The Church and the Politics in the Philippines

Part V

The Church and the politics in the Philippines

The Separation of the Church and State was first a stated concept and now a political and legal doctrine that states that the two institution, both the government and the Church, to be separated from each other. The concept was more often use to refer to the combination of these two principles. These are the secularity of the government and freedom from religious exercises. The concept of the Separation between the two institutions was originally credited by the famous English philosopher, John Locke. Though the concept of the Separation goes way back from the Ancient times, mainly Mesopotamia, where Kings and Priest were strictly separated and are limited to there respective duties. But the most recognizable time for this topic was the medieval ages. This is because the monarchs ruled through the divine rights, meaning he both controls the state and the Church. This had led to the famous conflict between Pope Julius II and Henry VIII in which the birth of the Anglican Church. This also brings us to the time of the philosophes, specifically John Locke. He stated that the government lacked the authority in the realm of individual conscience. He’s argument inspire Thomas Jefferson in the debate over the separation between the Church and State. This became clear in 1797, where the treaty of Tripoli was ratified. The treaty states, in Article 11, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”. People who believe in the separation between the Church and the State believed in this article. They confirmed that the governments, in the United States, are intended to be religiously neutral.

The 1986 EDSA Revolution

The People Power Revolution in 1968, had four solid days wherein not even a bit of violence was shown. Many believe that God had His hands over the whole revolution and making a miracle happen of having 0% bloodshed. This was four days of people revolting that toppled Marcos’s dictatorship and elected a new leader, Cory Aquino. This miraculous revolution of people happened from February 22 to February 25. The people were located in Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, which people know more as its acronym EDSA, in Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila. There were about 2,000,000 Filipino people involved, there were civilians, military figures, political figures and religious figures. One of which was Jaime Cardinal Sin who was the man who called people to proceed to EDSA.

The initial cause of this People Power Revolution dated back to the mid to late 1960s when Ferdinand Marcos won the presidential elections of the 1965. After serving his first term, he again ran for president and was reelected. In the early 1970s people were starting to get discontented because of the involvement of the Philippines in the Vietnam War and the general dissatisfaction of the public over their quality of life.

Marcos wanted to amend the constitution in a way that he will be allowed to run for a third term as president. A lot of movements and protests were put up to stop Marcos from his dirty plans. Things became worse when two hand grenades exploded at the miting de avance of the Liberal Party before the senatorial elections. Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus because of this but another spate of bombings in the metropolis happened. Then opposition Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. exposed to the congress Marco’s plan on declaring Martial law.

On September 23, 1972, Marcos declared martial law. During this period, he was able to pass the amended constitution which changed our government to parliamentary. He punished anyone who challenged his power and one which was Aquino. After his release he went to exile in a different country.

Marcos lifted marital law but continued using his power as like there was still martial law. The opposition parties chose to boycott the next presidential election giving Marcos the win. Aquino, from exile in the US decided to come back home even with all the threats to his life. When he arrived in the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, he was shot and killed. This woke the Filipino people up, and during this time there were open calls for protests against Marcos and his government.

The people were asking for a snap election and he saw this as an opportunity to show the world that the Filipinos still like him as their leader but then what he planned wasn’t successful. He went against Cory Aquino for presidency and as expected a lot of cheating happened. The COMELEC results declared Marcos as the winner while the NAMFREL results said that Aquino won.

February 22 1986, Enrile, together with Ramos, gathered around 400 men at Camp Aguinaldo, after receiving news that there was going to be a mass arrest of opposition leaders and Armed Forces Movement officers. The two had a press conference confirming the cheating that Marcos did and said that Aquino was the real winner.

Enrile went to Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila for support and Cardinal sin aired on the church-run Radio calling the people to support the rebellion. After awhile, people had started to march to EDSA, heeding the call of Cardinal Sin and from here the three billion people stood strongly in EDSA for Marcos to step down and resign. Eventually after being advised by a United States Senator Paul Laxalt “to cut and cut cleanly,” Marcos gave up and stepped down.

The Church and Human Rights

Several are against the death penalty

Separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent from each other. The term most often refers to the combination of two principles: secularity of government and freedom of religion.

Same-sex Marriage is a socially recognized marriage between two persons of the same gender. It impacts on the freedom of religion; it normalizes homosexual behavior and would encourage it, and would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples that could weaken the conventional purpose of marriage. Supporters strengthen the institution of the same-sex marriage, and provide legal protection for children of gay and lesbian parents. Support for same-sex marriage is often based upon what is regarded as a universal human rights issue, mental and physical health concerns, equality before the law, and the goal of normalizing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) relationships.

