History records Jaime Cardinal Sin as the motive force who called out the crowds to EDSA to help protect Fidel Valdez Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile against the loyalist military forces of Marcos.
The two men’s decision to dump their benefactor appeared to have lit the last fuse in the seething public anger over the assassination in 1983 of Ninoy Aquino as exemplified by the coming together of citizens groups opposed to the dictatorship.
Fast forward to 2008 and I have friends asking me if Filipinos have present-day Ninoys and Cardinal Sins.
Public anger is seething, yes, but the cast of characters expected on the makeshift stage today on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo De Roxas include the sincere and the dubious.
You’ll have the religious leaders, wheeler-dealers-turned-whistle-blowers, and political have-beens, have-nots, and wannabees,
Still they will be united.
Filipinos united under a single cause: the defeat of attempts to change the Constitution and extend the term of the incumbent.
Will such an ‘Inter-Faith’ assembly really be able to harness prayer to achieve political ends?
Or will ‘people power fatigue’ manifest itself to further embolden those in power to pursue cha-cha?
Tignan natin.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Kung baga, Ding, pwede na yan, right?
Happy ocho-ocho. :D
Oh and the above, to complement the pwede-na-yan aspect I cited previously, is the part where we say bahala na. :D
So we have all the INGREDIENTS required for a true-blue Pinoy approach.
:D pwede na yan
- and -
:D bahala na
Ben,
Your “Kung baga, Ding, pwede na yan, right?”
Being united is only a starting point. Action resulting in real and positive change is a different matter, you’ll agree?
I for one don’t think several of the personages expected at the rally ought to be there. But I remain hopeful for change.
Eto pa pala, mawalang galang po.
I can’t help but comment on the above snippet as well as it is yet another gem that I’d like to explore further.
harness prayer
Boy, this kinda opens a can of worms now, doesn’t it? And to top that, it gets combined with this baffling concept:
to achieve political ends.
ummm….okayyyy….
A “rally” consisting of “the sincere and the dubious” that aims to “harness prayer to achieve political ends”. Interesting.
If I were the God who has to sit and listen to these “prayers”, well, I guess I wouldn’t really worry about having my IQ insulted here as I presumably possess infinite intelligence that a few insults won’t dent. But for once, I’m kinda at a loss for words as this blog entry is just so internally inconsistent that it defies attempts on my part to come up with a comment that is both coherent and whollistic.
Happy ocho-ocho! :D
I would, Ding, if you can convince me how different this is from any of the items in this little collection of mine. ;)
@ Ding
What is the political purpose of this interfaith rally?
Also, i have concerns about ‘using’ prayer for political purposes. Are we using God to achieve earthly ends? Is this a good thing to do? Or are we asking God for guidance [which is different]?
Ben,
To be clear. I do not really think God meddles in things political no matter how politicians always want him to. You may properly deduce why I have never really argued against the shock appeal you employ in asking, nay, challenging Filipinos to ‘get real’. Di ka naman mali bro.
Gabby,I hope this also addresses your concern.
We have to see how this plays out. Gloria knows that the Catholics are “Sin-less”. None of the bishops can ever fill the late Cardinal’s shoes. Also 22 years later, the Philippines is a more secular place (even though we have the patina of religiosity).
The clerics are to blame. They are the moneychangers in the Temple. Worse we have all sorts of “brothers” and self appointed “apostles” and mga sugo ng Diyos dealing with the trade in miracles.
Present day Ninoys? The closest we have had lately is Jun Lozada. To qualify, he should have been shot and the pavement that we call Ortigas Avenue in front of LSGH would have been called the Jun Lozada Avenue!
Joey de Venecia and dad are a distant second. However the main criteria for becoming a Ninoy is a WILLINGNESS TO DIE FOR COUNTRY and take the necessary bullet. None of these I have just mentioned *&^%&)&^%$#@! [expletives, expletives] have the guts to take the state security apparatus’ bullet!
blackshama,
JLo cannot be a present-day Ninoy. He was thieving bureaucrat much like those he is now campaigns against.
I admire him as he is today, but I don’t think we’ll be printing money with his mug any time soon. If he ever gets back into government I suspect his old tiger stripes will reemerge.
You are right about the clerics.
Ding, I hope you know that the only currency I consider in the way I conduct myself here are the ideas and messages exchanged; never the messenger (well except maybe for The Cat who holds a special place in my psyche ;) ).
Anyways, excuse my having only the INQ7.net as my source of info, but I read this report as of this writing:
Looks like people power fatigue has indeed exhibited itself a bit more convincingly this time.
I do wonder about the mediocre thinking that underpinned this useless spectacle. Was it worth the risk of the embarassment of this pathetic turn out when, as someone mentioned earlier, whatever Congress decides will be ratified by the people in a legitimate exercise anyway?
…but the ‘enemy’ is calling God to support them, as well.
Could it be that God is on their side?
if they were smart, they should have consulted with lozada and the la salle brothers and sisters on how to EXPLOIT “inter-faith” rallies. or did they, considering the “disappointing” turnout?
It doesn’t bode well for the body politic if political mass actions have to be called inter-faith assemblies and prayer rallies. It gives these religious “power centers” the undeserved attention
So medieval. The Pope/Bishops versus the Emperor. What ever happened to the nobles and freemen???