See what a little public “persuasion” can do to public officials and even men of the cloth?
A few days after the online uproar fired by the video showing Fr. Romeo Obach castigating an unwed mother during her son’s baptism, both parties involved–the priest, the teenage mother and her family exchanged apologies and cooled down the scandal.
Now we have three Cebu city councilors Alvin Dizon, Eugenio Gabuya and Roberto Cabarrubias, each returning the P20,000 “calamity assistance” they received as part of an across-the-board post-Yolanda benefit approved for City Hall last December.
They were disturbed by the negative public reaction over the generous self-giving by the City Council. The calamity aid was enjoyed by all city employees and officials without their being asked to show proof of actual damage, if any, sustained from last year’s earthquake and supertyphoon.
Their consciences weren’t bothered too much when the council approved an P84.5 million budget for it last December 2013. The issue was revived by a lawyer’s complaint that reached Malacañang and in turn got media attention. This belatedly stirred a sense of propriety.
Dizon said he had used the P20,000 cash aid to help his family in Ormoc City where their house was damaged by the storm.
Still, he reconsidered and returned the amount to the City Treasurer’s Office. He knows the refund still wouldn’t absolve him of liability in the pending complaint if it turns out against their favor based on audit rules or good governance. But he may head off a political backlash from his constituents.
Public criticism over City Hall’s “calamity assistance” wasn’t as strong as the outrage over Fr. Obach’s “cruel ways”, a phrase used by the priest himself to describe his impromptu sermon about pre-marital sex.
In both cases, elected officials and the cleric were forced to reflect deeper and take action.
For Fr. Obach, the online outrage prompted Redemptorist superiors to act swiftly by suspending their confrere’s priestly functions and helping him face his offense.
That meant writing a letter of apology and humbly asking for forgiveness from the unwed teenage mother and her family in person. The priest is still under investigation by his congregation following rules of their order and Canon Law.
Councilor Dizon admitted that he and other councilors were pressed to approve the resolution granting the “calamity assistance” because of the Christmas holiday break and the glum mood of
City Hall employees whose Christmas party and bonus were scrapped as an act of solidarity with calamity victims.
In both cases, the councilors and priest were sensitive to the public pulse and took steps to undo a public wrong instead of clinging to flawed arguments that ordinary folk clearly see through.