Pinoy  'Occupy' movement presents manifesto

The local, Catholic Church-initiated “Occupy" movement has urged the Aquino administration to widen its vision beyond its anti-corruption campaign and instead also prioritize the so-called 99 percent of ordinary citizens.   “Anti-corruption drives are important – but worthless when unjust structures and policies are not dismantled," said the Church-initiated movement called Kilusang 99% in its statement that its convenor, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, sent via e-mail to GMA News Online on Tuesday   “The promise to take us to a ‘daang matuwid’ is not enough," the group said. “Even a straight path, when it leads us to a dead end, can be dangerous and counter-productive."   Kilusang 99% explained, “What we need is a new path to development; a path that puts people first, not profit; a path that restores power to the people, not concentrates power to just a few; a path that is sustainable, not short-sighted that looks at only economic gains; a path that promotes peace, not war."   “What we need is ‘bagong landas,’ not just ‘daang matuwid,’" the movement said. (Read the PDF of the group’s manifesto below). GMA News Online is still trying to reach the Office of the President for comment as of this posting. Last Saturday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte refused to comment on the Church-iniated movement, but said the Aquino administration is also working against greed by encouraging corporate social responsibility. Inspired by the global “Occupy" movement against corporate greed, Kilusang 99% describes itself as a multi-sectoral, non-partisan movement seeking “to present a social agenda to replace the existing economic paradigms that are bereft of social justice and have spawned social inequalities and much suffering." Starting point In its manifesto, the group made 14 recommendations that include the following:

• Full implementation of asset reform laws such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997, and the Fisheries Code of 1998
• Institution of a labor-first policy that protects labor rights, fair income, security of tenure, and employment guarantees
• Strengthened regulation of corporations and the financial sector to avoid “excesses"
• Prioritization of basic services over debt servicing
• Protection of basic goods and services against private control, “commodification", and overuse; serving as a “steward of public commons, not an agent of privatization"

Tighter government regulation Pabillo, who heads the social arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also explained that the government should more closely regulate what he called a “heartless" market. “Sinasabi nila, ‘Let the market decide.’ But the market is cruel, the market has no heart, the market has only the logic of profit. It should be part of the government, as a political entity, to look after the common good… Kailangang manindigan ang pulitika," the bishop said. Last month, the Vatican itself issued a statement that, according to observers, resonated well with Occupy protesters as it denounced the “idolatry of the market" and called for a global economic authority. The Catholic Church espouses a rich tradition of Catholic social teachings that advance laborers’ rights and wealth distribution, among other things. For a number of Catholics, however, the actions of some of its leaders seem contrary to the Church’s teachings on wealth and poverty. A few bishops, for example, were at the center of controversy earlier this year after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said they received luxury vehicles from the Arroyo administration. The CBCP has apologized for this. — ELR/TJD, GMA News