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Saturday, July 01, 2006
Roperos: President’s influence
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics Also
There is something that people who consider President Arroyo as still politically influential in Cebu should worry about. The perception of some keen observers is that her influence has either already waned to a crucial unrecoverable level or that it is already starting to do so, in the face of recent events.
I think the President erred in trying to gain the sympathy of Pope Benedict XVI in her recent visit to the Vatican by putting down the local clergy.
Rather than win the support of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) by showing the Pope that despite certain differences she and church leaders are still able to find common ground, Mrs. Arroyo appears to have aggravated the situation by indicating a deteriorated Church-State relationship.
Thus, she pushed the CBCP to defend itself, and its defense tended to make a liar out of her. Of course, how else would the CBCP spokesman defend the Philippine clergy?
This is a rather unfortunate circumstance since it really should not have come to pass at all. I wonder whether the President’s public relations advisers foresaw the implication.
Truth to tell, these things should not have come to pass had the President acted like a mature Catholic faithful before the supreme leader of the Christian world. Instead, she acted like a little girl who ran up to her father and cried on his lap.
At this point, GMA is coming out as the first Philippine president who has openly sought the help of the Pope to soften Church activism against her administration.
In the past, particularly right after the war, it was the practice of Philippine presidents to run to the United States purportedly to seek advice and guidance, as well as financial and material aid and to show that their mentor loved them.
Actually, the purpose of the US trip of presidents during an election campaign was to show that their candidacy had the blessings of the great White Father.
On top of it, and as added political propaganda, Philippine presidents would also strive to secure financial and material aid. It was thought then a good propaganda advantage if the presidential candidate for reelection could claim before the electorate that he was given this or that aid by the US.
That is no longer effective today.
But perhaps, President Arroyo thought that doing the same thing but to another icon like the Pope could generate the same political effect, and achieve the same purpose.
Unfortunately, if that was what she had in mind when he tried to gain support from the religious leader, she must have realized by now that she did achieve results---but in somewhat negative way. Now, we are feeling a silence from the Catholic faithful and the clergy, a kind of calm before the storm.
But I do really hope the calm should prevail without the storm.
It seems bad enough already that we are feeling a downslide of the President’s political influence in our part of the country; we do not want her to similarly lose support from other areas where she admittedly has lesser hold on the people’s political psyche.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 30, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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