LACK OF respect for human dignity is at the root of corruption allegations flooding the government, Fr. Reynor Munsayac, O.P., executive vice president of Colegio de San Juan de Letran Bataan, said during Mass for the UST contingent to the “Trillion Peso March” on Sept. 21.
Munsayac, promoter of the Dominican Family for Justice, Peace, and Care for Creation advocacy, stressed that acknowledging humanity in every person is a fundamental principle of faith.
“Kapag hindi tayo tinatrato bilang mga tao, napakadali lang magnakaw. Ayos lang na maghirap tayo. Ayos lang na wala tayong makain. Ayos lang na malubog tayo sa baha,” Munsayac said in his homily.
“Kaya madali sa atin ang magnakaw. Madali sa atin ang magsinungaling. Madali sa atin ang manakit ng ibang tao dahil hindi natin kinikilala ang sarili nating dignidad,” he said.
Munsayac drew a parallel between rallies against the flood-control corruption controversy and the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
He recalled his experience as a seven-year-old witness to how Filipinos stood up, with his parents explaining the significance of the uprising.
“Sabi ng akin ng mga magulang ko, kasi hindi na [nila] tinitignan bilang mga tao ang mga Pilipino. The government does not recognize the Filipinos as human beings—and that is a very important principle sa atin,” he said.
Fr. Filemon Dela Cruz, Jr., O.P., prior provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines, also shared his reflections.
He urged participants not to underestimate the presence of evil in society, noting that the complexity of governance differs from the conditions that led to the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, when the goal was to oust the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“This is not just a political thing, this is a spiritual battle. And each one of us can be afflicted, and the whole system has been afflicted,” Dela Cruz said.
He referred to the protests being held on Sept. 21 as the start of a long battle against corruption.
“It will be a long battle. I hope it will not be a bloody one. But I hope that we will reach what we ask and pray for,” Dela Cruz said.
The UST Simbahayan Community Development Office, in collaboration with the Dominican Family for Justice, Peace, and Care for Creation, and the UST Faculty Union, organized the march toward the EDSA People Power Monument.
The Mass was held at the Saint Pedro Poveda College in Ortigas. With reports from Ashley Valkyrie E. Bueno
