THE CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE SITUATION A. THE ECONOMIC SITUATION.

The number of malnourished children constantly increases and so has the number of beggars, of the out of school youth, and of the illiterate. Unemployment and underemployment are not effectively managed. Rural families move into squalid squatter areas in the cities, especially Manila, with the hope of better fortune, ending only in deeper misery. These are just some of the signs of the unhealthy economic situation in the Philippines. Some of the factors that contribute to such a situation are the following: unequal ownership of assets, especially land, a power system in which only a few rule, misconceived economic policies, the prevailing capitalist economic structure, and population growth which tends to be concentrated among the poor. Aggravating the imbalance between the rich and the poor is a system of taxation that is biased in favor of the well-to-do. Cases of tax evasion among some of the richer members of society involve large sums of money and such uncollected amount hurts the economy. At the same time, the government social services in health and housing hardly reach those who really need them most. Our economic situation offers little or no hope. Parents are forced to abandon their children to be employed abroad, without being aware of the social costs. Men are unemployed and graduating in ABS alak, babae, and sugal. Women are forced by poverty into the flesh trade. Child labor destroys the life of many young people who are robbed of their childhood and the opportunity for good education that can help improve their future. B. The POLITICAL SITUATION. 1. Oligarchic Political Situation In our country, power like wealth, is concentrated in the hands of a few influential people in society (politicians, businessmen, and the military). For instance, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law intended to diffuse land ownership is largely a failure because some rich landowners, many of whom are the lawmakers themselves, have many ways to circumvent the law. Many of us share the popular belief that external force, such as those of multinationals and political super powers support this power concentration and tend to preserve the oligarchic political structures. The power attributes in our country is maintained by our false belief that we are "poor and powerless" Filipinos. This kind of thinking had been imposed on us by long years of colonization. It did not die after the colonizers were gone because the elite took over and continued to perpetuate among the masses this idea of the inferiority of the poor and the uneducated. We mindset ourselves that we are small. So, to feel secure, we believe that we need to have a relationship of dependence with some bigger and more powerful individuals, who can give us jobs, money, some power and/or prestige. But these bigger and more powerful individuals might also be the clients of a still more powerful patron. This upward orientation, with which we support the powerful few, prevents the creation of real democratic organizations and parties, which could produce leaders who are really concerned about the

common good. Our organizations are weak, since we are divided by ideological and personal rivalries. Failing to recognize ourselves in a democratic way, we are subject to ideological and political manipulation, from within and without our country. Factional divisions explain our weak sense of common good. Political parties have no coherent ideology that would transform the present situation. Parties follow personalities in power, and during election time, we see the "balimbing" system at work. Politicians switch to other parties because of the exigency of winning. There is no consistent history of political parties helping the majority, who are poor. The poor depend on politicians for money. Unscrupulous politicians take advantage of this situation by buying votes. This puts pressure on politicians to strengthen their financial capabilities in ways that are not legal or moral. Sometimes, they borrow money at high interest rates or request for financial assistance from the rich. So when politicians are elected into office, they can not afford introducing truly transformative social content into their platforms. They have to support laws that are advantageous to the rich, who financed their campaigns, using one or all of these: goons, guns and gold. Our elections have, thus, become an expensive and immoral process.

2. Elite Politics and Human Rights Violations One of the problems we meet in the present Philippine situation is the systematic violation of human rights with the poor and the powerless as victims. Many believe that the roots of such violations can be traced to elite politics. Only a few control political and economic power, ensuring the marginalization of the majority. Because of the elite has control over the government, its members are able to legitimize the protection of their own interests. In the process, they deny the rights of the poor, whom they are meant to represent.

3. Some Ideologies at Work Filipino politics have not been based on an ideological position or political platform of a party. It has been a "person-oriented politics" in which people opted for their patron or for a particular personality often chosen because of his or her image projected by the media. Many of our leaders turn out to be defenders of their powers and riches, "ang sariling bulsa". The existence of a particular ideological position of the left of one inspired by Islam is rather an exception with this political scene. We say a few things about them under three headings: non-violent political options, the armed struggle of the left, and the Muslim rebellion. a. The non-violent left is committed to a democratization of wealth and political power, through the development of mass based organizations of peasants and workers. They educate the poor and laborers to work through electoral pressure tactics, such as labor strikes. They look to the future, towards worker managed enterprises, under democratically elected governments in a multi-party system. Many of the socially oriented Christian organizations and BECs are accused of being leftist. They are indeed influenced by a "socialist" vision of society. Socialism has been expressed in a plurality of political strategies and most of them can be easily reconciled with Catholic social doctrine. Private property has social mortgage. This principle, repeatedly formulated in recent Papal Encyclicals, support a mitigated

form of socialism. Some goods should not be owned by a private person, if they are needed for the common good. Leftist Christian groups are very Catholic when they integrate this principle into their social and political platform. b. A non-violent right dominates the Philippine political scene. Rightist politicians emphasize individual freedom and civil liberties. They also favor free enterprise as the engine of economic development. They claim to protect freedom makes rightists often the blind for the condition of the poor. An unabated liberal capitalism, in the name of individual freedom, is the root cause of many social ills in the country. c. We mostly identify the left with Communist Party of the Philippines, its New People Army and the National Democratic Front. They are groups that adhere to Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideologies and use armed struggle as their principal strategy for gaining power. They envision a radical reorganization of society and ownership of wealth, in a state of collectivism, in order to bring about, eventually, a classless society. They profess a nationalist and anti-imperialist stance. d. Although geographically less widespread, the Muslim National Liberation Front (MNLF), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) continue to be a serious threat to peace and order in our country. Though these groups claim to fight for better life for Muslims in the southern Philippines, some of their members are actually engaged in criminal and terrorist activities. Part of the reason for the rise of these groups is the widely held view that the government has failed to deliver the basic services to the Muslim regions.

