Supreme Court chief launches Moral Force Movement

MANILA, Philippines - A new movement pushing for a moral force aimed at combating widespread corruption in government was formally launched yesterday with its founder, Chief Justice Reynato Puno, calling on Filipinos to choose leaders who are “true, good and right” in next year’s polls.

Although Puno refused to name any of the hopefuls for the national elections to keep their social movement non-partisan, he was clear in laying down the standards in choosing transformational leaders that would address pressing social and political problems of the country through “revival of moral virtues and ethical principles embedded in our Constitution and rooted in our customs and traditions.”

He cited as an example of a transformational leader the late President Corazon Aquino, who demonstrated to Filipinos that “it is not love of power but power of love that secures the thrones of leaders.”

He said President Aquino’s leadership could be compared to those of the late Pope John Paul II in Poland, Mahatma Ghandi in India, Martin Luther King Jr. in the US, and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

“The leaderships of these legendary figures were effective, empowering and ethical. They were effective because they directed their reforms to the need for moral revival. They were empowering because they removed the blindfold on the eyes of their people and inspired them to change society. They were ethical because they prevailed over their opponents without aping their immoral ways,” Puno said in his speech during the launch of the Moral Force Movement held at the Far Eastern University in Manila.

Transformational leaders, according to Puno, are those who induce followers to transcend their self-interest for the sake of the organization or the greater whole and appeal to their moral values to mobilize their energy and resources to reform institutions.

Transactional leaders, in contrast, motivate their followers by appealing to their self-interest.

A transformational leader inspires, develops and empowers followers.

The core group has also decided that it will not only focus on searching and electing transformational leaders in the national level but will be targeting all elected posts from the barangay level to the highest elected post of the nation.

Asked if he could see any of the presidential hopefuls qualifying for such standards, the chief justice said May 2010 is “still a long way” off and that hopefully a transformational leader would be found among the candidates.

“This is a social movement – nothing political. We are not endorsing any particular individual. I hope I would not be asked to make any comment on the political landscape,” he explained.

He lamented that moral transformation in government is necessary since the country is “now putrefied by politics where power is put above principle” and being “run to the ground by an economy infested by greed.”

Puno even likened the “moral deficit” of government to the cases of the Roman Empire in Italy and Ming Dynasty in China, whose leaders succumbed to “virus of greed, self-absorption and complacence” and were “corrupted by absolute power.”

But the chief justice believes that the moral decay in government and society can be addressed without marching in the streets or raising clenched fists.

“We need only to be still wherever we are and listen to the whispers of our conscience, reminding us of our timely and timeless moral values in life… Let us not just stay neutral in this fight, for the surest way to lose a fight against evil is through the conspiracy of silence,” he explained.

He called on Filipinos to become responsible citizens and support the cause of their group, which will first focus on good conduct of elections next year and selection of transformational leaders.

He also advised voters not to vote for candidates who bribe, lie and cheat.

Yesterday’s launch of MFM was attended by hundreds of students and concerned groups from different sectors. Participants were each given a white rubberized wristband representing the movement.

Puno was also joined by members of the movement’s advisory council whom he had personally chosen, among them Henrietta de Villa, chair of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV); Msgr. Gerry Santos, director of Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines; Ret. Gen. Jaime Echeverria, president and chair of Association of Generals and Flag Officers; and Dr. Emerito Nacpil, retired bishop of United Methodist Church who now serves as director of Wesleyan College of Manila.

Dr. Milwida Guevarra, former finance undersecretary and now director of Synergia Foundation; FEU Institute of Law dean Andres Bautista; Marixi Prieto, chair of Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Noorain Sabdulla, an outstanding student awardee who became student council president of Catholic school in Cabanatuan City also were members of the advisory council.

Members of the council unanimously agreed with the need to elect transformational leaders as key to alleviate poverty and address problems, including corruption.

De Villa, for her part, is hopeful that more Filipino voters would become responsible with the official start of MFM’s campaign.

“This is the start of change from graft and corruption, confusion and conflict. May Filipino voters will be finally awakened,” she stressed.

While the task to mold responsible voters is already being performed by groups like PPCRV, the MFM is aimed precisely at uniting these groups with similar objectives to be able to solidify their efforts, according to SC spokesman lawyer Jose Midas Marquez.

The core group has “set parameters for the moral force movement with the purpose of making the people aware of what’s been happening and to do something about it.”

Puno earlier vowed that the movement would not be anti-administration or pro-opposition but rather “a positive-neutral constructive.”

Earlier, Puno lamented how the country is now perceived in the world as a “moral pariah.”

He said Filipinos have witnessed moral decadence and leprosy, referring to corruption in government that he likened to the corruption in England at the time when the United Methodist church was founded by John Wesley in the 1700s.

“We are cast as a moral pariah. What a tragic social landscape for the only Christian country in southeast Asia,” he said.

Puno had lamented how corruption in the country has been “deforming all its institutions, undermining our stability and security and preventing our socio-economic development.”

Serve the people

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo yesterday reminded all the candidates seeking the presidency and vice presidency that their desire should be to serve the people and not turn the 2010 elections into a gimmick to promote their personal and political party’s interest.

In an interview with the Church-run Radio Veritas, Archbishop Lagdameo said that he noticed that there are many people who want to become president and are already spending millions of pesos for their campaign.

“When they talk, they say that they are motivated to serve the country. I hope that this is true. But this is not what is being projected to today’s youth. To them, it appears that politics is no longer a show of statesmanship and of selfless service for the country. This has now become a personal or party business,” he said.

He recalled that in previous elections candidates did not have to engage in excessive expenditures in order to win an election.

“I hope that they would consider returning to the old ways of statesmanship and selfless service for the country. I pray that we would be able to escape from the evils of corruption, vote buying in the upcoming polls,” the CBCP president added.

The Iloilo prelate also challenged the candidates to really show that they are for the poor and for the hungry. “Instead of spending millions of pesos to buy the votes of the people, they should use the amount to lessen the problem on poverty and reduce hunger in the country.”

He also called on the lay faithful to be actively involved and participate in choosing the next political leaders who would remove corruption in the government.

While there have already been presidential debates being held and organized by different groups, Archbishop Lagdameo clarified that the CBCP is not planning on inviting candidates to open debates.

However, he has heard of some priests in Cebu who are planning to invite candidates, not for a debate, but to attend a retreat. Prior to this, the priests organized a retreat for soldiers. - With Evelyn Macairan