong katarungan ang ibibigay natin sa mga balo at mga batang nawalan ng ama sa War on Drugs? Paano hihilom ang kanilang mga sugat kung patuloy natin silang pagkakaitan ng hustisya? If we have no answers to these questions, I am afraid we will soon reap society of revenge and violence. Minsan tinanong ko ang isang bata kung anong gusto niyang maging paglaki niya. “Gusto kong maging pulis,” sabi niya. “Dahil gusto kong patayin ang pulis na pumatay sa Tatay ko.” Malungkot na sagot. Bakit natin pipigilan ang ICC na mag-imbistiga at kumausap sa kanila — tulad ng ginawa ng Congreso at Senado ngayon? Nais kung ibalik sa kanila ang sinasabi nila sa mga mahihirap noon, “kung wala kang kasalanan, huwag kang matakot.”



b. IN THE NAME OF TRUTH, anong isasagot natin sa mga tanong tungkol sa nakaraang eleksyon? Bakit takot silang buksan ang transparency servers? When basic questions of legitimacy are not answered, this government could hardly move on. No, it is not us who cannot move on. It is this government because it is merely preoccupied with defending itself from even the minutest questions people ask about its existence. It is quite expensive to maintain a rule whose legitimacy is questioned. Is this the use of the millions of confidential funds?

c. IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE, kailan natin mabibigyan ng hustisya si Senador Leila de Lima? Mahalaga ang tanong na ito dahil kung kaya nilang gawin yan sa isang Senador, paano na lang ang mga mahihirap kong kaibigan sa Payatas. Kailan natin mabibigyan ng hustisya ang mga katutubo, human rights advocates at journalists na kanilang ni red tag at pinatay? We can never imagine the suffering their families suffer until today — whether it happened 40 years ago or just recently.

d. IN THE NAME OF ACCOUNTABILITY, what will happen to Pharmally investigations, Phil Health scam, DOH controversies and other problems during the pandemic? Kalimutan na lang po ba natin ito? How can the suspects be accountable for the lives lost and the sorry state of our health system before, during and after the pandemic? Also in the name of accountability, we also ask who will exact the paying of 203B state tax? Or, why do our legislators in Congress and Senate approve the confidential funds without question, in places where they are less likely to be needed? Bakit mahalaga ang mga tanong na ito? Dahil sabi nga ni Pope Francis: “Corruption is paid for by the poor.”

e. IN THE NAME OF ECOLOGY, anong maisasagot natin sa ating mga katutubong nagmamartsa laban sa Kaliwa Dam sa kasalukuyan? Noong nakaraang taon, sinabi ng Pangulo sa isang DENR forum: “I assure you that our environment and our country’s resiliency and adaptation to the new normal of climate change are on top of the national agenda.” Pero bakit tuloy ang pag-aaproba ng mining permits maging sa Sibuyan man o sa Palawan na diumano’y pag-aari ng mga makapangyarihan at negosyanteng mayayaman? Anong sasabihin natin sa ongoing reclamation sa Manila Bay na pumipinsala sa hanapbuhay ng mga mangingisda? Paano bigyan ng katarungan ang mga katutubong pinatay dahil binantayan lamang nila ang kanilang ancestral domain at likas-yaman? Nakaugat ang mga tanong na ito kay Pope Francis sa “Laudato Si.”

- Newsletter -

May mga marami pang tanong, halimbawa, tungkol sa inflation, political dynasty, anti-terror law, relasyon sa China, at iba pa. In the spirit of EDSA, in the name of Christian political love, we should not keep quiet. Prophets should not be afraid to ask. Please keep asking. And show your questions in protest actions. This is the way to express our political love!

Sa katapusan, naalala ko ang inosenteng mukha nang isang batang nakakita kung paano binaril ang kanyang ama. Hindi siya nagsasalita. Mga ilang buwan din yon. Nakatingin lang siya sa akin o nakatitig sa kawalan. Parang sinasabi niya sa akin: “papatayin n’yo rin baa ko?” Dahil kapag wala kang ginawa, parang pinatay mo na rin ako.

Ipapasa ko sa inyo ang hamong na ito: Kapag wala kayong ginawa, hinayaan ninyong patayin ang ating bayan.

Father Daniel Franklin Pilario, C.M., is a theologian, professor, and pastor of an urban poor community in the outskirts of the Philippine capital. He is also Vincentian Chair for Social Justice at St. John’s University in New York. The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of LiCAS News or its publishers.

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