Death Penalty is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. The Church classes capital punishment as a form of "lawful slaying"(a view derived from the thought of theological authorities such as Thomas Aquinas) but not for revenge. Pope John Paul II has even spoken out in such matters saying; ‘Capital punishment should be avoided’ and ‘used if it is the only way to defend society’.

The Reproductive Health Bill

The Reproductive Health Bill, also known as the House Bill (HB) 5043, of 2008 has caught the attention of many influential institutions, including which are the Philippine government and the Catholic Church. As proposed by Edcel C. Lagman, a representative from the district of Albay, HB 5043 aims to form a new foundation of understanding in regards to matters of family life by way of promoting contraception, sex-education for the youth, and family planning, among others.

Ever since the bill has been proposed, there have been many arguments between the two said institutions. The Church believes that the bill specifically targets the human and family life by way of violation of the moral law. As the Church and the Philippine Constitution recognizes that human life begins at the moment of conception, it must be protected always and thus contradicted by the bill as it promotes abortifacients. The Church also believes that sex-education must be administered by the parents and not anyone else as the law suggests. However, principal author, Rep. Lagman, stays true to his beliefs and affirms his propositions. He suggests that every article in the bill is necessary to fully educate the people on the said matter. Writing extensively in support of the proposed bill, he argues that the bill enhances family life as births and children will be expected and wanted, sex-education as administered by the proposed teachers will not form a new breed of sex fanatics as it will only teach the right sexual values and freedom of choice; and will not legalize abortion. This however seems to be a puzzling claim as the bill clearly promotes the use of abortifacients.

There have been many who showed support and dissent towards the bill. Some Catholics stand true to their belief regarding what is morally correct as others have sided with the bill. Even some of the members of well-known Catholic Universities have expressed their support for the bill. However, the true loyalties to the Catholic faith will continue to fight for what is right. They will not stop the fight for the truth and will continue to voice out their beliefs against the proposed bill.

Church participation in Politics

The topic of whether or not the church should participate in politics is a very sensitive one. In fact throughout history there have been many attempts to merge the church and the government in order to alleviate the problem. However we have seen that this attempt does not work, and that the best way to go about it is to have the church and government as two separate and individual groups. But how can we be sure that they do not influence or control each other? Frankly you cannot be assured, and there have been many times in which the Church, like the 2001 Edsa revolution. Cardinal Sin, called for the Edsa revolution to depose the corrupt leader during that time, . Some would say that this is a huge step for the Church to take since Erap at that time was being impeached properly and what Jaime Cardinal Sin did was improper. However we cannot judge what Cardinal Sin did, because he must have felt he was supporting a proper cause, and that is not the point, because in the end Cardinal Sin received a directive from the Vatican ordering him and the Philippine clergy to adopt a non-partisan stance towards the political crisis. This shows that the Church as a whole did not try to influence the people into the famous revolutions. They remained neutral as they should and let the government sort out their own activities. So the action of one member of the church does not reflect the stance or the view of the whole church on the subject at hand. So the crucial question is whether or not there is a prohibition to the religious from participating in the affairs of the government. It is hard you see for many priest or members of the church not to participate in affairs of the government, because they are both part of the church and at the same time they are affected by the government. But in reality, there is no law stopping the church from extending it arm and participate in government affairs. However, it is not prudent because it would trigger some violations in the church-state separation agreement and it would seem like you favour a certain religion over another. That is why some people like Fr. Panlilio was able to file for candidacy, because there is no law against it, and it was supposedly purely political. It is easier this way, because there will be bigger problems if the government hinders the church from participating simply because they are religious. So to stop a person from running for office because of the reason of religion would cause great disturbance and outrage among the people. That is why my advice is: Both institutions should just respect each other and work hand and hand for a better tomorrow....

Conclusion

The Philippine Church and government have gone through many things together, both positive and negative. With the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the Church supported the people against the government to form a peaceful means and an end to the Marcos Regime. With the continuing debate on whether or not gay marriages or death penalties will be administered, the Church will continue to fight for the justice it wishes. With the proposed Reproductive Health Bill which poses as a threat to the moral Filipino family life, the Church will continue to make a stand in order to protect its children so that their lives may remain in union with God and away from such evils. With the participation of the Church in government matters, it is very evident that these two institutions will continue to be in the presence of one another.

