Corruption heaviest cross at EDSA anniversary, laments Sin protégé

Corruption remains the "heaviest cross" that Filipinos must bear as they mark the 22nd anniversary of the EDSA-1 revolt, a protégé of the late Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin lamented Sunday night. Balanga bishop Socrates Villegas said corruption has reached scandalous proportions and mind-boggling figures, depriving the poor in the countryside of basic services due them. Worse, he said, is the growing public cynicism amid serious issues hounding the current administration. "The worst among the scourges that our nation suffers from right now is the culture of indifference. Many of us want to resign as Filipinos," the bishop said in a statement on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website (www.cbcpnews.com). He said the EDSA revolts were just like "shots of opium" that give many people "temporary high and nothing more." But now, Villegas said many people have grown tired of rallies to change public officials "because the changes have simply been from one corrupt official to another." Yet, he said corruption is not only a crime of government officials, adding that "we who are below are all guilty as well." "The Edsa spirit is not just about political change. It is primarily about a change of heart and soul," he also said. "Let us not invoke the Edsa spirit for political change if we are not even open to moral and spiritual reform individually. The change we seek must come from within," he added. Villegas is a protégé of Sin, the driving force behind the two EDSA revolts in 1986 and 2001. On the other hand, Villegas said Filipinos have no right to demand change from government officials unless they themselves undergo change. He lamented that the present political system today is only a reflection of the kind of people the country has. "We must not demand repentance and reform from our leaders if we are not even willing to repent of our personal sins as dishonest and uncaring ordinary citizens," he said. He said that while he agrees that the "the President must change or be changed; so with senators and congressmen." Villegas said the country does not just need a new breed of leaders but also enlightened people, thus change must start from within every Filipino. "Each and every one must be the reformed Filipino that we want our public officials to become. We must change ourselves so that society and government will change," he said. - GMANews.TV