C. CHURCH AND POLITICS. The Church is a powerful and influential institution. It relies on a huge network of dioceses, parishes, universities, colleges, grade schools and high schools, radio stations, publications, and so on. It manages several hospitals, social action centers, publications, and lay organizations, on the parish, diocesan and national levels. As such, it has enormous resources for an integral national development. These resources can be used to work for justice and peace in society. Indeed, there are many instances where we can see the church trying to serve in society. But the same resources can also be misused. There are cases where Churches permit themselves, wittingly or unwittingly, to be used by some powerful groups to thwart the promotion of the common welfare. The relationship between Church and politics is a thorny issue. There is no hard and fast rule to determine the parameters of the church's involvement in political activities. Yet, as Christians, the ultimate guiding principle for involvement is whether what we do as a Church can give a chance of Jesus' compassion, especially for the poor, to reign in society. If such does not happen, then our political participation is a sham.

D. THE NEED FOR ON-GOING CONSCIENTIZATION. We mentioned some structures in our society, which are in need of transformation. But, transformation will only be effective, if we have a serious analysis of the situation. Marxist social analysis looks at the society as rooted in the three fundamental structures of feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism, and

imperialism. It makes us understand some tensions and inequalities in our society. But it would be simplistic to explain the complex problems of our society with such analysis alone. We need other forms of analysis. Christian groups, inspired by Marxism, developed an analysis, which can lead to a more nuance understanding of the dynamics, which move society. Following Karl Marx, they see the economy as the factor, which makes history move. The organizing of the economy mostly lead to a sharp division between those who control the means of production and the workers, those who have to sell their labor. More often than not, the owners of the economy grab political power and develop an ideological vision, which justifies their position. History comes to a standstill because its main actors, those in power, opt for a status quo. Prophetic leaders, and also the Church, mainly positioned in the area of a vision on society, can contribute to break this pattern of dominion in which a privileged group of people, safely supported by political power, present themselves as the saviors of the poor. These rich are in fact the cause why the history does not move any longer. Their positions of power give only few opportunities to the majority of the poor. The relationship between economic, political, and ideological structures certainly deserves an ongoing study. Ascribing the whole process of development to economic relationships alone would be another simplistic solution. Yet, we better do not underestimate the economic relationships in our society in trying to understand its tensions and problems. PCP II added an important perspective by pointing out the importance of a historical-cultural analysis. In the introduction of the document, we are reminded that we need to take note of the fact that even if we are one people and one nation, we are still separated by our geography, cultural traditions, languages and ethnic origins. History and cultural anthropology become mediating sciences in understanding society. E. LAITY'S INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN POLITICS. Given the Philippine situation that politics has become an obstacle to integral development, there is an urgent necessity for the lay faithful to participate more actively, with singular competence and integrity in political affairs. The lay faithful ought to provide the needed leadership in renewing politics in accordance with the values of the Good News of Jesus. More particularly, their involvement in the political life of the nation must be guided by the following: 1. That the basic standard for participation is the pursuit of the common good; 2. That participation be characterized by a defense and promotion of peace; 3 That participation be inspired and guided by the spirit of service; 4. That it may be imbued with a love of preference for the poor; and 5. That empowering people be carried out both as a process and as a goal of political activity. The overall value that must be infused into the political order has to be that of solidarity, which expressing completely the commandment of love, urges the active and responsible participation of all in public life, from individual citizens to various groups, from labor groups to political parties. All of us, each and everyone, are the goal of public life as well as its leading participants.

F. TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM OF DEVELOPMENT. We want a change in economic system. But to do so, we need a change of values. During the past twenty years, it has become increasingly clear to us that all-economic system need to be tested in terms of whether and to what extent they put people at the center of the development process. Among the values and criteria that we are increasingly accepting are the following: 1. Meeting basic human needs. Are the needs met equally? 2. Justice and participation. Is everybody involved in the process of decision making and implementation? 3. Sustainability. Is the economic system ecologically and socially sustainable over the generations? 4. Self-reliance. Does the economic system enable people to achieve a sense of their own worth, freedom and capacity, rather than living completely vulnerable to the decision of the others? 5. Universality. Do the economic system and the economic policies focus on the above elements for the global human family, beyond national or regional political boundaries? 6. Peace. Does the economic system promote peace that is built on justice. G. CONCLUSION. The problems of our society are complex and interdependent. Christian service, to solve the problem in justice and love, can never be achieved on one's own. We need to approach them with the moral and social virtue of solidarity. Pope John Paul II has been called the Pope of solidarity because of this emphasis on the vision that development can only be integral if it serves the good of the whole community and of all its members. Solidarity, in this context, means more than just a spirit of camaraderie, or a vague feeling of compassion or goodwill. Rather, it stands for a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, i.e. to the good of all and each of the individuals because we are really responsible for all. In this juncture, we had a look at the contemporary socio-economic and political situation and realized that our society is in need of transformation. We reflected on the value of an ongoing Christian conscientization. We traced the root of our problems as a nation to sin not just the sin of individuals, but also social sin. Social sins bring about sinful social structures that through time become accepted or institutionalized. We then introduced some key points of the social doctrine or teaching of the Church and presented them as a Christian vision for transforming our society. PCP II presents a vision of a people and a nation renewed. We realized that the only way to be able to move towards such a vision is to adopt a spirituality of social transformation that is rooted in our faith in Jesus of Nazareth, as a community of disciples. The Filipino laity have to be encouraged to participate more actively in social and political life in order to evangelize politics and politicians.