Study Questions

1. Who was the dictator that was overthrown in the 1986 EDSA Revolution?

2. What are some of the provisions of the RH Bill which goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church?

3. In matters of Human Rights, the Church and state often argue in two very important matters, what are these?

4. Why does the Church interfere with government matters?

Practical Exercises

1. As the Reproductive Health Bill voices out its support on contraception and the use of abortifacients, make a counter-argument using the contradicting words of Edcel Lagman saying that the bill does not promote abortion but clearly promotes contraception and abortifacients.

2. The 1986 EDSA Revolution was the first revolution of its kind, by way of peaceful means, to overthrow a powerful regime. The people were able to voice out their thought and show to the world that a revolt need not necessarily be one with fights thru swords or guns. In ten sentences or less, show how the EDSA Revolutions paved the way for peaceful revolutions to be dispensed in other revolutions, i.e. other revolutions around the world which shaped the world today.

From the Catechism

The Church recognizes that each person, i.e. every human being has his/her own rights which shall be protected by both the Church and the state.

365 “The right to the exercise of freedom belongs to everyone because it is inseparable

from his or her dignity as a human person. Therefore this right must always be

respected, especially in moral and religious matters, and it must be recognized and

protected by civil authority within the limits of the common good and a just public

order.

As part of the right to life, one must never kill or murder another person, including which is by abortion, or the killing of an innocent child. Such an act is punishable by both the law of the Church and the state.

470 “…direct abortion, willed as an end or means, as well as cooperation in it. Attached

to this sin is the penalty of excommunication because, from the moment of his or

her conception, the human being must be absolutely respected and protected in his

integrity...”

References

Bolasco M. (1986), The Church and National Liberation, Kasarinlan, Vol. 2, 3^rd

Quarter, pp. 3-12.

Carroll, J.J. S.J., Looking Beyond Edsa, Part I Structural Change for Social

Transformation, Loyola Papers, 15, pp. 119-120.

Doll, William E, 1993, The Church, the State, and the People, Teachers College Press

Funk, Charles Earle, 2000, The Book of Sayings, USA: Paperback Publishing.

Gatto, John Taylor, 1992, Dumbing Us Down, New Society Publishers.

Tan, Christine RGS., The Philippine Revolution of 1986, Ichthys, p. 9.

Pope Paul VI (1968). Humanae Vitae ‘on the Regulation of Birth’. The Vatican.

Yager, Jan (2002), Sayings and Insights to Help You Find Your Way, Hannacroix Creek

Books.

http://daga.dhs.org/daga/press/religion_society/section2_b.htm

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=EDSA_Revolution_of_1986

http://www.prolife.org.ph/news/index.php/2009/01/position-paper-against-hb-5043-catholic-alumni-united-for-life/

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20080803-152296/Reproductive-health-bill-Facts-fallacies

http://jlp-law.com/blog/reproductive-health-bill-fact-sheet-and-explanatory-note/

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/images/8/86/Edcel_lagman.jpg

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~rgdizon/classweb/worldpolitics/images/great%20pic.jpg

http://bibliblogue.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/no-death-penalty-button.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hb1VN4Mhwuc/Rv1wGKH4wUI/AAAAAAAAACE/gjA0s5RjXBE/s320/Jaime+Cardinal+Sin+of+the+Philippines+01.jpg

www.cbcponline.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/

Credits

(Besabe, Nathaniel Orion, S.)

Sub-section: The Reproductive Health Bill

Conclusion

Study Questions 1-3

Practical Exercises 1 and 2

Significance of Catechism nos. 365 and 470

Answers to Study Questions 1-3

Section Layout

(Jayme, Kevin Matthew, D.)

Introduction: Separation of the Church and State

Research

Pictures

(Ongsiako, Juan Ramon Emmanuel Santino, J.)

Sub-section: The Church and Human Rights

Research

Pictures

(Pereche III, Juvencio Angelo P.)

Sub-section: Church Participation in Politics

Research

Pictures

Study Question 4

Answer to Study Question 4

(Vasquez IV, Conrado Narciso)

Sub-section: The 1986 EDSA Revolution

Research

Pictures

Answers to Study Questions (Part V)

1. The dictator which was overthrown during the 1986 EDSA Revolution was President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

2. The provisions of the RH Bill that go against the teachings of the Church are; promoting contraception, sex-education for the youth, and family planning.

3. The two hotly debated issues in Human Rights are the gays and the death penalty.

4. The church, as a separate and individual group, should not interfere with government affairs. However in special cases in which the government becomes corrupt and/or evil, the church could interfere for the good of the people