Priest urges bishops, ulama to denounce corruption

by Carolyn Arguillas

(www.mindanews.com)


DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/27 October) – A Jesuit priest who heads a
nationwide anti-corruption movement has challenged the Bishops-Ulama
Forum to denounce corruption in Mindanao and the rest of the country
even as he called Malacanang "violent" for giving away alleged bribe
money to governors and other officials.

"Corruption is violence. This is another aspect of conflict in
Mindanao," Fr. Albert Alejo, team leader of the Ehem! Anti-Corruption
Movement and a board member of the Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural
Dialogue told the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit at the NCCC Mall here
Saturday noon.

Alejo said other parts of Mindanao may not experience violent acts
like bombing "but where everyday there is corruption, there is
violence. Because in corruption, you take away food from the mouth of
the people, you kill by hundreds."

When a government official allows toxic chemicals s to spill into the
river system, "you kill not only the fish but the fisherfolk."

"Corruption is violence when the leaders of ARMM would come to Davao
and play casino bringing loads of cash. Corruption is violence when
you send out cash in paper bags without receipts. That is violence.
Malacanang is violent. It is violent," Alejo said, pausing for
emphasis.

Malacanang has been blamed for being the source of what Pampanga
governor Eddie Panlilio, a Catholic priest, described as "bribe
money." Panlilio was handed out a paper bag that he later found to
contain P500,000 cash, purportedly for barangay projects as he was
leaving Malacanang on October 11. The League of Governors belatedly
claimed the money came from the organization.

Alejo said the problem is "you have bishops-ulama forum discussing
about conflict but refusing to discuss corruption. I challenge and I
appeal to the religious groups that the bishops should denounce
corruption and the Moro ustadz, the Muslim religious leaders should
also denounce corruption among the Muslim leaders."

"Pero (But) they won't. Bakit? (Why?) I appeal… Teach us the strong
Islamic teachings of corruption, cutting the hand of thieves… If
corruption is violence, is conflict, then the Bishops-Ulama Forum
should also tackle in their dialogue the issue of corruption in
Mindanao and in the Philippines."

Reacting to Alejo's remarks, Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, a
co-convenor of the BUF told MindaNews that past joint statements the
organization issued "did make directly and indirectly moral judgments
on many crimes including terrorism and corruption but some media and
religious groups don't read them. Why? Because our approach is not
confrontational."

Capalla said "violent outrage and vitriolic denunciations are for
peace advocates, not for peacebuilders and dialogue partners."

Alejo said bloggers can play a big role in monitoring funds because
sooner or later a peace agreement will be signed (with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front) and with the signing of a peace agreement, a
lot of money will be pouring into Mindanao again.

"What happened to the billions of money squandered" after the signing
of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) should be avoided, Alejo said.

'We need advance knowledge of the money that will come with the peace
agreement.
I would imagine a website and a series of blogs which would include
the amount of money to be given by funding agency and to be received
by which government office on which date for the benefit of which
community. And we want the bloggers to take note of this in advance so
that we will know the money that will come in before it gets
squandered. What happens is if there's money, if it reaches the hands
of powerful and then it gets lost and then we run after them. It's too
late," he stressed.

"Can the bloggers and website communicators announce the coming of
these funds in advance. So can the bloggers please be proactive. This
is a challenge," he said. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)