Tuguegarao A Pastoral Letter on the 2013 Elections.pdf

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A Pastoral Letter on the 2013 Elections

TO the People of God in the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao:

In union with the priests of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao I address you as

your Pastor particularly on matters pertaining to the May 2013 Election. The

Church is the Conscience of society and therefore with St. Paul we proclaim the

word with persistence whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince,

reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching (2 Tim 4, 2).

Elections are essential to the common good. Leaders are thereby selected to

provide the conditions that allow each person to fulfill his or her

vocation. Whether or not a society is just depends in considerable measure on its

leaders, and so justice and the common good are at stake in these elections. That is

why the Church has the competence to speak, and must speak, or else be remiss inher duties to God and Country.

Politics in Cagayan

Sad to say, politics in Cagayan is UGLY and DIRTY. It reflects what the

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said in 1997 that Philippine

Politicsthe way it is practicedhas been most hurtful to our people. It is

possibly the biggest BANE to our life as a nation and the most pernicious obstacle

to our full development (Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics).

1. Patronage Politics is alive and all-pervading. Political leaders have theirpatrons so that the result of the elections depends often not so much on the

capability of the candidate but on his patron. Employment in government, as in the

police force, department of education and other officesthe entire machinery of

government, in fact, depends on patronage.

2. Political Dynasties have all but cornered public offices in Cagayan forsome time now, and their names surface at each election. The Constitution rejects

political dynasties and the Church characterizes them as evil because it breeds

ineptitude and corruption. Fair equality of opportunity is a fundamental demand of

justice. This demand is frustrated when a family that occupies different positionsin government at the same time and succeeds each other in the same position

builds its bailiwick of followers and has in readiness a war-chest of campaign

funds amassed, many times through dishonest means.

3.New candidates often have to resort to the methods, styles andapproaches of Traditional Politics: winning their way to office by distributing

money, promising positions to their followers and maligning their political

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opponents. The use of the four Gs: gold, guns, goons, girls (entertainment and

entertainers) still seems to be the only way to win an election.

4. As a result of the above, well-meaning persons who are otherwisecompetent and are willing to serve are discouraged from seeking public office

because they do not have money, nor the tolerance for this kind of dirty politics,

thereby depriving the citizenry of service-minded public officials.5. Efforts at educating voters often end up for naught since the choice of

leaders is seldom based on Gospel principles. Our people themselves often are to

be blamed for this sad state of affairs because they are known to vote for the

highest bidder, or on the basis of popularity, and on a misplaced sense of loyalty

and gratitude for undeserved favors.

The Local Church and Politics

We, your pastors, are aware of our failings and admit that we also are partly

to be blamed for this ugly situation. We have sought the patronage of politiciansfor favors either for ourselves or for our projects. We have not always spoken with

consistency, resoluteness and sufficient clarity.

Our Resolve

After a period of prayerful discernment with my priests, I have come to a

resolve to lay the following guidelines for the pastoral instruction of our faithful:

1. To counteract the culture of Patronage Politics which breedsdependency and silence, it is hereby prohibited for any priest, religious sister, layleader, and any religious or church-related organization to solicit donations from

any politician before, during or after elections. In case unsolicited donations are

received by any of the above-mentioned groups, the donation must be discretely

returned if this can be practically and prudently done, but if not, the donation may

be kept, but the name of the donor must never be acknowledged publicly and the

amount must be faithfully accounted for according to the strictest accounting

procedures obtaining in our Archdiocese.

2. Political Dynasties must be vigorously rejected. It does not serve thecommon good to vote for a candidate seeking to replace a family member (spouse,

parent, children or sibling) for the same elective position. The Catholic voter will

reject such candidates. This also means rejecting candidates whose only claim for

the votes of the citizens comes from well-placed relatives who are already in

power.

3. Furthermore, reject likewise those candidates who have taken positionscontrary to the fundamental teachings of the Church, like those who support the

RH Law. Do not vote for those who are in the forefront of destructive mining and

logging activities, those profiting from illegal gambling especially jueteng, and

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from trafficking of dangerous drugs. Reject those engaged in smuggling, in the sex

trade, and those known to be harboring weapons arsenals and private armies.

4. We encourage our lay people, including lay ministers, to run for publicoffice. However, if it is found out that a certain lay minister resorts to the immoral

methods of Traditional Politics to win votes, that particular lay minister should

immediately resign, or if he doesnt, he should be relieved of his churchresponsibilities.

5. Lay people and lay organizations may engage in partisan politics, andmay even draw up a list of candidates whom they may campaign vigorously for,

and may campaign aggressively against those candidates mentioned in items 2 and

3 above. When they engage in partisan politics, however, they are not to speak

either in the name of the parish or of the Archdiocese.

As Clergy, we do not endorse any party or any candidate. But as disciples

of Christ and as your Pastors, must respond to His call in all we do, and so our

participation in the elections is part of our service in the Kingdom of God. LikeJesus, the Good Shepherd we declare these to the people entrusted to our care so

that they might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10, 10).

Given this 21st

day of April 2013, Good Shepherd Sunday, at the

Archdiocesan Chancery, Arzobispado na Tuguegarao, Tuguegarao City.

+SERGIO L. UTLEG

Archbishop of Tuguegarao

Attested:

Fr. DANILO ULEP

President, Priests Assembly