At a structural analysis (of Philippine Society) session with leaders of an urban poor movement for social change, I happened to blurt out the expression “hayahay pa’s pulis.” The group’s reaction just about floored me. The new way, I was told, of expressing the same thing is “hayahay pa’s pari.” The initial shock soon gave way to the sober realization of what caused “hayahay pa’s pari” to replace “hayahay pa’s pulis.
The original expression came about because police persons enjoy freebies like jeepney or bus rides, coffee, snacks and even meals in roadside cafés. But these are peanuts compared to what these low-income people see Cebu diocesan priests enjoy: housing, food, cars, etc. Some priests are known to own condo units and resort houses. In short, the expression “hayahay pa’s pari” was born out of the perception that priests are living the good life.
A few days later, I paid my hometown a visit to take care of a personal matter. To my surprise, long-time friends who have been active in parish work greeted me with complaints that their new set of parish priests no longer consult them or anybody else about parish activities. Mechanisms for participation in parish decision-making, starting with the parish pastoral council on down to lay organizations, have been abolished. The priests have it so good doing just about whatever it is they want without the benefit of consultation with parishioners. It’s the non-financial version of the good life.
It was also in Barili that I heard of Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy’s plan to implement the system of paying priests fixed monthly salaries. This is a good system that takes away favoritism and assigns priests according to where their individual talents are needed. When I was in Davao in the ‘70s, the diocesan priests there were on monthly salaries. The Diocese of Tagbilaran shifted to salaries years ago during the time of the late Bishop Leo Tumulak. But in Cebu, the seat of Philippine Christianity, a priest’s financial condition still depends on whether he is in a rich or poor parish. Anyway, I heard that Archbishop Uy’s plan to implement the salary system is not welcome to his priests. This is to be expected considering that Cebu priests assigned to rich parishes are enjoying the good life under the traditional system.
It took nights of debating with myself whether to make public issue with this or not. In the end, I decided to do it for three reasons. First, I love my hometown too much to forego picking up an issue that is troubling friends who used to be pillars of the parish. My other reason is that nobody else would dare make this issue public for fear of “gaba,” that ugly curse (not to be confused with Karma) with which Spanish friars threatened natives who dared do or speak ill to or of “sacred persons.” (But don’t priests now teach that all human persons are sacred and may not be done ill to or spoken ill of?) My final reason is my conviction that priests are supposed to be active and not just vocal parts of the solution. These cautionary tales will hopefully keep them from becoming high-living parts of the problem.