The Holy Spirit is alive and well

          I was taken aback when a group of Catholic laity yesterday morning enthused at how the Holy Spirit actively helped the country’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippine arrive at their six-point resolutions of the country’s crisis.

          Malacañang enthused over the bishops’ settling to keep the President – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her seat. But they did not realize that the prelates had also served her a “Trojan horse” when they asked for the abolition of Executive Order No. 464, which manacled Cabinet men and key government officials from testifying on corruption before the appropriate investigating body.

          The latter is the litmus test to determine whether the President, whom the bishops tasked with the top to bottom cleanup of corruption of our social and political ladder, will comply with it.

          If she fails, then it will provide the country the casus belli to seek for her ouster.

          As political scientists often point out that three major pillars of society are the government, the Church, and the military.

          Thus, the Church cannot just pull the rug from under the President without plunging the country into another crisis where the military may take advantage of the situation.

          I suspect that, to a certain extent, the country’s prelate may have seen the AFP and PNP generals, their arms linked together, marching in a show of unity after the commemoration of EDSA Uno. That, although billed as symbol of unity behind the constituted authority, also signaled that the men in uniform have realized that, by now, they hold the balance of power.

          A dangerous development.

          The bishops virtually asked President Arroyo to allow her subordinate officials to redeem any corrupt act, especially the ZTE-NBN broadband deal without being obstructed in their testimony, no matter who is involved.

          That tightens the noose around the President’s neck. The indications are that even the First Gentleman, Mike Arroyo, may have been involved in the deal. Of course, for the moment, those are just hearsay evidence. But I suspect, that so much smoke already unleashed actually may have stemmed from fire below.

          But the prelates, however, also are aware that the current Senate probe into the ZTE scandal actually has a lot of the senators involved in it because of their desire to project themselves in preparation for the 2010 elections. In short, their motivations are not purely patriotic. But selfish.

          Media, on the other hand, also was asked to become a positive force in searching for the truth. And in combating corruption. This can be through objective reporting, without this and partiality, selective and tendentious reporting of facts.

          If we have to be honest about it, ANC and the Government TV station have all their respective agenda. And this have become apparent by the way the news are being presented, the facts and revelations interpreted.

          Actually, if one were to peruse meticulously the CBCP statement, it throw the burden of  leading the fight against corruption to the government leadership. The executive actually even if it also called on the Legislature to do its share without the member’s personal interest getting the upper hand.

          We have already seen how this has distorted the truth insofar as the Senate investigation is concerned. And that is the one that is impeding the search for the truth because that provides the administration the ammunition to put up their own counter-offensive be it in terms of rallies or the mountain of propaganda.  While we have our reservations about GMA, we also have our own about former Speaker Jose de Venecia who has been calling on the President to resign. This is the same De Venecia who had owned having done GMA so many favors in the past and whose leadership of the House has been marked by unearthed scandals. There are many more questions we could ask the public to focus on. But these can wait for the next column.

          Still, the more important thing to remember is what the bishops call for – to pray for the gift of discernment. When God heeds our prayers, you can be sure that we may find a lot of the so-called truths by ourselves without waiting for whistleblowers and their respective ends.

          And the same goes with the unliquidated cash advances to many city hall officials. But even that to be treated with care. I understand, the report had not been signed by the city accountant. In effect, it remains unofficial. Still, about time that those listed should be asked to explain in writing. I met one yesterday. And she vociferously admitted having taken cash advance. But that includes those in the past and already liquidated.

          Perhaps, that’s the other side of the question. When reported to have been liquated, the liquidation reports should be subjected to scrutiny by the public. At least, by mass media so that their authenticity and truth can be proven. That’s why, I think, that what has been going on is something good for the country. In the first place, it has made locals become more conscious of the need for them to become more concerned about the handling of government funds.*

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