Turning disaster into opportunity

It is good that President Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted the invitation to be one of the principal speakers in the Christian Democratic International (CDI) Leaders’ Meeting in Mexico. Contrary to some opinion, it ought not to be considered as a mere side-trip. As the titular head of the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP, the statement she makes there will be noted by the rest of the world that are not encompassed by ASEAN or Washington. The Christian Democrats, led in the Philippines by Speaker Jose de Venecia, has a wider reach that includes major political parties in Europe and Latin America. Reaching that audience means that Mrs. Arroyo’s has completed her mission to let the world know that the Philippines is in solidarity with the world in its determination to fight terrorism and more importantly that it will do so in ways other than military or economic strength which it does not have in the first place. Nonetheless, a forum like the CDI leaders’ meeting gives her the veneer of independence and she ought to take advantage of it as a party leader. If I remember right that was one of her most ardent wishes before she became president — that she be seen as a leader who would change politics in the country. Politics based on fidelity to a party platform is one way of advancing the new politics.

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For this task, she has an important ally in Speaker de Venecia, who is also Vice-President of CDI for Asia, taking the place of the late statesman and founder of the Christian Democrats in the Philippines, Raul Manglapus. Typically, when Speaker de Venecia was given a draft of the CDI ideological paper, he immediately faxed back an insertion that would include the Philippine contribution to the worldwide endeavor against terrorism. Joe de V. has consistently batted for interreligious dialogue and Lakas-NUCD-UMDP remains a bulwark for the Christian-Muslim partnership.

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So President Arroyo’s speech and the presence of party representatives in Mexico will be seriously regarded not just as a response to September 11 but a party program to which Lakas-NUCD-UMDP is dedicated. The Christian-Muslim dialogue as a party program began years before the terroristic plane crashes in New York and Washington and will continue many years after. Indeed, Speaker de Venecia makes an important point to the Christian Democratic ideologues when he asks that they consider a program for a "hundred years of peace" to be able to eradicate poverty in the world as the only way to wipe out terrorism.

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The full text of the de Venecia insertion to the CDI paper says: "We believe the time is ripe for opening the dialogue between civilizations being encouraged by the United Nations and the ecumenism being promoted by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Understanding among religions and cultures is the only basis for peace that will endure. We believe the democracies should elevate this confrontationwith those who apply the policy of terror from the level of violence to that of the heart and intellect. Using the global mass media, they should begin a cultural program — intended particularly for the world’s young people- on themes of rconciliation and cooperation between cultures. If there are historical grudges that remain, let us bring them out into the open, so that they may be threshed out by reason, debate and compromise. Our goal should be a hundred years of peace so that we can wipe out mass poverty — not only in Asia and in Africa but also in the back streets of the G-7 nations. It is poverty that breeds the alienation, envy and resentment that ultimately breaks out in terrorist violence.

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The CDI view the events of September 11 as a "stimulus to advance in the field of cooperation, and very especially in the areas concerning intelligence, justice and common security." With Christian democratic leaders from all over the world, the meeting in Mexico should be able to come up with a unified program that would combat terrorism. The terroristic attacks in New York and Washington should be seen as an opportunity to emphasize "common positions among cultures and peoples," CDI said. A strong statement of solidarity is promised by those who will be in Mexico where they will draw the line between democrats and those who apply the policy of terror.

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But having made statements in international forums, the Arroyo government must be reminded that the problems in the Philippines remain formidable. The rest of the world will of course watch what we do here at home. One thing is sure. We must find a way to get out of the political and economic impasse in the country. It is my opinion that the problems in the country have less to do with ineffective leadership as it has with a system that is not working. We must put our heads together so that the entire country becomes energized for change, not by grafting changes on an old system that does not work but in overhauling the entire system. The government itself must be recreated as a change agent. Anything less will just mean going around in circles.

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My e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].