Guidelines for Communal Discernment and Action to Address the National Crisis

Guidelines for Communal Discernment and Action
to Address the National Crisis
(Reflection Paper)

Guidelines for Communal Discernment and Action to Address the National Crisis fills an important need in our emotionally charged and often confusing context: it provides a substantive analysis, based on Catholic moral and social doctrine, of our present national situation and the various options and courses of actions taken or advocated in response to that situation. It is hoped that the carefully reasoned assessments presented here will aid communal discernment and action.

For what has been called one of the darkest times in Philippine political history, people are finally losing their hopes of a better government. Sorry never made any difference. Until now, we are still under a great suppression. We are denied of the truth we deserve. I can't understand why but it seems like the government is pushing its people to rebel against it. People are already extricating themselves from politics. Politics now is already nothing but garbage. It is full of lies and greed. This view of the citizens lead them to revolt against the government. This is true especially to the poor. They have gone weary waiting for the time when it's their turn to be given proper attention by the government.

I, personally is against the current government. I don't want to be involved at first but I'm still a Filipino. It is a responsibility for us to take care of our country and our fellowmen. I thought that I won't be affected in any way by the political crisis that we are having but I was so wrong about that. Anyone who is in the country is affected in any way possible. One very concrete example is the uncontrollable tuition fee increase in this university. And now that our school is already autonomous, I'm quite sure about what's gonna happen. This school for me is a miniature of the Philippine political situation. Just like the tuition fee increase, we have our VAT and EVAT. It would be fine to pay some amount of money if it's for our own sake but the problem right now is the refusal of the government to show us where do our parents' taxes go. It's very simple and yet they find it so hard to do. All politicians do is talk non-stop about how good they are, about how many money they've spent, and about how many people they've helped. These don't matter. It's all talk. If they are really doing something, we must be able to see them. If they are doing something, we must be able to feel it. Yes, I know that the poverty in our country can't be solved overnight but we can always start anew.




In terms of the political scandals that our government is facing right now, it's very compelling how each of our politicians convinced us into tolerating their bad deeds. Corruption has become a culture among politicians. They have made it a household name among us and it's very surprising how they have made most of us believe that it is okay to be corrupt as long as you help your citizens. When did stealing become acceptable? When did it become right? This country is so near to losing all its hopes. It's amazing how the ZTE-NBN controversy just vanished. One day, everyone was shouting, demanding for the truth, the next day, no one cares. People already got tired. Even I, sometimes, lose my hope for a better future. In this national crisis, the youth are especially affected because it's their future that is being directed either to a good or a bad hand. Despair is already eating up Filipinos bit by bit. Should we do something about this? Yes, we can't let ourselves suffer for the shortcomings of our governments.

After everything that has been said, there's one thing that I'm hoping for. I hope that we all get together as Filipinos and do the right thing. The right thing which is to do something. It's not enough that we watch the news and keep ourselves updated of the current happenings in the country. It's not enough that we sympathize on those who suffer. We must be one with them, empathize, move, for yourself, your fellowmen, and your country.