In his homily to open Lent on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis exhorted Christendom to use the 40-day season to pause, see and return.
“Distrust, apathy and resignation,” the Pope said, “are demons that deaden and paralyze the soul of a believing people,” and to pause, see and return helps a person “unmask these and other temptations.”
Individual persons and groups in contemporary Philippine society, particularly in the government would be wise to themselves do some pausing, seeing and returning for the sake of our country.
President Rodrigo Duterte, pause from using inflammatory language as you did in telling soldiers to shoot women rebels in the genitals.
Pause from speaking fallacies, as when you said government accomplishments are contingent on a dictatorial style of leadership.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, pause from defending the indefensible as when you said the Chinese naming of Philippine territory is as benign as nomenclature for Sinic dishes.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, pause from selective obedience to the law, as in your resistance to the Office of the Ombudsman, even as legislators have yet to enact a shield law against its rulings.
Pause, with your supporters, from tinkering with the Constitution only to perpetuate yourselves in power, enrich yourselves and make yourselves less accountable to the people.
Pause and see. See the continuing suffering of citizens in the countryside following the breakdown of peace negotiations between government and rebels.
See the trauma of indigenous communities mired in militarization.
See the steady trampling of our shores by invaders, their taking of parcels of our national territory.
See the demoralization of our youth as leaders show that democracy is merely the rule of the majority that makes an alliance with Malacañang, not the rule of law.
See the plight of the poor as prices rise, the purchasing power of our currency falls and basic services come to them in trickles due to divisive politicking.
See how the victims of illegal drugs turn into zombies as police play shooting games while failing to catch drug lords, break syndicates and stop smuggling.
See and return. Return to the oaths you have taken as public servants, grounded on the presidential oath.
Return to preserving and defending the Constitution rather than re-engineering it to support your elitist whims.
Return to executing laws and doing justice to every man rather than weaponizing it to stifle conscientious dissent.
Return to the service of the nation rather than treating it like private property to the detriment of Juan de la Cruz who has suffered for far too long.
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