Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin lashed out yesterday at "corruption in high places" as he urged the people to continue attending the annual gathering at EDSA, and help save the memory from fading or the story from being rewritten.
During a Mass at the EDSA shrine in Mandaluyong City, Sin warned the public of the threat from "those seeking to change history by rewriting the EDSA story and making the villains heroes and the heroes villains."
"Tonight we stand against those who wish to rewrite the EDSA story," he said. "But we have not forgotten. We know the true story. We know the real heroes. We will keep on remembering and continue to retell the story of liberation."
Sin likewise said the time has come for the spirit of unity to move on from a street called EDSA to the hearts and souls of all who compose the Christian community.
"What matters most is for people to carry the spirit of EDSA, what they fought for, every day and not just one day of the year," he said.
In his homily, the Manila archbishop again criticized President Estrada for "doing nothing to stop the evils plaguing Philippine society."
Sin, who will be joining the President in the festivities of the 14th People Power anniversary, took another poke at the government's soft stand against gambling.
"The EDSA spirit is about hard work and selfless commitment. Gambling and the EDSA spirit cannot and should not mix," he said. "How can we say that we are faithful to the spirit of EDSA when we allow casinos to multiply like mushrooms and express no indignation at the availability of bingo on national television."
Sin lamented that people are often left with a sense of hopelessness and despair in confronting the evils of society.
"It seems there is corruption in high places everywhere, division and rebellion, young people caught in the vortex of sex and drugs, exploitation of the weak, streams of poison which controllers of media pour out through movies, television, music and the printed pages," he said.
He asked the faithful to take courage and remember the promise of Jesus: "Do not be afraid. I have overcome the World."
Meanwhile, three lawyers' groups said yesterday the President does not deserve to be at the festivities of the People Power anniversary, calling him "the ultimate anti-EDSA villain."
"That President Estrada will now lead the commemoration rites of the 1986 uprising speaks of how pliant EDSA has become, and how prone it is to perverse distortions," the Integrated Bar of the Philippines' Committee on Human Rights and Due Process, the Public Interest Law Center, and the Progressive Labor Organization said in a statement.
The group noted that large-scale human rights violations -- the legacy of martial law -- continue unabated, albeit, in different forms.
"Torture comes in the form of workers deprived of job security through contractualization. Involuntary disappearance assumes new meaning on the light of massive forcible uprooting of peasant communities from their land. No thanks to the administration's subservience to globalization," the group stated.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday much has changed since the EDSA revolt of 1986, noting that the respect accorded to Filipinos by the international community has since diminished.
"People Power brought out the best in us. The world had a high regard for Filipinos," said CBCP spokesperson Monsignor Hernando Coronel. "But today, we do not command that same kind of respect even from our neighbors in Southeast Asia."
Hernando said the unchecked problem of graft and corruption and the return of cronyism in the Philippines have contributed significantly to the loss of respect. -- With Liberty Dones, Cecille Suerte Felipe